What to do when Disney disappoints?

[L&Lfan]

At age 23 on vacation I wouldn't dream of getting "Mother" involved in my hotel issues.

 

[Tink415]

Any nice hotel I've stayed at confirms the room type when checking in. The check-in CM missed the boat on that. I know from my own experience its not always done at Disney resorts but it should be, to avoid unpleasant surprises.

To the Op, if this is the first time with a complaint in 20+ stays that's not too bad. I agree the wait, and how the manager responded, are both unsatisfactory. If I reserved and paid for the room for my children (even if they were adults) I'd write a letter or email and make my complaint. Otherwise, I'd let my kids handle it.

 

[PrincesCJM]

Unlike at the All Stars, at POR a king room is a bookable category. So unless your Mom specifically booked a king there's nothing to worry about.

True but last July, she was given an upgrade to a king. It wasn't booked.

 

[dansdad]

True but last July, she was given an upgrade to a king. It wasn't booked.

You don't have to take these types of upgrades.

 

[Dug720]

You don't have to take these types of upgrades.

Bingo! Last January, while on Magical Express, I looked at the MDE app and discovered that I'd been "upgraded" to a Pirate Room at CBR. NOT an upgrade IMHO. I'd done online check-in, so I went to that line and when I got to the desk, I asked the CM if there was a "plain" room I could "downgrade" to as I really didn't want a Pirate Room and would rather leave it so that a family with little kids could get that pixie dust. She said "Let me check" and made a phone call to the room assigners and got it all sorted out. I ended up in a preferred room, which was fine.

Now, the only issue with that is in this case, the adults (sorry, at their ages I refuse to call them "kids") arrived late, so that was the only available room for the night. BUT they certainly could have walked their adult rear ends to the front desk to take care of it. This whole thing reminds me of a friend who has had parents come into JOB EVALUATIONS with their adult "children". At some point, the parents need to let the adults fend for themselves.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Hmm. I probably would just passed out on the bed at that hour or chatted up my sister on the bed like we did when we were kids. It definitely had the makings of at least getting a giggle at the situation and story for later. Sounds to me (not being mean) that you turned possible lemonade into lemons needlessly. One day they'll wish they had that kind of time together again but won't be able to have it...

 

[dpswift]

Hmm. I probably would just passed out on the bed at that hour or chatted up my sister on the bed like we did when we were kids. It definitely had the makings of at least getting a giggle at the situation and story for later. Sounds to me (not being mean) that you turned possible lemonade into lemons needlessly. One day they'll wish they had that kind of time together again but won't be able to have it...

Great way of looking at it.

OP did they ever get the room with 2 doubles? Disney really needs to add King to the request options. Siblings and mother son are getting king beds too often.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

This is why I won't stay at a value again. On our last stay at Pop, we got in at 11:45pm with DS1 (he was actually turning 2 the following weekend and we were celebrating his bday). We ordered a stroller from Magic Strollers and requested a pack-n-play. I asked at the desk where our stroller was and they said it was in the room. They also assured me that the pack-n-play was there also. The CM that checked us in was really rude, and was arguing with the guest in front of us before checking us in. After she gave us our KTTW cards I asked if DS could get a birthday button, she sighed and pulled it out. I said that I guessed they forgot to put it in the reservation and she said, "No, I figured since he's half asleep you'd be more concerned with getting him to bed and less concerned with getting a button". I re confirmed that the stroller and pack -n-play we're already in our room and she said, "that's what I said, didn't I?" Too tired to address her behavior I walked away. Get to the room and there is no stroller or pack-n-play. I called bell services and asked about the stroller and they said they had it. I asked if they could bring it to the room and they said no, just get it on your way out to the parks in the morning. I told them that we had an early morning ADR and didn't want to mess with it and the guy said, "fine, you come and get it". So I walked down to the lobby, asked about the pack-n-play and they said they'd send it right over. Walked over to bell services and stood outside for 10 minutes and no one came. Walked back to the lobby to get someone to help me and they walked me over and when they finally came out you could see that there were three CM's back there just standing around talking. The guy then brings the stroller and says, "have fun with that, it's heavy, haha". I was LIVID! Get back to the room and still no pack-n-play. It doesn't come until 1:30am, after several calls to housekeeping. When the lady shows up, she just walked into the room, no hi, no where do you want it, no goodbye, nothing. I spoke to the manager and he didn't seem to care. At that point I was done. Emailed Guest Services and after we got home she made it right again, but never again will I step foot onto a value property. It's not for us. It was the worst customer service I've ever experienced at any hotel, and we travel several times a year.

Actually, I had almost the same exact experience at the Poly with a stroller! Could have written your story word for word. That was also the last we have or will stay at the Poly.
So it's not just the Value Resorts, but rather a general decline in service - in some places. We have still found the Disney Magic for the most part - but those lapses are so glaring that I have truly considered not going back....

 

[Summertinkerbell]

We've had problems with our rooms on every trip to Disney. And we've had many interactions with Disney employees that have left a lot to be desired.

The biggest problem is that just because you make a request for a specific area or room doesn't mean you will get it. We stopped staying at the All Star Music because of the large groups there for cheerleading competitions. They got the room we requested, and we got whatever was left. Those groups basically took over the resort, ran amok, and caused mayhem. The so-called chaperones were worthless, and Disney employees did nothing to control their behavior.

Disney's childcare didn't work out as planned either. We used a Disney in-room babysitter on our first trip. What a nightmare that was. The woman was mean to my DD. The babysitter fell asleep after the first hour and didn't wake up till we got back to the room and woke her up ourselves. Needless to say, DD (6 years old at the time) was miserable and afraid. What if she had an asthma attack? What if she left the room to find us? Any number of things could have happened to harm my child. Turns out Disney contracts these people, and the screening process wasn't what it should be. It took a lot of phone calls to get an address of the company, but when I did, I wrote them a very angry letter. They refunded my $12 an hour and apologized. We never used any form of childcare at Disney again.

We had to live in a flooded room for a week during our December trip. We sloshed around on the rug every day. They brought in fans and worked on the problem disturbing us every afternoon when we tried to nap. It was never resolved, even though we complained directly at the front desk.

We have had quite a few other disappointing moments with various Disney employees. However, the awesome totally outweighs the bad. We always hope for the best, and overall, things work out well most of the time.

 

[JelloBelle]

I'd rather share a king-size bed with all of my brothers than take my chances with a roll-a-way. The one and only time we got a roll-a-way in our room, my brother woke up covered in bites. It was from a spider, not bed-bugs, and he ended up in the hospital when we got home. We'll never use a roll-a-way again!

By the way, we're all adults now and travel together when we can. We didn't have the chance to go on vacations as kids, so we're making up for lost time.

 

[pooh6890]

Sorry but I would have split the bed with my brother. Especially if it was that late.

I agree....what's the big deal sleeping one night in a king bed?

I agree that "Mother" didn't need to get involved either. They are adults so they should handle it themselves.....sorry OP

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

I'd rather share a king-size bed with all of my brothers than take my chances with a roll-a-way. The one and only time we got a roll-a-way in our room, my brother woke up covered in bites. It was from a spider, not bed-bugs, and he ended up in the hospital when we got home. We'll never use a roll-a-way again!

By the way, we're all adults now and travel together when we can. We didn't have the chance to go on vacations as kids, so we're making up for lost time.

I totally agree!!!! I got scabies as a kid from a roll-away bed. EWWW! Nasty to treat too, took my mom taking us to four dermatologists to discover the cause!

 

[teambeaman]

Actually, I had almost the same exact experience at the Poly with a stroller! Could have written your story word for word. That was also the last we have or will stay at the Poly. So it's not just the Value Resorts, but rather a general decline in service - in some places. We have still found the Disney Magic for the most part - but those lapses are so glaring that I have truly considered not going back....

Funny, because that's what I told GS and I was serious at the time. Luckily, we have had few negative experiences since, but that trip made me reconsider my 30+ year relationship with Disney.

 

[JelloBelle]

I totally agree!!!! I got scabies as a kid from a roll-away bed. EWWW! Nasty to treat too, took my mom taking us to four dermatologists to discover the cause!

The spider incident was last year, almost to the day. He was going to sleep on the floor but I was worried about him being uncomfortable, so I ordered the roll-away for him. headdesk

We are going back to the same hotel (There is an annual event at the hotel and there are no other feasible options nearby), but I learned my lesson. No more roll-aways. Double or triple up if we have to, it's not really that big of a deal in a worst-case scenario situation.

 

[bumbershoot]

I got scabies as a kid from a roll-away bed. EWWW! Nasty to treat too, took my mom taking us to four dermatologists to discover the cause!

That's odd that it was so hard to diagnose. Scabies is pretty obvious. And easy to treat.

Says the person who has had it twice; once as a child, once as an adult, both after sleeping in totally normal beds, not rollaways.


Also, "Scabies mites are transferred by direct skin-to-skin contact. Indirect transfer from undergarments or bedclothes can occur only if these have been contaminated by infested people immediately beforehand."

So that's not a bed thing, but a SHEET thing....


And.... "Symptoms will appear from four to six weeks in people who have not previously been exposed to scabies infestations. People who have had a previous bout with scabies mites may show symptoms within one to four days after subsequent re-exposures."

4-6 weeks after exposure the first time! Whoo! Wow I might have to stop blaming my childhood friend whose house I was sleeping over at for the childhood bout...

 

[WeRblam]

Hmm. I probably would just passed out on the bed at that hour or chatted up my sister on the bed like we did when we were kids. It definitely had the makings of at least getting a giggle at the situation and story for later. Sounds to me (not being mean) that you turned possible lemonade into lemons needlessly. One day they'll wish they had that kind of time together again but won't be able to have it...

Good point! One year we drove in and got in a day earlier (actually around 10:30 pm the day before we were to check in). We opted to see if they had an availability at all stars before our stay at the Contemporary. They gave us a room. We opened the door and there was only a king bed. A call downstairs and they did not have any other double beds. We opted to all just sleep in the bed my DD, DH, DS and I. my DS was a teen and my DD was around 10. We managed for the night and just sucked it up. I think they could have managed for the night - head to feet -. At least the got a roll away. I find that even young adults don't tend to push the issue (hence the mom calling) so it could not have been that bad...

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

That's odd that it was so hard to diagnose. Scabies is pretty obvious. And easy to treat.

Says the person who has had it twice; once as a child, once as an adult, both after sleeping in totally normal beds, not rollaways.


Also, "Scabies mites are transferred by direct skin-to-skin contact. Indirect transfer from undergarments or bedclothes can occur only if these have been contaminated by infested people immediately beforehand."

So that's not a bed thing, but a SHEET thing....


And.... "Symptoms will appear from four to six weeks in people who have not previously been exposed to scabies infestations. People who have had a previous bout with scabies mites may show symptoms within one to four days after subsequent re-exposures."

4-6 weeks after exposure the first time! Whoo! Wow I might have to stop blaming my childhood friend whose house I was sleeping over at for the childhood bout...

I totally agree! I was like 10 or so at the time. My mom never mentioned to the Drs that we had stayed at a hotel, I guess she didn't think to do so. They all kept trying to treat me for acne or rashes, etc. I was even put on a steroid cream that has left scars on me and burned pigment. It was a terrible nightmare for weeks! Finally the 4th Dr took one look (like actually looked up close) and said: "its scabies, and here is how to treat it"... I am actually surprised it took four doctors to figure it out!

Long story short, I have a real issue with hotels now. lol. No rollaways for me and I also ALWAYS have housekeeping bring ALL new bedding when we check in and watch them change it. LOL

 

[teambeaman]

No rollaways for me and I also ALWAYS have housekeeping bring ALL new bedding when we check in and watch them change it. LOL

Have you done this at wdw? How long does it take them to show up usually?

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

Have you done this at wdw? How long does it take them to show up usually?

Yep! I honestly cant remember how long it takes, its been three years since our last trip... but I remember it not being too bad... I think it depends on the time of day you check in - we usually take the crack-of-dawn flights so we are at the resort around 9-10am.

 

[teambeaman]

Yep! I honestly cant remember how long it takes, its been three years since our last trip... but I remember it not being too bad... I think it depends on the time of day you check in - we usually take the crack-of-dawn flights so we are at the resort around 9-10am.

Thanks! I'm definitely going to make that request! I am always questioning whether the sheets are really clean or not.