My Very Sad Trip Report

[bedogged]

Just looking for a little sympathy from my Disabilities Board friends:

Checked into POFQ Monday for a 6 night stay. Raining in Denver when we left, raining hard in Orlando when we arrived. Checked in and received a DOWNGRADED room that did not match any of our requests. They had to issue us a partial refund. Poured all day and night. Had a lovely dinner at Artist Point.

Got up early on Tuesday and went to Epcot. Got my GAC card. I was told by the CM who issued it to keep it nice and not bend it so I could sell it on Ebay as a collector's item as they were changing the program. Rode Soarn' and had a fun lunch at Chef's de France. Rode Maelstrom and Spaceship Earth on our way out as it was starting to rain again. Had a great dinner at Narcoossee's.

Woke up early on Wednesday with horrible abdominal pain. Rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Released later in the day. Still in pain. Flew back on Thursday cutting our trip short by three nights.

 

[Piper]

I am sorry you had such a difficult time.

It was insensitive of the CM to tell you to save your GAC to sell!!

 

[SueM in MN]

Oh, my.
That was a very bad trip.
Hope you are feeling better soon.

 

[Disneylvr]

I am sorry things went so badly for you. Hope you are feeling better now.

 

[joanchris]

So sorry it was not a good trip.
Glad you were able to be released from the hospital, and at least didn't have to be admitted (finding the bright side here).

 

[stitchlovestink]

Just looking for a little sympathy from my Disabilities Board friends:

Checked into POFQ Monday for a 6 night stay. Raining in Denver when we left, raining hard in Orlando when we arrived. Checked in and received a DOWNGRADED room that did not match any of our requests. They had to issue us a partial refund. Poured all day and night. Had a lovely dinner at Artist Point.

Got up early on Tuesday and went to Epcot. Got my GAC card. I was told by the CM who issued it to keep it nice and not bend it so I could sell it on Ebay as a collector's item as they were changing the program. Rode Soarn' and had a fun lunch at Chef's de France. Rode Maelstrom and Spaceship Earth on our way out as it was starting to rain again. Had a great dinner at Narcoossee's.

Woke up early on Wednesday with horrible abdominal pain. Rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Released later in the day. Still in pain. Flew back on Thursday cutting our trip short by three nights.

Wow! I am so sorry to hear of this! That is awful. My sister had a similar problem at POFQ back in March and also encountered some less than helpful CMs. It was their Wedding Anniversary trip and they were there for their actual anniversary! SMH... doesn't really make me interested in trying this resort out after hearing these stories (I know they can happen at any resort but I know who to see/talk to if I run into issues at my 'home away from home resort'!)
Glad you had a nice meal at Artist Point. DD and I were just talking about that restaurant the other night! That is on our list of places to eat...hopefully in the not too distant future.
I hope you feel better soon! DD had to make a trip to the ER at Celebration Hospital back in January. And I must say that I will not recommend going there to anyone I know! They sent us a bill for $14,000 for diagnosing a flu!!!! Yes, that's right $14,000 for 3 hours in the ER. I had my dr here look at the paperwork and he said in his opinion they were padding the bill and it was ridiculous! The tests they ran to diagnos the flu...such as a CT scan for the flu? Totally unnecessary! I do hope you got quality treatment at the facility you went to! And I hope you feel better soon and get to go back and enjoy a real WDW vacation! HUG!

 

[tinkerpea]

Wow! I am so sorry to hear of this! That is awful. My sister had a similar problem at POFQ back in March and also encountered some less than helpful CMs. It was their Wedding Anniversary trip and they were there for their actual anniversary! SMH... doesn't really make me interested in trying this resort out after hearing these stories (I know they can happen at any resort but I know who to see/talk to if I run into issues at my 'home away from home resort'!)
Glad you had a nice meal at Artist Point. DD and I were just talking about that restaurant the other night! That is on our list of places to eat...hopefully in the not too distant future.
I hope you feel better soon! DD had to make a trip to the ER at Celebration Hospital back in January. And I must say that I will not recommend going there to anyone I know! They sent us a bill for $14,000 for diagnosing a flu!!!! Yes, that's right $14,000 for 3 hours in the ER. I had my dr here look at the paperwork and he said in his opinion they were padding the bill and it was ridiculous! The tests they ran to diagnos the flu...such as a CT scan for the flu? Totally unnecessary! I do hope you got quality treatment at the facility you went to! And I hope you feel better soon and get to go back and enjoy a real WDW vacation! HUG!

I also will never go back to celebration, I suffer from kidney stones amongst other conditions and on my honeymoon got admitted, everybody had gotten a tummy bug but I was sure I had a stone!
Once there found out I was pregnant, I told the doctor about my condition even had paper work on me from my consultant, well the doctor refused me pain meds and anti sickness " even though I was being so sick" he wanted an ultrasound CT scan amongst other tests 9 hours later and still screaming in pain the doctor on his beliefs refused pain meds as I was pregnant! Even after diagnosing the stone!
In the end the nurse came in and said I e called a taxi to take you to another hospital as this doctor was out of order and she believed his personal beliefs with me being pregnant was getting in the way of my care!
And no other doctors was around till the the other hospital treated me with painmeds etc and looked after me till i could fly home!

that doctors fee was more then the 2 nights stay and yet he did nothing but leave me in pain! luckily we challenged it and he did not get a penny!

 

[Schmeck]

Just looking for a little sympathy from my Disabilities Board friends:

Checked into POFQ Monday for a 6 night stay. Raining in Denver when we left, raining hard in Orlando when we arrived. Checked in and received a DOWNGRADED room that did not match any of our requests. They had to issue us a partial refund. Poured all day and night. Had a lovely dinner at Artist Point.

Got up early on Tuesday and went to Epcot. Got my GAC card. I was told by the CM who issued it to keep it nice and not bend it so I could sell it on Ebay as a collector's item as they were changing the program. Rode Soarn' and had a fun lunch at Chef's de France. Rode Maelstrom and Spaceship Earth on our way out as it was starting to rain again. Had a great dinner at Narcoossee's.

Woke up early on Wednesday with horrible abdominal pain. Rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Released later in the day. Still in pain. Flew back on Thursday cutting our trip short by three nights.

I hope you're feeling better now? Have you been able to see your own doctor to get a diagnosis? Reminds me of my gall bladder attack, ambulance ride and all. But they didn't release me until the pain was gone (gotta love that morphine) and they gave me a pain med prescription to get me through until I could see my own doctor.

What part of your room was downgraded? Was it the location? You'd think they'd have blocked out a room when you made your reservations. I know we couldn't add a day to our stay last trip because the rooms were already assigned to arriving guests. Glad they gave you a refund for the extra cost.

Sorry you can't stay out in the rain at WDW - that's my favorite time to do the parks, as most people leave and we just keep on going. Well, as long as it is warm out. Now, cold rain (like last March) - no thank you.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I am sorry you had such a difficult time.

It was insensitive of the CM to tell you to save your GAC to sell!!

How was this insensitive? I'm pretty sure the CM was making a joke.

OP, sorry to hear about your disappointing trip.

 

[kirstenb1]

I'm sorry you had a yucky trip. It's really hard to deal with spending all the $$ to go on vacation, and then have to spend more $$ in a hospital away from home. I hope you're on the mend now, and feeling better.

 

[IndianaPrincess]

Major sympathies to you. It's so hard to spend all the money and have a crappy trip. Our last trip was not the greatest due to my son's constant meltdowns. It was so disappointing for all that money and effort and expectations to fall flat. Big hugs!

 

[stitchlovestink]

How was this insensitive? I'm pretty sure the CM was making a joke.

OP, sorry to hear about your disappointing trip.

I don't know that it was insensitive but I do think it was a clearly inappropriate joke. With as upset as people are getting about this changeover, CMs should NOT be making any kind of wisecracks about GACs, the changes, etc....it's just not appropriate or professional. It's almost borderline accusitory as to whether someone is appropriately deserving of said GAC...kind of like 'enjoy it, because you're not going to get it much longer! Nanner Nanner Nanner!'

 

[Schmeck]

I don't know that it was insensitive but I do think it was a clearly inappropriate joke. With as upset as people are getting about this changeover, CMs should NOT be making any kind of wisecracks about GACs, the changes, etc....it's just not appropriate or professional. It's almost borderline accusitory as to whether someone is appropriately deserving of said GAC...kind of like 'enjoy it, because you're not going to get it much longer! Nanner Nanner Nanner!'

But people are getting upset about a program that they haven't even tried yet - and I bet the CMs are getting sick and tired of hearing people complain about it, and it hasn't even been implemented. I'd be willing to cut the CM some slack.

 

[stitchlovestink]

But people are getting upset about a program that they haven't even tried yet - and I bet the CMs are getting sick and tired of hearing people complain about it, and it hasn't even been implemented. I'd be willing to cut the CM some slack.

I understand people are complaining, but that is NO EXCUSE for the CM to exhibit poor behavior while performing their job! Sorry, but still unacceptable! Part of working in Guest Services is going to be dealing with grumbling guests. No matter how the guest acts, it is part of the CM's job to remain PROFESSIONAL!! He/she failed in that capacity IMO BIG TIME!! Good thing I wasn't his/her supervisor....that clearly would have been a reprimand in my book and may even have warranted some additional 'sensitivity' training!

 

[WheeledTraveler]

I'm really sorry that your trip was so bad. I hope you're feeling better now or are at least on the way to sorting out what caused the pain!

I'm with those who agree that the CM was out of line. It was a poor choice for a joke. I don't think a CM should be talking about e-baying GACs even though the switch is about to happen. It's not professional. There's still time before the switch actually happens so there would be time for a bought GAC to be used. Unlikely, but possible.

I have to admit that I've never planned to go to Celebration if I ever need a hospital while at WDW. I'm medically complicated, plus my friends in the area are not all that complimentary about the hospital. I've also seen too many bad stories on the Dis. I'd rather take the extra time to go to OMC.

To the person who got the $14,000 bill, it's worth checking that they actually did what they're billing you for. You can dispute anything on the bill that you think wasn't done. It's not uncommon for hospitals to pad bills and not necessarily get the treatment/evaluation information correct. I once got an ER bill for a visit to treat shoulder pain and one of the items was "oxygen therapy" (or something similar). I definitely did not have any sort of oxygen therapy. I got it removed from the bill. Hospital fees vary so much it's ridiculous, but $14,000 for an ER visit due to flu is pretty much the worst I've seen. I'm tempted now to research the little bit of info you find publicly and see how OMC's prices compare to Celebration.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I don't know that it was insensitive but I do think it was a clearly inappropriate joke. With as upset as people are getting about this changeover, CMs should NOT be making any kind of wisecracks about GACs, the changes, etc....it's just not appropriate or professional. It's almost borderline accusitory as to whether someone is appropriately deserving of said GAC...kind of like 'enjoy it, because you're not going to get it much longer! Nanner Nanner Nanner!'

Sorry, cannot agree. I think you are taking the CM's comment wrong and far too personally. A sense of humor makes everything easier!

I would guess the majority of Disney employees have no idea that there are people upset with GAC changes. Being friendly and joking with guests is hardly unprofessional.

 

[Aladora]

Sorry, cannot agree. I think you are taking the CM's comment wrong and far too personally. A sense of humor makes everything easier! I would guess the majority of Disney employees have no idea that there are people upset with GAC changes. Being friendly and joking with guests is hardly unprofessional.

This.

 

[stitchlovestink]

Sorry, cannot agree. I think you are taking the CM's comment wrong and far too personally. A sense of humor makes everything easier!

I would guess the majority of Disney employees have no idea that there are people upset with GAC changes. Being friendly and joking with guests is hardly unprofessional.

DD is a recent CM at WDW and the training that she was given regarding guests w/disabilities....well this would not fly. She actually met & spoke with George K!! He approached her while she was working at SSR. They had quite the conversation. I wonder what he would think of a CM speaking to a guest this way??

 

[bedogged]

Thank you all so much for the sympathy! I am feeling better, but not 100%. They are still testing. I had a similar episode, except not so bad, about two weeks ago.

As for the Ebay remark, I do think that the CM was just making a joke, however, I did pick up on what I would call a tone from a lot of different CMs regarding the GAC and the new program. Nobody actually said anything, but I got the impression that it was thought that we (GAC card users) were getting what we deserved because we had abused the program. That was just what I picked up on and you can take it for what it is worth. They also seemed genuinely ignorant about what the new program would consist of, even those CMs you would expect to have some knowledge about it.

Oh my gosh, the Celebration ER was awful! The doctors seemed fine, but the nurses were terrible. What's with having to wait almost three hours for pain relief after it has already been prescribed? Makes me really appreciate my local hospital. At least my insurance should pay all with the exception of $100.00.

In regard to the POFQ downgrade, it was from river view to garden view. I had requested a room close to transportation and they gave us I room that I did not consider close although they assured me that was what I was getting.

 

[lanejudy]

... They also seemed genuinely ignorant about what the new program would consist of, even those CMs you would expect to have some knowledge about it....

Honestly, I think they have been as in-the-dark as the rest of us. And probably unable to comment on rumors for fear guests might take it as confirmation. My understanding is the CMs are just now getting trained, so last week they really were ignorant of the new process, other than rumors.

I'm glad you are feeling at least somewhat better! Take care!