Reply from WDW Guest Communications

[patty57]

Telling people to shut and go away isn't a discussion.

Before this goes completely off the rails, while I disagree with Convenient Truth wholeheartedly, those words weren't used.

 

[kdnmom]

Agreed.
This whole FP+ complaining is getting old. You don't like it then don't use it. If something like this gets someone so worked up that they are angry the whole trip and need to go home and write a letter then maybe it's time for a change.

We were there in January and, while the FP+ was a bit of a pain, we sucked-it-up and enjoyed our time at the Happiest Place on Earth.

If the FP+ complaining is getting old to you, then stop reading (and commenting) on the threads. And I didn't say I was "angry the whole trip". I just was providing feedback. Maybe you should tell Disney that you "sucked it up" to enjoy their parks, though that doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement either.

 

[morethananyonex]

I like how over the course of the roll out the whiners about whiners have gone from "you don't know until you try it" to "you knew you wouldn't like it, why would you try it? Don't complain here send your feelings to Disney" to "why would you complain about Disney to Disney???"

Makes tons of sense.

Maybe if you (general you) are so sick of reading these stop reading them and stop responding to them. Just like whining about FP+ is not likely to change it, your whining about DIS members is not likely to change anything either.

 

[DividedSky]

100k

 

[ConvenientTruth]

Nope, didn't expect an apology. I thought it would be relevant to a business to know the impact of their business decisions. If they hear from thousands of people saying that they will no longer be spending money at Disney, that may impact how they proceed with their business in the future. Maybe my dollars will be replaced by dozens of others, maybe they won't. Obviously, Disney has determined that they think they will, but that remains to be seen. And I absolutely think it's relevant that we were repeat customers with a lot of money spent there. I do think that a business would find a loss of more money more relevant than a loss of say, a single person that bought a single day ticket. I'm just providing information, by emailing them and by posting here. They, and you, can do with that information as they/you see fit.

100,000 is not a lot to Disney...it is a lot to the individual spending the money, but not to Disney.

I assume you posted the letter wanting people's thoughts on it...I am pointing out that your point would have been made much better by not try to assign a dollar amount. You make valid points about the experience, but by adding a dollar amount and saying you will not be recommending it in the future is akin "to taking you ball home and not playing any more and having your friends leave with you.

 

[JanaDee]

Who said "Shut Up and go away?"

Telling them they shouldn't have bothered writing a letter about their experience and go somewhere else (not returning) is telling people to shut up and go away.

 

[morethananyonex]

I think the dollar value is relevant. Helps them to figure out what kind of guest the OP is. They even ask your estimated cost of vacation on the surveys they send when you arrive home.

 

[duffdo]

I disagree with the original point. I actually find the new FP+ system to be rather good. I used it during the original trial with a magic band last year and the convenience of using my IPhone/IPad to pick my FPs in advance was amazing!

Granted, you don't get any more fast passes with the new system, in fact you can even end up with less, but you don't have to go and physically collect them. You just choose what you want and Disney do the rest. As for the system being glitchy, my only issue was with the DME app which on some occasions was a little slow. We never had any issues with park admission or using the fast passes themselves. As Disney said in their reply this is something that they are working on.....

....In fact, in the past week or so, a new version of MDE has been released for the IPhone and boy is it fast!

I understand people not wanting change. Personally, I am gutted that Spectromagic has gone! Sadly in some cases time must move on. Would this stop me from going to WDW? Certainly not. Change brings exciting new things....

 

[lovin'fl]

100k

They spent $10K a year and they live within a few hours of WDW...hmmmm...I call BS. But it doesn't matter because Disney has 10 other families who will become Disney lovers to replace the loss of this one....their parks are crowded most every day of the year now (where it used to be certain times like holidays)...look at the crowd calendar on UT and you'll be hard pressed to find a whole lot of 1-3 crowd levels but there are tons of 9s.

 

[surferdave]

In a thread coming to you soon, someone will admit that they don't get to Disney often, they stay offsite, or are not DVC members, and the defense of the changes will turn to how Disney has to take care of their customers who spend more money with them.

 

[DebbieB]

This is exactly the response I would expect to receive. They are acknowledging they received your feedback, and will add it to their test data. Feel good that your opinions are heard, and they will hopefully tweak the system accordingly.

Any rollout takes time and A LOT of data to get it right. Most companies will adjust based on this data, and I'm sure Disney will do the same.

I agree, I don't know what else they would say. They are taking the feedback into consideration. They aren't going to apologize because that would admit fault. They also are not going to beg someone to come back.

I agree that there is more to come, this isn't the final system. I like the concept but they need to work on the execution. I think they should have spent more time testing on a smaller group, not just force it out to everyone with problems.

 

[morethananyonex]

They spent $10K a year and they live within a few hours of WDW...hmmmm...I call BS. But it doesn't matter because Disney has 10 other families who will become Disney lovers to replace the loss of this one....their parks are crowded most every day of the year now (where it used to be certain times like holidays)...look at the crowd calendar on UT and you'll be hard pressed to find a whole lot of 1-3 crowd levels but there are tons of 9s.

If you call BS on that number you obviously are unaware of Disney prices.

I have no idea how OP spends their money, but a couple weeks a year onsite plus tickets, food and souvenirs can get up there easily, especially if they stay deluxe.

 

[WillAustin]

In a thread coming to you soon, someone will admit that they don't get to Disney often, they stay offsite, or are not DVC members, and the defense of the changes will turn to how Disney has to take care of their customers who spend more money with them.

It's interesting how the dynamic has changed from "stop complaining and just don't spend your money there" to "Disney doesn't care if you stop spending your money there".

 

[Shaden]

Not from an individual who uses a line such as that....and what did you expect from them...an apology....it is a business...your dollars will be easily replaces by a dozens other families...spending just as much, if not more.

lol, I don't understand why you assume this, or where you pull this from.

On the days that they travelled, was Disney at 100% capacity ? Were they telling people "sorry, we are all full" a the door ??? No, they weren't. Was Disney trying just as hard then to get people into the parks ??? Yes, they were. So how do you assume there is this magical list of people just waiting to get into Disney to replace the OP ????

I mean, I have seen this trotted out by the Disney apologists several times "there is someone waiting to take your spot" .... WHERE !?!?! I don't see anyone ?

 

[sonofanarchy]

Why was a letter necessary couldn't you simply stop going?

A customer mentioning how much they spend in establishment as to why one should fight to keep their business is second only to "do you know who I am"...

Said it before and I'll say it again - I love this DIS motto. "If you don't like something, don't do your best to fix it. Just give up!"

 

[adc]

They could have said thank you for your business and the recommendations. And, that they hope to see you in the future when the 'test' is over.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I'm getting really tired of the attitude that if you have something critical to say about Disney you need to shut up and go away.

 

[DividedSky]

If you call BS on that number you obviously are unaware of Disney prices.

I have no idea how OP spends their money, but a couple weeks a year onsite plus tickets, food and souvenirs can get up there easily, especially if they stay deluxe.

10k a year, and they are taking their ball and going home because of fp+

great. I think that is terrific. probably the smartest decision they made in the last 10 years. I hope more people follow them.

 

[lovin'fl]

If you call BS on that number you obviously are unaware of Disney prices.

I have no idea how OP spends their money, but a couple weeks a year onsite plus tickets, food and souvenirs can get up there easily, especially if they stay deluxe.

I am aware...we have been 10 times in 10 years ourselves, though DVC (going so often we find that we spend less now...not much on souvies like we would if it were a once and a lifetime trip for example)...but seems kinda funny that OP mentions $100K in the complaint.

 

[Vidia2]

lol, I don't understand why you assume this, or where you pull this from. On the days that they travelled, was Disney at 100% capacity ? Were they telling people "sorry, we are all full" a the door ??? No, they weren't. Was Disney trying just as hard then to get people into the parks ??? Yes, they were. So how do you assume there is this magical list of people just waiting to get into Disney to replace the OP ???? I mean, I have seen this trotted out by the Disney apologists several times "there is someone waiting to take your spot" .... WHERE !?!?! I don't see anyone ?

Thank you! I think this every time someone uses that phrase. It makes no sense at all.