Disney disappointment

Just got back from Labor Day weekend trip to Disney world. Stayed at the all star sports resort. I must say being annual pass holders for 3 years now I am quickly comming to the conclusion that 1) they do not care about pass holders 2) they just care about the almighty dollar 3) customer service is truly becoming horrible. Don't get me wrong not all cast members are bad but each time we as a family go to the resort it gets worse. I have an 8 year old daughter and one of the coolest things was the towel design or drawing that was waiting for you when you entered your room the last two times there's been nothing. The room was ok with the exception of the peeling paint on the shower ceiling that was about twelve inches long that tells me it's been there for a while. I know that it is hard to do repairs everyday on rooms but that peeling paint has been there for awhile as well as the rusty trim ring on the sprinkler head. The maid on Saturday never replaced towels or wash cloths and the soaps were gone and not replaced. Same for Sunday. We live in southwest Florida so we are used to summer thunderstorms and being involved in youth sports fully aware of lightning protocols. We were in the pool everyday in the afternoon when the lightning and storms started to roll in and my wife looks at her weather bug app and pulls up a tower 3/10ths of a mile away and it showed lightning at 2 miles. So she asked the life guard what was disneys Lightning plan the lifeguard said the shut the pools down at ten miles and that it was the head lifeguards call well I'll tell you the only time the pool closed is when it rained hard had nothing to do with the Lightning. We watched from our room which was just outside the pool and watched people swim as the thunder and lightning was all around us.
Up at the food court just outside on Friday night there was a marching band that had no less than two dozen pizzas. They were polite not loud just having a good time when they were done they cleaned up after themselves and stacked the boxes next to the trash. This was at 10pm at 10:15 the next morning they were still stacked there. Good thing the band picked up after themselves because the whole area would have been trashed also. Question do they ever wash the outside of the busses, monorails or boats ? Every time we go the boats and monorails look gross (5th trip ther this year). I don't expect it done everyday but come on. Ups every truck passes through a wash everyday when they return so it can be done. Lots of rude people but that's not disneys fault. Sad I look forward to all our trips but when I can get a room of property that costs 50 bucks and it's as clean and most times cleaner than ones on property. Thats sad probably won't renew our passes.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Thanks for giving the update.

 

[POLY LOVER]

Just got back from Labor Day weekend trip to Disney world. Stayed at the all star sports resort. I must say being annual pass holders for 3 years now I am quickly comming to the conclusion that 1) they do not care about pass holders 2) they just care about the almighty dollar 3) customer service is truly becoming horrible. Don't get me wrong not all cast members are bad but each time we as a family go to the resort it gets worse. I have an 8 year old daughter and one of the coolest things was the towel design or drawing that was waiting for you when you entered your room the last two times there's been nothing. The room was ok with the exception of the peeling paint on the shower ceiling that was about twelve inches long that tells me it's been there for a while. I know that it is hard to do repairs everyday on rooms but that peeling paint has been there for awhile as well as the rusty trim ring on the sprinkler head. The maid on Saturday never replaced towels or wash cloths and the soaps were gone and not replaced. Same for Sunday. We live in southwest Florida so we are used to summer thunderstorms and being involved in youth sports fully aware of lightning protocols. We were in the pool everyday in the afternoon when the lightning and storms started to roll in and my wife looks at her weather bug app and pulls up a tower 3/10ths of a mile away and it showed lightning at 2 miles. So she asked the life guard what was disneys Lightning plan the lifeguard said the shut the pools down at ten miles and that it was the head lifeguards call well I'll tell you the only time the pool closed is when it rained hard had nothing to do with the Lightning. We watched from our room which was just outside the pool and watched people swim as the thunder and lightning was all around us.
Up at the food court just outside on Friday night there was a marching band that had no less than two dozen pizzas. They were polite not loud just having a good time when they were done they cleaned up after themselves and stacked the boxes next to the trash. This was at 10pm at 10:15 the next morning they were still stacked there. Good thing the band picked up after themselves because the whole area would have been trashed also. Question do they ever wash the outside of the busses, monorails or boats ? Every time we go the boats and monorails look gross (5th trip ther this year). I don't expect it done everyday but come on. Ups every truck passes through a wash everyday when they return so it can be done. Lots of rude people but that's not disneys fault. Sad I look forward to all our trips but when I can get a room of property that costs 50 bucks and it's as clean and most times cleaner than ones on property. Thats sad probably won't renew our passes.

Did you speak with the manager? It could be helpful and they may have had some answers for you. They do want to hear these complaints and they do respond I can attest to that.

 

[smk]

Would the towels signing card be new? I have never signed one before but it has been two years since I was there last. IF my room is not clean, I call. It is possible that over a Holiday weekend they were short staffed.

 

[Mickey5150]

At WDW if you want you towels clean you leave them down, if you want to save water just hang them up and they won't be cleaned.

 

[POLY LOVER]

At WDW if you want you towels clean you leave them down, if you want to save water just hang them up and they won't be cleaned.

thats what I remember having to do. I think there is a card in the bathroom that states the procedure for wanting new towels.

 

[POLY LOVER]

here is a question I understand the bean counter cost saving move of no longer doing the towel figures in the rooms. So I know someone calculated the dollar savings of no longer doing this. How do the bean counters calculated the guest satisfaction impact of not doing it? This is the problem when you are trying to improve EPS for wall street you start taking away the little things that add up to big things eventually.

Have they stopped this in only the value resorts or has it stopped sysytem wide?

 

[Mickey5150]

here is a question I understand the bean counter cost saving move of no longer doing the towel figures in the rooms. So I know someone calculated the dollar savings of no longer doing this. How do the bean counters calculated the guest satisfaction impact of not doing it? This is the problem when you are trying to improve EPS for wall street you start taking away the little things that add up to big things eventually.

Have they stopped this in only the value resorts or has it stopped sysytem wide?

This is standard practice with most hotels I visit. This is something that gives the guest a choice. They can have new towels every day if they want or they can decide that using the same towel is fine. The thing about not washing the towels is that the hotels always present as a way to help save water and energy, which will help save the environment. I've never had an issue at WDW. I leave my towels up all trip and they do take the time to rehang them nicely for me.

 

[P_Radden]

We just came back from WDW, stayed at POFQ. My only gripe is that I was paying over $200/night and had the worst toilet paper I've ever seen in my entire life. I mean, come on Disney!! What is magical about thin 2-ply sand paper?!

Other than that, every cast member was friendly, our room was nice (except for a terrible shower head that sprayed unevenly and could not be adjusted), the food court was clean and well maintained etc.

I'm sorry about your experience, I agree with others that maybe you could have alerted the manager about the painting issue. We randomly met our manager at POFQ, named Austin, and he was extremely nice and helpful. I would definitely stay at POFQ again, I'll just bring my own TP next time.

 

[JIMINYCR]

We just came back from WDW, stayed at POFQ. My only gripe is that I was paying over $200/night and had the worst toilet paper I've ever seen in my entire life. I mean, come on Disney!! What is magical about thin 2-ply sand paper?!

After our first trip we learned.... Since then we ALWAYS add soft toilet paper to our packing list, and bring our own.......

 

[POLY LOVER]

This is standard practice with most hotels I visit. This is something that gives the guest a choice. They can have new towels every day if they want or they can decide that using the same towel is fine. The thing about not washing the towels is that the hotels always present as a way to help save water and energy, which will help save the environment. I've never had an issue at WDW. I leave my towels up all trip and they do take the time to rehang them nicely for me.

I think you misunderstood, I know how the cleaning policy works, its the towel figures they used to leave on your bed I was talking about.

 

[Mickey5150]

I think you misunderstood, I know how the cleaning policy works, its the towel figures they used to leave on your bed I was talking about.

Yep, lol, when you wrote towel figures I thought you were talking about the monetary figures for towels.

 

[sxeensweet]

here is a question I understand the bean counter cost saving move of no longer doing the towel figures in the rooms. So I know someone calculated the dollar savings of no longer doing this. How do the bean counters calculated the guest satisfaction impact of not doing it? This is the problem when you are trying to improve EPS for wall street you start taking away the little things that add up to big things eventually.

Have they stopped this in only the value resorts or has it stopped sysytem wide?

It never was done for everyone. We have visited quite a few times over the years and only had a towel animal once ever! It was never intended to be for all guests in every room at every resort. It was always just something extra that SOME mousekeepers did. We always stayed at Deluxe resorts and 1 was done I think back in 2013 a butterfly that I still have with a nice quote on a card. So it was always for many years a hit or miss thing, and yes they do still do them as I have seen people still talk about getting one. The only things we usually get is a big Mickey head made with 3 large towels each time but no special animals most all visits.

 

[rob0519]

We just spent 5 nights at the GF.Had nowhere near the experience you did. Both our rooms got the washcloth animals each night. No peeling paint in either room. I will say that last year at the CR there were room service trays on the hall floor for almost 48 hours. I did call to complain and they were gone within 30 minutes. I will agree with you on the general maintenance of the monorail, buses, boats and most shops. Definitely on a stead downhill slide over the past few years.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

I think part of this lies with improper expectations being set.

Disney has different types of resorts that cater to different types of guest. All-Stars, POP, Music et all, were created to go after the I-Drive, Irlo Bronson crowd staying at the Holiday Inns, Hampton Inns, Farifield, and Hilton Gardens of the world. Disney's "Value's" offer an affordable place to stay, on Disney property, with Disney benefits. That being said, they are operated on separate budgets, with separate revenue goals, each with certain obstacles (just like the Hampton's and Fairfield's of the world) to overcome relative to maintenance and staffing budgets.

I'd still take a value Disney resort over a Hampton on Irlo Bronson all day every day if the price was within $20-25 a night. It is cleaner, provides better service, and affords you an experience you can't get off property. I get it. You may have a Pop Warner football team eating 20 pizza's on a Tuesday night. And maybe, from a staffing perspective, there was not adequate staff to accommodate. Or maybe that particular individual responsible for cleaning was irresponsible. It's going to happen. It's equally as likely that while all that was happening, a South American Tour group over at the Hampton on Irlo Bronson was ordering 30 pizzas and throwing them at the roof, while chanting incoherently, and no Hampton staff member did anything to control them.

You cannot set expectations of a Disney Value resort to give you the same type of experience as a moderate. And you can't expect a moderate to give you the same experience as a Deluxe.

Does Disney value the "almighty dollar". Yes, they do. But they also realize the importance of giving you an experience in accordance with the vacation wallet you are offering. They are not going to lose money doing it. When you are staying at a $100 night hotel, they have the budget of a $100 a night hotel. When you are staying at a $400 a night hotel, guess what - the budget is a little bigger, the property is a little nicer, the staff is a little larger.

 

[sxeensweet]

I think part of this lies with improper expectations being set.

Disney has different types of resorts that cater to different types of guest. All-Stars, POP, Music et all, were created to go after the I-Drive, Irlo Bronson crowd staying at the Holiday Inns, Hampton Inns, Farifield, and Hilton Gardens of the world. Disney's "Value's" offer an affordable place to stay, on Disney property, with Disney benefits. That being said, they are operated on separate budgets, with separate revenue goals, each with certain obstacles (just like the Hampton's and Fairfield's of the world) to overcome relative to maintenance and staffing budgets.

I'd still take a value Disney resort over a Hampton on Irlo Bronson all day every day if the price was within $20-25 a night. It is cleaner, provides better service, and affords you an experience you can't get off property. I get it. You may have a Pop Warner football team eating 20 pizza's on a Tuesday night. And maybe, from a staffing perspective, there was not adequate staff to accommodate. Or maybe that particular individual responsible for cleaning was irresponsible. It's going to happen. It's equally as likely that while all that was happening, a South American Tour group over at the Hampton on Irlo Bronson was ordering 30 pizzas and throwing them at the roof, while chanting incoherently, and no Hampton staff member did anything to control them.

You cannot set expectations of a Disney Value resort to give you the same type of experience as a moderate. And you can't expect a moderate to give you the same experience as a Deluxe.

Does Disney value the "almighty dollar". Yes, they do. But they also realize the importance of giving you an experience in accordance with the vacation wallet you are offering. They are not going to lose money doing it. When you are staying at a $100 night hotel, they have the budget of a $100 a night hotel. When you are staying at a $400 a night hotel, guess what - the budget is a little bigger, the property is a little nicer, the staff is a little larger.

Well said and I agree completely!

 

[sean4066]

I think part of this lies with improper expectations being set.

Disney has different types of resorts that cater to different types of guest. All-Stars, POP, Music et all, were created to go after the I-Drive, Irlo Bronson crowd staying at the Holiday Inns, Hampton Inns, Farifield, and Hilton Gardens of the world. Disney's "Value's" offer an affordable place to stay, on Disney property, with Disney benefits. That being said, they are operated on separate budgets, with separate revenue goals, each with certain obstacles (just like the Hampton's and Fairfield's of the world) to overcome relative to maintenance and staffing budgets.

I'd still take a value Disney resort over a Hampton on Irlo Bronson all day every day if the price was within $20-25 a night. It is cleaner, provides better service, and affords you an experience you can't get off property. I get it. You may have a Pop Warner football team eating 20 pizza's on a Tuesday night. And maybe, from a staffing perspective, there was not adequate staff to accommodate. Or maybe that particular individual responsible for cleaning was irresponsible. It's going to happen. It's equally as likely that while all that was happening, a South American Tour group over at the Hampton on Irlo Bronson was ordering 30 pizzas and throwing them at the roof, while chanting incoherently, and no Hampton staff member did anything to control them.

You cannot set expectations of a Disney Value resort to give you the same type of experience as a moderate. And you can't expect a moderate to give you the same experience as a Deluxe.

Does Disney value the "almighty dollar". Yes, they do. But they also realize the importance of giving you an experience in accordance with the vacation wallet you are offering. They are not going to lose money doing it. When you are staying at a $100 night hotel, they have the budget of a $100 a night hotel. When you are staying at a $400 a night hotel, guess what - the budget is a little bigger, the property is a little nicer, the staff is a little larger.

Disney set the expectations not me!
So if there was mold or stains on the walls or carpet it's ok because it's a value resort and if I want clean rooms and property I should have spent more? Ok I guess. Up until the last year we always had something waiting for us in the room when we arrived. It's just another thing that Disney is not keeping up with. There was a time when you went there it didn't matter where you stayed, how much you spent you got an amazing experience. Disney does not care about annual pass holders each year they take more and more benefits away. They also do not care about domestic tourists. It's all about the international tourist. To say that if I spent more on my room you would have a clean room and resort is crazy. I choose to stay there because of my kids they play sports and like the theming. It not about the money. going by your logic then if I only buy a base ticket to enter the parks then I should not expect the same level of experience that you would get if you purchased let's say a park hopper ticket because I spent more I should expect and get more. No matter what over the last three years we have been to Disney 23 times. And each time we go we see changes that ruin the experience.
Oh and by the way that room that I just spent 100.00 a night on a week ago magically is worth 250+ in December .

 

[jaklgreen]

No, the rooms should not have mold and dirt in them, no matter what hotel you stay at. I have stayed at WDW 25+ times and have had mold in the bathroom when I have checked in. But the first thing I do is talk to management and get them to clean it. They have even traded out a mattress for me that was so lumpy it felt like I was laying on rocks, but I was nice about it when I talked to the manager and they fixed it right away. Things happen, either it gets missed(or someone gets lazy) whatever. But you need to say something, nicely, and not just complain about it after the fact on line. What are we going to do about it? I also always tip the maid a few bucks and we always come back to clean rooms with lots of soap, shampoo and towels. I can not stress enough that they are more then willing to help you if you are nice about things. If I have an issue I always smile and start with a complement and then ask if they could please do this for me. Works every time.

 

[mousehockey37]

The towel animals have been discontinued. There was a thread about that on here sometime earlier this summer.

As others said, did you speak with management at the time of your visit? This was your 5th trip this year and you're just coming out about these issues now?

Also, with 1 post, I'm not gonna call troll just yet, but I'll give ya the Katiebug status for now...

 

[jaklgreen]

The towel animals have been discontinued. There was a thread about that on here sometime earlier this summer.

As others said, did you speak with management at the time of your visit? This was your 5th trip this year and you're just coming out about these issues now?

Also, with 1 post, I'm not gonna call troll just yet, but I'll give ya the Katiebug status for now...

What? They discontinued towel animals? I had not heard that. I wouldn't be surprised if they said it is not worth it because people would complain if they did not get one. Probably another one of those things that a few jerks ruined it for the rest of the people.