Rumor Bye Bye (Tiki) Birdies?

[Pixieish]

You can make a mug....with an exclusive design it doesn't need to be something insane imo.

Shirts, magic bands, Kinko POPs that aren't sold anywhere else...the list could be huge for park "land-exclusive" merchandise.

 

[Pixieish]

Precisely,

I spend way too many nights in a hotel room and ive come to expect that the room be clean and everything in the room WORKS.

its not the theming or amenities like pools or shops when I'm equating Disney's hotels to an Hampton Inn

Im talking about the SERVICE or rather the lack thereof at Disneys so called deluxe hotels. When I check in to a hotel for an all too infrequent and short vacation. I expect the following

1 - undamaged room and furnishings
2 - clean unstained bedding
3 - no visible mold in the bathrooms
4 - working appliances
5 - a room key system that works the first time without repeat front desk visits
6 - Room available by PUBLISHED check in time
7 - timely cleanings based on advertised schedule

How is it that Disney for the past 2-3 years is completely unable to perform one or more of the items on that list ,

At Disney i'm renting premium rooms ie 2 BR and GV class rooms

And its BECAUSE of multiple bad experiences i have such a bad attitude here

Yet the biggest problem ive ever had at a Homewood Suites in the same timeframe is a dead tv and Ive had a lot more Homewood Suite stays than DVC stays and both provide the same room classes ( minus of course the disney theming and amenities like elaborate pools)

On vacation i expect an upgrade from my business travel experience not a downgrade.

As I write this i'm in a Hilton Garden Inn in CA Sipping the FREE coffee and reading the FREE copy of USA Today (WSJ weekdays) in the lobby waiting for restaurant to open.

Yet even in silicon valley im paying < 300 night here. And the service beats anything seen at WDW for quite a while.

Perhaps the fact that Disney outsources their housekeeping services?

And yes...the resorts have been neglected for way too long. Our last stay at AS Movies (yes, I realize it's a value resort, but it's at Disney and they're always packed, so they aren't allowed to use money as an excuse) the rug was threadbare (to the point of having black streaks in the high-traffic areas) and the comforters were stained. A year prior to that, we stayed at CBR in a pirate room. Granted, the condition of the room was much, MUCH better, but neither the coffeepot nor the fridge worked. The DID make sure the coffee maker was replaced immediately, and there was a misunderstanding about why the fridge didn't work (the guy who checked it while we were at the parks thought it was just a matter of turning it on - so it was on and still busted when we got back), but they sent someone out at 1am to swap out the fridge. I don't blame the resort for the non-working appliances...who knows how many people stayed in the room, realized they didn't work, and just didn't bother reporting it? But the condition of Movies was just shameful.

 

[Pixieish]

So this thread is about changing a classic low capacity attraction into most likely a meet and greet ( in my opinion what will happen) with even lower capacity in a park where everything is almost constantly crowded and the company has spent dollar amounts in the billions to come up with ways to manage capacity and we have a food service facility available that has been mostly unused ( or at least underused) for years. Yes it makes perfect Disney sense to me.

I know that I don't know everything about what goes into the management decisions of WDW but I would really love to know what drove their obvious decision to limit attraction capacity to what it currently is while avoiding building any new capacity.

Star Wars and Toy Story basically are improvements over what was in the DHS but essentially equivalent capacity. Avatar is adding to what was essentially a half day park. Together they will not address the increasing demand for WDW , in particular the Magic Kingdom. When the South American economies recover the situation will become hopeless

Just my frustration showing today - Sorry

A perfect example of them screwing with wait-times...last year my family of 4 used a FP+ for Frozen...only to see them seating 2 to a row in the boats instead of the obvious 4 each row could fit. I was pretty ed that we waited 2 hours in a FASTPASS line only to see that and then be disappointed by the boring (although beautiful) new ride.

 

[Pixieish]

A few years ago, someone on this forum told the story about his neighbors who took a WDW trip and came home disappointed. In spite of all of the pre-vacation info he had given his neighbor, they only visited the MK and not the three other parks (or anything else on property). They walked right past most of the attractions and since they were mostly indoors, they thought that they were all gift shops and didn't bother to go in. They thought that the only attractions in the park consisted of the carousel, the tea cups and the speedway which they considered to be "Kiddie Rides" and not worth their time. The rest of the week, they hung out at the hotel pool wondering why they took their neighbor's advice to take a Disney vacation. I hope he was pulling our legs.

I see stuff like that in the FB groups ALL THE TIME. People complaining that they couldn't get reservations or ride certain rides without waiting for three hours, and they're all angry that they wasted their money only to admit halfway down a thread with 300 comments that they didn't plan in advance because they wanted to wing it. *facepalm*

I will admit though - I really, REALLY miss the ability to be as spontaneous in the parks as was possible before FP+ and all the M&Gs and dining reservations, etc. Before, I didn't feel like we were wasting a day hanging at the pool or just strolling in World Showcase. Now everything feels rushed.

 

[Pixieish]

The system isn't the problem. The problem is the uber-planners who've caused them to react accordingly forcing it to be a cattle call of sorts at 180 days out that you HAVE to rush to reserve your restaurants and fastpasses before everyone else. It doesn't have to be that way. I'd love nothing more than for that type of planning to go away. Blame the uber-planners who have to make sure Skylar and Timmy get what the want so it's the most magical vacation ever. If everyone stopped uber-planning 6 months ahead of time you COULD show up. It could very easily go back to a lot of the ways it used to be.

People also forget how crowded the parks are now compared to even 10 years ago. There's a lack of a slow period unlike before. They've sucked at adding ride capacity, instead they've tried spreading out the crowds. Let's not blame just one thing for where we are. Look at ALL of it.

This would be a great topic in General Discussion ...

Now can we get back to the Tiki birds? What's the status of them @MansionButler84 @marni1971 @Magic Feather

Don't forget that a large chunk of those uber planners are travel agents. At least with the paper fastpasses, they weren't all gone before you even got to the park.

 

[Pixieish]

And the FAIL for the Mermaid ride was WDW insisting on the cheap version since it was going to be built on both coasts. There is a video of what WDI actually PITCHED which was an e-ticket for the ages.

Oh dear, plllleeeeaaaaase can you tell me where to find it?

 

[Pixieish]

No they don't

Sorry - my bad. I was misinformed.

 

[Pixieish]

And yet the Stitch makeover in Tokyo blended a cartoon character with the tradition attraction and has been well received.

I get -- and even agree with, really -- the aversion to toon invasion to the parks and to losing classic attractions. But on the surface (Again, depending on execution) making over the Tiki Room to include Moana seems pretty benign and logical. It's not some crazy Frozen in Norway absurd fit.

Especially since more research on the customs and history of the Polynesian people was performed before and during the making of Moana than any other Disney film.

 

[ford91exploder]

Perhaps the fact that Disney outsources their housekeeping services?

And yes...the resorts have been neglected for way too long. Our last stay at AS Movies (yes, I realize it's a value resort, but it's at Disney and they're always packed, so they aren't allowed to use money as an excuse) the rug was threadbare (to the point of having black streaks in the high-traffic areas) and the comforters were stained. A year prior to that, we stayed at CBR in a pirate room. Granted, the condition of the room was much, MUCH better, but neither the coffeepot nor the fridge worked. The DID make sure the coffee maker was replaced immediately, and there was a misunderstanding about why the fridge didn't work (the guy who checked it while we were at the parks thought it was just a matter of turning it on - so it was on and still busted when we got back), but they sent someone out at 1am to swap out the fridge. I don't blame the resort for the non-working appliances...who knows how many people stayed in the room, realized they didn't work, and just didn't bother reporting it? But the condition of Movies was just shameful.

As to the appliances there is a Supposedly a QA process at Disney that all rooms are supposed to be checked for and this includes functionality of appliances.

Hilton has refrigerators in their rooms as well and ive never had a dead one in years of travel all over the world. But ive had multiple dead ones at Disney in the last 5 years

 

[ford91exploder]

A case can be made? The Florida Citrus Commission was one of the original sponsors at WDW and spent 3 million dollars back in 1969. That translates to about a 20 million dollar sponsorship in today's dollars. For that money they got the Tiki Room show and the Sunshine Tree Terrace. It was all to promote Florida orange juice.

Just as the DL Tiki Room was created to sell airline tickets to Hawaii, so too the WDW version was adapted to sell Florida orange juice.

TWDC created the Orange Bird to shill for Florida orange juice and hired Anita Bryant to sing her little heart out about the virtues of Florida orange juice. And I should note that the Orange Bird Song was written by the Sherman brothers:

Ah yes Anita Bryant one of the most hateful individuals to walk the face of the earth. If you dont know why google it but not too soon after meals

 

[GoofGoof]

As to the appliances there is a Supposedly a QA process at Disney that all rooms are supposed to be checked for and this includes functionality of appliances.

Hilton has refrigerators in their rooms as well and ive never had a dead one in years of travel all over the world. But ive had multiple dead ones at Disney in the last 5 years

In all fairness to Disney, you have literally the worst luck of anyone I have ever heard of when it comes to room problems. I know you don't visit WDW anymore, but if you ever decide to return and ride the new gondolas when they open let us know ahead of time so we can avoid the area because that will be the day they are struck by lightening

I've never had a dead fridge at any hotel I have stayed at, but I would assume a simple call to maintenance and they bring up another one. They have to have a bunch of extras lying around at any big hotel that offers them.

 

[Pixieish]

As to the appliances there is a Supposedly a QA process at Disney that all rooms are supposed to be checked for and this includes functionality of appliances.

Hilton has refrigerators in their rooms as well and ive never had a dead one in years of travel all over the world. But ive had multiple dead ones at Disney in the last 5 years

Interesting! I've never heard that before.

I will say though that neglecting WDW and DL because they were too busy overseas with SDL and/or fixing the film studios makes no business sense to me at all.

 

[ford91exploder]

In all fairness to Disney, you have literally the worst luck of anyone I have ever heard of when it comes to room problems. I know you don't visit WDW anymore, but if you ever decide to return and ride the new gondolas when they open let us know ahead of time so we can avoid the area because that will be the day they are struck by lightening

I've never had a dead fridge at any hotel I have stayed at, but I would assume a simple call to maintenance and they bring up another one. They have to have a bunch of extras lying around at any big hotel that offers them.

The problem at Disney is not that appliances occasionally fail it's the battle to get them replaced which makes me angry.

My stays Hilton have not all been trouble free had problems with heat A/C TV's and microwaves and non working high speed internet.

However with Hilton my issues have all been resolved with ONE call to the front desk.

Its expected by business travellers that not every stay will be perfect but its also expected that issues when they arise will be dealt with without inconveniencing the guest.

With Hilton/Marriott Its never taken camping out at the front desk for multiple hours and/or multiple calls to the front desk to get an issue fixed as it has multiple times at Disney since 2012 or so. My problem is with the attitude from the front desk 'what do you expect ME to do about it'.

That's Disneys fault for putting CP'ers and other poorly trained staff with zero background in the hotel industry in front line hotel roles.

For the amount Disney charges for a room they can afford to hire the best in the industry to run the hotels. Sure add CP'ers as interns if they are studying hospitality at college.

Perhaps most important this is a RECENT as in post 2012 phenomenon at WDW.

 

[Pixieish]

The problem at Disney is not that appliances occasionally fail it's the battle to get them replaced which makes me angry.

My stays Hilton have not all been trouble free had problems with heat A/C TV's and microwaves and non working high speed internet.

However with Hilton my issues have all been resolved with ONE call to the front desk.

Its expected by business travellers that not every stay will be perfect but its also expected that issues when they arise will be dealt with without inconveniencing the guest.

With Hilton/Marriott Its never taken camping out at the front desk for multiple hours and/or multiple calls to the front desk to get an issue fixed as it has multiple times at Disney since 2012 or so. My problem is with the attitude from the front desk 'what do you expect ME to do about it'.

That's Disneys fault for putting CP'ers and other poorly trained staff with zero background in the hotel industry in front line hotel roles.

For the amount Disney charges for a room they can afford to hire the best in the industry to run the hotels. Sure add CP'ers as interns if they are studying hospitality at college.

Perhaps most important this is a RECENT as in post 2012 phenomenon at WDW.

Agreed. Our big issues were in 2015. I was rather put off that the maintenance guy thought it we were stupid enough to have not messed with the fridge temperature and that we had to call a second time.

As to the front desk issues...unfortunately, I see a lot of complaints about them, and I think a big part of the issue is that CALLING the front desk does nothing as you typically aren't talking to someone physically at the resort...you have to physically go to the front desk, which in some cases isn't always feasible.

I also agree with Disney's placement of employees...the only people on the front lines in the parks and resorts should be those who are knowledgeable and love their jobs because that translates into their behavior.

 

[PizzaPlanet]

Especially since more research on the customs and history of the Polynesian people was performed before and during the making of Moana than any other Disney film.

But that really doesn't matter since this is Adventureland, not World Showcase. The purpose of the Tiki Room is to entertain us, not teach us about Polynesian culture.

 

[ford91exploder]

Agreed. Our big issues were in 2015. I was rather put off that the maintenance guy thought it we were stupid enough to have not messed with the fridge temperature and that we had to call a second time.

As to the front desk issues...unfortunately, I see a lot of complaints about them, and I think a big part of the issue is that CALLING the front desk does nothing as you typically aren't talking to someone physically at the resort...you have to physically go to the front desk, which in some cases isn't always feasible.

I also agree with Disney's placement of employees...the only people on the front lines in the parks and resorts should be those who are knowledgeable and love their jobs because that translates into their behavior.

Exactly so, Does anyone think I really would have cared or even remembered if upon check in at the GV my dead refrigerator had been replaced promptly If the desk had said go to the park it will be replaced by time you get back.

Hey stuff croaks IRL i figure out WHY stuff croaks and how to prevent in future

No instead i was told SOMEONE had to be there. So waved off the rest of the gang because i have thickest skin and sharpest teeth in the family. and sat in room for an hour. When I found desk had not even called i then camped out by front desk until tech arrived hours later turns out for 'efficiency' and loss prevention large appliances are stored in a central warehouse (guest satisfaction be dammed as usual at WDW) now i can see having the majority of them in a warehouse
But not having a local spare or two onsite is insane.

The problem is im PAYING for the time at Disney and Disney is wasting it.

So i missed meal with family and an evening at the MK.

Disney certainly created an unforgertable moment there...

 

[jt04]

I'll be honest, at first I was really excited for TSL, but after seeing the model and each of the attractions/venues, I'm not overly impressed.

Perhaps you should see how your children like it before passing judgement.

 

[Lets Respect]

That's Disneys fault for putting CP'ers and other poorly trained staff with zero background in the hotel industry in front line hotel roles.

We were staying in a DVC that we got through Disney (as we're not DVC members)...and as usual, daily housekeeping didn't show up. So I go down to the front desk, because everyone knows you have to go to the front desk even though at every other hotel chain you just call...Anyway, the 20 year old young woman at the Front Desk tells me that DVC doesn't get daily housekeeping like she knows what she is talking about. I then proceed to educate her that when you rent DVC through Disney you get daily housekeeping like any other hotel guest. LOL what a joke

 

[Pixieish]

Perhaps you should see how your children like it before passing judgement.

Oh, I'm 100% positive they're going to love it. It just looks very empty comparatively speaking in relation to other lands.

 

[Pixieish]

Exactly so, Does anyone think I really would have cared or even remembered if upon check in at the GV my dead refrigerator had been replaced promptly If the desk had said go to the park it will be replaced by time you get back.

Hey stuff croaks IRL i figure out WHY stuff croaks and how to prevent in future

No instead i was told SOMEONE had to be there. So waved off the rest of the gang because i have thickest skin and sharpest teeth in the family. and sat in room for an hour. When I found desk had not even called i then camped out by front desk until tech arrived hours later turns out for 'efficiency' and loss prevention large appliances are stored in a central warehouse (guest satisfaction be dammed as usual at WDW) now i can see having the majority of them in a warehouse
But not having a local spare or two onsite is insane.

The problem is im PAYING for the time at Disney and Disney is wasting it.

So i missed meal with family and an evening at the MK.

Disney certainly created an unforgertable moment there...

Ohhhh....CBR had some...I just had to call maintenance (I think it fell under housekeeping's phone number) twice.