phorsenuf
Not so New Rule author
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2003
- Messages
- 19,619
I was debating whether to post this or not but I figured I would.
I wrote Guest relations about some bad experinces we had on our last trip. Here's what I wrote (it's long) and I'll let you know if I get a reply.
I hope you don't find it petty...but I can take it!
To Whom it may concern,
I am writing this letter to tell you some experiences we had during our visit there from Feb 20-28. While we did have many wonderful times during our stay I can't help but write to tell you of some very bad incidences that occurred that really did taint things.
On Saturday, Feb 21, we went to Trails End for lunch. We absolutely love this place and is a must do every time we go. We were sitting at a table in front of the swinging doors that I believe lead into a beverage area (they are not the doors by the buffet). A server dropped a tray right in front of those doors and glass went flying. My son (who's back was to the door) then informed us that the glass that was sticking into his back was uncomfortable (he's 14 with a very wry sense of humor). I jumped up and went to look and sure enough there was glass. I brushed it off him and his chair and checked for any cuts. Thankfully there was nothing more than a little pin prick. The thing that really bothers me about the whole incident was nobody said anything to us. No "I'm sorrys, "are you OK", nothing. They just swept up the glass and went on. They knew he had been hit by the flying glass because a server asked if he had been hit when they saw me checking him out and brushing off his chair. Now I realize accidents happen, but I do believe a little more compassion should have been expressed. At the very least, a manager coming over to apologize.
Then on the 24th of Feb, I had PS's for the California Grill. I had called a week or so earlier because our party went from 5 to 3 so I wanted to give them a heads up about it. It turned out due to illness we were unable to go that night after all. I called first thing in the morning to inform them and when I did they told me my PS had already been canceled by me a couple weeks earlier! It appears that when I called to make the change in the number of people, they canceled it instead. Thank goodness we didn't end up going because if we had and there was no PS, I would have been very angry.
We stayed at All Star Movies (2 rooms) which was a nice place in all but I was rather disappointed in the cleanliness of the room. Upon arrival we found a glove in the corner of the room in the closet area. There were crumbs on the floor and under the beds and cobwebs on the ceiling. The dispenser leaked body wash into the tub and every time we came back to our room the drain was closed in the tub causing it to fill up. One day we came back and it was 1/2 full!
My biggest problem however was the problems I had being there being disabled. When I go there I use an ECV that I bring with me. I was so upset this trip by situations I encountered that made getting around and doing things difficult. One night we had to go from the Magic Kingdom to Wilderness lodge for my sons' birthday. When we went to the boat dock they informed us we would have to wait for a certain boat because there was only one that would accommodate us. They said it would be 15 minutes or so. I said no, I don't want to wait so we'll just take the bus. So we leave the boat dock and head to the busses only to then discover there are no busses. So back to the boat dock we go and wait. It would have been nice if the CM had told me there were no busses! Well, I got onto the boat and the CM told me and my MIL where to go with our ECV's (she had one too). We got on and in position and then we had to move because some lady with a fully extended double stroller (with nobody in it) couldn't turn the corner without hitting her front wheel. (for some reason she just couldn't lift her stroller up and over a bit). Since there was very little room and all the passengers were now on (there was no preloading) I got jammed in a corner and then a CM kept telling me I couldn't park there but I explained I was stuck and there was nowhere for me to go and after a few mumbles under her breath she just said "fine, stay there then". Ya, that made me feel "magical" with everyone now looking at me. So we get to the wilderness lodge and guess what.......the dock is almost a foot higher then the boat. Isn't this nice, now what? So some guys had to lift the ECV up out of the boat and onto the dock. I will never stay at the Wilderness Lodge because of this.
I had 3 bus drivers that did not want to deal with getting me onto the bus so I had to wait for other busses. I had Cm's at ride lines giving me no guidance. I pulled up to Peter Pan, the CM watched me park and then I stood for 30 agonizing minutes waiting to get on this rides only to see a wheelchair entrance after we got off. The CM at Winnie the Pooh told me I also had to wait in the mainstream line, not informing me I could transfer into a wheelchair instead of standing for over 45 minutes for that one. Why did I wait in pain like that you wonder...because of my children. I am not going to let them down because I have a disability. Now maybe to you these disability issues may sound silly, but they are frustrating and humiliating to endure. These are not the only issues I had, they were very many more that I noticed on this trip that were so different from our other 2 trips earlier in the year.
We are annual passholders that live in New Hampshire so as you can imagine we are huge Disney fans and will come the distance to experience the magic. Unfortunately this was a less than magical trip. We pay a pretty penny for our 5 annual passes and the lodging and meals while we are there and this trip has made me waver on renewing our passes. Now I realize that our measly 3 vacations a year doesn't even register a blip on your bottom line, but it sure does to us!
It's really very disheartening to have such problems in a place that is supposed to be so special. It also made us think a little more too about buying into DVC as we planned to do. If this is the direction things are going, I don't know if I want to make that kind of financial investment. As of right now, I have no trip planned to return and usually those plans are in the works before we have even left there from the time before.
I'm sorry if I have rambled on but I want someone to understand that there are problems and some of them are serious, at least they are to us.
Thanks you for taking the time for reading this and I hope it will be somewhat enlightening.
I wrote Guest relations about some bad experinces we had on our last trip. Here's what I wrote (it's long) and I'll let you know if I get a reply.
I hope you don't find it petty...but I can take it!
To Whom it may concern,
I am writing this letter to tell you some experiences we had during our visit there from Feb 20-28. While we did have many wonderful times during our stay I can't help but write to tell you of some very bad incidences that occurred that really did taint things.
On Saturday, Feb 21, we went to Trails End for lunch. We absolutely love this place and is a must do every time we go. We were sitting at a table in front of the swinging doors that I believe lead into a beverage area (they are not the doors by the buffet). A server dropped a tray right in front of those doors and glass went flying. My son (who's back was to the door) then informed us that the glass that was sticking into his back was uncomfortable (he's 14 with a very wry sense of humor). I jumped up and went to look and sure enough there was glass. I brushed it off him and his chair and checked for any cuts. Thankfully there was nothing more than a little pin prick. The thing that really bothers me about the whole incident was nobody said anything to us. No "I'm sorrys, "are you OK", nothing. They just swept up the glass and went on. They knew he had been hit by the flying glass because a server asked if he had been hit when they saw me checking him out and brushing off his chair. Now I realize accidents happen, but I do believe a little more compassion should have been expressed. At the very least, a manager coming over to apologize.
Then on the 24th of Feb, I had PS's for the California Grill. I had called a week or so earlier because our party went from 5 to 3 so I wanted to give them a heads up about it. It turned out due to illness we were unable to go that night after all. I called first thing in the morning to inform them and when I did they told me my PS had already been canceled by me a couple weeks earlier! It appears that when I called to make the change in the number of people, they canceled it instead. Thank goodness we didn't end up going because if we had and there was no PS, I would have been very angry.
We stayed at All Star Movies (2 rooms) which was a nice place in all but I was rather disappointed in the cleanliness of the room. Upon arrival we found a glove in the corner of the room in the closet area. There were crumbs on the floor and under the beds and cobwebs on the ceiling. The dispenser leaked body wash into the tub and every time we came back to our room the drain was closed in the tub causing it to fill up. One day we came back and it was 1/2 full!
My biggest problem however was the problems I had being there being disabled. When I go there I use an ECV that I bring with me. I was so upset this trip by situations I encountered that made getting around and doing things difficult. One night we had to go from the Magic Kingdom to Wilderness lodge for my sons' birthday. When we went to the boat dock they informed us we would have to wait for a certain boat because there was only one that would accommodate us. They said it would be 15 minutes or so. I said no, I don't want to wait so we'll just take the bus. So we leave the boat dock and head to the busses only to then discover there are no busses. So back to the boat dock we go and wait. It would have been nice if the CM had told me there were no busses! Well, I got onto the boat and the CM told me and my MIL where to go with our ECV's (she had one too). We got on and in position and then we had to move because some lady with a fully extended double stroller (with nobody in it) couldn't turn the corner without hitting her front wheel. (for some reason she just couldn't lift her stroller up and over a bit). Since there was very little room and all the passengers were now on (there was no preloading) I got jammed in a corner and then a CM kept telling me I couldn't park there but I explained I was stuck and there was nowhere for me to go and after a few mumbles under her breath she just said "fine, stay there then". Ya, that made me feel "magical" with everyone now looking at me. So we get to the wilderness lodge and guess what.......the dock is almost a foot higher then the boat. Isn't this nice, now what? So some guys had to lift the ECV up out of the boat and onto the dock. I will never stay at the Wilderness Lodge because of this.
I had 3 bus drivers that did not want to deal with getting me onto the bus so I had to wait for other busses. I had Cm's at ride lines giving me no guidance. I pulled up to Peter Pan, the CM watched me park and then I stood for 30 agonizing minutes waiting to get on this rides only to see a wheelchair entrance after we got off. The CM at Winnie the Pooh told me I also had to wait in the mainstream line, not informing me I could transfer into a wheelchair instead of standing for over 45 minutes for that one. Why did I wait in pain like that you wonder...because of my children. I am not going to let them down because I have a disability. Now maybe to you these disability issues may sound silly, but they are frustrating and humiliating to endure. These are not the only issues I had, they were very many more that I noticed on this trip that were so different from our other 2 trips earlier in the year.
We are annual passholders that live in New Hampshire so as you can imagine we are huge Disney fans and will come the distance to experience the magic. Unfortunately this was a less than magical trip. We pay a pretty penny for our 5 annual passes and the lodging and meals while we are there and this trip has made me waver on renewing our passes. Now I realize that our measly 3 vacations a year doesn't even register a blip on your bottom line, but it sure does to us!
It's really very disheartening to have such problems in a place that is supposed to be so special. It also made us think a little more too about buying into DVC as we planned to do. If this is the direction things are going, I don't know if I want to make that kind of financial investment. As of right now, I have no trip planned to return and usually those plans are in the works before we have even left there from the time before.
I'm sorry if I have rambled on but I want someone to understand that there are problems and some of them are serious, at least they are to us.
Thanks you for taking the time for reading this and I hope it will be somewhat enlightening.
