Mislead , misinformed , and just plain lied to...

[Jennasis]

Mistreated? No. Misinformed...yep. They did botch the first few days IMO as the attempted to figure out on the fly how to manage the attraction. We were lucky. We were very informed (not by Disney...but by reading day one reports on the DIS). We went on DAY 2...showed up at 5:15am. Got in at like 6:03 and got in boarding group 11. We rode the attraction THREE TIMES that day, before they clamped down on boarding groups allowing only 1 ride per visitor.

I never rely on Disney itself for my info. Been burned before. I look for real time first person accounts. Like here on the DIS. A life saver!

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

thanks for sharing
my take
lesson behold
when Disney first rolls something out beware
the gondolas and now this

 

[zoo2tycoon]

If you feel the need to write to Disney management. Write a brief email almost bullet point. Don’t accuse the CMs oflying and leave out emotions. Start at lowest level- allow a week to reply then move up. Don’t send to head honcho first. Be polite. In other words don’t write email like your post!

Exactly what do you want them to do?

 

[captain america 2003]

You think 12/5 is Disney's fault, and I think it's your own.

The only day since the opening of RotR that I fault Disney is the day of morning EMH. That was handled poorly. However, you got to ride that day, and got an early BG.

So you're upset because you got a free one day park hopper and got to ride RotR? Seems like it actually worked out quite well for you.
[/QUOT
Fault ? I have no fault . I did not lie to my guest . I did not fail to share important information with my guests before the day of opening an attraction I knew would have a huge demand for . As I stated before we knew what was going on and were prepared to wait in line . We also realized it was possible we would not get to ride that day .

 

[captain america 2003]

If you feel the need to write to Disney management. Write a brief email almost bullet point. Don’t accuse the CMs oflying and leave out emotions. Start at lowest level- allow a week to reply then move up. Don’t send to head honcho first. Be polite. In other words don’t write email like your post!

Exactly what do you want them to do?

I want them to change the way they handle these things in the future . (Mickey's Runaway Railway)

 

[TarotFox]

Runaway Railway doesn't have an even sort of comparable level of hype. They probably won't even have to think about doing something like boarding groups.

 

[Jennasis]

MMRR will most likely be like Slinky Dog or FoP...very popular with waits of 2 hours or more at peaks, and will likely wind up a tier 1 FP. Boarding groups not necessary. Rise of the Resistance is a completely different animal.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

So you're saying if you knew about the VQ you would have shown up earlier? I find that unlikely, as no one on 12/5 could have known how quickly the VQ was going to fill up, and you wouldn't have either. In all likelihood, you still would have shown up at the time you chose to show up. You state that you were well aware you might not get to ride, and you didn't. Expectation met. If the VQ wasn't in effect that day, your outcome would have been the same. Then Disney gave you a FP and park hoppers, something they didn't have to do.

You were not lied to. The park was opened early for safety reasons, which is within Disney's right and ethical obligation. They had no obligation to share with the public how they were going to handle the queue.

To even compare the opening of RotR to MMRR means that you did not fully grasp the magnitude of the opening of RotR. That is not Disney's fault.

Your EMH day complaint doesn't hold any water, as you actually benefitted from it, and were able to secure an early BG. If you felt it was that wrong, you should have refused to enter any BG under moral duty.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

There is a big stretch between being misinformed and being lied to. One implies the CM MADE A MISTAKE. Given the uncertainty going on and the rather mass confusion in general, it's a very reasonable thing to happen.

The other implies intent of the CM to deliberately provide you false information. I challenge that. To what end would they do that? How would it benefit the CM to deliberately lie to you?

It's far more likely they were stressed dealing with a lot of people and a very popular ride and were towing the management line (which is appropriate under the situation).

You gain my sympathy when you say you were misinformed and it put a dampener in your plans. I get that. However when you start accusing CM's of purposely trying to hurt you (which is the reason for a lie), you lose any sympathy you gained and then some.

I would reconsider before you write any letters to anyone. Tone down the rhetoric, or your letter would be thrown out. As it is, I am finding it hard to feel bad about your experience.

 

[_19disnA]

I don't think there is anything wrong in writing Disney to express your concern with the situation you described. However, trying to guess emails of people at Disney may not work, since the format isn't necessarily first.last@........

Someone like Bob, might also go by Bobby, Rob, Robert....etc. Some people use the middle initial in their email, some do not. With a common name like John Smith.............there are probably other letters or numbers added by the company to make each one unique. Each company probably has their own standards on how email addresses are formatted. Invalid email addresses will most likely bounce when you try to send them.

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

We arrived at the park about 7:20 last Monday. I was aware that they opened at 6:30 & figured we wouldn’t even try to ride it. I wanted to ride toy story without long waits so I figured we’d better arrive early.
Once in I tried for a boarding pass & got 48. We then went & rode toy story multiple times with no wait. Our boarding came up later that morning & we rode with just a short wait in line.
Everything was getting long wait times now & we left the park after lunch.
The only way I knew the park let you in by 6:30 was from this forum. I even knew they were letting people into the park at 6:37 that morning while we were still at our room. I really didn’t even plan to ride as I figured it’d be nuts there.
The boarding passes seem to work lots better than a long line to wait in. To be fair to the ones that don’t know the park is open earlier it’d be more fair to start doing boarding at the regular announced park opening time. Boarding passes are gone by that time.
The way they did it the process goes smoothly, the wait in line is short , the ride was awesome & I'm not even a Star Wars fan.

 

[captain america 2003]

So you're saying if you knew about the VQ you would have shown up earlier? I find that unlikely, as no one on 12/5 could have known how quickly the VQ was going to fill up, and you wouldn't have either. In all likelihood, you still would have shown up at the time you chose to show up. You state that you were well aware you might not get to ride, and you didn't. Expectation met. If the VQ wasn't in effect that day, your outcome would have been the same. Then Disney gave you a FP and park hoppers, something they didn't have to do.

You were not lied to. The park was opened early for safety reasons, which is within Disney's right and ethical obligation. They had no obligation to share with the public how they were going to handle the queue.

To even compare the opening of RotR to MMRR means that you did not fully grasp the magnitude of the opening of RotR. That is not Disney's fault.

Your EMH day complaint doesn't hold any water, as you actually benefitted from it, and were able to secure an early BG. If you felt it was that wrong, you should have refused to enter any BG under moral duty.

Look , I'm not sure why you are being so negative and accusatory towards me . I did not ask Disney for anything . I do not expect any sort of compensation from Disney . You were not there with me when I spoke to these CM's . I was lied to . I was misinformed . I did not want the 1 day PH ticket . I did not want to have to go back the next day to ride . My purpose in writing this was to let people know what my experience was and to hopefully get Disney to change the way they handle these situations going forward . And yes, if we had been notified in advance about the boarding group system and how it would work (5-7 days) we would have adapted our plans and gotten to the park much earlier .

 

[TarotFox]

If they hadn't done boarding groups, they would have still closed the line by the time you showed up past 8.

 

[DavidNYC]

Nearly everything you said happened is pretty standard operating procedure for new rides. The ONLY thing that I think Disney did wrong was that one day where they explicitly said what time they would open boarding groups and then opened them earlier. Park opening times always subject to change based on crowds but what time they opened the boarding groups was completely in their control (although I'm sure they were worried what would have happened if they opened them that late with so many people already there - they should have stayed silent on boarding group opening times - first week of an attraction it's better to stay silent and go with the flow than give out false information).

But a free 1-day hopper and a FP is pretty darn good as far as compensation goes.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

Look , I'm not sure why you are being so negative and accusatory towards me . I did not ask Disney for anything . I do not expect any sort of compensation from Disney . You were not there with me when I spoke to these CM's . I was lied to . I was misinformed . I did not want the 1 day PH ticket . I did not want to have to go back the next day to ride . My purpose in writing this was to let people know what my experience was and to hopefully get Disney to change the way they handle these situations going forward . And yes, if we had been notified in advance about the boarding group system and how it would work (5-7 days) we would have adapted our plans and gotten to the park much earlier .

I never once accused you of anything. I think you are letting emotions overshadow logic, and I think you have to take some personal responsibility for 12/5.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We were at WDW from Dec 4th through 9th and would have to agree that Disney mislead and misinformed guests regarding when the park opened, when the ride was going to open, and when the boarding groups would be passed out. There was even a sign listing opening times for the park, the ride and the boarding groups in the lobby of our resort on one of the days. If I had believed it I never would have gotten to ride RotR on Friday.

I had heard from a cast member at MK on opening day that they were using boarding groups for RotR. We had been to WDW for the opening of SWGE so we were familiar with how the boarding groups worked. I went on the DIS to read up on it and found out about how the park was opening earlier than posted and the groups were going fast. We walked over from the Beach Club two hours before the posted park opening on Friday and got a boarding group. But the majority of guests wouldn't have known anything about it.

I understand why they are doing what they are doing but I think there needs to be a better way to handle it.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Yeah I agree with some others. I don't think you were lied to-that certainly implies deliberate misinformation given. I do understand the frustration with misinformation--isn't that always frustrating?

I think its generous of Disney to give the 1 day park hopper plus the FP but I also completely understand that may limit the actual benefit to any one guest; it is still something quite of a big bonus.

I would also say regardless of whatever info a CM told you showing up close and even worse after a park opening for the first day of any new ride (and most especially a very very anticipated ride) is a disaster waiting to happen. It's nice that you were able to join the boarding groups despite the prior misinformation of being told they were full for the day but I would have already put it in my mind that it was highly unlikely that I would be riding the ride that day.

I will also point out what we may call misinformation may actually be accurate information to the CM. You can only say what you know. It's entirely possible that CM you spoke to was told that all boarding groups were full and they went with that.

Additionally the wording of "were told by the CM there that access to/for ROTR was already gone for the day (HS closed at 10:00pm that night) . As we pulled away and entered the parking lot I told my wife that can't be true ...they're not using FP+ so I don't know what she could mean." implies you were completely unaware of how Disney was handling this ride (especialy the bolded part). I'm not meaning you are supposed to know 100% everything there is to know about Disney and their procedures but I do think that may have led to more frustration you felt. Still though showing up that late (and yes it was very late IMO) on the first day of an opening ride is still as I said a disaster waiting to happen.

OP I do empathize with you but I don't agree about being lied to.

 

[o4me2playn]

My wife and I returned late Tuesday night from our trip that ran from 12/2 - 12/10 . Overall a very enjoyable trip that was marred only by the way information was given to us by Disney in regards to HS and ROTR opening procedures . We knew it would probably be a long wait in line to get on this highly anticipated attraction and were ready to do so . Park hours for HS on 12/5 (ROTR opening day) were 8am- 10pm . We arrived at the HS parking toll booths at 8:49am and were told by the CM there that access to/for ROTR was already gone for the day (HS closed at 10:00pm that night) . As we pulled away and entered the parking lot I told my wife that can't be true ...they're not using FP+ so I don't know what she could mean . As we approached bag check outside the park we saw the 1st of many signs we would see that day advising all that all boading groups for ROTR for the day had been filled and that was the only way to ride the attraction . While waiting to ride ST I decided to check MDE app for information about ROTR and discovered that boarding groups were still available ...so I clicked on "Join boarding group"and was assigned group 152 ! Fast forward to about 8:30pm , after seeing F! I checked my phone to see what the status of the boarding groups was. It was then that I recieved the message informing me that they were sorry but they would not be getting to my boarding group and that for the inconvenience they were giving us FP to ride ROTR tomorrow 12/6 as well as one day PH passes . A very nice offer but we already had plans that we did not want to change . So at the end of the night we stopped at Guest Relations to verify that the FP for ROTR had to be used the next day or if they could allow us to use them on Sunday 12/8 when we would be back at HS . A very nice Guest Relations supervisor told me that they could not switch the FP to 12/8 , that they would have to be used tomorrow if we wanted to use them . She then went on to tell me that she talked personally to an Imagineer who had worked on the ride who told her himself that that wasn't possible to do . I told her that doesn't make sense ...the ride has nothing to do with how guests are put in line for the attraction . She maintained that it just wasn't possible . I then asked her when people were let into the park and when were rides open . She said she'd have to check because she didn't come in to work until after 7:00am and wasn't sure . She then went to ask someone and came back and told me she thinks people were first let into the park around 6:30 as a safety matter but that rides weren't open until a while later ...probably close to the 8:00am scheduled park opening time . After leaving the park , back in our room I checked several unofficial WDW websites and confirmed what I thought...people had been let into the park about an hour earlier than what I was told and that several rides were open and running at about 6:30am...much earlier than I was told . Jump ahead now to Saturday night 12/7 about 5:45pm and my wife and I are in AK when I get a message that EMH for 12/8 at HS has been extended by an extra hour 6 -8am and reguar park hours had changed from 9am to 8am . After finishing our day at AK we went back to our resort and stopped at the food court before going back to our room . There we saw signs posted advising guests about the hour changes and reminding us that ROTR was not available during EMH and it also implied that ROTR boarding groups would not be available to join until regular park hours began (8am) . A CM also handed out fliers with the same information on it . Sunday morning 12/8 I arrived at HS at about 6:45am and immediately opened the app and tried to join a boarding group . The app would not allow anyone to join a boarding group yet so I went and rode TOT ...all the while refreshing the app and attempting to join , to no avail , a boarding group . I moved on to RNR where I again tried in vain to join a boarding group ...until at 7:15am , 45 minutes prior to offficial park opening time , right before I boarded my "stretch limo" I was able to secure boarding group 6 ! Forgot to mention that I talked to two different CM's ,after first entering the park, who were giving out information about joining boarding groups for ROTR, that no one would be able to join a boarding group until official park opening at 8:00am . At the end of the day I went back to guest relations again and told them that I was disappointed and angry that Disney was intentionally lying to their resort guests as well as misleading and misinforming us . That Disney integrity apparently was out the window . Tuesday morning when checking out at our resort I spoke with a supervisor at the resort to again express my feelings regarding the way we had been mistreated , misinformed , and lied to . I asked for the name and address of the person who is the President of the WDW resort . This "Supervisor" struggled to think of the name and would not or could not give me an address or email to write to them .

 

[o4me2playn]

We were at WDW from Dec 4th through 9th and would have to agree that Disney mislead and misinformed guests regarding when the park opened, when the ride was going to open, and when the boarding groups would be passed out. There was even a sign listing opening times for the park, the ride and the boarding groups in the lobby of our resort on one of the days. If I had believed it I never would have gotten to ride RotR on Friday.

I had heard from a cast member at MK on opening day that they were using boarding groups for RotR. We had been to WDW for the opening of SWGE so we were familiar with how the boarding groups worked. I went on the DIS to read up on it and found out about how the park was opening earlier than posted and the groups were going fast. We walked over from the Beach Club two hours before the posted park opening on Friday and got a boarding group. But the majority of guests wouldn't have known anything about it.

I understand why they are doing what they are doing but I think there needs to be a better way to handle it.

You can always write to guestservices@waltdisneyworld.com
Deanna

 

[captain america 2003]

There's no debating these facts :
- Disney did not give advance notice that they would be using a boarding group system in order to experience this attraction
- all boarding groups had been filled long before official park opening time (which went on for days)
- on Sun. 12/8 told guests in the park during EMH that boarding groups could not be joined until 8:00am (official park opening time) but again made boarding groups available at 7:15am (which then became unavailable for the entire day, again before official park opening time)
- decided not to offer FP+ for this attraction (as of now)
- decided for some reason not to offer this as an attraction available during EMH
By deciding to handle this ...to quote them ,as well as many others, "game changing attraction" opening the way they did was a dis-service to their guests and very unDisney . I , as well as many others , fairly or unfairly , expect better from Disney . And thus upset and disappointed many who were not given information in advance , were not given a fair oppurtunity to join a boarding group and experience this attraction , and either lied to or mis-informed (you decide which) guests about when boarding groups would be available to join .