What separates WDW from everyone else?

[Disneylovescompany]

We are AP holders and generally go to WDW 8-10 times, once for a longer trip and other times for long weekends. We have made it a point to go for special events yearly. MNSSHP, MVMCP, Food & Wine ( Our favorite), Nights of Joy, Candlelight processional, Flower and Garden, etc.
So my 14yo daughter and I took a weekend to go down to the F&G festival and to test out the new FP+ with magic bands.
The FP+ made our trip really relaxed and we definately like the new system, particularly with the additional changes announced.
She is an avid pin collector. not trader, but collector. And she gets event pins etc. While we were there she got the AP pin as well as another F&G pin. Well, the one she bought kepy losing the back and coming off the lanyard. So she pocketed it to be safe. Somehow during the evening she lost it.
When I got home I received the normal "rate your visit " survey. I filled out everything and offered good and bad opinions of our experience. Much more good than bad. only bad being improvements we felt for FP and the pin issue That pin is too heavy for one back.
After submitting, I received a call from Dan in Guest relations. We talked for a bit and he proceeded to tell me they wanted to replace her Pin.
Within 3 days, she had a package addressed to her with a replacement pin and a letter from Dan he obviously didnt just use some form to do.
She was extremely happy and this is what I believe sets WDW apart. The attention to detail, responsiveness to their guests and the way they do business. Sure, the pin costs them nothing at the end of the day. But, the time to just respond and make a kid smile is what impresses me.
For allt he faults and missteps a huge company like Disney can make at times, they do get treating their guests well right almost all the time. And this isnt the first time I have actually experienced the way they go about their business. Never fails, WDW always separates themselves in a good way.

[Aurora]

I have a similar story to yours -- writing a letter and getting a response that was far above and beyond what I expected or what another company would have done. Whenever we've had problems, they've always been resolved beyond our simple satisfaction.

It's this and the excellence of the parks themselves that make WDW stand out for us. There are some complaints about how the quality of the parks and CMs have declined over the years, but they're still far above the competition. (With Universal gaining somewhat, I have to acknowledge.)

When we're there, I'm reminded of what a massive organization it is, and I'm amazed at how well things run.

[Susan A]

Costumer service is A+. When arriving at the airport to head home, we are always reminded of how smoothly WDW operates WHILE having a smile on its face! :mickey:

Cleanliness is always outstanding. :thumbsup:

Oh, and attention to every detail. Local amusement parks just don't add up. :thumbsup:

[azcavalier]

On one of our trips, my youngest daughter lost her Marie stuffed animal that she used to carry around *everywhere*. She had left it in the room, and when we came back at the end of the day, she could not find it to go to sleep. After looking everywhere, the only thing we could figure was that she had left it in the bed, and the housekeepers had accidentally bundled it up with the bedding, and it had gotten sent to the laundry.

I went to talk to the manager about seeing if we could recover it from the laundry, and she explained that the bedding laundry was contracted to an offsite company, and that there was no way to recover the Marie. However, if we would buy another one, they would reimburse us for it, no questions asked. I was skeptical at first, because I offered no proof of loss...just me telling a story. But she insisted. We never took them up on it, but we did find Marie later that evening. But I was so impressed with their willingness to "make it right", even when they had done nothing wrong.

[i'm grumpy]

We had a stroller disappear. I don't know if it was stolen or taken to lost and found since it was very late at night. They gave us money for a new one.

The local theme park is just dull. Long lines for short rides, awful overpriced food. I can't wait to head for the exit!! The have stolen many ideas from Disney and they just fell flat.

[Gator]

My story isn't much. On our last trip in Dec of 2012, we had just eaten breakfast at Sassagoula at POFQ. I took the kids back to the room to go to the bathroom one last time and grab their backpacks - all the luggage has been checked in for Magical Express.

We got on the bus, headed for MCO, checked in, sat down and..... it dawned on me that I had left ALL of our sweaters hanging on the coat rack in the room. Most were just normal sweaters, but one was by favorite sweater - a 2006 grey zip-up with a "letterman" style Donald Duck on the back. I love that sweater and still wear it even though it's style has slipped into the past. I called POFQ right away, and within 2 days of our landing, they had packaged them right to our home. That was really great.

Like OP said, among the many things that a company as large as Disney gets wrong, they get so much more right when dealing with their guests.

[#1donaldfan]

I have several stories that further prove Disney is far superior in customer relations. I will not bore you with them, suffice to say they always have gone over the top for us every single year. That is why they get my money each year, at least once a year !!! :mickey:

[TheHD]

Great stories! Thanks for sharing. I love Disney! :mickey:

[natedog24]

So refreshing to read this thread after all the threads I seem to read lately are complaints about FP+, lines to meet Elsa & Anna, costs of resort rooms, or something else. So glad to see some folks are taking the time to appreciate the positives!

[Sylvia]

So refreshing to read this thread after all the threads I seem to read lately are complaints about FP+, lines to meet Elsa & Anna, costs of resort rooms, or something else. So glad to see some folks are taking the time to appreciate the positives!

I couldn't have said it any better!! These days there aren't many threads that I read, but the subject caught my eye.

Thanks everyone for sharing such positive stories. The magic is always there, as long as people take the time to appreciate it. I do Disney my way, always have and always will - I stop and smell the roses and enjoy everything going around me.

I'm getting ready to go back to WDW for what will probably be my 64th visit in just a few days. and your stories have already put me in that "2-year-old" mood that usually starts as my plane lands in Orlando.

I have a short story that shows what magical things happen when you least expect them. It's not about Disney Guest Relations, but then, maybe it is, because I don't think this would happen anywhere but at Disney. Approx 14 years ago, we were on Mickey Avenue at the Studios enjoying watching the characters interact with their fans. Eeyore must have been a bit tired, because he sat down against the wall. Since he has such a distinctive look on his face, and because of the way he was sitting, a little girl, who couldn't have been more than 3 or 4 years old, was concerned. To her he must have been very sad. She walked up to Eeyore, put her arms around his neck and told him not to be sad because she loved him. I don't think there was a dry eye among all of the adults who saw this happen.

Magic and Pixie Dust :cloud9::thumbsup:

[ANG]

I agree, they really do care about what you say in the surveys.

My son has gluten allergies and every single food place we went to was awesome. Except the QS in Mexico. Long story short, the chef was trying to pass regular 'ol chicken tender as gluten free ones. I had to make such a big stink, they called some manager that I Don't think even worked in that particular kitchen. He was angry for me! He not only made our food for us but gave my son a free dessert (GF of course) for the trouble. When we got home, I told WDW CS the name of the chef and a few of the cashiers that gave me attitude, and also how great the manager was. I got a letter of apology and reassurance than they will be looking more into the diet restriction training for that restuarant.

[Terra]

We live near WDW and go monthly and it never gets old. WDW is separated, for me, by their ability to transport port me from reality to this perfect world where everyone is happy and you can forget struggles for a while. I know it sounds corny, but it is so true. In 16 years it has NEVER lost that magic for me.

But the biggest thing for me is that with my ASD son, how attentive the CMs are and how they go out of their way to engage him while we wait for a ride or show. They make it a point to make him feel "normal"
When anyone does that for my child, it touches my heart!

I have numerous small stories, but the short is that no matter what, even with changes we don't like, Walt's spirit still shines through!

[TheVBs]

Love this thread and all the great stories here! I agree completely. We've had lots of moments where Disney CMs have gone above and beyond to make something special for us, or fix something that went wrong. Our most recent story is small, but it made a big difference to us. We bought some ice cream late one night in MK. Our youngest DD dumped hers and burst into tears. I went back up to the counter, fully intending to pay for the replacement. The CM recognized me and asked, "Uh-oh, what's wrong?" I said nothing was wrong, but we lost an ice cream and I had to buy a new one. She would not let me pay for it. So sweet!

[1DisneyNut]

Just an FYI on the backs for pins: They sell the metal pin backs that have spring steel tabs that will not fall off the pins. I buy a pack of them and replace the rubber backs on every pin we buy so we won't lose them. The pins used to come with the metal backs in the beginning but they went cheap and started using the rubber ones. I have seen those metal backs elsewhere too(maybe office depot or somewhere).

We have a story about WDW customer relations as well. We used to go to Magic Kingdom on July 4 every year up until I believe it was 2007. The crowds had been getting worse each year and that year it was terrible. We got to MK a little late because we were going to stay late, watch the 4th fireworks show and then do attractions until the late night closing. It was so packed, it took us over an hour to get from the entrance to the the hub at the end of main street. It was literally shoulder to shoulder and you could not move without rubbing up against other people. We looked in each direction and you could see it was like that everywhere, we could clearly see tomorrowland was completely jammed. They had CM's out standing on top of things yelling at everyone to keep moving and one of them singled us out because we were trying to decide how and where to go and we couldn't get out of the crowd because there was nowhere to get out. He kept yelling at us and I finally snapped and yelled back to him "where the h*** would you like for me to go and we will go there?" He stopped yelling realizing he had ticked me off and was just looking at me and then looked around. He didn't know what to say. I then yelled "How about you escort us out a back entrance and throw us out of here?" He stood there looking and after a couple of seconds I said "I am serious.....take us out of here, we want to leave but can't move." So he motioned us over and we wiggled through the crowd and he said he didn't mean to make us mad, they we told to go out and keep everyone moving because it was so crowded. I told him it was ok but we really did want out of there because it was too crowded and wasn't safe. He led us out the back entrance they use at closing and we left.

When we returned home, I sent an email to Guest Relations explaining how over crowded it was and we wasted a day on our tickets and probably at least 3 hours. I also mentioned how it was a safety hazard being that crowded. If some sort of disturbance would have happened where people tried to move quickly, children could have easily been knocked down and trampled. Anyway, to wrap my story up, someone from Guest Relations called me a few days later to discuss my email. She asked some questions about the crowd level, how the CM's were handling the situation, etc. Somewhere along the way, she casually brought up how many people were in our party and what we did after we left (we left WDW property and went to a beach). Well a few days later, I got a letter from Guest Relations in the mail and we were like "Wonder what this is?" So we sit down and open it and there is an apology letter along with replacement tickets for everyone in our party that day. I never would have expected them to send tickets.

[Janmac]

We too have the stories of lost articles magically replaced, free stuff provided during difficult times, and general CM cheerful, friendly helpfulness.

The thing that really brought home the Disney difference was my cousin's reason for being impressed with Disney after her first ever visit - at 55 yrs old. She routinely has to travel for seminars for her work, with the gamut of travel related experiences. When she and her DH joined us at WDW, they used DME to get to the Boardwalk. She said she had never had such a hassle free travel experience, even with her DH's luggage's arrival lagging hers a bit. She said Disney's professionalism was obvious; they know how to do it right.

Jan

[DKA041177]

Keep them coming, I love stories like this. The Cast Members for me also make all the difference in the world. They are folks that truly care about whether or not you have a good experience, and will go above and beyond to make sure that you do.

I enjoy going to other parks, but you just can't beat what WDW brings in terms of customer service.

[SandmanGStefani24]

It seems to be little things that make me take notice.

1. One day All Star Sports was backed up at check-in. (right when I was getting there) The staff sent in a guy (who was amazingly charming and entertaining) whose job was simply to talk to guests while they waited and then direct them to the 1st available CM. He seemed to know a little about everything and made the wait fun. He even knew about the bad weather in my area and we talked about how I just missed any delays.

2. WS Table Service Restaurant Staff. This is often debated at times here on Intercot, but I always have the best staff and the greatest experiences. They are always keen to tell me who they are, where they come from, and what makes where they are from great. Tokyo Dining is a regular stop and each waiter is keen to tell me where to visit, and offer tips for when I travel to the real Japan. All other countries are the same, and a few phrases in the native language always earn back a big smile and a nice story. Last trip, I even made a frienemy :D when I was told as I was leaving by the manager of Tutto Gusto that if he had seen my AC Milan t-shirt that he would have never let me in! We then chatted about football for 20 minutes before parting with a handshake and a pic. This sort of thing just doesn't happen anywhere else.

There are so much more, but these two just pop up at the moment.

[mom2morgan]

Mine are both about dining!
1. First trip - my 15 year old foster son had a giant hissy-fit, and by the time I got it all straightened out there was NO WAY we'd make it to the contemporary for our breakfast at Chef Mickey's - because the bus goes to the magic kingdom first and we were already late. The bus driver heard us talking (I was in tears by then), and asked the other people if they minded a detour, and radiod for permission to drop us off directly.
2. On another trip I got our reservations mixed up and showed up at the Beach Club when it should have been the Poly...and again realized we'd never get to 'ohana's in time. The concierge put us in a cab at no charge and sent us over
(and by the way....now that I KNOW cabs are available, I'll never have that problem again! We really were such Newbies that we thought the only way to get around was by bus. LOL)