POR Never again!....maybe all of Disney for that matter....

[crazeedizneefinatic]

I apologize up front for the long post but this last stay has me rethinking spending my hard earned money on Disney anymore:

We recently returned from staying 11 days at POR....I usually don't let the small stuff ruin a vacation because the world is not perfect but this trip was absolutley horrendous...upon check in there was 1 check in person and 2 at the online check in spots....45 minutes to check in on a thursday morning...online checkin would not help anyone else in line that did not check in online...we were suppossed to be issued a $100 gift card from last year for a refund for my aunt leaving early because my uncle became ill....did not equate to her losing out on her stay and the resort checking us all out of the hotel and erasing our keys with our dining...but Disney was trying...up until final payment that was still there and we had a confirmation #...well you guessed it no one ever heard of it and the resort told us guest relations never gives confirmation #'s which we found out was not true....1st half day spent at the front desk trying to track down the refund card. purchased something with my birthday gift card and put the remaining balance on a credit card, changed my mind about the purchase and had an hour ordeal at the resort gift store returning the item, not to mention that the I was berated by the manager of the gift store on how I should have thought before I purchased the item...food court worker pushed a pizza on my son and never apologized or offered a rag to clean him up...she just stared at him....one day at the pool someone threw up on the sidewalk by the steps leading into the pool, sounds disgusting but my son stepped in it since it blended in with the concrete...my husband took my son to the shower and cleaned him off and alerted the lifeguard on duty who shrugged her shoulders and said she knew about it and maintenance was just really slow....they swam on the other side of the pool and on the way (30 minutes later) over saw several other unsuspecting people step in it and drag it into the water, residue was floating on top of the water..my husband approached the life guard again to tell her and she shrugged again, he went to the towel holder and took several towels and covered the mess up...the front desk did not care....about 8 days into our trip we wanted to see if another room was available for my aunt and mother since the snoring was terrible and no one was sleeping, went to the front desk late at night to be greeted by someone who could not speak a lick of english....we inquired about a room and laughed how we could not sleep from all the snoring....she walked away...a few moments later security showed up and started questioning me where the fight was?....needless to say I was completely mortified....calling security for requesting a new room for snoring? still don't understand that one?...security explained to us they were called because someone was fighting...not sure where the girl got that from but the "manager" came out and at least apologized for the misunderstanding...I will end my post there...I know I seem really negative but honestly I do not expect a red carpet to be rolled out upon my arrival but some courtesy or some customer service would be nice....I am truly rethinking our vacation plans next year....

I don't want this thread to turn out as a Disney bash, that is not my intention at all but just wondering if anyone has noticed the sharp decline in service or am I over reacting?

[NotaGeek]

Wow. Sorry you had such an experience -- not sure how we would be able to tell if you were over reacting, but if you are this upset you should definitely write a well worded letter and send it off to Disney. It's your feelings and your money and Disney should know that you didn't enjoy your stay. I know that I wouldn't have left without talking to someone about everything on site. Good luck.

[DisneyFr33k]

Wow, so sorry you had that experience. Doesn't sound like your vacation was that magical. :( We're heading down in two and a half weeks. I'll see how POP compares to our trip there last year.

[Mousemates]

Yikes...pretty much sounds like you guys had things come together to form a "perfect storm" to take all the fun out of your vacation. I'd also be complaining and venting if I were you, only my venting (polite-- but intense enough to get the point across) would have been at WDW (going up the chain of command) and to WDW management after I got back home.

[Ruprect]

Sounds like a rough trip. We stayed at POR in January and had nothing but positives. In fact we will probably stay there again next year.

In fact my 3 year-old (at the time) had a bad habit of inhaling water in pools and then throwing up and sure enough did it in the POR main pool. We were mortified of course but when we informed the lifeguard about it they shut down the pool for an hour while they cleaned and sanitized the area. He has since gotten over this little habit fortunately.

As usual it sounds like things like this depend on who is working at the time.

[Rekenna]

So sorry! I've been reading some of the other posts and it sounds like (maybe) service at the resorts are just not up to par-at all levels of resorts. We have only ever stayed at Values, we are off to ASMo in 21 days, hopefully our experience is better than yours.

Judging from some of the bad reports I have read maybe it is time to start thinking about off site hotels/resorts? Again, really sorry. :( and it doesn't sound to me like you are overreacting, at least about the resort-I am hoping the parks were much more enjoyable?

[MNNHFLTX]

Wow, what a nasty chain of events. I don't blame you for not wanting to stay POR again, although I don't think this is reflective of all the resorts, in general. I agree that you should
write a letter. Did you ever get your $100 gift card?

[Ian]

Well, I certainly have no problem believing you received this level of service from Disney. Honestly, it's not all that different from what I typically see everywhere I go ... indifference, malaise, and (at times) outright incompetence.

I especially find your issues with the non-English speaking CM to be frustrating. I had a very similar experience at SSR last month where I actually opted not to bother dealing with some things at check-in because the CM working with me was barely (and I do mean barely) intelligible.

I notice, too, that a lot of complaints seem to be coming out of the Port Orleans resorts lately. I've heard consistent complaints on here about their service, housekeeping, quality of rooms, etc. Sounds like it's time for a sternly worded letter to Disney's Executive Offices.

[DVC2004]

Yikes I am really sorry to hear that! Just one of those things is bad but all together? Things don't sound so good there lately. :(

[afowl1017]

So sorry about your trip. It is hard when you spend so much money to have a vacation and you run into these kind of things. I have also had a bad experience POR....beautiful place but the room was not up to Disney par...very dirty, so I was shocked. Anyway, I agree with a previous poster maybe it is time to start staying off property...we did on our last trip which was just a few weeks ago (Double Tree at DTD). Clean room, lots cheaper than anything we could have gotten on property for a two room suite , and the workers were super nice! If you still love the parks and the feeling of being at Disney try again but stay somewhere off the Resort maybe? Just a thought! Hope the good memories will heal all the frustration of the trip!

[Ransom]

How awful!

Sounds like it's time for you to take a break from Disney. Get away from it all -- the boards, the news sites...all of it. Try some other vacations. It's a big world out there, and WDW will be there when and if you ever feel comfortable giving them your money again.

[princessgirls]

Sorry you had a bad experience.

Just seemed to keep snowballing, from one thing to the next.

We do expect superior service from WDW, and with them laying staff off, and paying the staff they do have next to nothing, you are stuck with overworked, underpaid workers who really have just have had enough... No, it's not right or acceptable. I sense this is just the way things are!
Julie:mickey:

[SurferStitch]

I am really sorry you had a bad experience at POR. I would like to say they were having a bad week, but we also had horrible service there back in 2003.

We actually stayed twice (7 for 4 in September, and another 3 days in December before our DCL cruise). Both times we had terribly musty and dirty rooms, and poor service all around.

I think we had the same manager in the gift store, too! Before we left POR to go on the cruise, DH and I wanted to ship some stuff home. We asked the desk about shipping items home, and they said to get an empty box from the gift shop. So, I asked the manager for a box, he shot me a nasty look, huffed, and then begrudgingly gave me a cardboard box. I went back to the shipping desk, loaded the box up, and asked for packing tape. "Oh, we don't keep that here in the shipping area, you'll have to get some at the gift shop." You're kidding me, right? So, I go back to the shop to buy tape, but they don't have it. So, I ask to use some of their tape. Again, the manager gets huffy, and tells me I better bring it back to him...and he wasn't kidding. He actually stood at the entrance to the gift shop and watched me the entire time I taped up the box, and stared me down as I walked back to him with it. I thanked him, and he walked away without a word.

We also wanted to check on the status of a flight one time (we had been burned too many times with canceled flights when we arrived at the airport), and asked a CM at the desk about it. She handed us the phone book, and directed us to the pay phones. At every other resort we ever stayed at, the desk CM's were happy to find out for us. Oh, where was the iPhone back then!!

Mousekeeping was more than sub-par...it was practically non-existent.

This was also the only resort we ever stayed at where the CM's wouldn't say hello, let alone look at you, when you walked past them either on the walkways, or in the main building.

Needless to say, we've never gone back to POR. Unfortunately, the December trip was booked before the September trip (we booked the trip with another couple), or else we never would have gone back after our first stay.

We've had nothing but excellent service at the Grand Flo, Poly, CBR and Pop, so I have faith in other WDW resorts.

[Belster]

So sorry to hear that your trip was not in any way magical. I would also say that you shoudl for sure send in a very well writen letter to Disney with your concerns.

I would not have left either without some sort of compensation.

Sorry again.

[Ian]

I am really sorry you had a bad experience at POR. I would like to say they were having a bad week, but we also had horrible service there back in 2003.Yeah, I had two instances of horrid service at POFQ and my Mother had one each at POR and POFQ.

We're pretty much over the PO resorts.

[vorpalswrd]

I'm just going to have to thrown in my story from the otherside. In 2003 we stayed at POR and had a fantastic stay. I hate to sound inconsiderate but the bigger a buisness the more complaints. Sadly, it happens. When it happens to you, you need to fight and make sure it is corrected. I hope your unhappiness doesn't stop here at an unoffical message board but makes it known to someone of importance.

[Stickey]

It sounds like an unfortunate chain of negative events, starting with the old business creating confusion. There is no excuse for the poolside sanitation issue. I hope that the the check-in issue is not common.

We have never had an issue at POFQ. Often, it appears that resort service is like Ryan Howard- either a home run, or a strikeout.

[ransam]

wow.
now i'm getting nervous. I am going to disney in 67 days...have gone many times over the years and have never had anything but excellent service all around (except for one bus driver last year). we always stay at the POP but reading your post, and the replies, now i'm nervous we were just lucky in our good customer service...

sorry you had such a terrible time. maybe it will be better next time.

[DisneyNut4Life]

I am so glad we have never had issues!!

We have always stayed at the POP Century and LOVE it!! :mickey:
Quick to check in, The gift shop workers go out of their way to be helpful and the food court is a nice one!
We had one instance at the pool, where a little boy about 5 or so, walked up to the pool and pulled down his pants and relieved himself! UGGG YUCK!! His father laughed and thought it was funny....GROSS
We all got out of the pool and I called the front desk, they were apologetic, and then someone called me back to say they had checked the levels in the pool, and they were safe but we decided to stay out! :ack:
I have never been unhappy with the POP, and can't wait to go back...(Hopefully in May)

[PinKy]

I hope you're able to get someone at Disney to respond to your customer service complaints! That is ridiculous. It is REALLY really awful when you spend a considerable sum on your much-anticipated vacation and then you have a terrible time. That happened to us 2 years ago. Some man practically threw a giant doll-box at my 6 month old son (in his stroller) while we were in a gift shop. I screamed and he screamed and no one else seemed to care or to even stop the man who was charging through there like that. My son was bleeding around his eye and we had to go check it out. Not even a "are you ok" from the cast members - no direction to a medical facility or nurse - nothing. We were horrified.

[CaptSmee]

I will never stay at POR resort again, but sure didn't have any of these problems that you had! Now I definitely won't for sure after hearing these! It's big, sprawling, poorly laid out IMHO.

[Joannelet]

I am so sorry that has happened to you.
I keep seeing people post write a letter to management etc. Have any of you that are requesting to do this done so?
If you have I'd like to know if you ever got results from doing that. Only because I have a LIST of people that have had problems like this and other really bad situations that have happened there and have written letters and reported it while being there and nothing was really done about it. I know a couple of people had call backs (one complaint actually made it to TV! and they responded immediately by phone)
Another that put a child in danger couldn't even let the parents know what was done about the cm that put the child in danger. Their policy was they weren't allowed to tell you what happened once it was reported etc. so the parents never received a call back once they returned home etc. When they called to see if anything had come of it...they weren't allowed to know.
I'm just wondering if anyone's letters of complaints actually helped at all. In all the cases that I know of (from dirty rooms to much worst) nothing came of it.

I hope that you never have to have that bad of an experience again.

[SandmanGStefani24]

geez, really sorry things didnt go well. but, i have to capitalize on what most people here are saying. i have had only one negative thing happen on all my stays, and the resorts as a whole are awesome. i wouldnt hold it against the rest of WDW for one bad stay. maybe POR is done for, but there are plenty of other places to stay. give another resort a shot, but keep an open mind and know that the past does not equal the future. use your pals at Intercot as a guide and for advice. hope the next trip goes much better.:beer:

[Fangorn]

We're at POR right now (leaving tomorrow after 8 days) and have had an absolutely wonderful time.

When I checked in on 9/29 there were 4 CMs busy handling check-in. There was no one using the on-line check-in window and the CM there immediately waved me over there rather than waiting in the normal line. We had requested a first floor room but that wasn't what we had been assigned. The CM quickly made the change and we were on our way - total time checking it was maybe 10 minutes.

Housekeeping has been wonderful. I can't say that for every resort where we've stayed. Nothing out of place, plenty of towels, soap and shampoo. Even a note from the housekeeper apologising for a red stain on the carpet and explaining that it was Kool-aid and the carpet was scheduled to be replaced in a couple of weeks.

The front desk staff was great on both occasions when we had questions. We even had our son spend a couple of nights with us; notified the front desk and they issued him a room key but did not charge us for having an extra person in the room.

All in all, it's been very pleasant. Lots of smiles and chats with CMs all around the resort.

This is our third stay at POR and they've all been nice.

Steve
:mickey:

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Holy Smokes !!!!
2) I would write a letter to the Resort Manager.
3) Not Guest Relations.
. . . detail the way you did here
. . . do not threaten to not return (counterproductive)
. . . ask if there is something WDW will do to prevent future occurrences.
4) Mention exactly, "This was not my most enjoyable WDW ever."
5) See what the answers are.

NOTE: I fully agree that you had a vacation that created ill-will.

[WDWCrazyKaren]

I'll toss my POR review here too! First off, I'm so sorry about the service. We noticed it as well while we were there just last week. We had requested a roll away bed when we made the reservation. There were only four of us, but the two kids are step-siblings, and both teenagers (of the opposite sex). We had made it clear that if they could not provide us with a roll away, we would not stay there. They assured us it was not a problem. Well, when we checked in, I advised that we needed a roll away (it was about 11:50AM when we checked in). The Cast Member advised we were on a second floor in Alligator Bayou, and they don't deliver roll aways to second floor rooms. I advised them to move us then. After much floundering and telling me they would not give us a bed, a manager came up, I explained the situation, and he told the CM to move us to a first floor room. So, finally, after being moved to a first floor room with assurances we would have a bed delivered, we dropped off our bags and headed to the parks. We returned at about 8PM, to no bed. A long walk back to the lobby, and the CM on duty then advised that they don't allow roll away beds in Alligator Bayou. DD could use the trundle bed. When I advised she was too big (she's 5'6") for the trundle, the CM shrugged her shoulders and told me there were no other options. I advised then that they could move us to the mansion rooms then, where a bed could be delivered. She huffed around, made a number of calls, and finally came back (after about 20 minutes) and told me that the housekeeping manager would "make it happen" and get us a bed. An hour later, still no bed. I called housekeeping then, and was told they don't deliver roll aways to Alligator Bayou. After explaining for another 10 minutes, I was told someone would bring a bed. About 15 minutes later, a housekeeping member knocked on our door and told us that they can't deliver beds to Alligator Bayou. My husband, who hadn't said anything up until this point, very loudly said "Fine, get your manager over here now and I'll discuss it with them directly". Five minutes later, a bed miraculously appeared at our door. It only took 10 hours and about 8 cast members to figure it out.

Service at POR was basically like this all week. Rarely were there even smiles. It was a little sad. Ruined just a bit of the magic.

[Ian]

Karen, we had a very similar situation like that at POFQ, only it involved trying to get a Pack and Play in our room.

To make a very long story short, we ended up at 11PM with an exhausted two year old with nowhere to sleep and it took a near miracle just to get someone to care.

[JerseyDad]

I am so glad we have never had issues!!

We have always stayed at the POP Century and LOVE it!! :mickey:
Quick to check in, The gift shop workers go out of their way to be helpful and the food court is a nice one!

We had one instance at the pool, where a little boy about 5 or so, walked up to the pool and pulled down his pants and relieved himself! UGGG YUCK!! His father laughed and thought it was funny....GROSS

We all got out of the pool and I called the front desk, they were apologetic, and then someone called me back to say they had checked the levels in the pool, and they were safe but we decided to stay out! :ack:
I have never been unhappy with the POP, and can't wait to go back...(Hopefully in May)

.....I would have to imagine that the visuals associated with that incident would be quite off-putting......but would have to pale in comparison to all the kids...and adults....that are relieving themselves WHILE IN THE POOL....:ack::ack::ack:

....the chlorine levels are however...high enough to off-set the side effects of the pool becoming a 1 million gallon port-a-potty :laughing:

....hence the reason why I swim at 6am...while the cleaning staff and gardeners are all out there...and I'm usually the only one in the pool. I too....love Pop Century...and will stay no place else....but...I have noticed a slight, over-all decline in the whole "customer service" aspect of WDW.

[TheVBs]

Whoa! That is awful! :( I am so sorry about how your stay went. I don't blame you at all for being put off going back. Please follow the great advice above and make sure Disney knows about these problems. And never, ever be afraid to escalate an issue while you're still on property. If the lifeguard was unresponsive, you go to the front desk, if they're unresponsive, you ask for a manager, etc.

Someone asked if anyone has ever gotten a positive response from Disney on a complaint - I have to say that I believe I have. After our second to last trip, I contacted them about something that put a little bit of a damper on one of our days. They called me and really cared about making it right. I didn't expect to get any response at all, so the phone call and what was offered felt very above and beyond! :mickey:

[crazeedizneefinatic]

I may have to write a letter. While on property I did speak to numerous "managers" and guest relations....believe me I was stern but almost next to tears...I threatened no one since I know that gets you nowhere.I kept my cool and tried to get someone to hear my concerns....since getting a name for the resort manager is like decoding the entrance code to the bat cave can someone direct me to whom I should write...I think I have talked to everyone. I have considered putting part of my charge in dispute with my credit card company in hopes someone would help me....not sure that would work though since it was fully paid the beginning of August....

As a side note to put the cherry on the sundae....Southwest LOST our flight home....we even did the $10 early checkin had the paper and confirmation paper and everything....we were informed at the check in desk that no one in our party was on the flight even though we had the proof in our hands....2 hours later (our flight had was ready to take off at that point)and arguing with a "manager" who was trying to tell us to step away from the desk so he they could help people with a flight we had to purchase ourselves another hotel night at the hyatt, call off work and school the next day and board my dog another day....this trip was a true nightmare...my husband promised a cruise in January to try and make up for the stressful time we had....I may take him up on his offer....

Thanks for listening to me vent...and if anyone has any ideas on who to contact please let me know....

[mudpuppysmom]

It's not just POR....I'll try to sum up a trip we took in Dec 08 and stayed at AKL. My sister and her family decided that they would join us this time (we had a 40% off PIN code) -- we booked WAY far in advance, before I knew of my DS#2's "problems". After finding out that my son needed to have special formula and I HAD to sterilize his bottles I knew getting a microwave might be a problem, but I was assured by an actual person at AKL guest relations that it would not be a problem ( I had the dr. write out an actual letter outlining the reasons why we needed to sterilize the bottles and the need for the microwave). Well, upon checkin -- my sister and I approached the desk and said we were together could we check in together, the CM said "yes, that's fine". I went first......when I asked about the microwave she just looked at me and said "we don't have any". I told her I had spoken to "X" and they assured me it was not a problem. The CM knew who "X" was, but again said "we don't have any microwaves in the entire resort ma'am". I then asked for the manager. She then told me that the only way we could get a mcrowave was to upgrade to a villa. Uh, wait a minute, you just told me YOU HAVE NONE IN THE ENTIRE RESORT!!! I felt like saying outloud "LIAR", but I refrained - I was frustrated. Then the manager came out. He asked me nicely what the problem seemed to be. I presented him with the proof that it was medically necessary and my notes that I had spoken to "X" regarding this. I noticed he was from the same area as we were from and I started a little dialogue with him in between him checking the computer for something, I was unsure what.....when he learned where we were from, he said "whatever you need, I'll personally take care of it"....and so it was taken care of -- or so I thought!

We also had asked for connecting rooms.....ones with doors connecting them, not adjacent -- connecting. We get to our room, which we had been upgraded to my surprise as we had booked standard rooms! I was happy we were upgraded, but it was not necessary I tell the manager -- he said no problem. We get to the rooms and find out we are adjacent to each other, not connected. My DH says not to worry about it it'll be fine, so I shrug it off......my sister is complaining that they put us where they had the least possible view of the animals -- I explain we are happy with the room -- at least we don't have to look at cars! She continues to complain, so I go back in our room to wait for the microwave -- an hour passes (I just was unpacking and the kids were kicking around and watching the animals with my nieces [sister still griping --I tell her to shut up about it!] -- I call down to the desk and speak to the manager again regarding the delivery of the microwave -- he says go ahead to the parks it'll be in your room when you get back, he promises!

We go have a nice rest of the day -- come home to find, you guessed it, no microwave! I march down to the desk, more irritated than anything and ask for the manager -- who has gone home for the day and is not due back for several days! UGHHHHHHHH.....I get the new manager who knows nothing of my "deal" with the last one! Well, I put it all out there....the microwave being most important as tomorrow I need to sterilize bottles, as I have only brought so many, then the adjacent room situation and just the lack of finishing anything! I was nice aobut it all -- I just laid it all out there.

In the end, after a day, we got the microwave and the next day my family moved to the other side of sister's room and got the connecting room.......sister is still griping about the view to this day nearly 10 months later!!!

I too see this level of complacancy (I'll call it that) everywhere these days, no one seems to care anymore!

[brownie]

Wow, sorry you had so many problems. I would definitely write Disney World, maybe even send something to the General Manager of Port Orleans as well.

How was the rest of your trip? It sounds like all the problems were with the resort, which seems to indicate they have some leadership issues at Port Orleans.

[Phantod]

I keep seeing people post write a letter to management etc. Have any of you that are requesting to do this done so?
If you have I'd like to know if you ever got results from doing that.

I've only felt the need to write to Disney Management once, and this was probably 20 to 25 years ago.

We were staying at the motel portion of the Disneyland Hotel. We spent the day out and came back to the room with two tired adults and two tired kids. The sewer had backed up into the toilet, the bathtub and onto the floor. :ack: Apparently this had occurred throughout the entire building, and rather than check all of the rooms, they just checked those that complained. They tried to address it for a while but we finally were moved to another room around midnight.

A day or so later we are checking out and our bill is sitting on the floor outside the room, rather than pushed under the door. It has our name, address, credit card number and everything for ANYONE to pick up and access. I was not happy. :mad:

I complained when we checked out but got nowhere. Wrote a letter to Disney and got a response back. They comped us 2 nights at the Disneyland Hotel Tower. And we certainly took advantage of that. But we never stayed at the Disneyland Hotel again.

[TikiLounger]

Okay, I don't want to start Disney bashing either...but...I have noticed a definite decline in customer service over the last couple of years. We just got back from a short trip to the Beach Club for the Food and Wine Festival. We stayed in the club level and I really didn't know what to expect because before our arrival, we were treated atrociously by Itinerary Planning and our guard was up. Fortunately, when we arrived, we found our room had been upgraded from a garden view to a water view...I guess all those phone calls my husband made about our issue beforehand paid off...but...the damage had been done and we'll never stay in the club level again. We also noticed that cast members all over the world didn't really seem to care, anymore. Not as many smiles, no eye contact, slighty sarcastic and rude comments...I hate to say it but I'm starting to rethink our trip in January.

[gueli]

I may have to write a letter. While on property I did speak to numerous "managers" and guest relations....believe me I was stern but almost next to tears...I threatened no one since I know that gets you nowhere.I kept my cool and tried to get someone to hear my concerns....since getting a name for the resort manager is like decoding the entrance code to the bat cave can someone direct me to whom I should write...I think I have talked to everyone. I have considered putting part of my charge in dispute with my credit card company in hopes someone would help me....not sure that would work though since it was fully paid the beginning of August....

As a side note to put the cherry on the sundae....Southwest LOST our flight home....we even did the $10 early checkin had the paper and confirmation paper and everything....we were informed at the check in desk that no one in our party was on the flight even though we had the proof in our hands....2 hours later (our flight had was ready to take off at that point)and arguing with a "manager" who was trying to tell us to step away from the desk so he they could help people with a flight we had to purchase ourselves another hotel night at the hyatt, call off work and school the next day and board my dog another day....this trip was a true nightmare...my husband promised a cruise in January to try and make up for the stressful time we had....I may take him up on his offer....

Thanks for listening to me vent...and if anyone has any ideas on who to contact please let me know....

check out the thread - just got back from all stars- not impressed- by mindyjoh
she e-mailed meg crofton and
"Well the only direct e-mail address that I could find on the internet was for the actual WDW president. So I figured what the heck, I'll send it straight to the top. I will be anxious to see if she replies back." she actually got a call from corporate...
"Well after sending the e-mail to Meg Crofton, my husband received a call today at home from someone in the executive office of WDW. She was very apologetic for what had happened with the room and promised that it would be forwarded to the leadership at our resort.

She also wanted to speak with me personally and I have left her a message as to when she could best get ahold of me. I am very anxious to hear what she has to say!!"

apparently she searched for disney e-mail online, perhaps you can contact the writer of this post and get the e-mail adress she used.

Good Luck
:mickey:

[BIGDOG]

WOW..I am selling all my Disney stock tomorrow...that will teach them.

[mrsgaribaldi]

I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience. We've stayed at POR and POFQ several times with no problems. We just stayed at POFQ in Aug/Sept and are going back again in Nov. We go 4-5 times a year and just about 98% of the time we stay at a Disney resort with no problems. One time we had a problem with noise at Pop and they sent us to another room that was really nice. This past trip at POFQ we went to help a castmember in the gift shop who was having a seizure. We really didn't have much to do as it was pretty much over and an ambulance arrived shorty. They found out what room we were in and sent us a big basket to thank us for helping. I thought that was really nice since we didn't really do all that much.

[PawleyPlatoon]

At the very least you should write a letter and send out several copies: manager of POR, guest services and Disney corporate. Also note at the bottom of each letter that copies were sent to the other departments. Make the letter as professional as possible -- if you need, get the help of a friend who is a good writer or someone with experience in the hospitality industry. Be precise, be firm but be polite.

At the end of the letter, you should request a written response and any appropriate compensation for your experience. You never know what you will get just by asking. At the very least the powers that be at Disney need to know what happened on your vacation.

[Belster]

Karen, we had a very similar situation like that at POFQ, only it involved trying to get a Pack and Play in our room.

To make a very long story short, we ended up at 11PM with an exhausted two year old with nowhere to sleep and it took a near miracle just to get someone to care.

I too have had this same pack n play issue almost every time I go to the world...no matter what the resort. Last time at Pop I called 5 times before getting one at 11:45 at night...ugh!

[crazeedizneefinatic]

thanks everyone....I am going to (for all it's worth, lol) to write a letter....we will see if anyone will respond....while we were there no one seemed to care but I will give it one more shot.....

[ChipNDale79]

Sorry your trip was so bad.

We stayed at POFQ for our honeymoon and since then have stayed at CS, All Star Sports, and Pop. POFQ was hands down our favorite, I just hope it hasnt gone down hill since then.

[PirateLover]

I find the vomit incident particularly upsetting and just flat out disgusting. Definitely write and let us know what happens. You are right to be outraged.

[Disney_Barbie]

Just wondering, was this perhaps your first stay at a MOD? The first time we went below a delux was a scary site. We had a horrible experience but worst of all the the CMs on-site didn't seem to care or even desire to help, infact they were rude.
I wrote a strongly worded letter to disney guest relations, and I atleast got some sort of satisfaction. I got a apologetic phone call, an assuruance that the resort manager would be made aware of the situation, and 50% of my full room rate credited back to my card. None of this could make up for the fact that this was the worst vacation of my life.
I guess the lesson I took away from it is : It's only logical to put your better servers @ Victoria & Alberts vs. putting them at the Crystal Palace, and furthermore it's logical to put your better staff @ the hotels that cost more. It's not fair, but it's logical. We've come to love disney again, but only when we stay deluxe, which is unfortunate but that's the way it is.

[BigThunderFan]

We had one instance at the pool, where a little boy about 5 or so, walked up to the pool and pulled down his pants and relieved himself! UGGG YUCK!! His father laughed and thought it was funny....GROSS
We all got out of the pool and I called the front desk, they were apologetic, and then someone called me back to say they had checked the levels in the pool, and they were safe but we decided to stay out! :ack:


I hate to be the one to say this, but what difference is there between the one child who does this from outside the pool and the 5,000 people per day that do it inside the pool?:thedolls:

[Mousefever]

Just wondering, was this perhaps your first stay at a MOD? The first time we went below a delux was a scary site. We had a horrible experience but worst of all the the CMs on-site didn't seem to care or even desire to help, infact they were rude.
I wrote a strongly worded letter to disney guest relations, and I atleast got some sort of satisfaction. I got a apologetic phone call, an assuruance that the resort manager would be made aware of the situation, and 50% of my full room rate credited back to my card. None of this could make up for the fact that this was the worst vacation of my life.
I guess the lesson I took away from it is : It's only logical to put your better servers @ Victoria & Alberts vs. putting them at the Crystal Palace, and furthermore it's logical to put your better staff @ the hotels that cost more. It's not fair, but it's logical. We've come to love disney again, but only when we stay deluxe, which is unfortunate but that's the way it is.

Actually, there have been many here, both CMs and lay people, who have asserted that hotel staffing does not appear to work that way at the Disney resorts. That is why customer service seems to be hit or miss at any of the resorts. Customer service-wise, our stay at Pop Century exceeded our expectations, while I encountered a very rude concierge staff member at Animal Kingdom Lodge. I'd still prefer to stay at AKL over Pop, but it's not because of the level of customer service.

Amy

[thumperbug]

There are always going to be good and bad experiences no matter where you go or where you stay...Disney or anywhere else.

The level of overall service at WDW has significantly declined over the last 10 years. I no longer look for or expect the high level of service that used to be associated with Disney. Now I find myself pleasantly surprised if I get a "good morning" or a smile.

The main thing is that if you have any issue, bring it someones attention and also put it in writing....don't be afraid to send an email to the highest mouse on the food chain. If only use intercotees hear the complaints and no one at Disney, nothing will ever change.

Most of my stays have been great, some have been not so great...musty smelling rooms, puddles on carpets, lack of mousekeeping....we try not to let little things mess with our vacation. But hearing some of these stories...I just want to say "speak up folks and make sure those who have the power to do something, actually do something".

Ok, I'm off my soapbox and counting down to my next journey to the world Nov 17 for conference

[jonahbear2006]

Agreed. We went first two weeks in Sept and stayed at POR and NEVER AGAIN! I would rather rent a home in Orlando and NOT deal with Disney. The staff was horrible, from maids walking in on us and waking us up at 8am to the resort being ratty and dirty looking. The lifeguards were downright rude. We had told the manager our kids were allergic to the room, they all broke out in rashes from whatever was on the comforters. We asked to be moved to a diff. resort. We were told this was not possible. We fixed the problem when the comforters were removed but were told they hypo allergenically cleaned the room. They did not because there was year old dust behind furniture and under the beds. There was even candy under the beds that didn't belong to us. Talk about gross! We didn't get the building we requested 6mths in advance, however, a family who booked their trip in two weeks had the building I asked for; finding that out made me livid. Bus drivers were inconsistent to where we started using our cars cause they were so rude about us bringing folded strollers onto the front/back whatever part of the bus. I really wish they could get their act together cause we are really getting tired of having bad experiences here. We will just camp cause that way we have no expectations out of their resort staffs.

[jonahbear2006]

There are always going to be good and bad experiences no matter where you go or where you stay...Disney or anywhere else.

The level of overall service at WDW has significantly declined over the last 10 years. I no longer look for or expect the high level of service that used to be associated with Disney. Now I find myself pleasantly surprised if I get a "good morning" or a smile.

The main thing is that if you have any issue, bring it someones attention and also put it in writing....don't be afraid to send an email to the highest mouse on the food chain. If only use intercotees hear the complaints and no one at Disney, nothing will ever change.

Most of my stays have been great, some have been not so great...musty smelling rooms, puddles on carpets, lack of mousekeeping....we try not to let little things mess with our vacation. But hearing some of these stories...I just want to say "speak up folks and make sure those who have the power to do something, actually do something".

Ok, I'm off my soapbox and counting down to my next journey to the world Nov 17 for conference

I have never in my life, and ive gone on 2 vacations per year with my family since I was 5, seen so many things go wrong on a vacation as I have at Disney World. Yes you will have good experiences and bad, but I never remember my parents being so livid about food being so gross or being unhappy with a hotel room or being disappointed at the end of a trip and feeling a desire to complain. We always came home with a very warm feeling inside.

[hubbyofadisneyholic]

We have stayed at POR 5 or 6 times and prior to our trip last June the OPs report would have been shocking.
But not anymore. We had requested 1st floor in Parterre Place for medical reasons (my M-I-L has very bad arthritis in her knees & another person in our group has severe asthma). Not only did we NOT get anywhere in that building, they stuck us out in the Bayou about as far away as you could get from anything. After 15 minutes of getting nowhere trying to work with the front desk CM who had very limited English language skills, I got to a supervisor that spoke perfectly good English, but had zero customer service skills. After wasting another 10 -15 minutes trying to explain why we needed to be closer I was pretty much given a "take it or leave it" choice.
At that point my wife told me to just let it go since it was obvious that the CMs just didn't care.

We fully intended to give ourselves a week to cool off when we got home and then write a letter expressing our disappointment, but I ended up having surgery and frankly that put our poor experience into perspective and we just weren't that upset about it any more.

But you will be able ice skate on Bay Lake in July long before we ever stay at POR again...;)

[caryrae]

That's too bad, we didn't stay at POR but did stay at POFQ and had a great experience. My wife and I both loved it there. The mousekeeping was nice, we would leave the do not disturb thing in the door cause we didn't need the room cleaned everyday and someone would call us just to make sure we didn't need anything and a different day they left a bag on the door with towels, toiletries ect. The only bad part was they were redoing all the gardens so there was some noise and mulch all over the areas they were working on but the gardens they were done with looked very nice. We will definately stay at POFQ again.

[Genie1953]

We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside in 2005 and thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. I have NO complaints whatsoever at all. It was a great stay in all areas. In fact the entire Disney trip was wonderful with the exception of a small incident that occurred at Columbia Harbour House when our food sat waiting on the counter for about 15 minutes while the CM's just kept pushing it around even though I brought it to their attention several times that it was our food. That was the one and ONLY problem we had on the trip...and a very small problem at that. I do hope our upcoming trip in April will be as enjoyable as we will be there celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary on April 12. Will let you all know how it goes.

[ravsluvdisney]

Ooooh, some bad situations no doubt. With 11 days, I am hoping the overall stay at WDW was fun from the eats, rides, weather etc.

It seems the issues were centered around the resort and some apparently poor CM service. I would definitely consider following up with both POR and Disney to express your disappointment.

Hopefully you get some response....and I'm sending you a bit of pixiedust to hopefully bring back some of that Disney magic I'm sure you've experienced in the past.

Good luck.... :thumbsup:

[mom2morgan]

I'm shocked by some of these stories. We've stayed there twice, the last time being last December and thought it was wonderful both times. I guess it is really hit-or-miss at any resort, depending on circumstances. Our only complaint was not getting Magnolia Bend - but service is always fine. (I won't say they go over and above in any way, but we got what we paid for.) The girls at Fulton's, in particular, were very friendly and helpful about getting packages to our room, etc - and accomodating me even after I'd lost a receipt.

[KatrinaJ91]

I am totally shocked by these stories as well! We stayed at POR this past summer and absolutely loved everything about it! The customer service was amazing, the rooms and grounds were very clean and beautiful. The food was great. We arrived early (about 11 am) and not only were we able to check in right away, but our room was ready as well. We had many interactions with CMs and found every single one of them extremely helpful and nice. In fact, after our stay this summer, we decided that this was going to be our resort-of-choice from now on. My only complaint was that there were not towels at the quiet pool and you had to go to the main pool to get them.

[missymouseworld]

Been there on our last 3 trips and never had a problem. I hope our good luck continues. Honestly, very surprised to hear the bad reports.

[StitchandMe17]

Wow, it is sad to say, but I think the times are showing at WDW. Our trip in August to AS Mo was pretty much the same. The doors were being painted at check in and we couldn't drop off our stuff to go to the parks. The rooms were extremely dirty: I found Goldfish crackers under the bed and someone's underwear in the drawer. The pic of Toy Story was deliberately hung upside down by previous guests and complaining to the front desk did absolutely nothing. I asked for a different room and they said they were booked up. I was incredulous. Unfortunately I felt that I got what I paid for and I will not be going to a value again.

[Richard Lauzon]

Sorry to hear that you had such a bad chain of events.
We just got back from a week at POR. Our experience was wonderful. We have stayed at POR for the last 12 years and have had a pleasant experience every time. This trip I had requested building 14 ro 18 because I have trouble with my knees. We were assigned building 80. I expalined the delema and our cast member checking us in excused herself and went in the back for a few minutes and returned to tell us we were now in building 18, the room we had last year. Wow! some Disney magic. Everyone was pleasant, the room was excellent with towel characters each morning. We will be returning next year.