Tikiman has been silenced.

[Alfalfa]

How long will it take for Disney to silence these boards? Think about it.

These boards are lead generators for a travel agency that sells Disney vacation packages. It's not in Disney's best interest to silence them, although it might be helpful if there weren't any negative opinions or experiences expressed.

 

[gdrj]

Just my opinion but I think what has caused this is that Disney has screwed up so royally with delays and lack of communication it has become an embarrassment that guests know more than some cast members. If not for the delays the pool would be open Disney would not be sending multiple letters contradicting their prior letter and having to call guests a week before their arrival. The issue is a Disney issue not tikiman issue.

For the naysayers this is my opinion you are welcome to yours

 

[Sue M]

Mahalo Tikiman for all you do to help us make the most of our WDW vacations

 

[ProTraderColin]

Not very Disney of them.

 

[mevelandry]

The web site does warn guests about the construction when you go to book the Poly. It is not being kept from guests. There have been posts from many people who were not bothered by the construction.

They say it on the website but honestly, when we visited the resort in November, it was even worst than the pictures I had seen on Tikiman's facebook page.

Had it been me staying there I would have been pissed.

 

[soniam]

The web site does warn guests about the construction when you go to book the Poly. It is not being kept from guests. There have been posts from many people who were not bothered by the construction. If someone chooses to stay there during construction and are happy, that isn't a bad thing. Maybe there are some guests who would rather experience the Poly, even during construction, than stay somewhere else. Not sure how shutting it down would help the guest experience.

When I booked Poly in December 2013 for our late July 2014 stay, there was absolutely nothing on the Disney website about construction at the hotel. They hadn't even started yet. I hadn't been actively reading the boards, because I was working 60-80 hours a week at a new job. I only found out about a week before our stay, from these boards. I was never contacted via phone, email, or snail mail by Disney. By then, it was really too late to do anything, and it was a short trip before our cruise anyway. And to add insult to injury, I found out, from these boards only again, shortly before our trip, that the monorail would be on a greatly reduced schedule. When we got to the hotel, we could hear construction from our balcony, which faced the lava pool and GCH, as late as 11pm. Yes, at night. We were only able to use the monorail twice; whereas, that is usually our primary means of transportation at Poly. I did contact Disney after the visit and explained my disappoint. It ruined it so much for me though, that we didn't stay there last month. I don't know if we ever will again. So, I take offence when you start laying the blame on the guests for something that could have been completely out of their control.

 

[Sammie]

I enjoy the updates and photos there as much as anyone but seriously people Disney is a huge corporation you really think "Disney" told him not to share his opinion. We have one side of the story and he has not clarified the situation. Unless Disney the company sent him a cease and desist legal notification then No, Disney did not silence him. Did someone that works for Disney offer an opinion to him, possibly. Again we don't know. But yes if guests are calling Disney and complaining and during that complaint mention they are getting conflicting information about the Polynesian from him and his page and site, then you are not doing him any favors and certainly not endearing him to Disney.

 

[Allison]

Yes, seriously people, I do think Disney contacted him and told him not to share his opinion in some form or fashion. I know someone else who had a recent similar interaction with Disney.

It would be naive to think Disney isn't watching everything they can on the internet.

 

[maxiesmom]

When I booked Poly in December 2013 for our late July 2014 stay, there was absolutely nothing on the Disney website about construction at the hotel. They hadn't even started yet. I hadn't been actively reading the boards, because I was working 60-80 hours a week at a new job. I only found out about a week before our stay, from these boards. I was never contacted via phone, email, or snail mail by Disney. By then, it was really too late to do anything, and it was a short trip before our cruise anyway. And to add insult to injury, I found out, from these boards only again, shortly before our trip, that the monorail would be on a greatly reduced schedule. When we got to the hotel, we could hear construction from our balcony, which faced the lava pool and GCH, as late as 11pm. Yes, at night. We were only able to use the monorail twice; whereas, that is usually our primary means of transportation at Poly. I did contact Disney after the visit and explained my disappoint. It ruined it so much for me though, that we didn't stay there last month. I don't know if we ever will again. So, I take offence when you start laying the blame on the guests for something that could have been completely out of their control.

A quick look at construction dates shows walls going up as early as September.http://www.tikimanpages.com/poly/the-resort/dvc/item/191-disney-vacation-club

I have no idea what information they had on their web site at that time. But I truly believe if you are unhappy with your resort or room, it is never too late to ask for a change. Even a week out, or even while you are there! There is no reason to be miserable with at your resort. But I was mainly addressing the poster who thought they should have shut the resort down. Many people knew about the construction, and were happy to keep their Poly reservations.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I have no idea what exactly happened here, but corporations send out cease-and-desists all of the time when it comes to the internet. Such letters cost them basically nothing and often are successful at shutting down something on the internet that they perceive as negative.

Again, don't know what happened here, but if you are an individual running a hobby website and you get a cease-and-desist from a 800 lb gorilla, the choice is often pretty easy.

 

[mousehockey37]

Yes, seriously people, I do think Disney contacted him and told him not to share his opinion in some form or fashion. I know someone else who had a recent similar interaction with Disney.

It would be naive to think Disney isn't watching everything they can on the internet.

I have no idea what exactly happened here, but corporations send out cease-and-desists all of the time when it comes to the internet. Such letters cost them basically nothing and often are successful at shutting down something on the internet that they perceive as negative.

Again, don't know what happened here, but if you are an individual running a hobby website and you get a cease-and-desist from a 800 lb gorilla, the choice is often pretty easy.

But as I've said without going into detail, as much as Disney is watching the internet, there are others out there who have websites and they aren't hobbies. The person claims that 1 is and it got modified and the other, made by the same person, is still up and running and making a profit off of the mouse.

 

[Disneychick75]

All I can say is "Thank-you" to Tikiman. I was so excited when I went to book a DVC villa and saw that the Poly villas were available and booked 2. Then, I checked out Tikiman's site and in a recent article, he mentioned something to the effect that with all of the construction, he would not want to bring his family on vacation to the Poly at this point. Knowing that he is the Poly's head cheerleader, I rethought our plans. Note that when I called member services, not one word was said about the construction, even when I asked if it was bad.

Even though we've had points for years, my husband has never stayed in a villa. He's only coming because we're bringing our grandson. Imagine the bad impression he would have had if we had kept our Poly reservation. DH can barely tolerate WDW as it is.

Thanks again, Tikiman!

 

[oceanmarina]

Wow! This situation blows my mind. From what I've been reading here and in other places...people speculate all the time...it gives us something to talk about...think about and hope about! Nothing is confirmed, unless Disney makes the official announcement! I would hope we all realize that as we try to get the "inside scoop" on things that it is a BEST GUESS SCENARIO. Yes, people like to talk...work crew...staff....whomever and speculation is based on information gathered. It's never for certain. I love the updated photos on facebook and all of the speculative comments, both positive and negative! In addition to the speculations and rumors, the photos give me the opportunity to throw in my guesses on when things will be done. Sometimes I say, "Wow...that won't be done by mid-April!" Or...."Wow...they are moving right along!" I just can't believe that Disney would put pressure on someone posting on Facebook! We do live in a FREE COUNTRY...freedom of speech! Please, Tikiman, reconsider your position! We love your posts and pages and speculations!

Yes to that.. The more I think about it, the more it saddens me to think that Disney would resort to intimidating someone so clearly devoted to one of their properties as Tikiman. I agree with previous posters when they have stayed at a Disney property & not have been notified about construction during their stay. It happened to us when we stayed at the beach club years ago. (This was before I was a member of the disboards, if I were I probably would have found out about the construction and would have changed hotels.) Anyway, we did not find out until we checked in and had to deal with construction noise all day and our balcony view was one of scaffolding and workers who would be walking around on it all day long right outside our balcony window. My toddler couldn't nap with all the noise, I never complained to the front desk or wrote to Disney, but I should have as it definitely put a damper on our trip. So my point being is that these boards and sites like Tikiman's are a helpful resource and a way to get information that we wouldn't get otherwise. It saddens me to think that Disney would be such a bully....sigh

 

[ArwenMarie]

But as I've said without going into detail, as much as Disney is watching the internet, there are others out there who have websites and they aren't hobbies. The person claims that 1 is and it got modified and the other, made by the same person, is still up and running and making a profit off of the mouse.

Of course. It's not about whether it's a hobby website or not. It's whether the company perceives the content as negative or not and whatever else goes into these decisions. My only point in bringing up a hobby website is that when an individual running a hobby website receives a cease-and-desist from a large company, the choice to cease and desist rather than fight is usually an easy one to make. (again not talking about Tikiman specifically, I don't know what happened there)

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

As far as cast members being misinformed, I can see how it happens. As a PP said, a lot of those kids are college program kids who may not know the history of the company or be interested in trivia. I work at a movie theater and while we have a bi-weekly newsletter, information that's relevant to that day is given on a need-to-know basis. For instance, if we run out of a product, our team lead will go around and tell everyone we're out of that product. However if you happened to be out of the vending stand when that announcement was made or you were busy helping a customer, you likely wouldn't have been made aware of that situation. As an employee, I know about our products and our rewards program, however I know very little about the company itself, simply because it was never something I needed to know, nor is it something I honestly care about. That's how I imagine a good majority of the college program kids are. They wouldn't be interested in scouring out sources to keep them up to date on what's happening at the resort.

Tikiman ran an excellent site which I referenced often, and I hope his passion for the resort and his dedication to his readers remains, despite Disney's crackdown.

 

[mom2rtk]

I don't give Disney a pass for castmembers being misinformed. It has been their choice to use short term CP members over longer term (and likely higher paid) employees. It's a choice they have made so they need to deal with the consequences. And they need to do better and get everyone on the same page.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I don't give Disney a pass for castmembers being misinformed. It has been their choice to use short term CP members over longer term (and likely higher paid) employees. It's a choice they have made. And they need to do better and getting everyone on the same page.

Agree. We were staying at BLT once on cash through Disney and didn't get daily housekeeping two days in a row. On the second day I went down to the front desk to make a complaint. The young woman at the desk started telling me that DVC doesn't get daily housekeeping. I then had to train her on the fact that Disney also rents out DVC units as regular hotel units including daily housekeeping. It's also not fair to the employees.

 

[BellsFam]

I'm sorry about this because I really liked his work.

I think, IMHO, that if he had not partnered up with that vacation website/travel agency, this would not have happened. It went from being a "hobby" to being a "business".

Disney lost a lot of revenue on this construction venture and Tikimans advice and constant photos didn't help matters.

What you put out on the internet is out there forever, a good reason I don't have an fb page! A friend of mine was sued by a California based company because they have the same business name, he lost his shirt in that lawsuit all because he decided to join the FB revolution. Tikiman is lucky it didn't escalate to that...

 

[JohnDaleswife]

I don't give Disney a pass for castmembers being misinformed. It has been their choice to use short term CP members over longer term (and likely higher paid) employees. It's a choice they have made. And they need to do better and getting everyone on the same page.

Absolutely! Totally agree. They want to save money every way they can. If Tikiman had been incognito, I wonder how they would have been able to possibly send him a cease and desists letter? Also, a above poster mentioned that they lost of a lot of money on this construction, how so? Fewer bookings maybe? You know that Disney is reading every post on this particular thread daily.

 

[MrsDuck]

Absolutely! Totally agree. They want to save money every way they can. If Tikiman had been incognito, I wonder how they would have been able to possibly send him a cease and desists letter? Also, a above poster mentioned that they lost of a lot of money on this construction, how so? Fewer bookings maybe? You know that Disney is reading every post on this particular thread daily.

They most certainly are not.