not a magical time...

[valandemmy]

we just came back after a week in Disney world...

This was, for us...(wife and I) not a very magical trip... Dont get me wrong, the kids seemed to have loved it (with the exception of waiting in lines and the incredible heat)-but hey...its disneyworld in JUNE...gonna be crowded...gonna be hot..


The GOOD:

As far as rides... With fast passes in hand, we really never waited more than 35-40 minutes for any ride... used Parent swap and allowed the girls to ride twice *1st time we have used this adn it worked great for us***

My DD best friend went with us *her first trip** and she had a blast...they had more fun playing at the pool and spending $$ in the arcade...

The Bad:

With the exception of Ohana's Dinner the food and SERVICE in the resturants were horrible..
-Whispering canyon cafe- had the family skillet, the food was very dry, the server dropped off the 1st drinks to the table and returned when she brought the bill... that was it.. soemone else even brought the food.

1900 park fare - service was not bad, but the food was HORRIBLE... the character interaction was pretty good, with the exception of spending ZERO time with my 2 year old son... which was ok, b/c he really didnt see them as characters anyway...

OHANAS - AMAZING food and service...

Crystal Palace - service here was again, just ok... character interaction was GREAT...food was good,

all in all, with the exception of ohanas, everything seemed to have went WAY DOWN hill in the quality section.... we have eaten at all of these places multiple times, btw. and have never had even the 1st complaint... this trip was wayyyy different.

THE UGLY:
I was very disappointed with disney this trip... which makes me sad...
it for the first time was NOT the happiest place on earth.. CM's while not overtly rude, were almost dismissive and acted like you were not even there... multiple times I seen people put off while CM's finish sending or reading text messages...

I think we are done with disney for a few years.... if we can afford it next time we go back...

parking went up from 10 dollars a car last year...to 14 a car this year..

 

[MM27]

we just came back after a week in Disney world...

This was, for us...(wife and I) not a very magical trip... Dont get me wrong, the kids seemed to have loved it (with the exception of waiting in lines and the incredible heat)-but hey...its disneyworld in JUNE...gonna be crowded...gonna be hot..


The GOOD:

As far as rides... With fast passes in hand, we really never waited more than 35-40 minutes for any ride... used Parent swap and allowed the girls to ride twice *1st time we have used this adn it worked great for us***

My DD best friend went with us *her first trip** and she had a blast...they had more fun playing at the pool and spending $$ in the arcade...

The Bad:

With the exception of Ohana's Dinner the food and SERVICE in the resturants were horrible..
-Whispering canyon cafe- had the family skillet, the food was very dry, the server dropped off the 1st drinks to the table and returned when she brought the bill... that was it.. soemone else even brought the food.

1900 park fare - service was not bad, but the food was HORRIBLE... the character interaction was pretty good, with the exception of spending ZERO time with my 2 year old son... which was ok, b/c he really didnt see them as characters anyway...

OHANAS - AMAZING food and service...

Crystal Palace - service here was again, just ok... character interaction was GREAT...food was good,

all in all, with the exception of ohanas, everything seemed to have went WAY DOWN hill in the quality section.... we have eaten at all of these places multiple times, btw. and have never had even the 1st complaint... this trip was wayyyy different.

THE UGLY:
I was very disappointed with disney this trip... which makes me sad...
it for the first time was NOT the happiest place on earth.. CM's while not overtly rude, were almost dismissive and acted like you were not even there... multiple times I seen people put off while CM's finish sending or reading text messages...

I think we are done with disney for a few years.... if we can afford it next time we go back...

parking went up from 10 dollars a car last year...to 14 a car this year..

I don't complain much, but that is something that I would need to mention to someone. Did you get the names of the CMs doing this? I bet that is something that is frowned upon when on "stage".

Sorry to hear your trip was not as magical as it should have been.

 

[Goldilocks07]

Agreed- you really should write a letter to Disney-
I work in marketing/hospitality, and we find complaints to be invaluable.
If we don't know about a problem, we can't fix it.

Believe me, the people at Disney will find your complaints VERY useful, and who knows- you most likely will be changing other people's experiences on future visits....for the better!

 

[Daisy57b]

Oh no, sorry you didn't have a good trip! I would still write a letter about the CMs. Next time, go when it's not summertime - which is May - Sept. I'm sure the heat took a toll on everyone.

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

I don't think CMs should be able to text during work hours. I think everyone needs cell phones for emergencies, but texting should not be allowed. Sorry you didn't feel the magic this trip.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

The GOOD:

As far as rides... With fast passes in hand, we really never waited more than 35-40 minutes for any ride... used Parent swap and allowed the girls to ride twice *1st time we have used this adn it worked great for us***

My DD best friend went with us *her first trip** and she had a blast...they had more fun playing at the pool and spending $$ in the arcade...

OHANAS - AMAZING food and service...

THE UGLY:
I was very disappointed with disney this trip... which makes me sad...
it for the first time was NOT the happiest place on earth.. CM's while not overtly rude, were almost dismissive and acted like you were not even there... multiple times I seen people put off while CM's finish sending or reading text messages...

Sorry to read you were disappointed with your trip, any vacation is too much money to come home feeling that way. Maybe if you send a letter as the OP said you would feel better and plus if CM's are texting instead of doing their work, the mgt should be informed. I would want to know if my people were doing that to customers.

Even though you were disappointed, I bet your DD is feeling pretty good about the trip as well as her friend. THat's great they got to ride twice for the child swap - that would make the trip for me! ANd all kids love the pool so enjoy remembering the trip as they are going to - I'm sure in their eyes it was magical Hang onto memories like those

 

[Berlioz70]

Cast Member policy is that no cell phones are allowed to be used while on working (on or off stage) the exception, of course, is breaks. Had I witnessed this I would have informed the local management (professionally dressed CM, typically with a blackberry on the hip and a trash piker in hand).

However, if it was a professionally dressed CM texting, this is normal. Their blackberrys are company issued and it's how important announcements and park conditions are communicated.

 

[kaytieeldr]

parking went up from 10 dollars a car last year...to 14 a car this year..

Not positive, but I'm relatively certain the increase has been much more gradual than that - ten to eleven to twelve to fourteen, over a period of a few years.

 

[CookieDiva]

Sorry that you did not have the best Disney trip this time. We too have had trips that were not as "magical" as we might have hoped.
So then you are wise to take a little break from Disney.
We have. For a little while. But then SOMETHING gets us wanting to go back. There is just something that keeps calling us back.

 

[catne]

Not positive, but I'm relatively certain the increase has been much more gradual than that - ten to eleven to twelve to fourteen, over a period of a few years.

right...parking was raised to $11 in Sept. 2007, then raised to $12 in 2008, and went up in late 2009 to $14.

to OP, sorry you didn't have such a good time...I don't know if it's still so hot, but we were surprised how hot it was in May when we were there...have been there many times in May and don't remember the last time it was that hot. That really can have a bad affect on the enjoyment of anything. We didn't see any problems with castmembers...agree with the suggestion of sending an email or letter directly to Disney. May help to specifically mention times & places you encountered the rude CMs - you'd be surprised that the management may very well be able to track down those cast members, even without their names.

 

[valandemmy]

Not positive, but I'm relatively certain the increase has been much more gradual than that - ten to eleven to twelve to fourteen, over a period of a few years.

I am positive b/c i stayed off property last year for the 1st time and paid 10 dollars to park... in fact i asked a cast member about it and was informed that it actually increased 2x this year from 10 to 12 to 14...

I did call back and speak to a manager at Whispering Canyons about the service there...

and the texting stuff was not managers, they were normal CM's.. Behind the counter, two of them at the BIG CAMERA as soon as you get off Figment..

The important thing is the kids had a great time and do not pay attention to the things my wife and I did... We LOVE disney as much if not more than the kiddo's do and was just dissapointed this time around...

we have went every year for the last 6, twice a couple of times...
Disney will have to wait a few years before getting more money from me...

 

[valandemmy]

. But then SOMETHING gets us wanting to go back. There is just something that keeps calling us back.

LOL...my wife and I were talking about this, said they are like Vegas, always sending some kind of offer to make me want to come and spend our money...

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Thanks for the head's up OP. We are headed down in September and will be very vigil about what is going on!

Your post makes me want to snap a photo of any CM I see texting and turn them in! I can see an employ sneaking a text when NOTHING is going on, but I could never imagine ANY downtime at WDW!

 

[CookieDiva]

LOL...my wife and I were talking about this, said they are like Vegas, always sending some kind of offer to make me want to come and spend our money...

Exactly! But WE have never been to Vegas. I know, I know, "get a life," right? I know that we need to get out there - perhaps we should go to Vegas for our 30th anniversary this September.
Or there's the Free Dining...

 

[catne]

I am positive b/c i stayed off property last year for the 1st time and paid 10 dollars to park... in fact i asked a cast member about it and was informed that it actually increased 2x this year from 10 to 12 to 14...

..

If you were charged $10 to park last year, you very luckily got undercharged. The wonder of the internet is that past prices can be looked up..and well, as is often shown on these boards, castmembers don't always have it right, either...Disney did not raise the prices this year (yet). They raised the rates Fall, 2009...and Fall 2008...and Fall 2007:

so it was 10/2009 when the rates went from $12 to $14
http://www.cfnews13.com/Business/Lo...9/10/4/disney_world_raises_parking_price.html

Sept 2008 is when the rate went from $11 to $12:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=337123

It was Sept. 2007 when the rates went from $10 to $11
http://www.magicvacationvillas.com/blog/disney-raises-parking-rates

I agree that $14 for parking is high...but they really did not raise the rates all at once.

 

[disneynutz]

Does it really matter when the parking rates were raised, the end result is the same, $14 to park your own car.

Sadly we see the magic slowly disappearing across property, and we attribute it to a change in upper management. Disney, like other companies, have put accountants and finance people into the senior management positions. They aren't concerned with Walt's legacy and the magic of Disney. They have learned that for each dissatisfied Guest, 10 more will book a vacation if they advertise enough and especially if they offer something "free".

Bill

 

[TDC Nala]

Universal also charges $14 to park a car, Sea World $12.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Does it really matter when the parking rates were raised, the end result is the same, $14 to park your own car.

Sadly we see the magic slowly disappearing across property, and we attribute it to a change in upper management. Disney, like other companies, have put accountants and finance people into the senior management positions. They aren't concerned with Walt's legacy and the magic of Disney. They have learned that for each dissatisfied Guest, 10 more will book a vacation if they advertise enough and especially if they offer something "free".

Bill

It matters when and by how much each time parking rates were raised because the OP is operating under a misperception and providing inaccurate information.

You may not like that Disney is operated by finance people, but there's still magic there - and if it were run by "magic", there likely wouldn't be a Disney Company now.

 

[valandemmy]

So I was wrong about the times the $$ for parking increased, I thought it had went up as well as the man who checked me out.... NOT that big of a deal...

BUT, it does matter in the sense that EVERYTHING is raising at disney...and I am sure other properties too..*(I wouldnt know, because in the last 6 years, i have ONLY spent my time and money in Disney).

So the increase started in 07 that is a 40% increase in less than 3 years for PARKING...

You spend your entire vacation RUNNING around, STANDING in line, WAITING for this or for that....its great during the few minutes your on the ride, or watching the show...but all the RUNNING, STANDING, and WAITING...doesnt seem like much of a vacation...

 

[kapoof]

speaking of texting...i had to wait for one to finish her texting while at the poly gift shop, while it didn't really ruin my trip, i was kind of surprised.