When Disney bites, bite back!

[DanenRox]

Listen, I love Disney and I love Test Track, but sometimes they try my patience. Once again we rode Test Track, once again the ride broke down. And despite a bunch of us being stuck for 10+ minutes in the dark, I was very surprised to witness noone else approaching the attendant upon unloading and requesting some kind of compensation for our wasted time and ruined ride. The attendant was not to0 enthusiastic about handing over an open ended fast pass for another Test Track ride but she did. When a ride is interrupted for a significant amount of time, all of the riders affected should simply be given fast pass vouchers for a reride. People wait for a considerable amount of time to experience these rides and Disney could do better by their patrons. But listen up folks, since Disney isn't handing fast passes out for ruined rides, it's up to us to demand them! It's only fair!

 

[bradk]

makes me wonder why the CM wasn't too enthusiastic.. no skin off their back really.

 

[EpcotMatt2]

You waited a whole 10 minutes plus? Wow, what do you want in compensation? I'm very curious to hear your specific request.

 

[andrews1]

They said what they wanted...a fastpass for the same ride at a later time.

 

[DanenRox]

The first attendant we approached had to call over a second attendant, or forgive me, cast member. I would say the "head CM" then begrudgingly (sp?) in a not so magical manner, handed over the fast passes. But really, why did we even have to ask?...they knew the ride was down for over 10 minutes with people literally stuck inside. They should be handing those passes out like candy when "guests" exit a broken ride. Really! I know Walt would agree!

 

[cmwade77]

This is a problem at Disneyland as well, here is an unusual example though, at Pirates of the Caribbean (at Disneyland you load and unload in the same location, for those that don't know), we were the next boat to unload, but the ride broke down and we were stuck there for about 20 minutes, as I pointed out when leaving that was time that I could have spent waiting for another attraction, so they ended up giving me three passes (valid for up to 6 people each) to go on another attraction, but I had to ask and make a big deal out of it. Compare this with a few years back at Disney's California Adventure (I believe this was the summer after it opened), it was about 110 degrees in the shade and I went on Grizzly River Run, we also broke down being the next vehicle to be unloaded, which was right in the sun. It took about an hour before they started to unload, now for some reason they decided that our raft should be the last one to be unloaded. When we finally did get off they were handing out passes to ride any other attraction at either park, something they didn't generally do then, and I believe each party was getting about 5 of them, not much of a compensation for being in 110 degree heat for about an hour and a half with no way of even getting water to drink though, so I said so, they were going to offer me a ticket to come back, but since I already had an Annual Pass they offered me a ticket to bring a friend back with me (Disneyland only though at that time), also some free water and coupon to get Two free corn dogs and two free drinks, in addition to the tickets (that they left without an expiration date) to go on other rides. I know sitting inside an air conditioned ride, such as Pirates isn't the same thing, but really the two situations were handled so differently that it makes you wonder if it's the same company running each of them. At least offer the readmission passes to other attractions for the inconvenience (there was no point in it for that attraction as we had finished it, but it's the time we had to wait to get off of each)

 

[EpcotMatt2]

What about the expectation that things go wrong? Why does every mishap in the world need to be rectified with the user's desire? Why can't people realize that things happen & simply deal with that fact? What if your car breaks down on the expressway & holds up everyone behind you. Should you be responsible for reimbursing everyone that you held up? Why can't we just every once in a while expect things to go wrong in life & simply be happy when they're fixed?

 

[njchris]

It's the age of entitlement.

You know, when I'm driving down the highway and there is a traffic jam, I want compensation. Free tokens or gas!!!!

 

[dodukes]

hate to sy it but universal has been doing this for a while, cept they just load u up again right away, at least that has alwyas ben my experience there, we havent been in a couple of year stho. it may have changed

 

[trivial]

What about the expectation that things go wrong? Why does every mishap in the world need to be rectified with the user's desire? Why can't people realize that things happen & simply deal with that fact?

Because that's not how Disney should treat its customers. Disney isn't the highway; "Stuff happens, deal with it" isn't acceptable. And especially in this case, where the cost to Disney is nothing, I don't understand the motivation for defending them (or the rationale in comparing the situation to a traffic jam). And snide remarks about entitlement are entirely inappropriate in this case.

 

[ashef]

Asking for fast passes to ride Test Track again after it broke down while they were riding the first time sounds totally fair to me. The chief cast member obviously thought so too, since he gave them the fast passes they asked for, however begrudgingly.

 

[EpcotMatt2]

It's the age of entitlement.

You know, when I'm driving down the highway and there is a traffic jam, I want compensation. Free tokens or gas!!!!

The "Age of Entitlement" really should be renamed. I'll save my suggestions for later in the thread since I'm sure this will last longer.

 

[EpcotMatt2]

Because that's not how Disney should treat its customers. Disney isn't the highway; "Stuff happens, deal with it" isn't acceptable. And especially in this case, where the cost to Disney is nothing, I don't understand the motivation for defending them (or the rationale in comparing the situation to a traffic jam).

Where did I compare myself to Disney? No motivation here to "defend" Disney. It's a simple matter of my original point. Things happen.

 

[trivial]

Suggesting that someone "deal with it" isn't particularly reasonable. We pay to go on the ride via admission, and when the ride malfunctions, the expectation should be that we are cheerfully compensated, not that we should have to deal with it.

 

[WildGrits]

Oh yeah said sarcastically

Here we go again.

 

[KimAshton]

You have to realize rides will break down. I agree a fast pass would be nice for another ride since you had to wait. But no matter where you go disney or otherwise rides will break down.

 

[WildGrits]

To OP,

Is it possible that TT had been misbehaving all day and that the CM's working the ride where getting a little tired of it that day?

In the business that I work in, I know when we are having technical difficulties it makes for a long night.

 

[EpcotMatt2]

Very simply stated on my part, personally I like to say sometimes things happen, life is too short to get all uptight, and if a small road bump appears, deal with it. And as far as I'm concerned, a 10 minute wait on Test Track is considered a road bump in life. But I understand that there are you out there that take these things more seriously than I do. So go for it & have a blast. I"d rather stand in line for 10 minutes at a Disney attraction than be at work. But that's just me.

 

[EpcotMatt2]

To OP,

Is it possible that TT had been misbehaving all day and that the CM's working the ride where getting a little tired of it that day?

In the business that I work in, I know when we are having technical difficulties it makes for a long night.

Regardless, being someone close to the whole retail/customer thing, I know that nowadays, "customers" expect perfection & expect "workers" to bow down to them. And no one will admit to that, but it's a fact. And as an interested 3rd party, it bothers me. We're all equal. Just because someone wears a red shirt with a Disney logo on it doesn't mean we can all expect them to bow down to us & heed our every call.

Again, my original point was simple, why can't we understand that things happen without it having to be be an issue? It seems that people now love to run out to message boards & spout their negative experiences, no matter how minimal those experiences are. But these same people are by no means as quick to post the many more positive experiences they have.

This is my soap box. I'm more than ready to keep this up & "defend" those Disney cast members that aren't here or aren't allowed to defend themselves.

 

[marivaid]

If they start giving out FPs every time a ride is down for 10mns what are people going to demand when they get stuck on top of EE for half an hour ? A night in Cindy's castle??