Worst WDW Vacation EVER!!!!!

I just returned from a 10 day stay at the WDW Carribean Beach Resort. This was my 20th time staying inside of the park....In general, I always come home impressed and in awe that after 18 years of visiting the parks they still provide a level of enjoyment unmatched by anywhere else in the world....Not this time however...I need to vent on this thread. This last stay may have been the worst 10 days i've ever spent away from home. I'm not sure what to do, or who to complain to.....Heres a list of everything that went wrong.

1) The folks working for the Magical Express service lost my luggage upon my arrival. It took a 11 hours for them to find it.

2) On the way to the hotel, the bus driver turned off the disney video's and music and instead put on his favorite radio station on and blasted the sound system to the point where the speakers began to distort.

3) Not a single cast member (no exageration) working in the food court said "your welcome", "please", "thank you", after any transaction. One of them actually told me "hurry up" because he thought I was taking to long while I was putting the wrinkled reciept and change he gave me into my wallet.

4) Sombody spilt a massive amount of ketchup on the stairs leading to my room...after several calls to the front desk to complain, noboby came out to clean it up...after a few days it began to morph into a graveyard for dead love bugs and took on a horrible stench. Its probaly still there. In general the Resort was very dirty...empty been cans on the beachs, cigarette buts everywhere, over flowing garbage from almost every can in the the food court, ect...

5) I broke my foot at Blizzard Beach (my own fault completely....I thought I just sprained it at first). When I got back to my room I called Center Care and requested a bus come and pick me up so I could get checked by a doctor. The woman on the phone told me the bus would arrive in 20 minutes and to walk to the front desk. I called the front desk to see if anyone could send a wheel chair over for me...the Cast member told me "No i'm sorry" and my jaw almost hit the floor. I limped all the way over to the customs house and waited for an hour and a half. The bus never showed up. When I got back to my room I called Center Care and the woman I spoke with told me I wasen't even on a list to be picked up, she had no idea who I was, and was unaware I called earlier...In a fit of anger I hung up on her, took some motrin and went to sleep (still unaware of the severity of my injury). The next day I deciced man it up and tag along with my friends to Animal Kingdom...Within a few minutes of walking around the park my foot swelled up and I called it quits. I went to the first Aid station and told them the what happened with the bus the previous day. They were appalled...They were nice enough to get a bus for me within 15 minutes.


6) My party and I ate at Alfredos where, to my amazement, our waiter screwed our order up to the point that only one person recieved the correct dish. The next night we ate at Mama Melrose's in MGM. Just as we arrived the urinals in the mens room flooded and filled half the lobby with with septic water. No disinfectant was sprayed...after it was cleaned 20 minutes later...To top it off, our server here also screwed our order up and my salmon was RAW in the middle.

7) Almost every cast member I ran into at the Magic Kingdom had a puss on thier face as if they absolutly hated thier job. I totally understand its hard to work with a smile and maintain your composure in the heat, and around screaming kids, but come on....If your really not that happy with your job...quit.

8) The parks were filled with people on scooters...I have no problem with people riding in them, but I do have a problem with people honking at to get out of the way while i'm limping on one foot. My girlfriend was acutally hit by a man on a scooter.....the second it happened he jumped off and ran to first aid....I know this was an accident....but if he was able to jump out of the vehicle and run to first aid...why was he in a scooter in the first place???....I think people are taking advantage this service. Its a shame too...I feel for the people who actually need them.

9) Finally....My luggage believe it or not, was lost again on the way home....I'm not sure if it was the airline's fault or the people at who checked my bags at the hotel, but it showed up almost an two hours after I landed, with luggage on a flight from Boston....I have no idea.......a horrible ending to a horrible trip.

I'm sorry if i'm ranting and raving...but I feel soooo cheated. I'm not sure what to do. I love Disney, and I've always had an amazing time there...so in a way I wouldn't feel justified to complain and cause a stink because this is the first time I've had a horrible experience.....On the other hand I feel like I was treated in a way that unfit for such an amazing company. What should I do?

Again...sorry to post this long message...I just needed to vent.

 

[VoiceGuy07]

I seriously hope you will write to Guest Communication. This needs to be known to the Disney execs.

Just curious, what would/could Guest Communication do? Do they just pass along the info to the resort?

 

[kbmum]

Don't write to the hotel. Send your entire list of complaints to wdw.guest.communications@disney.com I've contacted them twice, once for a complaint and once for a compliment, and they got back to me both times within a week.

That's good advice. After returning home from a trip last July, I wrote about an unresolved problem with the air conditioner in our Contemporary room. Someone called me, was very polite, and sent gift cards that could be used either at WDW or the online store. It would have been better if the problem had been fixed during our stay, but at least they tried to make things better after the fact.

 

[cm1988]

Worth a couple of letters

You may want to send a letter to the current WDW Pres. (Meg something), but also see if you can find out who is General Manager of the Caribbean Beach Resort. You should send that person just the facts of your stay... particularly concerning the lack of care and concern shown when your foot was broken. Include all the details of the phone calls, especially when you had to walk to the Customs House.

CentraCare is not Disney, but Disney steers guests that way and so should know about it.

You might send a third letter with just transportation/luggage issues to the Transportation VP. Include dates and approximate bus departure times, if you can. Your letter to the Caribbean Beach GM could include luggage issues as well.

I know this sounds like I'm giving you a homework assignment, but if you are still angry and frustrated with your experience, this could help turn a negative (or several negatives) into a positive.

Sorry about the bad time (and the foot injury!). Obviously if this were anything near the norm for Disney, there would be no Disney today.

 

[rcapolete]

Had an issue where my son was hit by a scooter. Disney could not have been better. They got him ice for his lip and made sure he was ok. They then upgraded us from standard to preferred room at POP on the spot no questions asked. Like someone else stated this is the type of service that people expect from Disney because they that is how they built their reputation. In my book as a whole they are still they best but the individuals tend to tarnish that alittle when they don't respond as one would and rightfully should expect.

 

[AEfx]

iwrote this on another thread and they told me to go to universal

Actually, you were told the same thing this poster has been told :

1) When you have issues like this (and it does seem like there are some VERY valid issues here), you need to bring them up at the time to Disney management to get any type of recovery (or at least give them a chance to), and

2) If you failed to do #1, the next best thing to do is to contact WDW communications in writing. Snail mail is best. You won't get any type of recovery, but you can have the altruistic satisfaction of knowing that someone has looked into your issues, and hopefully the valid ones that aren't just "bad luck" can be addressed so others don't have to deal with the same things in the future.

You just picked out the "go to Universal" comment someone made and dismissed everything else.

AEfx

 

[mousermerf]

A note on DME...

The whole barcoded bags constantly scanned thing goes out the window when they unload the truck at the resort, unlock the cages, and then proceed to stack the bags along the curb at valet area and leave them there - unattended - until someone brings them inside.

I've seen this happen at several Deluxe resorts on more then one occassion.

 

[LoriMistress]

Oh my goodiness. Sorry that you had such a crappy vacation. Look at it this way...19 great visits and only one bad trip...I would say you lucked out pretty well on that department though. So try to look at it a bit positively. As for your complaints, I would say your complaints are pretty valid. I would complain directly through Disney. I'm sure someone already posted a website, mailing address, or email for the correct department. I hope your foot heals up quickly.

 

[AEfx]

Had an issue where my son was hit by a scooter. Disney could not have been better. They got him ice for his lip and made sure he was ok. They then upgraded us from standard to preferred room at POP on the spot no questions asked. Like someone else stated this is the type of service that people expect from Disney because they that is how they built their reputation. In my book as a whole they are still they best but the individuals tend to tarnish that alittle when they don't respond as one would and rightfully should expect.

Glad to hear your son got taken care of! Scooters are a controversial issue at best, but it's nice to see Disney watching out for the victims.

Your last statement leads me think of the #1 rule of getting what you need/want at WDW. Now, obviously it only works within reason, but a (real) smilie and "Can I please speak to a lead/manager?" goes a LONG LONG way. There are always going to be front-of-the-line CM's who either don't know what they are doing or don't care, and that's the remedy.

I've had to do it a couple of times before. I had to ask to speak to a lead at an attraction where a couple of idiot CP workers would not let me transfer my niece from a wheelchair to the ride vehicle. They told me that the person had to transfer themselves, and one snitty little girl pointed to the "Wheelchairs must transfer" icon and roller her eyes at me like *I* was the one who didn't understand the rules or the icons. I had a talk with their lead, we were escorted into the attraction, and the CM's were corrected. I made sure I gave the snotty girl a nice smile to let her know that her bad attitude didn't get us down, we got what we needed (to be allowed to board the attraction) and I was promised she would be spoken to not only to educate her as to the proper procedure, but also for her crappy attitude telling me *I* didn't know what I was doing.

So win, win - win for us, win for those wheelchair guests who encountered these mistaken CPers in the future because they won't make the same mistake twice. I wish the whole incident had never happened, obviously, but when something like that does the best thing to be is polite, firm, and ask for escalation.

It sounds like the OP had a really rough time, and certainly seemed to do many of the right things. The step now is to let them know how they failed you, as they have said they are going to do, so this doesn't happen to themselves or anyone else again.

Disney is a company, Disney wants your money. They also know how they have that "magic" that cannot be quantified, and they really do want to maintain it (if only to retain your $). They are VERY responsive to complaints. If you want recovery, you have to do it at the time, but letting them know after the fact does have the benefits of helping them improve whatever the issues you had were.

AEfx

 

[smk]

I am sorry to hear/read about your bad trip and your broken foot. I would call a manager and ask to tell your story one more time, can't hurt any more than it already does. I sincerly hope your foot gets better very soon.

 

[AEfx]

A note on DME...

The whole barcoded bags constantly scanned thing goes out the window when they unload the truck at the resort, unlock the cages, and then proceed to stack the bags along the curb at valet area and leave them there - unattended - until someone brings them inside.

I've seen this happen at several Deluxe resorts on more then one occassion.

Right there with ya, Merf.

When I stay on-site, I love the DME service (at least I did when I was still flying down, I drive now), but I just don't trust 'em with my luggage. Too many fingers in that pot.

Not to mention, not once but twice have I checked into a room and had bags sitting there that DME forgot to pick up for the previous guests. It's good that I'm a nice person (or is it nice I'm a good person, LOL) and didn't disturb their stuff.

I guess it helps that I pack light...but it's really been a relief since I began driving instead of flying, 'cause I don't have to worry about packing much at all. Throw a couple of overnight bags with some clothes in the car, grab my electronics, and go. And I can bring my own shampoo and liquids!

AEfx

 

[mousermerf]

One day I think i'm gonna pick up a unattended bag, walk to the front desk, and kindly chew out a manager.

 

[frazierle]

It must of have been something in the air that week. My trip wasn't as bad as yours but it was by far our most disappointing trips we have ever had there. We also hit our 20th trip and splurged by staying at the Contemporary for 5 nights and then our normal POFQ for the last 3 nights. I will never stay at the Contemporary again. I found the rooms to be dirty, staff not that friendly and even noted in my email to guest relations that every time I asked a CM at the hotel for something I felt like I was bothering them. We didn't get the normal Disney packet when we checked in. Upon getting into our room noticed grass on the bed and sofa. Next day killed a roach in the room. Windows were really dirty. Had to borrow TP from the next room (my brothers). One day we had to borrow towels from the pool because they gave us 3 sets instead of 4. Alot of minor things but aggravating considering this is suppose to be one of their elite hotels. This then lead to discussions about the last time they dusted or even vacuumed. It just didn't feel like Disney. I mentioned a number of times during the trip I wasn't going back. Seemed like the magic was lost.

Once we got back to POFQ our trip started getting much better. The attitude of the CM's were a bunch better than at the Contemporary, rooms were cleaner, and everyone we passed in the morning made eye contact and greeted us. Made us feel like home, part of the family back at Disney.

As to the CM's in the parks it was a mixed bag. Some were great and some should be fired on the spot. We had one that refused to let our party sit together during the Lion King Show, another chewing my son out for doing a high five leaving the queue at Everest. But these were the exceptions Ty on the Jungle Cruise was hilarious and everyone in our party enjoyed him and most of the other CM were great.

Attitude is everything....And although I vowed never to go back again I have 165 days till the next trip - but it will not be at the contemporary...I have to save some of my dignity.

 

[WEDisney]

I have stayed in the Caribbean at least 8 times and each time was great except I did see a noticeable difference in January of 2006. The woman checking us in was not the nicest of people and really didn't care for our excitement of checking in. Also there were several food court people that could not speak English and seemed to have a "I don't care attitude" (Good thing I could speak Spanish). The hotel seemed pretty clean but I had noticed an over flowing garbage can that took about 3 days to be emptied. The more I think about it, I might have over looked a lot of things because "I was in Disney" but it certainly was not up to the "Disney Standard" I am used to.

Hope your foot feels better and sorry for the bad trip.

 

[atterris]

Hope your next trip is better

 

[Emerald Rose]

So sorry to hear of your bad experiences. As a fellow lover of Disney, as all of us here are, I can well imagine your disappointment. As others have stated, turn this into a positive by expressing what happened to as many management people as possible, so that the problems can be resolved and improved. If they don't know, they can't fix anything. This way, the next time you come back hopefully things can be better for all of us. Thanks for sharing and hope your foot is better very soon!!:wave:

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

Sounds like your trip was pretty rough.

Guest Communications
Executive Offices
PO Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista FL 32830-0040
wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

Snail mail seems to have more impact. Include name, addy, telephone number, and email. Make sure to let them know about CentraCare - WDW refers alot - ALOT - of guests to CentraCare, and should be aware of any problems they are giving/causing guests. Try to include dates, times, and CM names if possible. When I was working in Research, I actually came across a gentleman who was having SO MANY problems at the Contemporary that he was taking notes in his PDA - AS THE CMS WERE GIVING HIM PROBLEMS!! Be very direct and specific in what you tell them; the more surrounding details they have, the better they'll understand the situation. The only way the higher ups at WDW will know if things are going bad is if WE TELL THEM!

 

[Maria]

Sorry about the trip.WDW still is the best run operation in the biz.

When there is a breakdown in service like this we need to let the WDW Execs know 100%.

They do care and they do let the appropriate people know.

I sent Al Weiss 2 letters at 2 seperate times while ago.Both times I got his assistant calling me back.

One time a really nice guy called me back 6 times until he actually got me on the phone to tell me what they were doing to fix the problems.Keep in mind I never gave them my phone number.HE ACTUALLY CALLED INFORMATION TO FIND IT!!!

In 1999, one of my friends complained about something that happened in Epcot and he had George Kalogridis calling him too to find out what happened!
Anyway, I am shocked about the hotel not sending you a wheelchair but even more that they didn´t offer to call a doctor or transportation to the nearest hospital if you were feeling that bad!

Do write a letter to Guest Relations explainning the situations with a calmed "tone". Then let us know of the results - I am sure they will be positive. (at least I hope so). :animwink:

As for luggage lost, you just made me remember that when I took the Disney Magic, they also misplaced mine! I was waiting for it at my room´s balcony when I saw the boat started moving from the dock and I went crazy! Noone acknowledged that we were given an upgrade at check in and since you drop the luggage when you get there with your tags on (this was back in 99, I don´t know how it is now), they just delivered it to the previous room! When I -not them- finally thought of it, they went straight to pick it up from that room, but we had been asking for it for over two hours. :brick:

 

[wedway71]

In 1999, one of my friends complained about something that happened in Epcot and he had George Kalogridis calling him too to find out what happened!
Anyway, I am shocked about the hotel not sending you a wheelchair but even more that they didn´t offer to call a doctor or transportation to the nearest hospital if you were feeling that bad!

Do write a letter to Guest Relations explainning the situations with a calmed "tone". Then let us know of the results - I am sure they will be positive. (at least I hope so). :animwink:

As for luggage lost, you just made me remember that when I took the Disney Magic, they also misplaced mine! I was waiting for it at my room´s balcony when I saw the boat started moving from the dock and I went crazy! Noone acknowledged that we were given an upgrade at check in and since you drop the luggage when you get there with your tags on (this was back in 99, I don´t know how it is now), they just delivered it to the previous room! When I -not them- finally thought of it, they went straight to pick it up from that room, but we had been asking for it for over two hours. :brick:

I remember George.I have an Epcot guide with him on the front inner cover.

 

[Krozar]

You have a lot of patience to not have gone to Guest Services when these incidents happened. You seem like a very upstanding person. I am especially angered by this. If people hate the guest hospitality industry so much...GTFO. I have worked in hospitality for 10 years... been there, done that--still courteous to guests to this very day. At WDW, CMs have the power to brighten someone's day. Especially children, because they will remember little things from there for the rest of their lives. Especially things which seem trivial to us.

Every Guest Service Manager I have met cares a great deal about guest complaints. If you go to Guest Services, they can put you in touch with a GSM for that area. Keep this in mind for future trips.

Really bothers me about the wheelchair incident. All CMs have a lot of things they can do. Any CM can go to an internal WDW phone and make things happen for a guest. But some people just don't take the effort. The CM could have called his/her GSM if he/she personally had no way of helping you directly. For some odd reason that the GSM shrugged it off... I would have called the area manager, and then to the department head. It was simply unacceptable and VERY un-Disney-like. They went to Traditions for a reason.

BTW. Even if the service is sub-contracted, Disney most likely reserves the right to reprimand and terminate the employees of that company who deal with their guests. That bus service is most likely under contract to play those videos. The driver playing the personal music is as stupid as a monorail pilot playing his/her Ipod over the PA or someone in MK selling churros having their stereo system on the stand and playing music at high volume.

 

[CleveRocks]

When I stay on-site, I love the DME service (at least I did when I was still flying down, I drive now), but I just don't trust 'em with my luggage. Too many fingers in that pot.

Not to mention, not once but twice have I checked into a room and had bags sitting there that DME forgot to pick up for the previous guests.

This is what drives me nuts. It's EXACTLY this type of misinformation that gives DME a bad reputation when it's not deserved.

DME DOESN'T PICK UP BAGS FROM ROOMS!!!!​

That is simply NOT one of the DME services offered. PERIOD.

I don't know where you heard that, but it's 100% untrue.

When you leave Disney and are using DME to get back to the airport, what you do with your luggage depends on what airline you are flying home on. If you are flying a "participating airline," you can get Bell Services to bring your bags down to the lobby or to storage, or take your bags directly to the Resort Airline Check-in desk yourself. Even if Bell Services carries your luggage to the lobby, YOU MUST PHYSICALLY CHECK IN YOUR OWN BAGS AT THE RAC DESK. Bell Services can't check your bags in at the RAC desk for you. RAC is exactly like curbside check-in at the airport. You must present ID and you must present your own luggage. There's just simply no such thing as leaving your bags in your room and then they magically appear at your home airport. Doesn't exist.

If you are NOT flying a participating airline, then you have to get your bags to the DME bus. Again, whether you do this yourself or have Bell Services get your bags for you and bring them down to the lobby area is your choice, but this STILL isn't an automatic thing or a DME thing. Bell Services simply CAN'T automatically bring your luggage from your room directly to the bus -- YOU must present your luggage to the DME driver, you can't use a proxy.

So those bags left in your fresh new room were not yet picked up by Bell Services, but this has NOTHING AT ALL to do with DME.

If you are using a car service that will pick you up at 4:00 p.m., you will likely have Bell Services pick up your bags and store them for you until later in the day when you leave (since check-out time is 11:00 a.m.). If Bell Services is slow to get your bags and someone else is given your room before your bags are picked up, is that the fault of the car service??? Of course not. It's also not the fault of DME or the DME system ... it's the fault of Bell Services.

I call 'em like I see 'em ... I'm not blindly loyal to DME, but I also can't just let inaccurate information slide by as fact.​