“It’s for your safety.”

[pattyw]

Oh good, now you’ve returned to your room, perhaps to nap and they wake you up with a phone call to ask when they can access your room.
This entire security check thing is ridiculous and proves nothing. If a person is up to no good, How is a planned security check going to prove anything. Even unplanned doesn’t prove anything. I hope Disney discontinues this useless, unreasonable check. The sooner the better.

Exactly- this does prove nothing nor prevents anything but does indeed disrupt & upset guests!

 

[Malestrom Troll]

A door jammer is only used while you are in the room. Obviously you can't use one when you are not. If a hotel has a problem with me protecting myself or my family when utilizing their facilities, and paying a pretty penny for it, I'll stay elsewhere.

I realize Disney is trying to protect it's guests, but the measures they are using seem a bit extreme. I would think a more reasonable solution with security checks would be to have at least two people present at the time, or allow the guest to contact the front desk before demanding entry to the room. I'm sure you can do this, but from what I'm reading, it seems the folks actually inspecting the rooms are not being very customer service oriented.

What's next in all this security theater stuff we are expected to deal with from the airpot to hotels? "Papers please", before being allowed to even drive across your own state lines?

If someone wanted to commit a heinous act like in LV from their room, wouldn't the perp use a door jammer? So I would bet if Disney was aware of a guest using one they would remove them. There are many scenarios that could put the hotel in liability if a door jam was used and staff weren't able access the room.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Exactly- this does prove nothing nor prevents anything but does indeed disrupt & upset guests!

Poor training, lack of consistency and less service provided in a timely manner. Maybe, all reasons for the difficulties guests have encountered with this new "security measure"? Will Disney address this and provide a remedy?

Not holding my breath...

 

[pattyw]

Poor training, lack of consistency and less service provided in a timely manner. Maybe, all reasons for the difficulties guests have encountered with this new "security measure"? Will Disney address this and provide a remedy?

Not holding my breath...

Sadly, I agree with you. I don't see them retracting or changing this mess anytime soon. Hope I am wrong.

 

[Summer2018]

No guests are playing games by calling 911 when a stranger pounds on the door and forces their way in.

Again the question is this: How do you know for certain that it's a Disney Staffer doing the security checks and barging into your room? We do know there are criminals who pose as police officers or other officials/Employees so the concern that you are not familiar with who is doing these security checks is legitimate.

Now let's stretch and say that the majority of people staying in a WDW resort room don't read the Dis Boards and are unaware of this new policy. They didn't read deep into the welcome packet, which may or may not be in the room, they did online check in so they bypassed the front desk and they didn't read any emails or texts that may or may not have been sent to them (Room ready notification text I'm looking at YOU!). Now picture that someone insistently starts knocking on their door AND THEN FORCES THEIR WAY IN.

Do you still think they should NOT call 911?

It's one thing to say that they are doing room checks. It's entirely another thing when a stranger forces their way into your room and starts looking around. Even if you are told that room checks are happening THEY WAY THEY ARE BEING HANDLED is unnerving and threatening. I am hoping, perhaps in vain, that you could see clear to understanding that.



Also:


Re: Malestrom: I'm betting that a door jammer would NOT violate the room contract. You have to let them in but a door jammer would buy you a reasonable amount of time to attempt to establish the legitimacy of the person entering the room. Also, the call center is not an effective way of doing anything quickly at Disney. You may not be aware but this has been experienced and discussed many times on these boards, so many folks that read these boards can verify that fact. You would probably need at least 10 minutes and based on Disney's phone response time, much more time to check and see if this is legitimate.




Exactly. Long Peep, short peep, any kind of a "peep" accomplishes nothing except a show of security theater.

We still get back to ineffective and unnecessarily intrusive with these security checks.

Also I think Dan's Dad wrote "Your best bet would be to skip contacting the Front Desk and call Security directly. The Front Desk would have no idea if Security was really at your door, Security will".

The problem is that security is not doing these checks. It appears that random Housekeeping staff are the ones doing the knocking. I seriously doubt that security will know that CM John Doe is knocking on YOUR door this very minute.

Since this important assignment was left up to the housekeepers I doubt that security is coordinating in real time (or any time for that matter) with the people who are doing the checks. Are the room checkers even wearing radios so they can communicate in case of emergency? If so is security monitoring that band or is it just the housekeeping manager?

It would really be bad if you had this happen and you called security and they just blew you off and said "Yeah, we know that they are doing checks so you have to let the person in", when you are calling them to find out if the person doing the knocking is legitimate. The possibility is small that it would be someone taking advantage of the security theater performance to gain entry into a room, but the possibility exists never the less and that's enough to justify feeling uneasy.

I'm sure there will be someone on this thread that will say 'Show me the Hordes of reports of this happening!!!!".... but again, that is not the point. The point is that these kind of mandatory room intrusions open up the possibility for something like this to happen. This is yet another reason why guests are feeling uncomfortable when they anticipate/experience these "security" intrusions that violate guest privacy for no effective reason.

~NM

Well said. You could not be more clear. If someone doesn’t understand your excellent points, there’s nothing more to say.

 

[anthony2k7]

Surely everyone who uses disboards knows by now this is going to happen?

With that being the case, if you see mousekeeping close to your room and you want to sleep and dont want them disturbing you, instead of saying "please dont visit my room today" - which you know they cannot do, why not say "Could you possibly check my room now before I go to sleep?"

 

[Summer2018]

17 years ago, we went to Cape Cod on a last minute, end of the summer trip. We stayed at an unfamiliar motel because our favorite resort had no vacancies. In the middle of the night someone tried to break into our room. Fortunately, I’m a light sleeper and scared them off by turning on the light and screaming. Needless to say, we ended our vacation early and checked out that morning.
I spoke with friends who suggested bringing a simple door stop when we travel. We’ve used that old rubber door stop on every hotel stay including WDW ever since that frightening experience. We even bought a metal one that sounds an alarm. None of our hotel housekeepers have ever said a word about us using it in their hotel. After reading that ways to enter a locked room are all over the internet, I will definitely continue our tradition of using the door stops. DD will get the high tech one for her room. I won’t rest if I have any doubts about her safety.

 

[TLSnell1981]

17 years ago, we went to Cape Cod on a last minute, end of the summer trip. We stayed at an unfamiliar motel because our favorite resort had no vacancies. In the middle of the night someone tried to break into our room. Fortunately, I’m a light sleeper and scared them off by turning on the light and screaming. Needless to say, we ended our vacation early and checked out that morning.
I spoke with friends who suggested bringing a simple door stop when we travel. We’ve used that old rubber door stop on every hotel stay including WDW ever since that frightening experience. We even bought a metal one that sounds an alarm. None of our hotel housekeepers have ever said a word about us using it in their hotel. After reading that ways to enter a locked room are all over the internet, I will definitely continue our tradition of using the door stops. DD will get the high tech one for her room. I won’t rest if I have any doubts about her safety.

We had an issue with our door reader last visit. We were in a grand villa (pretty worn with a busted door jam on the balcony too). Parts kept falling off and bands worked inconsistently. They finally replaced it and reprogrammed all bands. They all worked to enter the room, but created other problems

I string bells and put them on the handles of all entrances. You can hear, if someone enters your room. I started doing this, after my Vegas surprise. It's inexpensive and effective

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Surely everyone who uses disboards knows by now this is going to happen?

Nah. There's over 500,000 members obviously not all of those are active frequently enough. You also have people who stick to Community Board only, Photography Board, UK forums, Universal, other Orlando parks, etc.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I’m not sure. We just stayed at PoP in Dec, and the new phones don’t have a housekeeping button. Replaced by a Resort Services button that doesn’t seem to get answered. While I was there at check in I requested a clock and received a call back message on my phone from the CM saying they no longer have them and included the front desk Ext # that I was able to phone to get help. Phoning the resort service # was useless.
I’ve heard that housekeeping button at resorts that still have them is getting re directed to a central place, this Resort Services. No longer the housekeeping at your particular resort. Seems they are centralizing everything. Much like Itinerary Planning for club level is now centralized and of course the Front Desk button we all know doesn’t go to the resort front desk.

Well dang that would be a bummer.

I know on Sep 9th we called Housekeeping using the button on the phone to request toilet paper (due to Irma) and 10mins later toilet paper was delivered. With it being that fast I assumed it was Housekeeping at the actual resort; I suppose back then it could have been a centralized location but I was mighty impressed with how quickly they got the message and brought up the requested item.

 

[Jennasis]

Since this issue seems to have hands wringing as passionately as the dog issue did, please take a moment to send an email to all the appropriate places voicing your displeasure about it. Those are:


WDW.Guest.Communications@disneyworld.com
And cc these folks too:
Robert.a.iger@disney.com
Robert.Chapek@disney.com
George.Kalogridis@disney.com

I am actually going to send one myself. I may not have a problem with the "intrusion" but once again, the ham fisted way they roll things out with no consistency in implementation amongst the CM's needs to be brought to their attention.

 

[Three60guy]

I am a Disney Vacation Club member. I called member services today and asked to see their written policy about this. I was directed to the "HOME RESORT RULES AND REGULATIONS" document. I was also told that just prior to confirming a reservation online you can read the "terms and conditions" document that must be agreed to just prior to confirming a reservation. I was told there is no way of getting that document any other way. If I wanted to read the document without making a reservation it was suggested to make a dummy reservation and just clicking on cancel once you had read the terms and conditions.

Here is a copy and paste of the HOME RESORT RULES AND REGULATIONS. The most significant portion is at the end:

"HOME RESORT RULES AND REGULATIONS
The following rules and regulations have been designed to provide Club Members with information on the use and operation of the Home Resort Reservation Component at each Disney Vacation Club Resort. This Guide will be amended from time to time, as necessary.
.
.
.
Housekeeping. (At end of page 15)

Club Members or their Guests receive the following housekeeping service during a stay at a DVC Resort:
a. All Vacation Homes will be cleaned prior to check in.
b. For all stays regardless of the length of the stay, daily trash removal will be provided.

c. For stays of seven (7) or less consecutive nights in the same Vacation Home, the DVC Resort will provide a “Trash & Towel” service on the fourth consecutive day of the stay. During a Trash & Towel service, housekeeping will:
• Empty the trash and put new liners in the trash bins.
• Provide fresh bathroom linens.
• Replace facial tissues, paper towels and toilet paper.
• Replace coffee, sugar, cream, and sweeteners.
• Replace dish washing liquid, dish washing detergent, sponges and laundry detergent.
d. For stays of eight (8) consecutive nights or more in the same Vacation Home, the DVC Resort will provide:
1) One (1) “Full Cleaning” service on the fourth consecutive day of the stay. During a “Full Cleaning,” housekeeping will:
• Provide all of the services included in a “Trash & Towel” cleaning.
• Change the bed linens.
• Vacuum and dust the Vacation Home.
• Clean the Bathroom(s).
• Clean the Kitchen/Kitchenette and wash the dishes.
2) Following the initial Full Cleaning service, housekeeping will provide another Full Cleaning Service every
eight (8) consecutive days in the same Vacation Home.
3) Following the initial check in, a “Trash & Towel” will be provided every eight (8) consecutive days reserved in the same Vacation Home.
e. Cleanings do not include laundering of personal items.
f. For stays of more than eight (8) consecutive days in the same Vacation Home, the Full Cleaning/”Trash & Towel” cycle will begin again.
g. Club Members and their Guests may request clean linens, toiletries, etc., by calling the DVC Resort’s housekeeping department. Additional fees may be charged for such requests. Supplemental cleaning services are available for a fee and may be arranged through either Member Services or the DVC Resort’s front desk.
h. All Vacation Homes will be cleaned following check out.

3. Access to Units and Vacation Homes. The owners’ association at each DVC Resort, and its agents, including the management company for the DVC Resort, its employees and designees, have the right to enter and access each Unit and each Vacation Home whenever necessary, including to inspect, maintain, repair, protect, or operate the Unit or Vacation Home; to determine compliance with the governing documents for the DVC Resort; or for health, safety, security or any other purpose."

I was told the rooms would be inspected once per day.



"

 

[Jennasis]

duplicate post

 

[Lurch]

Wow. If someone barged into my room without identifying themselves and giving me time to examine their identification or I woke up to a stranger in my room while I was sleeping or in the bathroom, a letter would be the last of their concern. An unknown stranger in my room or a stranger barging in I would consider an assault and respond accordingly. I think Disney is going to see such a reaction sooner than later.

 

[Three60guy]

duplicate post

I read each post from page one onwards. Never saw what I had just written.

 

[Jennasis]

I read each post from page one onwards. Never saw what I had just written.

LOL...not you. I made an accidental duplicate post of something I had just posted (so i deleted the duplicate post and just wrote in "duplicate post").

 

[jarestel]

I expect Disney will refine and fine tune the room check policy over time, but in the meantime as we've already read here on this thread, some guests are experiencing less than magical experiences due to the policy. That said, I don't think Disney dreamed this up simply to annoy guests, so it probably isn't going away. As a Disney resort guest, I'd rather spend my time thinking of ways to accommodate the room check policy with a minimal impact to my vacation rather than coming up with ways to blow it up into a major confrontation and time suck. But that's just me, YMMV.

 

[BalooFan]

There may be a down side to using something like a door jammer. In case of emergency, wouldn’t it prevent or at least delay help from entering your room? I want privacy while in my room, but I also want someone to come to my rescue if I am badly injured or seriously ill. If something like that happens, I might not be able to drag myself to the door to remove whatever device I’m using to keep the inspectors out.

 

[Action City]

If it is a member of housekeeping staff doing the check that is a good thing. Pretty sure you can call housekeeping at your resort from your room phone

Nope, not anymore. It goes to 'disney services'...ie a call center.

 

[Summer2018]

I expect Disney will refine and fine tune the room check policy over time, but in the meantime as we've already read here on this thread, some guests are experiencing less than magical experiences due to the policy. That said, I don't think Disney dreamed this up simply to annoy guests, so it probably isn't going away. As a Disney resort guest, I'd rather spend my time thinking of ways to accommodate the room check policy with a minimal impact to my vacation rather than coming up with ways to blow it up into a major confrontation and time suck. But that's just me, YMMV.

You make good points.
I’ve discussed all of this with my family without dwelling on all of the outrageous experiences people are having right now. I’m trying not to stress them out about this. I mentioned to DD that we should buy new summer bathrobes so that we can quickly be decent for any unexpected (uninvited) visitors to our hotel rooms. I’m planning on requesting morning housekeeping while we are at the parks. We always tip well and are friendly with all Disney employees. We might tip early in our stay when interacting with housekeeping. Perhaps they will be more likely to honor our request.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not backing down. I’m emailing the powers that be. Disney needs to know that their half-a$$ed approach to “security” is not only ineffective, it’s offending their customers, and will ultimately affect their bottom line. Using appropriately and professionally trained security instead of untrained housekeepers might be a good start. They need to invest their money into implementing a better security strategy. Let’s be honest, it’s not like Disney is hurting for money. I think they can afford to do this right.