I will NEVER go back to DisneyLand again!

[andromedaslove]

Here is the letter I am about to send to DisneyLand regarding our vacation this weekend. I have never been treated so badly at Disney World and couldn't have imagined that I would have been treated this way at DisneyLand.

To whom it may concern:

My family and I, as Florida residents, have been vacationing at Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida for more than 20 years, and literally visit the Walt Disney World Resort around 20 times a year. We have a vacation planned for Walt Disney World in 2 weeks, we have Annual Passes, I am registered to run the Full Marathon in January, and will definately be planning more short trips between now and then. The reason for me stating all of this is to try and impress on you how much we LOVE Disney, and almost everything Disney related.

This past weekend my family and I decided to make a last minute trip from Jacksonville Florida to Anaheim. We wanted to see the Inaugural Half Marathon, and we were all extremely excited to see "Walt's" park. Unfortunately, I was greatly disappointed. Immediately after entering the park we headed to Grizzly River Run to get Fastpasses and realized that somehow I had already lost our tickets. Instead of getting upset I took my receipt with me to Guest Relations inside of California Adventure to get new tickets, since that is what is done at Walt Disney World. Upon arriving I was informed that it is NOT DisneyLand's policy to replace lost or stolen tickets regardless of what Disney World's policy is. I have a hard time understanding this. Firstly, you have fastpasses which means that your guests are going to be taking their tickets out on a regular basis to get those fastpasses which makes it more likely for their tickets to get lost. Secondly, if DisneyLand and Disney World are owned by the same company then they have access to the same technology and should be capable of cancelling old tickets and replacing them when someone arrives with receipt in hand. I initially paid $328.00 for our 2 day tickets, then had to pay $59.00 a piece for 2 adult tickets and $49.00 for a child's ticket just so our entire vacation wasn't a wash.

The biggest frustration I had with this situation was the way I was treated by the young lady at Guest Relations. As I have said before I have been visiting Disney Parks for quite a long time, and I always raved about the way Disney's Cast Members treat their "guests". This is NOT the way I was treated on Saturday. There were two women working at Guest Relations inside of California Adventure, one was named Tina, and I can not remember the name of the other Cast Member. Unfortunately, the one who's name I can't remember, is the one who treated me so badly. I made a point to explain to her that my frustration at the situation wasn't directed at her. When trying to explain my situation and show her my receipt with ticket numbers, she kept interrupting me, I asked her on numerous occasions to please stop interrupting me, that she was being rude and to please let me finish and she absolutely refused. She literally would interrupt me mid-sentence to tell me "This is DisneyLand's policy and there is nothing I can do about it." with as much attitude as is humanly possible. Due to the situation, her reluctance to even listen to me, and how rude she was, I was literally in tears as I left the park to go to Lost and Found. If this Cast Member is in a position to deal with Guests then she needs more training. It is NEVER acceptable to treat a guest the way I was treated. I reported my tickets lost and went about my day, after thankfully the people at Lost and Found at least gave me tickets for the day that I had already used to finish using for the remainder of Saturday. Although the Cast Members at Lost and Found also advised me that this was DisneyLand's policy they were at least sympathetic to my situation and tried to help any way that they could. Which is what should have been done in the first place instead of dealing with someone so rude that I was in tears.

We enjoyed the rest of our day, and bought tickets for Sunday since no one had turned ours in to Lost and Found. We had reservations for Blue Bayou at 5:30pm. At 5:15 after waiting in line for 10 minutes I arrived at the podium to check in for our dinner only to be advised by the young woman that I need to go wait in line again because she couldn't check me in yet. I had just waited in line for 10 minutes while my husband did his best entertaining our 23 month old and 5 yr old, and she expected me to get in line all over again. That again is just not acceptable. Her response when questioned about it was "This is policy and there is nothing I can do about it". I asked her if there was a supervisor I could speak with and she walked off. As I was waiting for her to come back, another young lady walked up to check in the people in line behind me who also had a 5:30pm reservation and she checked them in with no problem whatsoever. That to me doesn't make sense. Then the young woman who had gone to get the supervisor showed back up and told me, not very nicely, that she could check me in but that I would have to wait behind all of the 5:15 and 5:20 reservations. To be honest, I didn't have a problem with that. If I am correct this is the same way they handle ADR's at Walt Disney World, but I don't need attitude from a Cast Member while being advised of this policy. I walked away and we left the parks immediately.

This kind of behavior is completely unacceptable. I don't expect to be treated any differently than anyone else, I just expect everyone to be treated with respect. I was not shown this at DisneyLand whatsoever. I thank goodness that my family and I already have paid reservations for Disney World for next weekend, because if I hadn't already planned these trips DisneyLand could have possibly soured my taste for Disney in general. Thankfully, I am visiting Disney World where the Cast Members obviously still are trained to treat the guests with respect, and hopefully can forget how badly I was treated at DisneyLand. What I can tell you is that I will NEVER spend that kind of money to travel from Florida all the way to Anaheim to visit DisneyLand ever again. I would like for this letter to if nothing else advise someone in a position of authority how guests are being treated at "Walt's" park, the park that is supposed to be the "Happiest Place on Earth".

Dana

 

[TheZue]

I'm sooo sorry about your trip being ruined That is absolutely terrible. They really need to up the pay in that park to attract and retain some decent people again.

 

[HydroGuy]

I live in fear of losing my entrance tickets for this reason. So I sympathize with you greatly. I go to great lengths to keep track of them, and have a standard procedure for getting FastPasses and never leave the FP machines until I have counted every single entrance ticket and every single FastPass and then put them in my storage pouch I wear around my neck.

I do have a question for you though. Have you have ever lost paper tickets at WDW? I have never lost them at WDW or DLR so I cannot comment directly. However, when I made my first trip to WDW in June I was warned repeatedly to not lose my entrance tickets as WDW does not promise to replace them. When I bought advance WDW tickets through Ticketmania they went so far as to explain this to me and to send me photocopies of the tickets in case they did get lost. The purpose of the photocopies, they explained, was to increase my chances that WDW may choose to replace the tickets even though they do not have a policy to replace them. In addition, it was recommended to me that I sign each card on the back (in the signature area) and then photocopy them again, as well as bring the purchase receipt with me.

Before leaving for the trip, I came to understand that if I stayed onsite (which I did) then I could have my paper tickets transferred onto the room key card for each person in my family. Further, if I lost the room key card then WDW does have a policy to replace the card along with the park entrance privileges. This made me much less nervous about tickets at WDW than I am at DLR.

In summary, I cannot agree with how the CM treated you. This is no excuse, but DLR has had severe labor problems over the last few years and many have observed this has impacted the quality of CM service to some degree. However, I completely understand DLR's and WDW's policy and am not surprised you were denied.

I would be curious as to anyone's experience out there who may have lost paper tickets at WDW recently, and whether WDW is more flexible than DLR in this area.

 

[andromedaslove]

Disney World has replaced our paper tickets on multiple occasions. As long as you have the receipt they will replace them. They will replace paper tickets, vouchers for annual passes, it really doesn't matter as long as you have some way to show you actually have the tickets with the ticket numbers so they can look them up. I am really surprised they couldn't just look at the ticket numbers on my receipts, look up the tickets, cancel them, and replace them just like they do at Disney World. Like I said before though, that isn't my biggest concern. I just hated being treated that way by a cast member I have come to expect much better service than that.

 

[stampinshauna]

It's too bad that a few cast members treated you poorly, because it is supposed to be "The Happiest Place on Earth". I too would be upset if I lost my tickets. I wish there was some way to do the fastpasses without having to constantly get out the tickets. Sorry that it spoiled your trip and soured your experience at Disneyland. I love both Disneyland and Disneyworld. Hopefully you get a good response back from your letter and maybe they can make things right. Unfortunately, you can get bad service at places no matter where they are.

 

[monicauw]

sorry you were treated badly, two years ago we got our tickets stolen from our hotel room, best western park place inn and we went to the customer relations and they gave us new ones, must be a new policy I will keep them under lock in key while we are there. I hope we are treated with respect, that just stinks.

 

[eatmypixiedust]

I'm sorry to hear of your poor experience! I can understand your frustrations. After all, you just wanted to have a nice family vacation at the "happiest place on earth."

I agree with you that the CM's behavior was indeed rude. I would have been angry too! I hope your trip to WDW is more enjoyable.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

How awful! I don't blame you for being upset and sending that email. I think there is something wrong with that policy and the fastpasses as well. I mean sure if they don't want to replace them fine, but it's going to become a huge issue when people are taking them out and putting them back so often. I knew they wouldn't replace them ahead of time because it said something about that policy when the tickets came in the mail. So I always guard them with my life! But you'd think if you had a reciept they would be able to replace them anyway.

As for the CM's. I agree they need to pay better, with all the money Disney makes you'd think they could do that. If they continue down this road of not having enough staff, or the staff they do have being rude, it's going to start making people not want to come anymore. We've dealt with a few rude CM's ourselves over the years, nothing that was worth ruining our trip over. But in a place called The Happiest Place On Earth! Well you shouldn't see rude. Not acceptable.

 

[almacdonald]

A policy is a policy, it says right on the back of the ticket that Disney will not be responsible for lost or stolen tickets or property. I would imagine they have several people everyday who lose their tickets and if they ignored policy for one, they'd have to do that for everyone. My suggestion is to be a little more responsible next time rather than blaming Disneyland for your problems. We've been several times, never lost a ticket, never had any cast member issues, in fact we find the DL CM's to be much more pleasant than many (though not all) at WDW

 

[houseofmouse]

As a pass holder I am at DL alot. And the past few years its really been hit or miss as far as customer service is concerned. Some days its all pixie dust other days its fire and brimstone...
Their policies and procedures vary greatly form WDW, NOT for the better I'm afraid.
Example of silly a procedure:
We renewed our passes at DL stood in a long line, took photos, paid, etc..and then were told we had to walk over to DCA stand in long line to get in DCA then stand in long line again at Guest Services to pick them up. I started laughing because I thought they were joking....it was no joke... Ridiculous!!!

 

[MagicalMomAZ]

From what I've read on here I think DL could stad some CS training for their CM's - if it's the Happiest Place on Earth it should feel that way all of the time. This too happened to me at BB 4 yrs ago, I took it in stride as were were seated before I could get angry but I was confused.

Maybe we should band together and all write a lettet?

 

[disneegrl4eva]

A policy is a policy, it says right on the back of the ticket that Disney will not be responsible for lost or stolen tickets or property. I would imagine they have several people everyday who lose their tickets and if they ignored policy for one, they'd have to do that for everyone. My suggestion is to be a little more responsible next time rather than blaming Disneyland for your problems. We've been several times, never lost a ticket, never had any cast member issues, in fact we find the DL CM's to be much more pleasant than many (though not all) at WDW

 

[munchkinsmom]

I'm so sorry you had such a bad time at the DLR. Once our family was walking behind a couple of ladies and one dropped her ticket and continued walking. My DH quickly picked it up and chased after them to give it back. I wished someone had done that for you. The ticket is definitely a precious and important thing to keep track of while you're at the park.

I'd be very upset with myself if I'd lost my ticket at the DLR. Our double stroller was stolen from the park once, so I know what's it's like to lose something valuable there. We've been going to the DLR for years and we've had great encounters with people who work there, and not-so-great interactions. In Disneyland's defense, I've had more good interactions with CMs than not-so-good, so it's a shame that you had to experience the not-so-good in your first (and now obviously "only") trip to the DLR.

On a side note, best of luck in the WDW marathon this coming January.

Edited to add: In my comment above, I had assumed it was your first time to the DLR, but it may not have been. My apologies for that assumption.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

ok first of all...please know that I understand your frustration totally and would be very upset if I was being talked down to or being spoken to in a very rude manner and you have every right to be upset by the cm's behavior...with that said...it is my feeling that too many people compare WDW to DL and they are 2 different worlds...I would never begin to think that what I can and cant do in DL that I would be able to do or not do in WDW...I would definitely read everything and check on the boards and ask questions...I work for a major cell phone company in customer service and deal with issues all day long on my job...although I do not condone in any way shape or means a cm's behavior, it has been my experience that I can get very upset by the way someone is speaking to me especially when that person is upset...now I wasnt there to witness what was said between either party, I know customer service is a very VERY tough profession to begin with but I cannot imagine anyone going from 0-10 in 5 seconds if a person was being talked to in a calm rational manner...and remembering that there are certain guidelines and policies that cm has to follow and its hard being the person standing there having to be yelled at because of what they are told to and not to do...I agree there should be more training but at the same time...Disney needs to up these peoples hourly wage and have people who are there just for issues like this...it is my opinion and observation only...also, if a cm is saying things that you know is not what their manager would consider customer service friendly then I would address it with their manager..and lord knows we all have one I am extremely sorry you had to deal with that and really hope your able to work this out and dont let it keep you from visiting DL...it really is a great place

 

[DLR29]

A policy is a policy, it says right on the back of the ticket that Disney will not be responsible for lost or stolen tickets or property. I would imagine they have several people everyday who lose their tickets and if they ignored policy for one, they'd have to do that for everyone. My suggestion is to be a little more responsible next time rather than blaming Disneyland for your problems. We've been several times, never lost a ticket, never had any cast member issues, in fact we find the DL CM's to be much more pleasant than many (though not all) at WDW

I totally agree with you. Sorry, but if you lose your ticket you shouldn't be allowed another or use of FP. They can't give a person replacement tickets for the reason that someone might abuse the FP system. I'm not saying you were but someone could show DL the reciepts and get double the FP use. I 'm sorry if this sounds negative but I'd be more responsible next time. One of those plastic lanyards work great for us. They hold tickets and FPs.

 

[drag n' fly]

Sorry to hear about your experience. Unfortunately their are some inconsistencies in policy. Rude CM's are also a reality. We encountered some on our last trip. The only way I dealt with this was acknowledging they were having a bad day and that I required further assistance with my problem. A lot of the younger CM's do not have the maturity or training to deal with customer service complaints. I would say 8 out of ten staff were great. I was aware of DL policy but am going to WDW for the first time and recently discovered their lost ticket policy. We wear lanyards w/ plastic pockets attached at all times because this is one of my fears also. Looking forward to coming to your neck of the woods for some Florida hospitality!

 

[spazzyjazzy]

A policy is a policy, it says right on the back of the ticket that Disney will not be responsible for lost or stolen tickets or property. I would imagine they have several people everyday who lose their tickets and if they ignored policy for one, they'd have to do that for everyone. My suggestion is to be a little more responsible next time rather than blaming Disneyland for your problems. We've been several times, never lost a ticket, never had any cast member issues

Agreed!

 

[dohgusgus]

I totally agree with you. Sorry, but if you lose your ticket you shouldn't be allowed another or use of FP. They can't give a person replacement tickets for the reason that someone might abuse the FP system. I'm not saying you were but someone could show DL the reciepts and get double the FP use. I 'm sorry if this sounds negative but I'd be more responsible next time. One of those plastic lanyards work great for us. They hold tickets and FPs.

I agree. I had the misfortune of loosing my DL ticket a couple of years ago and we even retraced our steps but to no avail. It wasn't the end of the world because I will still in Disneyland, I just wouldnt be able to use fastpass, so I just said "oh well' and went on my merry way.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I agree. I had the misfortune of loosing my DL ticket a couple of years ago and we even retraced our steps but to no avail. It wasn't the end of the world because I will still in Disneyland, I just wouldnt be able to use fastpass, so I just said "oh well' and went on my merry way.

Yes, but you also wouldn't be able to park hop or leave and reenter the park, which could be a major bummer, especially if it was day one on a multi day ticket. I agree with another poster, the lanyard works well. I had no idea they wouldn't replace tickets if you lost them, guess I just never thought about it. I am sorry the OP had this happen. Its a good lesson for all of us, hopefully the letter will generate at least an apology. I guess I just can't understand why if you had the receipt they couldn't at least issue a new ticket.

 

[molarman]

I was so sorry to hear about your bad experience at DL! We visit WDW and DL at least 1-2 times per year each. We had visited WDW several times before visiting DL. Our first trip to DL was not as negative as yours, but we were shocked at several differences. We assumed that the Disney company ran both resorts identical. We expected a Key to The World card, rather than paper tickets. We were surprised that we couldn't charge park expenses to our room with our "ticket".

Anyway, we still love to visit both parks, and have become accustomed to the policies of each resort.

We love WDW, but we equally love DL! Don't write it off so soon, give it another try. We love to stay off property when we visit So Cal, stay at Newport Beach area and visit DL 2-3 days and visit the coast the rest of the stay. One positive thing about DL -- the beach is just 10 miles away, and the weather is normally mild and we never need insect repellant.