Just Back - Extremely Disappointed

[Colleen27]

NOt to make this political, but, If you want to know why toilets don't flush anymore....just look at your government.

For awhile, toilet smuggling was a good business. (from what I've heard) ((probably still is))

That's a cop out. A well designed low water use toilet will get the job done.

Signed,
Proud owner of a low-flow toilet that will flush legos and hot wheels with ease

 

[moon]

yikes...and I was hoping to plan a last minute surprise trip to stay onsite at a value resort for the 1st time at the end of October. Maybe I'll be rethinking were our money will be going.

Just sharing my experience here -We stayed at a Value from 8/31 to 9/5, (All SS) and our experience couldn't have been better. From the condition of the resort and our room, to the kind, courteous and helpful CMs and great Mousekeeping (animal towels every day) we received wonderful service.

It's surprising to me that there are those kind of problems with the deluxe hotels, while the little value did an outstinding job treating us.

 

[Colleen27]

We were there 9/28-10/4. Food and Wine began 9/25. That's why I wondered about F&W being the cause for the crowds rather than FD.

It is likely a combination of both - the week that free dining overlaps F&W tends to be really popular with those of us "in the know", and every year more and more people catch on. I have to admit, between the recent crowd and weather reports, I'm kind of glad we ended up postponing. I can do hot and I can do crowded, but not both at the same time!

 

[loveysbydesign]

Just sharing my experience here -We stayed at a Value from 8/31 to 9/5, (All SS) and our experience couldn't have been better. From the condition of the resort and our room, to the kind, courteous and helpful CMs and great Mousekeeping (animal towels every day) we received wonderful service.

It's surprising to me that there are those kind of problems with the deluxe hotels, while the little value did an outstinding job treating us.

Thanks for the reassurance!

 

[VAN]

We were at Pop Century 9/25-10/3 and agree with previous poster that the attractions were pretty much a walk-on until 11:00-12:00 and then things got busy.

This is what I think happens during the Free Dining period. Before Labor Day it is crowded with families trying to go before school starts ... then it dies down for 2-3 weeks ... picks up big-time with the F&W Festival and the MNSSHP.

I noticed lots of locals attending the F&W Festival, especially on the weekends.

Now, my thinking in scheduling our visit for the last week of Free Dining ( ... yes, I know FD continues into Oct, but I signed up for the original FD plan) is that the later in September there will be cooler temps. (Not this year..LOL) The F&W Festival is a bonus.

So I thinking that is also what a lot of other people do as well - hence, the crowds for late September/early October.

 

[Scott MC]

We were there August 19-24, during the FD promotion, and other than one EMH night at MK, we didn't feel like the crowds were too bad at all. With the exceptions of the usual culprits, (TSM, Peter Pan, Soarin'), the lines were all reasonable, and the above listed rides were doable if you were willing to get to the parks early.

 

[vicb]

To the OP, Trishtack... I just wanted to say that having a disabled husband can not be an easy life and you are very brave to tackle such a big vacation as WDW. I too am sorry your trip was not made easier by the Poly staff, shame on them. Hopefully things will be better for you in your future travels.

 

[dinatwin]

To the OP, Trishtack... I just wanted to say that having a disabled husband can not be an easy life and you are very brave to tackle such a big vacation as WDW. I too am sorry your trip was not made easier by the Poly staff, shame on them. Hopefully things will be better for you in your future travels.

My thoughts excatly!!

 

[listener 76]

My niece is a CM and when we asked about the Poly CM "malaise" and general ignorance, she very diplomatically redirected to a general statement that when the parks have an empty period (such as the first two or three weeks in Sept) and then the crowds come back, some CM's have an attitude of "mild resentment" about the increased work load. She thinks this is related to the Disney cutbacks on service buses, CM food service, etc. She said some CM"s love being there and for others "it's just a job, so you see more attitude when it gets busy".

Thinking back on it, our visit (9/25-10/4) was as busy as the stay my son and I did for two days in the second week of July. The first half of the vacation was also just as hot. The hoards come at 11 and then you wait 45-60 minutes for headliners and have to dodge strollers and people while you walk. Not as busy as peak, but hardly the reports we were reading about mid Aug through mid Sept.

I agree...it's a deadly combo of F&W with FD! It was still a good time for us.

 

[TGaines107]

That was truly unfortunate and you get a lot of sympathy here. We've been down numerous times throughout the years and have stayed at many different hotels on and off property. We have issues from time to time but dont let it spoil the fun. Case in point, when we went down at the end of August and stayed at Port Orleans Riverside, we had the Dining Plan. Well sure enough, we're not in the system and cant eat our first night down there. My wife immediately takes off, looks for the first person with an earpiece in their ear that might look like management material, pulls them aside and says I have a problem and I need help. Simple as that. Has worked every time somethings come up at hotels, in the parks, whatever. You gotta find the person who can get things done. If that person doesnt know jack, move on to the next. Dont make a scene, just use that simple sentence. They always come through to take care of the issue. Remember, always look for the guy with earpiece!

 

[Mousecat]

I am sorry to hear about your struggle. It seems you had enough on your plate and really didn't need the additional burdens.

I agree that service overall is lacking. I just returned and stayed at AKL. I was a solo traveller who booked a savannah view room. The front desk clerk tried to stick me in a standard view room stating that all I would care about is the bed and a shower and that families would appreciate the view more than I would. He would "do me a favor" and give me a partial view room and said I should be happy with that.

Once in the room, a call to the General Manager and my TA made things right the next day. But I never got reimbursed for the first night even though I paid for the view and the hotel said they would not take any comments unless I went online once the trip was over.

Thanks goodness Loew's runs the hotels over at Universal.

 

[Morganpics]

I am sorry to hear about your struggle. It seems you had enough on your plate and really didn't need the additional burdens.

I agree that service overall is lacking. I just returned and stayed at AKL. I was a solo traveller who booked a savannah view room. The front desk clerk tried to stick me in a standard view room stating that all I would care about is the bed and a shower and that families would appreciate the view more than I would. He would "do me a favor" and give me a partial view room and said I should be happy with that.

Once in the room, a call to the General Manager and my TA made things right the next day. But I never got reimbursed for the first night even though I paid for the view and the hotel said they would not take any comments unless I went online once the trip was over.Thanks goodness Loew's runs the hotels over at Universal.

You handled that WAAY better than I would have. That front desk clerk would be cleaning my shoe prints off his shirt. He should be fired.
I would have found myself probably in the back seat of a patrol car.

 

[MCourtney]

Calling the front desk from your room gets you routed to a call center that answers with the name of your resort. NO calls placed from the room actually go to the front desk.

When we have had even minor issues, one of us goes to the lobby to talk to someone in person. We have found it's useless or causes long delays if we phone, since the mesage has to be relayed. If a CM can't help at the Guest Services or Front Desk, then it's time to politely ask for the manager on duty right then and there. They really do their best to accomodate.

That is a wonderful tip - thank you!

 

[MCourtney]

4.5 gallons to flush what used to take a single 3 gallon flush.

:

 

[JohnneyB]

I totally agree with the OP. It has always been my dream to stay at the Poly. We were there for eight nights in July, and I couldn't have been more disappointed. My list included: toilet that took two or three attempts to flush properly, peeling paint in the bathroom, broken air conditioner unit that maintenance tried to fix at 10:30 pm (we have a two year old), the "fix" included draining water out of the system that soaked the entire entryway (the maintenance tech said that our room had the same problem the week before), CMs who had no knowledge of transportation schedules, CMs in golf carts driving so fast that we literally had to jump off of the sidewalk, and an incredibly rushed experience at O'Hana. We're Disney fans, and we'll be back in March, but for us, the Poly was not a good experience and not worth the money.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) There is a secret that most guests do not know.
2) The current manager mantra is "Every guest will have their best WDW vacation EVER!".
3) Whenever there is a TRUE problem, ask for a manager, and start a NICE talk with
. . . "Not to complain, but, this is not my best WDW vacation ever . . . "
4) Then, VERY POLITELY explain the problem.
5) Managers get scored on how many problems go over their head.
6) They do not want that to happen.
7) If you yell and scream, they can reasonably explain not helping.
8) If you are pleasant, the next level manager takes the first manager to task.

NOTE: If you do not get a good resolution from the first manager, politely ask for the phone number of his/her boss. Tell the first manager that you are being quite pleasant and just want resolution, and feel his/her boss can help you. Also, remember that a good resolution may not be the answer you want to hear. But, look at the answer and see if it meets your needs, not necessarily your wants.

 

[tiredsigh]

I was a solo traveller who booked a savannah view room. The front desk clerk tried to stick me in a standard view room stating that all I would care about is the bed and a shower and that families would appreciate the view more than I would. He would "do me a favor" and give me a partial view room and said I should be happy with that.

Let me see here. I paid for a Savannah view room because that's what I want BUT maybe a standard view will be just fine....

These are the situations where my husband suddenly is because I get a very calm voice when I am angry. Very controlled and very even toned.

 

[seashoreCM]

I'm not so sure the OP's case is all that bad, although some fixes should have been made as soon as the problem was reported (for example the toilet and the mold).

I don't think there are any rooms with both a roll in shower (for the wheelchair bound) and a bathtub (for the rest of the family).

In really egregious cases, the guest should have been given a late checkout in the bad room to match the transfer to the new room.

Also compensation for the delay in re-accommodating after the problems were brought to the hotel management's attention.

When you eliminate the bad room from the inventory calculations and revenue calculations (which is a correct move) then there is really no great loss to the hotel.

Involuntary downgrades should be reimbursed for, involuntary upgrades should be complimentary.

A lot of Disney room toilets make a sound suggestive of a pressure capsule inside the tank used to create a water jet and get solid matter up and over the hump down inside. If the incoming water pressure isn't great enough, the capsule does not fill properly and has neither the pressure nor the water volume to perform the flush. Traditional toilet tanks let enough water into the bowl so gravity does the flush. The Crush&Gusher slide at Typhoon Lagoon uses water jets to get you over the hump although that is not enough. You have to have enough momentum coming down the previous hump as well.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

I got a little tired of the cheap cookie packs too -- that was the most common egg-free offering for my DS3 -- is that the only dessert that does not have egg in it? I learned to push back for something nicer. There's lots of desserts they can whip up quickly with no egg. If nothing else, a nice bowl of sweet strawberries would suit fine....

While on my trip i went to poly for breakfast at kona cafe (this was like four days before your trip). we go to the MK to find out the monorail was down and we had to take a bus. well we get there and after breakfast go downstairs and the before going back up to the station we ask 3 CMs if the system was up. NO ONE knew the monorail had been down. i mean how do they not no that the monorail was down for like 2 hours? the staff there seemed the least friendliest and informed and i was shocked since it was a deluxe resort.

im sorry to hear you had so many problems. i was under the impression that disney went above and beyond for special needs. i have food allergies and believe it or not even after filling out all the forms they only offered me ice cream for dessert most of the time. even at my "signature" dining experience all they could do was give me the same prepacked brownie they sold all over WDW. i guess disney must be having internal issues meeting people's expectations.

 

[CoachBagFanatic]

I just returned and stayed at AKL. I was a solo traveller who booked a savannah view room. The front desk clerk tried to stick me in a standard view room stating that all I would care about is the bed and a shower and that families would appreciate the view more than I would. He would "do me a favor" and give me a partial view room and said I should be happy with that.

Once in the room, a call to the General Manager and my TA made things right the next day. But I never got reimbursed for the first night even though I paid for the view and the hotel said they would not take any comments unless I went online once the trip was over.

Thanks goodness Loew's runs the hotels over at Universal.

First off you definitely handled this situation very well. I on the other hand would have never stepped foot in that room. If I pay for a certain location/view that is what I want and that's what I shall receive. I can see if you did not pay for it but that's not the case. Second, the CM had no right saying what he said. That is very poor customer service and a Manager would have been called at that point.

OT ~ We love the PBH.

1) There is a secret that most guests do not know.
2) The current manager mantra is "Every guest will have their best WDW vacation EVER!".
3) Whenever there is a TRUE problem, ask for a manager, and start a NICE talk with
. . . "Not to complain, but, this is not my best WDW vacation ever . . . "
4) Then, VERY POLITELY explain the problem.
5) Managers get scored on how many problems go over their head.
6) They do not want that to happen.
7) If you yell and scream, they can reasonably explain not helping.
8) If you are pleasant, the next level manager takes the first manager to task.

NOTE: If you do not get a good resolution from the first manager, politely ask for the phone number of his/her boss. Tell the first manager that you are being quite pleasant and just want resolution, and feel his/her boss can help you. Also, remember that a good resolution may not be the answer you want to hear. But, look at the answer and see if it meets your needs, not necessarily your wants.

Rusty ~ I just love your posts. They are very informative and too the point. Thank you for all of the great information and the help that you provide.