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

[contrariwise]

The TOS may cover $DIS to do whatever they want with (or to) their guests, but the honorable thing for them to do is to honor their original commitment to their original guests.

THIS

People going on about how they wouldn't be upset ... it's beside the point. This was a crappy thing to do to people, and if the decision was made to plow ahead with the private event, then reasonable accommodations should have been made to those displaced. Immediately. No one should have to escalate the situation and demand resolution. It should have been offered from the get-go. Conversation: "I understand this inconveniences you. What can we do to make this right?" THAT should have been the way it went.

It doesn't matter if some of the displaced are all zen, go with the flow, don't worry/be happy kind of people. In those cases, it's the customer's disposition that's solving the problem, not Disney. If zen is what is going to solve the problem, what am I paying for? Why am I choosing Disney if I can expect to be displaced and disappointed, but if my attitude is adjusted I can still have a good time? I expect top-notch customer service from Disney and this is not it.

This is not really about this specific incident for me. It's about a trend towards crappy customer service, ignoring the core customer in favor of those willing to pony up extra money for shiny things of dubious value. It's why I don't have a trip booked right now.

 

[Delgado]

What if it was their last day in the park
What if they had planned out all their fastpasses for that day in the MK...

We don't know if everyone was able to get moved to another day and we don't know that this hasn't disrupted any plans.

The fact is, Disney is pushing aside their "normal" guests so they can host a $pecial event (emphasis on the $)

As of now when this was cancelled, a last day in the park is not relevant. If the reservations were on the 31 and that was the last day they were in the park the days before it could be rescheduled. I'm not trying to argue, I agree disney was in the wrong. It's expected they plan events 181 days out if it requires so customers plans can be made. I just think the gray area is being stretched both ways, against and defending disney. A molehill is being manifested into a mountain. Disney is a business and people forget that because Disney is so good at what they do,.I have high expectations which is why if another time was given and it worked for the customers I don't see what the earth shattering anger is about coming from places in this thread.

 

[Bandini]

As of now when this was cancelled, a last day in the park is not relevant. If the reservations were on the 31 and that was the last day they were in the park the days before it could be rescheduled. I'm not trying to argue, I agree disney was in the wrong. It's expected they plan events 181 days out if it requires so customers plans can be made. I just think the gray area is being stretched both ways, against and defending disney. A molehill is being manifested into a mountain. Disney is a business and people forget that because Disney is so good at what they do,.I have high expectations which is why if another time was given and it worked for the customers I don't see what the earth shattering anger is about coming from places in this thread.

What if it's their only day in the park?
I don't think there is "earth shattering anger" on this thread. I think there is genuine disappointment. Disney was great at customer service and a lot of us experienced it for a lot of years. Now? Disney's new slogan seems to be: Too bad so sad!

 

[contrariwise]

What if it's their only day in the park?
I don't think there is "earth shattering anger" on this thread. I think there is genuine disappointment. Disney was great at customer service and a lot of us experienced it for a lot of years. Now? Disney's new slogan seems to be: Too bad so sad!

Agreed. Not anger -- disappointment.

 

[Delgado]

What if it's their only day in the park?
I don't think there is "earth shattering anger" on this thread. I think there is genuine disappointment. Disney was great at customer service and a lot of us experienced it for a lot of years. Now? Disney's new slogan seems to be: Too bad so sad!

Agreed it is very disappointing and hopefully disney will plan better in the future.
Chances are if they were eating at CRT it wasn't the only day in he park but again it's speculation, which is what all this is.
Hopefully someone is smacking their forehead saying "wow how did this happen" and it doesn't become the norm.

 

[MichWolv]

Disney's new slogan seems to be: Too bad so sad!

You'll note from earlier posts that I had something similar happen to me a couple of years ago and was (still am, really) quite upset about it. But this statement is way over the top. While "Too bad so sad" is an apt description of what I was told when my NYE ressie was canceled for an upcharge event, it is not an apt description of most of the customer service service interactions I've had in recent years. I've been given bonus FPs to apologize for a 15 minute delay in being seated for an ADR. I've asked for and received preferable table locations at restaurants, and been apologized to profusely (and even offered a free drink) when such requests could not be filled. I've been taken in a security van back to my car rather than having to wait for trams when I forgot something. I've had CMs go out of their way to get me information, ensure I made it to my ADRs on time, and have special moments.

Overall, more often than not, my rhyming paraphrase of the customer service at WDW is "Let's turn that frown upside-down".

 

[NYwdwfan]

Agreed it is very disappointing and hopefully disney will plan better in the future.
Chances are if they were eating at CRT it wasn't the only day in he park but again it's speculation, which is what all this is.
Hopefully someone is smacking their forehead saying "wow how did this happen" and it doesn't become the norm.

If this were the first instance of this type of thing happening, I could agree. Unfortunately it's become a trend. I'm out of hope.

 

[danlb_2000]

But the Exclusive event planner would have spoken with the CRT manager, at the very least. Can you imagine that manager not telling the event planner that his restaurant was a hot ticket that booked out at 180 days?

IT is another joke. #Thanks MDE

But in a large company that sort of thing would not be unusual because it's not a case of one manager talking to another, it a case of the events team talking to the CRT team and you can easily end up in situation where the event planner though that there was communication with the CRT manager when there wasn't. Still doesn't excuse what happened.

 

[21stamps]

As of now when this was cancelled, a last day in the park is not relevant. If the reservations were on the 31 and that was the last day they were in the park the days before it could be rescheduled. I'm not trying to argue, I agree disney was in the wrong. It's expected they plan events 181 days out if it requires so customers plans can be made. I just think the gray area is being stretched both ways, against and defending disney. A molehill is being manifested into a mountain. Disney is a business and people forget that because Disney is so good at what they do,.I have high expectations which is why if another time was given and it worked for the customers I don't see what the earth shattering anger is about coming from places in this thread.

I think everyone agrees on one point, there was an error somewhere on Disney's part. They made a mistake.
Once that is found, then how do you resolve it?
That's what a business has to decide. That's where they should "make it right". I asked a question yesterday "If 'you' were the decision maker what would 'you' do?"
What would "your" gameplan be?
It sounds well and good to cancel or postpone the after hours event, but that is the worst to do, not bc those people are paying more, just bc logistically it is the more difficult to accomplish.
If they found new CRT times, and arranged other plans for people accordingly, would people here be satisfied with that outcome?

@MichWolv for example, would you have been satisfied, during your mess that Disney created, if they would have given you a different time for that restaurant, and at least worked with your current plans to make adjustments where need be?

 

[Bandini]

You'll note from earlier posts that I had something similar happen to me a couple of years ago and was (still am, really) quite upset about it. But this statement is way over the top. While "Too bad so sad" is an apt description of what I was told when my NYE ressie was canceled for an upcharge event, it is not an apt description of most of the customer service service interactions I've had in recent years. I've been given bonus FPs to apologize for a 15 minute delay in being seated for an ADR. I've asked for and received preferable table locations at restaurants, and been apologized to profusely (and even offered a free drink) when such requests could not be filled. I've been taken in a security van back to my car rather than having to wait for trams when I forgot something. I've had CMs go out of their way to get me information, ensure I made it to my ADRs on time, and have special moments.

Overall, more often than not, my rhyming paraphrase of the customer service at WDW is "Let's turn that frown upside-down".

We're going to have to agree to disagree about this. First of all, giving out FP+'s to placate customers is easy and it costs Disney nothing.

I travel for a living and so I see what other hotels and restaurants do to make things right for their guests. I have had rooms comped, been upgraded to suites, and I've had meals comped. These establishments bend over backward to make sure that their customers are satisfied. And this is a result of reporting a problem, no tirades involved.

It's the way Disney used to do it. A lot of the tourism industry modeled their customer service off of the Disney model. But IMO, Disney doesn't use this model anymore. They are relying on their reputation and not their current practices.

 

[Laketravis]

Logistically it is the more difficult to accomplish? Hogwash. That "mistake" as you call it was created, scheduled, promoted, resulted in the cancelling of existing reservations and is what should have been cancelled. Not the original and already PAID FOR reservations. Period.

It sounds well and good to cancel or postpone the after hours event, but that is the worst to do, not bc those people are paying more, just bc logistically it is the more difficult to accomplish.

 

[Me 'Earties]

Have you ever worked in a multi-billion dollar corporation? The people who work in Disney's event planning business don't have the full knowledge and foresight of the ENTIRE multi-billion dollar corporation. They know their area of work. If you don't work in park operations, there's a good chance you don't know that there might be guests in a restaurant an hour after the park closes. It's like asking your housekeeper at Animal Kingdom Lodge whether the bakery at the Norway pavilion sells Vitamin Water. The AKL housekeeper doesn't know that information because it's not his or her job to know that information.

Sorry for the late jump in here, but, I do work for a multi-billion dollar company. When an event is planned, it's usually months in the making; and typically all teams involved with that event (be it marketing, sales, event coordinators, etc.) are pulled into meetings along the entire track of its planning. All stakeholders (people or groups that have skin in the game) are aware of what's going on. At the minimum, status updates are passed along in the basic email form, to indicate where the different groups are in the planning stages.

Depending on the size of the event, planning can be a year out...to maybe even three months (that is very short notice in our business). I don't know how Disney runs it's events planning, but I can't imagine that this is Disney's first foray in an event planning; that they didn't realize how CRT operates. My opinion (and perhaps not viewed by all): Disney chose to potentially off those 30 or so reservations for the sake of high dollar event. A company will sometime cannibalize smaller efforts if they believe something else will have larger returns.

 

[Me 'Earties]

If this were the first instance of this type of thing happening, I could agree. Unfortunately it's become a trend. I'm out of hope.

As my colleague and I like to say: hope is not a strategy!

 

[Bandini]

But in a large company that sort of thing would not be unusual because it's not a case of one manager talking to another, it a case of the events team talking to the CRT team and you can easily end up in situation where the event planner though that there was communication with the CRT manager when there wasn't. Still doesn't excuse what happened.

OK so the event team spoke with the CRT team. Wouldn't the CRT team talk about CRT's popularity? I'll bet they did and I'll bet the exclusive event trumped all because of the additional $$$. But this coming from a perspective of speculation, cynicism, and disappointment.

I want the old Disney parks back!

This is another event that I hope fails. The money grab is just too extreme.

 

[danlb_2000]

I think everyone agrees on one point, there was an error somewhere on Disney's part. They made a mistake.
Once that is found, then how do you resolve it?
That's what a business has to decide. That's where they should "make it right". I asked a question yesterday "If 'you' were the decision maker what would 'you' do?"
What would "your" gameplan be?
It sounds well and good to cancel or postpone the after hours event, but that is the worst to do, not bc those people are paying more, just bc logistically it is the more difficult to accomplish.
If they found new CRT times, and arranged other plans for people accordingly, would people here be satisfied with that outcome?

@MichWolv for example, would you have been satisfied, during your mess that Disney created, if they would have given you a different time for that restaurant, and at least worked with your current plans to make adjustments where need be?

I wouldn't necessarily say it would be logistically harder. Based on what we know there were fewer people coming to the after hours party and anyone who did reserve did so in the past few weeks so are likely in a much better position to change their plans. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the people going were locals. I also would assume there were more kids coming to CRT then the after hours party and adults are less likely to be upset by a change in plans. Without knowing all the details it's hard to say what the best resolution was, but maybe they could have started the party later and provided and alternate viewing location for fireworks, or even moved the entire party somewhere else.

 

[danlb_2000]

OK so the event team spoke with the CRT team. Wouldn't the CRT team talk about CRT's popularity? I'll bet they did and I'll bet the exclusive event trumped all because of the additional $$$. But this coming from a perspective of speculation, cynicism, and disappointment.

I want the old Disney parks back!

This is another event that I hope fails. The money grab is just too extreme.

No, one team assumed someone talked to the other team when they actually didn't. I used to work for a large corporation and saw this sort of thing happen. Don't get my wrong, I am not trying to defend Disney on this, I think it was handled poorly, but we can't be sure if this was either intentional or a mistake.

 

[contrariwise]

I think everyone agrees on one point, there was an error somewhere on Disney's part. They made a mistake.

Nope. Don't agree. This whole thing COULD have been deliberate on Disney's part. I don't mean, they deliberately set about to screw these people over from the get-go. I mean, they knew that the private event would screw up people's plans and they plowed ahead with the upcharge event for the insecure and terminally-entitled regardless, because it was better for their bottom line. I don't think that's what you mean by "mistake".

The need to see it as a mistake is due to rose colored glasses, either with regard to Disney or life as a whole. Seeing it as deliberate? I'll cop to cynical. Regardless, no, everyone doesn't agree a mistake was made.

 

[contrariwise]

My opinion (and perhaps not viewed by all): Disney chose to potentially **** off those 30 or so reservations for the sake of high dollar event. A company will sometime cannibalize smaller efforts if they believe something else will have larger returns.

My point exactly. Thank you for expressing this so well.

 

[21stamps]

I wouldn't necessarily say it would be logically harder. Based on what we know there were fewer people coming to the after hours party and anyone who did reserve did so in the past few weeks so are likely in a much better position to change their plans. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the people going were locals. I also would assume there were more kids coming to CRT then the after hours party and adults are less likely to be upset by a change in plans. Without knowing all the details it's hard to say what the best resolution was, but maybe they could have started the party later and provided and alternate viewing location for fireworks, or even moved the entire party somewhere else.

I have to ask, do you think a child would be upset bc they are eating at CRT at 2pm instead of 6:45pm. Or on a Tuesday instead of a Monday?

Once the error was found they could- rearrange times for the 6:45 people, still get them in the restaurant, probably compensate with something, fastpasses etc..so it doesn't wreck their schedule. Personally call them or have a return call to iron out the details.
Or postpone a publicly announced event?

Taking emotion out of it, if you're faced with that decision, what would you do?

 

[contrariwise]

I have to ask, do you think a child would be upset bc they are eating at CRT at 2pm instead of 6:45pm. Or on a Tuesday instead of a Monday?

Once the error was found they could- rearrange times for the 6:45 people, still get them in the restaurant, probably compensate with something, fastpasses etc..so it doesn't wreck their schedule. Personally call them or have a return call to iron out the details.
Or postpone a publicly announced event?

Taking emotion out of it, if you're faced with that decision, what would you do?

So your response is this: Sure, go ahead with the upcharge event. How mad can the other people possibly be? We'll reschedule them. Lunch is as good as dinner. Tuesday is as good as Monday. It all equals out. We'll reap the rewards of this upcharge event AND probably get the rubes to reschedule. If one of the rubes doesn't, well, it's still a net win for WDW.

What about not scheduling these dumb upcharge events in the first place? What about honoring commitments previously made? It's all just a constant cash grab. Again, if this was a one-off, I would write it off. Sadly, it's business as usual these days.