When Does a Cupcake Become worth Keeping a Loyal Guest to Disney?

[buffalobasingal]

I'm wondering if other people have had these experiences with Disney where when something goes wrong that there is not an attempt to make it right with the guest. We have had three instances in the last year when something went wrong while at WDW and there was no attempt to make it right. I always heard that was something that guests could count on with Disney and that was what made me want to vacation there.

However, in the last year, we have experienced three different incidents while at WDW and there was no attempt by Disney to make it right. Let me be clear that I am not expecting Disney to bend over backwards for every little thing that isn't perfect. What I am talking about is that I had thought that there would be some small token made when something went wrong on Disney's end just to basically make the guest feel like they acknowledge it and want to extend a small act to make it better.

Here are the three examples I have:

December 2024 - We stayed club level at Copper Creek. One of those nights the fire alarm went off at around 10:00pm and we all had to be evacuated and stay outside for about an hour. I understand and agree with the safety precautions and the need for this. What I found surprising is that there was no small token made in the form of a Lighting Lane for those guests or perhaps a voucher for a snack at the resort or some small token. The next day there was no mention of it at all even though I'm sure it caused a lot of guests to lose sleep and not be able to rope drop the next morning as some of us had planned. A Lightning Lane seems like it would have been a small gesture that would have made guests feel like some understanding of the disruption was noticed.

December 2025 - We stayed DVC at Grand Floridian for my big 50th birthday celebration. We skipped the front desk at check in since we flew in late and wanted to go straight to our room. The next morning, I went to the front desk to get my birthday button. Not seeing a designated place to get in line, I lined up behind another guest who was waiting behind someone being helped off to the side. Other guests kept lining up in the middle and were being helped before both of us. I waited patiently for probably 10 minutes when a CM approached the lady ahead of me and asked how she could help. She then told that woman to stay there and another CM would be with her shortly. Then that CM turned to me and immediately told me, "Ma'am, you need to get in line. The line is over there. There is only one line." She then walked away. She didn't ask me if she could help, she didn't notice that I had been there before the other several people who were helped before me. It caught me off guard and so I left and reached out to guest services through the app about it. GS basically told me they were sorry for the rude interaction and thanked me for celebrating my birthday at WDW. They encouraged me to send an email to Corporate since I was told they take these things seriously. So, I did. Corporate simply thanked me for spending my birthday at WDW and apologized for the rude behavior. No small offer or token again. All it would have took is just a cupcake to make me feel valued and as if Disney wanted to make it right with me on my birthday. But, nothing. A couple of days later, I mentioned this incident to a DVC sales rep and they again encouraged me to reach out to DVC member services. Again, I received the same thank you for spending your birthday with us and sorry that you were treated rudely, but no small token either. That left me feeling dismissed in three different ways and not valued.

December 2025 - Same trip, but we moved to the Cabins at Copper Creek for a split stay. Our phone in the room isn't working, so I call the front desk to let them know that and ask if they can send someone to fix it and have bell services bring our bags. They say someone would be there soon. I realize after an hour that we still have not had anyone come to the cabin to either fix the phone or bring our bags. So, I call the front desk again and am told the bags should be there soon. Another half hour goes by and I ask if I can just come and get the bags myself. It was then that they explain that because of the lighting storm that they cannot send anyone because of safety precautions. Which I totally understand their safety protocols and that makes sense to me. I just wish they would have told me the first time so that I was not expecting someone since the lightning had been happening when I first called. So, I go to get our bags and the bell services says they called me to let me know about the lighting. The only problem is that they called the cabin instead of my cell phone, but the cabin phone was not working which explains the misunderstanding. The bell services CM was apologetic and I understood his position of having to stick to the safety protocols of not going out in the lightning and so I was fine with that decision. The only thing is that once again there was no small token from Disney to say sorry for the misunderstanding and here is a small token to show we understand.

I've read a lot of posts about some people thinking that Disney guests have become "entitled". I guess if some people think that these examples I have shared seem like that to them then that is fine. To me, I had an expectation that Disney would make things right when things go wrong. I have found that to be the case with the Disney Cruise Line. My experiences there have been that whether it is a little thing or a big thing that DCL has made it right with us over the several cruises our family has been on. But, I have lost that confidence in the Disney Parks. And because of that I have lost the spark that I had before for spending time and money in the parks. It has changed my vacation planning to spend more time on Disney cruises and less time in the Disney Parks.

All it would have taken is a cupcake on my 50th birthday to make me feel that Disney still wanted to make things right and valued me as a loyal guest.

Are there other people who have similar experiences where all it would have took is a small token on behalf of Disney to make things right, but instead they were dismissed or disappointed?

*Edit: typo

 

[gottalovepluto]

I think your expectations are out of line for Disney. I wouldn’t expect even token compensation from Disney for any of that. Had I been at a luxury property and experienced issues like that then I would have expected something- but Disney doesn’t have luxury hotels, only luxury prices.

 

[Mommb]

I understand your frustration, especially with the issues that were Disney's fault in not noticing you standing in what you thought was a line and in not explaining the lightning situation when they knew your phone was out. It would have been easy to send you something, even a card, for your birthday.

The fire alarm situation is a bit different, though. My guess is that Disney does not want to draw attention to fire alarms. If they explain "Sorry for the inconvenience, last night was a false alarm" some people will hear an alarm in the future and think "there have been a lot of false alarms lately, this is probably one of them" and choose to disregard the alarm. If they say "There was a fire in ____ last night" some people will post that on social media and lead to "I paid this much for my room and they can't even follow basic safety protocols to prevent fires" comments.

Also, Disney has no way of knowing who was actually in the building at the time of the alarm to compensate. This is less of an issue at night than during the day, but once they get in the habit of compensation, it will be expected during the day as well.

And, because some people are just yucky, the idea that "if a fire alarm goes off during your stay, you get a Lightning Lane pass" could lead to "I will pull the fire alarm and see what happens" in the same way that giving guests who violated the dress code a shirt to wear apparently led to some people deliberately violating the dress code (or recommending that others do) to get a free shirt.

 

[fla4fun]

I would definitely not have expected compensation for these at all. However, if you did, then I have to wonder if you brought it up at the time?

For item one, the fire alarm, if it was another guest burning toast or popcorn that set it off, that is not Disney’s fault at all and I would not expect anything, even an explanation. I have had to evacuate due to an alarm a few times (and always in resorts where guests have toasters and microwaves in the room) and my sister has been evacuated twice for actual hotel fires taking several hours, all with no compensation. It’s annoying to have to evacuate but it is for your safety, as you noted. This is the one instance where if you had politely explained to a CM at the hotel, in person and immediately afterwards, that your sleep interruption was going to have a negative impact on your ability to go to the park for rope drop, and suggested that you felt a LL was the appropriate compensation, it is possible you might have received one. Or they might have told you no. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. They aren’t going to volunteer to give everyone compensation, but in a case like this if the guest asks nicely they might have, especially if the alarm wasn’t caused by a guest.

When you call the “front desk” at Disney you are typically routed to a call center, which may not even be in Orlando. It can take a while for a response to get sent to the appropriate team for fulfillment, and the weather/broken phone made the situation worse in your case. You will get a more timely response in the future by visiting the front desk in person and cutting out the middle-man. Which brings up the queue issue. The queue is typically a central line if it’s not obvious (although it really surprises me they didn’t have a marked queue area like they usually do . . .that is peculiar) not a line along the side of the desk. I didn’t read the words of the CM which you provided as rude, but businesslike, and you did receive several apologies for the fact you felt the CM was rude.

In most cases I feel a sincere apology is enough. I have had a lot of minor annoyances over the years at hotels, including Disney, and I am usually satisfied if they fix whatever isn’t working and apologize for the inconvenience. I do hope your next trip goes more smoothly for you.

 

[Mle8308]

I agree with the other people commenting on this, I think people now believe they are entitled to something if everything doesn't go exactly according to their plan. A fire alarm is for your safety, even if it is in error. As others mentioned, it may have been caused by another guest, not really Disney's fault. As far as your birthday, did you indicate on your reservation that you were celebrating your birthday? My normal travel plans to Disney almost always fall over my birthday and nearly every stay I get a card and a balloon in my room to wish me a happy one. It's on my reservation, they don't record anything when I ask for a button (which I don't wear because I don't like the attention, I keep them for my collection). And for the other instances, what did you expect other than an apology when you wrote to Disney? I would never have even considered doing that. I would have accepted the CM's apology and gone on about my day. Things happen. And as far as the phone situation, it doesn't sound like you gave the bell stand your cell phone. I understand your frustration, but as you said, they all apologized. It was not a huge mistake, an apology should be enough. Hope the rest of your stay was enjoyable.

 

[Minnie1222]

Wow! The level of entitlement and expectation.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

If I were to answer the ? of the thread title, I would say it matters to you. I'm really sorry that your experience wasn't good enough. I know we all want outstanding service at Disney. Always and every time.

for #1, that isn't something I feel anything was owed to you or anyone else for what occurred.
#2 A bad interaction w/ a cast member. But just how bad was it? Your time was taken up when another guest was served before you. Then a CM directs you to do something and walks away. If it hadn't been your B day and you were in line to ask a different ?, would you have felt as dismissed? IDK about this one. Personally, I would never have called to complain about this or the CM.
#3 A crazy coincidence of them calling the cabin phone, but cabin phone not working and then the lightning. Sorry, I just do not see any real justification to receive any token since it was the lightning that caused the entire delay to begin with.

I do understand you wanting some validation of your issues though.

 

[buffalobasingal]

Originally, I had wanted to add more context about my expectations, but since I had already written such a long post I felt like I should leave it out.

So, to answer some of your questions about my expectations, they were shaped by recent experiences elsewhere with other theme parks, hotels and airlines. For example, this last January, a fire alarm went off during my stay at a Universal hotel, and they immediately comped the entire room without me asking. In December, we stayed at a Marriott where the room phone wasn’t working. I called what I thought was the front desk asking for our luggage to be delivered, but after waiting for some time I went down in person. It was then that we found out our call had been routed to a call center instead of the hotel. Bell services apologized even though it was out of their control and shortly after delivered a small box of truffles.

Similarly, over the course of my birthday trip, other businesses offered small gestures without me having to tell them it was my birthday. A handwritten note from Marriott staff, a complimentary drink and snack from United, a complimentary drink from Southwest, and on two separate occasions free ice cream and a brownie at Epic Universe. None of these were asked for or required, but they were greatly appreciated and a nice surprise.

Also, with Disney Cruise Line, I have had multiple experiences where they went above and beyond in ways they were not obligated to do so.

Based on those experiences with other businesses both Disney and not, this is what made me wonder why my experiences at the Disney Parks were different.

Thank you to those who have taken the time to respond thoughtfully and respectfully. That’s really what I was hoping for when I posted.