Turned away from Disney resort!

[florida res]

Please tell me if I am being unreasonable before I fire off a complaint letter.

My DH and I stayed at AKL for 3 nites over the 4th of July weekend. We decided on the 4th to go to all the resorts, by our personal car, with our parking permit plainly displayed in the windshield, to buy magnets from each of the resorts that we had stayed at. (Never realized how many we stayed at till we did this and it took a couple of hours between driving and walking between the resorts at BW/YC/BC and Swan/Dolphin!)
All we were doing was running into the gift stores to buy the magnets and then leaving.
We tried to get into the Wilderness lodge and instead of being "waved" thru by the security guard like at every other resort, we were stopped. This was 2:30pm. When we explained we just wanted something from the giftstore, the guard said they were only letting in registered guests of the resort that day by car and if we wanted in that we would have to park at MK and take the bus!!! I was furious. I pay huge amounts of money to stay at the Disney resorts (this was our 8th trip in about 3 mo's time) and if I have a parking pass then I should be able to go anywhere I want! I could see if it was "time for the fireworks" on the 4th but it was 2:30! We had to turn around at the gate (after convincing my DH NOT to charge thru to the front door, drop me off and let me run like heck to get my purchase...he figured by the time security came I'd have my magnet!!_
Has anyone else ever gotten turned away on a "holiday"? I feel like I should write to someone.
Does anyone have an email address for "complaints?"
Thanks for letting me vent!

 

[skiwee1]

You really only paid huge amounts of money to stay at AKL. You had no right to expect to be able to go to any other resort and park there. At the MK resorts I am sure they were especially concerned with a lot of folks trying to get a view of the 4th fireworks. It might have been earlier but I am sure people try all kinds of things to get in. It seems as though so many people that aren't staying at the MK resorts are crashing the beaches on the 4th leaving no room for the folks that DID pay big bucks to stay at those resorts. If buying magnets were the motive then there was nothing wrong with parking where the guard told you. I think you are being totally unreasonable.

 

[CindysGusGus]

Id have to agree with Skiwee on this one. Sorry.

 

[florida res]

Maybe I wasn't clear with what the guard told us.
She said to park in the Magic Kindgom parking lot, go to the trans. center and then take a bus into the resort! What would have been a 10 minute event would have taken 1 1/2 hours going that way.
I may have paid for ONE resort but I am certainly encouraged to make reservations at any restaurant in any resort and spend my money there regardless of where I am staying. I am not "grounded" to the resort that I am a "guest" of!
Thanks for your opinion though.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Seems that they could have given you a pass that would have been good for an hour or two (and, as you said, you wouldn't have even needed that long). You would have then been happy and they would have made a little money from your gift shop purchase. Instead they left you with bad feelings for the WDW resorts, or at least for WL.

In the past we've gone to various resorts to look around and have never had a problem getting in. If I remember correctly, at the Poly they gave us a pass that was good for an hour or two--long enough to look around, but not long enough to park there and then go to the MK. Seems that it's just good business.

T&B

 

[3PRINCESSMOM]

If one of the perks to staying onsite is suppose to be the parking pass, then the "huge amount of money" referred to by the OP certainly does apply to the WL parking lot.

Given the crowd level over the holiday, I can understand the extra security. However, after you explained I would have expected better customer service.

Sorry you had the bad experience.

 

[weluvpluto]

I would almost bet that all of the Magic Kingdom resorts were doing this on the 4th. Was the MK at capacity that day?

We had a few times during our stay at the Wilderness that finding a parking space was almost an issue (we weren't even there on the 4th).

To put it in perspective - how would you feel if you were staying at the Wilderness that night, but could not find a parking spot in the self parking because of non Wilderness guests coming to buy magnets or probably more than just a few trying to not have to park in the MK parking lot that day? I'm not saying that you weren't there to buy magnets, but a lot of people were probably trying to find a way "around the system" that day.

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by florida res
Maybe I wasn't clear with what the guard told us.
She said to park in the Magic Kindgom parking lot, go to the trans. center and then take a bus into the resort! What would have been a 10 minute event would have taken 1 1/2 hours going that way.
I may have paid for ONE resort but I am certainly encouraged to make reservations at any restaurant in any resort and spend my money there regardless of where I am staying. I am not "grounded" to the resort that I am a "guest" of!
Thanks for your opinion though.

It doesn't matter. It was the 4th and they didn't want the parking lot full of non guests. Yes, you are a non guest if you are not staying at the WL. If you go to Disney so much then there really shouldn't have been a problem as you can easily pick up a magnet on the next trip.

 

[StitchGirl]

I believe a parking pass is a perk for parking at the parks for ''free."

Being that it was fourth of July weekend, I'm sure all of the resorts were very full-- perhaps WL was even sold out. Perhaps they opted to not allow non-WL guests to park becuase the WL guests were already having trouble finding parking.

I know that if I was staying at the resort I would have been even more upset to come back to find I had no parking spot but people who were not at the resort were using a spot (and, even though you would only run in for a few minutes, it would have been frustrating to have to wait until you came out to get a spot at my resort!)

I think each resort takes care of their guests first, and then the guests of other resorts, and I think that is the way it should be. I'm sorry you were disappointed, but think about it from the standpoint of the WL guests! I don't think you should complain.

 

[eeyore45]

what if you had a PS for the WL Rest.? Could you park there then, or would you have to take the same route and take a bus in?

I agree, it is confusing, on the first read, I would agree that the OP should not expect to park, but then after a 2nd read, it just seems confusing, if you come up with a good enough excuse? But like stated before me there are 1 hour passes, and it shouldnt be unreasonable to ask for one at 2:30 in the afternoon, I would be confused also!

 

[MinnieGi]

The parking pass is not an entitlement to all resort parking lots, it is for the hotel you are registered at and the "parks."

Being that it was the 4th of July I'm sure they were trying to keep the WL parking lot free of non-guests parking there and taking the boat over to MK for the fireworks display. Even though it was only the afternoon when you pulled in I'm sure in years past they have had non-guests pullling in and then parking there till after the fireworks show creating quite a parking dilemma for registered WL guests. I bet the other MK resorts were doing something similiar that day. I know you were just buying a magnet, but how does the guard truly know who is giving him a story and telling the truth so they just made a blanket policy for that day that if you are not a registered guest parking was not available.

Sorry it ended your resort tour and magnet buying spree, but I really don't think it is something to get really worked up about.

 

[disneyw/kids]

I stayed at the WL and when we checked in, I remember being told to go to other resorts the best way is to take the bus. They were full when we were there and to get a jacket out of the car I had to walk really really far to my car so if someone who was not staying there was parking in the lot that is taking spaces for those who are. Plus they keep up with the number of cars by giving you something to put in the windshield we had 2 cars to park. If everyone went driving around the different resorts how would there be enough parking. The huge money you are paying is to use the transportation system. I have to agree with the other postings. They can't make an exception on a holiday just because you have stayed so often how do they know.

 

[pixiedust_junkie]

The guard was out of line, A reasonable person would have allowed for this.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Originally posted by pixiedust_junkie
The guard was out of line, A reasonable person would have allowed for this.

Disagree here. The guard was only performing the duty that he/she was required to perform. If the guest had a PS for Whispering Canyon or Artist's Point, that might have been a differnt story.

 

[palmtreegirl]

Originally posted by MinnieGi
The parking pass is not an entitlement to all resort parking lots, it is for the hotel you are registered at and the "parks."

Being that it was the 4th of July I'm sure they were trying to keep the WL parking lot free of non-guests parking there and taking the boat over to MK for the fireworks display. Even though it was only the afternoon when you pulled in I'm sure in years past they have had non-guests pullling in and then parking there till after the fireworks show creating quite a parking dilemma for registered WL guests. I bet the other MK resorts were doing something similiar that day. I know you were just buying a magnet, but how does the guard truly know who is giving him a story and telling the truth so they just made a blanket policy for that day that if you are not a registered guest parking was not available.

Sorry it ended your resort tour and magnet buying spree, but I really don't think it is something to get really worked up about.

 

[zurgswife]

Originally posted by pixiedust_junkie
The guard was out of line, as is one particular poster on this thread. A reasonable person would have allowed for this.

But think if the guard had done this for a couple of people just to be nice it could have gotten out of hand. Some times you have to follow the rules to the letter just to be fair to everyone...Even though it seems unfair...

I may have paid for ONE resort but I am certainly encouraged to make reservations at any restaurant in any resort and spend my money there regardless of where I am staying. I am not "grounded" to the resort that I am a "guest" of!

But you didn't have a dinner ressie....If you did your name would be on the guest list at the front gate and I'm sure your answer would have been different...

 

[Liz]

I think they should have let you in with a limited amount of time parking pass.

Even if the WL was at full capacity that day, shouldn't they have enough parking for their guests and allow for some visitors too?

I don't think I'd complain if I were you and I'd chalk it up to special circumstances due to the holiday.

 

[florida res]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Didn't mean to start a huge thinbog!
YES, to answer someone's previous question. The guard DID say that the only way we could drive and park was if we were staying there OR if we had Ressie's at the restaurants.
I think I was just so taken back by being denied entrance (and by a very unfriendly CM) that it just bothered me.

 

[tifandjim]

My husband and I did the very same thing last year ( going to each resort, in our own car, just to visit). We encountered a similar situation with the guard letting us in, at the same hotel!! Eventually, he gave us a pass, clearly marked "2-hour visitor pass" and then let us in. We were quite taken back, as the other resorts, on the same day, just waved us through without even stopping us. I'm not sure why it is just that one resort!!

 

[Cris]

On July 4th all the resort parking lots were on lock down. So he was only following what he was told to do. Simple as that!!