TEMPORARY Refrigerator Removal from WDW Resorts

[Redcon1]

This!!

We had a problem at least 10 yrs ago with the fridge in our room and when maintenance came to look at it, he said that they have problems all the time with the fridges freezing up and not working properly because they are inside cabinets with no ventilation. So, why in the world would disney refurb rooms and make the same mistake again? I dont get it.

Hopefully Disney finds a way to replace them quickly. I don't see how they can possibly think it is ok to leave guests without a fridge and not telling them until they checkin. That is awful. Plus, if a whole resort does not have fridges, I would imagine the ice machines would be constantly empty from people filling coolers.

Maybe Disney's IT Department had a hand in designing the cabinets.

I wonder as a solution if Disney would consider purchasing styrofoam coolers in bulk and provide them free of charge to any guest who request them? This probably wouldn't be as expensive to the bottom line as knocking $10 off the room rate and might provide some goodwill to those inconvienenced.

 

[Reddog1134]

I don't know if this has been mentioned but I noticed that a lot of people said they don't like the new Rapidfill mug program and will start storing their own drinks in their room fridges. Then today...

 

[ktate82]

That's 105.00 per week....that'll pay for a few food court meals!

Yup. They said they used to charge for fridges and found it was better to put them in all the rooms and raise the price of the rooms.

 

[Dizneefamily+4]

AMEN AND AMEN!! Get over it....we can all survive by putting our milk and yogurt in a cooler for a week! I'm sure Disney hopes to get this problem fixed ASAP to keep from hearing everyones complaints!!!!!

It'd be a lot easier to get over it if we the ability to HAVE a cooler. We fly in and take DME. No car. Not really able to pack one in our luggage either. Traveling in early Aug (3 weeks from today actually) without the ability to keep drinks cold sucks. Not everyone can just "survive by putting things in a cooler for a week."

 

[Dani C]

It isn't so much that they are removing them, we understand the fire issues. What I don't like that they aren't notifying people. For those of us on the boards, we are aware and can plan accordingly. For those that aren't and saw that they would have the refrigerator in their room when they reserved and intend to either have food shipped or take it along with them, this could be a real issue. Ahead of time, we know to either take a cooler or arrange our plans as to not need one. Do I feel they owe us something, yes. They owe us the courtesy of advance notification.

 

[Patience]

It'd be a lot easier to get over it if we the ability to HAVE a cooler. We fly in and take DME. No car. Not really able to pack one in our luggage either. Traveling in early Aug (3 weeks from today actually) without the ability to keep drinks cold sucks. Not everyone can just "survive by putting things in a cooler for a week."

Yup, we're flying too so no ability to have a cooler even if I wanted one. And I'm NOT using the trash can.

 

[CT Disney]

I noticed there are a few people saying that no fridge is "Not a Big Deal".

But, here's the thing: We all have different priorities. What may not be a big deal to you, may be a huge deal to someone else. We all vacation differently.

To a family that has kids and plans to eat breakfast exclusively in the room, no fridge may be a big deal. Maybe some families have food allergies or kids that are extremely picky eaters, and they like to keep certain refrigerated foods on hand. All I'm saying is that you can't judge someone else's situation.

And, I can see where this fridge situation may be a big deal to some families.

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

The 4 month replacement timeline also seems a bit insane. Why would it take so long to replace them? It seems like a task that could be done in a 2 week time period, if that. Order new, remove old, connect new.

Why will it take so long? Well, let's think about it, using Pop Century as an example. Pop has roughly 2,000 rooms.

Let's assume that it takes 15 minutes per refrigerator to remove the packaging and recycle the cardboard. That would be 15 minutes x 2,000 refrigerators = 30,000 minutes = 500 hours. Assuming that they staff 8 people on the "Refrigerator" project, for 8 hours a day, that's 64 hours of labor available per day. 500 hrs needed divided 64 hrs available per day = nearly 8 days, just to unpackage the refrigerators.

Then, since you have to move the refrigerators from the loading dock to the buildings, plug them in, put them into place, and remove the old refrigerators, let's say it takes 45 minutes per refrigerator to replace each one. Times 2,000 refrigerators, that's 90,000 minutes, or 1,500 hours. Divide that by the 64 hours of labor available per day, and we get another 25 days.

So, add it all up, and that puts us at 32 days, just to replace the refrigerators in one resort, if those times are correct, and nothing goes wrong.

I've only skimmed the responses, so I don't know if Disney is going to pull all the old refrigerators before they install the new ones. If they do that, then the process would take even longer.

(not to mention lead time on procuring the new refrigerators, especially if they are going to pull all the old ones before getting the new ones)

 

[Blessedwith3boys]

It'd be a lot easier to get over it if we the ability to HAVE a cooler. We fly in and take DME. No car. Not really able to pack one in our luggage either. Traveling in early Aug (3 weeks from today actually) without the ability to keep drinks cold sucks. Not everyone can just "survive by putting things in a cooler for a week."

They're 8 bucks!!! We're all traveling to Disney World.... I'm thinking we can swing the added cost of having one delivered to your room.

 

[Patience]

$8 for a cheapo styrofoam cooler that won't drain. Like I said, that's not terribly magical to me.

 

[Blessedwith3boys]

I noticed there are a few people saying that no fridge is "Not a Big Deal".

But, here's the thing: We all have different priorities. What may not be a big deal to you, may be a huge deal to someone else. We all vacation differently.

To a family that has kids and plans to eat breakfast exclusively in the room, no fridge may be a big deal. Maybe some families have food allergies or kids that are extremely picky eaters, and they like to keep certain refrigerated foods on hand. All I'm saying is that you can't judge someone else's situation.

And, I can see where this fridge situation may be a big deal to some families.

Btw..... We have 3 small children... Always eat breakfast in the room.... And do see this as an inconvenience! But, we all have to get over it!!! I am much more concerned about my room catching on fire!

 

[Reddog1134]

Why will it take so long? Well, let's think about it, using Pop Century as an example. Pop has roughly 2,000 rooms.

Let's assume that it takes 15 minutes per refrigerator to remove the packaging and recycle the cardboard. That would be 15 minutes x 2,000 refrigerators = 30,000 minutes = 500 hours. Assuming that they staff 8 people on the "Refrigerator" project, for 8 hours a day, that's 64 hours of labor available per day. 500 hrs needed divided 64 hrs available per day = nearly 8 days, just to unpackage the refrigerators.

Then, since you have to move the refrigerators from the loading dock to the buildings, plug them in, put them into place, and remove the old refrigerators, let's say it takes 45 minutes per refrigerator to replace each one. Times 2,000 refrigerators, that's 90,000 minutes, or 1,500 hours. Divide that by the 64 hours of labor available per day, and we get another 25 days.

So, add it all up, and that puts us at 32 days, just to replace the refrigerators in one resort, if those times are correct, and nothing goes wrong.

I've only skimmed the responses, so I don't know if Disney is going to pull all the old refrigerators before they install the new ones. If they do that, then the process would take even longer.

(not to mention lead time on procuring the new refrigerators, especially if they are going to pull all the old ones before getting the new ones)

I don't know how accurate this info is but someone said there is nothing wrong with fridges themselves, it's the enclosed location that's the problem. (and the reason why DVC is unaffected)

So they may not have to remove the fridges at all, but they will have to redo the area they are located.

 

[CT Disney]

Btw..... We have 3 small children... Always eat breakfast in the room.... And do see this as an inconvenience! But, we all have to get over it!!! I am much more concerned about my room catching on fire!

To be clear...I'm not saying that a potential fire hazard is less important than a fridge in the room. That would just be silly.

I'm simply saying that not having a fridge may be an issue for some families.

So, even if the fridge is removed for a totally legitimate safety reason, the removal of it may still be a big deal to some.

 

[Blessedwith3boys]

To be clear...I'm not saying that a potential fire hazard is less important than a fridge in the room. That would just be silly.

I'm simply saying that not having a fridge may be an issue for some families.

Put it this way, if the bed was removed from your room because it was deemed a safety issue, I bet you'd still think it was a big deal.

In other words, even if the fridge is removed for a totally legitimate safety reason, the removal of it may still be a big deal to some.

A missing bed does not have an 8.00 solution!

 

[CT Disney]

A missing bed does not have an 8.00 solution!

You are absolutely right...which is why I removed it from my post right after I posted it. I figured it wasn't the best example. I guess I was just trying to say that it's possible that the solution to a legitimate safety concern may still pose a really big inconvenience to some families.

Although, for $8 you could probably buy a blanket and a pillow

 

[Blessedwith3boys]

You are absolutely right...which is why I removed it from my post right after I posted it. I figured it wasn't the best example. I guess I was just trying to say that it's possible that the solution to a legitimate safety concern may still pose a really big inconvenience to some families.

Although, for $8 you could probably buy a blanket and a pillow

LOL! I agree it's a pain.... And I do hope the problem is resolved quickly! I just hate when people act like the world is coming to an end.... When there is a relatively easy solution!

 

[Patience]

An $8 styrofoam cooler (that I would have to pay for) is a solution but it's an inconvenient one. We would have to order it to be delivered, fill it with ice, dump the ice when it melts, pull dripping drinks and food out of it, go get more ice, etc. Guests should be compensated for their inconvenience. If I wanted to live out of a cooler for a week, I'd go camping. I understand that Disney is concerned about guest safety and I appreciate that. But they also need to be concerned about the satisfaction and convenience of their guests. If they can't provide a previously advertised amenity due to a safety hazard, they need to figure out a way to keep their guests happy. The usual way is to comp them something small, which it sounds like they may be doing. We'll see.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

I guess I'm still really shocked by the whole, "It's not a big deal. Deal with it. Quit complaining." attitude on here.

Yes, we can all survive without a fridge. Yes, we'll find ways to keep things cold. Yes, $8 isn't a huge expense. Etc., etc., etc.

But what about the point of paying for something and then not getting what you paid for? When I booked and paid for my room, it said there would be a fridge. Now there might not be. That's just plain wrong.

If you checked into a hotel anywhere other than Disney that said it would have a TV in the room and it didn't, would you just shrug, and say "Oh, well, no big deal."? No, you'd be calling down to the desk asking where is my TV that I paid for. If you went to a restaurant and ordered spaghetti and meatballs but they only gave you spaghetti, would you say, "Oh, that's okay, I can make some when I get home. Go ahead and charge me the same price anyway."? No, you'd want a reduction in price or a substitution.

I'm amazed at this attitude that since it's Disney and it's magical and we should all be happy just to be here, that it's okay that they don't deliver on what they advertised. I'm sorry--we work a lot of hours all year and end up spending way more money than we probably should on a vacation. They're not doing me any favors by letting me stay there--I'm paying a pretty penny for it!

All I ask is to get what I paid for. But then I guess that's just plain unreasonable at Disney.......

 

[Patience]

I also am sitting here wondering where all the ice for all of these coolers guests will so happily be lugging with them will come from. Seems like it may run out pretty quickly...

 

[HopperFan]

For some who don't use the fridge then I absolutely agree it's no big deal. Not a big deal for me, I have ability to solve it. But it is for others because it can greatly affect their trip financially.

And Dis is a small portion of the people at these resorts expecting a fridge. For many families it is an important amenity that saves them a good bit of money. Breakfast foods and making sandwiches for a week long trip is saving a lot of money. What if you showed up not knowing, didn't plan on hundreds of dollars for that food and you had a food delivery on order coming.

Disney resort prices are climbing to a point many families really have to think if they will stay on property. Disney is competing with hotels just outside the property with free internet, fridges, microwaves, free breakfast, even two room suites for less than they charge for a value some seasons. As their prices climbed the fridges and internet became included in the prices. This wasn't planned but how they handle it is critical. For me, no fridge means they owe folks a daily credit to help offset meals they planned to cover with that fridge and owe them timely notification prior to departure date if their resort is still affected to cancel food orders and be ready for extra eating expenses.

Pre-fridge days we either rolled a mini fridge on a small luggage rack to the room or brought an xtreme cooler that ice barely melted. We like to come often and to do that we try to save for the next trip. Breakfast in our room (fruit, juice and yogurt), sandwich supplies to carry into parks so that we can eat a nice table service meal each evening. Even the times we were on dining plan the fridge was great for getting fruit and juice the night before for our breakfasts and our desserts we couldn't finish for snacking later. While the mug is a nice thought I'm not walking to the food court at 10pm when I feel like a cold soda or beer. I go to my fridge.

Coolers will be a great alternative BUT (1) most won't even know to bring or order one (2) many can't get off property to get one (3) there isn't going to be enough ice in those machines to keep every cooler iced. I can see it now, people in long lines for the ice machines hoping it doesn't run out before they get there.

Installing them is only half the problem. there aren't just 30,000 plus mini fridges sitting in a warehouse hoping to be bought. Disney had better get their thinking caps on how to handle this with care. This potentially could get ugly at the front desk