ceo/disney contact info

[arubalisa]

after a long flight, and after waiting forever in the lobby you would have been tired too
One has nothing to do with the other

You have my complete sympathy! We just returned July 1 - July 6. we knew it would be hot, we knew it would be crowded. We checked in 8 am, ran over to Epcot and my key would not scan. See more about that below. THEN Guest Relations would not give DH a GAC for dd. He told the castmember to call Mr. Lee Cockerell, Executive Vice President. I had showed DH the thread at http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=825386 and he remembered. The cast memebers attitude changed IMMEDIATELY. He cheerfully issued a GAC dated for the remainder of our stay. All we needed was an uncrowded area, preferable shade for waiting. We used Fastpass as much as humanely possible and only used the GAC twice in 5 days!

Our 9 yo special needs child enjoyed Disney but is by no means ready to return! Given the choice to do it over we would probably do less days and just visit the MK. It was the first time in my entire life I looked forward to coming home from a vacation.

I think the final straw for me was when after relaxing at the pool, I could not get back into our room. DH & DD had gone to Disney Quest (lines there too!)There had been problems with my key card/plastic thingy ALL week. I cannot tell you how many new cards they gave me. We lost count...This afternoon I am speaking of I had to stand in line in the lobby, not once but twice in a wet bathsuit! The second time they finally came to the conclusion that there was something wrong with the lock on our door! DUH All in all it took me over an hour to get back into the room. At 3:15 in the afternoon the room had not even been made up! Housekeeping showed up at 4:20 pm

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Good points, but wheelchairs don't usually work well for smaller children.

As someone who has used a wheelchair since age 6, I beg to disagree, unless you are referring to rentals.

ETA: Sorry, I posted this before I finished your post. Never mind.

 

[SueM in MN]

We went in the back entrance for the the ball ride in EPCOT, we were using the wheel chair entrance. At the bottom, the guy asked if i could walk up, and just get on the ride. I asked how far, it was pretty short, and I said fine, I hadn't been up much and was ok for walking. We were walking up the ramp, and this guy comes out yelling at us, that we weren't suppose to enter in this way. I'm like the other guy told us to come in this way. Mean while the screaming guy is continueing to not listen and continue to scream. The first guy charges up and apoligizes and says, they are a wheel chair party.

This sounds like a communication problem.
For Spaceship Earth, boarding for people with special needs is at the exit. There is a small waiting area with seats beside the end of the exit ramp. The waiting area has a chained queue. Outside this queue is a gate marked with the wheelchair icon at the end of the exit ramp. This is outside of the actual boarding area and is not visible to the people who are running the the ride. There is a CM monitoring the waiting area (sometimes standing at the exit, sometimes at the entrance to the waiting area and sometimes temporarily inside the ride). This CM is the greeter.
What's supposed to happen is this:

• 
  [1] The greeter CM greets the guest and explains the boarding process; you will need to go up the exit ramp and get onto a moving walkway to board the ride car. You will exit at the same place you entered.
  [2] The greeter CM finds out what their needs are; things can they walk, will they need to have the ride slow or stop, do they need to bring the wheelchair to the boarding area with them.
  [3] The greeter tells the guest to wait and goes up the exit ramp into the ride to let the ride operators know he has a wheelchair party waiting.
  [4] The greeter comes back down the exit ramp and lets the party know how long the wait will be. Because of fire/evacuation rules, they can only have a certain number of guests with special needs who will require evacuation on the ride at one time. The operator keeps track of how many guests with special needs are on the ride and where they are in the ride path. Depending on where they are, he/she can let more guests with special needs on.
  [5] When the operators are ready to board the next party, the CM sends or leads (what has usually happened in our case) the party up the exit ramp to board.
  
  It sounds like there was a communication problem at step 3 - the greeter may have thought he made it clear that you were supposed to wait, but that was not what you understood.
  Or the problem might have been at step 5, the greeter thought the operators were ready for you and they weren't. Or maybe the operator was ready, but the additional CM at the exit was not aware.
  
  The CM who yelled at you was probably "freaked out" by people coming up the exit when he didn't expect them. (Not an excuse for yelling, but my guess is that he was not really aware he yelled at you - he was just keeping people that he thought were unauthorized from coming up the exit). While waiting to board at Spaceship Earth, we have already seen people just come up to the wheelchair gate, open it and start up the exit ramp. I'm pretty sure that's what the CM who yelled at you thought had happened.

 

[JudithM]

In letters, be consise and stick to facts, not interpretations or feelings.

Also, when mentioning CMs, be as specific as possible - name, if known/remembered, date, time, location, etc.

 

[joannelee217]

You have my complete sympathy! We just returned July 1 - July 6. we knew it would be hot, we knew it would be crowded. We checked in 8 am, ran over to Epcot and my key would not scan. See more about that below. THEN Guest Relations would not give DH a GAC for dd. He told the castmember to call Mr. Lee Cockerell, Executive Vice President. I had showed DH the thread at http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=825386 and he remembered. The cast memebers attitude changed IMMEDIATELY. He cheerfully issued a GAC dated for the remainder of our stay. All we needed was an uncrowded area, preferable shade for waiting. We used Fastpass as much as humanely possible and only used the GAC twice in 5 days!

Our 9 yo special needs child enjoyed Disney but is by no means ready to return! Given the choice to do it over we would probably do less days and just visit the MK. It was the first time in my entire life I looked forward to coming home from a vacation.

I think the final straw for me was when after relaxing at the pool, I could not get back into our room. DH & DD had gone to Disney Quest (lines there too!)There had been problems with my key card/plastic thingy ALL week. I cannot tell you how many new cards they gave me. We lost count...This afternoon I am speaking of I had to stand in line in the lobby, not once but twice in a wet bathsuit! The second time they finally came to the conclusion that there was something wrong with the lock on our door! DUH All in all it took me over an hour to get back into the room. At 3:15 in the afternoon the room had not even been made up! Housekeeping showed up at 4:20 pm

MY child is not ready to go back yet either
she enjoyed epcots imagination
MGM, but I think Magic kngdom hadthe rudest cm's.

Unless you've been there and experienced the crap,
its unimagineable.
I so looked forwardto fun, Knew there would be lines but was so unprepared for rudness.

AAA was not at fault Disney was . I confirmed this at my AAA branch
yesterday, listened to a recording of the conversations
with aaa rep, and cast member.
THe disney cast member made a reservation change with no authoriaztion
a computer glitch, whatever....It should have been handled in a more proffesional way. 4 hours in a lobby for reservation that was planned for paid for and confirmed was unacceptable

 

[SueM in MN]

As someone who has used a wheelchair since age 6, I beg to disagree, unless you are referring to rentals.

ETA: Sorry, I posted this before I finished your post. Never mind.

I should have put adult rental wheelchairs.
My own DD got her first wheelchair when she was about 30 months old. The PT actually recommended a special needs stroller and I argued against it because she would be able to propel a wheelchair for some independence, opposed to a stroller where she would be dependent on other people to move her. So, my tiny kid was propelling herself in a wheelchair that weighed almost as much as she did. They have much nicer pediatric wheelchairs now than they did when DD was little.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

SueM,

GOOD FOR YOU!!!!! It ticks me to no end seeing kids and knowing kids who are capable of pushing themselves and their parents have them in a #$%^& stroller.

 

[LisaBi]

Re: contacting Disney. Last year I contacted Guest Communications (as directed by a reservations CM, when I told him I had some concerns/issue related to a special needs child). The email is WDW.Guest.Communications@disneyworld.com. I can't find the snail mail address anymore. Anyway, I first sent an email with attachment (my letter), and got a response that due to security, they couldn't open the attachment. So I re-sent it as the body of the email. About two weeks later, I got a PHONE CALL from "Disney Executive Offices" to discuss my concerns!

Just another option for you.

LisaB

 

[SueM in MN]

No more about ROY DISNEY.

 

[Nik's Mom]

To the op, sorry you had such a bad experience. I'm the Mother of an autistic ds, so I can understand how difficult it is to travel with a special needs child. We've usually had great experiences with WDW, but it does require extra work on our part to make sure the trip goes smoothly. First, we avoid crowded times of the year or periods when it is very hot. This would make traveling with our ds even more difficult. Also, we try to use fp as much as possible, and get to the parks right when they open. We also make sure to return to the hotel for an afternoon break. If we are traveling at a busy time, we never rely on WDW transportation, we rent a car. The buses are just too crowded in the summer. If you do decide to return (and I hope you do), keep some of the things I mentioned in mind. It will make for an easier trip.
I'm not excusing the cm's of their obvious rude behavior, because there is no excuse for that. I'm just giving some tips on how to make the trip more comfortable for your child. Of course, not every family can go during a slow period though.
As for the GAC, yes you do have to show it often, but they shouldn't have yelled at you. Yes, you still have to wait in line for most rides. But with careful planning, there is a way to minimize your wait. We were there in May, during the 50th anniversary kick off and never waited more than 15 minutes. Of course, that just isn't possible if you are going in the summer though.
As for voicing your complaint, definitely do that. Make sure you are very specific, give dates and names, etc. Good luck to you. Here's hoping your next vacation is a happy one!

 

[minnie61650]

MY child is not ready to go back yet either
she enjoyed epcots imagination
MGM, but I think Magic kngdom hadthe rudest cm's.

Unless you've been there and experienced the crap,
its unimagineable.
I so looked forwardto fun, Knew there would be lines but was so unprepared for rudness.

AAA was not at fault Disney was . I confirmed this at my AAA branch
yesterday, listened to a recording of the conversations
with aaa rep, and cast member.
THe disney cast member made a reservation change with no authoriaztion
a computer glitch, whatever....It should have been handled in a more proffesional way. 4 hours in a lobby for reservation that was planned for paid for and confirmed was unacceptable

I am sorry the op had such a bad experience.
I went back and looked over some of her old posts.
She did try to do some research for her trip on these boards. She asked questions about ME, how to get from the All Star Resorts to the parks and tipping for ME.
She asked about the Fantasmic dinner package, the dining plan other dining
concerns.
She also had questions about the GAC for her special needs child.
I think she had higher expectations for the avoiding sun stamp then are available.
She may have thought that most rides and attractions would have an inside area to wait with other special needs people similar to Spaceship Earth.
MK is not designed that way,
MK opened in 1971 and was designed to be like her sister park DL which opened in 1955. Rides like Splash, Space, JC, PoC, do have covered areas but Fantasyland is pretty much rides with standard queses. As SueM from MN
explained the GAC for avoiding sun is kind of hard to deal with because
it can be interrupted differently.
I can understand CMs may be confused about strollers being used as wheelchairs. The CMs need better training. The op said they yelled at her.
Maybe they were trying to get her attention or maybe they were being rude.
I don't know I wasn't there.
I just know that in July the heat and the lines must have been unbearable.
I go in the off season and Fantasyland gets very crowded I SHUDDER to think what it is like in the summer.
I hope the op returns in a couple of years and can capture a little magic.
Pixie dust for her and her daughter
Linda
Just 85 more days
BTW
The op replied to a question another poster had about changing their TA

05-13-2005, 06:43 PM #9 joannelee217
YOu can change your aaa agent.
I have
I work at AAA, but not in travel
and I've had 3 diff travel agents.


ni employee discounts either

That may be why she was able to listen to the recording of her reservations and also why she didn't call Disney before she arrived. She trusted her co-worker to get it right.

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm going to close this thread because I think it has reached the end of it's ability for new posts to be useful.