It's kind of awful this week.

[theluckyrabbit]

...

I would also write a letter to guest services (hopefully someone on here can give that email address as I am blanking on it at the moment) to express how rough it is in the parks with the constant ride breakdowns. Not only for guests, but CM's as well. If they don't hear about this, nothing will be done. Move it up the chain in hopes of change.

Again, I am so sorry you left early. It is very telling how deflating your trip was when your daughter asks to go home early. Disney needs to hear this.

The Contact Us link at the bottom of the DLR webpage works well. We've gotten a response, even recently, almost every time we've sent in a comment.

 

[katyringo]

I see this way too much on these boards when people have a bad time... folks swoop in and basically say that magic is still there if you just appreciate it enough..

There is a word for that... gaslighting.

To the OP,
What a total let down. You purchased 5 day tickets and a stay at a pricey Disney hotel and your experience was not stellar. It doesn't matter if someone else had a wonderful trip on the same day... you didn't. I would send an email to Disney and stick to the facts and bullet point them.

I believe the two days you still have on your ticket can still be used somehow, thought it's probably a tedious process.

Thank you for sharing your experiences because like any post I am sure there is something I can take from it and us to plan our trip.

 

[disneyerin]

OP, I am sorry. I understand that feeling of excitement to return to Disneyland only to feel deflated with how things have actually occurred. You can roll with a hiccup or two, but when they seem to be around every corner you start to really get discouraged. It is so frustrating!

Make sure when you talk to them about all the failures, it is without emotion and with point by point logistics -- you get a lot farther that way. (but believe me it is so darned tricky to do that when you have just spent thousands of your hard earned dollars and feel ripped off)

I truly hope things make a turn around for your vacation. When this has happened to us, I typically tell my family we need a reset. It is a new day! We have to go in with a positive attitude and try everything in our power to sustain it. No little gripes, just look for the good.

Keep us posted - I really hope we hear some good news.

I have become so cynical about Disney Customer Service over the past 5 years. They won't care. They'll listen and say "We are so sorry you had that experience". And that will be that.
They (the Disney company) used to care SO MUCH about your experience. It's such a huge loss. I have been going to the parks for 45 years. And OMG, the difference from even 10 years ago is heart breaking.
I'm not feeling very excited about our October trip. I'm more worried than anything else. But I'll work at it. We've always had a good time so I'm sure the excitement will be here soon.
I hope.....

 

[fly girl]

I have become so cynical about Disney Customer Service over the past 5 years. They won't care. They'll listen and say "We are so sorry you had that experience". And that will be that.
They (the Disney company) used to care SO MUCH about your experience. It's such a huge loss. I have been going to the parks for 45 years. And OMG, the difference from even 10 years ago is heart breaking.
I'm not feeling very excited about our October trip. I'm more worried than anything else. But I'll work at it. We've always had a good time so I'm sure the excitement will be here soon.
I hope.....

I understand the cynicism, it took me 4 emails last October to hear back about an issue. I finally said "tell me to pound sand" or reply to my email. Seriously, I really said that, lol. They finally replied.

On the other hand, I sent a simple email right before Genie+ rolled out at WDW and the lack of using it more than once per ride. I actually received a phone call. Talked to a lovely CM for easily 20-30 minutes. She wanted to use my thoughts as a counterpoint for higher ups. Obviously it didn't change, but it was a surprise to see Lake Buena Vista on my caller ID. Was nice to feel heard.

I think it all depends on the CM who reads the email.

However, I would sincerely hope the GM of DLH will take OP's critiques seriously. If she doesn't hear back from them, that would be very disappointing. Something, anything from the GM saying yes, sounds like we dropped the ball. Validation would mean a lot in this instance.

Don't fret about your upcoming trip. You will likely have a wonderful time.

 

[DontSpamMe]

I only know this board due to COVID as I came here to get updates about the park opening. I really wish I had found this site when we were going to the parks previous as this site pretty much has the cheat codes for all things Disneyland. I appreciate ANY and ALL experiences to assist me with maximizing my enjoyment. I value the critical posts just as much as the positive ones. If there is a topic or post I'm not interested in I simply don't read it. If you have counter points to the negative posts then be the yin to the yang and tell us how your experience was different. Coming on here to complain about the complainers is just a bad look.

My advice for the pollyannas is to avoid social media and message boards if a negative tone is difficult to process.

 

[xipotec]

I think people need to give up on the G+ is bad drum beating….its here and its not leaving.

I can easily say the parks were better 10 years ago….well alot was better 10 years ago.

What most diehards fail to recognize is that Disney has given up on brand name service. They have resorted to typical short term corporate mentality. Chapek is leading the charge, but the shareholders love it. Its all about quarterly profits now, even at the expense of damaging the brand in the long term.

Cut park attendance? LOL!! Sell LESS Genie +? Seriously? Hire more qualified staff? Gimme a break. That all costs money and quarterly profits.

They just neurered sick time for the employees, This more than anything should educate you on how much the current board cares about them or the guests they serve.

We are in decline in this country because of this “get everything you can now and damn the future” attitude Wall Street has created.

As many have said. Walt and many company leaders in the past would have fired the entire leadership for allowing this damage to be done to the company's reputation. Now, Wall Street is the only opinion that matters. They really do not care about the guest anymore. To the current leadership, thats a problem for someone else down the line, they can fix that.

I think people have a choice. Accept this is the way it is now and spend accordingly, or continue to be disappointed.

 

[Aurora0427]

We did 4 park days mid June and bought Genie. It was VERY crowded but we had a great time. I don't think we just got lucky 4 different days, I think we just navigated Genie well and kept our expectations realisitc. I've heard some people talk about not getting the # of rides they wanted with Genie vs Maxpass. Granted I never used Maxpass, but I felt like we got a lot done and we were super happy with it. We rode everything we wanted to, many rides multiple times, saw all the shows, did all the things we wanted. Never waited more than 15 min for anything, either standby or LL. The hardest part was navigating around the parks with the massive number of people there. But other than that, we managed it all well and had a fabulous time!

We went twice in June and had great experiences… however July has been different. I’m not sure what’s changed.

 

[Aurora0427]

They were not rude but they weren’t helpful at all. I just now spent an hour being bounced back and forth between apps, chats, call centers, etc. just to let them know I had checked out (I finally had to leave a voice mail with the front desk that no one has bothered to listen to.) I was hung up on once after waiting on hold with the 2nd or 3rd contact I was given. Two different employees said “yeah you probably won’t get a refund” even though I hadn’t even asked for one. I just wanted my folio.

They were kind of almost accusatory, like “Did you really try to check out? What time did you walk by the desk?” I am a frequent traveler beyond just Disney, and this felt a bit condescending.

I have stayed at DLH and GCH many times over the years in addition to our Disney cruises, but I don’t think I’ll go back to either, or maybe we’d look at the new Westin or JW Marriott there if we ever really feel like going back to the parks. I’ve tried the motel style places nearby the park and they were meh, but I’ve never had this indifferent of service at any of them.

We get better service at the Park Vue Inn on Harbor. It’s a little motel that’s been there for ages…. Unlike Disney they actually care about their guest experience. We’re locals so we can’t afford to stay on property every time we go, so the Park Vue is our go to. Even when we moved back to Texas briefly, we’d stay there for two nights and then move to a resort in Newport for the duration of our trip. Anyway…. My point is Disney can do waayyyyy better. We were guests of friends staying at The Montage in Laguna yesterday, and we had excellent service and we weren’t even hotel guests.

I’m so sorry your trip was so disappointing.

 

[DLgal]

We get better service at the Park Vue Inn on Harbor. It’s a little motel that’s been there for ages…. Unlike Disney they actually care about their guest experience. We’re locals so we can’t afford to stay on property every time we go, so the Park Vue is our go to. Even when we moved back to Texas briefly, we’d stay there for two nights and then move to a resort in Newport for the duration of our trip. Anyway…. My point is Disney can do waayyyyy better. We were guests of friends staying at The Montage in Laguna yesterday, and we had excellent service and we weren’t even hotel guests.

I’m so sorry your trip was so disappointing.

We had amazing customer service for 2 days at the Grand Californian early July. Like, seriously great. They also went above and beyond when we had to leave early due to covid. When we were getting ready to leave, we were told exactly how much of a refund to expect (I had prepaid our room balance due with a giftcard). I had the refund the next day. We were not charged for the second night even though we occupied our room from checkout time until close to 8pm, and were not charged for our scheduled third night either, even though they could have shrugged and said "sorry, nothing we can do." We walked away for the cost of the first night we stayed, parking, and nothing more. This didn't even require a manager or supervisor. It was done by the gal working the Club Level desk.

And FWIW, because I know someone will mention this, we were staying with a deep discount (40%) so it's not a matter of "well you paid club level prices so you got better service."

Disney CAN do better, but the problem is that they have no consistency across property.

 

[Ferbtones10]

Hello everyone. Just wanted to pop in with my recent experience.
Had a 5 day hopper pass spread over 10 days, to give a day off in between each park day. Family of 4 from England, me, hubby, son 18 and daughter 15. Last family trip before son is off to University.
Never been to Disneyland before, but have visited Disney World and Disneyland Paris 8 times each.
Park days were DL 12th July, DCA 14th July, DL 16th July, DCA 18th July and DCA/DL on 20th July.
The quietest day we had was the DL on 16th, which was a Saturday, it was strangely quiet. Lines for Rise were consistently under an hour. Elsewhere there were lots of walk ons. Many regulars we spoke to commented on how quiet it was for a weekend. All of the other days were very busy, but we rope dropped every day and used single rider and Genie Plus LL to good effect. We never paid for the ILL for any rides, as felt the initial outlay of 80 dollars a day for genie was enough.
Ride breakdowns, pfft there were a million. I exaggerate but it honestly felt like we were cursed. Every ride we chose as our rope drop ride was down when we got there. Even after asking CMs at the hub if they were running and getting a yes. So we would have to change up our strategy every single time.
Worst day was 20th July. Rope dropped Web Slingers, it was down. Cast member said it was because of the heat. I reminded her the ride is indoors. There were 5 rides down at 8am - Incredicoaster, Web, Luigis, Goofy and Toy Story. Scored 3 MEPs from Incredicoaster because I read DIS .
Overall our experience was expected. We knew it would be busy, but it was the only time we could go. But I researched, read DIS, and there were no surprises. But the breakdowns were so bad.
But we had the best time, because we expected the worst, not in a negative way, but a prepared one. Most CMs were great, some were a bit rude, but it’s hot so we allowed it.
Best memories from trip - daughter got picked to play Guardians rope drop game of toss the Groot, she won and we were the first family of the day to ride Guardians, with a car to ourselves and the runner up family . And hubby building his droid which is my 50th birthday gift to him. He was like a big kid .
Sorry OP had a bad one, I hope future visits are better for you.

And as a side note, huge thanks to all the contributors on here whose valuable advice kept me one step ahead the whole time. I was an expert and a rookie all in one.

 

[MouseEarsMom33]

Hello everyone. Just wanted to pop in with my recent experience.
Had a 5 day hopper pass spread over 10 days, to give a day off in between each park day. Family of 4 from England, me, hubby, son 18 and daughter 15. Last family trip before son is off to University.
Never been to Disneyland before, but have visited Disney World and Disneyland Paris 8 times each.
Park days were DL 12th July, DCA 14th July, DL 16th July, DCA 18th July and DCA/DL on 20th July.
The quietest day we had was the DL on 16th, which was a Saturday, it was strangely quiet. Lines for Rise were consistently under an hour. Elsewhere there were lots of walk ons. Many regulars we spoke to commented on how quiet it was for a weekend. All of the other days were very busy, but we rope dropped every day and used single rider and Genie Plus LL to good effect. We never paid for the ILL for any rides, as felt the initial outlay of 80 dollars a day for genie was enough.
Ride breakdowns, pfft there were a million. I exaggerate but it honestly felt like we were cursed. Every ride we chose as our rope drop ride was down when we got there. Even after asking CMs at the hub if they were running and getting a yes. So we would have to change up our strategy every single time.
Worst day was 20th July. Rope dropped Web Slingers, it was down. Cast member said it was because of the heat. I reminded her the ride is indoors. There were 5 rides down at 8am - Incredicoaster, Web, Luigis, Goofy and Toy Story. Scored 3 MEPs from Incredicoaster because I read DIS .
Overall our experience was expected. We knew it would be busy, but it was the only time we could go. But I researched, read DIS, and there were no surprises. But the breakdowns were so bad.
But we had the best time, because we expected the worst, not in a negative way, but a prepared one. Most CMs were great, some were a bit rude, but it’s hot so we allowed it.
Best memories from trip - daughter got picked to play Guardians rope drop game of toss the Groot, she won and we were the first family of the day to ride Guardians, with a car to ourselves and the runner up family . And hubby building his droid which is my 50th birthday gift to him. He was like a big kid .
Sorry OP had a bad one, I hope future visits are better for you.

And as a side note, huge thanks to all the contributors on here whose valuable advice kept me one step ahead the whole time. I was an expert and a rookie all in one.

How did you like DL compared to WDW?

 

[Ferbtones10]

We all really liked how easy it was to get around in Disneyland compared to Disney world. The rides that we had never done before such as RSR and Web Slingers.
Just the overall feel of DL was more special in a way. Our family seemed to like DCA the best, just because my daughter is huge into Marvel and son is Cars mad.
We all said we would love to return again to DL, being the original park that Walt built, maybe at a cooler time, as it was hot for us.
I can really see why you all love going so much.

 

[MouseEarsMom33]

We all really liked how easy it was to get around in Disneyland compared to Disney world. The rides that we had never done before such as RSR and Web Slingers.
Just the overall feel of DL was more special in a way. Our family seemed to like DCA the best, just because my daughter is huge into Marvel and son is Cars mad.
We all said we would love to return again to DL, being the original park that Walt built, maybe at a cooler time, as it was hot for us.
I can really see why you all love going so much.

Thanks for the feedback. We usually go to WDW and are going to DL for first time in mid-August.

 

[DizneyMommy]

August 15. From August 15-31, there are no Key reservations of any types available now. They have pretty much been sold out for weeks. Enchant Key and Imagine Key have been blocked for the summer and that's when they open up.

Plus now they will be ending MSEP and Disneyland Forever on September 1, so those holding those reservations have extra incentive to show up.

I have to wonder how much of that crush of reservations is people with passes about to expire in August either A) afraid they won’t allow renewals, or B) deciding not to renew and getting one last trip. Plus MSEP now ends 9/1 so there’s that.

 

[asumom]

I have to wonder how much of that crush of reservations is people with passes about to expire in August either A) afraid they won’t allow renewals, or B) deciding not to renew and getting one last trip. Plus MSEP now ends 9/1 so there’s that.

seems that Disneyland always figures out how to bring the crowds. What would normally be the start of slow season will be busy because of the things you mentioned. Also, the Halloween Parties will start, then the Christmas Parties, food festivals etc. These extra events have ensured that there is no longer a slow season, just a season with shorter hours.

 

[Geemo]

seems that Disneyland always figures out how to bring the crowds. What would normally be the start of slow season will be busy because of the things you mentioned. Also, the Halloween Parties will start, then the Christmas Parties, food festivals etc. These extra events have ensured that there is no longer a slow season, just a season with shorter hours.

I never really cared for the shorter hours, during what Disney considers off-season.

Opening at 9am or 10am and closing at 8pm on weekdays.
Disney's shorter hours are pretty drastic.

 

[Dolewhipt]

Well, OP here and hopefully this is my last update. We left our trip early yesterday and by last night we felt sick. Took a test and my daughter and I both caught Covid at Disneyland. Please be careful everyone.

 

[asumom]

I never really cared for the shorter hours, during what Disney considers off-season.

Opening at 9am or 10am and closing at 8pm on weekdays.
Disney's shorter hours are pretty drastic.

I actually don't mind a later opening (we rope drop so the 9am is perfect for me, 10, not so much as everyone is up by then!)but the 8pm closing is too early!

 

[Pluto468]

Well, OP here and hopefully this is my last update. We left our trip early yesterday and by last night we felt sick. Took a test and my daughter and I both caught Covid at Disneyland. Please be careful everyone.

Ugh. I am so, so sorry I hope you both have mild cases and feel better soon.

I know that leaving early was a difficult decision, but I guess the teeniest tiniest silver lining is that you aren't dealing with being sick away from home.

Take Care.

 

[DizMe]

Well, OP here and hopefully this is my last update. We left our trip early yesterday and by last night we felt sick. Took a test and my daughter and I both caught Covid at Disneyland. Please be careful everyone.

Oh gosh, I'm so sorry! I went to DL recently and 3 members of my family caught covid--the funny thing was that they stayed home. I was at Disneyland with a friend and didn't get it.

I sure hope you have a mild case! So sad for you, not just due to covid but because of the underwhelming experience you had