[DonaldDuck31]

First, let me preface this by saying I wasn't sure where to post this...

I don't usually rag on stuff, because I prefer to take the optimistic route in life. We just got back from WDW (12/8 - 12/16) and I am extremely disappointed this year with our experience. Has anyone else gone around this time and experienced the same? We would be curious to know, because personally I feel it was a fluke that we didn't have a magical time, but it wasn’t the same as last year where everyone had a magical time.

On our very 1st day, waiting for Turtle Talk with Crush a man ran over a woman's foot that was waiting in line with his wheelchair. They never moved her and it took a good 10-15 minutes for medical help to arrive to help her which delayed the next show. In the meantime, the CM's opened a different part of the waiting line and let people who were waiting in the middle of the original line in 1st (we were near the front because of DD wanting to sit in front on the floor and hopefully talk to Crush). She made it to the front, so all was not lost. Little perturbing that the CM's didn't re-direct the line in the first place.

On 2 different occasions, our rooms were cleaned but no clean towels were left for us. When we called the front desk, we were told it would be an hour, but we could help ourselves if we seen the carts sitting around that the cleaning people use. I'm on it. Nothing like self serve when we already paying for the service. No apologies from the hotel staff (we stayed at Pop).

On the day we went to MGM, we visited the fish place right by ToT and ordered a counter meal. I ordered the apple cobbler stuff for dessert. I used to love it. Not this time. It was served with mold about the size of a marble right on top. I took it back, received a half-hearted apology. I asked her if I could choose something else since she didn't offer. Oh yeah, you can if you want to. Nice.

On a visit to Downtown Disney, I started talking with a CM. She was from Romania who was here on a college work program. She said she was almost done with her program there. I asked her about her experience at Disney and she told me she wasn't sure if she would be a fan of Disney's when she left. When I asked her what she meant, and she said she was kidding. Sorry, your face didn't say you were kidding. Nice. Something I wanted to hear.

There is way more stuff to tell, but I'll stop there. It was very apparent to me that WDW was possibly over booked and under staffed. You could see it in the CM's faces most of the time. Something wasn't right this time and the vibe hit me like a train. Don't get me wrong, the character interactions and some other things were wonderful, but it wasn't the complete magical package we received last year. My wife says we may never go back, but I told her we should maybe give it a break for a year or 2. We’ll see. She can't see dropping that kind of cash for mediocre treatment. We were really surprised to be treated that way at WDW.

Has anyone else who has visited WDW recently (same time frame as my family) experienced anything similar, or should I give them the benefit of this being a fluke type of thing?

[alicefan]

I'm so sorry that you had a bad experience. I think we expect so much from Diney that when any little thing goes wrong it is hard to deal with. I am the same way but try not to let things ruin my trip. It sounds like you weren't feeling the magic and these issues just compounded your disappointment. Maybe it was just so busy being the holidays and all - I have never been there during this time and the crowds are one of the things that deter me during the holidays. I feel so bad for you guys.

[Andrea]

We were there a week before you, and it went both ways. We had some absolutely marvelous CMs, and I am still holding a grudge against one in particular! We had some insanely bad service in some places, and we had fantastic service other places.

I wish everyone always had the Disney spirit. But they don't. And while I'm sorry that I have to accept that they don't have it, for us, the whole experience is still worth it.

[DonaldDuck31]

That's part of it. We went last year for mine and My DD's 1st ever trip to WDW and the crowds were probably half the size they were this time. I remember just walking right into attractions, rides, etc. last year. Not this time around though. But, I didn't mind waiting. I like to talk to people and it helps pass the time in line. The weather played a big factor too I'm guessing. It was 75-80 degrees probably every day this year plus humidity, compared to 60 degrees with very cool (like see your breath cool) nights last year. I kid you not,the CM's looked very frazzled this year. In my opinion, they didn't have enough of them staffed correctly per the sizes of the crowds.

[DonaldDuck31]

Andrea, it sounds like we had somewhat similar experiences (good service/bad service things). I am the patient one and my wife is not. I'm still trying to calm her down. She just wanted us to have another magical experience like last year. I too think it is worth it, but I still have to convince her.

[dznylvr]

We were at WDW just before Thanksgiving. We had great housekeeping service during the week, but once the weekend came, it went downhill. At the beginning of the week, they always left clean towels, even if we hung our old ones up to be left(just like the sign in the bathroom says-I always feel guilty for using all that water and detergent-just for my towels ), and they arranged our kids stuffed animals on the bed, and the trundle bed was neatly made and put away. By the weekend, the beds were sloppy, no animal arrangements, trundle bed was just shoved under the other bed, no clean towels. In fact, I had left a pile of dirty towels to be taken away, and they didn't do that, and didn't leave me any clean ones to use! And, they left some kind of cleaner in a bottle on the floor- not a good thing with a 2 year old running around . I told my husband it was because we didn't tip daily, but we sure didn't leave one after that service!! That was our only complaint about POR-otherwise we were very happy!! I hope the housekeeping service is a little better next year when we go!!

[woohoo]

I will admit that my last trip was quite the blunder - I ended up writing a letter of discontent to guest services and they gave me 18 one day passes that were good for 30 years. But my kids had plenty of fun and although it was not as magical as the trip before- it only convinced me that there was so much magic to be had- it was just bad timing. But I will say that if this time around I have a similar experiance I will have to bow out of another trip for quite some time. Its just too expensive to have blunders like that twice.

[MissDisney]

Donald,

First, it is important to realize that WDW is larger than many cities. Both in terms of geographical size as well as population. They serve a mind-boggling amount of food each day, and they clean an enormous number of rooms every afternoon. The occasional "oopsie" is bound to happen.

Second, because so many people are around at all times, you may occasionally run into someone who isn't especially cheerful. Like a crabby CM who is tired of the job, or a person who is careless with the wheels of their chair. I wish people who don't want to be there would find another place to be, but sometimes they come to WDW anyway.

I hope your next trip is filled with happy CMs, terrific fresh food and light crowds! We have been lucky and have had very, very few glitches. It would take an awful lot to get us to the "extremely displeased" stage.

[DonaldDuck31]

That's what I keep saying to my wife. It just had to be bad timing is all. This is not what Disney is all about. It should be an enjoyable experience, not extremely stressful. The very sad part is everyone was glad to be home and have it behind us.

[woohoo]

that was how we felt too so I totally understand- especially when we planned and planned for perfection only to be so disappointed! But fear not- in a year or so you will miss it and try again, or at least I did.

[DonaldDuck31]

That's exactly what I am hoping for. I would love to go back and 're-discover' the magic. I certainly pray it was a fluke and this is not the norm. My wife will come around. She was the one who turned me into a fanatic !

[Dana]

I am very sorry for a not-so-magical trip. It does happen even at WDW. Vacations don't always turn out the way we want or there and more oppsies than not. Unfortunately, WDw is prone to this just like any other vacation destination in this world. Sometimes I think people have far to high expectations especially after a super magical trip. I'm not saying that is the case with you, but just thinking maybe you were expecting the same exact trip as the last and that's impossible. As for the moldy food, bad mousekeeping and wheel chair incident....that just stinks. I do hope that there was magic in between those not so magical times.

Your time frame has become a very popular time to go to WDW and that would explain the larger crowds and perhaps less attentive service than last time. The more people there, the harder it is to make everyone get that magical treatment. The sour Cm's are another story. I really can't blame some of them. Have you ever seen some of the guests at WDW? They treat CM's not so good...hard to keep a super positive magical attitude when dealing with nasty people more than not. I have noticed a trend with seriously nasty guests at WDW my last couple of trips. Each and every one of them thinking they are entitled to something and making a stink about everything from a long line to no towell animals. I'm rambling and I apologize.

I think you should put your complaints in the form of letters to WDW. Let them know of your experience. How can they fix things that aren't right if they don't know? I do hope you give them another try. Maybe a two year break is a good idea for you all to want to go back. I look at it this way. WDW is the best bang for my buck for a safe, clean vacation. I love everything about wdw and try very hard to let the small stuff like housekeeping and stuff just slide. A vacation is what you make of it...not the what the staff makes it for you. You cannot rely on WDW staff alone to make magic for you. You have to make the magic too. Think of the time with your kiddos and the joy on their faces when they saw their favorite character or the pure joy when they watched their favortite parade. When you do, you will see that a stupid moldy cobbler was nothing to even think twice about.

[Cavey]

As someone in a guest-services organization, I know that, on occassion, a group will "complain" about something. After I've dealt with it, I'll find myself thinking, "Boy! Would I have been satisfied with that response?"

Fortunately for me, I can track down said party and readdress the issue. For example, we have a new chef who is learning the ropes. On his first event, the guest group commented to me that the food was not as good as usual. Even though I apologized at the time, I later felt that wasn't sufficient. So I wrote a letter to the group and offered a discount on their next retreat.

WDW isn't in that situation. The complaining CM may genuinely regret what she said about Disney, but she has no way to take it back. The kid serving moldy dessert may feel bad about the situation--or may have heard back later that he could have handled it better.

One of the things we say around here is "When I go to McDonald's, I want a hamburger. Not excuses. Not to hear how bad your day is. I want a hamburger, served with a smile and a genuine 'Thank you.'"

I KNOW WDW tries to instill that in their CM's but it's a tall order.

[DonaldDuck31]

I appreciate all of you that have provided feedback so far. I'm glad I could say something here and get some good reponses back! Thank you..

[Dana]

Originally Posted by DonaldDuck31

I appreciate all of you that have provided feedback so far. I'm glad I could say something here and get some good reponses back! Thank you..

You are most welcome. You put your point across and your experiences and opinions were well stated. It wasn't like a rant session or a hate thread. Every one of us has had at least one not so good experience at WDW...it just happens.