WDW is canceling Jan. 31st reservations at CRT to hold event for more $

[21stamps]

When I hear the term "operational issues," it implies that something in the kitchen or facility needed to be fixed unexpectedly and we had no choice but to close the restaurant. To me, it does not mean we planned a more expensive and now you need to re-arrange the plans we encouraged you to make almost six months ago.

If this CM's job is to call people about cancelling and rescheduling ADRs than they should be empowered to fix the problem and it really shouldn't involve having to wait almost 48 hours for a manager to call you back.

Understandable, but it doesn't have to mean that. It could mean a great deal of things. So the charge of "told their customers a lie" isn't really applicable.

I would have been completely stressed out during the time between calls, for sure. Again, it stinks. It was resolved though, that's what we know. The poster even said that the new day and times worked out better for his family. So in the end, is it really such a huge issue? Customer has his reservations, on a better day for him, Disney still has their event. Problem Solved. No one displaced.

 

[SorcererMC]

Can I just like your post for the photo..but not the text? Lol

I swear I could hear your Darth Vader No when I posted it.

 

[contrariwise]

lol I just noticed that you edited. I answered your original question. The one that you typed the first time, before you changed it.

You don't have to be crazy if you're not happy. But you're making a Mountain out of what? Something that may or may not exist?
(Rhetorical questions).

I'm still waiting to hear where Disney "lied" to their guests. Where did that one come from?

They cited "operational issues". Ok, maybe that term is so vague that you could argue that it's not an out and out lie.. But was it the truth? The truth is that they scheduled another event for higher paying customers and now they don't want to honor the reservations for the ordinary folks. That's not "operational issues" as much as it is "greed" and "upcharge madness". I understand why they don't want to cop to those things, but it's the truth.

As far as "something that may or may not exist", are you alleging that the guy who posted on the internet about this is lying? I have a strong feeling that this issue actually does exist. Do you mean the angst doesn't really exist? Here's what I go back to: Disney dropped the ball and inconvenienced some people. IF the people don't care, that doesn't mean they didn't drop the ball.

Here's what I know. I would be inconvenienced and annoyed. And if I want to factor that in to how I feel about Disney World now, that's up to me. It's not an anomaly at this point. I hate it, because this is a company that I loved. But the evidence just keeps mounting. It's not the same company anymore..

 

[21stamps]

I swear I could hear your Darth Vader No when I posted it.

Ha ha!!! My kid has the voice changing mask. Maybe I should record myself saying it..and post it in response to the posts that I don't agree with..like 1/3rd of yours

Unfortunately I am not tech savvy enough to do that .

 

[L.C. Clench]

They cited "operational issues". Ok, maybe that term is so vague that you could argue that it's not an out and out lie.. But was it the truth? The truth is that they scheduled another event for higher paying customers and now they don't want to honor the reservations for the ordinary folks. That's not "operational issues" as much as it is "greed" and "upcharge madness". I understand why they don't want to cop to those things, but it's the truth.

As far as "something that may or may not exist", are you alleging that the guy who posted on the internet about this is lying? I have a strong feeling that this issue actually does exist. Do you mean the angst doesn't really exist? Here's what I go back to: Disney dropped the ball and inconvenienced some people. IF the people don't care, that doesn't mean they didn't drop the ball. And if someone wants to factor that in to how they feel about Disney World now, that's understandable to me. It's not an anomaly at this point. I hate it, because this is a company that I loved. But the evidence just keeps mounting. It's not the same company anymore..

I'd say having the theme park division run by people who have zero concept of service is an operational issue.

 

[SorcererMC]

If that guy only knew what he started..lol.

It has taken on a life of its own....on the DPB comments - comment from yesterday 'what happens to the 180 days reservations?'. Comment responding to it from this afternoon 'They just disappear from what I've heard'.

 

[contrariwise]

I'd say having the theme park division run by people who have zero concept of service is an operational issue.

LOL. You're right. It wasn't a lie.

 

[SugarMagnolia75]

Understandable, but it doesn't have to mean that. It could mean a great deal of things. So the charge of "told their customers a lie" isn't really applicable.

I would have been completely stressed out during the time between calls, for sure. Again, it stinks. It was resolved though, that's what we know. The poster even said that the new day and times worked out better for his family. So in the end, is it really such a huge issue? Customer has his reservations, on a better day for him, Disney still has their event. Problem Solved. No one displaced.

I know some people like to live in gray area where the truth can be stretched, but this is a scheduling conflict to me not an operational issue, unless that issue is incompetence. I don't understand why people constantly give Disney a pass for things they would not accept from anyone else.

 

[Bandini]

She's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack.

Oh yes and she's now escalating. Any minute now the entire thread will be hijacked.

 

[21stamps]

It has taken on a life of its own....on the DPB comments - comment from yesterday 'what happens to the 180 days reservations?'. Comment responding to it from this afternoon 'They just disappear from what I've heard'.

Really? That's crazy. This whole thing is like watching a game of telephone.
The twists, turns, conspiracies, empathy, call to arms (for whom?), fascinating. All based on one person's relayed conversation. Social Media at it's best.

I know some people like to live in gray area where the truth can be stretched, but this is a scheduling conflict to me not an operational issue, unless that issue is incompetence. I don't understand why people constantly give Disney a pass for things they would not accept from anyone else.

That's not stretching the truth. There's a conflict. It falls under operational issue. Vague, but not a lie. The restaurant is supposed to be closed at that time.

So I'll ask you personally, if you booked a 6:45 reservation or whatever time it was, would you be upset if you got a call to change that time, and change your FPs etc? Would it really matter to you at what exact time of day that you dined at CRT? Remember, they have the power to change your FPs, so take that out of the equation.

Me personally, I'd be ok with it. As long as any other conflicting events were rescheduled as well.

 

[wm49rs]

Really? That's crazy. This whole thing is like watching a game of telephone.
The twists, turns, conspiracies, empathy, call to arms (for whom?), fascinating. All based on one person's relayed conversation. Social Media at it's best.

That's not stretching the truth. There's a conflict. It falls under operational issue. Vague, but not a lie. The restaurant is supposed to be closed at that time.

So I'll ask you personally, if you booked a 6:45 reservation or whatever time it was, would you be upset if you got a call to change that time, and change your FPs etc? Would it really matter to you at what exact time of day that you dined at CRT? Remember, they have the power to change your FPs, so take that out of the equation.

Me personally, I'd be ok with it. As long as any other conflicting events were rescheduled as well.

It's a discussion forum, and some don't simply kowtow to the company line. Surely you're familiar....

 

[SugarMagnolia75]

Really? That's crazy. This whole thing is like watching a game of telephone.
The twists, turns, conspiracies, empathy (for whom?), fascinating. All based on one person's relayed conversation. Social Media at it's best.

That's not stretching the truth. There's a conflict. It falls under operational issue. Vague, but not a lie. The restaurant is supposed to be closed at that time.

So I'll ask you personally, if you booked a 6:45 reservation or whatever time it was, would you be upset if you got a call to change that time, and change your FPs etc? Would it really matter to you at what exact time of day that you dined at CRT? Remember, they have the power to change your FPs, so take that out of the equation.

Me personally, I'd be ok with it. As long as any other conflicting events were rescheduled as well.

Unlike you, I don't pay for a lot of upcharge events. We don't even get park hoppers on every trip. We ate at CRT back in 2009 and I haven't felt the need to do it again. That said, if I carefully made my plans 180 days in advance to book both CRT and BBB for the same day and then went back 60 days in advance to book my fast passes around said dining and BBB reservation, yeah I would be pretty upset. WDW has deliberatively set up a system that encourages almost requires you to pre-plan your trip ahead of time. They didn't have to set it up that way but they did.

We don't know what other plans those parties affected had. They may have scheduled that meal for someone's birthday or as a proposal. Maybe they were only going to be there a few days. For some of those families, it may not be a big deal, but to others it might.

So to reiterate, I would be upset and even if they "fixed" it, it would probably leave a bad taste in my mouth. I think it was lousy thing to do.

 

[21stamps]

Unlike you, I don't pay for a lot of upcharge events. We don't even get park hoppers on every trip. We ate at CRT back in 2009 and I haven't felt the need to do it again. That said, if I carefully made my plans 180 days in advance to book both CRT and BBB for the same day and then went back 60 days in advance to book my fast passes around said dining and BBB reservation, yeah I would be pretty upset. WDW has deliberatively set up a system that encourages almost requires you to pre-plan your trip ahead of time. They didn't have to set it up that way but they did.

We don't know what other plans those parties affected had. They may have scheduled that meal for someone's birthday or as a proposal. Maybe they were only going to be there a few days. For some of those families, it may not be a big deal, but to others it might.

So to reiterate, I would be upset and even if they "fixed" it, it would probably leave a bad taste in my mouth. I think it was lousy thing to do.

So, I love how you try to start off with a dig.. I thought we were actually having an adult conversation. Kudos on that I get that some people, one little loud group in particular, have a huge issue with any "extra" at Disney. It's very odd to me, but oh well. To each their own. I've never spoke or seen you here before..so not quite sure how you know about what upcharge events I've done or haven't done. Anyway though..I have no idea how that is relevant. Could you elaborate on it's relevance?.. then maybe I would know how to properly answer.

For the record though, yes, the 180 and 60 day system is a pain. I hate Disney planning. Hate it. A vacation planning stage is not supposed to be that stressful. Guess what though, I have never once gone to Disney World with reservation more than 62 days old. Never. I tried in 2016. Only bc the trip was attached to the cruise. It was Hell. It gave me way too much time to think, plan, and obsess..in the end, I changed my reservations 2 months before arrival. Dates, resorts, reservations, all of it. We still had somewhere to eat. Oddly enough I could have made reservations at every single restaurant, including CRT, very close to my trip..and a ton on the day or few days before the desired date.
The only one I could not get was Minnie's Holiday Dine. There was a time available once, but it conflicted with something else we had planned so I passed.
Oh, and that was Thanksgiving weekend and the following week. Plenty of 8-9 crowd level MK days. So no, not a slow time.

 

[SugarMagnolia75]

So, I love how you try to start off with a dig.. I thought we were actually having an adult conversation. Kudos on that I get that some people, one little loud group in particular, have a huge issue with any "extra" at Disney. It's very odd to me, but oh well. To each their own. I've never spoke or seen you here before..so not quite sure how you know about what upcharge events I've done or haven't done. Anyway though..I have no idea how that is relevant. Could you elaborate on it's relevance?.. then maybe I would know how to properly answer.

For the record though, yes, the 180 and 60 day system is a pain. I hate Disney planning. Hate it. A vacation planning stage is not supposed to be that stressful. Guess what though, I have never once gone to Disney World with reservation more than 62 days old. Never. I tried in 2016. Only bc the trip was attached to the cruise. It was Hell. It gave me way too much time to think, plan, and obsess..in the end, I changed my reservations 2 months before arrival. Dates, resorts, reservations, all of it. We still had somewhere to eat. Oddly enough I could have made reservations at every single restaurant, including CRT, very close to my trip..and a ton on the day or few days before the desired date.
The only one I could not get was Minnie's Holiday Dine. There was a time available once, but it conflicted with something else we had planned so I passed.

It wasn't a dig, so I'm not sure why you would jump to that conclusion. Is it a touchy subject for you? My point was that I don't vacation like you do. In fact, I think we are probably opposite each other in many ways. Because I either will not or cannot pay for the convenience of reserved seating for shows/parades/fireworks or for tours that include FOL ride access, I plan our trips very carefully. CRT is not a cheap meal, if we made an ADR there it would be for a reason.

 

[SorcererMC]

This whole thing is like watching a game of telephone.
The twists, turns, conspiracies, empathy (for whom?), fascinating. All based on one person's relayed conversation. Social Media at it's best.

I don't think the OP (on the other site) intended to start a fire storm...others are running away with it...and there definitely is a lack of verifiable information.

And I find it quite odd that Disney chose to announce it on DPB....why on earth would they publicly announce it when it is obviously so exclusive? And that anyone who had their ADR cancelled/moved would know? Or did they think no one would notice? Are they trading on guests' loyalty and good faith if they did? Maybe before social media they could be slick about something like this (no one would know), I'd say they are walking on thin ice in trying to attract guests for this sort of exclusive event at the expense of regular guests....but hey the guests will just keep coming (by the logic, 'it happened to someone else, not to me' or 'if it does happen, Disney will take care of it').

 

[SorcererMC]

Is it a touchy subject for you?

@21stamps had a trip recently and talks about it. Some folks here have a real problem with that.

ETA: I also think that when CRT is used for special occasions like you referenced, that Disney needs to take that into consideration and it is a concern. (Do they or did they in this case? We don't know, only that the one person was satisfied with the resolution.)

 

[21stamps]

It wasn't a dig, so I'm not sure why you would jump to that conclusion. Is it a touchy subject for you? My point was that I don't vacation like you do. In fact, I think we are probably opposite each other in many ways. Because I either will not or cannot pay for the convenience of reserved seating for shows/parades/fireworks or for tours that include FOL ride access, I plan our trips very carefully. CRT is not a cheap meal, if we made an ADR there it would be for a reason.

Of course there would be a reason to book it.
If there was any evidence that Disney actually flat out cancelled someone's reservation, with no alternative time to dine there, then I would grab a pitchfork and join your crucade.
However, no such evidence exists. So I can't join a false crucade.

I don't think the OP (on the other site) intended to start a fire storm...others are running away with it...and there definitely is a lack of verifiable information.

And I find it quite odd that Disney chose to announce it on DPB....why on earth would they publicly announce it when it is obviously so exclusive? And that anyone who had their ADR cancelled/moved would know? Or did they think no one would notice? Are they trading on guests' loyalty and good faith if they did? Maybe before social media they could be slick about something like this (no one would know), I'd say they are walking on thin ice in trying to attract guests for this sort of exclusive event at the expense of regular guests....but hey the guests will just keep coming (by the logic, 'it happened to someone else, not to me' or 'if it does happen, Disney will take care of it').

Oh I agree with the first part! I don't think he had a clue what would come if his one innocent thread.lol. I just am giving Disney the benefit of the doubt, as I would to anyone, when there is nothing that shows malicious intent. See my response to the person above.

 

[monothingie]

Of course there would be a reason to book it.
If there was any evidence that Disney actually flat out cancelled someone's reservation, with no alternative time to dine there, then I would grab a pitchfork and join your crucade.
However, no such evidence exists. So I can't join a false crucade.


Oh I agree with the first part! I don't think he had a clue what would come if his one innocent thread.lol. I just am giving Disney the benefit of the doubt, as I would to anyone, when there is nothing that shows malicious intent. See my response to the person above.

Nothing that shows malicious intent? Really?? The reason for the ADR cancellations was "operational issues" (LIE), the default response by Disney Dining was essentially "nothing we can do". The only way this one individual got any sort restitution was by escalating and having the patience to wait 2 days for a phone call from a manager that took it upon themselves to attempt to remedy the issue. Again the default company response was "meh too bad"

You are either in total denial that Disney acted unscrupulously here, or simply blinded by the cloud of pixie dust in which you are living in.

 

[L.C. Clench]

I don't think the OP (on the other site) intended to start a fire storm...others are running away with it...and there definitely is a lack of verifiable information.

And I find it quite odd that Disney chose to announce it on DPB....why on earth would they publicly announce it when it is obviously so exclusive? And that anyone who had their ADR cancelled/moved would know? Or did they think no one would notice? Are they trading on guests' loyalty and good faith if they did? Maybe before social media they could be slick about something like this (no one would know), I'd say they are walking on thin ice in trying to attract guests for this sort of exclusive event at the expense of regular guests....but hey the guests will just keep coming (by the logic, 'it happened to someone else, not to me' or 'if it does happen, Disney will take care of it').

I think for me this is the issue. I don't care if they want to hold premium events but it's the thumbing their nose at their most prolific customer over and over again that makes you realize that service is no longer a Disney staple. They know that in the big scheme of things very few people will even know this happened. Like was pointed out earlier the percentage of customers who use Disney boards is probably a very tiny portion of their customer base and the ones that won't come to their defense for everything they do is an even smaller one. They don't care because they don't have to which is a very bad spot for the customer.

 

[Nubs70]

I know some people like to live in gray area where the truth can be stretched, but this is a scheduling conflict to me not an operational issue, unless that issue is incompetence. I don't understand why people constantly give Disney a pass for things they would not accept from anyone else.

WDW participated in a lie of omission. Committed by purposely leaving out the truth.