Not sure where else to post this...so, here I am.
We have been to WDW several times..1978, 1986, 1997, 1999, 2011 and just last week. We have thoroughly enjoyed each trip and do plan to go back. With that said, I must comment on our experience this year.
The staff at WDW has gone down hill considerably. We noticed it somewhat in 2011, but much more so this year. On our trips in 97 and 99...we never encounter any staff with poor attitudes or just plain lazy. Our resorts rooms were always top notch, clean and in good repair.
This year...the "Disney way" just wasn't as evident. Our room was missing it's refrigerator (They did bring us one promptly however). We were offered no assistance taking our luggage to our room (this was a first...and our room was very far from our car). We were even told there were no luggage carts (even though we saw them frequently throughout the week).
I walked past a Staff member at our resort and made eye-contact, smiled and said hello. He didn't even acknowledge that I existed. There seemed to be no real enthusiasm amongst the WDW staff. They seemed like they were just going through the motions. No one was down right rude...but the "Disney magic" seemed to not exist in the staff (with a few exceptions).
I was in the stand-by line for the Journey into imagination ride with my daughter. A staff member walked past us in the Fast Pass line and dropped some paper (I assume she didn't notice). A minute or so later another staff member walked past stopped looked at the papers then started to walk away. Realizing we were watching, she turned around and picked up the papers. Another guest in line behind me rolled his eyes and said...that's just not the "Disney Way".
This all seemed to be the norm amongst the staff members we encountered. Not rude...but definitely not Disney.
Now...we did encounter a few Cast Members who haven't forgotten the "Disney Magic". Hector, our waiter and Yak and Yeti...was fantastic. We tipped him extra and left a compliment for him at Guest Relations. We had a couple of bus drivers who were very engaging and tried to keep that Disney Magic going. We encountered a few other cast members who still loved going above and beyond...this is what we used to expect from Disney. But this was definitely not the norm.
We will go back to WDW...none of this spoiled our trip. It is still the best vacation in the world...but I sense the "magic" is slipping away.
We have been to WDW several times..1978, 1986, 1997, 1999, 2011 and just last week. We have thoroughly enjoyed each trip and do plan to go back. With that said, I must comment on our experience this year.
The staff at WDW has gone down hill considerably. We noticed it somewhat in 2011, but much more so this year. On our trips in 97 and 99...we never encounter any staff with poor attitudes or just plain lazy. Our resorts rooms were always top notch, clean and in good repair.
This year...the "Disney way" just wasn't as evident. Our room was missing it's refrigerator (They did bring us one promptly however). We were offered no assistance taking our luggage to our room (this was a first...and our room was very far from our car). We were even told there were no luggage carts (even though we saw them frequently throughout the week).
I walked past a Staff member at our resort and made eye-contact, smiled and said hello. He didn't even acknowledge that I existed. There seemed to be no real enthusiasm amongst the WDW staff. They seemed like they were just going through the motions. No one was down right rude...but the "Disney magic" seemed to not exist in the staff (with a few exceptions).
I was in the stand-by line for the Journey into imagination ride with my daughter. A staff member walked past us in the Fast Pass line and dropped some paper (I assume she didn't notice). A minute or so later another staff member walked past stopped looked at the papers then started to walk away. Realizing we were watching, she turned around and picked up the papers. Another guest in line behind me rolled his eyes and said...that's just not the "Disney Way".
This all seemed to be the norm amongst the staff members we encountered. Not rude...but definitely not Disney.
Now...we did encounter a few Cast Members who haven't forgotten the "Disney Magic". Hector, our waiter and Yak and Yeti...was fantastic. We tipped him extra and left a compliment for him at Guest Relations. We had a couple of bus drivers who were very engaging and tried to keep that Disney Magic going. We encountered a few other cast members who still loved going above and beyond...this is what we used to expect from Disney. But this was definitely not the norm.
We will go back to WDW...none of this spoiled our trip. It is still the best vacation in the world...but I sense the "magic" is slipping away.
