Worst Disney World hotel experience thread

[Shouldigo12]

Ah. Customers have no leverage at check-out. Normally, if BBs are detected and complained about at check-in, Disney's response is phenomenal (as reported by others who had the issue).

It's like eating at a restaurant- if you eat the whole dish and then tell the waitress you didn't like it, there's not a whole lot she can (or will want to) do for you.
Edit- Not saying Chance and their family were at fault for not saying something sooner, they were only there one night so there wasn't any time.

 

[LAKid53]

First time at Coronado in 2013, I woke up to the sink regurgitating water and overflowing the vanity onto the floor.
They fixed the problem and gave a voucher for 4 nights free at a Moderate next time. Used voucher for Riverside

In 2016 for Princess Race Weekend, stayed at Coronado. Morning of race I awoke at 2am to see the toilet overflowed at night soaking everything on the floor in the closet area. After the race I went to front desk. They dry cleaned all clothes that were on floor, gave vouchers for new clothes at Disney Springs, and moved us to Beach Club.

Clearly Coronado has had plumbing issues. I’d think the refurb would help.

Staying at Boardwalk for the inaugural SW weekend, we decided (my roommate) to back up the toilet Saturday night before the Half. Wasn't a fun evening.

 

[LAKid53]

One stay at POR for a birthday trip, came back to the room early to take a nap and clean up before eating a birthday dinner at CRT. Door wouldn't open. Housekeeping was wandering around and said she couldn't get in either - but they have keys. And she didn't bother to report it. So I had to walk over to main building and report it. Turned out that while we were in the park, the battery in the touchpoint died (this was still in the days of Key to the World cards). Took maintenance nearly 30 minutes to show up. Once they got the door open, I told housekeeping they have to service the room ASAP as we had an ADR in 2 hours. Took maintenance nearly 30 minutes to replace the entire touchpad, test it and then make sure our keys worked. Needless to say, no nap and we were 5 minutes late for our ADR. Why housekeeping didn't notify anyone when they couldn't get in the room I never got an explanation for. But one of the managers they sent just graduated from my alma mater, so we had a nice conversation about college while we waited for the door to get fixed.

 

[ChanceH]

Ah. Customers have no leverage at check-out. Normally, if BBs are detected and complained about at check-in, Disney's response is phenomenal (as reported by others who had the issue).

I agree but cousin didn’t even reali

It's like eating at a restaurant- if you eat the whole dish and then tell the waitress you didn't like it, there's not a whole lot she can (or will want to) do for you.
Edit- Not saying Chance and their family were at fault for not saying something sooner, they were only there one night so there wasn't any time.

i agree. I can’t answer to when my cousin first noticed or even said anything as he is 13. But my uncle told me when my cousin got out of shower that morning he noticed all the bumps on his back and arms. Tore the sheets off and inspected them and mattress with nothing visible to the eye. He went and showed the front desk pictures and the ensuing conversation happened. We had to catch the MDE in 30 min so as soon as plane landed back in Houston uncle took cousin straight to an urgent care. It was the doctor there that confirmed it looked like bed bugs. So all in all it’s disheartening but uncle chocked it up as a one time thing due to us having stayed at POR NUMEROUS times with zero issues. And won’t hesitate to stay again.

 

[larryz]

i agree. I can’t answer to when my cousin first noticed or even said anything as he is 13. But my uncle told me when my cousin got out of shower that morning he noticed all the bumps on his back and arms. Tore the sheets off and inspected them and mattress with nothing visible to the eye. He went and showed the front desk pictures and the ensuing conversation happened. We had to catch the MDE in 30 min so as soon as plane landed back in Houston uncle took cousin straight to an urgent care. It was the doctor there that confirmed it looked like bed bugs. So all in all it’s disheartening but uncle chocked it up as a one time thing due to us having stayed at POR NUMEROUS times with zero issues. And won’t hesitate to stay again.

Thanks for the additional information. Without evidence of bedbugs on the mattress or in the room, I'd be inclined to dismiss the physical symptoms as dermatitis, perhaps brought on by the detergents or other chemicals used in the WDW laundry. But I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on TV.

 

[Much-Pixie-Dust]

Thanks for the additional information. Without evidence of bedbugs on the mattress or in the room, I'd be inclined to dismiss the physical symptoms as dermatitis, perhaps brought on by the detergents or other chemicals used in the WDW laundry. But I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on TV.

This is my kiddo. She has super sensitive skin, and always break out like this when we go to Disney or any other hotel. We have to bring scent free soaps, shampoos, and such. We have also taken her laundry detergent and washed the towels at hotel laundry facilities to help because their towels break her out.

 

[Skibum1970]

Only negative experience we had was limited. We were at the Wilderness Lodge and had to get up at 4:30 AM for the Magical Express ride to the airport. Around 10:00, the neighboring room had kids opening and closing the room door repeatedly with the door propped open by the additional little metal lock. Thus, our room shook each time. Given that we were trying to get to bed, it became more and more annoying. Finally, I opened the door and gave a decent glare (not my best effort) and the kids and one of the mom's were on the receiving end. The festivities ended after that. We were trying to be understanding (kids, excitement at WDW, etc.) but tiredness won out.

 

[Pirate Magic]

Only negative experience we had was limited. We were at the Wilderness Lodge and had to get up at 4:30 AM for the Magical Express ride to the airport. Around 10:00, the neighboring room had kids opening and closing the room door repeatedly with the door propped open by the additional little metal lock. Thus, our room shook each time. Given that we were trying to get to bed, it became more and more annoying. Finally, I opened the door and gave a decent glare (not my best effort) and the kids and one of the mom's were on the receiving end. The festivities ended after that. We were trying to be understanding (kids, excitement at WDW, etc.) but tiredness won out.

That happened to us at POP, but we were not leaving the next day. They would sleep during the day and stay up late at night. I never said anything to them just gave them a taste of their own medicine during the day and guess what it stopped. But you were a whole lot nicer than I would have been. Good for you!!!!

 

[monykalyn]

Right? And notice most of the time the cast member fixed the underlying issue. If more companies followed the Disney customer experience model oh what a world it would be.

This is a myth that other companies don’t give great customer service. Usually have had BETTER customer service at non Disney hotels.
Recently stayed at Hyatt house across from Universal week of Christmas. Short story version: minor mess up with room category, fixed the next day, manager was able to add an extra day we wanted (remember extremely busy week ), and discounted the stay. Total stay ended up being same price for 4 days plus we had drinks at the bar two separate nights charged to room, as the original 3 night stay. Plus no peeling wallpaper, outdated outlets falling out of wall, dust in corners of room- all of which we’ve experienced at Disney resorts. In 2015 stayed pre Reno beach club room where wall paper was literally coming in strips off wall, carpet worn and frayed. Same trip stayed in Royal Pacific pre Reno room that was in perfect condition (in fact we wondered why the resort was due for Reno as it wasn’t in great shape!)

But the worst at Disney resorts is the luggage delivery- if you arrive after 5 pm forget getting luggage before midnight. Oh and no call to tell you that BS has the bags but they stop delivering at midnight if they get behind- and the condescending attitude when you show up asking YET AGAIN where bags are

 

[BoarderPhreak]

Regardless of resort, I've had more problems with DME and luggage than I care to admit. Or leaving "five hours early" (exaggerated for effect) for a domestic flight.

 

[CLEtoWDW]

Not to sound snide but what do you expect with DME? It’s a “free” services that thousands of people per day use. I’ll spend the couple extra bus and Uber or use private transportation to avoid the headache. I have zero tolerance for those that complain about the service of DME. You have a choice! No one forces you to use the service!

 

[Skibum1970]

Regardless of resort, I've had more problems with DME and luggage than I care to admit. Or leaving "five hours early" (exaggerated for effect) for a domestic flight.

Same. Last year, we were picked up at Old Key West, went to POFQ, POR, and Fort Wilderness before turning towards the airport. That was my only complaint. I don't necessarily mind the three hour leave time because it does take traffic jam concerns out of play. However, there are times when it is a little aggravating. I did have one trip where, due to rain and rush hour, it took over almost an hour and a half to get to the airport and we had been the last group to get picked up. We were glad that we had the extra time because we needed every minute.

You have a choice! No one forces you to use the service!

Correct that we have choices. However, Disney describes it in a way that you wouldn't guess that you have will leave three hours prior to your flight. I definitely agree about Uber/rental car/etc. as an alternative method to get to the airport. For us, we just plan on the three hour tour and sing the theme song to Gilligan's Island. I just wish that the Express didn't stop at so many different resorts. I understand why. I just wish that they wouldn't.

 

[G Nagy]

Our one and only stay at AS Sports. Took my 2 girls for spring break (DH had to stay home for work) - grls trip, YAY. Except it turned out that there was a cheerleading competition, and the resort was full of over energized and severely under chaperoned teenage girls. I understand being noisy and excited, but they would swarm the CS area, cutting into lines in groups. They did the same thing at the bus stops, and you almost needed earplugs on the ride to and from the parks. But nights were the worst. I don't know when they slept. You could hear them outside til all hours. They also seemed to delight in banging on doors as they ran by. The worst though was the repeated phone calls. Apparently our room number was close to that of one of the chaperones, and we kept getting calls for Mrs. So-and-so late at night. I complained to the front desk, but they just shrugged their shoulders and told me to unplug my phone. It didn't ruin the trip, but even my teenage daughters were shaking their heads over the behavior they saw.

We had a similar experience with the cheerleaders. They were like ants, they were everywhere and incredibly rude. Never go when they are there. you can check online to see when the competitions are being held so you can avoid them.

 

[Skibum1970]

We had a similar experience with the cheerleaders. They were like ants, they were everywhere and incredibly rude. Never go when they are there. you can check online to see when the competitions are being held so you can avoid them.

Did they try to steal your picnic food as well? I have, luckily, avoided the times that these competitions occurred. That would almost be enough to make me move off property if it was that bad. Plus, I doubt that Disney is going to kick the golden goose. Those competitions probably mean guaranteed money and so will be tolerated more leniently.

 

[draybook]

I can't remember which trip is was, but I talked about it in the trip report on here. I'll try to see if I remember exactly how it went down.

I believe that we didn't get our room texted to us until later in the evening. When we got to the room after the MK closed, the room had definitely been smoked in. Our teenaged son has light asthma so I called the front desk to be moved. When we hauled our luggage over to the new room, the bands wouldn't open the door. So, I called the front desk from the phone thing by the ice machine and they said they were sending someone to open it with a key for us. The next morning I went down to the front desk to get it fixed. Long story short, it took several hours and a manager and maintainence to get fixed. As a matter of fact, we had left our bands with the manager during the day while we hit the parks and they still weren't working that night. It might have even been the next morning when they got fixed. For all of the trouble and hassle, we got 3 fastpasses added to the mix. Whoopy. This was especially frustrating as it was at our favorite resort, POFQ.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

Not to sound snide but what do you expect with DME? It’s a “free” services that thousands of people per day use. I’ll spend the couple extra bus and Uber or use private transportation to avoid the headache. I have zero tolerance for those that complain about the service of DME. You have a choice! No one forces you to use the service!

Calm down, sparky. It is what it is - an airport shuttle with a fancy paintjob. I could still do without them (and/or the resort) losing my luggage on multiple occasions. But you're right, I started using other means because of it.

 

[LUVofDIS]

Not to sound snide but what do you expect with DME? It’s a “free” services that thousands of people per day use.

This always bothers me when someone calls a service you are really paying for "free", it is not free it is complimentary, if it were free anyone could use it, not just Disney resort guests. I know it is nit-picky, but it bugs me for some reason.

We have yet to have any major problems with this service, yet. We also are annoyed by the three hour pick up, but we have always been the last resort to be picked up by the bus. We have waited to be dropped off many times, being the second or third resort. That hasn't bothered us, we usually arrive late and have no plans that night. But I can see this being an issue.

Many times we stay at the Dolphin/Swan so we end up using Mears for transportation. They actually run the DME, so we still have the same issue with pick-up. I am cheap, so we use the van service rather than a personal car service. If you use that you probably have more control on pick-up times.

 

[Bexpectations13]

We only had an issue once where we had to be moved in 2014. We were at POR in a Royal Room standard view and the air conditioner or something was leaking and there was water all over the floor. They had no where to move us that night but they moved us the next day to a Royal Room Garden View.

 

[Skibum1970]

Calm down, sparky. It is what it is - an airport shuttle with a fancy paintjob. I could still do without them (and/or the resort) losing my luggage on multiple occasions. But you're right, I started using other means because of it.

I started collecting my luggage myself and then going to the MDE. That solved that particular issue.

 

[zero creativity]

Interesting you mention this, since we had a plumbing issue at Coronado, only back in September. We were in Ranchos 6B and it had been recently refurbished, as far as I know.

We'd just returned from an off-site day out, intending to dump our stuff, freshen up and head out to the parks for evening fun. However, the toilet developed a leak whilst flushing, spreading it's delightful contents all over the bathroom floor. Fortunately, we didn't have much of our stuff in there.

Anyway, we quickly got in contact with the front desk, who sent a handyman to our room about ten minutes later to take a look. Shortly after that, the head of maintenance came along. He took one look at the situation and said that we couldn't stay in that room and that they'd have to move us and that front desk would be in contact shortly with the new room arrangements. So, we packed up our gear and the front desk called us about 20 minutes later with our new room details. They were moving us to a premium room in another part of the resort. They asked us if we wanted Bell Services to help us move our stuff, to which we said yes. We waited ages for the Bell Services guy to show up (I'd say about 45 minutes) and we were just about to contact the front desk again to say that we'd move our stuff ourselves since there was no sign of Bell Services when he showed up.

By the time we'd gotten to our new room and settled in, it was too late to go to the parks, so we had drinks in the Rix Sports Bar instead.

As for the inconvenience, WDW bumped us up to a nicer room in the Casitas block - much closer to El Centro which helped. We didn't get any monetary compensation per se though. You see, earlier in the trip, we'd kicked up a bit of a fuss due to some missing photos from our Memory Maker and as a result, they knocked $75 off our final bill. Since we got our pictures eventually, we accepted that the $75 discount was adequate for our room moving inconvenience. Perhaps we could have gotten more if we'd have kicked up more of a fuss, but hey.

We have had small issues on 2 separate trips and both times they gave us a $75 credit. Makes me wonder if this is the standard offer.