I just returned from a trip to POR from 1/25-29/18 and wanted to share our experiences. I also posted in the Pet Friendly experiences thread, so there may be some overlap and cutting/pasting as it applies for background and such. Apologize for the lengthy post but I’m trying to be as thorough and detail-specific as possible...
For some background as it applies, my DD11 and I were part of a larger group of about 20 rooms. Her dance company participated in a workshop with cast members on Saturday (their instructor was a squid in the Finding Nemo show - how cool is that?!), then performed at Disney Springs on Sunday. I mention this part as it added to the obligations, needs, and stressors of the trip as it was not Disney “business as usual” for us. It was my first time traveling with just my daughter, as my DH and DS13 stayed home. Because of the dance obligations, we had specific times scheduled that we’d be in the room that I wouldn’t want to be disturbed. The first day we had a mid-day break before DAH, and the following two days we had late mornings since my daughter didn’t need to meet the group until 11am, and there wasn’t enough time to risk a trip to a park.
My concerns about the new daily room checks/room occupied policy stemmed mostly from my specific situation for this trip in that I was traveling alone with my daughter at an unfamiliar resort with exterior corridors and due to the “scheduled” breaks (I’m also just hard-wired to constantly assess risk due to professional and personal experiences). I had read a wide variety of experiences and it seemed like there was a variance between how different resorts were managing the checks. I had been pondering before the trip about whether I would leave DD in the room alone with the DND sign if I needed to run to the lobby area. Once I heard about the new policy, I knew I would not leave her alone, as I didn’t want her to have to deal with a knock since the Room Occupied sign does not have the same intention as a DND.
I did not decline housekeeping (it was not offered to decline and I did not ask). The new policy was not mentioned at check-in and I had forgotten about it at that point, and did not ask any questions. **I want to emphasize that we had no problems at all with unwelcome interruptions.** Housekeeping came while we were at the park in the am on Friday, while we were gone midday on Saturday, and after 3pm when we were out for the evening on Sunday.
Our issue was that we did not have a “Flying Off to Neverland” sign in our room. I wanted one due to our schedule to avoid disruptions. Since Thursday, I had called Mousekeeping multiple times and wrote notes, but had not received one by Saturday at 11am at drop-off. I went to ask the front desk for a sign. The CM had no idea what I was talking about, but another CM heard the exchange and came over. They referred me back to Mousekeeping. I then asked an open ended question about how the new policy works in practice at the resort.
I have had 7 on-site stays in WDW in 9 years. I can honestly say that this exchange was the most negative experience I have ever had with a CM, and it seemed completely unnecessary since I was not even reporting a “problem” or “incident”; I simply wanted to know how the policy works at POR - and I needed a sign. The CM became immediately defensive and combative, and began to engage in what we used to call in my old job as “challenge” questions: “Why do you need this information?” “Where are you going with this line of questioning?” “You’re aware that the world is a different place now, right?” I was blindsided by this response. I am formerly a Social Worker/therapist who worked with mandated clients, and I found myself using de-escalation techniques and just trying to extricate myself from the conversation.
I told him multiple times that I was not questioning the policy itself or the need for it, that I just wanted to know some practical information for my stay, since I was traveling alone with a child. For example, since I was a single adult, I asked him it was okay to let a CM open a door with his “key” instead of me opening the door? He became very angry and kept berating me about the misuse of the word “key.” "You do know we don't use actual keys, don't you?!" One strange thing was he kept mentioning how the world was different, but he made it a point to say it was not a security measure, he repeatedly pointed to maintenance issues. He also told me it was “in my best interest” to answer if they knock, but couldn’t really provide a lot of specifics to my questions about how it works, like if Mousekeeping doesn’t make it to my room, will security definitely come daily, or only if there’s an issue, maintenance or security concern or otherwise - because at this point I was fairly confused. (ETA - I also asked if I could ask them to come back later). I am no pushover and I’m actually embarrassed to say, but I was almost in tears by the end of the exchange, which sounds really lame coming from a middle-aged woman, but I think it was in part because it was so unexpected and I left feeling like I had done something wrong (I’m actually almost embarrassed to post this, as I never really had a “problem” with the implementation of the policy itself).
In any case, Mousekeeping left me a sign on Saturday afternoon, which we then used with no issues. I don't know if there has been issues or blowback with guests at POR, or if the CM was just having a bad day, but a guest should be able to clarify a policy with staff. I hope Disney is able to clarify the policy and train the staff appropriately because that exchange was completely unnecessary during an otherwise fantastic trip and once in a lifetime experience for my daughter. If you’re still with me after all of my rambling - thanks!