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."
And apparently, we weren't the only ones on this ride. To hear some other guests tell similar stories of inept service at Disney World theme parks and resorts is to realize the Mouse may no longer be as mighty.
As Disney marks the 50th birthday of its first theme park - Disneyland in California - with a companywide 18-month celebration that began in May, it is facing great scrutiny, particularly when it comes to Walt Disney World - a 30,000-plus-acre complex in Florida that comprises four theme parks and more than 20 resorts and that attracted 40.5 million visitors in 2004, according to the trade journal Amusement Business.
Much of the focus stems from the recent corporate shakeup that ended with the decision by Michael D. Eisner, the longtime chief executive, to resign effective this September. (He is being replaced by Disney's president, Robert A. Iger.) It's a tale of boardroom intrigue that inspired James B. Stewart's "Disney War," published this year. At the heart of the drama is the question of whether Disney has put profits ahead of the need to deliver that "magic," especially at the parks and resorts.
The issue has been raised repeatedly by Roy E. Disney (Walt's nephew), former Disney board member and executive. In "Disney War," he is quoted telling a group of investors, "If you've been [to the parks] in recent years, you will have noticed the lack of maintenance, the fewer number of characters on the streets. The cast members ... have been pared back unmercifully. Their hours have been cut, benefits taken away. That gets reflected in their attitude toward the guests." (Mr. Disney declined comment for this article, although he recently came to an agreement with Disney's board and management to withdraw a lawsuit challenging the selection process behind Mr. Iger's appointment.)
It is also an issue that arose in an article in The Orlando Sentinel, published in March 2004, about its investigation of maintenance at Disney World's Magic Kingdom. The paper reported that "flaws included worn walkways and steps, rotting wood, scratched and chipped stucco, peeling paint, rusted railings, faded awnings and yellowing plants."
The issue seems to resonate with Disney guests. On such Web sites as WDWInfo.com and MiceAge.com, they debate matters ranging from the company's attention to ride safety (in the wake of recent scares connected to such attractions as Mission: Space at the Epcot park and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney-MGM Studios, including the death of a 4-year-old boy after riding Mission: Space) to the wait times for Disney buses. There appears to be a growing view that the Mouse no longer delivers at the same magical level.
While not denying that problems occur, Disney officials say their commitment to customer service remains strong, as evidenced by the fact that 75 percent of Disney World visitors are repeat guests. "Our goal in life is to get excellent ratings," said Lee Cockerell, executive vice president for operations at Disney World. "We try to move the 'goods' up to 'very goods' and the 'very goods' up to 'excellents.' "
But in Beth Motta's case, she'd be hard pressed to give Disney a "fair." Ms. Motta, a Cleveland-area nursing student, traveled with her husband and four children for a six-day stay at Disney World's All-Star Music Resort this spring. Despite assurances from Disney staff members that she could have connecting rooms - a must since one of her children is disabled - Ms. Motta says she was told otherwise when she arrived. "I sat in the lobby and cried," she recalled.
Even more disconcerting are reports that Disney is slow or unwilling to respond to complaints. In Ms. Motta's case, she says she had the problem corrected after much haggling, but the "solution" meant staying in a more remote location at the resort and sharing a building with a group of noisy teenagers. She did receive a credit of $120 - on a $1,300 bill - but it wasn't offered until she contacted the guest communications department upon her return home.
I hit a similar wall of unresponsiveness with managers at the Saratoga Springs resort: I had to argue my way into an upgrade that provided the very sleeping arrangements I was guaranteed. After more problems ensued, I received $100 in credit - far less than the refund for a full-night's stay that hospitality-industry experts I interviewed say was merited. And there barely seemed to be acknowledgment that the resort was still under construction. (When I returned home, I called a higher-level manager - without revealing that I was a journalist - and she agreed to refund my entire stay.)
Such stories prompt some observers of Disney operations to say the situation reflects a demoralized, improperly trained staff. "There's a palpable difference in the attitudes of cast members versus five years ago. There are fewer smiles there," said Pete Werner, the founder and Webmaster of WDWInfo.com.
Disney executives vehemently deny such charges. In an opinion column responding to the article in The Orlando Sentinel, Disney World's president, Al Weiss, noted a 90 percent approval rating from guests when it comes to upkeep and cleanliness at the Magic Kingdom.
And in a recent interview, Mr. Cockerell said that Disney World's staff was at an all-time high of 57,000, though the number can fluctuate depending on the season. And while he conceded that Disney's "traditions" employee-orientation program has been pared back to one day from two days, he argued that it was because Disney had focused on other training methods. As for resolving guests' complaints, Mr. Cockerell insists that managers are empowered to offer whatever is appropriate to rectify the situation.
And what about my problem-riddled visit? "Your stay was not typical," Mr. Cockerell said.
Still, Mr. Cockerell allows that mistakes do happen, given the sheer size of Disney World's operations. But the real reason some guests walk away disappointed, Mr. Cockerell suspects, is that they arrive with such high expectations. "Walt Disney World is like a national park," he said. "If something doesn't go right, I get a seven-page letter."
IN a sense, that may be Disney's own doing. Since the company's first venture into the theme-park business a half-century ago, it has maintained that it wants to create an immaculate escape-from-the-real-world environment. Disneyland grew out of Walt Disney's disappointing experiences with his own children at amusement parks. "You could have fantastic rides, but if the place was sloppy or you had to wait for toilets [it wouldn't work]. For him, it had to be beautiful," said Diane Disney Miller, Walt's daughter, in the Summer 2005 issue of Disney Magazine. (That issue of the decades-old magazine was the last to hit the stands. It ceased publication because of the company's bottom-line concerns.)
But another part of the equation, say observers like Deb Wills, founder of AllEarsNet.com, another unofficial Disney site, is that Disney guests have come to anticipate "magic moments" at, well, every moment. "People hear so many wonderful things they think it's going to be picture perfect," she said. Take the famed "towel animals" - towels that have been shaped to resemble wildlife - that Disney maids have been known to leave in a guest's room. What started as a surprise offering has now become a de rigueur part of the Disney experience.
But for most guests, the experience comes close to the quintessential family vacation. Take Vicki Moreno, a San Antonio homemaker who has been a Disney World regular since 1991. Her ultimate "magic moment" came a few weeks ago at a character autograph-signing opportunity at Epcot. When one of her daughters realized she had lost her autograph book, a Disney staff member arranged a free replacement and a private character meet-and-greet. Ms. Moreno's reaction? "I thought, 'Wow!' " she said.
And that's the funny thing: Despite all the problems with my stay, there were plenty of "wows," too. Like the time the chef at the Polynesian Resort prepared a special fruit platter for my food-allergic 13-year-old son. Or the time a security guard at Epcot, sensing my 6-year-old daughter's impatience as we waited in the bag-search line, took off his cap and placed it affectionately on her head.
Then, there's the "wow" I experience every time I enter the Magic Kingdom. Seeing the cobblestone streets and the rows of old-timey shops, I can't help but buy into the fantasy that is Walt Disney's Main Street, designed after the one in his boyhood home of Marceline, Mo. Some might call it synthetic, but that's missing the point: It never pretends to be real.
And that's perhaps why when Disney stumbles, we respond so vociferously. If we wanted the headaches and hassles, we'd stay at the budget motel off the Interstate. Instead, we want the magic. And we'll keep going to Disney World in search of it - for the time being.
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."
And apparently, we weren't the only ones on this ride. To hear some other guests tell similar stories of inept service at Disney World theme parks and resorts is to realize the Mouse may no longer be as mighty.
As Disney marks the 50th birthday of its first theme park - Disneyland in California - with a companywide 18-month celebration that began in May, it is facing great scrutiny, particularly when it comes to Walt Disney World - a 30,000-plus-acre complex in Florida that comprises four theme parks and more than 20 resorts and that attracted 40.5 million visitors in 2004, according to the trade journal Amusement Business.
Much of the focus stems from the recent corporate shakeup that ended with the decision by Michael D. Eisner, the longtime chief executive, to resign effective this September. (He is being replaced by Disney's president, Robert A. Iger.) It's a tale of boardroom intrigue that inspired James B. Stewart's "Disney War," published this year. At the heart of the drama is the question of whether Disney has put profits ahead of the need to deliver that "magic," especially at the parks and resorts.
The issue has been raised repeatedly by Roy E. Disney (Walt's nephew), former Disney board member and executive. In "Disney War," he is quoted telling a group of investors, "If you've been [to the parks] in recent years, you will have noticed the lack of maintenance, the fewer number of characters on the streets. The cast members ... have been pared back unmercifully. Their hours have been cut, benefits taken away. That gets reflected in their attitude toward the guests." (Mr. Disney declined comment for this article, although he recently came to an agreement with Disney's board and management to withdraw a lawsuit challenging the selection process behind Mr. Iger's appointment.)
It is also an issue that arose in an article in The Orlando Sentinel, published in March 2004, about its investigation of maintenance at Disney World's Magic Kingdom. The paper reported that "flaws included worn walkways and steps, rotting wood, scratched and chipped stucco, peeling paint, rusted railings, faded awnings and yellowing plants."
The issue seems to resonate with Disney guests. On such Web sites as WDWInfo.com and MiceAge.com, they debate matters ranging from the company's attention to ride safety (in the wake of recent scares connected to such attractions as Mission: Space at the Epcot park and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney-MGM Studios, including the death of a 4-year-old boy after riding Mission: Space) to the wait times for Disney buses. There appears to be a growing view that the Mouse no longer delivers at the same magical level.
While not denying that problems occur, Disney officials say their commitment to customer service remains strong, as evidenced by the fact that 75 percent of Disney World visitors are repeat guests. "Our goal in life is to get excellent ratings," said Lee Cockerell, executive vice president for operations at Disney World. "We try to move the 'goods' up to 'very goods' and the 'very goods' up to 'excellents.' "
But in Beth Motta's case, she'd be hard pressed to give Disney a "fair." Ms. Motta, a Cleveland-area nursing student, traveled with her husband and four children for a six-day stay at Disney World's All-Star Music Resort this spring. Despite assurances from Disney staff members that she could have connecting rooms - a must since one of her children is disabled - Ms. Motta says she was told otherwise when she arrived. "I sat in the lobby and cried," she recalled.
Even more disconcerting are reports that Disney is slow or unwilling to respond to complaints. In Ms. Motta's case, she says she had the problem corrected after much haggling, but the "solution" meant staying in a more remote location at the resort and sharing a building with a group of noisy teenagers. She did receive a credit of $120 - on a $1,300 bill - but it wasn't offered until she contacted the guest communications department upon her return home.
I hit a similar wall of unresponsiveness with managers at the Saratoga Springs resort: I had to argue my way into an upgrade that provided the very sleeping arrangements I was guaranteed. After more problems ensued, I received $100 in credit - far less than the refund for a full-night's stay that hospitality-industry experts I interviewed say was merited. And there barely seemed to be acknowledgment that the resort was still under construction. (When I returned home, I called a higher-level manager - without revealing that I was a journalist - and she agreed to refund my entire stay.)
Such stories prompt some observers of Disney operations to say the situation reflects a demoralized, improperly trained staff. "There's a palpable difference in the attitudes of cast members versus five years ago. There are fewer smiles there," said Pete Werner, the founder and Webmaster of WDWInfo.com.
Disney executives vehemently deny such charges. In an opinion column responding to the article in The Orlando Sentinel, Disney World's president, Al Weiss, noted a 90 percent approval rating from guests when it comes to upkeep and cleanliness at the Magic Kingdom.
And in a recent interview, Mr. Cockerell said that Disney World's staff was at an all-time high of 57,000, though the number can fluctuate depending on the season. And while he conceded that Disney's "traditions" employee-orientation program has been pared back to one day from two days, he argued that it was because Disney had focused on other training methods. As for resolving guests' complaints, Mr. Cockerell insists that managers are empowered to offer whatever is appropriate to rectify the situation.
And what about my problem-riddled visit? "Your stay was not typical," Mr. Cockerell said.
Still, Mr. Cockerell allows that mistakes do happen, given the sheer size of Disney World's operations. But the real reason some guests walk away disappointed, Mr. Cockerell suspects, is that they arrive with such high expectations. "Walt Disney World is like a national park," he said. "If something doesn't go right, I get a seven-page letter."
IN a sense, that may be Disney's own doing. Since the company's first venture into the theme-park business a half-century ago, it has maintained that it wants to create an immaculate escape-from-the-real-world environment. Disneyland grew out of Walt Disney's disappointing experiences with his own children at amusement parks. "You could have fantastic rides, but if the place was sloppy or you had to wait for toilets [it wouldn't work]. For him, it had to be beautiful," said Diane Disney Miller, Walt's daughter, in the Summer 2005 issue of Disney Magazine. (That issue of the decades-old magazine was the last to hit the stands. It ceased publication because of the company's bottom-line concerns.)
But another part of the equation, say observers like Deb Wills, founder of AllEarsNet.com, another unofficial Disney site, is that Disney guests have come to anticipate "magic moments" at, well, every moment. "People hear so many wonderful things they think it's going to be picture perfect," she said. Take the famed "towel animals" - towels that have been shaped to resemble wildlife - that Disney maids have been known to leave in a guest's room. What started as a surprise offering has now become a de rigueur part of the Disney experience.
But for most guests, the experience comes close to the quintessential family vacation. Take Vicki Moreno, a San Antonio homemaker who has been a Disney World regular since 1991. Her ultimate "magic moment" came a few weeks ago at a character autograph-signing opportunity at Epcot. When one of her daughters realized she had lost her autograph book, a Disney staff member arranged a free replacement and a private character meet-and-greet. Ms. Moreno's reaction? "I thought, 'Wow!' " she said.
And that's the funny thing: Despite all the problems with my stay, there were plenty of "wows," too. Like the time the chef at the Polynesian Resort prepared a special fruit platter for my food-allergic 13-year-old son. Or the time a security guard at Epcot, sensing my 6-year-old daughter's impatience as we waited in the bag-search line, took off his cap and placed it affectionately on her head.
Then, there's the "wow" I experience every time I enter the Magic Kingdom. Seeing the cobblestone streets and the rows of old-timey shops, I can't help but buy into the fantasy that is Walt Disney's Main Street, designed after the one in his boyhood home of Marceline, Mo. Some might call it synthetic, but that's missing the point: It never pretends to be real.
And that's perhaps why when Disney stumbles, we respond so vociferously. If we wanted the headaches and hassles, we'd stay at the budget motel off the Interstate. Instead, we want the magic. And we'll keep going to Disney World in search of it - for the time being.
