Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted August 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2014 I don't know what you are boycotting, but I am boycotting Disney World. At least until December 19. I don't know what I'm boycotting either. I have never done well with those. I guess a Fiend will have to stay at the 4 Seasons or at a WDW deluxe and find out exactly what they are offering that non-deluxe resorts aren't. I guess. I am keeping an eye out for a deal. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
djsamuel 322 Posted August 19, 2014 Report Share Posted August 19, 2014 It's not like WDW concierge CMs have any clout.They may have access to things that guests don't, but they can't just place a call and get an ADR where there isn't an opening.It still has to be done via the software system in place. They can work the system though. Last New Years Eve we had reservations at the Wave for lunch. On December 30th, I checked MyDisneyExperience and noticed that my reservation was gone. I then got my reservation confirmation # and called Disney reservations. The woman there was very nice. She looked up my reservation and said, "Well, you had concierge at the Boardwalk cancel your reservations yesterday afternoon." When I told her I wasn't even at the Boardwalk yesterday she tried calling the restaurant and all they could say was try coming over anyway and hope to get in, the system would not allow them to override the booking. When I asked how I would get in to park at the hotel without a reservation given it was New Years Eve, I was told that I could try just telling the guard I was hoping to get in. I immediately managed to find (and book) a reservation at the Grand Floridian Cafe and then called the Boardwalk asking for a manager. After about 15 minutes I got to speak to the operations manager who was extremely nice. He also pulled up my cancelled reservation and confirmed that concierge cancelled them and he said he was sure it was an accident. I asked him if it was possible that a person in concierge had someone ask for a reservation there and he cancelled my reservation to make another. He said he certainly can't say that wasn't the case. He sounded like he would look into it. I told him I'm not asking for anything, I just want to know what happened and let him know what could have happened. So he then took some information, gave me a case number and told me to stop at the Downtown Disney Guest relations and pick up a $50 gift card to pay for my lunch at the Grand. I was totally shocked and told him that wasn't necessary. He then told me his "little Disney secret", which is if you are nice and not demanding to them, they will be very nice back because they appreciate it. To me, this was customer service at its best. fladogfan aka Gretchen and BradyBzLyn...Mo 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted August 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2014 Wow, 1-4 sound like things I would complain about. I thought rich people loved valet parking, paying $5 for a Diet Coke ("in a metal bottle" -- is that also known as a can?), avoiding public transportation and paying for things that are called complementary. This person clearly is not Four Seasons material. Great post! You are definitely not Four Seasons material if you think an aluminum bottle is a "can." How gauche. You haven't seen one of these before?: That is some brilliant marketing there. They're something like 8.5 oz., and cost twice as much as a 12 oz. can. What I really want to know is how stupid people get so rich. They can work the system though. Last New Years Eve we had reservations at the Wave for lunch. On December 30th, I checked MyDisneyExperience and noticed that my reservation was gone. I then got my reservation confirmation # and called Disney reservations. The woman there was very nice. She looked up my reservation and said, "Well, you had concierge at the Boardwalk cancel your reservations yesterday afternoon." When I told her I wasn't even at the Boardwalk yesterday she tried calling the restaurant and all they could say was try coming over anyway and hope to get in, the system would not allow them to override the booking. When I asked how I would get in to park at the hotel without a reservation given it was New Years Eve, I was told that I could try just telling the guard I was hoping to get in. I immediately managed to find (and book) a reservation at the Grand Floridian Cafe and then called the Boardwalk asking for a manager. After about 15 minutes I got to speak to the operations manager who was extremely nice. He also pulled up my cancelled reservation and confirmed that concierge cancelled them and he said he was sure it was an accident. I asked him if it was possible that a person in concierge had someone ask for a reservation there and he cancelled my reservation to make another. He said he certainly can't say that wasn't the case. He sounded like he would look into it. I told him I'm not asking for anything, I just want to know what happened and let him know what could have happened. So he then took some information, gave me a case number and told me to stop at the Downtown Disney Guest relations and pick up a $50 gift card to pay for my lunch at the Grand. I was totally shocked and told him that wasn't necessary. He then told me his "little Disney secret", which is if you are nice and not demanding to them, they will be very nice back because they appreciate it. To me, this was customer service at its best. Wow, what a mess! You are right about that Disney Secret. I have heard some stories from my College Program daughter about how ugly some guests can get, and how that will get you absolutely nowhere with management. In fact, it seems like managers secretly enjoy not helping guests who are pushy or rude. One thing that I definitely need to do a better job remembering is that in the typical situation where a CM is trying to resolve a problem, the CM you are dealing with had nothing to do with creating the problem. So why take out your frustrations on that CM? Disney CM's are trained to try to resolve problems for guests- just be nice and let them try. Being confrontational just makes things worse. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Seals 111 Posted August 20, 2014 Report Share Posted August 20, 2014 Great post! You are definitely not Four Seasons material if you think an aluminum bottle is a "can." How gauche. You haven't seen one of these before?: That is some brilliant marketing there. They're something like 8.5 oz., and cost twice as much as a 12 oz. can. I buy my cans of Coke Zero in 24 packs at Walmart, so I doubt I ever saw them. I like ritzy as much as the next person (especially if the next person is a Luckow who is paying for it) so if I did stay at the Four Seasons I'd know not to complain about all the rich people stuff. What I really want to know is how stupid people get so rich. I ask this question just about every day. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted August 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2014 People are starting to ask questions, and the Four Seasons is answering them on their Facebook page. First, this confirms that they are selling Magic Bands to their guests: And, if you want to just drive in to rubberneck, it's going to cost you big time: I love the condescending comment there from the Four Seasons in the last one about how it's "standard in the industry" to charge schmucks $26 to park and enter their hotel. Is that so? Maybe in New York City, but is that standard in Orlando? The Fort ought to follow this so called industry standard for the overflow lot. I'll bet that would stop the freeloaders in their tracks. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Starbuc71 162 Posted August 20, 2014 Report Share Posted August 20, 2014 Not sure if this was mentioned on here or not since I did to go back and read all the pages, but I was just looking to book a one night stay the first weekend of October and I saw on Expedia that the four seasons resort has one room available that was cheaper than the grand Floridian, the boardwalk inn and the polyesian resort. The four seasons was $549, GF was $564, Poly was $643 and boardwalk was $645. All those prices are insane, but the poly being more? What's wrong with this pic ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Starbuc71 162 Posted August 20, 2014 Report Share Posted August 20, 2014 Also, I was not looking to book at any of those hotels. I was looking for a cheapie and saw these. I'm not made of gold as much as I would like to be Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lou... 3,118 Posted August 20, 2014 Report Share Posted August 20, 2014 First, this confirms that they are selling Magic Bands to their guests: If the WDW CMs there, are selling admissions, don't they have to include a MB? I thought the question was, are they selling blank MBs? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted August 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2014 If the WDW CMs there, are selling admissions, don't they have to include a MB? I thought the question was, are they selling blank MBs? WDW still sells tickets and multi-day passes that are not on MB's. Unless something has changed, they don't sell MB's at the ticketing locations- only in gift shops. I assume that the Four Seasons guests have the option of buying MB's, but that they can also purchase tickets without them. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted August 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2014 Not sure if this was mentioned on here or not since I did to go back and read all the pages, but I was just looking to book a one night stay the first weekend of October and I saw on Expedia that the four seasons resort has one room available that was cheaper than the grand Floridian, the boardwalk inn and the polyesian resort. The four seasons was $549, GF was $564, Poly was $643 and boardwalk was $645. All those prices are insane, but the poly being more? What's wrong with this pic ? Aren't there passholder and Florida Resident rates out for the first weekend of October? Also, from a few comments I've seen on Trip Advisor, it seems that the Golden Oaks view rooms at the Four Seasons overlook construction, and guests have complained about the view and noise. Maybe they are discounting those rooms to the $549 rate. And, don't forget to add $26 a night for parking to the room rate. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lou... 3,118 Posted August 20, 2014 Report Share Posted August 20, 2014 they don't sell MB's at the ticketing locations- only in gift shops. I don't know, but the ticketing locations are independent non-Disney businesses.The Disney Planning Center located at the 4 Seasons is staffed by Disney CMs, so I would assume that whatever is available at WDW resorts would be available here as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted August 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2014 I don't know, but the ticketing locations are independent non-Disney businesses.The Disney Planning Center located at the 4 Seasons is staffed by Disney CMs, so I would assume that whatever is available at WDW resorts would be available here as well. I am not talking about non-Disney locations. The ticketing locations I was talking about are the ticket windows outside the parks. What's the official name- guest services? I'm talking about the official places on property. They don't sell Magic Bands. Guests who buy tickets there just get a regular ticket. They have RFID chips in them, so they can be used at the FP+ kiosks in the parks. The little excerpt I quoted above implies that guests at the Four Seasons will be able to buy MB's from the planning center. That is not something offered at the locations on property that sell tickets. Of course, WDW resort guests are issued MB's-they don't have to buy them separately. Any non-resort, non-passholder guest who wants a MB would have to buy it separately at a gift shop. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 YES!!! Wait, what are we boycotting? TCD Well I'm boycotting my local grocery chain, but that's another story entirely. I guess a Fiend will have to stay at the 4 Seasons or at a WDW deluxe and find out exactly what they are offering that non-deluxe resorts aren't. ^THIS^ You are right about that Disney Secret. I have heard some stories from my College Program daughter about how ugly some guests can get, and how that will get you absolutely nowhere with management. In fact, it seems like managers secretly enjoy not helping guests who are pushy or rude. ^ALSO THIS^ I would imagine it's gotten worse over the years thanks to some online forums (one in particular - not this one)) where people share their stories of what they've gotten as compensation for one thing or another, and then other people show up demanding it for any tiny little thing. CMs are human. Most humans are not inclined to go out of their way for someone that's treating them like dirt. Things happen, and a lot of the time it's not the fault of the CM standing right in front of you. And I was always taught you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beckers 1,136 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 When I worked guest relations at six flags things took much, much, much longer if you were nasty. Sometimes the computers "just happened to be running slow" and anyone who was behind a nasty person and then told me what a (insert choice name) the person was being got extra passes to skip lines. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lou... 3,118 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 CMs are human. We are? CMs are human. Most humans are not inclined to go out of their way for someone that's treating them like dirt. As a front desk agent, concierge, and bell cap, you yell, are demanding, and be rude to me and I'll do only what I have to do in order to get you out of my sight. You come across as sincere and undemanding, I'll bend over backwards and I'll definitely make some Disney magic for you. On the buses, I used a different approach.I would be super accommodating to an overly rude guest. By the end of the ride and after having some time to think about how they treated me as compared to how I treated them, they'd be so embarrassed and would apologizing to me. Happened every single time, which wasn't that many times. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Not sure if this was mentioned on here or not since I did to go back and read all the pages, but I was just looking to book a one night stay the first weekend of October and I saw on Expedia that the four seasons resort has one room available that was cheaper than the grand Floridian, the boardwalk inn and the polyesian resort. The four seasons was $549, GF was $564, Poly was $643 and boardwalk was $645. All those prices are insane, but the poly being more? What's wrong with this pic ? An under construction Poly at more than the GF? What the Fort? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lou... 3,118 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 An under construction Poly at more than the GF? What the Fort? Something doesn't sound right because as shown on the 2014 rack rates chart below, all things being equal, it shows that the GF is more expensive than the Poly. But not by as much as you would think. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 According to the rate chart, the $643 that Dave quoted is the weekend Lagoon view at the Poly for October (Regular II), and the GF rate was for Garden view for the same time. A comparable Lagoon view room at GF would be $659. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lou... 3,118 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 According to the rate chart, the $643 that Dave quoted is the weekend Lagoon view at the Poly for October (Regular II), and the GF rate was for Garden view for the same time. A comparable Lagoon view room at GF would be $659. More, but not by that much. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Starbuc71 162 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Even on a normal non construction day I would not spend that kind of money to stay at the Poly. Remember, there were rates expedia were showing so I was not sure on the view or location. I also got on the official Disney Website to check rates and they have a fall hotel promotion that starts October 4th so I checked on a one night stay. Not sure if it was a computer glitch but it stated $2250 per night for the GF for the night of the 4th. Seriously? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
red...Susan 37 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Since I can stay at a value for a weekend for the price of one night somewhere else I will just have to be happy with what I have. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lou... 3,118 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 I also got on the official Disney Website to check rates and they have a fall hotel promotion that starts October 4th so I checked on a one night stay. Not sure if it was a computer glitch but it stated $2250 per night for the GF for the night of the 4th. Seriously? $2250 had to be for a Suite. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beckers 1,136 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 $2250 had to be for a Suite.Good grief, my family can vacation for a week on that Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lightbikes 73 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 And hubby and I spent the entire month of January at the Fort for LESS than that - in our favourite site I might add!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Starbuc71 162 Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Hard to believe people have that much money to burn Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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