Off to an awful start----LONG!

[twinand01]

write to DVC now. while you are mad.

OKW use to be the best - now it is going down - time for new management!!!!

I am ready to wipe the slade clean.

they are not the CM we love. those went to SSR. we got most new people who we are paying MORE.

when they charge more in maintence than ever before - but the service is definitely the worst - it is time to complaint.

my feeling is OKW needs a new management and has for at least a year.

How about getting the manager from Pop Century - now he know what service is about.

Also very, very tire of the front desk making mistakes and blaming the members.

As I say it is past time for OKW to get new managers who care about the members and know what service is - not protecting themselves by blaming others.

Well said spiceycat!! I think its about time OKW raised the bar and came on board with the rest of DVC. It is unexceptable for the resort to blame the members for there errors. I hope that OKW gets there act together and "cleans" up there act!

 

[pcparamedics01]

Well said spiceycat!! I think its about time OKW raised the bar and came on board with the rest of DVC. It is unexceptable for the resort to blame the members for there errors. I hope that OKW gets there act together and "cleans" up there act!

I agree to spiceycat and twin01

 

[twinand01]

By Fishermouse:



Bull! A room NOT ready until 6pm in orlando in July is acceptable? Not on my watch! If that is the case, then it must not bother you, but it would be not ok by ME!! I do not believe that in any way, shape or form.... I know about 100,000 members would be complaining if that was the case-checking in at 6pm!!

deerh

Yes isnt that the truth!! I pulled this off the web site as far as check in and check out time at old Key West.

Check In/Out?
Check in time is 4:00 PM. Check out time is 11:00 AM.

If that is what is posted on every Travel site then that is what they need to adhere to OKW and any property that states the check in and check out times.

 

[pcparamedics01]

Yes isnt that the truth!! I pulled this off the web site as far as check in and check out time at old Key West.

Check In/Out?
Check in time is 4:00 PM. Check out time is 11:00 AM.

If that is what is posted on every Travel site then that is what they need to adhere to OKW and any property that states the check in and check out times.

Fishermouse and Twinand01, Well stated! Not on my watch either!!!!!

 

[pcparamedics01]

I have to agree with you. I understand that sometimes there are are exceptions to the 4 PM check-in but it should be just that, an exception and not the rule for guests. This is industry standard for hotels. I've rented vacation homes at numerous destinations across the country and it is check-in by 3 or 4 PM, check-out 11 AM. I'm just hoping the OP's expereince was an exception and not the rule for DVC. By 4 PM, we need a place to relax, especially in the summer with the heat or if we were up early for a flight. I'm sure if it was a frequent occcurrence, we would be hearing about it on the DIS!

I agree too!!!! So if it is not guaranteed at 4 then lets all stay after 1pm. I could have used more time then by 11am...

 

[BroganMc]

By 4 pm, the front desk told us it was clean, however, all managers were in a meeting, and they could not release the rooms until they were checked by a manager. That's when things went downhill rapidly.....and then when we finally got in and it wasn't really "clean" is when we got angry.

Oh would have gone ballistic at the "sorry room is ready but the managers are in a meeting" excuse. Sorry but that just is not an excuse. The organizational meetings should take place in the morning or wait until all rooms have been released to guests. Anything else is just lazy.

Word to the wise, when you report this to Member Services explain the whole situation with a timeline. Your initial posts on this subject gave the impression that you were being a bit antsy. Let them draw the conlcusion as to exactly how they failed you.

Do you like Marriott? We are looking into it....

I like Marriott's system, sometimes a lot more than DVC. We trade for points every other year so with signing bonuses we managed to acrue over 1 mil points. (Down to 500k now.) We use the points for hotel stays everywhere there isn't a timeshare. For the 4th, we booked a 2 bedroom suite at Residence Inn in downtown Baltimore (we live on the outskirts) so we could experience our hometown like a tourist. Management was so great to us that when they saw I had a powerwheelchair and had requested a roll-in shower if available (2bedrooms don't usually have roll-ins), they gave us an additional 1bedroom suite with roll-in... all comp'ed.

So far we've only stayed at Cypress Harbour and Grande Vista, and toured Horizons (we're staying there in October). We own weeks at both CH and GV. Getting an accessible room is a lot easier since we only need to call a month ahead of time and the resort blocks it out for us. We can even chose our building and unit. Rooms are bigger than the DVC norm, sans OKW. You get the big living room and 6 person table. CH has a tiny 2nd bedroom, huge laundry room and nice big balcony. Reminds me of OKW in layout and theme.

The only downsides to Marriott are that you must provide your own transportation, it's a full week ressie, and no ticket discounts. We got DVC to extend our Orlando stays so we can do a month a year (two weeks at a time) and have that onsite experience. But outside of Orlando, we use Marriott and Interval International for all our trips.

 

[smjj]

Boy, this is scaring me. Our home resort is OKW but with the Members Cruise and such we have not been there in over a year. I hope DVC is reading this thread. We have not had any problems except when we would get a smoked in room but that another matter not for discussion here. We are going to try and make it down in the spring of next year and I can only hope these issues are resolved by then. This Xmas we are staying at CSR due to lack of points. We are also looking into a add on at OKW to accomdate us so we won't be in the situation we are now with no points. Maybe we need to re-think the add-on at another resort. I know we were very upset when the vanillaized the menu at Olivia's due to the DDP and dropped many of our favorites. On the last trip as a result, we only ate there the one time when our server was telling us why they downgraded the selections at Olivia's....smjj

 

[Chuck S]

Yes isnt that the truth!! I pulled this off the web site as far as check in and check out time at old Key West.

Check In/Out?
Check in time is 4:00 PM. Check out time is 11:00 AM.

If that is what is posted on every Travel site then that is what they need to adhere to OKW and any property that states the check in and check out times.

Which website, the member website or Disney CRO?

My printed reservation confirmation for November says (capitalized text as printed):

CHECK-IN TIME is after 4pm.
CHECK-OUT TIME is 11am.

This is printed directly below the driving instruction from MCO to Disney.

 

[bjakmom]

Just checked my reservation confirmations and both (BWV for Sept & AKV for Jan) also state "CHECK-IN TIME is after 4:00 pm." Anyone know when they made that change??!! Waiting until 5 or 6 o'clock to get into your room is unacceptable - Hard Rock gave us a huge discount on our room when we had to wait until 6 PM to check in!!

 

[Debbie H]

BroganMc, we live outside of Baltimore as well, just over the border in Pa. I may check into the Marriott thing further. I've heard Hilton has nice ones as well.

I know anyone staying at the GF would not have put up with what we were dealing with. Then, to top it off, to have that Scott kid behind the desk shaking his head and rolling his eyes at us was the last straw. If he was my employee, he'd be out of there. He was still there today. Now that I've had more time to think about it, he acted flustered with every single guest and he wasn't even taking care of us. I have the time line down, the letter is going out when we get home. I can even send them my times of phone calls, since I used my cell.

We've stayed here many, many times, often for extended periods and things in the past have bothered us, but nothing like this. I would be embarassed to bring any guests to spend time with us here, the way it looks and the way people act. The couches are no longer comfortable to sit on, the bathroom grout looks terrible, the floor is scratched up and the carpets are dirty. This is not the DVC we were once proud to be a member of anymore.

Well, home tomorrow morning to my nice clean home!

 

[smjj]

Which website, the member website or Disney CRO?

My printed reservation confirmation for November says (capitalized text as printed):

CHECK-IN TIME is after 4pm.
CHECK-OUT TIME is 11am.

This is printed directly below the driving instruction from MCO to Disney.

Looks as if Disney's way to fix this problem is to simply make the checkin times later. That is not fixing the problem only changing the rules so it is no longer a problem in their eyes. Question: If they do not give you your room until that late in the day, say after 05:00, should they still charge us for an entire day??smjj

 

[Debbie H]

So, they say check out is 11 but check in is "AFTER" 4???? What is that all about? So I guess check in after 4 is anytime before check out at 11. This makes no sense. I would suggest we all start calling, and don't forget to get the name of the person you talk to.

 

[Chuck S]

Actually, this isn't a recent change. It was printed in a Vacation Magic some time ago. (Maybe 2 to 3 years ago?)

 

[Debbie H]

Actually, this isn't a recent change. It was printed in a Vacation Magic some time ago. (Maybe 2 to 3 years ago?)

Ok, I don't always read the Vacation Magic, sometimes it bores me, sometimes I don't have time.... but any way, what was printed and was this approved by members or was it a management decision?

Come on Chuck, you've been around as long as we have and you know it is not the same DVC. Remember the plushy towels, the peach colored towels, the peach colored sheets, the scales in the rooms, friendliness offcast members, the old bell service guys (some of which we still keep in touch with). We were told this was the only DVC that would be on property. Think back.....remember the old magic?? Did it get too big? What happened????

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Ok, I don't always read the Vacation Magic, sometimes it bores me, sometimes I don't have time.... but any way, what was printed and was this approved by members or was it a management decision?

Come on Chuck, you've been around as long as we have and you know it is not the same DVC. Remember the plushy towels, the peach colored towels, the peach colored sheets, the scales in the rooms, friendliness offcast members, the old bell service guys (some of which we still keep in touch with). We were told this was the only DVC that would be on property. Think back.....remember the old magic?? Did it get too big? What happened????

Easy Debbie... not all has changed... and DVC is still a magical place to stay. We were not members in 92, but we were in 98 and all things considered we still experience the Disney magic... Yes some things have changed along with the rest of the "me first" world, but when we get to DVC we still feel special. JMHO.

 

[BroganMc]

BroganMc, we live outside of Baltimore as well, just over the border in Pa. I may check into the Marriott thing further. I've heard Hilton has nice ones as well.

So does Sheraton. The good thing about buying into Marriott is that you get a full membership in Interval International. So you can search to your heart's content. Disney has a block on any Orlando timeshares doing an exchange but the other timeshares do not. So you can book at Sheraton, Marriott or a host of others offsite. I believe Hilton is the one that has timeshares in Key West. One of our "to do" list destinations, whenever we get to it. (It is so far to drive and accessible van rentals are outrageously expensive for me.)

Keep in mind, if you buy resale you can't trae your week for points in Marriott. But the purchase price and maintenance fees are cheaper than DVC. Just don't look to buy in Hawaii, Myrtle Beach or Vegas. Oh, and Grande Vista is due to sell out in the next year, so be warned. The next property is Southwest Florida. Name escapes me but it's the gulf resort island west of the Everglades and south of Naples.

Then, to top it off, to have that Scott kid behind the desk shaking his head and rolling his eyes at us was the last straw. If he was my employee, he'd be out of there. He was still there today. Now that I've had more time to think about it, he acted flustered with every single guest and he wasn't even taking care of us.

It seems to me that they just switched over their college student staff end of May. That along with the business of summer (and dealing with all those flustering guests) may have tipped the balance against happy service. Still, I expect the managers to know better.

I wonder if by the time the manager got involved (you said your husband had reached his boiling point and security guards were called), you guys were at the end of your tether and came off as being impossibly demanding. That may be why you didn't get any magical apologies.

Note, I'm NOT trying to lay blame just understand how the breakdown in common decency occurred. Disney isn't usually filled with such lazy personnel. In fact, they are known to be the best in the customer service business. They taught our Ravens stadium personnel how to handle crowds and that's one rowdy bunch, especially come playoffs.

On the bright side, at least you didn't encounter any fights on the bus from DTD. (An OKW guest reported that here last week.)

As for the room ready schedule, I find it ironic that there's another post here complaining housekeeping was knocking on BWV doors at 8am trying to hustle guests out. One wonders if the problem is that they truly don't have enough staff to handle the changeover in rooms. Marriott tends to be very good about it, sending teams to buildings at a time. (They crawl over the building like ants bringing housekeepers, managers and trash collectors all at once. And theydouble up sometimes to clean faster. Buildings are released as a whole.) SSR did it in varying crews: the ones dropping off supplies and marking rooms, then the ones cleaning rooms, and last the crew to pick up trash and dirty laundry.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

On the bright side, at least you didn't encounter any fights on the bus from DTD.

I think you are cross-threading...

 

[Chuck S]

Ok, I don't always read the Vacation Magic, sometimes it bores me, sometimes I don't have time.... but any way, what was printed and was this approved by members or was it a management decision?

Come on Chuck, you've been around as long as we have and you know it is not the same DVC. Remember the plushy towels, the peach colored towels, the peach colored sheets, the scales in the rooms, friendliness offcast members, the old bell service guys (some of which we still keep in touch with). We were told this was the only DVC that would be on property. Think back.....remember the old magic?? Did it get too big? What happened????

Disney has always had the authority to unilaterally change most of the rules, except those spelled out by Florida timeshare law. Name one thing were members actually gave an advisory vote...oh yeah, the pool slide, members voted against it. Disney simply doesn't need members approval for much of anything, unless they substantially change furnishings..this does not include replacing with similar items, as long as there are 2Q beds, a small table and appliances in a studio, they don;t need our approval for much of anything.

They can change decor, trading options, points charts (as long as overall points for the resort and year don't change), transportation can change as needed, etc. We all agreed to that.

Yes, I remember the peach colored towels and sheets. Imagine how much they faded when laundered with chemicals to sterilize them between guests. I also remember place mate, scales, the coffee pots with the thermos carafe that you couldn't "forget" to turn off. Oh, and remember "express check-in" where you could call in a credit number, then just pick-up your room key at the express desk?

But, perhaps we shouldn't blame Disney or DVC for all these changes. Surely the placemats and scales were high theft items by your fellow members (after all, I've even seen the paper beverage coasters on ebay). Just like the pirate cove area along the canal was vandalized so often, they simply removed it.

Express check-in...ha, not with today's security concerns.

 

[Tamar]

I just think it's a shame, under the circumstances, that PART of the GV couldn't have been made available to you earlier. Are all GVs at OKW truly one unit, or are they lockoffs?

 

[Disneyhappy]

Looks as if Disney's way to fix this problem is to simply make the checkin times later. That is not fixing the problem only changing the rules so it is no longer a problem in their eyes. Question: If they do not give you your room until that late in the day, say after 05:00, should they still charge us for an entire day??smjj

Bingo! It is their way to have an excuse for late check-ins!!! Like I said in my prior post, I understand there will be exceptions but if it starts to become the norm (really, 10% or less should be the acceptable level of check-ins after 4 PM), that is when Disney needs to make changes. When we rent 7 bedroom homes at the Outer Banks during the height of the summer season, we always get our house by 3 PM. We pay outside cleaning services to clean the house and I assume the renter after us is getting their house by the 3 PM check-in time also. I am surprised by the number of posters that actually feel this is acceptable (if I am reading their posts correctly). Should we allow our expectations to be lowered? Whenever Disney makes changes that take something away or are viewed unfavorable, many defend those changes because they are within industry practices. For example, when they announced that if your resort stay starts in value and continues into peak, you no longer get the whole stay at the value price, posters thought it was OOK because it was industry standard. While I am not a smoker, when WDW went non-smoking, the majority of people who were for it cited that may hotels are going non-smoking. So why not hold Disney to the standard used industry wide and hold them accountable to have guests checked in by 4 PM.(There are many places I travel to form business that have check-in at 3 PM.) I will now get off my bandwagon but I will never consider check-ins after 4 PM as acceptable practice. Exceptions I can understand but they should be at a minimal!