LuthienDragon
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2022
Disney is not what it used to be. If this is first trip going to Disney reading this, don't let this post deter you - you are still going to have a great time!
That said, for me, it's a little more hurtful because I've been going every year since 2010, hell, I even married at Disney's Wedding Pavilion.
There are some things that are terribly and are notoriously missing. So, unless you are revenge travelling like me, skip Disney for the next two years so they can get their bearings and get more bang for your buck.
1.- I was not expecting having to do my room for the whole duration of my trip. I stayed for 9 days at the All-Star Movies and I had read mouse keeping was bad due to lack of employees...not once was my room refreshed. I was expecting it to be every three days at least. We did get fresh towels and coffee everyday, though. We are not messy so it was not a big deal, but I love coming back to a bed done.
I don't know why Disney didn't offer their usual $10 dollar a day discount if you forgo room service like years prior, it would have at least made sense.
2.- Cast Members are a coin toss. At least half of their good people left and its noticeable. I had a terrible experience with a Cast Member in Disney Springs who made me feel like a criminal.
This all started on September 16th, when the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party was happening and also the exact date of my three year wedding anniversary. It poured, not rained, but water above your ankles kind of rain. They closed many attractions which I was looking forward to. Being wet plus the strong air conditioning they have around the stores/rides made me sick the next day, actually.
They cancelled the shows (but still made a small appearance) and the first parade. The second one was delayed and terrible: lights were on and actors didn't dance around. I get it, for their safety.
They delayed the fireworks so much we missed it because it was still raining so we hid in a store, we saw some of it from a terrible location. A lot of people advised me to ask for a refund, I stuck around hoping it would get better and trying to put a brave face for my spouse, it never did get better. I wanted to see if one CM would sprinkle some magic my way since it was my Anniversary and it was absolute misery, but on my way out Guest Relations was closed (the one upfront by the entrance). So I thought, "I'll try later" because honestly, I was minutes away from hypothermia and urgently needed a hot bath. I actually got very sick the next day with flu-like symptoms, which cleared completely soon after. Next days were Universal Studios visits, so I was gone morning till afternoon.
Once back, I went to Lost&Found at Disney Springs since I had lost my MagicBand+ in a ride on my first day (Frozen, awesome CM couldn't find it and assumed it was in the water. It took PhotoPass pictures of strangers for two whole days, lmao), it had finally been found on my 6th so I went to that Guest Relations location. The lady was rude from the start, but I am not a confrontational person so I just kept being nice and tried to explain the situation and how miserable the experience was. She kept grilling me "since you stayed for the whole event, I won't do anything. Why are you asking for a refund NOW? Why did you stay?". It made sense, but I tried reasoning with her "have you ever stayed hoping things would improve and never did? I tried to salvage my anniversary celebration".
I was not looking for a refund, but access to a MNSSHP that same day or even a coupon for a hot dog...hell, some FastPasses would have been awesome.
In the end, she told me very rudely, "even if I wanted to do something, I don't have the system of the Magic Kingdom to help you".
So, I said "fine, thank you so much for your time. I'll be going to MK then."
And this is when I realized she conned me, she asked me "Could you please scan your MagicBand?". I shouldn't have, this was my mistake. Since she asked with a different tone I had a little spark of hope, I scanned it. She wrote in the computer, took like 5 minutes while I patiently waited and then the same, "sorry, I can't help you. I am not the Magic Kingdom park". So I thanked her again and told her I would try Magic Kingdom to follow her advice.
Off I went to Magic Kingdom from there (Bus to Poly then Monorail to MK). My family was already at EPCOT waiting for me, mind you. I went directly to the Guest Relations at MK where a very nice CM received me. I explained the whole situation to him and scanned by band. Very gently he told me: "it says here you already went to Disney Springs were they told you wouldn't be able to get helped because you stayed the whole event and it says here I am forced to refuse you". I just said thanks and left.
Well, damn. That lady was not only rude to me, but she actually took the effort to go one step further and make me feel like a criminal. This still makes my stomach churn. This whole interaction made my love for Disney disappear. I went cold turkey on purchasing merchandise after that whole interaction. I've been with my partner for 13 years now, it's officially the worst anniversary I have ever had. I just held back tears for the rest of the day, to top it off, she made me lose two hours tricking me into going to Magic Kingdom. I thought about writing a letter as an official complaint, but does it actually help?
3.- Lost&Found is still fantastic, but be careful. My family and me lost four items during my vacation: MagicBand+, hat, cellphone and my wedding rings. However, even when I made the report, they were not pared up until I went to Guest Relations and they manually found them, but they DID show up. I noticed my lack of rings while on the Sunshine Flyer on the way to the airport, immediately called and they were shipped thru UPS even before I was on my plane home. To be honest, this is the best service at Disney currently and I couldn't be more grateful.
4.- Everything is extremely expensive. Yes, you already know this. But not only in food but also souvenirs. Puzzles that used to be $12.99 are now $24.99. Sodas are now $5 each. Ouch. Ordering Amazon Prime Fresh helped us keep costs down, although it was pain that hotel concierge couldn't receive them and had to run to the lobby at 6 am to get my groceries in my PJs (I had chosen a 6 am - 8 am delivery).
5.- Magical Express was a fantastic experience, we missed it. I do miss my Mickey cartoons.
6.- Not being able to send things to your resort or to the front of the park. We wanted to purchase so many stuff at the start of the trip, but decided not to because we would have ended carrying it all day.
Once item was a Gargoyle from Memento Mori, but it was HEAVY! We got it on our last day which was a mistake, because we got a damaged item and now we are stuck with it. We wanted to get it from our first day but decided to postpone it due to being heavy.
7.- Shows/Characters/Rides not open due to lack of cast members. Things are going slowly going back to normal. But I really missed Fantasmic among other things like seeing foreigners at EPCOT.
I am Mexican, so being inside the Mexican pavilion with no Mexicans in sight was a very odd experience. Germany is doing great and the UK too.
8.- Crowds are insane. I suppose due to revenge travel, but I have been going on September for 10 years straight before the pandemic and it had NEVER been this crazy.
My next Disney trip, if it gets better, is going to be postponed until 2024, waiting on Epic Universe. I do hope you guys have a better time than me, as I am currently bitter and sad due to the whole thing
That said, for me, it's a little more hurtful because I've been going every year since 2010, hell, I even married at Disney's Wedding Pavilion.
There are some things that are terribly and are notoriously missing. So, unless you are revenge travelling like me, skip Disney for the next two years so they can get their bearings and get more bang for your buck.
1.- I was not expecting having to do my room for the whole duration of my trip. I stayed for 9 days at the All-Star Movies and I had read mouse keeping was bad due to lack of employees...not once was my room refreshed. I was expecting it to be every three days at least. We did get fresh towels and coffee everyday, though. We are not messy so it was not a big deal, but I love coming back to a bed done.
I don't know why Disney didn't offer their usual $10 dollar a day discount if you forgo room service like years prior, it would have at least made sense.
2.- Cast Members are a coin toss. At least half of their good people left and its noticeable. I had a terrible experience with a Cast Member in Disney Springs who made me feel like a criminal.
This all started on September 16th, when the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party was happening and also the exact date of my three year wedding anniversary. It poured, not rained, but water above your ankles kind of rain. They closed many attractions which I was looking forward to. Being wet plus the strong air conditioning they have around the stores/rides made me sick the next day, actually.
They cancelled the shows (but still made a small appearance) and the first parade. The second one was delayed and terrible: lights were on and actors didn't dance around. I get it, for their safety.
They delayed the fireworks so much we missed it because it was still raining so we hid in a store, we saw some of it from a terrible location. A lot of people advised me to ask for a refund, I stuck around hoping it would get better and trying to put a brave face for my spouse, it never did get better. I wanted to see if one CM would sprinkle some magic my way since it was my Anniversary and it was absolute misery, but on my way out Guest Relations was closed (the one upfront by the entrance). So I thought, "I'll try later" because honestly, I was minutes away from hypothermia and urgently needed a hot bath. I actually got very sick the next day with flu-like symptoms, which cleared completely soon after. Next days were Universal Studios visits, so I was gone morning till afternoon.
Once back, I went to Lost&Found at Disney Springs since I had lost my MagicBand+ in a ride on my first day (Frozen, awesome CM couldn't find it and assumed it was in the water. It took PhotoPass pictures of strangers for two whole days, lmao), it had finally been found on my 6th so I went to that Guest Relations location. The lady was rude from the start, but I am not a confrontational person so I just kept being nice and tried to explain the situation and how miserable the experience was. She kept grilling me "since you stayed for the whole event, I won't do anything. Why are you asking for a refund NOW? Why did you stay?". It made sense, but I tried reasoning with her "have you ever stayed hoping things would improve and never did? I tried to salvage my anniversary celebration".
I was not looking for a refund, but access to a MNSSHP that same day or even a coupon for a hot dog...hell, some FastPasses would have been awesome.
In the end, she told me very rudely, "even if I wanted to do something, I don't have the system of the Magic Kingdom to help you".
So, I said "fine, thank you so much for your time. I'll be going to MK then."
And this is when I realized she conned me, she asked me "Could you please scan your MagicBand?". I shouldn't have, this was my mistake. Since she asked with a different tone I had a little spark of hope, I scanned it. She wrote in the computer, took like 5 minutes while I patiently waited and then the same, "sorry, I can't help you. I am not the Magic Kingdom park". So I thanked her again and told her I would try Magic Kingdom to follow her advice.
Off I went to Magic Kingdom from there (Bus to Poly then Monorail to MK). My family was already at EPCOT waiting for me, mind you. I went directly to the Guest Relations at MK where a very nice CM received me. I explained the whole situation to him and scanned by band. Very gently he told me: "it says here you already went to Disney Springs were they told you wouldn't be able to get helped because you stayed the whole event and it says here I am forced to refuse you". I just said thanks and left.
Well, damn. That lady was not only rude to me, but she actually took the effort to go one step further and make me feel like a criminal. This still makes my stomach churn. This whole interaction made my love for Disney disappear. I went cold turkey on purchasing merchandise after that whole interaction. I've been with my partner for 13 years now, it's officially the worst anniversary I have ever had. I just held back tears for the rest of the day, to top it off, she made me lose two hours tricking me into going to Magic Kingdom. I thought about writing a letter as an official complaint, but does it actually help?
3.- Lost&Found is still fantastic, but be careful. My family and me lost four items during my vacation: MagicBand+, hat, cellphone and my wedding rings. However, even when I made the report, they were not pared up until I went to Guest Relations and they manually found them, but they DID show up. I noticed my lack of rings while on the Sunshine Flyer on the way to the airport, immediately called and they were shipped thru UPS even before I was on my plane home. To be honest, this is the best service at Disney currently and I couldn't be more grateful.
4.- Everything is extremely expensive. Yes, you already know this. But not only in food but also souvenirs. Puzzles that used to be $12.99 are now $24.99. Sodas are now $5 each. Ouch. Ordering Amazon Prime Fresh helped us keep costs down, although it was pain that hotel concierge couldn't receive them and had to run to the lobby at 6 am to get my groceries in my PJs (I had chosen a 6 am - 8 am delivery).
5.- Magical Express was a fantastic experience, we missed it. I do miss my Mickey cartoons.
6.- Not being able to send things to your resort or to the front of the park. We wanted to purchase so many stuff at the start of the trip, but decided not to because we would have ended carrying it all day.
Once item was a Gargoyle from Memento Mori, but it was HEAVY! We got it on our last day which was a mistake, because we got a damaged item and now we are stuck with it. We wanted to get it from our first day but decided to postpone it due to being heavy.
7.- Shows/Characters/Rides not open due to lack of cast members. Things are going slowly going back to normal. But I really missed Fantasmic among other things like seeing foreigners at EPCOT.
I am Mexican, so being inside the Mexican pavilion with no Mexicans in sight was a very odd experience. Germany is doing great and the UK too.
8.- Crowds are insane. I suppose due to revenge travel, but I have been going on September for 10 years straight before the pandemic and it had NEVER been this crazy.
My next Disney trip, if it gets better, is going to be postponed until 2024, waiting on Epic Universe. I do hope you guys have a better time than me, as I am currently bitter and sad due to the whole thing