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VACATION RENTALS NEWS | | |
| SOME ASK IF THE DISNEY MAGIC IS SLIPPING (From: The New York Times) |
| By Charles PASSY |
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MAYBE it was the rollaway bed that didn't materialize because it was suddenly deemed a fire hazard. Or maybe it was the air mattress that surfaced in its place with a pile of bedding that included 20 - yes, 20 - pillowcases and one sheet.
Disney characters still entrance visitors to the Magic Kingdom at Disney World in Florida.Or maybe it was the manager who called and apologized for the mistakes - at nearly 1 a.m.
But as tipping points go, it was hard to top the bill with a $750 error - in the resort's favor. Such a mistake was proof positive that something was terribly amiss, leaving my wife and me to ask, "What kind of a Mickey Mouse operation is this?"
It was a question meant in the most literal sense. We weren't staying at some budget motel off the Interstate. We were spending more than $300 a night for a one-bedroom "turn-of-the-century style vacation villa" at Walt Disney World's one-year-old Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa. But we were experiencing little of the celebrated Disney "magic," that bend-over-backward brand of service. Instead, our family vacation was turning into a part-nightmarish, part-comical adventure that I quickly took to describing as Disney meets "Fawlty Towers" meets the "Twilight Zone."
And apparently, we weren't the only ones on this ride. To hear some other guests tell similar stories of inept service at Disney World theme parks and resorts is to realize the Mouse may no longer be as mighty.
As Disney marks the 50th birthday of its first theme park - Disneyland in California - with a companywide 18-month celebration that began in May, it is facing great scrutiny, particularly when it comes to Walt Disney World - a 30,000-plus-acre complex in Florida that comprises four theme parks and more than 20 resorts and that attracted 40.5 million visitors in 2004, according to the trade journal Amusement Business.
Much of the focus stems from the recent corporate shakeup that ended with the decision by Michael D. Eisner, the longtime chief executive, to resign effective this September. (He is being replaced by Disney's president, Robert A. Iger.) It's a tale of boardroom intrigue that inspired James B. Stewart's "Disney War," published this year. At the heart of the drama is the question of whether Disney has put profits ahead of the need to deliver that "magic," especially at the parks and resorts.
The issue has been raised repeatedly by Roy E. Disney (Walt's nephew), former Disney board member and executive. In "Disney War," he is quoted telling a group of investors, "If you've been [to the parks] in recent years, you will have noticed the lack of maintenance, the fewer number of characters on the streets. The cast members ... have been pared back unmercifully. Their hours have been cut, benefits taken away. That gets reflected in their attitude toward the guests." (Mr. Disney declined comment for this article, although he recently came to an agreement with Disney's board and management to withdraw a lawsuit challenging the selection process behind Mr. Iger's appointment.) |
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