special parties and people without wristbands....

[jahber]

Oh I totally agree with you (as I stated I research) about that except for the fact that there are people who still do little or no research when it comes to WDW plus people are just not observant at all which yes is poor judgement. Some people also may not know the language well enough to read the signs.

I was just placing my input based on bad reviews (which I didn't always feel was justified since a lot was because the reviewer didn't research) I had seen based on the parties over several months time where people clearly didn't realize they were there on a party night and therefore must not have been observant enough to see the signs you were talking about or looked at park hours. If not approached by a CM telling them to leave some of the people below may not have realized what was going on and carried on like normal. As I also mentioned I was more speaking of Halloween though the same logic could be applied towards the Christmas party.

Just some MK reviews from TripAdvisor:
1-star review from 11/7/15: "Unfortunately we went in the week of Halloween. We did not get to see any disney characters as they seemed to save them all for the Halloween evening entertainment. The park closed at 5pm and we were told that we would have to pay extra to stay. If we had know we would not have paid to go into the park at all. Everyone was very disappointed."

1-star review from 10/24/15: "They wouldn't even let us in because we didn't have "event" tickets and you can not ride some rides without a costume that's not right."

2-star review from 9/25/15: "How dare they charge you for a full days ticket price and boot you out at 7pm for the Halloween event"

2-star review from 10/19/15: "...about eight minutes before the park "closed" for the Halloween party for which we didn't have tickets. She would not let us board one final ride we wanted to check out before we left for the night."

Just some Universal reviews from TripAdvisor:
2-star review from 12/14/15 : "...they are more worried about making money than making guests feel welcome, the tone is visible everywhere but you will feel it most intensely when they ask you to leave the park early due to the "Horror Nights" which in my point of view should not be in detriment of average ticket paying guests who had the bad luck to go on one of these days and had to deal with rude staff demanding everyone to leave."

2-star review from 10/9/15: "We visited Universal Studios on a Thursday. We arrived at noon and it wasn't until 5pm that day that we were told that it closed at 5pm (the website had said 10pm) because of a Halloween event."

These are from people who actually posted reviews but there are plenty of people who don't post reviews. I was in no way defending those who are at the parties unknowningly (as I am not taking into consideration people who knew but stayed anyways) without purchasing the special event tickets but it does happen.

We could argue all day long that these people should have researched or observed signs in front of them but the point is they didn't and they felt the need to rate low based on that (though some of the reviews it was a combination of multiple things that led to a low review).

I agree that it's possible to arrive at the park not knowing about the party. But once you're On property, there is absolutely no way to miss the fact that a party is starting. There are signs at the parking booth, the tram announcer makes an announcement, there are signs before the turnstiles, signs before the walkway under the train, and multiple announcements over the park PA system. It may not have been like that in years prior, but that's how it is now. If you arrive at a park, ignore all the signs and announcements, and still decide to enter, that's on you. That said, I bet a really good complainer could get a refund if they entered a park at 4 and started hearing announcements that the park was closing at 7.

I'm almost always on the side of people who are spontaneous "show up at WDW and do whatever" because it's a theme park, for goodness' sake. You shouldn't have to plan your dinner 6 months out. But I have to give WDW credit for trying as hard as they can to let guests know about the party before they use their tickets.

Edited to add: after the absolute mess that was the first Halloween party this year (where people I know received a refund because there were scores of people without bands actually PERMITTED to stay because Disney said there was no way they could make sure they all left), Disney upped their game and became much more serious about checking bands. The party we attended in September was crowded, but I never noticed people without bands.

 

[PetePanMan]

Once again, if everyone did this they would do more about it but those trying to take advantage often get away with it. CM are human and generally like to avoid conflict. I have seen some enforcement when going on rides at events but never for special parades, fireworks etc.

 

[Miskey]

Oh I totally agree with you (as I stated I research) about that except for the fact that there are people who still do little or no research when it comes to WDW plus people are just not observant at all which yes is poor judgement. Some people also may not know the language well enough to read the signs.

I was just placing my input based on bad reviews (which I didn't always feel was justified since a lot was because the reviewer didn't research) I had seen based on the parties over several months time where people clearly didn't realize they were there on a party night and therefore must not have been observant enough to see the signs you were talking about or looked at park hours. If not approached by a CM telling them to leave some of the people below may not have realized what was going on and carried on like normal. As I also mentioned I was more speaking of Halloween though the same logic could be applied towards the Christmas party.

Just some MK reviews from TripAdvisor:
1-star review from 11/7/15: "Unfortunately we went in the week of Halloween. We did not get to see any disney characters as they seemed to save them all for the Halloween evening entertainment. The park closed at 5pm and we were told that we would have to pay extra to stay. If we had know we would not have paid to go into the park at all. Everyone was very disappointed."

1-star review from 10/24/15: "They wouldn't even let us in because we didn't have "event" tickets and you can not ride some rides without a costume that's not right."

2-star review from 9/25/15: "How dare they charge you for a full days ticket price and boot you out at 7pm for the Halloween event"

2-star review from 10/19/15: "...about eight minutes before the park "closed" for the Halloween party for which we didn't have tickets. She would not let us board one final ride we wanted to check out before we left for the night."

Just some Universal reviews from TripAdvisor:
2-star review from 12/14/15 : "...they are more worried about making money than making guests feel welcome, the tone is visible everywhere but you will feel it most intensely when they ask you to leave the park early due to the "Horror Nights" which in my point of view should not be in detriment of average ticket paying guests who had the bad luck to go on one of these days and had to deal with rude staff demanding everyone to leave."

2-star review from 10/9/15: "We visited Universal Studios on a Thursday. We arrived at noon and it wasn't until 5pm that day that we were told that it closed at 5pm (the website had said 10pm) because of a Halloween event."

These are from people who actually posted reviews but there are plenty of people who don't post reviews. I was in no way defending those who are at the parties unknowningly (as I am not taking into consideration people who knew but stayed anyways) without purchasing the special event tickets but it does happen.

We could argue all day long that these people should have researched or observed signs in front of them but the point is they didn't and they felt the need to rate low based on that (though some of the reviews it was a combination of multiple things that led to a low review).

Exactly why I don't even bother with online reviews any longer. Those are just filled with flat out lies

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Exactly why I don't even bother with online reviews any longer. Those are just filled with flat out lies

Yeah I tend to read the worst ones first (including product reviews) because like I said most of them are due to the person not researching first. It helps to figure out if something really was an issue or if was more of a user error. My whole point was that it is possible for some people to not pay attention closely as the other commentor said they didn't believe that someone could do that because they should have checked online hours first and seen the signs but clearly people people don't. My original post was in regards to reviews read on a major review site which unfortunately means WDW can get a bad rep for something not their fault.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I agree that it's possible to arrive at the park not knowing about the party. But once you're On property, there is absolutely no way to miss the fact that a party is starting. There are signs at the parking booth, the tram announcer makes an announcement, there are signs before the turnstiles, signs before the walkway under the train, and multiple announcements over the park PA system. It may not have been like that in years prior, but that's how it is now. If you arrive at a park, ignore all the signs and announcements, and still decide to enter, that's on you. That said, I bet a really good complainer could get a refund if they entered a park at 4 and started hearing announcements that the park was closing at 7.

I'm almost always on the side of people who are spontaneous "show up at WDW and do whatever" because it's a theme park, for goodness' sake. You shouldn't have to plan your dinner 6 months out. But I have to give WDW credit for trying as hard as they can to let guests know about the party before they use their tickets.

Edited to add: after the absolute mess that was the first Halloween party this year (where people I know received a refund because there were scores of people without bands actually PERMITTED to stay because Disney said there was no way they could make sure they all left), Disney upped their game and became much more serious about checking bands. The party we attended in September was crowded, but I never noticed people without bands.

And I totally agree with you. I wasn't defending anyone who stayed at a party they didn't pay for, I was just putting it out there that there are bad reviews based strictly on people's "experiences" on being kicked out for the party. It does suck but I know you're right about people complaining about only being able to be there for a short time because of a party and getting something out of it; seems like all some people have to do is stomp their feet and voila they get something out of it. In the same token I'm glad WDW did something for those people at the first party you were talking about because I'd be upset that I paid for something special but people around me didn't pay when they should have.

 

[piccolopat]

I agree that it is unlikely that a couple could spend $200 at LTT and that this particular couple appeared to be intentionally taking advantage of the party without paying for the privilege. After one or two steps on my toes, I might have gotten the CM at that point to escort them out just because of their poor attitude and obnoxious behavior. Under other circumstances, it is possible for a family to enter and eat at LTT before the start of the party and exit as the parade is going by. In this case, it would be difficult for them to navigate to Main Street to exit and I wouldn't say anything if they stood by and watched the parade until the crowd dispersed.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

what could they spend $200 on at Liberty Tree for dinner? Diet Coke? we know it wasn't booze.

 

[larryz]

what could they spend $200 on at Liberty Tree for dinner? Diet Coke? we know it wasn't booze.

For three people?

Sounds like he rounded up.

A lot.

 

[lustergirl]

Because worrying about what other people did, are doing, or might potentially do is like 80% of the conversations on the Dis Boards.

winner winner chicken dinner, lol...

 

[lustergirl]

For three people?

Sounds like he rounded up.

A lot.

what could they spend $200 on at Liberty Tree for dinner? Diet Coke? we know it wasn't booze.

Now come on, drinking in MK is reserved for another thread

 

[MakiraMarlena]

if somebody posts a bad review on Trip Advisor and the reason they are posting that bad review is because it was something they could have easily prevented themselves (like by checking the park hours) then I ignore it pretty much.

I've been to a local restaurant that got a one star review because they refused to waive their delivery minimum for the reviewer. Had nothing to do with the food or the restaurant itself so I didn't pay any attention to it. Nor do I feel too sorry for the reviewer.

 

[asc]

usually my wrist band is under my long sleeve shirt and frankly, what gives you the right to ask me to see it...other GUEST!! ....mind your own business. i love how people worry about others and that ruins their time...

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

if somebody posts a bad review on Trip Advisor and the reason they are posting that bad review is because it was something they could have easily prevented themselves (like by checking the park hours) then I ignore it pretty much.

I've been to a local restaurant that got a one star review because they refused to waive their delivery minimum for the reviewer. Had nothing to do with the food or the restaurant itself so I didn't pay any attention to it. Nor do I feel too sorry for the reviewer.

Yup, that's pretty much how I feel. Most people can kinda guess how something really was supposed to work and take that bad review with a grain of salt.

I actually e-mailed a lady once telling her she really shouldn't place that bad of a review simply because she didn't research enough. She posted a 1-star review because WDW wouldn't let her into MK to watch just the fireworks with her son and his new bride without paying full price for the ticket. She responded back to me and admitted that it was her fault for not researching enough. Problem is with TripAdvisor you cannot edit your review or star rating. You have to ask them to delete the review so you can repost and most people would not go through that trouble to do so.

I wish reviews on TripAdvisor were more like here and on Amazon where you can comment back to what someone is saying. Even if you don't agree with the poster you can put valuable information in so another person reading gets more inputs.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Yes that would be interesting, considering the amount of misinformation just in the TripAdvisor reviews quoted: "you can't ride some rides without a costume," "park closed at 5 (unless it was something other than a hard ticket party, the park closes at 7.) And the one who is upset enough to put it on a review because they weren't allowed on "one final ride" without party tickets. That is like the guy who was angry at the restaurant when it wouldn't waive its delivery minimum just for him.