As much as Disney World is a magical place full of exciting attractions and experiences, it’s not perfect.
Things can, and will, go wrong. Rides will go down when you are just looking to ride them, you’ll wait half an hour longer for a ride than you were expecting, and it could mess with your dining reservation time or virtual queue return window. The bottom line is that things won’t always go right, and it’s best to expect that from the beginning so you’re not caught off guard. However, we just read a review of MULTIPLE things going wrong at one of Disney World’s deluxe hotels that has us all wincing.
Disney World’s deluxe hotels are the best of the best on property. This also means they’re the most expensive, costing hundreds of dollars each night.
One of the most beloved deluxe hotels is Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, located on the Magic Kingdom monorail line. This means you’re just a quick ride away from Magic Kingdom, or even close enough to walk, if you’d like!
We love when our readers leave reviews of Disney World’s attractions, hotels, and more on our website, because it helps us see what kinds of experiences they’re having in the parks! Needless to say, we stopped in our tracks when we saw this recent review from August 28th, 2024 about the Polynesian — just read it for yourself, you’ll see what we mean!
“This has always been one of my must do resorts. We had arrived late in the afternoon the night before so had booked a one night stay at Movies. Had our luggage transferred in the morning and then proceeded to Animal kingdom. Arrives to the Poly around 5:50 pm, almost two hours past check-in. We had been checking our app looking for a room assignment and never got one. So we proceeded to the desk where we were ignored for a good 10 minutes. When we told the lady who finally acknowledged us our name she told us she would be right back. She then disappeared into a back office where she stayed for 20 minutes. Eventually she came out and told us engineering was in our room and they have no idea when they would be done. We had a 5 year old and an 18 month old with us. After waiting another 30 minutes we again approached the check in and was again told our room was not ready but they would credit our room a $100 for the inconvenience. At this point we asked for another room or to be sent to a different hotel. The lady at check in called a manager over and told us the credit was the best they could do. We finally got in our room a little before 8pm to find that the shower was not working properly and engineering had to come back and work in it for another 30 minutes. By this time my 5 year old was asking to go back to All Star Movies. As beautiful as this resort is I found most employees rude, children were out of control at the pool and the rooms are not worth the price.“
So…yeah, that’s VERY much the opposite of what we normally hear from Disney World as a whole, especially a deluxe resort. So let’s break this down — this guest did exactly what we would recommend at first if you notice you don’t have a room assignment, which was going to the front desk. Sometimes the My Disney Experience app messes up and doesn’t give you your assignment, so typically this will solve the issue.
It’s not uncommon to see maintenance being done around Disney World hotels, even when no scheduled changes are taking place, because things (like the shower) do break from time to time and they’ve got people on hand to help! However, what’s frustrating here is that this family, from the sound of this review, was not told about the issue in their room being the cause for the delay until about an hour after inquiring. That’s difficult for anyone, but especially a family with two little ones!
So what should you do if something similar happens to you? This is a tricky one, for sure, because it’s a very frustrating situation to be in, but we want to send the reminder that it’s always best to be kind and considerate to the Cast Members you’re interacting with, because they’re people, too! Now, we’re not insinuating that this guest was rude in any way, but it’s always a good reminder to us all to try and not let Disney World frustration effect the way we’re treating the people around us.
Disney is usually almost always willing to do whatever they can to help solve your problem and do guest recovery, however, if you feel that the Cast Member you’re talking to you isn’t being respectful or isn’t working to solve your issue, it’s completely fine to politely (politely!) ask to speak to a manager, like this guest did. However, if you feel like your problem still isn’t worked on being resolved, you can also call Disney World’ customer service line. By calling (407) 934-7639, you’ll be able to speak with someone who can assist with your Disney Resort Hotel Reservations.
And if after your stay you feel like things weren’t up to par with Disney World service, you can also call Disney World Customer Service to, again, politely inform them about what you experienced. We know it’ll be hard, but instead of making it sound like you’re complaining and want something in return (even if you do), it’s better to state the issue factually, as if you’d just like to let them know that the problem occurred.
You’ve paid a lot of money for this vacation, and we completely understand that you don’t want anything going wrong, but just like a trip to anywhere else, things do happen! Remember that you are traveling to a family park with kids and adults alike, so no matter what hotel you stay at or park you go to, you’re bound to run into some kids with lots of energy. We’re always here to help you prepare for your upcoming trips as best as possible, so stay tuned to AllEars!
Should you stay on Disney World property or off-site? We’ll help you decide!
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What do you think of Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort? Tell us in the comments!
That is so sad. With little ones you need your room ASAP. We had an experience with Port Orleans Riverside. My daughter locked herself in the bathroom (for privacy), then she couldn’t get out (the lock was stuck). I called for maintenance and they transferred me to 911. A fire brigade was going to rescue my 25 year old from the bathroom. I told the 911 operator, “I just need a maintenance man.” Maintenance finally came but said firemen would probably still show up. I told the maintenance man to call them off. They finally agreed that would be a good idea. We had other problems with the room. Disney gave us a credit as well. Which was nice. Very happy
Had an issue at Pop Century with a accessible room. I wrote an e mail to Disney they were super nice & helpful & gave me two free nights to come back.
I have a recently situation like that, it’s was so sad.
The magic is gone sadly!!
We also had a bad experience at the Polynesian. We booked two rooms in the concierge building. We got to the hotel with our kids and wanted to check in quickly and get to the parks. We were told we’d have to wait for the concierge to come and get us in the lobby, and that there were people ahead if us. After waiting 45 minutes with restlwss kids we went over to the concierge building. The Concierge quite rudely told us that we should
There seems to be a common issue of the room not showing up in the app when transferring to the Poly.
We transferred from the Riviera to the Poly today, and our bands wouldn’t work at the pool area. We had to go to the front desk to have them reprogrammed.
After she was finished, she asked if we wanted a map to our room. I told her the app didn’t show it as ready yet. Turns out it was,and the app just hadn’t updated.
I can second an experience JUST like this. We stayed at the Poly a few months ago and I was absolutely shocked by how rude the front desk staff was. We were past our check in time as well so we went to the front desk to see how much time they thought it would be so we could plan around it, whether we waited for a bit or went to the park and came back later. The one staff member who was sweet told my husband it would be five minutes. Then it was another five then another five. Then she leaves and they have a shift change. After forty five minutes and both my 2 and 4 year old losing their minds sitting in the lobby, I asked if there was any update. They said the person checking the rooms said they were going but they don’t know how long that process takes or when it would be finished. That alone surprised me because I feel like a system that works well should have a general idea of how long that process takes or good enough communication among the team in place to relay information. They kept disappearing either to the back or to huddle with other staff members where one point they all turned and looked at me before huddling again. That’s what eventually starting pushing me over the edge. I didn’t mind if the room was going to take a while, I just asked if I could have a general idea so we DIDNT waste close to an hour just sitting her because they kept brushing us off every 5-10 minutes with no new news. Her respond to me eventually was extremely snarky that I was too taken aback to even respond to but all of as sudden our room was magically ready. I wish I got their names that day so I could’ve somehow posted a better, specific review to someone higher up that has control over staffing.
Anymore you are always going to have bad experiences somewhere. The best way to handle it is 1, to review on social media (it’s the only place where some companies actually care) and 2, vote with your wallet.
Customer service is a lost art. Some set the standard. Some used to set the standard. Others were never close.