What will you celebrate is a joke!

[cc911va]

We were down last week for 7 nights and I have to say I was very disappointed with this celebration promotion. During the entire planning process from package booking to ADR booking I was continually asked if we were celebrating anything during our stay. Every time I was asked I said yes we are celebrating our daughter graduating college. The cast members always said they were making a note in the reservations. During our entire 7 night stay the only time we were acknowledged for our celebration was a card left in our room offering 20% discount off a private picture session. That was a joke. No acknowledgment at check-in, any dinning reservation, and our daughter was wearing a celebration button and never acknowledged by a CM. I heard CM's saying happy birthday to guests and people getting special desserts.

 

[NWOhioAngela]

Sorry you didn't get the celebrations you were hoping for. I'm not impressed with this "Year of a Million Buttons" campaign either. It's disappointing when they hype it so much and then you don't get recognized.

 

[Dale-Not-Chip]

I don't blame you. It's 1 thing on a regular year to miss your celabration. But after advertising that they are gonna make a big deal and nobody makes a fuss. That's wrong.

 

[catycatcat4]

I hope they stop having themes for a few years.

 

[LilGMom]

Sorry the "What Will You Celebrate" didn't live up to your expectations. But I'm sorry, I also don't see the big deal or why you were so upset. Yes, they are promoting it to the n-th degree but if you want something "special" during your vacation then pay to have something like a cake, flowers, gift basket, etc., Their commercials and having the CMs ask you what you are celebrating isn't their way of guaranteeing you anything. We've gone for birthdays and our anniversary and have worn the buttons but very rarely was anything even said. No skin off of our teeth, we were just happy to be there and to be able to have our own celebration just by being in WDW. Their theme (so to speak) is a gimmick as are most advertising campaigns (suppose the same could be said for most political campaigns too). I, for one, would like for them to go back to not feeling like they have to have a theme or promotion to get people in the parks.

 

[preciousmama45]

 

[BriarRosie]

I don't think the OP was venting because there was no free swag to be had. I think there's a legit gripe if Disney initiates the process and asks what you're celebrating, and then the entire time you find that no cast member will even verbally acknowledge it.....well, that counts as a letdown in my book, too.

I think Disney shouldn't push this theme down our throats when the only celebrations that get recognized are birthdays or honeymoons/anniversary couples.

So yeah, I'm sorry that your daughter didn't get much in the way of celebration acknowledgement. Congrats from me to her on her achievement.

 

[scrappinDW]

The same thing happened to us. My neice had also graduated from college and was wearing a button. Only one CM asked her what she was celebrating, but that was it. You are right, it was kind of disappointing.

 

[zulemara]

speaking from experience, many times you only have a short period of time to interact with guests. If you're wearing those generic "I'm celebrating" buttons, a lot of CMs will not say anything because they have to stare at the writing to figure out what it is. All the other buttons are easy to identify, but those are a pain.

As for the free stuff or dinner reservations, you're usually better off not to expect anything and just be nice to the server or whatever. Rather than expecting something, I put it in the hands of Disney to surprise me. If it doesn't happen, oh well. If it does, then great.

It could also be the fact that if you're looking for cake or something, using the I'm celebrating buttons can be extremely generic and you can get one for anything. My friend literally got a button from guest services and wrote "trannys" on it, because "they're people too." I got my hands on one and wrote "another empty building" and wore it at DTD when virgin closed(out of spite for the empty buildings at PI). I think CMs in dining might be instructed to do more for bdays or anniversaries. I don't know that for a fact, but it's a thought.

**disclaimer**
I am a member of the LGBT community and am only illustrating a point. No disrespect is meant by the above reference to transgendered individuals

 

[cc911va]

Sorry the "What Will You Celebrate" didn't live up to your expectations. But I'm sorry, I also don't see the big deal or why you were so upset. Yes, they are promoting it to the n-th degree but if you want something "special" during your vacation then pay to have something like a cake, flowers, gift basket, etc., Their commercials and having the CMs ask you what you are celebrating isn't their way of guaranteeing you anything. We've gone for birthdays and our anniversary and have worn the buttons but very rarely was anything even said. No skin off of our teeth, we were just happy to be there and to be able to have our own celebration just by being in WDW. Their theme (so to speak) is a gimmick as are most advertising campaigns (suppose the same could be said for most political campaigns too). I, for one, would like for them to go back to not feeling like they have to have a theme or promotion to get people in the parks.

Yes we did pay $150 to have a food gift basket delivered to our room in order to guarantee something special for our daughter and other kids. Disney Florrist did mess up the order at first and had to make another delivery but that is another story.

We were planning this trip regardless of the promotion they were running and would have been going regardless. When they make the advertisement and ask consistently "Are you celebrating anything?" it creates an expectation that was not met.

In the lobby of our hotel after check-in a CM from Disney research stopped us and asked if we wanted to participate in a survey. I think we have something tattooed on our foreheads because we are always stopped by these CM's for questions. We were selected to participate in a survey to keep a diary during our stay. At the end of every day we had to document where we visisted and how much money we spent outside our dinning plan. At the end was a survey. So we did have an apportunity to express our concerns.

 

[Dale-Not-Chip]

I think the biggest gripe from the OP came from the reservation process. If they are gonna ask you during the reservation process what are you celebrating, then they are giving you an unspoken promise they are going to make some sort of acknowledgment during the meal.

I assume that they are not asking this question just to make the call last longer. It is attached to the reservation. They can't give everyone free cake, but if a celebration is put on the reservation then they should put a little effort into at least acknowledging it.

I would guess the break down in they system is the host/hostess station. They are the last to see the reservation computer and if they don't pass it to the server then they have no knowledge of your celebration. Because the buttons have been cheapend to the point where it's a bigger deal to not have one.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

We were down last week for 7 nights and I have to say I was very disappointed with this celebration promotion. During the entire planning process from package booking to ADR booking I was continually asked if we were celebrating anything during our stay. Every time I was asked I said yes we are celebrating our daughter graduating college. The cast members always said they were making a note in the reservations. During our entire 7 night stay the only time we were acknowledged for our celebration was a card left in our room offering 20% discount off a private picture session. That was a joke. No acknowledgment at check-in, any dinning reservation, and our daughter was wearing a celebration button and never acknowledged by a CM. I heard CM's saying happy birthday to guests and people getting special desserts.

I know that the birthdays are the big recognized celebration at the parks with the free ticket, FP or gift card. However I can see what the OP is saying and that it was a letdown. With the promotional commercials and print ads stating "what will you celebrate?" one is lead to believe that if you are celebrating some kind of event, it will be made special. Having gone to WDW enough times now I know that when it comes to celebrations, it is what you make it but this Promotion does seem to allude that something will be made for just about any celebration. Realistically, in practice I can absolutely see where it would be hard for every CM to acknowledge every celebration or even a majority of the CMs to recognize most of the celebrations. But given that guests are being asked again and again at the time of making reservations "are you celebrating anything?" it would seem to me that some sort of generic card signed by Mickey could be left in the resort guest's room that said something like "Congratlations on your Celebration!" A more specific card could be left for Birthdays and Honeymoons. That would leave out all the non resort guests but it would be a start. Maybe one ADR could be flagged for non resort guests to have the card on their table for their meal. If they skip that ADR they just miss the card.

We are going next year and if this promo is still in effect, I really don't expect anything- other than the GC (My Mom's b day) if something special is given great but I am not looking for or expecting anything any more than in the past. I figure no expectations no letdowns.

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

We were there for our anniversary and got no recognition of the celebration either. I mean none. Not even at our anniversary dinner at Narcoosees. No biggie we had our own surprises but it is kinda stupid to run a "What are you celebrating campaign" and not even once wish them "happy ______" Again like you this is not a deal breaker just kind of disappointing.

 

[SamIAm21]

The OP has a point. If you are going to ask, make notes on the reservation, etc., then would a simple Congratulations from a CM be out of line??

Also, I think they make a big deal out of birthdays because it is the one truly verifiable date in your life. You can have an anniversary, but to prove it, are you going to carry your marriage license around Disney? And, everyone has a birthday, so that's fair for everyone.

To the OP, I agree that an occassional Congratulations or interest from a CM would have been nice given that Disney initiated the whole "issue" to begin with.

 

[LilGMom]

Yes we did pay $150 to have a food gift basket delivered to our room in order to guarantee something special for our daughter and other kids. Disney Florrist did mess up the order at first and had to make another delivery but that is another story.

We were planning this trip regardless of the promotion they were running and would have been going regardless. When they make the advertisement and ask consistently "Are you celebrating anything?" it creates an expectation that was not met.

In the lobby of our hotel after check-in a CM from Disney research stopped us and asked if we wanted to participate in a survey. I think we have something tattooed on our foreheads because we are always stopped by these CM's for questions. We were selected to participate in a survey to keep a diary during our stay. At the end of every day we had to document where we visisted and how much money we spent outside our dinning plan. At the end was a survey. So we did have an apportunity to express our concerns.

I do hope that since Disney Florist messed up your order that when they fixed it that they took off some of the cost because of their mistake. And I wasn't trying to come across as if I don't think that the CMs could have gone that extra little step to say something. If WDW is going to make the "What Will You Celebrate" their schtick for the year than they should be providing the acknowledgements for all of the various celebrations. I was just saying that too many people seem to expect something and then get irritated when their expectations aren't met. There are so many threads on the DIS where people go with the expectation of getting "free swag" and having CMs give them special seating, special recognition, special attention during the parades and then these same people get testy when that doesn't happen. Kinda like expecting FL to be sunny all the time during vacation or having the crowds not be packed because the commercials show it as such.

Congrats to your daughter, that is a very big accomplishment!

I think the biggest gripe from the OP came from the reservation process. If they are gonna ask you during the reservation process what are you celebrating, then they are giving you an unspoken promise they are going to make some sort of acknowledgment during the meal.

I assume that they are not asking this question just to make the call last longer. It is attached to the reservation. They can't give everyone free cake, but if a celebration is put on the reservation then they should put a little effort into at least acknowledging it.

I would guess the break down in they system is the host/hostess station. They are the last to see the reservation computer and if they don't pass it to the server then they have no knowledge of your celebration. Because the buttons have been cheapend to the point where it's a bigger deal to not have one.

I seem to remember that the slip of paper that the hostess puts on the table that the server picks up with the guest's name and party size on it notes any special celebrations. And I agree with the buttons being cheapened. It is almost common now to see people with multiple buttons on that say a little bit of everything.

 

[SnackyStacky]

I agree with the OP.

But I also understand Disney's point of view.

Before the celebrations promotion, it really was a bit of pixie dust to stop, grab a button, and get some pleasant wishes from cast members on your birthday, anniversary, 1st visit, etc.....

Because of this HUGE push on celebrations, EVERYBODY is wearing a button and celebrating something. The cast members wouldn't really have time for anything else because they'd be wishing everybody a happy celebration.

And the phone agents are required to ask on EVERY call that deals with a resort or dining reservation to ask if you're celebrating anything. So I think that DEFNIITELY sets up an expectation.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

It seems to me the same as "if everybody's special, then NOBODY'S special". I wondered how this was going to play out. I couldn't imagine how every single group of people in the park was going to get their celebration acknowledged.

I guess it has turned out to be much ado about nothing.

 

[Dale-Not-Chip]

But someone that is working for tips always has time to say. Congratulations on your (insert comment on reservation slip)

 

[cc911va]

I do hope that since Disney Florist messed up your order that when they fixed it that they took off some of the cost because of their mistake.

Yes they did make up for their mistake. We had ordered a food gift basket for about $110 and what they delivered was a vase with flowers in it that my wife estimated the value to be about $75. We declined the delivery and promtly called Disney Florist. They acknowledged the error and said they would send something right over. We left the room to go to the park and when we returned to the room the basket was on our bed waiting for us. The had sent the $150 basket over for the $110 we paid. In my opinion they recovered very well from their mistake.

Congrats to your daughter, that is a very big accomplishment!

Thank you very much we are all very proud of her.

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

On two different December vacations I was celebrating my Wedding Anniversary. It was my SOLO trip, I just called my DH a couple of extra times! Would that count for a WDW celebration????

THIS coming December I will celebrate passing probation on this new job.
I wonder if that would count as a celebration with the Disney CM's.

( shhhhh ...... I'm at work now, I better get off the internet)