What is YOUR "horrible moment turned wonderful"?
- Thread starter Cindylieu
- Start date
JKMJ441724
Um, I'm going to go with "NO."
- Joined
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- 1,711
I've posted this story on different boards before.
Several years ago, my extended family dropped in at Magic Kingdom for a day of fun before going on our Disney Cruise. I think we had about 13 people in our group.
We were walking from Toontown towards Fantasyland. Ahead of me, I could see my husband pushing our 3 year old son in the stroller. I could see my sister and her family, my mom and step-father.
I searched each person to find my 5 yr old daughter. None of them had her. I was immediately in a panic. I could not remember the last time I had seen her. I yelled out to those in front of me - WHERE'S MADISON?
They all stopped in their tracks, turned around and looked at me, but no one spoke.
My already soaring panic level went into the stratosphere.
What was their problem? Why weren't they moving to help me find her? Did they not realize how big this place was and how tiny she is? Have they not seen the headlines of child molestors lurking in kid-friendly locales?
I turned around and began stomping back to Toontown. If they did not want to help, it was up to me to find her on my own. She was my responsibility.
I had taken about 3 steps when I heard my sister call my name.
I turned around and with all my strength and passion and fury yelled WHAT?
She looked me right in the eye, pointed her finger at me and said...
You're holding her.
And I was. She was perched right there on my left hip. I had gotten so used to toting her over the whole World that I had forgotten I had her.
It was my worst moment turned into the best.
When I got home, I told my dad the story. He asked if I was embarrassed. I said "no. I was relieved."
Several years ago, my extended family dropped in at Magic Kingdom for a day of fun before going on our Disney Cruise. I think we had about 13 people in our group.
We were walking from Toontown towards Fantasyland. Ahead of me, I could see my husband pushing our 3 year old son in the stroller. I could see my sister and her family, my mom and step-father.
I searched each person to find my 5 yr old daughter. None of them had her. I was immediately in a panic. I could not remember the last time I had seen her. I yelled out to those in front of me - WHERE'S MADISON?
They all stopped in their tracks, turned around and looked at me, but no one spoke.
My already soaring panic level went into the stratosphere.
What was their problem? Why weren't they moving to help me find her? Did they not realize how big this place was and how tiny she is? Have they not seen the headlines of child molestors lurking in kid-friendly locales?
I turned around and began stomping back to Toontown. If they did not want to help, it was up to me to find her on my own. She was my responsibility.
I had taken about 3 steps when I heard my sister call my name.
I turned around and with all my strength and passion and fury yelled WHAT?
She looked me right in the eye, pointed her finger at me and said...
You're holding her.
And I was. She was perched right there on my left hip. I had gotten so used to toting her over the whole World that I had forgotten I had her.
It was my worst moment turned into the best.
When I got home, I told my dad the story. He asked if I was embarrassed. I said "no. I was relieved."
pooh2001
been there, done that, TRYING to go back
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2000
- Messages
- 8,635
When our DS was 9 - I guess our EPCOT lunch did not agree with him.
So, he ran to a garbage pan and let his lunch out (get the picture
).
As a boy aged 9
- he was a bit mortified and embarassed.
A kind famiy gave us some wipes for him. A CM can to our rescue and showed us where a bathroom was, for my DH to go with my DS, to clean him up. The CM also told us where the medical area was, if we needed it.
We went back to our resort after my brave DH helped our DS in the bathroom.
At the CR, the CM noticed our DS was a bit upset and sad
, they asked what room we were in. 15 minutes after we settled in our room, we heard a knock on our door. The CM brought to our room some coloring books, crayons, a buzz light year ballon for our DS and a few water bottles for us.
What a nice thing the CM's at WDW and the kind family, did for us :thumbsup
My DS now boasts about tossing it at WDW and how WDW CM's treat families so kindly.
So, he ran to a garbage pan and let his lunch out (get the picture
).As a boy aged 9
- he was a bit mortified and embarassed.A kind famiy gave us some wipes for him. A CM can to our rescue and showed us where a bathroom was, for my DH to go with my DS, to clean him up. The CM also told us where the medical area was, if we needed it.
We went back to our resort after my brave DH helped our DS in the bathroom.
At the CR, the CM noticed our DS was a bit upset and sad
, they asked what room we were in. 15 minutes after we settled in our room, we heard a knock on our door. The CM brought to our room some coloring books, crayons, a buzz light year ballon for our DS and a few water bottles for us.What a nice thing the CM's at WDW and the kind family, did for us :thumbsup
My DS now boasts about tossing it at WDW and how WDW CM's treat families so kindly. 
SnowWhite33
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 15, 2003
- Messages
- 7,954
I've told this before, but I love this story...
When my son was 8 we were in MK. We went to get on POTC and as he went to step on the boat his shoe fell off and right into the water-right down to Davy Jones' locker! There was no way to retrieve the shoe. He was so embarassed that he cried all the way through the ride. We got off and spoke to a CM who found this very funny and could only tell me to go to lost and found to file a report and if they found the shoe I could claim it. It was February and rainy, it was very chilly out. I tried several shops to try to find some sort of sandal or flip flop for him, but could find nothing in his size. So now I'm wandering around MK with a barefoot kid in a cold February rain and truly feeling lost and helpless.
I decided that I'd have to make a trip offsite somewhere to get new shoes and on the way out of the park I stopped at Town Hall. A wonderful CM there listened to my story and got out a voucher with Pinocchio on it, she walked me over to the Main St Emporium and told the CM at the register that we were to pick out any pair of sneakers that my ds wanted. He chose some Buzz Lightyear shoes that had the lights in them, he was over the moon.
Disney made it right, even though it was not their fault really.
Every trip since, we tease ds about his shoe and how the Pirates stole it, and maybe they wanted it for the pirate with the hairy leg sitting on the bridge. Even though he's 15 now I'm always sure to tell him to tie his shoes before entering-
Oh yeah, interesting side note, my DM who was with us on that trip carried the other shoe home and planted a cactus in it as her souvenier of the trip-I'm not sure if she still has it or not.
When my son was 8 we were in MK. We went to get on POTC and as he went to step on the boat his shoe fell off and right into the water-right down to Davy Jones' locker! There was no way to retrieve the shoe. He was so embarassed that he cried all the way through the ride. We got off and spoke to a CM who found this very funny and could only tell me to go to lost and found to file a report and if they found the shoe I could claim it. It was February and rainy, it was very chilly out. I tried several shops to try to find some sort of sandal or flip flop for him, but could find nothing in his size. So now I'm wandering around MK with a barefoot kid in a cold February rain and truly feeling lost and helpless.
I decided that I'd have to make a trip offsite somewhere to get new shoes and on the way out of the park I stopped at Town Hall. A wonderful CM there listened to my story and got out a voucher with Pinocchio on it, she walked me over to the Main St Emporium and told the CM at the register that we were to pick out any pair of sneakers that my ds wanted. He chose some Buzz Lightyear shoes that had the lights in them, he was over the moon.
Disney made it right, even though it was not their fault really.Every trip since, we tease ds about his shoe and how the Pirates stole it, and maybe they wanted it for the pirate with the hairy leg sitting on the bridge. Even though he's 15 now I'm always sure to tell him to tie his shoes before entering-
Oh yeah, interesting side note, my DM who was with us on that trip carried the other shoe home and planted a cactus in it as her souvenier of the trip-I'm not sure if she still has it or not.
My daughter got 2 stuffed animals at MK (for her birthday and losing a tooth). She was playing with another family and that little girl left with them! To say my daughter was upset is an understatement! Well, I wasn't spending another $50 to replace them so we decided to go back to hotel. On the way out a CM noticed she was crying and said "Why are you sad at Disney World?" After she sobbed out the story he got vouchers for her and she was able to replace them! It was a magical moment for all of us!
Three things happened because of that...
1. My children learned a lesson about the pain that stealing causes.
2. They also learned the lesson on the joy that kindness can bring.
3. Disney made a killing on that $50 voucher because it was at that moment I decided to buy DVC!
To say my daughter was upset is an understatement! Well, I wasn't spending another $50 to replace them so we decided to go back to hotel. On the way out a CM noticed she was crying and said "Why are you sad at Disney World?" After she sobbed out the story he got vouchers for her and she was able to replace them! It was a magical moment for all of us!Three things happened because of that...
1. My children learned a lesson about the pain that stealing causes.
2. They also learned the lesson on the joy that kindness can bring.
3. Disney made a killing on that $50 voucher because it was at that moment I decided to buy DVC!
JKMJ441724
Um, I'm going to go with "NO."
- Joined
- May 16, 2005
- Messages
- 1,711
My daughter got 2 stuffed animals at MK (for her birthday and losing a tooth). She was playing with another family and that little girl left with them!
Three things happened because of that...
1. My children learned a lesson about the pain that stealing causes.
2. They also learned the lesson on the joy that kindness can bring.
3. Disney made a killing on that $50 voucher because it was at that moment I decided to buy DVC!
Wow. Brought a tear to my eye. We all need expensive lessons sometimes!!!
Luvamouse
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2006
- Messages
- 1,277
OK, this sooo funny...because every mom out there gets it! When all of your senses are on overload, it isn't hard to miss the "little things"! Glad it was all good
I know this wasn't meant to be funny. But since you had her the whole time, I loved it.
JKMJ441724
Um, I'm going to go with "NO."
- Joined
- May 16, 2005
- Messages
- 1,711
I know this wasn't meant to be funny. But since you had her the whole time, I loved it.
Oh, it's FUNNY! We still laugh our butts off about it!!!
Here's the kicker (and why no one moved to help me) I did pretty much the same thing the year before. I was holding my nephew's hand yelling "where's hunter? Where's Hunter?" So when I lost Madison, they thought I was playing.
I took three of my best girlfriends a few years ago. My best friend's mom had been ill with pancreatic cancer, and had taken a turn for the worse the week before the trip. It has happened two years before, and she pulled through, so my friend decided to go along.
Lo and behold, we had one beautiful day there and very early the next morning, the hospice nurse called to tell my dear friend that her mom had died. We were just devasted for her.
We went up front to the concierge desk to get the phone number for SW to change her flight and the staff jumped into action.
They called guest services and had her transported back to the room, while they changed flight reservation, so she could pack. About twenty minutes later, a member of the mousekeeping staff pulled up in a van, as well as someone from the concierge desk with her new plane reservation. The girl from the mousekeeping staff dropped off the concierge person back at the lobby and then drove my friend directly to the Southwest terminal. They handed her directly to one of the skycaps and explained what had happened, and they too leapt into action.
The girl from the mousekeeping staff then returned to our room and reassured us that our dear friend had been taken care of and was alright and on her way home.
We were so relieved - had they not done that, we have been so worried about her. We would have just had to put her in a cab and hope for the best.
When we returned home, our dear friend told us that all along the way, she tried to tip everyone that helped her on the staff and at the airport, but no one would accept it - they all commented that it was their job to help their guests through a very difficult time.
Lo and behold, we had one beautiful day there and very early the next morning, the hospice nurse called to tell my dear friend that her mom had died. We were just devasted for her.
We went up front to the concierge desk to get the phone number for SW to change her flight and the staff jumped into action.
They called guest services and had her transported back to the room, while they changed flight reservation, so she could pack. About twenty minutes later, a member of the mousekeeping staff pulled up in a van, as well as someone from the concierge desk with her new plane reservation. The girl from the mousekeeping staff dropped off the concierge person back at the lobby and then drove my friend directly to the Southwest terminal. They handed her directly to one of the skycaps and explained what had happened, and they too leapt into action.
The girl from the mousekeeping staff then returned to our room and reassured us that our dear friend had been taken care of and was alright and on her way home.
We were so relieved - had they not done that, we have been so worried about her. We would have just had to put her in a cab and hope for the best.
When we returned home, our dear friend told us that all along the way, she tried to tip everyone that helped her on the staff and at the airport, but no one would accept it - they all commented that it was their job to help their guests through a very difficult time.
crushonmickey
Mouseketeer
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- Aug 6, 2003
- Messages
- 117
The first time we were at WDW, at Animal Kingdom, we bought our 7 year old a Simba ice cream bar. Well, at the first bite, she dropped it on the ground. I looked at her like "I can't believe you just did that!" A CM came over and gave her a new one. I had never been to a theme park that would do that. Made me feel like a heel for getting mad, but then I realized what a magical place it was.
Looking4themouse
Mouseketeer
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- May 13, 2009
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- 281
OK so here it goes. My BFF, DS9, DS6 and DD5 went to Pizza Planet for lunch one afternoon. I had sent the kids and my BFF back to the table with the food while I prepared the drinks. I was trying to put the lid on a humongous drink when splash all down the front of my shirt.
I was really pretty mortified and trying my hardest to clean this mess up with those tiny little napkins that are offered, when a CM came over. She told me not to worry about the mess asked me what size I was and brought me a nice clean and dry shirt. I was so thankful, and able to get cleaned up instead of having to wear a sticky shirt all day.
I was really pretty mortified and trying my hardest to clean this mess up with those tiny little napkins that are offered, when a CM came over. She told me not to worry about the mess asked me what size I was and brought me a nice clean and dry shirt. I was so thankful, and able to get cleaned up instead of having to wear a sticky shirt all day.When my oldest was 3, it was her first trip. My parents took us on an all expense paid trip to Disney as a nursing school graduation present. I was a single mom. We were staying at "Dixie Landing" (called that at the time) She got soooo sick one night and threw up all over the place. It was about 2 or 3 am. I called down to housekeeping to ask if they could please bring me some sheets.
They came and they refused to allow me to do the bed. I felt horrible, because who wants to clean up someone elses puke in the middle of the night, right? So they clean EVERYTHING and change the bed and put her little dolls on the bed for her. They were soooo nice about it.
Next day, the poor child has a high fever and is sick so she's stuck in the room all day. I went down to the gift shop and asked the guy where to find children's tylenol. I go to the counter with the Tylenol and a stuffed Minnie (I was a single mom and really couldn't afford this minnie, but they didn't know it and I just wanted to get something to cheer up dd)
So he rings up the Tylenol and I said "oh, this too" He said "the minnie mouse is a gift from us to your daughter. Can we gift wrap it for her?"
Then he gets out this big mickey box and couldn't find bright tissue paper. Catch this..he says "do you think she'll mind white tissue paper??"
I looked at him with tears in my eyes, I was so happy. I said "dude, she'll be thrilled with just a box with nothing in it!" LOL The box was soooo cool!
So I got back to the room with this big bright Disney box and a beautiful plush Minnie Mouse doll and my little dd's eyes just bulged wide open.
I'll never ever forget that man. I can still envision his face. Ok..where are my tissues...
They came and they refused to allow me to do the bed. I felt horrible, because who wants to clean up someone elses puke in the middle of the night, right? So they clean EVERYTHING and change the bed and put her little dolls on the bed for her. They were soooo nice about it.
Next day, the poor child has a high fever and is sick so she's stuck in the room all day. I went down to the gift shop and asked the guy where to find children's tylenol. I go to the counter with the Tylenol and a stuffed Minnie (I was a single mom and really couldn't afford this minnie, but they didn't know it and I just wanted to get something to cheer up dd)
So he rings up the Tylenol and I said "oh, this too" He said "the minnie mouse is a gift from us to your daughter. Can we gift wrap it for her?"
Then he gets out this big mickey box and couldn't find bright tissue paper. Catch this..he says "do you think she'll mind white tissue paper??"
I looked at him with tears in my eyes, I was so happy. I said "dude, she'll be thrilled with just a box with nothing in it!" LOL The box was soooo cool!
So I got back to the room with this big bright Disney box and a beautiful plush Minnie Mouse doll and my little dd's eyes just bulged wide open.
I'll never ever forget that man. I can still envision his face. Ok..where are my tissues...
I love this thread already!! You folks have wonderful stories to tell! Thanks for bringing tears to my eyes this morning.
MinnieVanMom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2008
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- 5,486
These stories are all so very sweet and in a world where things get so nasty this thread is a breath of fresh air.
We went to WDW with a au pair who requested to have the night off to see her aunt about 10 minutes before we going out the door for our dinner ADR. I said ok but she had been paid very well to assist us. We went out and it was a terrible downpour, we had to wait a long time and that is hard for our SN son. The weather was making him go off the spectrum and I think we were all just tired.
On the way back to our room we were waiting for the mono rail to ride in the nose. We had waited for our turn and when the CM told us to go up we saw a family from the first car jump out and go into the nose. They took our ride!
For some reason I just started to cry. A CM in blue shirt and kaki pants asked me what was wrong, I told him all of it! He must have thought I was a nut case, It all just came out along with more tears.
He then asked if we still wanted our ride? He took our family to the back of the monorail, the tail and we got to ride around for as long as we wanted. We went around only once but it was a great moment for all of us. Not many ride in the tail.
We went to WDW with a au pair who requested to have the night off to see her aunt about 10 minutes before we going out the door for our dinner ADR. I said ok but she had been paid very well to assist us. We went out and it was a terrible downpour, we had to wait a long time and that is hard for our SN son. The weather was making him go off the spectrum and I think we were all just tired.
On the way back to our room we were waiting for the mono rail to ride in the nose. We had waited for our turn and when the CM told us to go up we saw a family from the first car jump out and go into the nose. They took our ride!
For some reason I just started to cry. A CM in blue shirt and kaki pants asked me what was wrong, I told him all of it! He must have thought I was a nut case, It all just came out along with more tears.
He then asked if we still wanted our ride? He took our family to the back of the monorail, the tail and we got to ride around for as long as we wanted. We went around only once but it was a great moment for all of us. Not many ride in the tail.
aaarcher86
Registered
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- Feb 17, 2010
- Messages
- 11,801
Our trip was myself, husband and 2 girls (4 and 2). Our 2 year old is a HUGE fairy fan. We had seen the Fairies earlier that week and had caught Silvermist and Rosetta with Tinkerbell. Since we had seen princesses for our 4 year old throughout our whole week at breakfasts and in the parks we decided to take our 2 year old to see the Fairies again.
We got there around 11a and waited an hour. We had asked the CM at the front of the line who was in there and she said Terrence and Fawn - our 2 year olds newest favorites! She did tell us that they rotate but we figured if we wait for an hour we're bound to catch someone new!
When we got to the front of the line we asked that CM who was in there right now and she said Terrence and Silvermist. Okay cool - Terrence is who Danica really wanted to see. So after getting her really excited to see Terrence we walk into Pixie Hollow and it's...... Silvermist and Rosetta. My daughter kept asking 'where's Terrence' and it just broke my heart. The CM said that Terrence would be back in about 15 minutes and my husband asked her if we could wait. We obviously couldn't and we would've had to get back in line. So we met the same fairies and decided to come back in the afternoon during a parade when there hopefully wouldn't be a huge line.
So we head back - a 75 minute wait. Great. We don't really want to wait that long to see the same fairies for the third time. So my husband asks the CM at the beginning of the line if we stand in line and it's the same fairies in there when we get to the front if we can let people go ahead of us so that we can try and catch Terrence or Fawn. She's unclear and calls a manager to come talk to us on her walkie.
The manager comes out and listens to our story of waiting in line 2 times already for over an hour. My husband explains that we don't want special treatment or anything and we plan on waiting in line again we just wanted to let people cut so we could catch Terrence or Fawn but we didn't want to get in trouble or make anyone mad. She asks us to wait, leaves for about 20 minutes and comes back. When she comes back out she told us that Terrence was in there but not Fawn and asked if that was okay. We say yeah and start walking to the line and she stops us and tells us she's going to take us in now so that we get to see him! And she did!
When we got into Pixie Hollow we noticed Iridessa is there too! So we ended up getting 2 new fairies plus my daughter's favorite! I couldn't believe it. I shed a tear and wiped it away before any one noticed.
My daughter was in complete shock. I was really hoping to get an amazing picture, write a thank you letter and have it delivered to the manager with the picture but sadly... the best picture I got was my daughter in awe standing next to Terrence lol.
We ended up buying a postcard from the gift shop and writing her a big thank you and giving it to her then. She was amazing. She really did go above and beyond and I can only imagine how many people ask for favors during the day - she really made my daughter's entire vacation and she still talks about Terrence! I just wanted to hug her forever!
http://s669.photobucket.com/albums/vv53/aaarcher86/?action=view¤t=DSCI0246.jpg
We got there around 11a and waited an hour. We had asked the CM at the front of the line who was in there and she said Terrence and Fawn - our 2 year olds newest favorites! She did tell us that they rotate but we figured if we wait for an hour we're bound to catch someone new!
When we got to the front of the line we asked that CM who was in there right now and she said Terrence and Silvermist. Okay cool - Terrence is who Danica really wanted to see. So after getting her really excited to see Terrence we walk into Pixie Hollow and it's...... Silvermist and Rosetta. My daughter kept asking 'where's Terrence' and it just broke my heart. The CM said that Terrence would be back in about 15 minutes and my husband asked her if we could wait. We obviously couldn't and we would've had to get back in line. So we met the same fairies and decided to come back in the afternoon during a parade when there hopefully wouldn't be a huge line.
So we head back - a 75 minute wait. Great. We don't really want to wait that long to see the same fairies for the third time. So my husband asks the CM at the beginning of the line if we stand in line and it's the same fairies in there when we get to the front if we can let people go ahead of us so that we can try and catch Terrence or Fawn. She's unclear and calls a manager to come talk to us on her walkie.
The manager comes out and listens to our story of waiting in line 2 times already for over an hour. My husband explains that we don't want special treatment or anything and we plan on waiting in line again we just wanted to let people cut so we could catch Terrence or Fawn but we didn't want to get in trouble or make anyone mad. She asks us to wait, leaves for about 20 minutes and comes back. When she comes back out she told us that Terrence was in there but not Fawn and asked if that was okay. We say yeah and start walking to the line and she stops us and tells us she's going to take us in now so that we get to see him! And she did!
When we got into Pixie Hollow we noticed Iridessa is there too! So we ended up getting 2 new fairies plus my daughter's favorite! I couldn't believe it. I shed a tear and wiped it away before any one noticed.
My daughter was in complete shock. I was really hoping to get an amazing picture, write a thank you letter and have it delivered to the manager with the picture but sadly... the best picture I got was my daughter in awe standing next to Terrence lol.
We ended up buying a postcard from the gift shop and writing her a big thank you and giving it to her then. She was amazing. She really did go above and beyond and I can only imagine how many people ask for favors during the day - she really made my daughter's entire vacation and she still talks about Terrence! I just wanted to hug her forever!
http://s669.photobucket.com/albums/vv53/aaarcher86/?action=view¤t=DSCI0246.jpg
TinkerBelle_325
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2001
- Messages
- 4,267
I have an interesting story. This occured in August 2008. Warning: there is a LOT of bad, but the end result was VERY good 
**Let me preface this by saying CSR was, and still is, our favorite WDW resort. The following situation could have happened anywhere and is in no way reflective of the overall experience we have had with this fantastic resort. March 2010 will mark our 15th stay at CSR and we have 3 more planned for 2010**
We arrived at Orlando International very late, at about 1am. As I had informed our resort, Coronado Springs, that we would be arriving at 1am I called and informed them that our arrival would now be closer to 1:30. After experiencing issues with Avis we eventually arrived at CSR at 2am.
Service was lackluster from the beginning of the check-in process. There was one CM working the desk, which was to be expected at such a late hour. As we were checking in the CM informed us that our keys had already been printed and were in the administration office. He then proceeded to just sit there.....after about 5 minutes my DDad asked if he was planning on going to get them. The CM explained that there was a person in admin looking for our keys. The admin CM came out 5 minutes later, talked to the desk CM for 5 mins then disappeared again.
We had now been waiting 15 minutes to receive keys that were already printed. 10 minutes passed and the admin CM returned. It was now 2:25am. Our request had not been met (Casitas 1 or 3) but we had been placed in the Casitas, so that was fine by us. We were tired and just wanted to get to bed.
So the 25 minute check-in ended and we proceeded to Casitas 5. We opened the door and the room wreaked of smoke
We thought we would just leave the door open for a few mins to see if the smell would dissapate. Now, I've yet to mention that I came down with a slight cold the day before we left and now the smoke was irritating my throat and making my cough much worse.
After 10 mins of airing out the room we called the from desk to see if we can be switched. The desk CM, same that checked us in, says he will check and get back to us. 5 minutes later we get a call from the manager on duty. She offers to stop by the room to "investigate" the smell.
The night manager shows up at 3am. She says the smell is barely detectable, that she has no rooms available at the resort and that she can offer us a "night" at CBR, but goes on to explain that we could drive over to CBR, check in and then we must check out at 11am, return to CSR and check back in at 3pm tomorrow.
Hmm...checking in to CBR for 7 hours doesn't seem like a reasonable solution to us. We ask to stay at CBR for the 3 nights we are booked at CSR. She refuses, saying there is no availability. We ask her to check POR and POFQ. Without actually checking, she says there is no availability and that we will "either take the room we have been given, or take the CBR room for 7 hours, those are the only options"
Let me point out that we were staying during value season, and that just the day before I had checked hotel occupancy to get an idea of crowd levels and nearly all resorts had availability for our dates.
We ask the manager to check WL as we have a reservation there 3 days from now. She refuses and offers to have our room VIP cleaned in the morning.
At this point, it is 3:30am and we have been offered no reasonable solution. We ask the manager to double check that no rooms, not even suites are available at CSR and we offer to pay the difference if necessary. She refuses to check, states at the 7 hour CBR room is the best she can do, take it or leave it.
Well, we decided to leave, all together. We drove to WL and asked if they had any rooms available. It was 3:45am when we arrived there. The CM said she believed they did have a few rooms and after seeing Dad's ID asked us to wait a moment, went to the admin office and came back out. She stated "actually.....no.....we don't have rooms....sorry." and turned her back to us!
Her tone was odd and we questioned her, she said that she saw we had a reservation at another resort and couldn't check us in there. We explained the situation briefly, and explained we had already paid the balance on the reservation upon check-in and would like to stay here. She flat out refused and went into the admin office.
At this point the night manager calls my cell (we had given her the number when she called initially). Convenient that she calls a few moments after the CM went into the admin office.
We explain that we are going to check resort availability and we will return to CSR tomorrow to address the issues we had been dealing with.
We decided to try the contemporary and arrived there at 4:15am. The front desk CM says "yes, we have rooms available, may I see ID" my Dad hands it over and the CM proceeds to the admin office. 10 minutes later she returns and asks "are you are the _______ family? Well we don't have any rooms for YOU."
At this point, I am near tears. It is 4:30am, we have been screwed around by Disney management for 2 1/2 hours. We threw up our hands and went to the Hyatt Regency near DTD.
The next morning I called Disney reservations and questioned them on availability. The CM said she had booked many people into rooms last night and was under the impression that the majority of the resorts were opperating at 70-80% occupancy. These resorts included CBR, WL and CR, all of which we has been told had no availability. The night manager had lied. Dad wrote a lengthy letter and we hand delivered it to CSR.
About 2 hours later we received a call from the CSR GM who apologized for the "overwhelmingly unacceptable lack of service" we had received. He solutions were:
1. Upgraded to club level at WL for our 7 night stay that we had booked as woods view
2. Refunded the amount we had paid to CSR upon arrival
3. Compensated us for our 3 night stay at the Hyatt
4. Offered to give us 3 nights in a Jr Suite at CSR to use when we pleased. (we used it to extend our trip by 3 days)
5. arranged VIP illuminations viewing for our trip.
6. Provided us with 4 "front of the line passes" each was good for 4 guests to use like a fastpass at any attraction (with FP) any time during our trip.
It was a wonderful resolution to the worst 2 1/2 hours I ever spent on Disney property.
**Let me preface this by saying CSR was, and still is, our favorite WDW resort. The following situation could have happened anywhere and is in no way reflective of the overall experience we have had with this fantastic resort. March 2010 will mark our 15th stay at CSR and we have 3 more planned for 2010**
We arrived at Orlando International very late, at about 1am. As I had informed our resort, Coronado Springs, that we would be arriving at 1am I called and informed them that our arrival would now be closer to 1:30. After experiencing issues with Avis we eventually arrived at CSR at 2am.
Service was lackluster from the beginning of the check-in process. There was one CM working the desk, which was to be expected at such a late hour. As we were checking in the CM informed us that our keys had already been printed and were in the administration office. He then proceeded to just sit there.....after about 5 minutes my DDad asked if he was planning on going to get them. The CM explained that there was a person in admin looking for our keys. The admin CM came out 5 minutes later, talked to the desk CM for 5 mins then disappeared again.
We had now been waiting 15 minutes to receive keys that were already printed. 10 minutes passed and the admin CM returned. It was now 2:25am. Our request had not been met (Casitas 1 or 3) but we had been placed in the Casitas, so that was fine by us. We were tired and just wanted to get to bed.
So the 25 minute check-in ended and we proceeded to Casitas 5. We opened the door and the room wreaked of smoke
We thought we would just leave the door open for a few mins to see if the smell would dissapate. Now, I've yet to mention that I came down with a slight cold the day before we left and now the smoke was irritating my throat and making my cough much worse.
After 10 mins of airing out the room we called the from desk to see if we can be switched. The desk CM, same that checked us in, says he will check and get back to us. 5 minutes later we get a call from the manager on duty. She offers to stop by the room to "investigate" the smell.
The night manager shows up at 3am. She says the smell is barely detectable, that she has no rooms available at the resort and that she can offer us a "night" at CBR, but goes on to explain that we could drive over to CBR, check in and then we must check out at 11am, return to CSR and check back in at 3pm tomorrow.
Hmm...checking in to CBR for 7 hours doesn't seem like a reasonable solution to us. We ask to stay at CBR for the 3 nights we are booked at CSR. She refuses, saying there is no availability. We ask her to check POR and POFQ. Without actually checking, she says there is no availability and that we will "either take the room we have been given, or take the CBR room for 7 hours, those are the only options"
Let me point out that we were staying during value season, and that just the day before I had checked hotel occupancy to get an idea of crowd levels and nearly all resorts had availability for our dates.
We ask the manager to check WL as we have a reservation there 3 days from now. She refuses and offers to have our room VIP cleaned in the morning.
At this point, it is 3:30am and we have been offered no reasonable solution. We ask the manager to double check that no rooms, not even suites are available at CSR and we offer to pay the difference if necessary. She refuses to check, states at the 7 hour CBR room is the best she can do, take it or leave it.
Well, we decided to leave, all together. We drove to WL and asked if they had any rooms available. It was 3:45am when we arrived there. The CM said she believed they did have a few rooms and after seeing Dad's ID asked us to wait a moment, went to the admin office and came back out. She stated "actually.....no.....we don't have rooms....sorry." and turned her back to us!
Her tone was odd and we questioned her, she said that she saw we had a reservation at another resort and couldn't check us in there. We explained the situation briefly, and explained we had already paid the balance on the reservation upon check-in and would like to stay here. She flat out refused and went into the admin office.
At this point the night manager calls my cell (we had given her the number when she called initially). Convenient that she calls a few moments after the CM went into the admin office.
We explain that we are going to check resort availability and we will return to CSR tomorrow to address the issues we had been dealing with.
We decided to try the contemporary and arrived there at 4:15am. The front desk CM says "yes, we have rooms available, may I see ID" my Dad hands it over and the CM proceeds to the admin office. 10 minutes later she returns and asks "are you are the _______ family? Well we don't have any rooms for YOU."
At this point, I am near tears. It is 4:30am, we have been screwed around by Disney management for 2 1/2 hours. We threw up our hands and went to the Hyatt Regency near DTD.
The next morning I called Disney reservations and questioned them on availability. The CM said she had booked many people into rooms last night and was under the impression that the majority of the resorts were opperating at 70-80% occupancy. These resorts included CBR, WL and CR, all of which we has been told had no availability. The night manager had lied. Dad wrote a lengthy letter and we hand delivered it to CSR.
About 2 hours later we received a call from the CSR GM who apologized for the "overwhelmingly unacceptable lack of service" we had received. He solutions were:
1. Upgraded to club level at WL for our 7 night stay that we had booked as woods view
2. Refunded the amount we had paid to CSR upon arrival
3. Compensated us for our 3 night stay at the Hyatt
4. Offered to give us 3 nights in a Jr Suite at CSR to use when we pleased. (we used it to extend our trip by 3 days)
5. arranged VIP illuminations viewing for our trip.
6. Provided us with 4 "front of the line passes" each was good for 4 guests to use like a fastpass at any attraction (with FP) any time during our trip.
It was a wonderful resolution to the worst 2 1/2 hours I ever spent on Disney property.
roomthreeseventeen
Inaugural Dopey Challenge finisher
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2009
- Messages
- 8,756
Last week! Our bags somehow didn't make it from Delta to the Magical Express. 
Our new friend at the Grand Floridian Concierge desk, Joe, calmed us down, took us downstairs to the shops and bought me a new dress, and bought my boyfriend a new designer shirt and khakis. Then, he called down to Citrico's, where our ADR was for the night, and made sure they took special care of us. He even visited our table during our meal to update us on the bag situation (one was on the way, one was still missing), and called my cell the next day to make sure both had arrived!
Our new friend at the Grand Floridian Concierge desk, Joe, calmed us down, took us downstairs to the shops and bought me a new dress, and bought my boyfriend a new designer shirt and khakis. Then, he called down to Citrico's, where our ADR was for the night, and made sure they took special care of us. He even visited our table during our meal to update us on the bag situation (one was on the way, one was still missing), and called my cell the next day to make sure both had arrived!
WeLoveLilo05
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2009
- Messages
- 4,185
I always tell this story, so sorry if anyone has heard this.
If you are traveling ANYWHERE with a child with a food allergy, eating is all you think about, "is this safe? Should we eat here? Wait they serve PBnJ, the residue may be all over", etc. So I have to say that traveling with a food allergy when your at a place for 7+ days where you will not be cooking any meals is scary in and of itself. So the stress mounts before you even being your trip.
We went to Chef Mickey's for breakfast, which as you all know, is a buffet. The chef came out and introduced himself....he walked me around the buffet table and explained what DD could eat and what she should stay away from (she is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts). Then I turned to him and asked "Do you think she could get something straight from the kitchen?" (I was nervous someone may have used tongs from an item that contained a nut on a nut free item, and I explained that to him) He smiled and said of course, what does she like? He took out his pad and wrote down everything, he asked what kind of fruit she liked and I said pineapples, raspberries and strawberries. He whispered "We have strawberries in the back, they are not on the buffet table, but they are gorgeous!, I'll bring 'em out" He also said if we needed anything else to have the waitress come get him and he would gladly make more for her. LoL he personally carried out a HUGE mickey ear shaped plate with everything DD could have ever asked for and a whole load of strawberries, pineapples, and a banana. He was very kind, calling DD a princess and telling her that Mickey made it just for her. We were shocked when DD ate everything on her plate, as it was a lot of food! A few people were actually coming up to us asking us where did we get the strawberries lol.
Its things like this that bring a tear to your eye, that someone would go out of their way for your child's need. We are heading back to Chef Mickey's in Aug, I hope that Chef is there again, he was wonderful! I can't remember his name (I want to say Robert, but not sure) but I remember exactly what he looks like.
If you are traveling ANYWHERE with a child with a food allergy, eating is all you think about, "is this safe? Should we eat here? Wait they serve PBnJ, the residue may be all over", etc. So I have to say that traveling with a food allergy when your at a place for 7+ days where you will not be cooking any meals is scary in and of itself. So the stress mounts before you even being your trip.
We went to Chef Mickey's for breakfast, which as you all know, is a buffet. The chef came out and introduced himself....he walked me around the buffet table and explained what DD could eat and what she should stay away from (she is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts). Then I turned to him and asked "Do you think she could get something straight from the kitchen?" (I was nervous someone may have used tongs from an item that contained a nut on a nut free item, and I explained that to him) He smiled and said of course, what does she like? He took out his pad and wrote down everything, he asked what kind of fruit she liked and I said pineapples, raspberries and strawberries. He whispered "We have strawberries in the back, they are not on the buffet table, but they are gorgeous!, I'll bring 'em out" He also said if we needed anything else to have the waitress come get him and he would gladly make more for her. LoL he personally carried out a HUGE mickey ear shaped plate with everything DD could have ever asked for and a whole load of strawberries, pineapples, and a banana. He was very kind, calling DD a princess and telling her that Mickey made it just for her. We were shocked when DD ate everything on her plate, as it was a lot of food! A few people were actually coming up to us asking us where did we get the strawberries lol.
Its things like this that bring a tear to your eye, that someone would go out of their way for your child's need. We are heading back to Chef Mickey's in Aug, I hope that Chef is there again, he was wonderful! I can't remember his name (I want to say Robert, but not sure) but I remember exactly what he looks like.
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