WDW cancelled our castle dinner?

[eeyoreandtink]

I am not ok that any of my plans mean nothing anymore.. i'm ok if something happens and they have to displace me for safety reasons. I'm not ok that I can be displaced if I don't pay more money.

this sums up my opinion on the whole thing pretty well. This isn't "oh well, things happen and we make the best of it" this is "we can make more money if we kick these people out for high dollar reservations" that isn't ok IMO.

 

[MamaBelle4]

You can be relaxed and happy with the situation, i'll fight the fight and we'll all benefit from the outcome, including you.

You're not alone. I'll fight this mentality wherever I find it.

 

[Kaytie]

In my opinion, that's Disney's own fault. It's not the guest fault. Stop having crazy 180 day reservation windows..... and problem solved.

Nobody is claiming or even implying that this situation is any guest's fault in any way

No thank you. I choose not to single out those posters. I was asking for more understanding by follow posters, my point stands.

A point attempted on erroneous assumptions isn't a point. One person/party in this thread is affected (and the issue was resolved to his/their satisfaction.) Every. additional. poster. - anyone who is not @J.Thaddeus - is offering opinions only. As of this moment, not a single other poster h as indicated they had/have an affected reservation that evening.

My father is 67 and my mother is 64. They are both long term smokers and my father had juvenile diabetes. So, yes, I consider them elderly

I think if you ask them, they'll disagree. I think in 20+ years, you won't consider yourself elderly, either.

 

[maxiesmom]

this sums up my opinion on the whole thing pretty well. This isn't "oh well, things happen and we make the best of it" this is "we can make more money if we kick these people out for high dollar reservations" that isn't ok IMO.

Disney does many things that make them more money, this was nothing new. They walk people to different resorts than the one they booked. They change park hours all of the time. If someone assumes any of their plans are set in stone, they are fooling themselves. I don't think what happened to the OP was right at all, but it is getting blown waaaaaaaaay out of proportion. It is not akin to them having to sell one of their children off, which is how some posters are acting.

It sucks. They pushed back and got something that works even better for them. All of the carrying on is not helpful. At least more people are aware now that stuff like this can happen, and they know what to do if it happens to them. That is the best thing to take away from this.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Disney does many things that make them more money, this was nothing new. They walk people to different resorts than the one they booked. They change park hours all of the time. If someone assumes any of their plans are set in stone, they are fooling themselves. I don't think what happened to the OP was right at all, but it is getting blown waaaaaaaaay out of proportion. It is not akin to them having to sell one of their children off, which is how some posters are acting.

It sucks. They pushed back and got something that works even better for them. All of the carrying on is not helpful. At least more people are aware now that stuff like this can happen, and they know what to do if it happens to them. That is the best thing to take away from this.

I don't see anyone "carrying on", just trying to make the point that unless people stop blowing this stuff of as no big deal and speak up it will only get worse. No, this single incident isn't the end of the world but as seen as part of a larger pattern of these incidents it is concerning.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

You know, it's easy for those of use here, who are basically rabid Disney fans who find every opportunity we can to experience, or at least talk about, WDW (or DLR, for that matter) to say, "Oh well, next time you'll know better," or "Disney is a business; things like this happen." However, I guarantee you the majority of those 30 families who had their CRT ADRs canceled are hardworking average Joes and Janes who probably could not easily afford the massively expensive Disney vacation on which they took their families, who six months ago felt an immense sense of relief and gratitude that they were able to get CRT reservations for their children at all, who may very well have pre-booked expensive BBB visits for their daughters immediately before their CRT dinner because of their CRT dinner, and who were immensely shocked and heartbroken, and feeling like they had little recourse if any at all, when Disney called to say, "Sorry, you're booted."

And I don't see the people shrugging their shoulders in this thread and saying, "Oops," reflecting any real, empathetic understanding of the very doubtlessly very large emotional impact that most of those families experienced. If you can't wrap your mind around the financial and emotional importance of CRT, much less a WDW vacation in general, anymore for the average WDW visitor, who comes at WDW from a less jaded perspective than we all do and is overwhelmingly concerned with getting everything right, and instead you blithely think that WDW comes easy for most people and stuff like this is no big deal, then I think you need to check your privilege. We are the outliers here. We should not expect the average WDW visitor to be able to parse and navigate as we do--much less downplay the magic and be apologists for Disney.

Saying it's OK for Disney to pull the magical rug out from under any guest because they got a better offer is not my Disney. I'm sure Walt would call corporate behavior like this worse things than Pete Werner did, and I think he really nailed it.

 

[MamaBelle4]

You know, it's easy for those of use here, who are basically rabid Disney fans who find every opportunity we can to experience, or at least talk about, WDW (or DLR, for that matter) to say, "Oh well, next time you'll know better," or "Disney is a business; things like this happen." However, I guarantee you the majority of those 30 families who had their CRT ADRs canceled are hardworking average Joes and Janes who probably could not easily afford the massively expensive Disney vacation on which they took their families, who six months ago felt an immense sense of relief and gratitude that they were able to get CRT reservations for their children at all, who may very well have pre-booked expensive BBB visits for their daughters immediately before their CRT dinner because of their CRT dinner, and who were immensely shocked and heartbroken, and feeling like they had little recourse if any at all, when Disney called to say, "Sorry, you're booted."

And I don't see the people shrugging their shoulders in this thread and saying, "Oops," reflecting any real, empathetic understanding of the very doubtlessly very large emotional impact that most of those families experienced. If you can't wrap your mind around the financial and emotional importance of CRT, much less a WDW vacation in general, anymore for the average WDW visitor, who comes at WDW from a less jaded perspective than we all do and is overwhelmingly concerned with getting everything right, and instead you blithely think that WDW comes easy for most people and stuff like this is no big deal, then I think you need to check your privilege. We are the outliers here. We should not expect the average WDW visitor to be able to parse and navigate as we do--much less downplay the magic and be apologists for Disney.

Saying it's OK for Disney to pull the magical rug out from under any guest because they got a better offer is not my Disney. I'm sure Walt would call corporate behavior like this worse things than Pete Werner did, and I think he really nailed it.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

WDW is not a well oiled machine, in which every cast member is a magical cog performing at fairy godmother speed. It is a hodge podge of areas and departments with levels of management a mile deep. There's frequent miscommunication and crossed lines. There's last minute scrambling to pull off even the smallest of events.

Anecdote: On the first day of the Tiana dessert party, nobody onstage knew what they were supposed to be doing. Nobody. Every cast member had to wing it that day. The information they needed was not passed down from on high. They were told to figure it out. This is not a hypothetical. It actually happened. How do I know this? My parents work for Disney. I have many stories like this that I choose not to share here on the Dis.

Knowing what goes on behind the scenes, I'm certain the Chef Series had been planned for this venue months in advance. The proper information was not conveyed to someone. A mistake was made.

The timing of the press release would make it seem like Disney decided to cancel those families in favor of an event planned at the last minute. This and this alone is what has raised so many hackles. I said it once and I'll say it again; correlation is not causation.

Could I be wrong? Sure. I'm just trying to look at the situation rationally with what working knowledge I have to go on. I know this sentiment will not be popular in this thread. It lacks angst and victimhood.

And the funny thing is, the OP has also refused to be a victim. He confronted Disney and was satisfied with the outcome. He's the only one who participated in this thread that had any real stake in the matter, and he's moved on.

I can't speak for any of the other families, and I won't try, but to cast them as impoverished victims scrimping and saving in their working-class hovels, unable to use their under-educated minds to seek recourse in this matter is just plain condescending.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

Disney is not a well oiled machine, in which every cast member is a magical cog performing at fairy godmother speed. It is a hodge podge of areas and departments with levels of management a mile deep. There's frequent miscommunication and crossed lines. There's last minute scrambling to pull off even the smallest of events.

Anecdote: On the first day of the Tiana dessert party, nobody onstage knew what they were supposed to be doing. Nobody. Every cast member had to wing it that day. The information they needed was not passed down from on high. They were told to figure it out. This is not a hypothetical. It actually happened. How do I know this? My parents work for Disney. I have many stories like this that I choose not to share here on the Dis.

Knowing what goes on behind the scenes, I'm certain the Chef Series had been planned for this venue months in advance. The proper information was not conveyed to someone. A mistake was made.

The timing of the press release would make it seem like Disney decided to cancel those families in favor of this event. This and this alone is what has raised so many hackles. I said it once and I'll say it again; correlation is not causation.

Could I be wrong? Sure. I'm just trying to look at the situation rationally with what working knowledge I have to go on. I know this sentiment will not be popular in this thread. It lacks angst and victimhood.

And the funny thing is, the OP has also refused to be a victim. He confronted Disney and was satisfied with the outcome. He's the only one who participated in this thread that had any real stake in the matter, and he's moved on.

I can't speak for any of the other families, and I won't try, but to cast them as impoverished victims scrimping and saving in their working-class hovels, unable to use their under-educated minds to seek recourse in this matter is just plain condescending.

Almost every one of us posting in this thread "scrimp and save" to spend the amount of time we do at Disney. No one called regular guests at WDW "under-educated" but you, just now. What's actually condescending is to expect regular WDW guests to be ok with the situation just because you are.

 

[MamaBelle4]

WDW is not a well oiled machine, in which every cast member is a magical cog performing at fairy godmother speed. It is a hodge podge of areas and departments with levels of management a mile deep. There's frequent miscommunication and crossed lines. There's last minute scrambling to pull off even the smallest of events.

Anecdote: On the first day of the Tiana dessert party, nobody onstage knew what they were supposed to be doing. Nobody. Every cast member had to wing it that day. The information they needed was not passed down from on high. They were told to figure it out. This is not a hypothetical. It actually happened. How do I know this? My parents work for Disney. I have many stories like this that I choose not to share here on the Dis.

Knowing what goes on behind the scenes, I'm certain the Chef Series had been planned for this venue months in advance. The proper information was not conveyed to someone. A mistake was made.

The timing of the press release would make it seem like Disney decided to cancel those families in favor of an event planned at the last minute. This and this alone is what has raised so many hackles. I said it once and I'll say it again; correlation is not causation.

Could I be wrong? Sure. I'm just trying to look at the situation rationally with what working knowledge I have to go on. I know this sentiment will not be popular in this thread. It lacks angst and victimhood.

And the funny thing is, the OP has also refused to be a victim. He confronted Disney and was satisfied with the outcome. He's the only one who participated in this thread that had any real stake in the matter, and he's moved on.

I can't speak for any of the other families, and I won't try, but to cast them as impoverished victims scrimping and saving in their working-class hovels, unable to use their under-educated minds to seek recourse in this matter is just plain condescending.

The only part of this I am going to reply to is this:

If it really was a communication error, just an innocent mistake, then why not cancel or reschedule just 30 minutes later the chef's series? Seems like much less of a logistical headache then making every family happy (assuming they truly did).

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

The only part of this I am going to reply to is this:

If it really was a communication error, just an innocent mistake, then why not cancel or reschedule just 30 minutes later the chef's series? Seems like much less of a logistical headache then making every family happy (assuming they truly did).

Speaking as a communications strategist, I can virtually assure you that Disney doesn't have internal communication errors of that magnitude. This was simply planned with the assumption from the start that they would boot out whoever they needed to from whatever venue they needed to boot them from to make this work. Guests were seen as no obstacle, and treated that way.

 

[Nancyg56]

Speaking as a communications strategist, I can virtually assure you that Disney doesn't have internal communication errors of that magnitude. This was simply planned with the assumption from the start that they would boot out whoever they needed to from whatever venue they needed to boot them from to make this work. Guests were seen as no obstacle, and treated that way.

I think that it is a little more complicated than that. I honestly believe that once someone moves past a certain management level, their experiences change, and so how they perceive a situation does as well. In any business, this occurs. I imagine that when this event was planned, those decision makers figured, well the guests impacted can swap it out for another time. Well, that works when you do not have to consider all of the roadblocks the rest of us encounter when planning a Disney Vacation. We plan the entire trip....we have to. You want to dine at CRT on Monday, Akershus on Tuesday, and CG for Wishes on Thursday, have Fantasmic Dining package on Saturday, and are back for Illuminations on Friday night, booked the wine tasting seminar on Wednesday afternoon you are kind of locked in. Toss children and their activities into the mix, and complications multiply.

No one is going to shoo you in to dinner on the fly amd help you rearrange all of your up to now, meticulously planned trip. But if you are upper management, and you need to make a change, there will be an opening for you. Manager probably does not ever notice how lucky he or she is....they are used to this. People either do not know or have forgotten that at some point in their career they began generating special treatment, and do not understand that the day to day guest doesnt have that luxury.

I honestly do not believe that a company that empowers their cast members to make magic for people sets out to disrupt the people who keep them afloat. I do believe that there is a level of management that has totally forgotten that the way they "Do Disney" is not the way the vast majority of the guests "Do Disney", and there lies the disconnect. Most of us just cannot swap a day, or swap a meal for another date and time.

No. I am no fan of what happened here. I do think that management erroneously believed they could satisfy those families with a change, and had they needed to make those calls, ( I think that they should make them, BTW) they would have discovered exactly how their event impacted most of those people.

 

[jdisnut]

Speaking as a communications strategist, I can virtually assure you that Disney doesn't have internal communication errors of that magnitude. This was simply planned with the assumption from the start that they would boot out whoever they needed to from whatever venue they needed to boot them from to make this work. Guests were seen as no obstacle, and treated that way.

Man, you are either giving Disney way too much credit or oversimplifying the situation. Disney's internal communications is known to be an enormous mess and has been for decades. I wouldn't necessarily describe this as an "honest mistake," but given my knowledge of how the company works, there's distinct possibility that the folks at the restaurant were informed about this after-hours event late in the process and told -- not asked -- to make it work by any means necessary.

I sympathize for all the first-timers and once-in-a-lifetime guests (who, statistically speaking, are an extreme minority). This is an unfortunate circumstance that undoubtedly created headaches and disappointment for certain folks. But I still say this is being blown way out of proportion. It's not the first time Disney has had to displace customers at the last moment and it won't be the last. It seems like an enormous overreach to cite this as an indication of a systemic problem or even the start of a negative trend.

 

[Hopefully]

I guarantee you the majority of those 30 families who had their CRT ADRs canceled are hardworking average Joes and Janes who probably could not easily afford the massively expensive Disney vacation on which they took their families

If a family "Probably could not easily afford ..." they should delay their trip and save a bit more.
This is an insulting statement to many Disney guests

who were immensely shocked and heartbroken, and feeling like they had little recourse if any at all,

As usual, hyperbole.

I'm sure Walt would call corporate behavior like this worse things than Pete Werner did, and I think he really nailed it

Stating you think you are sure that "...Walt would call corporate behavior like this..." is just plain assumptive and out of line

 

[marikujawa]

Man, you are either giving Disney way too much credit or oversimplifying the situation. Disney's internal communications is known to be an enormous mess and has been for decades. I wouldn't necessarily describe this as an "honest mistake," but given my knowledge of how the company works, there's distinct possibility that the folks at the restaurant were informed about this after-hours event late in the process and told -- not asked -- to make it work by any means necessary.

I sympathize for all the first-timers and once-in-a-lifetime guests (who, statistically speaking, are an extremely minority). This is an unfortunate circumstance that undoubtedly created headaches and disappointment for certain folks. But I still say this is being blown way out of proportion. It's not the first time Disney has had to displace customers at the last moment and it won't be the last. It seems like an enormous overreach to cite this as an indication of a systemic problem or even the start of a negative trend.

What is the factual basis for your conclusion that first-timers and once-in-a-lifetime guests are "an extremely minority?"

 

[disneyland_is_magic]

This is an insulting statement to many Disney guests

This is insulting? Having vacation plans mucked up for guests with more money isn't insulting?!

I can't speak for any of the other families, and I won't try, but to cast them as impoverished victims scrimping and saving in their working-class hovels, unable to use their under-educated minds to seek recourse in this matter is just plain condescending.

So you will sweep in to defend them here (unnecessarily) but not when their vacation plans are spoiled?

Stating you think you are sure that "...Walt would call corporate behavior like this..." is just plain assumptive and out of line

A passionate defense of good customer service and the vision of Disney is "out of line?"

Some people feel like this is no big deal what Disney did and wave it off like posters are overreacting, that's fine, just a different view. But I am amazed that a few are actually taking offense to those offering sympathy and taking a stance against Disney who clearly treated certain guests unfairly. People had preplanned ( and paid in full by this point) to visit WDW and eat in the castle. A Disney vacation IS a combined sacrifice of money and time.
@mikedoyleblogger gave a nice speech about what transpired, it was lovely and did not deserve such outrage and negative insults.

To use your words, I feel your outrage against US the only thing insulting, condescending or out of line in this thread

 

[Tinker06]

Yall need to just let it go... this thread is getting a little silly.

 

[jdisnut]

What is the factual basis for your conclusion that first-timers and once-in-a-lifetime guests are "an extremely minority?"

According to this book, which was authored by the Disney Institute, the theme parks have a 70% return rate. Independent studies into this topic have also shown that at least 70 to 75% of people who visit the Disney parks return in their lifetime. Once-in-a-lifetime guests are a minority.

 

[MamaBelle4]

According to this book, which was authored by the Disney Institute, the theme parks have a 70% return rate. Independent studies into this topic have also shown that at least 70 to 75% of people who visit the Disney parks return in their lifetime. Once-in-a-lifetime guests are a minority.

25-30%, I wouldn't consider that an extreme minority.

 

[jdisnut]

25-30%, I wouldn't consider that an extreme minority.

All right. We can quibble over the definition of "extreme." Maybe it was hyperbole on my part. My point still stands, however.