Some Ask if the Disney Magic Is Slipping (NY Times article)

[speck76]

In the words of Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day:

"BING!"

As someone who was an operation manager for 5+ years at one of the largest resorts in Orlando....

The biggest contributor to guest dis-satisfaction is their own ignorance.

Guests are not well-informed. They never were overly informed, but since the rise of the internet, they are even less informed.

Back when the majority of guests used travel agents, the travel agent would inform the guest of exactly what they were getting.....now, since a great amount of guests book online, and the vast majority do not use agents, whatever information they have is of their own research.

The biggest problem at my resort was guests booking standard rooms and complaining that we wanted to charge them extra for a pool-view room. If they would have bothered to research, they would have known that we charge for premium views......it is noted about 10 times on the website.......but most tourists are rather dumb.

Most problems that occur at Disney are due to the guest having unrealistic expectations. A guest may request a connecting room.....it may be a necessity........but rarely will a hotel guarantee such a request. Some guests are so specific with their requests "I want 2 connecting rooms, 1 king, 1 with 2 queens, at the Poly, in the Raratonga building, facing the lagoon, on the third floor, in the middle of the building........." Such a request is VERY hard for a hotel to comply with. The hotel can probably get a guest connecting rooms, or 3rd floor, or lagoon view, or non-smoking.....but to narrow the choice down to such a small amount of possibilities, in a hotel that runs a very high occupancy........the guest is bound for dissappointment.

 

[tn1999]

I hope someone will forward this to the big guys. If they can't "get" the message in that clearly written article through their thick heads, there will be no hope.

 

[shmmrname]

It's a well-written, well-researched article that tells a fairly simple story. I enjoyed it.

We really shouldn't be trying to figure out what the article "should" have been about. The journalist saw a need for this article, and although many more articles may be needed on even more subjects, it obviously was helpful/entertaining to more than a few of us. No matter what the article was written about, somebody, somewhere would be upset it wasn't highlighting their cause.

 

[shmmrname]

"but most tourists are rather dumb"

The second we step out of out of your house we are all tourists in some way. But no, your opinion is rather enlightened...

 

[speck76]

It is not an opinion, it is experience.

 

[shmmrname]

Sounds like the kind of manager I'd love to work for; however, I'd probably hate to deal with as a customer. Though then I'd be dumb, so what would I know.

 

[speck76]

The best thing to remember as an operations manager.....the guests only stay for a few days.....and most likely you will not see them for a few years again.....

and drink.....drink a lot

 

[Debbie]

As someone who was an operation manager for 5+ years at one of the largest resorts in Orlando....

The biggest contributor to guest dis-satisfaction is their own ignorance.

Guests are not well-informed. They never were overly informed, but since the rise of the internet, they are even less informed.

Back when the majority of guests used travel agents, the travel agent would inform the guest of exactly what they were getting.....now, since a great amount of guests book online, and the vast majority do not use agents, whatever information they have is of their own research.

The biggest problem at my resort was guests booking standard rooms and complaining that we wanted to charge them extra for a pool-view room. If they would have bothered to research, they would have known that we charge for premium views......it is noted about 10 times on the website.......but most tourists are rather dumb.

Most problems that occur at Disney are due to the guest having unrealistic expectations. A guest may request a connecting room.....it may be a necessity........but rarely will a hotel guarantee such a request. Some guests are so specific with their requests "I want 2 connecting rooms, 1 king, 1 with 2 queens, at the Poly, in the Raratonga building, facing the lagoon, on the third floor, in the middle of the building........." Such a request is VERY hard for a hotel to comply with. The hotel can probably get a guest connecting rooms, or 3rd floor, or lagoon view, or non-smoking.....but to narrow the choice down to such a small amount of possibilities, in a hotel that runs a very high occupancy........the guest is bound for dissappointment.

Well said. I thought the article was balanced and fair.

I agree with what you said, Speck; that most tourist can be dumb. But I also feel that alot can act dumb; and they are actually trying to 'get over' on a place. These days, people expect something for nothing; why? I don't know.
Your last paragraph was also right on. How often have we read about someone wanting a room request in a certain building, with a certain view? Should the person be denied, for whatever reason; they probably are gonna come back disappointed, even if only to say that the view they wanted/ those rooms stayed empty the entire time and Disney should have let them have the more expensive room with a view because the room was empty. I've never thought to ask for a free upgrade and if I've ever gotten one; I still don't it because I wasn't looking for it. I just felt fortunate to be at Disney.
The connecting room issue would upset me if we had children with us/ and I realize that requesting a connecting room is NOT guaranteed. However, with many families consisting of more than three children because of blended families; it would be nice if Disney created a Value resort/ room setup that accommodated this situation. If we had to pay for a room (which would be a suite = $$$$) that could accommodate our four children (because we're a blended family), we'd never be able to go back. But wouldn't it be nice if we could stay together?

 

[Mr. Toad]

It was a good article and reminded me somewhat of the trip we just got back from. We were very disappointed in the transportation, some of the cast member's attitudes were not what we have routinely seen in the past and there just seemed to be something missing. On the other hand the excessive heat and humidity combined with the huge crowds certainly did not help. Waiting 30+ minutes for a bus to show up when it is 80 out is annoying. When the heat index is 110 it is unbearable (note to self - do NOT go to Florida in July).

However, I still managed to have a nice vacation. With all the complaints the rest of the group had I thought they sounded like they were done with WDW however they are already talking about when to go next.

It is still the best place to go in my mind but I know that they have done better in the past and I believe they can (and will) do better in the future. I do expect more from Disney since they set some very high standards for themselves. Fortunately, they usually manage to deliver.

 

[Legacy]

I want a fifth floor room at All-Star Resturants that over-looks the Indiana Jones Adventure at Magic Kingdom. And if I don't get it I am going to never going to Disney ever again.

:fork: :fork:

:animwink:

 

[Computer Magic]

It was a good article and reminded me somewhat of the trip we just got back from. We were very disappointed in the transportation, some of the cast member's attitudes were not what we have routinely seen in the past and there just seemed to be something missing. On the other hand the excessive heat and humidity combined with the huge crowds certainly did not help. Waiting 30+ minutes for a bus to show up when it is 80 out is annoying. When the heat index is 110 it is unbearable (note to self - do NOT go to Florida in July).

However, I still managed to have a nice vacation. With all the complaints the rest of the group had I thought they sounded like they were done with WDW however they are already talking about when to go next.

It is still the best place to go in my mind but I know that they have done better in the past and I believe they can (and will) do better in the future. I do expect more from Disney since they set some very high standards for themselves. Fortunately, they usually manage to deliver.

Great post. I feel the same. We returned from a 8 day stay in May. It was far below Disney standards that we have experienced from the other trips. We still had a great time and will return. But I expect Disney to be better then the norm, that is why I go there and spend a large sum of money. But how many times will I say I will return if I don't recieve the magic I've been use to.

If people accept Disney as mediocre, management will continue to provide mediocre. Don't get me wrong Disney medicore is still above the rest, but not where it used to be. I believe the reason is losing ventures in other areas. I sense a turnaround but I think I returned too early to experience the full effect of the turnaround.

So I don't see anything wrong with people stating their case for Disney lack of attention.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

By CHARLES PASSY The New York Times
....................And we'll keep going to Disney World in search of it - for the time being.

:sohappy:

 

[ClemsonTigger]

By far the greatest deterioration in the Disney experience are the guests!

How many people walk around the parks in clothes I would be embarrassed to paint or mow the lawn in? With garbage cans so available that you can almost walk from one to another without touching the ground, why is there so much crap thrown on the ground. Why is there so much b*tching and moaning over a 15 minute wait. Why do so many expect the world to stop for them.

....<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008_ZNxdm824YYUS' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/3/3_3_101.gif' alt='Boring Lecture' border=0></a>

sorry for the tirade... :zipit:

 

[nibblesandbits]

By far the greatest deterioration in the Disney experience are the guests!

How many people walk around the parks in clothes I would be embarrassed to paint or mow the lawn in? With garbage cans so available that you can almost walk from one to another without touching the ground, why is there so much crap thrown on the ground. Why is there so much b*tching and moaning over a 15 minute wait. Why do so many expect the world to stop for them.

....<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008_ZNxdm824YYUS' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/3/3_3_101.gif' alt='Boring Lecture' border=0></a>

sorry for the tirade... :zipit:

Well, I have to agree with you on that one.

 

[speck76]

By far the greatest deterioration in the Disney experience are the guests!

How many people walk around the parks in clothes I would be embarrassed to paint or mow the lawn in? With garbage cans so available that you can almost walk from one to another without touching the ground, why is there so much crap thrown on the ground. Why is there so much b*tching and moaning over a 15 minute wait. Why do so many expect the world to stop for them.

sorry for the tirade... :zipit:

I agree 100%

People in another thread were complaining about (and jsut could not believe) that Soarin' had a 170 minute wait......prior to FastPass, almost EVERY major attraction had a 1, 2, or even 3 hour wait during the busy seasons. Now, many people will not ride (and get needlessly upset) if they have to wait more than 20-30 minutes.

Sure, WDW has a crew of cleaners in the park, but their jobs should be spent taking care of the bathrooms, and changing garbage bags.....not picking up after lazy guests that can not use one of the 44 million trash cans on property.

Unfortunately, too many people are egocentric......they could care less about the other guests, just as long as they themselves get what they want.

 

[disneylands]

well with all the injuries lately some people might think so!!

 

[dxwwf3]

I agree 100%

People in another thread were complaining about (and jsut could not believe) that Soarin' had a 170 minute wait......prior to FastPass, almost EVERY major attraction had a 1, 2, or even 3 hour wait during the busy seasons. Now, many people will not ride (and get needlessly upset) if they have to wait more than 20-30 minutes.

Sure, WDW has a crew of cleaners in the park, but their jobs should be spent taking care of the bathrooms, and changing garbage bags.....not picking up after lazy guests that can not use one of the 44 million trash cans on property.

Unfortunately, too many people are egocentric......they could care less about the other guests, just as long as they themselves get what they want.

Is it possible to throw out two Ned Ryerson-style "Bing!"'s in one thread? I think so :animwink:

 

[socalkdg]

Some Ask if the Disney Magic Is Slipping
By CHARLES PASSY
The New York Times

Maybe it was the rollaway bed that didn't materialize because it was suddenly deemed a fire hazard.

Or maybe it was the air mattress that surfaced in its place with a pile of bedding that included 20 - yes, 20 - pillowcases and one sheet.

Or maybe it was the manager who called and apologized for the mistakes - at nearly 1 a.m.

But as tipping points go, it was hard to top the bill with a $750 error - in the resort's favor. Such a mistake was proof positive that something was terribly amiss, leaving my wife and me to ask, "What kind of a Mickey Mouse operation is this?"

It was a question meant in the most literal sense. We weren't staying at some budget motel off the Interstate. We were spending more than $300 a night for a one-bedroom "turn-of-the-century style vacation villa" at Walt Disney World's one-year-old Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa. But we were experiencing little of the celebrated Disney "magic," that bend-over-backward brand of service. Instead, our family vacation was turning into a part-nightmarish, part-comical adventure that I quickly took to describing as Disney meets "Fawlty Towers" meets the "Twilight Zone."

While equal time was given to the positives and negatives, anyone familiar with the newspaper reading habits of people know that a certain % only read the headline, and that another % only read the first couple paragraphs of the article. Additionally many people make up their mind about a topic in the first few minutes, thus many would tend to not even remember the second part of the article, or read it with a bias formed early on in the article. Thus the article was slanted based on the organization of the facts.

Being a DVC member I know that none of the DVC resorts give roll out beds as standard practice as they have occupancy limits of 4 for both Studios and 1 bedrooms. It surprised me that they would even offer a blow up mattress.

Had an interesting conversation with my boss(the owner) of our company during our staff meeting. He commented that while we should strive for 100% customer satisfaction, we should never achieve it because it would be a detriment to the profitability of the company. The cost to move from 95% to 100% satisfaction would make us uncompetitive due to the type of market we are in.

 

[bgraham34]

After reading the article yesterday i though everyone on here would have been flaming it, but to my surprise you were not. Cheers.

 

[disneybabynat]

very very good article....its true the 'wow' parts my brother got lost for bout half hour and a member of staff found him..where it had been rainin they gave a free disney world hoodie and a voucher for him to get any food he wanted in any of the restraunts..