Just Say No to the Sports!

[ducklite]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. You should NEVER EVER expect WDW to do anything special for ANY occasion. If you want something special to happen, then plan it ahead and pay for it with the WDW Florist, Gifts of a Lifetime, Peggy, whatever it takes.

OP, the housekeeping issues were something you should have spoken up about right then and there, and I agree, no one should have housekeeping issues, IMHO it's unacceptable given the amount that WDW charges for rooms. But if you didn't speak up, didn't give them a chance to correct the problem, then it's really your fault as much as theirs.

If they were out of buttons, they were out of buttons. WDW does not automatically send a gift, balloons, or a card to everyone's room, there's no way they can do so. Towel animals should never be expected.

As a PP poster said, you paid for a room, not a birthday party. I think that all too often people get over-inflated expectations by reading these boards, thinking that everyone will get some magic. Unfortunately it doesn't happen that way, and the only way to guarantee magic at WDW is to arrange for it in advance--and pay for it.

 

[goofy4tink]

I'm sorry your trip didn't meet your expectations. But, again...I'll say to never expect those special, magical things to happen. If you want something special, plan for it and pay for it, yourself.
I have taken my dd to WDW twice for her birthay..her actual birthday was during the trip. Once when she was 6, at POR (then DxL) and then again last year at BWV for her 13th. Not one time did she receive anything out of the ordinary...well, not unless you count the things I paid for and planned for in advance). We have gotten towel animals on two of our 12 trips...while at POP we walked back to our room, looking at the towel animals in others' windows and nothing ever for us. Evidently our mousekeeper didn't know how to make 'em.
It's unfortunate that boards like these encourage others to have high expectations for those special magical happenings. It leads to major disappointments.

 

[december]

We were there last week, too, and had no problems. Ds10 is a sports fanatic, and we have stayed there twice (our only 2 trips). Last July we were there on his (9th) birthday, and we did get towel animals every day and a card and balloons on his birthday. This time we celebrated dd8's birthday, but her birthday was actually earlier in the month. I did not note it on her reservation, but paid to have feralpeg (a member of dis) decorate the room. It was a wonderful first night surprise for her.

We had a "new" baseball room, and it was great. I'm sorry things weren't good for you in the tennis section (we stayed there last year and really enjoyed it). I assumed no towel animals because they were swamped with guests. We were shorted towels and bathcloths twice (only got 2 for the 3 of us), but I called housekeeping and they immediately brought up more. The room was always clean.

We never waited over 5 minutes for a bus. I love that Sports is the first stop-that alone makes it my first choice. And I thought the Christmas touches in the main building were really nice.

We are hoping to go back next year, and ds has already put in his request for Sports! All the rooms should be rehabbed by Feb by the way.

 

[fan_of_small_world]

I would think that spending your birthday in WDW would be quite magical all by itself. Towel animals are cute, but pale in comparison to the fun of being in WDW.

I don't think a young boy would care one way or another if the desk clerk said "happy birthday" or not. Heck, I wouldn't care, and I'm quite a bit older, lol! And it CERTAINLY wouldn't make me refuse to ever stay at that resport again.

EXPECTING pixie dust kind of takes away from the magic of receiving it, don't you think?

 

[MyGoofy26]

The bad thing about this place is it sets the bar REALLY high for Disney. While it seems like everyone who celebrates some sort of special event gets gifts or extra attention, in reality the numbers are skewed. Most people don't come home and post, "Hey! Just got back from Disney and nothing happened!" And when people DO post that they just had a plain (if you can call a Disney trip plain!) ol' trip, people don't necessarily read it or absorb the info. We seek out the "interesting" things like upgrades, freebies, etc. and THAT'S what we remember.

One thing I wanted to mention, and I'm not posting this to flame you or anything since I wasn't there and don't know how you represented yourself or what the CMs attitudes were at the time. But when I was a CM, you could tell who expected special treatment. We were given a lot of latitude to do things for guests without permission from managers. So when we had the time to make something happen, we really wanted it to be extra special. When someone expects things to happen, it takes away a lot of the magic so everyone I knew would choose someone who truly was not expecting anything. I hate to say it, but the pixie dust goes both ways - the CMs feel so great about being able to do things for people. So if it's expected, then it sorta takes away the rush a bit. Just in reading your post about all of the contact about the birthdays, dads away in the military, etc. then I wonder if the CMs assumed you had expecations for certain things to be done (which you did) and since people with such high expectations can rarely be pleased so why bother.

 

[CanadianGuy]

I hate to say it, but the pixie dust goes both ways - the CMs feel so great about being able to do things for people. So if it's expected, then it sorta takes away the rush a bit.

Wow.. really need to see the CM perpsective on this.. thanks for that!

Knox

 

[evilqueenfan]

Unfortunately, I have to agree with the poor housekeeping services. We just returned from Sports last week. We have stayed there MANY times before and never had such bad housekeeping. We were there 8 nights in 2 rooms. The sheets were never changed in either room. It was hit or miss if clean towels were left. I called several times and received an apology but it never made the services any better. Floor was not vacuumed properly or not at all. We were in a newly renovated room, very much nicer than the old decor. We were quite surprised though to see that the mattresses are not new. In fact, one of our beds had a hole in the mattress. It was just very sad to see the lack of caring. We used to enjoy staying at Sports but as DH said, "never again!". I won't even go into the issue with some of our prescription medicine.

 

[lisa221]

I must be missing something when did this entitlement start at Disney? I'm in my 30s and never remember expecting things when I was visiting during my childhood. I just thought the magic was being able to go and experience a magical place.

I'm assuming towel animals came about once Disney got into the cruise industry because growing up and going on many Disney vacations that was never a staple and my last trip was in '99 and don't recall towel animals. The one time I did receive a gift every day while staying at the resort was when we did the Grand Plan and that was factored into the package.

I have to agree with the other posters if you are going during a special occasion and don't want to be disappointed arrange something yourself. I also agree that these boards build an expectation that most guest will never receive and only leaves you disappointed. I'll be taking my gram for her 88th birthday and first visit next December and will be arranging my own special treats for her. I don't feel Disney owes me anything because I chose to vacation there.

I hope your sons made memories that will last them a lifetime despite a few disappointments.

 

[Chipmunk89]

Thank you to all of those who lent a gracious ear and let me vent a little. Sometimes just having someone listen to you is all the pixie dust you need.

 

[Chipmunk89]

Did the boys get buttons at a park?

Yes, they did. Thanks for asking. The CMs at the parks were wonderful and very friendly!

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

We just got back from our trip(11/17-11/25) and i wil NEVER stay at the All Star Sports again. It is back to Pop for me. We were in the tennis (bldg 5) area. I believe the rooms were newly updated. I could smell fresh paint. But they did the room in such a hurry, that things that were glued to the walls were sliding down. Worst of all we had two boys celebrating their birthdays. Even though I faxed, and called, and told them in person this important information, they did NOTHING special for the boys. No special autographed Mickey photo, No special phone call, NOT EVEN A HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM THE CM. (Yeah, I just told her it was their birthday!!!!) When we asked for birthday pins, she said she couldn't find any. "Get them from the park, " is what she told us. Not wanting to get off to a bad start, I just smiled and went on my way. Next issue was mousekeeping. Horrible. No towel animals, just some wet pillow cases left in our room. Oh, by the way, they were NOT our pillowcases! YUK! On bright light at the Sports was Barb in the Gift Shop. She was wonderful. Thanks Barb!

Never again at the Sports. Pop here we come!!

Do you really think the boys cared whether or not an absolute stranger (i.e. a CM) wished them a happy birthday? I know mine wouldn't care nor would I fret about it. I think if YOU wanted to make someone's birthday special, then YOU should only rely on yourself. I am a great believer in the saying "if you want something done, do it yourself."

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . that was in my faxed, phoned and in person information . . .

1) Please do not fax.
2) They are seldom read by "Rooms" Cm's, and usually put them in File-13.
3) At times, they have the reverse effect.
4) CM's sometimes think the people faxing want special things or are mooching.
5) I have even seen less desirable rooms given to faxing-people.
6) Now, I am not saying this is what happened.
7) However, pixie dust is up to the individual CM, not a WDW policy or procedure.
8) But, you should have been able to get balloons and an autograph picture.

NOTE: There are hundreds, if not thousands, of special occasions, birthdays and anniversaries at WDW each and every day. If everyone got something special, there would not be enough time, CM's, or money. So, it is left up to the individual CM's to give pixie dust. About the only exception is getting an autograph picture and balloons (except at AKL-AKV). There are "Front Desk Runners" whose job it is to deliver items to rooms - but, not necessarily at a time or date.

 

[NMW]

I agree that the housekeeping issues should be resolved. However, I do not expect towel animals and I'd much rather have a really clean room than a towel animal!

I'm also fairly certain that it would be impossible for Disney to do something for every birthday, anniversary, etc. I mean, if you get something great, if not, at least you are still on vacation! If it would make or break my trip, I'd arrange for the stuff to be there myself. You can do that. I think some people don't know about it though. You can have all kinds of stuff delivered to your room and waiting for you-balloons, candy, cards signed by certain characters, flowers, etc. Our neighbor had pink and purple balloons, flowers and a card signed by some princesses delivered to the room for their daughter's birthday. They paid for it, but at least they knew it would be there.