Need Help/Info for HM trip gone terribly Wrong

[cmmam]

Hi all!

I will try to keep this short, but...

My new DH and I returned recently from our HM. Our wedding was 2/16 - yes the day of the 3rd worst snow storm in the history of the DC area, where we live. We managed to get married anyway That is another whole story though!

On to the HM - Our trip was delayed by the snow storm. We were supposed to leave Monday AM, but weren't able to leave until Tuesday PM. We spoke with Disney and the insurance and switched our dates for our trip.

We checked in Tuesday nite around 7:30, and were able to score the $40 upgrade to concierge at WL.

Wednesday was great. We saw Circue and got PS resssies for the Epcot fireworks. The bus back to the resort was a pretty bumpy ride. We stood the whole time and the driver was driving like everyone was seated.

Thursday was another beautiful day. We headed over to MK for awhile. My back was sore, but with all that had been going on the last several days, I wasn't surprised. Around 2 or so we headed back to the room to rest and get me some tylenol or something for my back. I laid down for awhile and when I got up, I took 2 steps and was felled by a massive back spasm. I was so agonizing! I crawled back to the bed and took some codiene (I have a script for it to help with migraines) and stayed in bed for the nite. We agreed that if it wasn't better by morning I would go to the hospital.

After a night of terrible pain, we got up, DH helped me to get ready and we had concierge call an ambulance. They gave me several shots of pain relievers and muscle relaxants and some prescriptions and sent us back to the resort. They said I would be able to get up and around the next day.

I was not able to move at all for the rest of the trip

We were supposed to check out on Monday. We had a wheel chair, I took my medicine and even though I was still in terrible pain we tried to leave. Nope. The act of sitting in the wheel chair for an hour - we had to vacate our room - waiting fo rthe towncar was too much. I had a new bout of the terrible spasms and once again had to go to the ER. The spasms were so bad that they gave me enough medicine to knock out a 300 pound man and I was still awake, alert and having spasms. They finally gave me one more huge shot of something that relaxed me enough to go back to the resort. I weight about 128.

We had to stay 2 more days before I was well enough to leave, and that was only by taking a serious amount of medication. (2 percadan, 2 valium, and 2 muscle relaxants)

The resort gave us a discount on our rooms for the 2 days we had to extend our stay and tried to be helpful as long as it wasn't too much.

We are working with the travel insurance to re-imburse us for the cost of the extended stay, food, medical, etc.

My question is, does anyone know if we have any chance of getting a credit of some sort from Disney for the trip we never used? We had the silver plan. We used less than 1/2 our wishes and that includes wasting them on food at the Roaring Forks just because we knew we couldn't go to the parks.

After Thursday morning, we did not get to do anything trip wise at all. DH went to Epcot to pick up our pictures we had taken and he went to DTD to pick up a t-shirt from PH for my daughter who would never forgive us if we came home w/o one

I know they are a big corp and in the end, it's all about the money, but do you think it is possible to get a partial credit. We have promised ourselves a re-do trip for next year. We promised DD a trip with us.

Edited to clarify - I am not looking for a refund at all. Just maybe some sort of credit toward a future trip. They could apply a 1 year time limit to use it in or something maybe...

I have the email address for guess communications. Is that the right place or is there another place to send this info to??
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Mrs. M

 

[ducklite]

Simply put, regardless of how big a company they are, Disney doesn't owe you a thing. You should be asking the travel insurance for a partial refund. That's what insurance is for.

Anne

 

[lookingforward]

I don't know what kind of insurance you had on your trip but maybe there is a provision for illness in your policy? Otherwise, I might write a nice letter detailing your misfortune to WDW. They can easily pull up your history and check out statement and see that you did not eat out or use any of the features. Perhaps they can give you some sort of compensation. Seems fair to me but not sure if it will work.

That said..I am so sorry about what happened to you. I hope you have a wonderful marriage and you are feeling better. Let us know what happens. I wo uld definately write a letter (can't hurt!) and if you had a travel agent book this trip I would have them advocate for you also.

 

[cmmam]

ducklite - I know they dont OWE me anything. I am working with the travel insurance for the peices they cover. They don't cover the fact that we just didnt get to do anything.

I am only asking if anyone knows how Disney might respond to a request with the above explanation. They can check the records and confirm everything.

thanks lookingforward. I am getting better. We will go back to Disney because we like it there. Hopefully they will be sympathetic. As you said, it couldn't hurt to try

 

[lizzie64]

Cmmam -

1st congratulations on your wedding.

I'm so sorry about how your honeymoon turned out.

I agree with lookingforward - I'm a true believer that being nice never hurts. You have a particular situation which is very verifiable by their records. I firmly believe it never hurts to try.

I have been very lucky with Disney and most of the resorts we've stayed with. And I firmly believe it's because I write thank you notes, commend good service, and have repeat business. I also write notes before we go on vacation with my requests and wishes. And like I said, I've been very lucky. I've never had a problem.

Go ahead and give it a shot.

Good luck.

I wish you the best.

 

[gepetto]

Sorry about your honeymoon.

Since you paid for your wishes, maybe they can figure out a way to let you use them on your next trip.

Someone always gets back to me when I email the guest communications address. Good luck.

 

[peachgirl]

So sorry to hear about the problems you had. I see nothing wrong with contacting guest services and explaining in detail what happened to you. I have always found emailing guest services through the Disney website was the best way to handle any special problems or requests I've had. So far, anything I've asked about has been handled to my satisfaction.

No, of course Disney doesn't owe you anything and I don't believe you said they did. However, one thing that sets Disney apart is that they do things other companies won't do. You paid for the "wishes" and you didn't use them. It doesn't cost Disney anything to try and do something to let you at least get the value of what you paid for.

I think a very nice email explaining your situation might do wonders. Expect nothing and be pleasantly surprised with whatever they offer.

Good luck and let us know what happens!

 

[Libbysmom2000]

Mrs M,

I couldn't help reading your post and just wanted to add a comment. First, I'm glad you're feeling better. What happened was really unfortunate.

I agree that it can't hurt to ask for some type of credit for the things you paid for and didn't use. Disney is a corporation that relies heavily on it's image as consumer friendly.

When you send your e-mail I think it would be a big plus to include some comments about how helpful the resort CM were in getting you medical help, extending your stay, etc. Being in the service industry, I can tell you companies are much more receptive to "giving" things to customers who recognize the companies efforts.

Good luck,

Kate

 

[Trekker]

cmmam,

If I were you I would write a very nice letter detailing what happen and explaining that you would like to visit WDW again within the next year. Ask if there is anything they can do to assist you seeing as you did not get to use most of the benefits of the package you purchased.

I had a situation regarding non-refundable / non-transferable tickets I bought. They were able to help me out.

Send your letter to 'wdw.guest.communications@disney.com'. Be aware it will take 6 - 8 weeks for you to here back from them.

 

[PamOKW]

I'm sorry to hear that you had such a rough time on your honeymoon.

It probably would have been easier to resolve while you were there. They might have been able to switch you to a room only package. However, it wouldn't hurt to write and tell them your situation and ask if you could get a future credit.

 

[TiggerGirl333]

I had a bad trip to disney in DEC, not nearly like yours but the magic i knew as a kid at the CR where we stayed, the staff was not too friendly or helpful when a problem occurred at check-in. I wrote a letter and all I got was a woman calling to say she was so sorry and that she hoped I would come back someday with my two teen sons. I was upset, as I felt she was just saying what she was paid to say.
My mom taught me as a young woman, to write letters, you get results, this time I wrote every executive office in DW I could get an address for , and this time spoke to Joan. What a wonderful woman, she couldnt give me much back, but did send me some reimbursement in Disney Dollars.
If you email me, I will give you her office number, as it will save you major time in waiting for a reply, which by mail WILL take at least 8 weeks as I found out. Hope this helps you, Kristine

 

[Sammie]

I am very sorry to hear about your trip but I seriously doubt you will get thing from Disney.

They have millions of guests each year and with that many, you are always going to have someone that gets sick, or has some type of emergency. It literally happens every day at every resort.

They can't reemburse everyone that has this misfortune or they would set a precendent that would have to apply to all.

 

[mrsltg]

cmmam-

I live in NoVa, too, and I kept thinking that weekend, "oh no, some poor bride is dealing with this!"... guess you were my "poor bride"!

Chin up... my honeymoon was beyond lousy due to health and weather. DH and I were miserable, so we were at each other a good bit. Two years later, we went to WDW and had the trip of a lifetime! I'm glad to hear that you are going to go back to WDW next year, and wish you the same good luck that Mike and I had on our "honeymoon-do-over".

Definitely write a letter and explain the situation... the worst that they can do is say no. I'd be willing to bet that they will help you out somehow. No matter what, just start looking forward to your trip next year and everything will work out great!

Erin

 

[HM]

Wow....I hope your back is much better.

Your situation points out the wisdom behind not buying a package vacation. A hard lesson to learn though.

I hope you'll have luck with your letter writing. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[cmmam]

Thank you everyone for your support and comments. I am sure we will write a letter with the good, the bad, and the ugly

They were very helpful and supportive and whether they give us a credit or not, we will still love disney. (although the credit would be nice)

Thanks again, and keep the advice coming!

Mrs. M

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by cmmam
ducklite - I know they dont OWE me anything. I am working with the travel insurance for the peices they cover. They don't cover the fact that we just didnt get to do anything.

I am only asking if anyone knows how Disney might respond to a request with the above explanation. They can check the records and confirm everything.

First of all you seem to be implying that it was Disney's fault that you had a backache due to having to stand on the bus. If there had been serious problems with the operation of the bus, you should have taken the bus number and made a complaint on the spot to a manager.

Next, I don't see how Disney owes you anything. I've had MANY times that I was sick on WDW trips and couldn't leave my room for a day or two. Does that mean that I'm entitled to anything? I wouldn't dream of asking. It's not WDW's fault that I had bad luck. You implied that Disney is a big corporation, so they can afford tot ake care of you. You are wrong. Disney is hurting right now. Not to mention that if they reimbursed everyone for every missed portion of their trip due to illness or injury, they'd soon be out of business. As far as I'm concerned, they already DID give you something! They discounted the room for the last two days of your trip. They didn't have to. They could have charged you rack rate.

Anne

 

[cmmam]

ducklite -

Whoa!!

I repeat once again, I know the don't OWE me anything and I am not implying that the bus ride is the source of the injury. I am sure it was the result of several days of stress and travel. As I said, I had also just pulled off a wedding in a snow storm that left over 2 feet of snow on the ground.

I am certainly not implying that I expect every red penny I didn't use credited to me or that Disney should just give me a new trip.

I believe there is a difference between missing a day of vacation due to illness and missing a week of vacation due to illness.

No, they did not have to give us a discount on our room for the 2 days and we were very grateful for the rate. We honestly appreciate everything they did to help us during our stay.

Don't you think it would profit them a little to offer a small credit for a future trip, knowing that I would end of spending a few thousand more during the course of that trip? That is simply good business sense.

Really, I just don't understand your hostility. The simple question in my long story is would it at least be a possibility that they would give us some sort of credit of ANY amount towards a future trip. They could easily add a time limit to the credit. They don't have to do anything. I won't be angry if they don't do anything.

However, I would like to believe that they would understand and at least be mildy sympathetic of what happened. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

 

[mrsltg]

Really, I just don't understand your hostility. The simple question in my long story is would it at least be a possibility that they would give us some sort of credit of ANY amount towards a future trip. They could easily add a time limit to the credit. They don't have to do anything. I won't be angry if they don't do anything.

cmmam- my guess is that they'll give you your unused points back or they'll give you the equivalent of your unused park passes. Probably not both. They're not hurting so bad that they can't afford a $500 credit for future use. Again, good luck!

Erin

 

[deb305]

cmmam,
I think you are handling everything wonderfully. The travel insurance you took out was a great move. Writing to Disney can't hurt, I've read many stories where Disney has done things to keep guests happy and returning.
As for some of the hostility in this thread, don't sweat it. I've been attacked a few times myself (Just don't make any typos or you'll never hear the end of it!). Life goes on.

 

[jwfla422]

cmmam

I'm so sorry to hear about your nightmare of a trip! I certainly hope you're feeling better. That bus incident certainly could have triggered everything that happened with your back and I know some of the drivers can be very rough.

But, that has past and now the best thing to do is to take everyone's advice (except for the hostile one's) and send guest services an email or a letter. Not sure how the insurance you have works so I would certainly pursue that as well. Maybe guest services can help guide you through that. I wish you lots of luck and CERTAINLY hope you will be able to visit WDW and have a magical trip next time!!