I do apologize for the length but we had quite a bit to say.

I hope that you and the users of your site find this helpful.

LETTER TO DISNEY FOLLOWS:

March 13, 2004

Disney Guest Communications

To Whom It May Concern,

Hello. I’d like to take a moment to tell you about our recent vacation to Disney World, Orlando.

I apologize in advance for the length of this letter but even at this length I don’t now that I have been able to convey how terribly disappointed we were in our vacation. Always before we have been happy to share our positive experiences with anyone who will listen and frankly, we just don’t have any to share this year. We are sorry we purchased annual passes as we don’t see any need for them now. Please take the time to read our concerns and address them as you see fit.

My husband and I visited for 9 days in February. His parents, sister and brother-in-law joined us. My husband and I stayed on-site at Disney’s Pop Century and his family stayed off-site in Kissimmee. We have visited now for the third year consecutively and this was our fifth trip together. My husband has also visited your park numerous times growing up with his family. We have stayed at Disney’s All Star Sports resort the last two years we have visited.

In the past we have been extremely pleased with our stay. We have been generous in our after stay surveys and in telling friends and family about our experiences. Our satisfaction has also been evident in our eagerness to return year after year. This year was different. We purchased annual passes in anticipation of visiting at least twice this year.

After our recent trip I don’t think we will be returning at all. We have always raved to our family and friends about our Disney vacations and were able to convince family to join us this year. We were rather embarrassed by this trip as the standard in which they will now be accustomed to.

One particular issue still stands out most in our minds. We are well aware of the cost of using the room phones for long distance calls. We came prepared with a cell phone and several prepaid calling cards. We used them liberally during our stay to call family.

We also made many calls to the Disney dining reservations line to make priority seating for our stay. We always dialed using “9” on our phone and then entering the 800 number provided on our calling cards. On the morning of our checkout we received a call at 7 am stating we had reached a credit limit for our room. When I asked what that meant and how much the girl on the phone said $1.50. I was a bit surprised but half asleep and said we would deal with it when we checked out. Later that morning during checkout we were indeed presented with the $1.50 charge along with another bill that had been charged to our credit card. The charges? For using the telephone in our room. Every single time we had picked up the phone and dialed an 800 number we were charged for it. Your staff was rude in explaining this to us and as it had already been charged there was nothing we could do.

I need to tell you how this soured our entire visit. What is the purpose of the telephone in the room? Why do you not just place pay phones in each room? We visit your parks with the knowledge that we will be spending some serious money. Up until now we have been willing to pay for the “Disney magic”. This year was completely different. From the $1.69 cookies in the food court to the $2.00 post cards in the gift shop, it seems that all Disney is doing is watching the bottom line. We were absolutely shocked at the exorbitant prices.

We avoided eating in the Pop Century food court at all costs. The food was of poor quality, especially for the price. And the prices were the most outrageous we have encountered yet. And yet with the rising prices was a marked decline in quality. The cheeseburgers offered at your food court came with no toppings and they were not offered on the condiment bar at all as they were last year. The operating hours were clearly posted and yet on several nights we visited for a snack only to find that all but one area had been closed early. Another issue with the food court was the pizza service. We requested extra cheese on a pizza we ordered and were told simply no. We offered to pay of course and were informed that extra cheese did not come with the standard toppings. The girl refused to add extra cheese.

We were both under the impression that Disney was a family place. And yet, it was fairly obvious that a Disney vacation is becoming more and more elitist. Everywhere it was evident that profit was the only thing important. Families are already spending thousands of dollars to visit your parks and yet you gouge them at every opportunity.

We were also extremely disappointed in the parks themselves. We noticed signs of wear everywhere. In particular, the Contemporary Hotel. We visited there on several occasions to dine and each time were shocked at how run down and dirty things have become. The paint was peeling from the chairs in the Concourse Steakhouse and there was food lodged in the cracks of the table. We saw trash all over Disney property and the parks themselves were dirty and dingy. We noticed light bulbs out. It seems a small thing, but for Disney, this was shocking. We were joined by cockroaches at the Mexican Cantina in Epcot for supper one evening awaiting Illuminations. The trash in Epcot alone was staggering. The birds were an issue at the Magic Kingdom and were assaulted by smells of rotted food in many locations throughout the parks.

We experienced several different broken or out of order rides. Including stoppages twice during the ride of The Haunted Mansion and an entire stoppage of the Dinosaur ride at the Animal Kingdom. We had to walk off of that one.

We encountered several rude cast members. One evening waiting for the Spectro-Magic parade at Disney’s Magic Kingdom we were rudely told to move by a parade organizer and my husband was ignored completely by another who simply turned and walked away when asked a question. After ordering cheeseburgers for lunch at the Electric Umbrella restaurant in Epcot the server informed the boy behind the counter that she wanted the cheeseburgers right now or she was going to “kick his f-@#% a$$”. That was a complete shock. Upon check out at Pop Century we were sitting on a bench waiting for our Mears Shuttle when we were told by a luggage assistance cast member that the shuttles loaded on the median and we should move out there.

His tone was extremely rude. He wasn’t suggesting that we move, he was telling us we were in the wrong place and to move.

We found the transportation buses to and from the parks to be overcrowded and lacking in organization. We had several ridiculously long waits and had to stand 90% of the time we rode them. Too few buses altogether it seemed.

Our family members who were visiting with us stayed off site. At their hotel they were offered free shuttle service and in addition were offered free breakfast buffets every morning. At half the cost of what we paid to stay with you at Pop Century. In the past we have been willing to pay extra for the Disney experience of staying on property but after this last visit we are not seeing the incentive to stay with you at all. Again, the prices were so exorbitant as to be funny. It became a joke among our entire family.

$17.99 for an $8.00 roll of film in the hotel gift shop seems a bit outrageous. I cannot fathom how a family with children could afford to stay with you.

We purchased three t-shirts, a sweat shirt and two polo’s for my husband. Of these items we discovered one of the Polo shirts (which we paid $42 for) has a hole in it and the sweatshirt (which we paid almost $50 for) has an embroidered Mickey that is unraveling and has not even been washed yet.

With so many family vacation options in this day and age, Disney has failed to keep current on what a family needs or wants. We spent a substantial amount of money this trip, as with every trip, and are wondering what our reward for doing this was. We were so extremely disappointed in the service and state of Disney this year that we will not be back anytime soon. In addition to the service was the phone issue.

It ended our entire stay on a sour note and spoiled the entire vacation. It cost you nothing for us to make a local call and yet you charged us outrageously. It felt as though we got kicked in the rear on the way out. Just one more expense of staying with you. It certainly spoiled the Pop Century for us and we will never stay there again.

In college I had a number of courses which used Disney as an example of superior customer service. Disney was known for exceeding customer expectations. There simply was no question that when Disney was involved everything would be right. For many years now when we visited we found this to be true. When we came for vacation we felt the “Disney Magic” and could not wait to return. How disappointing it was for us this year to not find any magic at all. When we returned home this year we had to be honest with our family and friends when asked how our vacation was. Our vacation was terribly disappointing. Your staff is on property and at the parks every day. Surely you see the decline in service and the decay of the parks themselves and yet, prices continue to rise. I know cast members have families. You must see how expensive things have become. We were shocked one evening at the Fantasmic show at Disney’s MGM park when a child could not purchase a lighted Mickey Wizards hat because the cost was $36! Thirty-Six dollars for a hat. Disney has certainly lost touch.

We sincerely hope you are able, as a company, to work out your problems with your executive staff and return Disney to its former glory. We hope to see some positive changes that will encourage us to spend our hard earned dollars and precious vacation time with you again in the future. As it is, we will be planning next years vacation for another destination.

Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to any comments or additional items you may wish to address.

We look forward to hearing from you on this manner.

Sincerely,
Tim and Jennifer Stoner