I'm fuming!!!

[Pirate Dad]

I am just furious right now! I just got off the phone with a Disney representative and I’m absolutely livid! Am I missing something here? Am I being unreasonable?

I sent a letter of complaint in December regarding our last trip to Disney World in August 2006. Here is a copy…

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“To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this letter regarding my last trip to Disney World, August 23 to 30, 2006.

My wife, two daughters and I took our first family vacation to Disney World in April 2005. We used the Walt Disney Travel Company for all our trip planning needs, including our air travel. That trip was a wonderful experience and was without any incident.

Having had such a wonderful experience with the Walt Disney Travel Company we decided to take another trip in August 2006, this time with my parents, sister and niece, as well as my wife, two daughters and myself. I had originally booked for August 23 to August 29. We received our confirmation, including our air confirmation. As our trip drew closer, I had my return flight cancelled THREE times. I called the Walt Disney Travel Company to see what could be done as my new return flight was scheduled for 8am. This flight time was completely inconvenient as it would mean waking up three children at 4am so as to catch our Magic Express bus at 5am. Also, it would have resulted in a lost day and unused park passes for all of us. We agreed to extend our trip by one day so as to have a more convenient departure time of 5pm.

Our trip was wonderful and all went well, except when our day of departure neared. I was informed BY ANOTHER GUEST on the morning of our departure (as we were preparing to go to a theme park for the day, and catch our Magic Express bus later in the afternoon) that there was a storm approaching and that flights that day were being cancelled. This was confirmed when I enquired at guest services in our hotel. We were told that our room had already been booked due to the impending storm and that if we needed accommodations for that night it would have to be at another hotel. As you could imagine, this was completely insufficient. I called the Walt Disney Travel Company and was told there was nothing that could be done. Frustrated, I spent the entire morning on the phone with Air Tran Airlines making alternate flight arrangements. I finally managed to secure a flight departing at 3pm that day. Next, I had to change my Magic Express pick up time. This meant catching an airport shuttle at 12 pm. By this time it was 11:30 am, which meant we had to quickly get some lunch and prepared for our shuttle. To add insult to injury, I only received a call from the Walt Disney Travel Company at 11:40 am to inform me that my flight for that day was cancelled. Had it not been for ANOTHER GUEST informing me about flight cancellations for that day, my family and I would have been checked out of our room and at a theme park for the day. We would have returned from the park to find out that our flight was cancelled, that we had been booked on another flight departing at 6 am the next morning, with a seven hour layover in Atlanta, and that we had no room for that night! Only because of my persistence, did I manage to secure a flight for that day. Unfortunately that came at a cost (in addition to my frustration). We lost our day at the theme park, and had unused theme park tickets for that day. We had planned to spend the last day of our trip at the Magic Kingdom so that my daughters could say good bye to Cinderella’s castle and bring closure to our trip.

Because of our initial three flight cancellations and lost park tickets, we spent an extra $199.05 for an unnecessary night’s accommodations (keeping in mind our original trip was planned until August 29) and lost park tickets (not to mention the extra day of vacation time we needed from our respective jobs to extend our trip by one day). My most pressing complaint however is that the Walt Disney Travel Company did NOT make sufficient effort to contact me regarding our flight cancellations and made NO effort to ensure accommodations for us for that night. Seeing as I used the Walt Disney Travel Company exclusively to plan my trip, I felt this was totally unacceptable! As such, I am submitting a formal complaint. I am keen to plan another holiday to Disney World, as it truly is a magical place for my family, but am reluctant to use The Walt Disney Travel Company again in the future.”

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So, after months of trying to talk to someone, I finally got a representative to call me back. I wasn’t looking for something grand, just a simple apology and promise to be more mindful of guests in the future, and to use my situation to reappraise protocol regarding this kind of situation. However, this is what I got: I was told by the Disney representative that she sees absolutely nothing wrong with how they dealt with us. That (even though we used the Walt Disney World Travel Company exclusively to book our trip) all responsibilities were mine, and they would conduct business exactly the same way in the future.

Needless to say I’m shocked and thoroughly disappointed! I feel like everything I believed about Disney has been shattered. We were considering another trip to Disney World this year or next, but right now I don’t think I ever want to go back. This whole situation has left a very bad taste in my mouth!

 

[dis-happy]

Oh brother. You are being unreasonable.

It's not anyone's fault (or responsibility) when flights are cancelled due to weather. Most seasoned travellers keep an eye on the weather reports and double check their flight schedules with the airline, not wait for a travel agent to call and keep them informed. The rest of it---your hotel fees, fee to switch flights---were your own decision and responsibility. This happened over 6 months ago, it's time to calm down and get over it. Don't let it ruin the happy memories of your family's trip.

 

[dopeyfanatic]

Not to totally make you mad or anything, but I agree that it's not Disney's job to inform you of a cancellation in your flight. Flight changes happen ALL the time, and Disney does not have control over those. So the three initial changes in your return are not their flight. Just because you booked with them doesn't make them responsible for your flight times. I also don't find it to be their job to inform you if your flight was cancelled. If you booked through any other agent you wouldn't have necessariliy been informed either. Think of it this way, at least you found out early. You didn't get to the airport only to have them cancel your flight once you got there leaving you stuck there. And you did get a room some where. It's not Disney's job to keep rooms open in case people's flights get cancelled. I say just let it go....but don't think you'll get superior service from anyone else in those circumstances either....

 

[mirthmaiden]

I feel your pain, but I agree with the previous posters. Bottom line is that nobody is going to look out for you as good as you. Weather-related issues are just a fact of life in travel. It's unfortunate, but you have to be aware of the potential for problems and be ready to react, not wait for somebody else to tell you. As the others said, this could have been a lot worse.

 

[crashbb]

Sorry - I agree with the previous posters. This is not Disney's fault. Airlines should contact passengers when flights are cancelled, but often don't - especially if caused by something like a storm which would affect a large number of flights.

Sorry this happened to you, but should serve as a reminder to everyone to double check flight times, especially when the weather might be iffy.

 

[boomhauer]

Yeah, I really don't see what your complaint is. It's not Disney's responsibility to keep track of your flights. Imagine if they had to do that for everybody staying there. There's over 30,000 rooms on Disney property!

As for the accomidations, if they didn't have any rooms available, then they didn't have any rooms available.

I guess I must be missing something. What exactly do you feel is Disney responsible for here?

 

[Pirate Dad]

Let me clarify, I know that flights get changed and cancelled. That's not what I'm complaining about. I also DID confirm my flight 24 hours in advance. I'm upset because when I spoke with the Disney Travel rep on the day of my departure, I was told unequivocally that there were no flights out of Orlando that day. Yet, by contacting AirTran directly, there were flights and I got eight of us on one. (AirTran btw said I should be doing this through Disney Travel). I just felt that the Disney Travel rep made NO ATTEMPT AT ALL to try and make the situation easier. I have traveled many times before, and have found other TA's to be much more helpful. I'm just very disappointed that this is Disney's mo. I'm mad now because the Disney rep I spoke with today seems to think they do not need to make any effort for guests in a difficult situation like this. It's not about saying "Tough luck, that's not my job." That's NOT what Disney has built their reputation on.

 

[KadysMom]

I would have been frustrated that day. I dont think that Walt Disney Travel could have done anything....

 

[DVCLiz]

This is why I don't ever use a travel agent. It's so easy to book a Disney trip on my own - I hate being tied to a particular agent. Sorry they treated you the way they did - just chalk it up and move on.

And don't let this spoil your enjoyment of what is otherwise a wonderful trip and a great vacation for your family. Just book it on your own next time.

 

[boomhauer]

There may not have been any flights available at the time the represenative checked. Obviously, if there was bad weather, people were probably changing and cancelling reservations left and right that day. The point being, you really don't know, therefore it's tough to point a finger.

I understand the frustration, but really, I don't think it's Disney responsibility. If you had booked your trip through a travel agency, they certainly wouldn't have called you to inform you of flight changes.

In the past 2 days, I've changed my Southwest itinerary 4 times. This is a very common occurance these days. There's simply no way Disney can be responsible for watching the flight schedules of all of their guests.

 

[RSoxFan]

This is why I don't ever use a travel agent. It's so easy to book a Disney trip on my own - I hate being tied to a particular agent. Sorry they treated you the way they did - just chalk it up and move on.

And don't let this spoil your enjoyment of what is otherwise a wonderful trip and a great vacation for your family. Just book it on your own next time.

That's why I don't use travel agents either. I just don't like handing over that much control to anyone.

One thing I didn't understand from the OP though. It seems like you were upset that your room had already been given away even though your flight was canceled. I'm sure there was someone waiting to check in to that room. Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue if any of us got to our resort and were told "Sorry, the people who were here before you are still here, they had a change of plans?" No hotel can run like that.

I'm sorry in advance if I misunderstood your post. I hope you still had a wonderful trip.

 

[Eeyores Pal]

Let me 1st start by letting you know I work in the travel industry ... going on 14 years now (in the corporate environment) and have visited WDW over 25 times in the last 14 years.

As a travel agent, I agree with Pirate Dad. If a flight is cancelled it is my responsibility as the travel agent to notify the traveler. Now - there are times when the travel agent does not receive the notification from the airline (probably about 50% of the time) and at that point the notification falls on the Airlines. My thought is since Pirate Dad did in fact book his air through WDC partial responsibility does fall on WD Travel Company.

I don't really see an issue with another guest notifiying Pirate Dad of the possibilty of a cancellation as WD Travel Company probably books a ton of vacations which includes air so it probably isn't feasible that they can check each family's vacation packages to see if they will be affected by possible storms/weather. As a vacationer myself, I know I try to always check what is going on at home when I am on vacation in regards to weather. So, I do think that responsibilty should not be on WD. However, when Pirate Dad checked on the status of the flights, the WD Agent should have contacted the airline directly, that is part of the package and not out side of the scope of service a traveler should expect. I don't think Pirate Dad is saying the weather is WD's fault - but they didn't do anything to help/accomodate him.

AND also something to note, ANY time there is a threat of weather, it is almost impossible to reach the airlines without extreme hold times as the airlines are operating with the minimum reservation agents dues to costs.

AND if I personally were in Pirate Dad's situation I definatly would have been upset to waste my last morning (and my family's) calling the airlines when I booked via a travel agent (which is essentially what he did). So, I think while the threat of weather isn't Disney's fault, it is their responsibilty to not leave their travelers stranded.

 

[disneyaddicted]

Sorry about that whole mess Pirate Dad, I never fly on vacations, I enjoy the drive, but, I am flying to WDW this Dec. and because of your report I am going to check in on the weather and flights daily both in Orlando and back home. I hope you don't let that whole situation keep you and your family from WDW, that wouldn't solve anything. Just enjoy the magic that the parks bring. And I hope this doesn't happen to you again, where as I am not taking sides, I do feel your frustration.

 

[glass slipper girl]

I'm confused...Walt Disney Travel Company IS Disney, not a travel agent, right? So in other words saying "I don't use a travel agent for this reason, I prefer to book with Disney directly" is sort of misleading...because when you book a package with Disney directly, you book through the Walt Disney Travel Company. If you book with a TA, they process your booking through WDTC so it's all, as my 4 year old says, "same same."

Sorry you had that experience, OP. I would have been frustrated too but at the same time Disney may have started calling people who booked air through WDTC to notify them of flight cancellations as soon as they found out. They may have started with those with the earliest flights and you didn't hear from them untill 11:40 because your flight wasn't untill 5 PM.

 

[kabbie]

As a travel agent, I agree with Pirate Dad. If a flight is cancelled it is my responsibility as the travel agent to notify the traveler.

Wow! You must have to be on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to personally call all of your clients to let them know about flight delays.

I believe that it is the individual's responsibility to check on their own flight times. I would never leave it up to a travel agent especially when there is bad weather on the horizon.

 

[Doctor P]

I understand why the OP is upset, but I'm not sure Disney Travel (which IS a travel agency) is at fault. My question is this: did the OP have travel insurance? Trip delay insurance would have kicked in in this instance almost certainly. In other examples like this, that has also been a part of Disney's response. It is the responsibility of the traveler to cover circumstances like this with appropriate travel insurance. Furthermore, for the package that the OP was on, it is entirely believable and credible that there was no air availability accessible to Disney travel even though there might have been availability calling the airline directly.

 

[Dislifer]

This reminds me of a recent trip I took to WDW. Our scheduled flight was scheduled to leave at 7:30 pm. The airline changed our flight 3 times, they kept changing the flight earlier and earlier which caused BIG problems for me. No one can control what the airline does...unfortunately!!! Sorry this happened to you though!

 

[Mr. Malaprop]

I also don't see where WDTC did anything wrong. Schedules change, bad weather happens, cancellations occur -- that's just a fact of life with travel today. The only person you can depend on to help you is yourself. If you book through a TA, they may be able to assist you, but you can't expect them to work miracles. I understand that problems like this are frustrating, but it sounded to me like you were blaming WDTC for the problems.

 

[mom2my3kids]

I am so sorry this happend to you..

 

[Bee]

I believe Pirate Dad is not mad at the fact that flights were cancelled.

I work in the Customer Service field.. I believe he was looking for a little compassion and understanding.

We cant blame nature. So, we look for a little help from people in specific fields when we need assistance. His flights were cancelled and he needed help.

I believe if the person had at least acknowledged his feelings of frustration, Pirate Dad would not have been so Put off. But, instead their response was a little cold and non- friendly.

They could have acheived a better feeling from Pirate Dad if the wording had been a little different.

Like for instance; Dear Sir,
Upon receiving your letter, I can understand how frustrating this was for you. I can not imagine the disppointment you and your family felt with all the things happening to you. Unfortunately, like yourself the events of that day were our of our control. We will discuss this with our cast members and advice them to "try" and help with some compassion in the future. I hope you come back and visit us again someday and your next adventure turns out as wonderful as your first trip.

Have a Magical Day. signed so and so.

I believe OP just wanted a little understanding.

Disney was not responsible for the weather.. They were not responsible for the rooms being gone. However, they could have been not so cold and the OP would not have been upset.

There is my 2 cents.. hopefully I "READ" the situation correctly.