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Not too long ago, Disney’s customer service was considered the best of the best. It was just a given! The sky is blue, the Earth is round, and Disney’s customer service is the best around.
But nowadays, perceptions of Disney World’s customer service have shifted, and stories like this certainly don’t help the Walt Disney Company’s case…
Things Recently Went Wrong at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park…
Credit: Disney
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An anonymous guest recently shared their harrowing experience on social media, telling of how Animal Kingdom’s Guest Services team recently accused them of lying and attempting to cheat the system.
The anonymous guest begins by stating that they “wanted to share a really weird experience” they’d had.
Credit: Brian McGowan on Unsplash
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The guest claims they had booked an Individual Lightning Lane for Avatar Flight of Passage for 11 a.m. But before they got in line for the famous Animal Kingdom attraction, they were able to experience Kilimanjaro Safaris and the Na’vi River Journey, despite some “weirdness,” as the electronic kiosks required the party to sign in twice before accepting their Lightning Lanes.
However, they note that around 10 a.m., the Individual Lightning Lane booked for Flight of Passage had simply disappeared. Not wanting to have to repurchase their Lightning Lanes, they went to the Disney Park’s Guest Services.
Things Go From Bad to Worse…
Credit: Disney
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After explaining the situation to the cast member, the Disney employee suggested that the guest’s transaction didn’t go through despite the guest’s confirmation email. Stumped, the cast member steps away to call support. When they returned, the guest noted they had “a noticeably different demeanor.”
The cast member proceeded to explain that from Walt Disney World’s end of things, it looked like someone had already scanned into Avatar Flight of Passage around 9:30, the same time the guest experienced Kilimanjaro Safaris.
The cast member then accused the guest of lying, saying, “I’m going to be honest with you, I’m doing this as a one-time courtesy but I spoke to IT and what you’re saying isn’t possible.”
Disney Cast Member Flat-Out Accused the Guests of Lying and Cheating!
Credit: Disney
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The guest, who described feeling “taken aback” by this, tried to explain their side of the story and that they had even heard other cast members say that the Lightning Lane kiosks had been “acting glitchy” that day.
The guest also showed their cards and MagicBands to prove that they hadn’t been stolen and nobody could have used the Lighting Lanes.
However, the Guest Services employee “just kept interrupting [the guest] to repeat what he had said [earlier] again and again”.
Credit: Disney
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The anonymous guest noted, “It feels really awful to be accused of lying or stealing when you didn’t do anything wrong,” saying that the experience “really messed up” their morning.
And we can totally see why! Disney’s Guest Services department is meant to advocate for guests when things go wrong. The department is supposed to solve problems. However, this cast member merely alienated the guests and accused them of lying, cheating, and trying to get away with it all.
Do you think Disney’s customer service is declining in quality? Let Disney Dining know in the comments!
Epcot Guest Services is worse, on 2 separate visits in July & August was treated horribly.
In July had issues with Disney App for GOG Virtual Queue showing my party of 4 joined the queue at 700am. On our way to the park it disappeared.
Arrived at Guest Services to explain the situation and before I could provide any guests information or screen shots, was told that I should expect issues and that the 1:00pm GOG VQ queue would be available.
On our return trip in August one of our party members wanted to experience Frozen for the first time.
The app showed a 60 minute wait time in which we waited.
The wait time was actually 2.5 hrs do to cast members only allowing the Lightning Lane Guests enter the ride.
After asking 3 different cast members to speak to the Ride Manager or Guest Relations and being ignored while in line.
We got through the ride and I visited Guest Services and was told To use my app to look at the times.
Explained that there was no ride malfunction and that the ride queue was not being managed correctly as the wait times are being ignored.
Once again the cast member didn’t ask for any details.
The overall experience on both interactions with Guest Services Cast Members was sub-par.
As an Annual Passholder for years, I cannot recall ever being Talked Down Too or Being Told to Expext Delays.
Was constantly interrupted when speaking and they were very condescending.
As someone who works with customers face to face daily, this behavior in any other company would be either a formal write up or termination.
I will not be renewing my 4 annual passes and will be going to another entertainment company.
My family and I have been regular WDW and DL guests for years. The “Magical experience” that Walt designed has been in decline for several years. However, it has really become more noticeable in the past 5 years. Walt and Roy designed a business model that built a mutli national – mutli billion dollar corporation that until a few years ago had steady growth. However, in the past few years that growth has declined because the leadership at Disney has been more concerned with politics, DEI, and ESG policies as opposed to sticking with the orignal business plan that created the growth in the businesses. Time for Disney to get back to basics!
We have been coming to Disney World for years. The last several years customer service has gone down the hill quickly. Covid destroyed what was left if good customer service. The CM’s are not properly trained and are not given the correct information, we just got back on Sunday. While at Epcot I asked about AP holders admission into Moana, I was told that AP admission was canceled and we would have to wait until the grand opening in October. My granddaughter was devastated, she lives Moana and really wanted to see the attraction, they even scheduled more time in Disney so they could be there for the AP admission. The CM we spoke to was completely wrong, my family visited Moana today and had a great time. I know Iger gas a lot to fix but the CM’s that deal with the guests should be informed properly.
100%. We just went to Epcot last weekend. The world class customer service Disney has always been known for is GONE. From the parking attendant as we drove in to the ride operators and food service staff, the cast members are lacking enthusiasm and act like they are doing guests a favor by being there. The prices have skyrocketed and the customer service has tanked. If Disney doesn’t do something to pull their operation out of the gutter, the will continue to see fiscal consequences.
In the guests defence, if they took 1 pic with this phone on the safari, the time stamp would have provided proof of not being in the Pandora queue. But it sounds like the cm wouldn’t even consider looking at something like that.