problems at WDW??

[mousetrapper]

Not sure where to post this...

Our friends just returned from 11 days at WDW. They are as fanatical about everything Disney and especially vacations at WDW as we are.

They said they were really disappointed with the service and attitude of cast members, as well as several foul-ups having to do with the dining plan and other things. They said it wasn't the same special Disney magic they love so much.

I don't want to believe it, but I thought I'd pose the question to others out there to see if anyone has had similar experiences lately.

I feel like it really depends on when you go and where you stay...it may just be that they were unlucky and came across cast members who weren't as "Disney-fied" as we've come to expect.

One thing they said had changed was that there's a recording on all of the busses now. The drivers don't talk to the passengers or tell stories as they used to. (I don't mind that too much; some bus drivers didn't talk much anyway!)

We're going in November so I just want to know if we should expect anything different this trip. My husband is convinced now that "Disney has changed." I really hope not!!

My opinion is that when you love Disney and WDW so much, your expectations may be so high that every little thing that doesn't live up to those standards is a big disappointment.

[RockChalkKimball]

I was in WDW twice last year. I can't recall having any issues with CM's or any other foul-ups. I have been 8 times since 2000 and with the exception of one cranky bus driver, I would have to say that WDW has gone above and beyond in terms of service, especially when compared with other vacation destinations. Reading these boards regularly, I have read some reports of problems. I think you are right about setting our expectations high. I just try to remind myself that everyone has a bad day once in awhile and that WDW is a big place, so you are bound to run into problems occasionally. That being said, I would not hesitate to let someone know if I felt the service was sub-par, especially if they were big problems. I hope their experience doesn't keep them from giving it another try.

[hubbyofadisneyholic]

We have been there about 25 times in the last 20+ years and I don't think there is any doubt that service in general has slipped, especially in the last few years.
During our trip last month we had more bad experiences than we ever would have dreamed possible at WDW. Everything from screwed up reservations to rude CMs to having strangers with keys that opened our rooms. At 2 different resorts!!!!!
Almost every day we saw overflowing toilets and CMs more interested in chatting amongst themselves than in taking care of "guests".
Disney used to set the standard for customer service...nowadays I get treated better at Wal-Mart most of the time.

As hard-core long time Disney fanatics, it really hurts to see this happening.
But it is happening!!:(

[MickeyAD]

I'd say it was timing. They just happened to be there when there were CMs working with substandard Disney attitudes. I say that based on my own experience and in reading about experiences from others. I've had my share of wonderful, dream-like trips. On the other hand, there have been times when I've had to deal with rude, crude, sometimes sloppy, careless CMs. Sorry to hear your friends didn't have the greatest of experiences. Hopefully it'll be like night and day when they decide to return to WDW.

[magicofdisney]

I know my most recent visit was very un-Disney like. We were there for 5 days and we had the worst time with housekeeping. I've NEVER had such a bad experience. Our first day out we came back to a room with unmade beds, but the tip was gone! I called housekeeping. Management didn't bother calling for over an hour. I took my concerns to the front desk. I was given $50 Disney Dollars as compensation. Well, as it turned out, only one bed (of two) was made the entire trip, for one day only. So unbelievable in my eyes. On our last day, after several complaints, I was credited another $50 to my room charge. So $100 for unmade beds isn't so bad, but boy was it a let down from what I'm used to. :(

[Horizon93]

I just came back on 6/29. We had a magical trip. Any CM we encountered was as Disney as ever. Now, we were at the Swan, which is Starwood, so our accomodations were not Disney, but they were Disney quality!

All of our dinners and experiences in the parks were excellent.

I actually think things are better than they were a few years ago.

[mprewitt]

We were at WDW this past May, and it was as magical as always. All the CM's we dealt with provided friendly and fantastic service.

Of course, it's not possible for Disney to provide this 100% of the time. CM's are people and can have "bad" days too. You can run across grumpy or rude CM's, but we find people like that all over the country.

I don't think the magic's gone.

[psychotekkie]

I always try to keep in mind that the World doesn't revolve around me. I have no idea what that CM went through that day. This could be the 10th hour of a long tiring shift, or maybe they just found out their dog died, or filed for divorce, who knows? They're human beings, not fairytale characters. And remember, although Disney service normally makes you feel like a 5 star guest, the CMs aren't exactly getting 5 star wages. More like 1 or 2 star wages.

I treat the CMs with respect and a smile and I usually same in return.

[vizsla]

Over the last several years I saw Disney's customer service fall behind with cleanliness in the parks, CM's that were unknowledgable and rude, etc. But last year on our trip it seemed everything was changing for the better and all the employees seemed to be happier which makes them perform the jobs better.

[BashfulMom]

I always try to keep in mind that the World doesn't revolve around me. I have no idea what that CM went through that day. This could be the 10th hour of a long tiring shift, or maybe they just found out their dog died, or filed for divorce, who knows? They're human beings, not fairytale characters. And remember, although Disney service normally makes you feel like a 5 star guest, the CMs aren't exactly getting 5 star wages. More like 1 or 2 star wages.


Amen.

I wish more people kept this in mind.

[bleukarma]

I always try to keep in mind that the World doesn't revolve around me. I have no idea what that CM went through that day. This could be the 10th hour of a long tiring shift, or maybe they just found out their dog died, or filed for divorce, who knows? They're human beings, not fairytale characters. And remember, although Disney service normally makes you feel like a 5 star guest, the CMs aren't exactly getting 5 star wages. More like 1 or 2 star wages.

I treat the CMs with respect and a smile and I usually same in return.


Thank you for that post!


I think it's the "luck of the draw". I went on a trip about 8 years or so ago where it was a running joke through-out the stay that "I'm going to write a letter!" because it seemed like everybody was rude and everything went wrong. But I just got back from a trip about three weeks ago and I had no problems, in fact everybody was friendly. I don't think it has anything to do with Disney slipping, it's all about timing. A "bad" trip is bound to happen every once in awhile. But when these happen you just have to let it slide and try to not let it ruin your entire trip.

For the record the letter was never written and I don't even remember what the slip-ups were anymore.

[crazeedizneefinatic]

Our family LOVES the parks and resorts at Disney. But like someone mentioned above the employees are not fairy tale characters. Yes a majority of the employees love their job and are more than pleased to go out of their way to cater. We have had a few upsetting moments in Disney. One being on our last trip we paid for a preferred room. Upon check in we were put at the back of the resort. We were told that we never paid for a preferred room even though I had the paper work and amont paid with me. We were told the resort was full. We went to our room to find that the last inconsiderate guest must have smoked like a chimney even though it was non smoking. The burn marks in the sink area were disgusting. We called the front desk to speak to the manager, who was always in a meeting. 3 days of calling and not one return call. My Husband finally went to the front desk to demand a different room or to speak to a manager. Him and my son were congested and weezing from the room. How amazing it was that they found a room in the preferred section like we were supposed to have. It's a shame that he had to get angry to get a problem resolved. During our 8 day stay the hotel manager was always unavailable. We came home to speak with the Disney customer complaint department. What a joke. We spent half of our vacation in a non preferred location but paid for the whole time, they did not want to hear about it. They were actually kind of rude. We sent pictures of the burn marks in our non smoking rooms and they still did nothing. We decided to quite persuing a refund for the days we did not stay in a preferred location. The stress of speaking to such a rude person was getting to me.

We must still remember Disney is a business. Disney is worried about Disney. Disney is worried their bottom line. The CM's are all human. I have encountered CM's who have also gone out of their way for me. Just like anyplace, there are people who enjoy their job and some who don't. It still is a magical place to visit as long as nothing goes wrong to ruin your experience.

[MMouse6937]

I feel the same as psychotekkie, I don't really look too much at the bad when were there. I was actually discussing this with DH the other day. We're on vacation so we may encounter people that might upset us in a regular day, but when I'm on vacation, I don't think much about it, I just go on having my fun. People are people, and I'm probably not always my best at my job some days. I try to be, as I'm sure all CMs do, but sometimes we fall a little short. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt. We still can't imagine going anywhere but WDW for vacation. It's still magical! :cloud9:

[Mickey91]

While we still find many great magical moments to keep us going back to our favorite place on earth, the caliber of CMs is definitely slipping. I had a very hateful lady at the concierge/guest services desk at WL last time. Housekeeping was horrible there. I chalked it up to being at full capacity at the time. We then arrived at the POP for the remainder of our stay. They too were full to capacity. As a matter of fact, due to the lateness of the hour we checked in, we received the last available room of the evening. The concierge/guest services was wonderful!!! Housekeeping was excellent! They arranged the kids stuffed toys in fun ways and left candy canes and towel sculptures! Wow! It was $200 less a night!!!!

We had a rude encounter with a man at CRT. I asked a simple question and he was curt and rude in his answer which didn't even answer the question I asked! :confused: We have encounter this CM before in different places and he is never nice!

Anyway, I know we all have our bad days, but, if you can't do your job with a smile the majority of the time, find another job. Disney has been slipping on customer service for the last few years. I agree that the employees should be paid better but, I would love to make minimum wage at Disney World!!! It would be much better than working at Walmart!! But, Disney doesn't really care enough to expect better from their CMs anymore. Put that with the subpar merchandise and you can see where Disney's heart lies... the bottom line. They are still the leaders in theme parks, but for how much longer?

[mttafire]

I actually think that the service at Disney and the "upkeep" of the parks are as good as ever.:thumbsup: We have never had any complaints. There will always be some folks who seem to have an out of control expectation of things in life. The same folks usually complain about MANY more things in life than just Disney. To be honest, We do not look for issues or things to complain about. Now, Rest assured if we DID have a legitamate complaint then we would certainly talk about it and try to resolve it. We are very thankfull for everything we have in life...Our health,I have my dream job "Firefighter" a healthy 2 year old boy and another "girl" due in Sept. and my wife. IMHO, There are more important things in life than to complain about MINOR issues concerning Disney. We are just so happy to be there every 2-3 years that there isnt much at all that would make us complain.:mickey: