Didn't feel Disney to Us

[LongIslandCruisers]

Aside from the printed Disney logo out front there was very little Disney inside.
At the moment of check in when I mentioned the terms of our reservation the woman at the desk
said, I don't see that in our system and their office is closed now. I pulled out a copy of our reservation email and again she coldly said we will have to wait and see. I told her that I wasn't even here 15 minutes after traveling 11 hours to get here and she had me pissed off. I am typically a cruiser (17) and have never experienced such callous behavior. By the time I got up to the room another person had called to tell us our room credit would be applied. It was just annoying after that. Charged for 4 refillable mugs when I only purchased 2. Such a nightmare to get credit. We rented cabanas , that was really nice. Casabella and I recommend the lower veranda for beach view. Ama Ama restaurant was a wonderful experience. BUT WHAT IS UP WITH THOSE MONGOOSE EVERYWHERE????? SERIOUSLY DON'T EVER OPEN A GROUND FLOOR DOOR...YUCK THEY WERE EVERYWHERE. I never want to return there again. I'll stay on the ships where customer service is alive and well. Oh, the luau was great food and all. Sunsets fantastic too.

 

[Littlelulu01]

Sorry your stay wasn’t what you expected. I think it’s billed as a touch of Disney. Felt that it was just the right amount. Anything more and I think it would lose the Hawaii feel. I was surprised how many guests actually did travel so far. Must be a Dvc/Disney thing? We just returned from our first stay at Aulani and loved it for a family vacation but We’re only a 6 hour flight. I was particularly impressed with the staff and service for a Hawaiian Resort. Id have to say on a service and staffing level it was the best we’ve experienced in over 30 visits to the islands at 4 & 5 Star properties. Accommodations wise, It’s certainly not a villa at the Fairmont Kea Lani but it’s also not nearly the cost. We had a 2 bedroom unit and it was a fraction of of the cost of similar sized units at the Four seasons.

The mongoose were introduced to Hawaii to kill rats. The mongoose however isn’t nocturnal so they ate the tropical birds instead. You pretty much see them all over the islands. At Aulani the only one I saw was over by Ama ama in the bushes. Many of the nice resorts have feral cats catching the rats. I didn’t see any cats so I assume they have the rat problem controlled using other methods.

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

Mongoose in hawaii are kinda like squirrels in DW...sometimes they’re everywhere you look...sometimes you maybe see 1 even if you try to look for them. It’s also possible that whoever was in your room before you may have been feeding the mongoose or left food on the ground near the door.

Normal staff being unable to override what the system allows them to do is pretty common (and for every honest person, theres probably 10-20 that will say anything to get more, pay less, or get it faster.) even if you go to a mcdonalds...there are things cashiers can’t do without a manager to override the system. Disney hasn’t ever been really known for having the best software for its websites, reservation systems, etc., and if you booked through anyone but disney directly (dvc or aulani sites), its not uncommon for terms to be...fudged...to sound better for the customer than they really are.

There are probably some training things disney forces staff to go through that limits how they can respond to certain things, and staff are probably held with feet to the fire to follow them.

All of that said...it is far from impossible that you simply got the 1 (or one of the very few) cm’s at aulani that wasn’t good.

 

[kiford]

Sorry you had such a bad experience. We felt that the Disney touch was everywhere and had fantastic customer service the entire time with several people going out of their way to assist us. Of course that doesn't mean that others can't have a bad CS experience even at the best of places; we've certainly had a few of those at various places where we said we'd never go back even though friends raved about those places. Though I have to say that I'm not really clear on what happened. I'm gathering that there was something about your reservation that wasn't honoured. Was it something that had to be fixed then or could it have waited until the office was open to clear up? If I'm out of my office and unavailable, there are things that our staff can't and shouldn't have access to and never will. I get that after 11 hours of travel one can be very touchy (you should see me when I'm hungry) but I would suggest that going off on a customer service rep after a few minutes and telling them that you're pissed off and it's their fault probably isn't the best way to get service especially if they really can't do anything about it.

The mongooses are everywhere. Once we knew what to look for, we saw them in other places outside of Aulani. Disney does ask you not to feed them so as not to encourage them to hang about but I saw people doing that anyway. A couple of them came out of the bushes when we were sitting on lounge chairs. DH started furiously snapping pictures of them because we'd read that they are hard to catch long enough to take pictures. He then inadvertently took a couple of them suddenly...uhmm... trying to add to the population. One of our friends just about fell off his lounge chair laughing. Did you actually get one in your room? How did you get it out? I probably would have screamed loud enough to make people think I was being murdered just based on what happens when I see a mouse in my house. Seriously, those cartoons where you see someone jump on a table when they see a mouse isn't just made up. That's me. I would have definitely been on the coffee table. And DH would probably be taking pictures.

 

[LisaDKG]

Weird, but in 3 trips to Aulani we never saw a single mongoose on property!

 

[LongIslandCruisers]

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful input. I have comforted myself with 5 future cruises bookings. 9 day Alaska, 10-Night Norwegian Fjords and Iceland Cruise from Copenhagen to Dover with a 4 day Adventures by Disney in Copenhagen pre-cruise, 7 night 60th birthday cruise Western in September, and two 7 night back to back in Feb 2019. ttyl

 

[nkereina]

We traveled over 11 hours to get to Aulani too. But for us, it was a vacation to Hawaii, not a vacation to Aulani. Aulani was only a part of our stay. If I wanted all things Disney, we would have gone to WDW. I think this is common for DVC owners and die hard Disney fans - they decide to give Aulani a try and Hawaii is secondary. It should be reversed.

If you don't like mongoose, go to Kauai! I believe that's the only major island that doesn't have them. They were never introduced there, or at least were kept in check. I remember a news story when we were there about someone who flew to Kauai with a mongoose and it was intercepted and not allowed on the island.

 

[Midoria]

If you don't like mongoose, go to Kauai!

We have tons of roosters which are noisy and bold. At least mongoose are quiet and shy.

 

[nkereina]

We have tons of roosters which are noisy and bold. At least mongoose are quiet and shy.

LOL well the roosters were better to us than those rodent looking mongoose!

 

[Midoria]

LOL well the roosters were better to us than those rodent looking mongoose!

Not when they crow directly under your window starting at 4am on the dot every morning and crow until 10pm. Trust me. Take the mongoose.

 

[nkereina]

Not when they crow directly under your window starting at 4am on the dot every morning and crow until 10pm. Trust me. Take the mongoose.

Yikes! I'm sure it's different for someone who lives there. As an upstate New Yorker, the roosters were at least unique to us.

 

[CaliAdventurer]

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful input. I have comforted myself with 5 future cruises bookings. 9 day Alaska, 10-Night Norwegian Fjords and Iceland Cruise from Copenhagen to Dover with a 4 day Adventures by Disney in Copenhagen pre-cruise, 7 night 60th birthday cruise Western in September, and two 7 night back to back in Feb 2019. ttyl

Glad you’re feeling better and back in your groove. Good to try new things sometimes if only to remember how much you love the usual things.
I for one, would never set foot on a cruise. The entire concept makes me shudder. Aulani, on the other hand is our jam and the mongoose adds to the charm.
Disney was really smart to diversify for their broad clientele for sure!

 

[shaunacb]

Weird, but in 3 trips to Aulani we never saw a single mongoose on property!

Same here

 

[cgattis]

Not when they crow directly under your window starting at 4am on the dot every morning and crow until 10pm. Trust me. Take the mongoose.

Ugh...at least yours start at a certain time. Our neighbors' stupid roosters crow 24/7!! They're lucky they lay such tasty eggs...

 

[lorenni]

Ugh...at least yours start at a certain time. Our neighbors' stupid roosters crow 24/7!! They're lucky they lay such tasty eggs...

Sooooo...roosters don’t lay eggs. And you don’t actually need a rooster to make eggs. In a lot of places where chickens are allowed, roosters are prohibited because of the noise. My parents have 5 hens, 0 roosters and many eggs.

 

[cgattis]

Sooooo...roosters don’t lay eggs. And you don’t actually need a rooster to make eggs. In a lot of places where chickens are allowed, roosters are prohibited because of the noise. My parents have 5 hens, 0 roosters and many eggs.

Yeah, I know that. I meant the chickens obviously. We live on a farm so I know where food comes from.