Not the Trip We Wanted :(

LSUxStitch

Well-Known Member
I'm sorry for the long post, but there are many details to let out....

We left for WDW this past Sunday the 19th, arrived in the afternoon, and was in the parks from 5-3AM :). I was a happy camper, Monday came and yet another day of excitement. We were the end of an unfortunate call at 6 am on Tuesday morning from my sister in law telling my wife that their mother had to be rushed into ICU that morning. We were scheduled to be there until Saturday the 25th, but had to make the hard decision to leave our trip only a day and half into the trip.

We were staying at the PO:FQ resort, so I went down to the front desk as early as I could to see what our options were for the trip. I was promptly stopped before reaching the desk and told to call WDW Reservations line for further action, as they couldn't do anything at the resort to help me. After being on hold for a bit (mind you, my nerves were bad as is), I was told on by the person on the other end that she didn't know why they told me to call her, that I should have spoken to a manager. I tried telling her that I tried, but was told they could do nothing for me. She helped me best she could, told us that our unused room nights would be refunded at the rate I paid, but my dining plan (9 snacks remaining, 8 sit downs remaining, and 10 QS remaining) would not be refunded :(. That surprised me as its a REALLY expensive cost. I was also told at the time my tickets would be not refunded, but I could add the non-expiring onto them to save them ($220 a ticket). Well, at this point, I had a sickness in my stomach from the info just told and the amount of money I was about to lose, but she told me to find the manager at the resort to figure the checking out early thing.

So I did just that, went in and was stopped again my a middle person before the desk and asked if I could be helped. I told her I'd like to speak to a manager, but she insisted she could help. I told her that the WDW Reservations line they told me to call earlier recommended I speak to a manager. She made a little bit of a face and went to "prep" the manager before he spoke to me, which I thought was weird, knowing that she had no idea what my situation was... Anyways, he told me that they had no control over the room refund, since they haven't been paid for my room yet (it's paid to Disney and I guess they pay the resorts? I have no idea) BUT, he did tell me he would refund the remaining 5 day hopper passes for my wife and I and I was excited...until he told me the refund would only be $266 for both and the two days we used cost nearly $500+!!. He explained they break the package up like I bought a 2 day and refund the rest. To me, that seems VERY sketchy...since they were going to charge me for a 7 day package to add the non-expiring on, even though I used 2 days already.

We haven't gotten the amount we're receiving for the unused rooms, but I have a feeling they'll break that into some cheap cost as well :(

It just really sucks bc the wife and I REALLY needed this vacation due to other bad things happening as of late and we had to cut a 7 day vacation into a day and half vacation with only 1 full day in the parks. On top of that, for what we paid to change our return flights, this day and half vacation is probably only going to cost us $2280. That's with the refund of the 266 dollars in tickets and I THINK we paid 145 a night for the room. So if my guestimation is correct, our 3 day trip cost only 500 less than a 7 day trip. Jeeze...I'm getting queazy again....

tl;dr Had to leave 7 day trip early due to family medical emergency after only 2 days, got run around from disney, what I feel is a rip off of a return on tickets, no refund on dining, and my trip from 19-21st is going to cost me 2300 compared to 2800 I originally paid for the 7 day trip :(
 

psukardi

Well-Known Member
Really, How about doing the RIGHT thing because its the RIGHT thing to do.

Trip insurance in many cases does NOT cover illness of family members when I was still wet behind the ears I was a Certified Property and Casualty Underwriter so I'm VERY familar with insurance. Trip insurance is more designed to protect against resorts being unavailable, transit and hotel worker strikes, Flight cancellations and other unforseen events like the fire marshall closing the resort etc.

The right thing to do is make money for the shareholders.

Is it a crappy situation? No doubt. Do I feel bad for the OP? You bet. But there are avenues one can go down and precautions one can take. Those being things like trip insurance. The dining plan is essentially pre-paying for your meals. If your kid had an upset stomach and you couldn't use your sit downs are you going to ask for a refund on those at the end of the trip? Are you going to try to cash out snack credits?

Life happens. It's unfortunate , but it happens.

At the end of the day Disney is in the game to make $$$. No more, no less.
 
Upvote 0

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
The right thing to do is make money for the shareholders.

Is it a crappy situation? No doubt. Do I feel bad for the OP? You bet. But there are avenues one can go down and precautions one can take. Those being things like trip insurance. The dining plan is essentially pre-paying for your meals. If your kid had an upset stomach and you couldn't use your sit downs are you going to ask for a refund on those at the end of the trip? Are you going to try to cash out snack credits?

Life happens. It's unfortunate , but it happens.

At the end of the day Disney is in the game to make $$$. No more, no less.

I wish I had a DISLIKE button, The problem with American business is that if it would raise the share price they would cheerfully order the execution of their employees on a pay per view on national TV. And if you notice American companies are being acquired by more forward thinking non-US companies

The interesting thing is non-US companies VALUE their customers and try to do the right thing by them and not hide behind the letter of the law, In return the majority of the customers reward the loyalty of the company to them by purchasing their product even when competitors offer them 'deals'

Example Mitsukoshi - established in 1638 is the Japanese equivalent of Sears the difference is they did not c--p on their customers as Sears did for a few quarters of profit. Sears will be history in a couple of years. Mitsukoshi will still be around for our great-grandchildren. And yes Mitsukoshi is ALSO in the business of making money but they are in it for the LONG haul not the next quarter.
 
Upvote 0

luv

Well-Known Member
I had to leave once for a medical emergency. The airlines charged me like $150/person for changing the flight.

I was worried about my son and never did the math, but Disney said I was getting a refund for all the unused nights. They were nice about it, too.
 
Upvote 0

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
I had to leave once for a medical emergency. The airlines charged me like $150/person for changing the flight.

I was worried about my son and never did the math, but Disney said I was getting a refund for all the unused nights. They were nice about it, too.

That was the 'Old' Disney - the New Disney - well...,

The airlines are another story there are advantages to being elite on any given airline having them waive change fees is one of them, Even there the Airline is making a tacit statement that your continued REGULAR business is worth more to them than collecting a fee who are you going to fly next time their competitor because they have a $10 lower fare or them...
 
Upvote 0

psukardi

Well-Known Member
How does bad publicity and the threat of losing a lifelong customer help the shareholders?
Because the bad publicity will be buried as their PR team is far better than a person on a blog. And for every 1 person that they upset and vow will never return, there are 50 new people waiting to take their place.

"Off-peak" is slowly going away at Disney. It's more crowded than ever before and that's with the increase in prices across the board. The mouse will get his one way or another
 
Upvote 0

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
Because the bad publicity will be buried as their PR team is far better than a person on a blog. And for every 1 person that they upset and vow will never return, there are 50 new people waiting to take their place.

"Off-peak" is slowly going away at Disney. It's more crowded than ever before and that's with the increase in prices across the board. The mouse will get his one way or another

A lot of companies have said that and they are no longer around... You keep that up eventually people stop coming will not happen this year or the next. I'm DVC and I never want to go back again, All a failure cascade requires is enough people like me and the PR machine will no longer be able to compensate.
 
Upvote 0

psukardi

Well-Known Member
A lot of companies have said that and they are no longer around... You keep that up eventually people stop coming will not happen this year or the next. I'm DVC and I never want to go back again, All a failure cascade requires is enough people like me and the PR machine will no longer be able to compensate.

Let's face it - there's a reason people are on the phones 6 months in advance hoping to get a sit-down meal in just about every outlet in the park(s) and hotel(s). A lot of companies have said it but they also don't have the PR machine Disney does. ABC and Disney and ESPN will continue to rule with an iron fist. They can have a nice show on ABC about a Disney Princess and then go into a commercial showing the Magic Kingdom and then go back to Mickey Mouse merchandise.

It's not like someone else is going to open up a new park down the road and blow the doors off. I've been to Universal and it's fun. But after you ride the rides there's nothing else to do. Same with sea world. Competition is what knocked out some of those companies.

Places like Sears and Kmart and J.C. Penny failed to modernize and stay ahead of their competitors. Same goes for Kodak and their inability to leverage digital cameras and printing services. This isn't an e-merchant issue, this isn't a logistics issue. This is an OP that's upset that Disney didn't bend the rules for them due to some issues that happened in their life. Do I think Disney could have made a nice PR move by helping them out? Yes. But did they have to do it? Nope.

And I hate to break it to do you all, but minus the Disney fanatics on this board - who's heard this tale of woe? I think there are a lot of ways Disney could improve their brand, but they have no incentive to because it will not impact their bottom line this quarter, so they won't.
 
Upvote 0

LSUxStitch

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Circumstances like yours are exactly what trip insurance is for. You chose to not take it. So sorry about what happened, but you called it a rip off in the original post. If anyone could foresee things like this there would be no need or such thing as trip insurance. I'm not seeing the rip off.

Well, I'm glad you would be able to afford losing 2300 dollars on a busted trip over something you had no control over. I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy, so I won't stoop low enough to wish this upon you.

We booked the trip 3 weeks prior to leaving, there was absolutely NOTHING in the realm of our minds that would have said something like this would have happened. I could see booking something months or year out in advance since there could be anything that can happen in that time. It was 3 weeks and everyone around us was as healthy as they've ever been.

You wouldn't understand the frustration going on in my wife and I's life at the moment and this was just one of many things to happen to us in the past few months, plus I'm sure it would be TMI. Please excuse my rant'ness about this subject, this has just been the cherry on top for us, especially when we booked this vacation to get away from the negative things in our lives at this moment.

Insurance or not though, the run around we've been given and the different answers given by all cast members involved has been inexcusable. Does that give me the right to a full refund, no, but I have shared my distaste over how this has been handled since minute one until the call last night. I've been low key on the phone and with CM's in person (I used to be one in '03, and in reservations at that-albeit dining, so I understand...but I digress) and I don't think I've deserved the attitude, the eye rolling, and the conflicting resolutions to my problems from everyone I've talked to.
 
Upvote 0

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
Let's face it - there's a reason people are on the phones 6 months in advance hoping to get a sit-down meal in just about every outlet in the park(s) and hotel(s). A lot of companies have said it but they also don't have the PR machine Disney does. ABC and Disney and ESPN will continue to rule with an iron fist. They can have a nice show on ABC about a Disney Princess and then go into a commercial showing the Magic Kingdom and then go back to Mickey Mouse merchandise.

It's not like someone else is going to open up a new park down the road and blow the doors off. I've been to Universal and it's fun. But after you ride the rides there's nothing else to do. Same with sea world. Competition is what knocked out some of those companies.

Places like Sears and Kmart and J.C. Penny failed to modernize and stay ahead of their competitors. Same goes for Kodak and their inability to leverage digital cameras and printing services. This isn't an e-merchant issue, this isn't a logistics issue. This is an OP that's upset that Disney didn't bend the rules for them due to some issues that happened in their life. Do I think Disney could have made a nice PR move by helping them out? Yes. But did they have to do it? Nope.

And I hate to break it to do you all, but minus the Disney fanatics on this board - who's heard this tale of woe? I think there are a lot of ways Disney could improve their brand, but they have no incentive to because it will not impact their bottom line this quarter, so they won't.

All these companies listed below had 'Unassailable' brands and markets and now are divisions of non-US
companies. The average american Manager is more like 'Tony DiNozo' on NCIS than the thoughtful cerebral executives of times past like Tom Watson of IBM best known for the 'THINK' written on the back of every executive nameplate.

Anheiser Busch - Board spent all their time on how great they were stock buybacks - now a InBev company
Westinghouse made everything from Christmas Lights to Nuclear reactors - Sold off in bits
RCA - Sold off in bits with the remainder belonging to the French conglomerate Thompson
SQUARE-D - Now a division of the German conglomerate Siemens along with most of their competitors
HP - Once a technology leader known for Instrumentation and Medical systems - makes cheap printers & PC's

I could go on for hours here but the bottom line is one of Warren Buffets axioms

"If you manage only for the bottom line soon you will not HAVE a bottom line"

Disney is managing for the bottom line ONLY.
 
Upvote 0

MerMom1981

Well-Known Member
Well, I'm glad you would be able to afford losing 2300 dollars on a busted trip over something you had no control over. I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy, so I won't stoop low enough to wish this upon you.

We booked the trip 3 weeks prior to leaving, there was absolutely NOTHING in the realm of our minds that would have said something like this would have happened. I could see booking something months or year out in advance since there could be anything that can happen in that time. It was 3 weeks and everyone around us was as healthy as they've ever been.

You wouldn't understand the frustration going on in my wife and I's life at the moment and this was just one of many things to happen to us in the past few months, plus I'm sure it would be TMI. Please excuse my rant'ness about this subject, this has just been the cherry on top for us, especially when we booked this vacation to get away from the negative things in our lives at this moment.

Insurance or not though, the run around we've been given and the different answers given by all cast members involved has been inexcusable. Does that give me the right to a full refund, no, but I have shared my distaste over how this has been handled since minute one until the call last night. I've been low key on the phone and with CM's in person (I used to be one in '03, and in reservations at that-albeit dining, so I understand...but I digress) and I don't think I've deserved the attitude, the eye rolling, and the conflicting resolutions to my problems from everyone I've talked to.

Don't waste your energy trying to explain yourself to this who are only trying to provoke you. Your frustration and disappointment are wholly justified.

Regardless of package pricing, discount rates, fine print or any other money-snatching nonsense, you should have been refunded. It's the right thing. The park tickets and dining credits should have been extended to no expiration. Park ticket used to have no expiration, so I really don't think it's asking to much. And it seems rather arbitrary that dining credits should expire at all. "Well, it's linked to your hotel stay, blah, blah, blah"
I understand all of that. I am not interested.

And one last gripe. Trip insurance. The very idea is just insane to me. Somewhere, some insurance devil is laughing "Oh I got you suckers but good!" I can't get behind having to pay for the privilege of being treated justly. I understand that it is intended for unforseen situations or emergencies. Call me simple, but in emergencies, people need to have some compassion.

Next thing you know, you won't be able to return a sweater at The Gap without RETAIL insurance! Gah!
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0

psukardi

Well-Known Member
All these companies listed below had 'Unassailable' brands and markets and now are divisions of non-US
companies. The average american Manager is more like 'Tony DiNozo' on NCIS than the thoughtful cerebral executives of times past like Tom Watson of IBM best known for the 'THINK' written on the back of every executive nameplate.

Anheiser Busch - Board spent all their time on how great they were stock buybacks - now a InBev company
Westinghouse made everything from Christmas Lights to Nuclear reactors - Sold off in bits
RCA - Sold off in bits with the remainder belonging to the French conglomerate Thompson
SQUARE-D - Now a division of the German conglomerate Siemens along with most of their competitors
HP - Once a technology leader known for Instrumentation and Medical systems - makes cheap printers & PC's

I could go on for hours here but the bottom line is one of Warren Buffets axioms

"If you manage only for the bottom line soon you will not HAVE a bottom line"

Disney is managing for the bottom line ONLY.

Bad example with HP, they do a lot more than cheap printers and PC's. Example http://www8.hp.com/us/en/software-solutions/software.html?compURI=1337262 and they make a lot of money off of it.
 
Upvote 0

PigletIsMyCat

Well-Known Member
to the op: get on social media. i've had success with other large companies on twitter. make sure you tag them in it so their social media/twitter team sees it. if you already use a blog platform, write a blog about it and link to the tweet. you could try putting something on their Facebook page, but those posts often get buried and are easy for the page owner to delete. tweet it. use appropriate hashtags. and good luck.

i think it's a cr@@py situation and even though disney doesn't 'have to' do anything about refunding your money, there is a lot to be said for stellar customer service. disney used to be tops across the board on customer service... doesn't seem to be as highly regarded any longer.
 
Upvote 0

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Don't waste your energy trying to explain yourself to this who are only trying to provoke you. Your frustration and disappointment are wholly justified.

Regardless of package pricing, discount rates, fine print or any other money-snatching nonsense, you should have been refunded. It's the right thing. The park tickets and dining credits should have been extended to no expiration. Park ticket used to have no expiration, so I really don't think it's asking to much. And it seems rather arbitrary that dining credits should expire at all. "Well, it's linked to your hotel stay, blah, blah, blah"
I understand all of that. I am not interested.

And one last gripe. Trip insurance. The very idea is just insane to me. Somewhere, some insurance devil is laughing "Oh I got you suckers but good!" I can't get behind having to pay for the privilege of being treated justly. I understand that it is intended for unforseen situations or emergencies. Call me simple, but in emergencies, people need to have some compassion.

Next thing you know, you won't be able to return a sweater at The Gap without RETAIL insurance! Gah!
"This who are only trying to provoke you" was simply pointing out there was an option that would have prevented all of this. I still don't see the rip off. Certainly don't see any provocation, except maybe in your false accusation. Sorry you think insurance is insane, but it is an option that could have been taken.
 
Upvote 0

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Well, I'm glad you would be able to afford losing 2300 dollars on a busted trip over something you had no control over. I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy, so I won't stoop low enough to wish this upon you.

We booked the trip 3 weeks prior to leaving, there was absolutely NOTHING in the realm of our minds that would have said something like this would have happened. I could see booking something months or year out in advance since there could be anything that can happen in that time. It was 3 weeks and everyone around us was as healthy as they've ever been.

You wouldn't understand the frustration going on in my wife and I's life at the moment and this was just one of many things to happen to us in the past few months, plus I'm sure it would be TMI. Please excuse my rant'ness about this subject, this has just been the cherry on top for us, especially when we booked this vacation to get away from the negative things in our lives at this moment.

Insurance or not though, the run around we've been given and the different answers given by all cast members involved has been inexcusable. Does that give me the right to a full refund, no, but I have shared my distaste over how this has been handled since minute one until the call last night. I've been low key on the phone and with CM's in person (I used to be one in '03, and in reservations at that-albeit dining, so I understand...but I digress) and I don't think I've deserved the attitude, the eye rolling, and the conflicting resolutions to my problems from everyone I've talked to.
I can't afford to lose $2,300. I am sorry about your situation, and would not wish it on you either. No, I don't know the frustration going on with you, and hope things get better soon. Good luck and best wishes with the situation.
 
Upvote 0

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Really, How about doing the RIGHT thing because its the RIGHT thing to do.

Trip insurance in many cases does NOT cover illness of family members when I was still wet behind the ears I was a Certified Property and Casualty Underwriter so I'm VERY familar with insurance. Trip insurance is more designed to protect against resorts being unavailable, transit and hotel worker strikes, Flight cancellations and other unforseen events like the fire marshall closing the resort etc.

Simply wrong.
If you are interested, it is on page 4, section 11
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw_nextgen/Site/WDWContent/Media/InternetMediaType/VacationPackage/CT 004258 P1 0612 GENERIC.pdf
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon

Only true IF you buy DISNEY's Trip Insurance, There are a LOT of trip insurers and not all of them cover family medical events Disney also has a lot of reseller's for their 'packages' It's still Disney's resort product but airfare and insurance are done by the reseller.

For any insurance product YOU NEED TO READ THE DECLARATIONS PAGE they change over time just because the boilerplate on a website says X is covered if the actual DECLARATIONS page does not say it's covered it's NOT covered PERIOD as the declarations page is the binding contract between the insurer and insured.

So unless you have a copy of the dec page for a policy NO ONE can say whether a loss is covered or not covered.
 
Upvote 0

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Only true IF you buy DISNEY's Trip Insurance, There are a LOT of trip insurers and not all of them cover family medical events Disney also has a lot of reseller's for their 'packages' It's still Disney's resort product but airfare and insurance are done by the reseller.

For any insurance product YOU NEED TO READ THE DECLARATIONS PAGE they change over time just because the boilerplate on a website says X is covered if the actual DECLARATIONS page does not say it's covered it's NOT covered PERIOD as the declarations page is the binding contract between the insurer and insured.

So unless you have a copy of the dec page for a policy NO ONE can say whether a loss is covered or not covered.
Thanks. I was just showing you what I said earlier...there was an option to prevent this. I found a website link to show you a copy of my last trip insurance. It would have taken too long to have mailed you my copy. Anyway, thanks for your input.
 
Upvote 0

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom