Tikiman has been silenced.

[BlackMagicWoman]

Well that is really sad news.

 

[grecorj]

Here's his FB post from last night.

 

[LvsTnk]

I went back and reread his replies and that is where he said Disney has put pressure on him to discontinue his reports.

I guess it really doesn't matter at this point I so appreciated what he did and sad to see that end.

 

[JohnDaleswife]

I did not say that Disney did ban him, but I believed they might have threaten to. My guess only. I said it was just my guess. They put pressure on him some how, some way.

 

[ArwenMarie]

He probably got a standard cease and desist letter and decided it wasn't worth it anymore.

 

[HopperFan]

Did not know that a blogger could not post what they wanted or that it spilled over to a FB page. That is interesting. Learn something new everyday.

Doesn't surprise me at all a CM got upset, they hate when you know more than they do.

There are some that are more professional type bloggers that are often included in media events by Disney. I would venture there is some type of agreement on reciprocal information. Many bloggers release "inside information" well before Disney planned but I think this Polynesian construction situation has gotten out of hand, lasted way too long for Poly fans and now the resort has lost some of it's charm with the addition of the DVC bungalows. Disney has not done well in serving it's guests, releasing accurate information and meeting expectations that come with the room rates there. Tiki has been keeping guests updated. The question I would have - is stopping him now their way of saying we are far from done with this mess?

Tiki also said that "Besides some people I have had to deal with, Disney has put some pressure on me to discontinue my report. ..... Disney has unfortunately had enough of me and has asked me to stop. They want to be the ones to notify guests."

 

[Polydweller]

I went back and reread his replies and that is where he said Disney has put pressure on him to discontinue his reports.

I guess it really doesn't matter at this point I so appreciated what he did and sad to see that end.

I did not say that Disney did ban him, but I believed they might have threaten to. My guess only. I said it was just my guess. They put pressure on him some how, some way.

Again lots of inaccurate speculation here and people should stop guessing. I'll leave that there.

I get lots of information but don't report anything until it's official or nearly so and I am told I can. It just changes too much and can cause upset with the resort's clientele that shouldn't have occurred.

Tikiman's site has some of the best info about the Poly and I hope he continues to maintain that. But I also know that he has let out some things before Disney was ready or the decision wasn't final. It sounds from his statement that they may have had enough of that and yes I heard of some the outright anger about it for a couple of years.

 

[Tikiman]

I have not been banned from Disney or the Resort. I am not considered a member of the press.
As for the comments of front desk CMs that hate me, they should direct that anger at their managers or higher for not informing them well. I don’t mean that in a rude way either. I feel bad that CMs that work there are misinformed. It has to be hard for them to give a guest a wrong answer because they were not told the right one.
My information I get from sources that would know meaning that they are in a position that would have to know the right answer. As for schedules I share not happening at the time I say they will, that is because as we know things happen to change schedules. That does not make it any less of a fact at the time I shared it. I did this not to upset Disney but to inform guests that Disney does not inform well. There are many things I have been told and asked not to share and I don’t. I make sure to find out specifically if I can share something or not and I just pass along the info I am given. I don’t make it up myself so how can my information be wrong if it is not my information?
It’s ironic that I sit on the information about bungalows since mid 2011 but the DIS talks about it in a pod cast the next year and Disney has no problem with that.
Thanks to all those who supported me since 1999. I want to thank the DIS for being the place to inspire me to create my site. Let’s see if the DIS cannot go downhill like other message forums and get back to sharing info and being kind to one another. I will keep the history and details about the resort going for as long as I feel I can do a good job.
I will leave the inside info to other sites from now on and maybe the CMs can focus their anger towards them.

Aloha Cousins

 

[LvsTnk]

I wasn't speculating anything.

Actually if I was what difference does it make I am definitely not part of any media or a blogger or whatever. If I hear something or want to post a picture I will as long as I follow the disboards guidelines. I'm not selling it this is an information board for the sharing of information or of opinions it's important to keep that in perspective.

I would hope that posters will continue to do so here on the resorts board. I know when Wilderness Lodge was going through it's pool refurb there was so much information posted that Disney wasn't giving out I hope people will continue that for the Polynesian.

 

[bookgirl]

Shame that this is halting.

Another poster who was great about posting some insider info and often discussed discounts and timelines was harassed not by Disney but by posters a year or so ago and he too has backed off.

Sorry to see you stop as I ofen read your info in a FYI mode.

 

[Polydweller]

I have not been banned from Disney or the Resort. I am not considered a member of the press.
As for the comments of front desk CMs that hate me, they should direct that anger at their managers or higher for not informing them well. I don’t mean that in a rude way either. I feel bad that CMs that work there are misinformed. It has to be hard for them to give a guest a wrong answer because they were not told the right one.
My information I get from sources that would know meaning that they are in a position that would have to know the right answer. As for schedules I share not happening at the time I say they will, that is because as we know things happen to change schedules. That does not make it any less of a fact at the time I shared it. I did this not to upset Disney but to inform guests that Disney does not inform well. There are many things I have been told and asked not to share and I don’t. I make sure to find out specifically if I can share something or not and I just pass along the info I am given. I don’t make it up myself so how can my information be wrong if it is not my information?
It’s ironic that I sit on the information about bungalows since mid 2011 but the DIS talks about it in a pod cast the next year and Disney has no problem with that.
Thanks to all those who supported me since 1999. I want to thank the DIS for being the place to inspire me to create my site. Let’s see if the DIS cannot go downhill like other message forums and get back to sharing info and being kind to one another. I will keep the history and details about the resort going for as long as I feel I can do a good job.
I will leave the inside info to other sites from now on and maybe the CMs can focus their anger towards them.

Aloha Cousins

To be absolutely clear Steve, you are being completely unfair about the CMs I'm talking about. They don't hate you but have been angry about the misinformation you have occasionally given. And they were very well informed. I ran into a piece of it in CL this past visit. I knew it was wrong but it had caused several problems for the CM and they were very annoyed and rightly so.

Steve, I have a lot of admiration for what you have done on you web site. But I also knew the many times you reported things that were flat out wrong or reported well before the final decision was made. As you say schedules change but that's exactly why Disney should announce them not people like us.

 

[JohnDaleswife]

Remember the dude who gave the discount info early? I think he was known as black something. I just loved reading his scoops he had.

Any way, what was the real reason they took out the waterfall in the lobby? Mold?

 

[Tikiman]

To be absolutely clear Steve, you are being completely unfair about the CMs I'm talking about. They don't hate you but have been angry about the misinformation you have occasionally given. And they were very well informed. I ran into a piece of it in CL this past visit. I knew it was wrong but it had caused several problems for the CM and they were very annoyed and rightly so.

Steve, I have a lot of admiration for what you have done on you web site. But I also knew the many times you reported things that were flat out wrong or reported well before the final decision was made. As you say schedules change but that's exactly why Disney should announce them not people like us.

I don’t make up information, I pass it along and I would need to know what they are calling misinformation. They may believe it is misinformation because they are told the wrong information. One of many examples is I had a CM tell me I was telling people the wrong info about the passes given to the water park. They told me to stop telling guests it was for length of stay. They felt my info was wrong because they were told wrong. At first they were going to offer one day passes but they changed it to be length of stay but some CMs were not told. That is not my fault and I don’t blame the CMs for that. That is just one of many times a CM told people I was giving wrong info even though it was more current than the info they had.

You present me with something that was wrong and we can debate it. If you can’t come up with an example than I would appreciate you not just saying that my information is flat out wrong. Just announcing that I post wrong information doesn’t tell anyone anything other than you think they should not trust what I say. I would be happy to correct anything I have on my site if it comes from a source I can trust. I’m sure over the 16 years I have posted something incorrectly but I check and re-check my info with people that have access to the right info so if I am wrong so is Disney’s info. I Don’t make any of it up myself. I also am very clear about information that I share (after being told I could) that the plans may change. Like with the East Pool renovations, I posted what the idea is right now and it might change but I based it off seeing proof of the concept, not a bus driver telling me. If it changes than it makes my info no less accurate at the time I shared it. It just means the plans changed. DVC drastically changed from what it was going to be but the information at the time was accurate.

I know how misinformed some CMs are and again that is not their fault. I had a CM read your post and message me to tell me that I am right about how misinformed they are and that they find my information more accurate than what they get from their managers. People asked when the Lava pool was going to open and in the same day from different sources the answer people got was:

1. Its already open.
2. It opens tomorrow.
3. It won’t open until mid April
4. It won’t open until 2016

Does that sound like good info being given to the CMs? I had a Club Level CM tell a guest not to trust my site because it was full of false info when they said that my site says there are garden view club rooms on the north side of Hawaii. They told the guest there was not any. I originally got my info from the Polynesian’s own data base but I thought that maybe they changed things so I had the information checked again and there were still the same rooms on the ground floor re-categorized as garden view yet the CM was telling them there was not and I was wrong. Well what do I do there? Change my site to go by one CM or go by what the Polynesian’s own data base says? I just want the facts so people can make good decisions.

I appreciate your admiration but if you don't trust my information than maybe you need to rethink that.

 

[Granite600]

Well said Tikiman! Disney has created an information vacuum by either not giving out information, or by CM's giving out incorrect information. A CM is a representative of Disney. Do they have my sympathy? Absolutely! Is there any excuse for a representative of the resort, or of Walt Disney World to give out such horribly bad information? NO!
I expect Disney to have it's act together! Especially for the prices they charge for Polynesian rooms.

 

[Fuhnuh]

I have loved the information that Tikiman has provided, and for that I thank him. We have stayed at the Poly four times and Tikiman's info helped make those decisions. I don't know what the issue was that broke the camels back, but part of it was surely the calls they would get when info came out. I think that sometimes when people complain, management doesn't consider how many people are also more likely to enjoy their stay when informed. I understand the desire to control information about your product, but I would bet that Tikiman's info has resulted in a net gain in the interest in staying at the Poly and many of the complaints fielded about surprises would still be made at the resort (instead of prior to arrival). We are going to WDW then DCL from 4/30-5/23 and thinking about the Poly for part of the split, his reports were why we almost switched from BC yesterday. We decided against it, but without his info, we wouldn't even be considering it. I just want to thank him for the years of good info and providing a place online where I feel like I'm back home.

 

[anthony2k7]

To be fair some of the news/rumours are been a little wide of the mark.

http://www.tikimanpages.com/poly/news/item/112-change-is-in-the-wind

GCH was never going to be "replaced" or "removed"!

 

[TwizzleMouse]

To be fair some of the news/rumours are been a little wide of the mark.

http://www.tikimanpages.com/poly/news/item/112-change-is-in-the-wind

GCH was never going to be "replaced" or "removed"!

To be fair you need to go back and re-read that post. He never stated that the GCH was being removed or replaced. He stated it needed to be but never that it was going to be. He talked about fix-ups that were going to be done/needed to be done to make it ADA compliant.

He also always says that changes are possible from when he posts info.

 

[glohoffman]

I find it a little obnoxious that people beg and plead people like tikiman for inside info...but when something changes they are so quick go point fingers and get upset about false information. If everyone was so pleased with the info Disney was providing tikimans fan base wouldn't have grown the way it did. Out of all the Disney inside info I have seen...he is the most reliable. I wish Disney would take a lesson from him instead of shutting him down.

 

[mousehockey37]

It's interesting that someone who puts a lot, and I mean A LOT of effort into something like this is getting shutdown. Disney normally welcomes free publicity (see the little girl on Instagram with the costumes and photog entourage) but because a few CM's were made to eat their own words? Come on.

There are people of all ages who love and adore everything Disney. With the whirlwind of management and CM's that pass through WDW, it's a wonder how much any of them know of anything dealing with the parks. Disney has to wake up and realize that there are experts out there that have followed certain aspects of their products since the place opened. These experts can tell you anything and everything (because they know who to talk to and stay within the lines of being able to know what is able to be shared.). If Jimmy who is a CM doesn't know/is misinformed/doesn't care about the history, current news, or anything relevant to his job at WDW, it's not the fault of the experts who provide accurate timely information.

What Disney is doing here would be the equivalent of shutting down another well known source for finding characters, however, it does seem though that Disney DOESN'T care that there are people on WDW boards that have business ventures that ripoff the parks and Disney is more than likely doing nothing about it. I won't go into detail, but if anyone is curious, PM me and I'll be happy to chat.

Tikiman, you've done an awesome job over so many years and it's a shame that Disney had to drop the hammer on you because of their own shortcomings.

 

[Granite600]

There is enough mis-information to go around many Disney resorts. I stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter three weeks ago and I asked the person at the front desk what the hours were of the person who entertains each week at POR-Riverside. The nice but teriibly ignorant CM at the front desk didn't know there was someone who provided live entertainment at Riverside. I informed her that yes there was, and he'd been doing it for a while. I finally remembered his name (Bob Jackson), and the nice CM brought over her associate who told me that yes there was someone at Riverside but that Bob Jackson definitely wasn't his name.

All I could do was stare at them both and sigh.