Is Disney at fault for disappointment?

[HerbivoreMom]

I do think some things Disney does are misleading. The first time we went to Disneyland the signs and map suggested we could go see the Frozen Princesses without a reservation. So we did a few things and then headed over there to see them. We weren't expecting a meet and greet but we thought we would see them. Nope. My son was soooo disappointed. He wasn't interested in much else after that and even though overall we enjoyed ourselves we felt a bit cheated.

That was my motivation for finding this forum and planning a second trip purely to meet the Frozen princesses. And we were successful the second time. My son was so happy and I was proud that all the time I spent planning wasn't for naught. It was good.

But... because a trip to Disneyland or DisneyWorld requires so much more planning than trips to other theme parks it means that we don't go as often as we might like. I feel like I have to research everything like crazy and I get really nervous about getting it wrong.

 

[cruisingtwins]

I think the quality of customer service has gone down due to the DCP

 

[grnflash]

I think the bigger clue would have been for her to say "You should have thought about that 6 months ago. Grab a hotdog, ride the Carrousel and make your own magic."

 

[Angel Ariel]

The cm in that commercial had wings? I've only seen it once or twice in passing, wasn't really paying attention, and didn't see the wings. Obviously I know enough to know the commercial wasn't realistic, but I can see how someone could miss details like wings if they aren't really paying attention.

 

[mom4fun]

We're staying on site when we go, so we don't have to worry about being shut out, but we're also doing AM EMH/RD on our MK day (Easter Sunday) so that we can get as much done as possible without the full brunt of the crowds. We'll still be there when it's at peak crowd times, but we'll have a good chunk of our attractions done by then and will be alternating between less-popular things and our three FP+. We're fortunate that we don't want to ride the mountains or 7DMT or meet any characters. That helps.

I wanted to say earlier that one of the things that definitely can alter one's experience is whether or not kids are involved. I don't mean that in a bad way, but little ones get tired easier, aren't always the most patient things, are pickier eaters, and don't always have the same priorities at WDW that their well-meaning parents had when planning the itinerary. I'd say it's much more important to have a flexible "go with the flow" mindset when visiting with younger children. I can see how balancing the need to get your money's worth and the need to let your kids have fun and do their thing could be stressful.

We are doing the same thing on Easter! I'll make sure to wave to you when I see you. Lol.

I like Disney's magical vacation commercials. I loved the one where the little girl walked thru the door and was suddenly a princess. Or the one where Peter Pan's ship flew around picking up people to take them to the parks. I think adults should have enough common sense to tell the difference between reality and commercials.

Are you telling me, Peter pan's ship won't be picking me up to go to the parks! Lol.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

I'd say it's much more important to have a flexible "go with the flow" mindset when visiting with younger children. I can see how balancing the need to get your money's worth and the need to let your kids have fun and do their thing could be stressful.

^^^^^^^ this is the biggest problem I have, even with 6-9 months of planning.
Disney has made it impossble for parents to "go with the flow"

With the old FP (grabbing it day of)
If my youngest needed a break or time to prepare herself for a "big" ride
I could grab another FP for differnt time or find a cm at the ride and explain my daughter needs a 20-30min break before gong on the ride.. And the CMS would exchange my FP for a different one..

Now with FP+ it's force her to ride or don't ride it at all!
I don't know any parent that wants to make the choice..

This also applies to ADR..
My oldest begged us to do BOG. Got the ressie at 180 days..
When the time came to eat, she wasn't feeling very good..
So our choices were
- make her sit through the meal or
-be charged $60 For missing our ressie to take her back to the room..

We gave her the choice as I knew we wouldn't be able to get a ressie for any other day of our trip.. She choose to suffer through it, cuz she really wanted to see it.. She spent the whole meal with her head on my lap, didn't touch her food.. And an hour after we left she was feeling much better and ate a whole adult meal from starlight cafe...

In this cases disney punishes those parents who try to "go with the flow"

I hate to hear about them yelilng at a CM, but when WDW shows commercials where someone can just waltz up to the front desk and getting their way magically, then I would have to think that WDW is partially to blame as well. This lady probably thought she could do the same thing at the park.

AND how nutso would she have been if someone had said exactly that??? Oh man!

I think that commercial is one of the worst disney has done..
It just sets a unrealistic bar.. Other commercials they have done are clearly fantasy or are not out of the relem of possiblties, but this one I can see people thinking that's how disney really is..

I know people shouldn't believe everything they see on TV.. However when advertising a product say "a Big Mac" it may not look the same, but you still getting a Big Mac that looks close..

With this disney commercial... NO guest can get that kinda of treatment..
So why advertise it??

 

[kittyab]

Well if I couldn't get a adr or fast pass I didn't take it out on a CM, I blamed myself for not planning better. I think the CM's try their best to accommodate guests but they are not miracle workers. I work with the public every day, I know how tough it can be when you can't make everyone happy. There is reasonable and there is unreasonable.

 

[SparklePixie]

The cm in that commercial had wings? I've only seen it once or twice in passing, wasn't really paying attention, and didn't see the wings. Obviously I know enough to know the commercial wasn't realistic, but I can see how someone could miss details like wings if they aren't really paying attention.

Yes, they show Flora with wings.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I thought the wings in that commercial were cute, and subtle, perhaps on purpose. And definitely, no adult would expect that a front desk CM would have wings LOL.

But the things that they were asking to do were real and she was nodding saying she could get them those things. That's what is highly misleading about it.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I thought the wings in that commercial were cute, and subtle, perhaps on purpose. And definitely, no adult would expect that a front desk CM would have wings LOL.

But the things that they were asking to do were real and she was nodding saying she could get them those things. That's what is highly misleading about it.

I also would wonder how many non Disney people would pick up on the "flora" reference with the cm who had wings

 

[Mickfarland4]

Well I will beg to disagree to an extent...I do think attitude is important when dealing with anything BUT there are times that WDW messes up and they need to own that and people can, should, and not be belittled for feeling disappointed when they spent a good chunk of change at this location. Yes you can control weather etc but there are many things WDW can control, like having enough buses at closing or something like that.

It amazes me that so many are willing to let WDW slide or tell people to lower their expectations. No other company seems to get this slack. If I had something wrong at any other hotel chain, most would complain, for some reason at WDW, you are just suppose to just be happy to be there. If a mechanic didnt fix my car right, I would be disappointed and ask them to fix it again. But at WDW people seem to think they can do now wrong and people should not complain when something doesnt go right. People need to express their disappoint, frustration, and both positive and negative feedback, so they as a company can improve.

No one should yell at a CM but they do need to complain and get a resolution if WDW messes up.

Oh, I wasn't talking about mistakes Disney may make, I meant people just letting their vacations be ruined by expectations of crowds, weather, etc. that have nothing to do with the company. Maybe that wasn't clear. If Disney screws something up, then yes, of course they should fix it.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I am at WDW now. Yesterday, a woman (youngish grandma, in her 50s) was freaking out on the FP+ line at TS Midway Mania. She also proceeded to try and get her whole family riled up. Her gripe?? It began when the CMs were sorting the line for odd and even groups (which is a little weird, I will admit). She kept saying, but WE HAVE FP+! This woman had her family disobey the CM and get on the wrong line, and the CM came after them, and made them scoot under or climb over the fencing back to the even side. I quietly explained that once past the second scanner point, that the lines merged, and that FP was no longer relevant. That the other guests waited over 45 minutes before the merge, and that she avoided that. And, I said, we had FP+ too. She kept saying, "BUT WE HAVE FPs!! What is the point if we have to WAAIIT?!?" I then added to another member of her family, that they are really fastER passes, sometimes, not FAST passes, lol.

People are nuts sometimes.

 

[kittyab]

I am at WDW now. Yesterday, a woman (youngish grandma, in her 50s) was freaking out on the FP+ line at TS Midway Mania. She also proceeded to try and get her whole family riled up. Her gripe?? It began when the CMs were sorting the line for odd and even groups (which is a little weird, I will admit). She kept saying, but WE HAVE FP+! This woman had her family disobey the CM and get on the wrong line, and the CM came after them, and made them scoot under or climb over the fencing back to the even side. I quietly explained that once past the second scanner point, that the lines merged, and that FP was no longer relevant. That the other guests waited over 45 minutes before the merge, and that she avoided that. And, I said, we had FP+ too. She kept saying, "BUT WE HAVE FPs!! What is the point if we have to WAAIIT?!?" I then added to another member of her family, that they are really fastER passes, sometimes, not FAST passes, lol.

People are nuts sometimes.

You would think at her age she should know how to behave better.

 

[BroganMc]

I am at WDW now. Yesterday, a woman (youngish grandma, in her 50s) was freaking out on the FP+ line at TS Midway Mania. She also proceeded to try and get her whole family riled up. Her gripe?? It began when the CMs were sorting the line for odd and even groups (which is a little weird, I will admit). She kept saying, but WE HAVE FP+! This woman had her family disobey the CM and get on the wrong line, and the CM came after them, and made them scoot under or climb over the fencing back to the even side. I quietly explained that once past the second scanner point, that the lines merged, and that FP was no longer relevant. That the other guests waited over 45 minutes before the merge, and that she avoided that. And, I said, we had FP+ too. She kept saying, "BUT WE HAVE FPs!! What is the point if we have to WAAIIT?!?" I then added to another member of her family, that they are really fastER passes, sometimes, not FAST passes, lol.

People are nuts sometimes.

I don't understand. Where were the CMs doing the sorting of odd/even parties? Was this at the FP/Standby merge (just before the steps), or another place?

I use a wheelchair so TSMM can frequently be irritating to me. I get sent up that side ramp to wait for boarding. (You can see the area when you enter FP+ and look through the window in the wall.) They alternate a 6-seater vehicle (that can take wheelchairs) and 8-seater vehicle (for all walk-on transfers). The queue they have yo wait in is actually narrow for wheelchair/ECV guests. What gets annoying is when they try to fill up every spot in whichever vehicle returns for loading first. Guests will be asked to step aside, squeeze up or exit the line entirely to let people behind them board if it fills up the right vehicle. Usually that means the wheelchair guest is asked to wait longer to let transfers board. I'm hoping they correct this with the third track. Separate the transfers from the wheelies and dedicate the one vehicle to wheelie guests.

 

[BroganMc]

As for blaming Disney for false advertising, only thing I really fault them for is all their MagicBand/FP+ promotion that makes you think you can change your FP+ schedule during the day of your visit. It appears on their ads as well as their TV channels at the resorts. The ability to do that left as soon as FP+ was open to every guest. Now the attractions you can switch your FP+ to are not busy that day and don't need any FP. The ones that do have long 50+ minute waits are booked solid 30-60 days in advance.

My vacation style is much more relaxing. I go where my whims take me. This switch to massive amounts of planning irritates me so much I refuse to do it now. WDW's reliance on it makes me far less enamored with the place. Explains why my last trip we went to Universal more.

 

[anniemae]

I am at WDW now. Yesterday, a woman (youngish grandma, in her 50s) was freaking out on the FP+ line at TS Midway Mania. She also proceeded to try and get her whole family riled up. Her gripe?? It began when the CMs were sorting the line for odd and even groups (which is a little weird, I will admit). She kept saying, but WE HAVE FP+! This woman had her family disobey the CM and get on the wrong line, and the CM came after them, and made them scoot under or climb over the fencing back to the even side. I quietly explained that once past the second scanner point, that the lines merged, and that FP was no longer relevant. That the other guests waited over 45 minutes before the merge, and that she avoided that. And, I said, we had FP+ too. She kept saying, "BUT WE HAVE FPs!! What is the point if we have to WAAIIT?!?" I then added to another member of her family, that they are really fastER passes, sometimes, not FAST passes, lol.

People are nuts sometimes.

While it was wrong of her to throw a fit instead of asking the CM to explain it to her, it is a little confusing. At the first set of steps they put odd numbered groups of FP people to the right, and evens to the left, with the SB line. I have to admit it ticked me off the first time they did it to us and we were merged with the SB people. That line was noticeably longer and slower and FP folks with odd numbered parties just breezed past us while we were stuck in the SB line. When we finally made it to the steps leading down, we were in a thick group of SB people, while FP people kept walking right past us and onto the ride. It was annoying.

 

[Alicatt]

I think the only thing you have to do is make ADRs. But I wouldn't just show up at my local restaurant without making a reservation. Why would anyone think this would be different? I did also make FP+ last time and knew to do it even though I hadn't been to WDW in 15 years. If I hadn't though, I probably would have been fine. I rode most of the rides with out them and blew off a few of them and chose to ride the ride another time. I made some the day of at the kiosk. We were six people and it was Memorial Day (and Star Wars) weekend. It really wasn't a big deal. The only really long line (more than 30 min. actual wait) was SDMT, which was soft opening, and the rides at Universal. I didn't shell out the extra money at Universal for their fast pass, since I was mostly interested in the Harry Potter stuff and that's not included no matter what exorbitant price you pay.

 

[anniemae]

We never make reservations at local restaurants. I didn't realize people even did that anymore, unless it's a holiday dinner. Sometimes we do the call ahead seating, but not to make a reservation.

I think with Disney the thing is that you are making reservations sooooooo far in advance that you have no way of knowing what you will be feeling or if you will be hungry etc. Like others have said, you can make all the plans months in advance, but they can go up in smoke if someone gets sick, you are simply not hungry, you are too tired to make the trek to the restaurant, kids are too cranky and you need to go back to the hotel etc. Then you get hit with the cancel fee.

 

[SparklePixie]

I think the only thing you have to do is make ADRs. But I wouldn't just show up at my local restaurant without making a reservation. Why would anyone think this would be different? I did also make FP+ last time and knew to do it even though I hadn't been to WDW in 15 years. If I hadn't though, I probably would have been fine. I rode most of the rides with out them and blew off a few of them and chose to ride the ride another time. I made some the day of at the kiosk. We were six people and it was Memorial Day (and Star Wars) weekend. It really wasn't a big deal. The only really long line (more than 30 min. actual wait) was SDMT, which was soft opening, and the rides at Universal. I didn't shell out the extra money at Universal for their fast pass, since I was mostly interested in the Harry Potter stuff and that's not included no matter what exorbitant price you pay.

We never make reservations at local restaurants, unless it is Mother's Day or a similar holiday. The only place I make dinner reservations is at Disney, and I still find it annoying. It should be first come, first served, like it used to be.

 

[Angel Ariel]

But I wouldn't just show up at my local restaurant without making a reservation. Why would anyone think this would be different?

As was discussed earlier in the thread, this is not something everyone has to do to visit their local restaurants. We do not need to make reservations to go to any restaurant that we've brought DD to since she was born 3 years ago. We live in a very populated area and there are more than enough restaurants to meet the demand, so there's no need to make reservations and we don't wait more than 10-15 mins to sit down.

Are there restaurants that are more adult-only/upscale that we would need to make reservations for? Sure, those options exist. Even then, though, they don't need to be made far in advance, so I can absolutely see how people wouldn't think to start booking ADRs at 6 months out.