We had a magical time but...

dizdrew

dizdrew

New Member
Original Poster
Hey y’all! I just returned from a 5 day trip with my adult son and although we had an amazing time, I was left disappointed with a few things. Let me preface by stating that the CM’s we dealt with were the absolute best. Exceeded my expectations every time.

What stood out to me were little things like dirty, fingerprinted doors, tables in food courts dirty with questionable stuff stuck to chairs, mousekeeping missing things like hairs in shower- not ours btw- and dirty floor not mopped. The dirty floor was ours; tracked in wet shoes from pool. Standing in some attraction lines and seeing spiderwebs. The buses and their need for a hosing down. I made the mistake of glancing behind one of the seats and couldn’t believe the yuck back there!

I’ve been taking my family as a single mom to Disney since the 90’s. My mother took me at 7 yrs old and I fell in love. Knew one day I’d be back. We’ve stayed in everything from offsite to finally our dream resort the Contemporary in 2017. So I’ve had a range of experiences and loved them all.

I might have on rose colored glasses so definitely call me out if that’s the case but what I always appreciated about Disney was their attention to detail in all aspects of operations. I just really felt that lacking this time.
 
mergatroid

mergatroid

Well-Known Member
I've not stayed in Disney properties since around 1999 (my dad bought a place in Orlando so went there instead) so maybe my comment won't be that helpful. However I remember my dad booking about 15 rooms in the Grand Floridian in the early 90's for a group of colleagues on a business trip. He said his tv in his room wasn't working properly so he called the front desk. They sent somebody up to his room who spoke next to no English (or pretended not to) who proceeded to jiggle the wires at the back till the picture came on and stuck some tape on them.

A couple of days later it happened again with the same result. He was never offered another room, neither was anyone apologetic. I suppose my point is that was around 25 years ago so maybe it's not just a recent thing but more luck of the draw? However I'm happy to admit that the replies from those who regularly stay at Disney will shed far more light on this subject than my reply will.
 
John park hopper

John park hopper

Well-Known Member
Our last visit I too was disappointed by over flowing trash cans, trash (cup, paper napkins, etc) in the gardens, dirty tables. I don't remember that back in the 70's, 80's and 90's but I don't blame Disney entirely. People in general have become slobs and the shear volume of people in Disney makes it hard to keep up with the slob mentality. I suppose Disney could hire more staff to clean during the day
 
mergatroid

mergatroid

Well-Known Member
John park hopper said:
Our last visit I too was disappointed by over flowing trash cans, trash (cup, paper napkins, etc) in the gardens, dirty tables. I don't remember that back in the 70's, 80's and 90's but I don't blame Disney entirely. People in general have become slobs and the shear volume of people in Disney makes it hard to keep up with the slob mentality. I suppose Disney could hire more staff to clean during the day
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Stayed offsite last October and witnessed this behaviour by an English family at our hotel. Each day they ate Subway sandwiches for lunch by the pool but instead of putting the wrappers in any of the bins just meters away from them they just left them on the floor. Their kids aged around 5 also would throw their 'pool towels' into the actual pool on their way out instead of into the towel receptacle provided which astonishingly amused their parents greatly. Being English myself it upset me even more and on the third day I spoke up as they left and they responded by swearing and mumbling something about me being lucky they were on their way somewhere. Some people are basically just scum.
 
mergatroid

mergatroid

Well-Known Member
Conno said:
As a Brit myself, not sure why the nationality is remotely relevant to your story.
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erm, as I said in my post that you edited out

mergatroid said:
Being English myself it upset me even more
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When I see fellow English people behaving badly I often worry that it reflects badly on other English people. I know their behaviour doesn't mean we're all like that but I also realise many will look upon it like that. Does that make any more sense to you?
 
C

Conno

Member
mergatroid said:
erm, as I said in my post that you edited out

When I see fellow English people behaving badly I often worry that it reflects badly on other English people. I know their behaviour doesn't mean we're all like that but I also realise many will look upon it like that. Does that make any more sense to you?
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I never said it didn't make sense, I asked why it was relevant. People of all nationalities can be slobs and rude, or worse. You (as in the person making the judgement) would have to be pretty short sighted and/or uncultured to think it applies to an entire nation.

ETA: Would you be less inclined to say something to another family behaving that way if they were not from the UK?
 
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mergatroid

mergatroid

Well-Known Member
Conno said:
I never said it didn't make sense, I asked why it was relevant. People of all nationalities can be slobs and rude, or worse. You (as in the person making the judgement) would have to be pretty short sighted and/or uncultured to think it applies to an entire nation.

ETA: Would you be less inclined to say something to another family behaving that way if they were not from the UK?
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That's why I said

I know their behaviour doesn't mean we're all like that but I also realise many will look upon it like that.
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To me that clearly means that I don't think it means I think it applies to an entire nation? However some people do and that was my point. I only mentioned their nationality as it was the same as mine and therefore made me worry that some people may think it reflects on all of us.

As for your question as to would I be less inclined to say something to another family behaving that way if they were not from the UK? Well if they spoke no English then yes I probably would as they would probably not understand me. I'd probably try signing to them that they should pick up their rubbish from the floor and remove their towels from the pool. If I heard them speak English then yes I'd mention it, is that ok?
 
dizdrew

dizdrew

New Member
Original Poster
John park hopper said:
Our last visit I too was disappointed by over flowing trash cans, trash (cup, paper napkins, etc) in the gardens, dirty tables. I don't remember that back in the 70's, 80's and 90's but I don't blame Disney entirely. People in general have become slobs and the shear volume of people in Disney makes it hard to keep up with the slob mentality. I suppose Disney could hire more staff to clean during the day
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Totally agree. I feel more manpower would do a world of good.
 
dizdrew

dizdrew

New Member
Original Poster
Disstevefan1 said:
Back to the original comments of the OP. In my opinion the reason you see thoes issues is because the understaffed, under paid, overworked cast members who serve extremely overcrowded parks and resorts!

Why would Disney operate this way? BECAUSE THEY CAN!!!! Folks just keep coming!,,,,
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You’re absolutely right! currently planning our next trip as we speak...
 
daisyduckie

daisyduckie

Well-Known Member
I have been hearing complaints like this for years. So much so that I think I am hyper aware of those things while at WDW. And I just don't see it. Maybe I'm lucky.

I will admit that when I do see a mess, something like garbage on a bus, I put the blame on the guests. People need to stop behaving worse than the lowest animal. Disney shouldn't be expected to hire 1 CM for every 1 guest.

And no, the parks and resorts are no "overcrowded" though this is a popular bit of hyperbole. Both things have occupancy limits. Both may be busier that some would like, but they are not technically "overcrowded". They are busy, which is a good thing for any resort business.
 
John park hopper

John park hopper

Well-Known Member
daisyduckie said:
I have been hearing complaints like this for years. So much so that I think I am hyper aware of those things while at WDW. And I just don't see it. Maybe I'm lucky.

I will admit that when I do see a mess, something like garbage on a bus, I put the blame on the guests. People need to stop behaving worse than the lowest animal. Disney shouldn't be expected to hire 1 CM for every 1 guest.

And no, the parks and resorts are no "overcrowded" though this is a popular bit of hyperbole. Both things have occupancy limits. Both may be busier that some would like, but they are not technically "overcrowded". They are busy, which is a good thing for any resort business.
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Who set the occupancy limits? Simply because there are limits does not mean they are set for guest comfort.
 
JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
You can blame Disney for a lot of the issues because of not having the staff or utilizing staff like they once did. But theres also the problem of the increase in crowds, the change of peoples attitudes and how they now lack the respect of the parks they once did. We are going back next year and will be going with the attitude that we will see some minor things that we will ignore, some will disappoint us, and some major things that will stand out... but we will not let it affect our enjoyment. Its not the Disney we once knew and probably will never return to that standard, but its still good enough to keep us coming back and better than anything else we have at this level to vacation as a family.
 

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