really, Disney?

[A Big Kid]

Unfortunately when your a resort open 24/7 365 days a year you will always upset someone when a system needs to come down to be upgraded.

And backing up a system with one that works as smoothly as the one in place never happens.

Best you can do is grin and bear it. A bad day at WDW still beats a good day here at work if you ask me.

I get that. I really do, but if they make an error that costs me, I should be compensated.

Look, if I decided 45 days before my vacation to change my reservations, Disney would have hit me up for $250. If I didnt cancel my ADR at Le Cellier with 24 hours, Disney would have popped me for $40. No matter what excuse I gave them, they would have charged me. PERIOD. I don't think it is unreasonable to expect them to live up to their word or pay ME.

[epceddie]

Wow, unbelievable is an understatement. So sorry to hear about what you're going through. I would have taken a photo of the parking lot view and gone back to the front desk. We got stuck in a really rotten room at OKW one time (after we were told we had a river view) and they switched me pronto.
I hope things turn around for you in a hurry. My wife and I check in at OKW on Sunday and I don't have a whole lot of confidence in Disney right now. I've been trying to do the online check-in since Monday, but the system has been unavailable, so it sounds like this whole mess got started a little early.
PS: You're right about the fact that Disney covers <itself> in terms of cancellations and missed reservations, but they're not so quick to atone when they screw up.

[Mousemates]

Sorry the trip started out on a bad note...hopefully things will get back on track by morning...if I felt strongly that I had lost value on my vacation purchase I would go the squeaky wheel route too.

[disneymom2000]

It appears the system is back up now. I just ran a reservation quote for a client and it seemed to be fine. Hopefully things will turn around for you now. Sorry you have had a bad time.

[11290]

Might have been Disney company wide and not just WDW. Made some reservations for Disneyland and had some issues. Notation at the top of the page that they were undergoing some upgrades and there might be some issues.

If it's any consolation, CM's don't get off much better. They upgrade Workbrain and the Cast Deployment System (CDS) what seems like monthly or at least very often. Messes up what we see as our work schedules a lot for the time it takes to do the upgrade. You can imagine what a mess that can be.

[John]

Things like this are bound to happen in this day and age.

I'm sure the CMs are just as frustrated as the guests.

Best to not stress over this kind of occurrence. It doesn't help the situation.

I hope these issues get resolved a.s.a.p., but complaining about having to pay OOP when its not a problem for you, and complaining about your room placement/implying that you should have gotten an upgrade doesn't seem productive at this point. Everyone is in the same boat. Enjoy your vacation and try to trust that Disney will work it out to your satisfaction.

I don't know about that - if I was there, I'd be pretty ticked. In fact, you might want to listen to the next INTERCOT Insider Podcast that will come out in a week.

It just seems systematic lately in that project plans aren't being thought about well enough as far as their impact on guests. I had a HUGE issue happen to me during our anniversary celebration.

Hoping things are ok by the time I get there later this morning.

[John]

I get that. I really do, but if they make an error that costs me, I should be compensated.

Look, if I decided 45 days before my vacation to change my reservations, Disney would have hit me up for $250. If I didnt cancel my ADR at Le Cellier with 24 hours, Disney would have popped me for $40. No matter what excuse I gave them, they would have charged me. PERIOD. I don't think it is unreasonable to expect them to live up to their word or pay ME.

To me - asking a guest that is spending thousands of dollars on what might be a once in a lifetime trip - to grin and bear it is unacceptable.

If the system being down inconveniences your guests, you better have a back up plan in place and a method to handle complaints/inconveniences including possible compensation.

Many folks (most of us excluded) don't get a second chance to make their memories. Most of us are very fortunate to be able to go there every year or even multiple times a year. Things we might be able to brush off, will scar vacation memories for others.

[BrerGnat]

A Big Kid:

I'm sorry that you feel that I was being patronizing. Honestly, that was not my intention and I apologize if it came off the wrong way.

Trust me, I know all about screw ups. I had my own snafus at my resort during ICOT15, so I get it. It is frustrating. I was pretty angry as well, but they did make it right. All it took was some effort on my part to speak to the appropriate managment and everything was dealt with to my satisfaction. I spent a couple hours being upset and whining about it, but then I realized that would get me nowhere and I had to take action with the manager. That is what I meant about being productive. Complaining here is unproductive at this point. Go complain to someone who has the power to make it right.

You said in your original post that Disney told you they would reimburse you for any OOP Dining Plan expenses later. Why are you so quick to assume that they won't? That was the reason for why I posted what I did. And, your room assignment had nothing to do with the system being down. Looking out to the parking lot is not "unacceptable" unless you booked an upgraded room category that they are trying to pass off.

I guess the main point I'm trying to make here is that when you are dependent on technology during your vacation, you have to know that there is always a possibility that the technology won't work correctly. If you want a vacation where this type of thing never happens, there are places you can go where you'll be "off the grid" totally.

We all know how reliable Disney's technology is.

[disney obsessed]

I am leaving for the world on friday and just called to check on things. ITS STILL DOWN. I could not do a thing.

[Fangorn]

It appears the system is back up now. I just ran a reservation quote for a client and it seemed to be fine.

You now run quotes and look up ADR times on the web site. HOWEVER, you can't actually BOOK anything. Yesterday, if you tried to make ADRs on-line the site told you the system was undergoing maintenance and you couldn't do anything. Last night it let you get all the way through the process, including entering a credit card number, but when you click on the confirm button, you got a server error and were kicked out of the system. Really bad show.

According to the CMs I've spoken with, there were some backup procedures in place. Unfortunately, those procedures included every dining plan purchase having to be verified by the resort that credits were available. The problem there was that the resorts didn't have the staff to handle the load plus it turned out that the resorts didn't have access to the dining plan information either. As a systems guy, I'm amazed at Disney's apparent lack of understanding of how their systems work (or don't, as the case may be).

John, I hope your check-in goes well. Hopefully, for Disney's sake, they will get their systems back up before the press folks get here en masse.

Steve

[A Big Kid]

A Big Kid:


Trust me, I know all about screw ups. I had my own snafus at my resort during ICOT15, so I get it. It is frustrating. I was pretty angry as well, but they did make it right. All it took was some effort on my part to speak to the appropriate managment and everything was dealt with to my satisfaction. I spent a couple hours being upset and whining about it, but then I realized that would get me nowhere and I had to take action with the manager. That is what I meant about being productive. Complaining here is unproductive at this point. Go complain to someone who has the power to make it right.

You said in your original post that Disney told you they would reimburse you for any OOP Dining Plan expenses later. Why are you so quick to assume that they won't? That was the reason for why I posted what I did. And, your room assignment had nothing to do with the system being down. Looking out to the parking lot is not "unacceptable" unless you booked an upgraded room category that they are trying to pass off.

I guess the main point I'm trying to make here is that when you are dependent on technology during your vacation, you have to know that there is always a possibility that the technology won't work correctly. If you want a vacation where this type of thing never happens, there are places you can go where you'll be "off the grid" totally.

We all know how reliable Disney's technology is.

stop digging when you hit the bottom.

This is the only place i voiced my opinion.

I never even suggested that i was concerned about not getting reimbursed. Not sure how you got there. My point was simple. We had a contract. I paid. I upheld my end of the contract and if I didnt, i would have to pay up. Disney didnt uphold their end
And i just have to deal with it

[CuteAsMinnie]

I hope now that the Disney computer "seems" to be up and running everyone can have a blessed, magical day

[Fangorn]

I was just able to complete an entire ADR transaction on-line. I either got very lucky of the systems are coming back up.

Steve

[Goofy4TheWorld]

I am sorry, but Disney has become so dependent on computers for so much, there is NO excuse for an upgrade to have to paralyze the property 4 times a year. Disney's systems are extensive no doubt, but there are plenty of extensive computer systems in the world that NEVER go down, EVER, because they just can't. Why Disney does not have total system redundancy so that they can upgrade system 1 and still function on system 2 is beyond me.

[rnin02]

I am sorry, but Disney has become so dependent on computers for so much, there is NO excuse for an upgrade to have to paralyze the property 4 times a year. Disney's systems are extensive no doubt, but there are plenty of extensive computer systems in the world that NEVER go down, EVER, because they just can't. Why Disney does not have total system redundancy so that they can upgrade system 1 and still function on system 2 is beyond me.

Completely agree. How often do you see Amazon go down? Just about never.

[Fangorn]

Why Disney does not have total system redundancy so that they can upgrade system 1 and still function on system 2 is beyond me.

It's actually quite simple. Redundant and back-up systems cost money. And spending money is something that TDO does not do willingly. Extremely poor management IMHO.

Steve

[magicofdisney]

This is one of the largest FAILS on Disney's part that I've read about in a long time. I agree with all that you're feeling. This would be utterly reprehensible if I had to deal with this on vacation. The worst computer glitch I've experienced was a room key not opening my room door immediately after check-in. Of course they want to blame me or my cell phone for that despite the key having no contact with the phone whatsoever.

This is definitely not the vacation from which dreams are made. It sounds like the only magic being spread is black magic.

[TheVBs]

Oh wow. That is really awful. So sorry you're dealing with all this. I agree that you should be compensated somehow. I hope you take these issues to management. I realize it's probably happening to everyone else who checked in during this problem, but as a guest, that is not your problem. It's completely reasonable to expect the package you paid for to be in place. Hope they make it right and that you're able to experience some magic on this trip! Keep us updated.

[waymickey]

If this had happened to me I would really be up a creek without a paddle. I budget my vacation very tightly and may not have had extra money to buy the food that I had prepaid on the DDP. Don't misunderstand I would work it out and feed my family but instead of sit downs we would be at the food courts and snack carts. I just wouldn't have the extra money. I would not let it ruin my vacation but I would be dissapointed and upset.

I would think Disney would lose some money with families spending souvenier money, boat rental money and other extras on food.

[Janmac]

Look, if I decided 45 days before my vacation to change my reservations, Disney would have hit me up for $250. If I didnt cancel my ADR at Le Cellier with 24 hours, Disney would have popped me for $40. No matter what excuse I gave them, they would have charged me. PERIOD. I don't think it is unreasonable to expect them to live up to their word or pay ME.

(my underline)

Abso-d*amn-lutely.

If I am unlucky enough to have this happen to me while at Disney, I will write to them, once I am home. And continue writing, up the ladder, until enough people get the message.

It's like insurance companies, etc. We must abide by their rules - why isn't it a two way street? I may be tilting at windmills, but I will still tilt.

Jan