What in the world is happening with all the fridge swaps???

[csharpwv]

Regarding the bolded red, I would agree with this everywhere but at Disney. LOL

You are over-paying for what you receive in regards to hotels. We've stayed both on-site and off-site and much prefer off-site. It's cheaper, you have an entire house to yourself (not two beds and a bathroom) and you get a break from the hordes of vacationers. LOL

Disney, IMO, is just at the brink of pricing themselves out of most vacationers budgets. Who in the world pays $400 for a room that at most other hotels is $150??

I can't justify paying that much money when the perceived value is so low, compared to other places.

If you've stayed in a true luxury hotel, you know Disney can't come close.

I have to completely disagree.

You are comparing a hotel on Disney property to a hotel OFF Disney property.

You are not PAYING for your hotel only - you are paying for your hotel, your experience, the theme, the service, the quality, the friendliness.

Do I agree that Disney could step up their game a little on the luxury scale - yes - I do agree with that. However, there is NO hotel that will, after learning your child is sick in the room - send housekeeping to assure you have everything you need, send a care basket with some basic medications, coloring books, crayons, activity books, and a DVD. I know that this has happened to SO many people.

A friend of mine honeymooned at Walt Disney World and her husband by accident left his cell phone in the rental car when he returned it to the airport (they flew into Sanford). Disney paid for his cab fare back to Sanford to get his cell phone.

If you are comparing ONLY the most basic services the then you will not find value staying at a Disney hotel.

However, the difference comes in service and experience. The Quality Inn on I-Drive might be cheaper - but in no way does it compare to Port Orleans -French Quarter.

If you are strictly focused on the value for each dollar you spend, the I'm not sure how you enjoy vacationing!

Disney is not pricing itself out of the vacation market.

People want more and more for the same amount of money.

Disney as a company does not, will not, and will never be the CHEAPEST vacation you can take. However - the millions of people that Disney parks all over the world can't be wrong.

You are indeed paying a premium - but you are reaping the benefit of the premium 10 fold.

We stayed 'on' property at a non-Disney Hotel last spring - we stayed a the Hilton at Downtown Disney using Hilton reward points. Never again - it wasn't the same as staying on-property. Even though we got free breakfast every morning, were in walking distance to Disney transportation, and were still 'on' property - we won't stay there again.

the Disney hotels are fantastic - I feel that the value is definitely there!

 

[Planogirl]

I have to completely disagree.

You are comparing a hotel on Disney property to a hotel OFF Disney property.

You are not PAYING for your hotel only - you are paying for your hotel, your experience, the theme, the service, the quality, the friendliness.

Do I agree that Disney could step up their game a little on the luxury scale - yes - I do agree with that. However, there is NO hotel that will, after learning your child is sick in the room - send housekeeping to assure you have everything you need, send a care basket with some basic medications, coloring books, crayons, activity books, and a DVD. I know that this has happened to SO many people.

A friend of mine honeymooned at Walt Disney World and her husband by accident left his cell phone in the rental car when he returned it to the airport (they flew into Sanford). Disney paid for his cab fare back to Sanford to get his cell phone.

If you are comparing ONLY the most basic services the then you will not find value staying at a Disney hotel.

However, the difference comes in service and experience. The Quality Inn on I-Drive might be cheaper - but in no way does it compare to Port Orleans -French Quarter.

If you are strictly focused on the value for each dollar you spend, the I'm not sure how you enjoy vacationing!

Disney is not pricing itself out of the vacation market.

People want more and more for the same amount of money.

Disney as a company does not, will not, and will never be the CHEAPEST vacation you can take. However - the millions of people that Disney parks all over the world can't be wrong.

You are indeed paying a premium - but you are reaping the benefit of the premium 10 fold.

We stayed 'on' property at a non-Disney Hotel last spring - we stayed a the Hilton at Downtown Disney using Hilton reward points. Never again - it wasn't the same as staying on-property. Even though we got free breakfast every morning, were in walking distance to Disney transportation, and were still 'on' property - we won't stay there again.

the Disney hotels are fantastic - I feel that the value is definitely there!

You make a great point when you mention what people are looking for. You seem to enjoy the perceived intangibles that often come from a Disney property such as a caring attitude and friendly service. I would argue that some of that can be found even in the right offsite places but of course you have to find those.

I also consider it important when I'm on a long vacation to have a refrigerator and free breakfast and so on. You may not consider those to be important and there's nothing wrong with that. We all have our own preferences but where you find value, I might not. And vice versa.

Back to the missing refrigerators, I think that it's a good idea for someone to call Lost and Found. It might be an amusing phone call if nothing else.

 

[tlbwriter]

Regarding the bolded red, I would agree with this everywhere but at Disney. LOL

You are over-paying for what you receive in regards to hotels. We've stayed both on-site and off-site and much prefer off-site. It's cheaper, you have an entire house to yourself (not two beds and a bathroom) and you get a break from the hordes of vacationers. LOL

Disney, IMO, is just at the brink of pricing themselves out of most vacationers budgets. Who in the world pays $400 for a room that at most other hotels is $150??

I can't justify paying that much money when the perceived value is so low, compared to other places.

Those of us who stay onsite probably place higher value on things that you don't care about. I'm willing to pay extra for the transportation, for the ability to have packages sent to my resort, for the convenience, etc. If those don't matter to you, then yes, the onsite resorts would seem very overpriced. On the other hand, you are placing a higher value on things I don't particularly care about (staying in a house instead of a hotel room, etc.) So my "perceived value" is not low.

 

[SaraJayne]

I have to completely disagree.

You are comparing a hotel on Disney property to a hotel OFF Disney property.

You are not PAYING for your hotel only - you are paying for your hotel, your experience, the theme, the service, the quality, the friendliness.

Do I agree that Disney could step up their game a little on the luxury scale - yes - I do agree with that. However, there is NO hotel that will, after learning your child is sick in the room - send housekeeping to assure you have everything you need, send a care basket with some basic medications, coloring books, crayons, activity books, and a DVD. I know that this has happened to SO many people.

A friend of mine honeymooned at Walt Disney World and her husband by accident left his cell phone in the rental car when he returned it to the airport (they flew into Sanford). Disney paid for his cab fare back to Sanford to get his cell phone.

If you are comparing ONLY the most basic services the then you will not find value staying at a Disney hotel.

However, the difference comes in service and experience. The Quality Inn on I-Drive might be cheaper - but in no way does it compare to Port Orleans -French Quarter.

If you are strictly focused on the value for each dollar you spend, the I'm not sure how you enjoy vacationing!

Disney is not pricing itself out of the vacation market.

People want more and more for the same amount of money.

Disney as a company does not, will not, and will never be the CHEAPEST vacation you can take. However - the millions of people that Disney parks all over the world can't be wrong.

You are indeed paying a premium - but you are reaping the benefit of the premium 10 fold.

We stayed 'on' property at a non-Disney Hotel last spring - we stayed a the Hilton at Downtown Disney using Hilton reward points. Never again - it wasn't the same as staying on-property. Even though we got free breakfast every morning, were in walking distance to Disney transportation, and were still 'on' property - we won't stay there again.

the Disney hotels are fantastic - I feel that the value is definitely there!

What people don't realize (or refuse to admit) is you can find all of those very same things (service, quality, friendliness) at places off-property, too.

Disney doesn't have a lock on good customer service or caring staff (regardless of what they want you to believe ). In fact, over the last five years, their service overall has slipped.

You're paying for the location of the hotel, nothing more. Compared to other non-Disney hotels, no, they aren't fantastic. They deliver an average product while charging a premium price. And yet, people don't blink "because it's Disney" and pay it.

As far as enjoying my vacations, oh, I do, no worries. But I'm also not paying a premium price for an average product.

Posts that cheer about how exceptional Disney is and how DARE anyone criticize them amuse me.

As far as the fridge swaps go, if you're missing your fridge, call Lost and Found...and then report back what they said.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I stay on site because I want to be able to do things like book the dining plan, take advantage of EMH, use Magical Express, have my purchases delivered to my resort...

 

[eliza61]

I have to completely disagree.

You are comparing a hotel on Disney property to a hotel OFF Disney property.

You are not PAYING for your hotel only - you are paying for your hotel, your experience, the theme, the service, the quality, the friendliness.

Do I agree that Disney could step up their game a little on the luxury scale - yes - I do agree with that. However, there is NO hotel that will, after learning your child is sick in the room - send housekeeping to assure you have everything you need, send a care basket with some basic medications, coloring books, crayons, activity books, and a DVD. I know that this has happened to SO many people.

If you are comparing ONLY the most basic services the then you will not find value staying at a Disney hotel.

However, the difference comes in service and experience. The Quality Inn on I-Drive might be cheaper - but in no way does it compare to Port Orleans -French Quarter.

If you are strictly focused on the value for each dollar you spend, the I'm not sure how you enjoy vacationing!

Disney is not pricing itself out of the vacation market.

People want more and more for the same amount of money.

Disney as a company does not, will not, and will never be the CHEAPEST vacation you can take. However - the millions of people that Disney parks all over the world can't be wrong.

You are indeed paying a premium - but you are reaping the benefit of the premium 10 fold.


the Disney hotels are fantastic - I feel that the value is definitely there!

Sorry, Disney gets away with crap because of location.
You must not stay at a real deluxe if you think the Grand floridian is worth the cost they charge.

I have taken poll after poll right here on the dis where we are disney fanatics and almost 90% of the people who posted say, "no way, no how would they ever pay disney prices without a discount"

What premium. Food is mediocre at best, horrible at worst. once again, people tolerate it because 1) they can get it cheap with the dining plan and 2) you're a captive audience. Once again post a poll and ask people would they pay 45 bucks a head for a buffet at disney. almost every time I ask people say the ts restaurants are not affordable, that's why they strategize when they are on the ddp. they try to get the most for their money.

Cutbacks.

Excuse me, you know have to have a plan like General Swatzkoff to see fantasmic because the cut the service back.
You may not have gone to disney a few years back but before every live show you used to get a "pre show" like the singing quartet 4 for a dollar or the comedianne Rozie the cleaning lady.
Now, you sit in the theater. period.

I love Disney but I go primarily because of my dvc. I use to go annually, now it's pretty much every 3 years. I used to go for at least 10 days, now 5 at most.

Now I diffinetly agree that I might be suffering from Disney burn out.

But basically I am going to Paris France for 5 days for the same price my disney trip and while I wont have the parks, I guarentee you that 1) the food will be worlds better and my hotel will be a true first class deluxe.

If you want a closer example stay at the new Waldorf astoria 1 mile from MK believe me if you thought the service at Port Orleans is quality, you're heart will not be able to take how they treat you there. don't even get me started on the linens and the towels at the pool.

I love the world but over the course of the last 10 years I've seen watch the cost vs. value gap get bigger and bigger.

 

[SandrA9810]

If the item sits in bell service for more than a week, it can then be sent to Lost and Found. After the required 30 day hold, it is then sent to the "trailer" where CM's can snatch up a good deal along with the million and one sunglasses that are never retrieved. Although quite a bit of things are donated through out Central Florida.

You can request an item to be stored longer than a day, and they put that in a separate area. But you have to indicate when that item will be retrieved. The biggest problem with lost fridges, is if some one backs out last minute, their name is on the storage tag. When the next person goes to retrieve the item, it's not in their name, and they can't pick it up.

When I did my bag swap, I tried as often as I could to pick it up from the person or drop it off to them. But occasionally it did go into storage (like if their flight was early in the morning). I made sure that my name was clearly labeled on the bags, along with the next person to get the bag, so either person could retrieve it.

Any case, in the world of lost fridges, they've made it to a new home.

 

[Planogirl]

I stay on site because I want to be able to do things like book the dining plan, take advantage of EMH, use Magical Express, have my purchases delivered to my resort...

All great reasons to stay onsite IF those are important to you. We don't want the dining plan, don't care about EMH, drive so have no use for Magical Express and don't buy much of anything while at the parks. However, I do love a few of the resorts so I try to stay onsite sometimes just for them.

It's interesting to think of all of these fridges possibly being adopted by CM's.

 

[Bell30012]

I participated in Krystals Pop Fridge Swap back in Nov 2007. That swap is still going strong. Could it be that the organizers are doing something different than these others?

Getting this fridge was a plus for us because we flew in that trip. Bell Services gave me the box and I took it to the room on my own little luggage hand truck. I passed it on directly to the next guest even giving them the remains of my case of bottled water.

On trips where we drive I've been known to bring my own mini fridge, coffee pot and even microwave.

Walmart has a neat program for anyone really cheap. It's called buy the fridge and return it. Return policy states for ANY reason with receipt. Reason? You don't need it any more.

 

[bicker]

Sorry, Disney gets away with crap because of location.

They aren't "getting away with crap". They provide the service that they're supposed to provide - what they promise, though perhaps not what you choose to unilaterally impose on them. The location simply justifies a higher premium on the room rate. We can quibble about the exact number, but I've pegged it at 35% in the past, so look at what you're paying off-site, multiply by 1.35, and that should be about what you pay for a room with comparable amenities and service on-property.

Is it worth the higher premium? Is a BMW 328i worth the higher premium over a Ford Fusion? Some people would say yes; some people would say no; and both groups would be 100% correct.

Cutbacks.

Clear reflections of consumer sentiment that keeps that premium from being higher than that 35% number. If enough people wanted better, they'd provide better. They actually understand their customers; they don't obey them, but rather understand what drives them, and structures their offering to best capitalize (literally: make into money) on the market.

Now, you sit in the theater. period.

It used to be, it was standing only, when the show was only in California. Things change in both directions over time. The world isn't static. And if people cared more about what you care about that it drove their purchasing decisions, then Disney would placate your preferences better.

Now I diffinetly agree that I might be suffering from Disney burn out.

We've found that if we're just going back, ourselves, year after year, then our best option is to think of it solely as a vacation home, that happens to have theme parks nearby.

We also bring a different set of family members every two or three years. That adds another dimension to the experience.

I love the world but over the course of the last 10 years I've seen watch the cost vs. value gap get bigger and bigger.

However, I think that's at least in part because your perception of value has dropped, due to your own circumstances, for the reasons you yourself presented.

 

[HoltDisney07]

Its funny how on more than one occasion people in this thread have suggested to just upgrade to a mod from a value...HELLO!!! It is like double the price. I don't know about the next person, but I certain could not just go up from a value to a mod or shorten my trip just to stay at a higher value hotel, plus to me the added bonus in my eyes just isn't there. Paying for a fridge would be A LOT cheaper.

Wow we have really changed topics here. Everyone has their own opinions on hotels, Deluxe, Mod, Value. With the price we are paying we could have shortened our trip in August and stayed at a Mod or even a Deluxe, but we are going for 11 days and staying at Pop. To each his own, onsite, offsite, Deluxe, Mod or Value. Enjoy your trips, as EVERYONE who gets to go to Disney is VERY LUCKY! I know so many people who have never even gone.

 

[bicker]

Its funny how on more than one occasion people in this thread have suggested to just upgrade to a mod from a value...HELLO!!! It is like double the price.

I don't think anyone has suggested to "just" upgrade to a moderate. The suggestion to upgrade is a natural one, for folks who want more amenities than the economy option offers. This thread is about missing refrigerators but the fridge swaps, themselves, are a manifestation of consumers trying to effectively get more amenities than Disney intends for them to have without paying what Disney is charging for those amenities. Guests engaging in fridge swaps are not doing anything illegal, but they're surely using the facilities they're renting in a manner inconsistent with the intentions underlying the offer they accepted. Disney tends to be pretty lenient about things like that, and generally allows a certain amount of exploitation of that leniency before they take action to keep guests more closely within the intentions of their offerings, but we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that in-room refrigerators are not part of what Disney intends economy guests to have access to, without paying extra for it, and that as our hosts, their intentions matter somewhat. Specifically this much: It isn't Disney's fault that fridge swaps aren't easier to manage; it isn't Disney's fault that sometimes the nature of what people are trying to do with fridge swaps results in refrigerators going missing, without much recourse due to how the swaps aren't necessarily contiguous; and most importantly, afaic, if and when Disney does anything specific to make it harder/impossible to do fridge swaps, they are 100% justified in doing so, even though that would indeed mean that having that specific amenity would mean either to pay the Disney rental fee or upgrade to a moderate.

 

[fakereadhed]

I think it's easy to see swaps(fridge/stroller/PIF) as people being cheap, but in reality if you've ever done one it's not about that at all. For me it was about adding more excitement to the trip. It's fun to meet new people, pay it forward and add extra goodies to the box, and add something extra to your trip. It is not convenient or easy because it takes time to find it, transport it back and forth, and hunt down a missing box. I am not surprised that WDW would be annoyed by all the extra work and storage. It was fun while it lasted!

 

[HoltDisney07]

I don't think anyone has suggested to "just" upgrade to a moderate. The suggestion to upgrade is a natural one, for folks who want more amenities than the economy option offers.

Actually you are wrong. On two separate occasions I have read on this thread people suggesting for those to upgrade to solve the fridge issue and here are those examples.......

Example A:

But you had two options rather than participate in one of these sketchy fridge swaps: 1) Get the free medical fridge, or 2) Stay somewhere else.

That's the weird thing about these swaps. Personally, when I go on vacation, I always look at the room amenities and decide whether I like what they have to offer. If not, I book somewhere else.

Example B:

I agree all around!

People want to stay on Disney property - but don't like the amenities.
Either bump up to a Moderate or Deluxe - and there you have it - more amenities, additional services, and no need to bring everything but the kitchen sink.

 

[Planogirl]

Actually "staying somewhere else" could also include staying offsite which many seem to consider a downgrade.

 

[bicker]

Actually you are wrong. On two separate occasions I have read on this thread people suggesting for those to upgrade to solve the fridge issue and here are those examples.......

Actually you are wrong. si-am didn't say upgrade to moderate, in the message you quoted; si-am said "stay somewhere else". And csharwv did not "just" suggest the upgrade, rather highlighting how what you get is reasonably related to how much you pay, saying specifically, "SO - a Value resort is just that - a Value. You are paying for a clean place to sleep, bathe, and swim."

I deliberately highlighted that word - "just" - to make it clear the error in what you wrote. You tried to make what people suggested sound bad by using the word "just". Without the word "just" what they did was provide an operational, constructive suggestion. Your not liking their suggestion doesn't justify disparaging their effort as being insensitive to your situation, which clearly was your insinuation.

 

[HoltDisney07]

Actually you are wrong. si-am didn't say upgrade to moderate, in the message you quoted; si-am said "stay somewhere else".

You have no idea what si-am was implying with that comment. They could have just as easily been suggesting staying somewhere else on Disney property aka an UPGRADE, and I tend to think this is the case because we are talking about an onsite resort and that particular resorts amenities. At this point in the thread offsite resorts were not even being discussed. My mind set and I am sure a lot of other peoples was not looking into offsite locations as a means to get more amenities, I mean we are talking about fridge swaps at a Disney resort...and how taxing it is on the CMs. It was not until later that offsite places to stay were even brought up. But only Si-am knows for sure. Either way when speaking in terms of Disney, to gain more amenities one MUST upgrade to receive them.

And csharwv did not "just" suggest the upgrade, rather highlighting how what you get is reasonably related to how much you pay, saying specifically, "SO - a Value resort is just that - a Value. You are paying for a clean place to sleep, bathe, and swim."

Yes she DID "just" suggest an upgrade as an option to getting the fridge aka amenities.

People want to stay on Disney property - but don't like the amenities.
Either bump up to a Moderate or Deluxe

Sugarcoat it how ever you like, it was a suggestion to upgrade as a means to get the amenities. My basis for my entire post that you decided to comment on is..... it isn't "just" and option for everyone to "just" upgrade, regardless of how many cool amenities you or anyone else feel is worth it. There is more too it...specifically $$$$.

I deliberately highlighted that word - "just" - to make it clear the error in what you wrote. You tried to make what people suggested sound bad by using the word "just". Without the word "just" what they did was provide an operational, constructive suggestion. Your not liking their suggestion doesn't justify disparaging their effort as being insensitive to your situation, which clearly was your insinuation.

There was no error in what I wrote. I believe you read into something and somehow took something other than what I intended the readers to get from my post. I never said I thought their suggestion was "bad". I simply think their suggestion was without care. The definition of just also means: Closely; nearly; almost, a small margin. With this in mind, my mention of just was to that of thinking it would "just" be so easy for those people to upgrade to a moderate or Deluxe without much thought. That going between the two was not much different. Thus my pointing out the doubling in price in my original post. It is NOT "just" as easy to upgrade to a moderate or Deluxe as the price difference is much different. Again it isn't about thinking the suggestion was insensitive or not liking their suggestion, I was pointing out that this type of suggestion is kinda silly in my opinion and really can not be considered an option for everyone. Since you spoke of BMWs, you wouldn't suggest to your friend who was trying to buy a new car on a 15k budget to look at new BMW would you??? I guess that wouldn't be a realistic suggestion, now would it?

Thanks Bicker, your name lives up. Thanks for the discussion. We will have to "just" agree to disagree.

 

[bicker]

There was no error in what I wrote.

Nor in what I wrote.

I believe you read into something and somehow took something other than what I intended the readers to get from my post.

That's pretty-much what you did with regard to the other poster's messages.

I never said I thought their suggestion was "bad". I simply think their suggestion was without care. ... I was pointing out that this type of suggestion is kinda silly in my opinion

Generally, when you case someone as not caring, or silly, that's considered negative. That's really what I'm objecting to.

Since you spoke of BMWs, you wouldn't suggest to your friend who was trying to buy a new car on a 15k budget to look at new BMW would you???

If my friend wanted amenities that were only available in BMWs, I would indeed point out that those amenities were only available in BMWs. My friends are smart enough to know whether or not they can afford to pay for a BMW, and will naturally conclude, if they cannot, that that means that they must forego those amenities.

Let's accept that foregoing amenities is the right thing, if paying for them isn't practicable.

 

[HoltDisney07]

That's pretty-much what you did with regard to the other poster's messages.

Seriously??? Ok whatever. I didn't take what they said out of context. It is there in black and white. They suggested upgrading and I simply pointed out this just isn't an option for everyone. I think you have a bigger issue with all this and just do not think highly of the swaps. Fine with me. I never said you couldn't hold such a view, to each his own. But their suggestion isn't always just an option for everyone.

Generally, when you case someone as not caring, or silly, that's considered negative. That's really what I'm objecting to.

Huge difference between someone that is not caring and suggesting something without care....look into that one. Silly, again twist my words...not calling them silly, calling their suggestion silly. In other words...an inappropriate suggestion for the situation.

If my friend wanted amenities that were only available in BMWs, I would indeed point out that those amenities were only available in BMWs. My friends are smart enough to know whether or not they can afford to pay for a BMW, and will naturally conclude, if they cannot, that that means that they must forego those amenities.

Let's accept that foregoing amenities is the right thing, if paying for them isn't practicable.

Guess thats what makes the world go round. I for one would not suggest such a thing. Oh well....I guess that foregoing amenities is only the case if a suitable aftermarket amenity isn't available for swap...I mean purchase.


Ok have the last word....ready set go....

 

[Mrs.Reese]