Disney is different now

[ellie05]

We just got back from our vacation and sadly for the first time we are not contemplating a trip any time soon(and it was not because of FP+). The major differences we notice.

Parks
-CM attitudes specially at EP and MK. They looked miserable and their attitude was just not friendly at all. The service was so bad.
-The time posted for the rides were very inaccurate. We will end up waiting 10+ min more than the posted time. Once we even heard the CM asked the guest how long they estimate they been waiting and changed the time based on that. The guest was not even sure, but it didn't seem to matter.
-At the MK a few rides were closed at RD even though the app and the time posted said 10 min. The CM didn't' even bother to let people know that the ride was closed. So after waiting 5 min I went to ask. They said the ride is just closed. I asked if there was a problem with it, but the response was that there is nothing wrong with it it is just closed and they do not know when they will decide to open.

Hotel
We stayed at ASMo and it was terrible. Our room was dirty when we checked in. The fridge wasn't clean there was crumbs on the carpet, everything was really dusty, the phone was gross and there was dirt on the sheets.We check in early, drop our bags by the door and left to epcot. When we came back tired we saw how dirty the room was. We weren't able to take our nap because we had to wait for someone to come clean the room and change the linens.Needless to say we weren't able to go to the MK for wishes. The manager didn't seem to think it was a big deal and was very unapologetic about it. The next day we found a roll of toilet paper, a dirty towel and tissue on top of the table. And the next day our towels had holes in them. I will post pictures later.

MB
We really liked the MB they were comfortable and din't have any problems.

FP+
Worked really well didn't had any problems with it.
The cons will have to be that it is not easy to reschedule for busy rides the same day. Sometimes we had to choose between going to our FP or going back to nap. But on the other hand for the first time we were able to sleep in without having to spend time in lines.

Dinning Plan
To end our vacation we went to our last TB ADR and they told us we didn't had any TS credits left. We had to spend 15 min on the phone to fix the issue. A snack apparently charge as a TS credit.

The special feeling was just gone we found ourselves trying really hard to enjoy things but we had problem after problem. After 4 days we were ready to get out of there.

PICTURES ARE ON POST 114.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

ellie..that really, REALLY sucks.

Sorry you had that experience. What the heck is going on at WDW?

 

[fabulousfive]

Sorry to hear that. We had the complete opposite experience our past trip. I hope you can go back one day and have a great time or find a new vacation destination that you love. Goodvibes.

 

[LaurenPlock]

Wow, that's awful. I'm sorry! Thank you for sharing. Did you contact Disney? It seems as though others have had success with letting them know about their poor experiences.

 

[Ted C]

I'm so sorry you had a bad experience. Oh yes it is FP+. I've been posting this for weeks now. They're messing with their "core" and it could have catastrophic consequences internally. As a previous CEO of a very successful business, its a very bad idea... This doesn't surprise me a bit unfortunately. The CM's are taking the hit for all of this crap. They bit off more than they can chew. They had better get it working correctly quickly or they'll see it in their bottom line next year.

 

[kappyfamily]

I'm on day 12 and honestly have had the opposite experiences. Sorry to hear about yours but we have had a fabulous time!

 

[TeamSy]

I agree that Disney does seem different. We went in Jan and noticed the same things you did with a lot of the cast members. I feel like the customer service we once thought was wonderful just wasn't there. We also felt like the Magic Bands took away from a personalized experience at the hotels (we were at Boardwalk and Grand Floridian this time).

Something else I thought was different were the characters. Maybe we were there during a bad week? Who knows! I enjoy meeting the princesses and by the end of our trip we were certain we got the C list - none of the princesses looked anything like they should, it became a running joke between us. They were as bad as the fake Mickey in Times Square! We kept asking ourselves, are we actually in Disney!?

We will obviously continue to return because we still enjoy the parks, but I think it definitely added a few big checks to our "pros to staying offsite" column.

 

[MiramarQE]

-CM attitudes specially at EP and MK. They looked miserable and their attitude was just not friendly at all. The service was so bad

We're here now - and have to agree that there is a general problem with CMs and their relationship with guests.

This is to be expected. If you think guests have a problem with the MDX (My Disney eXperience - I had several CMs correct me when I'd use "MDE") consider that while you may be working with MDX for a week or so for them it is a permanent change - every day the same questions, the same frustrated guests whom they cannot help and the same work-arounds to get things done.

I asked a CM at MK at a "FP+ Kiosk" about what will happen to park-hopping now that FP+ limited you to fast passes in one park on one day and she got outright defensive. The CMs are on the front line of the mess ill-conceived by management and poorly programmed by people that NEVER interact with guests - they can't change it, they're TRYING to make it work. Don't think it makes coming to work in the "Happiest Place on Earth" a very happy experience for the CMs.

 

[angelmav]

We're here now - and have to agree that there is a general problem with CMs and their relationship with guests.

This is to be expected. If you think guests have a problem with the MDX (My Disney eXperience - I had several CMs correct me when I'd use "MDE") consider that while you may be working with MDX for a week or so for them it is a permanent change - every day the same questions, the same frustrated guests whom they cannot help and the same work-arounds to get things done.

I asked a CM at MK at a "FP+ Kiosk" about what will happen to park-hopping now that FP+ limited you to fast passes in one park on one day and she got outright defensive. The CMs are on the front line of the mess ill-conceived by management and poorly programmed by people that NEVER interact with guests - they can't change it, they're TRYING to make it work. Don't think it makes coming to work in the "Happiest Place on Earth" a very happy experience for the CMs.

I get that the front line are having a hard time, but they really can not take the attitude that the guest (who do not work with this every day) are suddenly going to get up to speed. They will pretty much ALWAYS be clueless. Just like they were under the old system (only even worse given the higher learning curve).

Seriously, the CM's kind of need to get over it. Not fair maybe, but thats the reality that the muckity mucks created for them.

 

[2Tiggies]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

My take on this is simple: Too many big changes in too short a space of time.

They open the new Fantasyland which draws visitors, adds capacity to a park, roll out this new MDE system, remove the legacy FP while the new FP+ is still very much in testing phase, change Photopass to MemoryMaker (although not that different, they are messing with names and terminology which does not assist at this time) and quite frankly I think that despite some of the changes I personally don't like, this would have felt a whole lot smoother if they just sorted out one change properly before initiating the next. I just want to say to them what you say to little kids: "Finish this first and then you can move on to the next thing."

I have no doubt that CM's are getting the brunt of this as much as the guests are, albeit in a different way.

 

[joan4mickey]

Something else I thought was different were the characters. Maybe we were there during a bad week? Who knows! I enjoy meeting the princesses and by the end of our trip we were certain we got the C list - none of the princesses looked anything like they should, it became a running joke between us. They were as bad as the fake Mickey in Times Square! We kept asking ourselves, are we actually in Disney!?

That Mickey is so creepy…and so sad. I got out there, I was by myself, and called my DH in shock. The piped in audio or what ever it is was for a group of people and it was only me. Such a horrible experience and to do such a thing to Mickey...

 

[NC Disney Fan]

After 6 years of a week vacation, we are planning to go one more time in November. This scares me. We are already apprehensive as they have changed FP which just seems crazy in that I have to try to figure out when our lazy family will get out of bed and into the park. But they have also changed the disabilities process which I need due to a back problem. My husband is already concerned about how our Disney experience will be different. These posts just solidify that. Why are they implementing so many changes all together. Shouldn't they just work at one "problem" (which were not really problems in my opinion) at a time--getting the process down? I guess we should go into it with low expectations and then we will have a good vacation for our last trip to Disney.

 

[stormer]

We just got back from a great vacation. On our arrival night we stopped at Wendy's to grab a bite to eat. There were some Disney CM there getting food complaining how horrible it is to work there. They were very loud and they were calling MK Tragic Kingdom. I know they were not at work at the time but there were little kids there listening.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Seriously, the CM's kind of need to get over it.

Let me see if I have this right, the CMs (who have to deal with this every day of their lives) need to get over it, but folks on the Dis (who will only spend a few weeks in WDW this year, if any) don't?

 

[surferdave]

Pete made the observation about the CMs on the DIS Unplugged podcast months ago.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Pete made the observation about the CMs on the DIS Unplugged podcast months ago.

He could have made the same observation a few years ago, when their behavior began to change. The customer service focus at WDW has been on the decline for a number of years. It has been obvious to most of the WDW vets.

The old timer CMs still have a great attitude, for the most part. They really seem to both love their jobs and understand the old school Disney focus on customer service. I suspect that the newer employees simply are not getting the same training and direction.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I get that the front line are having a hard time, but they really can not take the attitude that the guest (who do not work with this every day) are suddenly going to get up to speed. They will pretty much ALWAYS be clueless. Just like they were under the old system (only even worse given the higher learning curve).

Seriously, the CM's kind of need to get over it. Not fair maybe, but thats the reality that the muckity mucks created for them.

I disagree. When a vast group of workers are agitated and cranky and miserable, the problem is their employer. There are a lot of possible reasons...not enough training, too few CMs working for the crowds, not enough support from supervisors when things start to go sideways. And of course pay factors in as well. The job has essentially changed...did their pay?

I saw a CM try to get my room key on my band or the card back in the fall for TWO HOURS. And she never was able to. That's insane. She should have had someone that she could call to swoop in and take over.

 

[AmyB2006]

I get that the front line are having a hard time, but they really can not take the attitude that the guest (who do not work with this every day) are suddenly going to get up to speed. They will pretty much ALWAYS be clueless. Just like they were under the old system (only even worse given the higher learning curve).

Seriously, the CM's kind of need to get over it. Not fair maybe, but thats the reality that the muckity mucks created for them.

LOL, they're only human, and can only take so much. Disney employees are not exempt from feelings. I get that they are employees for a major company, but the Disney execs have put their employees in this position. Having to deal with unhappy guests on a minute by minute basis, taking their frustrations out on CMs, complaint after complaint, question after question... what do you expect to happen? A person can only handle this type of situation for so long.

OP, I think the general attitude of CMs that you encountered does have to do with FP+. It's a trickle down effect.

I, personally, didn't have any unpleasant CMs on our last trip a few weeks ago. Everyone was helpful and nice. Sorry, you had an unpleasant experience.

He could have made the same observation a few years ago, when their behavior began to change. The customer service focus at WDW has been on the decline for a number of years. It has been obvious to most of the WDW vets.

The old timer CMs still have a great attitude, for the most part. They really seem to both love their jobs and understand the old school Disney focus on customer service. I suspect that the newer employees simply are not getting the same training and direction.

Yes! My parents and I have been saying the same thing for years now. However, it's not enough to change our minds about going, but it is definitely noticeable.

 

[surferdave]

When a vast group of workers are agitated and cranky and miserable, the problem is their employer..

Yup. It's just as bad as blaming the guests for suddenly being "entitled". You have to look up the chain for the common denominator.

 

[ConvenientTruth]

I've had good and bad experiences at Disney since I can remember (25 years)...and the current Disney is no more worse or better then past Disney. Like any resort or vacation place your experience is hit or miss...I've gone to Hilton Head every other year for a golf vacation and have had experiences (with restaurants, hotels, and golfing) that have ranged from excellent to poor, sometimes everyone you come into contact with is at the top of their game and others may be at the end of an 8 hour shift and just finished dealing with a series of extremely rude individuals. I think we expect that the people at Disney should be "Disney" all the time when in the end they are humans who like everyone else are effected by their experiences. In the end the treatment from an employee is a tiny detail in the overall experience.

Wait time....it is an estimate based on the tracking of those red cards they hand out to random guests at the beginning of the line....a lot can change and happen from one red card to the next that effects the time in line.

The dirty room is in inexcusable, but I don't understand why you couldn't go to Wishes? Were you required to watch them clean your room?

Fifteen minutes on the phone correcting an error....I've spent significantly more time on the phone with cellular, cable, and other companies correcting errors. In the end the issue was corrected....