Let me start out by saying that I love Disney World, or at least I did until my recent trip on Monday, March 3, 2014. I have been to Disney at least twenty times. I honeymooned at Disney World. I have Disney stock. I never ever thought I would ever write a complaint letter to the "happiest place on earth". Granted, I have not been in a few years. There have been lots of changes at Disney, and most of them are not good. The reason I have not gone in a few years is that I have been busy having children, an adorable little Princess who is 2 years old, named Skye, and my 5-month old little Prince Dylan. I also have a twelve year old princess, Julie, and 14 year old princess, Kaitlynn. We are a big family. We paid lots of money for our tickets.
I am sure you paid a lot of money for your tickets but so did everyone else. I'm also sure you think your children are Princes and Princesses but naming them on a public forum is never a good idea.
The charge of parking has gone up. It is $14.00 and it was $10.00. When you park for the Magic Kingdom, you actually wind up at the ticket and transportation center and then have to take a tram. You can't put the baby and all the stuff in the stroller because it will not fit on the tram. I guess you could walk, because it took fifteen minutes to wait for the tram anyway.
There is nothing wrong with walking unless it is scorchingly hot or bitterly cold. We went to WDW for our first time in December and didn't have to walk very far from our car to our park transport. Consider it an adventure. We used the time it took to get to the park gates to talk about what to expect, what we wanted to do, which characters we hoped to meet. We also struck up conversations with fellow visitors. Many people were interested in where we were from and we were interested in where people were from. It was a lovely way to start our day. After you get to the Ticket and Transportation Center then you have to take the ferry or monorail to the actual Magic Kingdom. It took over an hour to actually get to the gates of the Magic Kingdom from the time we parked. I think that's a little ridiculous.
Maybe you just went at a really busy time but we never had that experience. Not to say it couldn't happen though.
The first thing I noticed from the monorail is that the castle is under construction (hmmmm, not very magical).
Can you imagine what those who visited WDW in its infancy must have thought then, when all of what we take for granted was being developed. Guess what, unless they close the entire park for the duration of any construction or maintenance, these things are always going to 'upset' someone. Imagine the threads that would be started here if the whole park was closed for months for construction and maintenance because WDW didn't want to offend anyone with the sight of a crane or two? Once inside the park the moat is drained!!!! It is ugly, not magical at all. And the inside of the castle is closed. There were two cast members blocking the way who rudely told us we could go around the back
I doubt they were rude, perhaps it's just your perception as you were obviously in a non-magical mood yourself. - past the smoking area and drained moat - which is very un-magical. The cast members could clearly see that Skye was crying because all she wanted to do was see Cinderella's castle and meet Cinderella. They didn't do anything!!!! In fact, they just looked disgusted that we were bothering them and now my annoying kid was crying.
As if. You are the parent, it is your responsibility to explain to your child what is happening, not theirs. They didn't say, "Don't worry, you'll see Cinderella later." or offer to escort her in back themselves,
If that was to happen to your family, to have a special little private meeting then I am sure there would be hordes of people following you. Why do you think that your child/ren and family is more important than anyone else there? or tell us where we could meet or see Cinderella later, or even say "I'm sorry, little princess, please don't cry!" So basically, we were there for less than fifteen minutes and my little girl is crying. So we went in the back way, made a wish in the fountain, and saw what we could of the castle, which wasn't much.
Working on your theory of entitlement my family should have been given exclusive access to CarsLand at DCA when we first went because it was under construction. Instead we saved up for another trip and enjoyed what was on offer (and never mind that It's a Small World was closed at DLR because they were taking down the Christmas decorations, so does that make my holiday un-magical and ruined?)
My little girl never did see Cinderella that day.
Two trips to DLR/DCA and one to WDW I haven't seen Cinderella, either, but I did on the Fantasy in December 
I win I thought we could meet her after the castle show because all the characters come down afterwards to greet the children, but apparently that is a thing of the past. After the show the characters disappeared? This caused my little princess to cry again. Then I was told that they are holding Cinderella captive
what a load of nonsense. Gee, you really know how to twist things, don't you. in the new Princess Fairytale Hall and you can get a fastpass so you don't have to wait in line for over an hour. Well, I went to get fastpasses and the new system would not allow me to get one. Ariel was also "unavailable" and so was Rapunzel. I was able to get a fastpass to meet Mickey but that wasn't until 6:30pm - 7:30pm. I used to be able to get a fastpass outside any ride. Now you can only get three? This is a horrible system. I was waiting in line for 45 minutes to get the fastpasses! How is that fast or magical?
At lunchtime, we went to Cosmic Ray's, or at least tried to. I got little Dylan out of the stroller along with all the stuff and sent my hubby to get the food so I could sit down with the little kids. There were two cast members guarding the door to where the seating is blocking the way. I was told that I couldn't sit down unless I have bought food!!!!! What!!!!!!!! Are you serious??????
There is a reason for this, it isn't always practical for someone who needs to sit down, but it's there for a reason. I ordered some kebabs and a coke for myself at Bengal BBQ while my family rode Indiana Jones at Disneyland. Every table was taken up by people waiting for someone, they were not eating or drinking. The tables mostly had one or two people seated, bags all over chairs and the table and some had prams with them. I had to juggle by food and drink and eat while standing and I was not the only one who was in the same predicament. If you are not eating, then wait elsewhere. I pointed to my husband in line and told him that I could not wait 30 minutes with a two year old and five month old without a stroller. I told my husband who was furious and complained to the manager, Sam. Sam did nothing. Sam did not apologize. Sam did not let me sit down.
Gee, you make Sam out to be some heartless villain. Are you not sure your anger is clouding your opinion of the person? Sam did not give us vouchers for free dessert.
Why on earth would you expect something for free?????? That is so rude and offensive to everyone else who follows the rules that, as a travel agent as you claim you are, you should already be familiar with! Sam did nothing but stand in front of the door and treat us like second-class citizens.
I am really curious as to what people deem as a second class citizen. Please explain what you mean. I see this a lot bandied about and can never work out what people mean. I wasn't bringing in food from home. I was planning to buy it, but even if the opposite was the case - why aren't people allowed to sit down anywhere for free? Especially people with little children who paid over $100 per person to get into the park?
Ah, so you paid over $100 per person to enter the park. I used a 5 day hopper pass that cost less per day, so that must be what you mean by a second class citizen. I paid less than you did so therefore you are entitled to a seat and I don't. My children are older than yours so therefore you are entitled to more than me. Okay, I get it now. I was so angry I left and went over to Pecos Bills. They also had cast members guarding the seats. I was hungry and frustrated, so I gave in and waited with the kids to get all the food before I sat down. This is a ridiculous policy and it needs to be changed right away. People are paying ridiculous prices for so-so food and you won't let a mother of four sit down! I'm serious, if you keep doing this to mothers with little kids, it will cause a riot.
Again, another exaggeration. Sigh. There was a mother of twins and another grandmother at Cosmic Ray's who were just as angry as I was. I would also like to mention that Julie , is a picky eater.
So? I eat bacon and ham but not pork. I'm picky too then She eats chicken nuggets or pizza.
Unfortunately, unless she has a rare condition that makes it impossible for her to eat anything other than chicken nuggets or pizza, like allergies or sensory disorders, then it is a reflection on you as a parent for not introducing her to other foods much earlier. Saying she only eats chicken nuggets or pizza is not repsonsible parenting and it is doing nothing for her nutritionally. I suggest you take her to see a dietician or nutritionist. There was nothing on the menu at Pecos Bills for her to eat - only burgers.
Surely you jest? I talked her into a Southwest Salad, which had grilled chicken on it. Food selection, quality and customer service is better at the state fair, than at Disney World restaurants. Don't you think all the restaurants should have staples for the kids? - Hot dog, hamburger, pizza, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, corn dogs.
No I do not. How on earth do you expect your children to experience other tastes if that is all you are going to feed them? What will happen to them as adults? Can you imagine them taking their future dates to McDonalds or Pizza Hut as a romantic outing? Skye wanted ice cream.
And what Skye wants then Skye gets? Could you not say no? I couldn't get it there. I was told to go to a vendor outside. And why don't you sell McDonald's fries anymore. I loved that! After we were seated I needed to get up and get napkins and toppings. Apparently, you are paying the guards to watch the guests because three cast members asked me what I was doing out of my seat and reminded me that I couldn't sit down unless I had bought food. They were not offering to help me get everything I needed to feed my troop - they were strictly enforcing the rules and treating everyone like cattle. A cast member followed me back to my seat to make sure I had really bought food!
Pish posh. That is all I can say that won't get me censored. So lunch was not very magical at all. I paid over $70 dollars for everyone and nobody was happy.
For dinner, I tried to make reservations but was told there was nothing available unless I went to Downtown Disney. Crystal Palace and Be Your Guest had a three hour wait and we were told that people with reservations have priority. I find it really hard to fathom that Disney World is making it so difficult to get a simple meal.
I tried for months to make a CP character breakfast reservation online. It didn't happen. My life as I know it didn't end as a result. We skipped dinner and ate at Denny's - which was cheaper and made everyone happy.
Try the tilapia meal, it was my favourite menu item. I just don't like avocado so asked for them to not put it on. I must be a fussy eater.
Next week we are planning to go to Epcot or MGM during spring break. I called Disney Dining to make reservations. I was appalled when I was told I had to guarantee any dining reservation with a credit card and cancel up to 24 hours in advance or be charged $10 per person. Ok, so that's $60 if we are stuck on a ride or get there late. People with four kids are rarely on time.
Well, you just have to organise yourselves better then. I often look after up to 30 kids and I have to organise everyone to be on time otherwise we would miss excursion buses, swimming lessons, school assemblies, the home time bell... At this point, I was angry enough to ask for a manager to discuss all of these "new policies". I spoke to Winston. He was also no help. He said he would gladly take my reservation but not without a credit card. I told him about the debacle at Cosmic Ray's. He said he had never heard of that happening before, so I guess it's not his problem. I told him that I took my two year old princess to the Magic Kingdom and she was unable to see Cinderella or Mickey Mouse. Apparently, he didn't care about that at all?
And why should he? It's not his area of responsibility. Then he had the nerve to tell me that everyone is held to their high standard of policies, even Executive Vice Presidents! Really, well how does he know I'm not an Executive Vice President? He said he knew because an Executive Vice President would not cut off his sentences. Wow! Well, you can tell Winston that I am not an Executive, but I am a travel agent.
And a travel agent trumps EVP because... Again, pish posh that any of this conversation occured the way you are saying it did. And you can bet that this letter is going to be emailed to everyone I can think of at this point. And if any of my clients ask me where they should visit in Orlando - I will definitely tell them that Disney World is not worth the money anymore. Their customer service is sub-par at best and they simply don't care if a little kid is crying because they can't meet their favorite character. And if I could have a dollar for every time a Disney Cast member rolled their eyes at me on my visit - I would have over $100 dollars - which would cover the cost of my over-priced Disney ticket.
Well, then you would make a very poor travel agent then because as a travel agent it is your responsibility to give the client what they want and be fair and reasonable and most definitely respectful of their wishes. I asked Winston to refund my tickets because at this point I never want to go to Disney again. He offered to transfer me to ticketing but reminded me that the tickets are non-refundable. Great customer service Disney! Epic Fail! I am ashamed of you. I've been a loyal Disney fan and guest for forty years. It's a shame that that loyalty was shattered in one visit to the so-called Magic Kingdom. If Disney refuses to do anything to make this right, any future visits to theme parks for my family will be spent at Universal Studios or Busch Gardens. And I mean more than a half-hearted apology and an eye roll!
he wanted me to ask dd when do they give out free ice cream? he said he was listening to a pod cast and the person said that wdw gives out so many free ice creams per hour or shift. 
. Both the OP and her defender has 3 total posts each!?!?
