Nightmare Vacation at VWL!!

[MaryJ]

I will talk to the various people mentioned and let you know how the upper managment handles my situation.

And could you please do so quickly? We're checking in at VWL on July 2. We'd sure like to avoid what you went through!

 

[JudithM]

Over the weekend I forwarded this thread & the one written by Simba's Mom to a DVC CM in management. She replied to me this morning.

For anyone who has had problems &/or concerns at VWL, please write a letter to the general manager, Mr. Rilous Carter. The CM assured me she will be on the lookout for these letters & will be sure Mr. Carter is aware. I suspect he is already aware since a WL CM replied to this thread. This is not the kind of thing Disney in general wants happening to their guests. Disney cannot fix something if they do know about it. When you write your letter please be as specific as possible - CM name, date, time, etc.

 

[Granny]

Wow, two negative threads about VWL in one week! I've been on this board for almost a year and I don't think I've seen more than a couple of negative threads about VWL, and those seemed to be more about room views, etc.

I am certainly not downplaying the treatment you received. We went on our first DVC vacation a few weeks ago and received very good service and attitude from everyone! And we have stayed at WL a few times before and were always impressed with everything, including the personnel.

I can see how this experience could sour someone on a place. But I hope you will try it again some time. As I said, that type of service is just not the norm at VWL or anywhere in WDW!

I'm very sorry to hear how this experience ruined your trip. Hopefully, your letters will cause DVD to take some action with the individual(s) involved.

I hope they make it up to you on future trips. Good luck!!

 

[yesdisneyfool]

Bumpy, I am so very sorry to hear of your nightmare at VWL. We have never experienced anything like this during our many stays (and one being VWL). I would definitly write to those suggested and follow up after a week. Reading your story I kept thinking - this can't happen at Disney - and kept waiting for you to say "...and then I woke up in a sweat and realized...

Don't let this spoil the many future magical moments that you and your family will spend in WDW. Keep us posted.

 

[JudithM]

999ghsts, nicely said - thank you!

 

[lawgs]

here here 999ghsts

well said

that realization goes for "life" as well.....

we might disagree with an action a person does but that does not mean we do NOT like them personally

that is a good life lesson you have learned under wise tutelage


something we all should take into account when dealing with something out of the control of the person we are "talking" with at the moment

thank you for your insights from the Other side......

just hope you do not become the 1000th ghost ( just joking ) took me a while to figure out where u got the nick/handle from

 

[msdis]

There is a cm at WL named Jack. And he is great! Last year we were at VWL on Sept. 11th and not being prepared for such an aweful event we were anything but prepared to drive our rental car 1500 miles to get home, let alone any clue as to how to get there. We went to the front desk to inquire about maps and perhaps a location we could access the internet. Jack said they had access to the internet and took down our destination and after a while returned with directions. Talk about a CM going above the call of duty!!!!!!! He will always be a large part of our decision to add on at WL and the reason we return there. Another CM that was great was Carla as she recognized the room where they had "put" us. It was an aweful room out back by the dumpsters. Her comment when she saw where we were was " why did they put you out there, we are not even close to full"? And in turn gave us another room. We were so grateful for this sharp, thoughtful CM. We also had the pleasure of meeting someone from our home area, after Carla recognizing our home address, and introduced her. It was like old home week for her and we felt like we were family. Although not all CM's fit this description, it sure does make your trip with memories like this. What bothers me most when I hear something like this is the fact that so many CM's were let go after Sept. 11th and I'm sure this bozo is taking the spot of another CM most derserving of the title.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I wonder why all the problems at VWL!?

We NEVER have had a problem checking in at OKW, but then it is only a DVC resort, so maybe the CMs are more open to the workings of DVC. Still, it should not matter. I was thinking of trying VWL for one night in January, but I think I'll just stay put in my good old familiar OKW!!!

 

[JudithM]

One time at an OKW annual meeting when the subject of the cost of running the front desk was discussed, we were told that front desk CMs at a DVC resort require a lot more training than other front desk CMs at other Disney resorts. As was pointed out perhaps the CMs at the WL need some retraining, reminders, etc. We may not know publically what actions the GM & other management CMs take, but I suspect CMs involved will hear about their not-so-magical guest service. I also hope we begin to hear positive guest service stories. As a member said a few years ago at an OKW annual meeting (& I paraphrase) - we bought into DVC to stay at a Disney resort, not a Motel 6! He got quite a round of applause .

 

[DVCLady]

Delete

 

[shelly3girls]

Before joining the DVC, we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge and also had a miserable experience. We paid extra to have a woods view. What we weren't told was that the view included scalffolding and construction workers. At one point I even found a worker looking into my room while we were trying to rest. After several complaint, we were offered a change of room, then told that there were no other rooms available. Finally after speaking to a manager, we were offered a discount on our rooms. This discount no where near compensated us for the noise level and inconvenience. The fact that my 8 month old could not nap in the room truly made for an unpleasant trip! After returning home, we wrote a letter of complaint, but received no response.

 

[Synonymous]

To add a reassuring view for people who were looking forward to VWL and are discouraged by this thread, I'll add the link to another discussion:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=222361&perpage=15&pagenumber=1


No resort, and no staff, are perfect, but VWL comes close, IMHO.