Warning- daily safety and security room check

[kaytieeldr]

I'm curious. If visitors are accustomed to/expecting a Do Not Disturb door hanger and there isn't one in the room, why wouldn't people ask for one. Yes, I'm fully aware that specific tag no longer exists, and the Room Occupied notice doesn't mean the same thing, but it's something.

 

[danikoski]

I'm curious. If visitors are accustomed to/expecting a Do Not Disturb door hanger and there isn't one in the room, why wouldn't people ask for one. Yes, I'm fully aware that specific tag no longer exists, and the Room Occupied notice doesn't mean the same thing, but it's something.

People have and were told the resort didn't have more and they ran into difficulties getting one.

Also, in a lot of the instances I've read, the sign meant very little.

 

[lauritagoddess]

Just left and we did have Housekeeping. We came back to the room midday each day, usually from about 1:00-2:00. Housekeeping had already been there the first two days when we got back, was still in the room the third day and didn’t show up until about 3:30 on the fourth. I didn’t think to put the Room Occupied sign out and housekeeping did knock, but never said “Housekeeping” when they knocked. Also would be hard to plan naps for little ones if they needed naps with th differing times housekeeping showed up.

 

[nkereina]

There have been plenty of reports of it being a small amount of time. My experience with housekeeping at most hotels is that they knock and say housekeeping about three times and if you holler at them just a second, they usually wait. I've had the same experience with maintenance and room service at hotels. The way Disney is doing this doesn't sound like that is happening (or at least there are reported incidents of it not happening).

How a CM knocks/enters will vary greatly by CM, interpretation will vary greatly by each guest, and the CM's approach may even vary from room to room. To blanket statement say that Disney is knocking and entering without waiting is silly. Same goes for saying housekeeping elsewhere is knocking and then waiting if you yell. I've stayed in non-Disney hotels before and had aggressive housekeepers knock and open the door at the same time yelling "housekeeping". They've got a job to do and aren't always waiting for people to mosey to the door to see what they want.

Honestly it isn’t the checking that bothers me about Disney, it is how intrusive and excessive it is.

What about it is intrusive or excessive? From what I have heard, Disney wants a CM to enter each room once a day. Whether that's housekeeping servicing a room, or security personnel for those who decline housekeeping or leave a room occupied sign out. The only issues I take with this policy are the lack of clear communication on the policy which startles people not expecting it, the lack of identification on some of the security personnel, and the lack of adhering to requests about after certain times, etc - although I do understand those are just requests and defeats the purpose of a security check. Otherwise, entering once per day between certain hours isn't really that unreasonable. The gripes just seem to be with the execution of it.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

What about it is intrusive or excessive? From what I have heard, Disney wants a CM to enter each room once a day. Whether that's housekeeping servicing a room, or security personnel for those who decline housekeeping or leave a room occupied sign out. The only issues I take with this policy are the lack of clear communication on the policy which startles people not expecting it, the lack of identification on some of the security personnel, and the lack of adhering to requests about after certain times, etc - although I do understand those are just requests and defeats the purpose of a security check. Otherwise, entering once per day between certain hours isn't really that unreasonable. The gripes just seem to be with the execution of it.

What is excessive?

They don't just want to enter. They want to enter, right now. Dressed or undressed. Asleep or awake. In the shower, doesn't matter. Otherwise engaged, doesn't matter. If you don't let them in, right now, someone else will be beating on your door in minutes. And it won't be housekeeping, it will be "security."

That is what is intrusive or excessive.

 

[danikoski]

How a CM knocks/enters will vary greatly by CM, interpretation will vary greatly by each guest, and the CM's approach may even vary from room to room. To blanket statement say that Disney is knocking and entering without waiting is silly. Same goes for saying housekeeping elsewhere is knocking and then waiting if you yell. I've stayed in non-Disney hotels before and had aggressive housekeepers knock and open the door at the same time yelling "housekeeping". They've got a job to do and aren't always waiting for people to mosey to the door to see what they want.

I was simply stating the reports that have been made on this discussion board of how Disney staff are entering rooms, in comparison to my experiences at other hotels with housekeeping, room service, and maintenance. Your experiences may be different, and that's fime, but my experience at other hotels is they usually knock, announce who it is, and often times repeat about two more times. And I've had multiple times where I've yelled just a minute, and they've waited for me to get to the door. And that experience is pretty normal for me over many, many hotel stays.

 

[nkereina]

What is excessive?

They don't just want to enter. They want to enter, right now. Dressed or undressed. Asleep or awake. In the shower, doesn't matter. Otherwise engaged, doesn't matter. If you don't let them in, right now, someone else will be beating on your door in minutes. And it won't be housekeeping, it will be "security."

That is what is intrusive or excessive.

I get that, but wouldn't returning at a later time defeat the purpose of the check? I don't like it either, but I'm not sure what the answer is.

 

[nkereina]

I was simply stating the reports that have been made on this discussion board of how Disney staff are entering rooms, in comparison to my experiences at other hotels with housekeeping, room service, and maintenance. Your experiences may be different, and that's fime, but my experience at other hotels is they usually knock, announce who it is, and often times repeat about two more times. And I've had multiple times where I've yelled just a minute, and they've waited for me to get to the door. And that experience is pretty normal for me over many, many hotel stays.

I've also had many, many hotel stays and I was simply stating that the experiences vary greatly. Too many variables - different employees, different departments, different times of day, etc. To say a majority of the time or make a blanket statement just wouldn't be accurate. Human nature and logic would say that the person knocking should hold their horses if the guest says "just a minute", but when speaking about the security checks, that takes out the element of surprise which I can only assume is why they enter immediately, as some guests have perceived.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

The answer is that if they really want to do something in the name of security they should screen luggage like they do at airport at check-in. Plain and simple. But that costs the resort money for instruments and staffing.

 

[danikoski]

The answer is that if they really want to do something in the name of security they should screen luggage like they do at airport at check-in. Plain and simple. But that costs the resort money for instruments and staffing.

The DL Paris hotels do this, from what I've read.

 

[snappy]

The DL Paris hotels do this, from what I've read.

If Disney is serious about security, it would be a viable option. But as said above, it’s likely costly. Less effective but more economical to use HK if it room checks are mostly designed to limit liability and potentially lower insurance premiums

 

[danikoski]

If Disney is serious about security, it would be a viable option. But as said above, it’s likely costly. Less effective but more economical to use HK if it room checks are mostly designed to limit liability and positively lower insurance premiums

Actually, they could create a pretty effective security bubble (similar to DLP) if they did do checks as you came into the hotels. You could cut back on the number of checks at the parks and not have these daily security checks.

However, I don't believe this is about security. There are many other things that are way more effective and effecient then this aspect of how Disney is handling security. I believe it's more to do with human trafficking, and not being held liable if something were found.

 

[Nancyg56]

What is excessive?

They don't just want to enter. They want to enter, right now. Dressed or undressed. Asleep or awake. In the shower, doesn't matter. Otherwise engaged, doesn't matter. If you don't let them in, right now, someone else will be beating on your door in minutes. And it won't be housekeeping, it will be "security."

That is what is intrusive or excessive.

Yes, and for what it is worth, I tend to believe that Disney is not going to try too hard to share their procedures or schedule, or lack of schedule. Personally, while I am not sure what exactly they are trying to discourage, human trafficking, arsenals or towel animal theft, I think that they believe that they can only do so if we, the guests, are left a bit up in the air in regards to timing, etc.

I also believe this is considered to be a deterrent to whomever would consider using WDW resorts to commit whatever deed Disney is concerned about. It's value? I don't know.

 

[rlduvall]

Stayed at Boardwalk in July - DVC Member. I, too, am not crazy about the new procedure, but was aware of it. I would call every morning as we headed out to the parks [we always return to the resort around 1:00 p.m. to rest] and told them we were just now leaving and would be back early afternoon if they wanted to do the security check soon. They were always very nice and did it during that time period. What I loved about it was they emptied all the trash baskets and left us bathroom product every time.

 

[snappy]

Stayed at Boardwalk in July - DVC Member. I, too, am not crazy about the new procedure, but was aware of it. I would call every morning as we headed out to the parks [we always return to the resort around 1:00 p.m. to rest] and told them we were just now leaving and would be back early afternoon if they wanted to do the security check soon. They were always very nice and did it during that time period. What I loved about it was they emptied all the trash baskets and left us bathroom product every time.

Thanks for sharing your experience. It sounds like a solid plan.

 

[danikoski]

Stayed at Boardwalk in July - DVC Member. I, too, am not crazy about the new procedure, but was aware of it. I would call every morning as we headed out to the parks [we always return to the resort around 1:00 p.m. to rest] and told them we were just now leaving and would be back early afternoon if they wanted to do the security check soon. They were always very nice and did it during that time period. What I loved about it was they emptied all the trash baskets and left us bathroom product every time.

Here's hoping this works at BRV next June (if the policy is still in place). Did you use the front desk button on the phone or housekeeping button?

 

[rlduvall]

Here's hoping this works at BRV next June (if the policy is still in place). Did you use the front desk button on the phone?

I used the "Housekeeping" button on the phone - guess I should have mentioned that. Could be at BRV there is no actual "Housekeeping" button. The issue with using front desk button is it goes to a Call Center and I don't know how efficient the process would be at that point. I could tell I was going to actual Housekeeping because they answered it that way. Good luck!!!

 

[danikoski]

I used the "Housekeeping" button on the phone - guess I should have mentioned that. Could be at BRV there is no actual "Housekeeping" button. The issue with using front desk button is it goes to a Call Center and I don't know how efficient the process would be at that point. I could tell I was going to actual Housekeeping because they answered it that way. Good luck!!!

I've seen it reported to be hit or miss on the phones as to whether there's a HK button. I don't remember at WL...I think there was.

 

[Geedee]

The DL Paris hotels do this, from what I've read.

Yes bag checks and airport style scann

The answer is that if they really want to do something in the name of security they should screen luggage like they do at airport at check-in. Plain and simple. But that costs the resort money for instruments and staffing.

Do cars get a full security screening every time they are brought onto Disney property ?

 

[MissManda]

I've also had many, many hotel stays and I was simply stating that the experiences vary greatly. Too many variables - different employees, different departments, different times of day, etc. To say a majority of the time or make a blanket statement just wouldn't be accurate. Human nature and logic would say that the person knocking should hold their horses if the guest says "just a minute", but when speaking about the security checks, that takes out the element of surprise which I can only assume is why they enter immediately, as some guests have perceived.

I understand the thought process of wanting to do random/unannounced security checks. Obviously, if they are looking for weapons or any other nefarious activities then they need the element of surprise and to not be able to give people the chance to tidy up, so to speak. However, this is a vacation resort. Guests want to enjoy their vacation. They want to be able to take a shower knowing someone isn't going to barge in on them, they want to let their kids nap mid-day without having someone pounding on the door waking them, or heck...maybe they just want to sleep in for a few hours after a late night without having someone trying to enter. While Disney has a right to enter any room on their property at anytime, there has to be consideration given to the paying guests, the overwhelming majority of whom are just trying to have a fun vacation and not commit mass murder, traffic children or anything else. Disney has got to find a better way to handle these security checks before they start losing customers. People will only put up with so much before they go elsewhere. We love Disney resorts but they are not cheap. Add in additional parking fees at resort and now intrusive room checks and one has to start reconsidering the true benefits of staying on property.

A random visual inspection of a room isn't likely to reveal much. Someone that is planning something horrible like Vegas isn't going to just leave something laying out for anyone to see. If they want to truly catch someone, they need to check luggage that is coming and going or check vehicles. A visual room inspection is not going to turn up much.

As I was typing this, I wonder what the security check experiences are between people that fly in and use the magic express transportation vs people that drive themselves? Those that fly and use DME would in theory be the least risky guests as their luggage would have been screened before coming in and if they don't have a car registered at the resort, they are less likely to be able to bring in weapons themselves.

Disney tracks so much data on their guests with the magic bands that you would think that they could us technology to make their security checks less obvious and more discreet.