Um am I missing the crime that was committed? The situation was not tolerable I totally agree, but the police really?
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Have I Become Jaded?
- Thread starter Jeremy P
- Start date
GoofGoof
Premium Member
Credit card theft is a crime and yes, the police should be involved.
Pixieish
Well-Known Member
I was a victim of identity theft (the person used my SS# to file their taxes), and the first thing I was told to do was report to the local police. Next was to notify the credit reporting agencies and any credit card companies/banks.
copcarguyp71
Well-Known Member
Credit card information stolen from the room and used for online purchases...yes, that is a crime....see the following post quote
copcarguyp71
Well-Known Member
Last year a mouse keeper went into my wife's stuff, and found a credit card she had hidden in the dresser. They charged $50 to an online purchase to a catalog of some sort. We were given nothing but our $50 refunded on the card. After the trip I spoke with a woman I know in customer services, and she got us the free dinning plan before it was released, although if I hadn't dealt with this wonderful woman before, I doubt we would have got anything. As far as the parks being crowded, there is really nothing they can do about that. Sucks your trip wasn't magical, but don't let that deter you from going back.
Yes..breaking the law is reason for police involvement
WondersOfLife
Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
The busses and management were pretty nice during fall break and late July for me...It was more crowded during the holiday weekend in October than it was in late July, I will say. But if everything is planned accordingly, you can honestly do everything you really want to do. You just can't be expecting to do EVERYthing at each park in only one day anymore (except HS. That's perfectly doable.)
Maybe one day we can get our empty parks back when Uni and Disney stop competing with each other... Because the main reason why Disney and Uni used to be pretty empty and have slow times is because there were many years where both parks just didn't get... Anything. Then Harry Potter happened and it shot up for both companies from there.
So the downside to having no crowds tho, could potentially mean that there would be hardly any new additions anywhere for several years until one of the two companies starts another theme park war cranking out as many new rides and lands as possible.
This is all my perspective. I know there are other factors as well.
Maybe one day we can get our empty parks back when Uni and Disney stop competing with each other... Because the main reason why Disney and Uni used to be pretty empty and have slow times is because there were many years where both parks just didn't get... Anything. Then Harry Potter happened and it shot up for both companies from there.
So the downside to having no crowds tho, could potentially mean that there would be hardly any new additions anywhere for several years until one of the two companies starts another theme park war cranking out as many new rides and lands as possible.
This is all my perspective. I know there are other factors as well.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
Especially in a case like this where it happens at a hotel. There could be a pattern of thefts that if nobody reports them are never linked together. Recently they had a woman stealing strollers from Disney parks. She was eventually caught but without the people reporting the initial thefts she may have continued to steal things without getting caught. Once they knew to look out for her it was easier to stop her.
Pixieish
Well-Known Member
You have no idea how many times I've warned people that stroller stealing is a thing...they never believe me.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
TXDisney
Well-Known Member
I’ll start by saying that WDW is very expensive and I know that bc we go twice a year. But that’s what my budget allows. I know not everyone has that budget so I’m not stupid enough to think that. What I will say is staying at Deluxe Resorts is Worth the money. Like the poster stated... transportation can be an issue. You lose a good amount of time if staying at a moderate or value resort. For us we change up which resorts we use but usually always deluxe and that’s mainly bc of transportation. My advice for people who deluxe isn’t in there budget it to just not go as often. If you go once a year and stay moderate, go every 18 months and stay deluxe. Your experience will be better.
Now regarding crowds. WDW is as busy as it’s ever been. There’s really no “down” times like there used to be 5 years ago. But there are lower crowd times than others. If you have kids those times will pretty much always be when your kids are supposed to be at school. I’m not going to tell anyone how they should manage that. But it’s a realization. Your going to have to deal with crowds if it’s a general time a lot of people are vacationing (spring break, thanksgiving, Christmas, summer, etc) So if you want the lower crowd times you have to take your kids out of school.
Now regarding crowds. WDW is as busy as it’s ever been. There’s really no “down” times like there used to be 5 years ago. But there are lower crowd times than others. If you have kids those times will pretty much always be when your kids are supposed to be at school. I’m not going to tell anyone how they should manage that. But it’s a realization. Your going to have to deal with crowds if it’s a general time a lot of people are vacationing (spring break, thanksgiving, Christmas, summer, etc) So if you want the lower crowd times you have to take your kids out of school.
mitchk
Well-Known Member
Disneyworld_here_we_come
Active Member
This is exactly what we did. We waited until we could afford to stay at a deluxe, then used David's (thank god for that service) and took our kids partially out of school. It was totally worth it. That's why I'm not planning another trip until 2020, time to save up for another deluxe and I want to do the Xmas party but not over Xmas break so they'll miss more school
IanDLBZF
Well-Known Member
IMHO I feel as if the Deluxe Villas are typically cheaper than the Deluxe Resort itself if you are doing a 1-night stay or with a discount. I'm staying at BRV on 12/14-12/15 with an AP Discount!This is exactly what we did. We waited until we could afford to stay at a deluxe, then used David's (thank god for that service) and took our kids partially out of school. It was totally worth it. That's why I'm not planning another trip until 2020, time to save up for another deluxe and I want to do the Xmas party but not over Xmas break so they'll miss more school
Disneyworld_here_we_come
Active Member
I liked your whole post but I did want to highlight this one sentence. Anyone complaining about long lines at WDW should never, ever step foot in Legoland. I think it’s a really cool park and I loved the miniature area but the lines for rides were outrageous when we were there in June. The queues were also not setup like Disney so the wait was both hot and boring.
We just got back from WDW and while the crowds were bigger than I expected for the time of year they were very manageable. We did nearly every ride and attraction in all 4 parks over 8 days and never waited more than 25 minutes for anything with a little creative FP planning. The only exception was Rockin Roller Coaster when half of my party went on because the sign for the standby line said 20 minutes but it was actually broken and the line ended up being close to an hour. The CM at the front apologized and said they were trying to fix it. I was not personally in that line so I don’t count it
I also agree with your general point that the attitude and tone from some people here is over the top jaded. It amazes me that some people have such a negative experience but still visit every year or multiple times a year. If I had half the issues some people claim to have I’d never be back. I can tell you that the standard response will be that the people complaining are true fans of the parks and upset to see things not hold up to the standards of the past. You may also be told that if your oldest trip that you remember is 2010 that you don’t have a point of reference for the true golden age of WDW in the 80s and 90s. This is a somewhat valid point. The overall quality has gone down hill (with the rest of society). If you compare WDW of today to most other theme or amusememt parks it’s still the gold standard (along with Universal) but if you compare WDW to itself 25 years ago it doesn’t stand up as well.
I completely agree. You're right that I don't remember the Golden age of Disney. It's probably a blessing and a curse. We did go to Disneyland a number of times when I was growing up in the 80's (we lived in Vegas so not a far drive), and of course the lines weren't 45 minutes long or the crowds what they are now but I don't very vivid memories. I personally just can't imagine going back repeatedly if I was unhappy, especially with the cost.
That being said I do appreciate people giving it several chances. When we went to universal in 2010 we had a miserable experience. I contemplated not going this time. I'm grateful we gave it another chance because we had a great time this year. One bad experience is not always indicative of a bad trip.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
I agree with this. We took the kids out of school last week to avoid the crowds and heat. I also had good luck with the end of August since the Southern schools go back already but my kids are still off. We avoided huge crowds but definitely not the heat. I bought into DVC mostly because I wanted to stay at deluxe resorts but not pay the deluxe prices. I agree on transportation. It’s always nice when you can avoid buses for a park or 2.
I am very happy with my visits and I still can’t imagine going multiple times a year because of the prices
. I am on an every other year plan which keeps things fresh and allows me to save a few bucks in the off year.
CRO-Magnum
Active Member
I'm a seasoned Disney guest veteran, former cast member in CRO, and former strategy consultant on a variety of projects to Disney Parks & Resorts. The simple fact, and I've posted about this before, is Disney changed their guest strategy over a decade ago. Originally Disney was focused on lifetime guest value; maximizing the spend per guest over their lifetime. Now their strategy is maximum spend per trip. Bean counters did the math and realized they couldn't feed the investment arms race beast and keep the required margins to make up for shortfalls in filmed and TV entertainment. The cornerstone of the strategy is a new 'belief' that guests should be visiting the resort once a decade, and by having that long to save, price should not be an object (internally they talk about it as a 'once in a lifetime vacation' but the bean counters need people to repeat it every 10 yrs to ring the register). If you only go every 10yrs, the capital investment can be stretched, although Universal has really messed things up for them. It's why we've seen the dramatic up-tick in 'extra' ticketed events. Disney's ultimate plan to address over-crowding is to keep ratcheting up prices and exclusive Disney owned property benefits until attendance is 'manageable' without negatively impacting revenue. Like many others, our family of six used to go twice a year through 2009, but then stretched it to 2011, then 2015 and now we're looking at 2019 before SWGE opens on the assumption attendance will dip while guests await SWGE. Our hope is to miss what we believe will be absolute insanity between the opening of SWGE and WDW's 50th. Frankly WDW's just not a good enough value anymore on mildly busy days and you're wildly upside down in the equation on busy days.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
This sounds about right. There has definitley been a shift away from regular visitors. Look at how they keep increasing the AP prices and decreasing the benefits. I do wonder if maybe the growth of DVC has added to this shift as well. A large number of regular, frequent visitors have bought into DVC. Now the hotels are more focused on marketing to the once in a lifetime or infrequent visitors since they lost those regular recurring visitors. It also makes sense that they keep adding more upcharge events. Regular, frequent visitors may not think those events are worth the money each visit, but if you are a “once in a lifetime” type visitor you are more likely to splurge a little. You also would be a lot more likely to spend a few extra bucks to save a bunch of time since you don’t know if or when you will be back.
Chef Mickey
Well-Known Member
Where did you graduate from law school?
I’ll let you know the outcome if it ever happens and stand by my original statement that I’d obtain legal council and sue. I’m not worried about lawyer fees or losing.
spock8113
Well-Known Member
I think it’s the new management with Eiger since Eisner departed.
I also think it’s an ebb and flow as they get a handle on managing.
The new guys get in charge; they make changes and then create new hotels, rides and themed areas while implementing various procedural changes (recentralizing and raising prices) to increase attendance. While this is going on, their management slips and the cycle starts to backslide.
Employees become angry over what more is expected of them and feel like they have no say, just do.
People start to complain and eventually things begin to improve.
Remember about 15 years ago when you got the clipboard interview every time you entered and left the park.
And just where did the meal plan go?
I think we’re approaching the bottom of that cycle. This bottom may last longer until all the new additions are completed.
They are also taking on far too many projects at the same time but have this idea that people will get all excited about the buzz of new things.
With that in mind, going to Disney in Florida is LESS enticing and I will probably spend my tourist money elsewhere.
And just wait when the next recession hits!
MinnieVans? That’s just sponsor/corporate pressure from GM.
They should have left the old test track alone. GM got in there and made it worse.
GM has been getting government help for decades going back to the EV-1 in the early 80's.
With less government help they need big deals and Disney is the perfect place.
Siemens has a better grasp for corporate sponsorship since they supply all the electronic and computer controls for most of the rides.
Pepsi was the original sponsor of Small World and GE, of course, is the Carousel of Progress. These are all old themes from 20th century World’s Fairs where companies sponsor rides quid pro quo for advertising.
Jaded, absolutely and I’ve been that way for a while, especially after my daughter did the college program a couple of times.
But I do return and I do like to go, but four or five days is enough for me, then I need to change my scenery. They get my 2 Grand.
Forums like this get the word out about how people feel about their Disney vacations and they DO read this stuff.
Image and public perception is their bread and butter.
I also think it’s an ebb and flow as they get a handle on managing.
The new guys get in charge; they make changes and then create new hotels, rides and themed areas while implementing various procedural changes (recentralizing and raising prices) to increase attendance. While this is going on, their management slips and the cycle starts to backslide.
Employees become angry over what more is expected of them and feel like they have no say, just do.
People start to complain and eventually things begin to improve.
Remember about 15 years ago when you got the clipboard interview every time you entered and left the park.
And just where did the meal plan go?
I think we’re approaching the bottom of that cycle. This bottom may last longer until all the new additions are completed.
They are also taking on far too many projects at the same time but have this idea that people will get all excited about the buzz of new things.
With that in mind, going to Disney in Florida is LESS enticing and I will probably spend my tourist money elsewhere.
And just wait when the next recession hits!
MinnieVans? That’s just sponsor/corporate pressure from GM.
They should have left the old test track alone. GM got in there and made it worse.
GM has been getting government help for decades going back to the EV-1 in the early 80's.
With less government help they need big deals and Disney is the perfect place.
Siemens has a better grasp for corporate sponsorship since they supply all the electronic and computer controls for most of the rides.
Pepsi was the original sponsor of Small World and GE, of course, is the Carousel of Progress. These are all old themes from 20th century World’s Fairs where companies sponsor rides quid pro quo for advertising.
Jaded, absolutely and I’ve been that way for a while, especially after my daughter did the college program a couple of times.
But I do return and I do like to go, but four or five days is enough for me, then I need to change my scenery. They get my 2 Grand.
Forums like this get the word out about how people feel about their Disney vacations and they DO read this stuff.
Image and public perception is their bread and butter.
Not sure where you are going with this. GM were sponsors of the attraction since its debut in 1999.