Disneyland - California Consumer Reviews - Page 2

ANAHIEM, ARIZONA -- We had purchased the Disney Chase card from our bank solely due to the information we were given; stating that we were to be guaranteed a 5x7 photograph with Mickey Mouse. I, myself had been to all Disneyland/world parks numerous times, however this was my fiance's 1st visit ever, as well as my first visit alone. (without family)

Now until this point I have never experienced a bad incident with Disney. To my understanding the employees are supposed to go above & beyond to make your trip a "magical" one; with that being said I understand fully that certain things are just out of people's hands. However this incident could be handled simply I thought or at least with more courtesy.

When my fiance had purchased our 1 day tickets (without the hopper) we asked the woman in the booth where we were to go to receive our photo. She told us that she wasn't sure and when she looked it up we were told it was only in California adventures (no mention of its time.)

So we asked about what we were to do since we had only received Disneyland tickets. She told us to visit city hall and discuss it with them. So we then went to the Chase booth in the downtown Disney district to talk to them and they told us to yet again discuss it with city hall officials, with no mention regarding time limits.

The following day we entered the park late so we hadn't made it to city hall until the afternoon. We waited in the line to be told that we had missed our time for the photo and there was nothing they could do about it, so rather than waste what was left of our $92/day ticket racing around arguing and trying to fix a mistake due to lack of proper information we decided to finish our day at the park and discuss it the following day with whomever.

So yet another day later we went to the downtown Disney district to ask one of the store employees who to talk to about our complaint over the guaranteed photograph. She was very kind, sympathetic, and mildly angry over the lack of information and dismissive attitude toward us. She did what she could and directed us to the customer service booth right outside Disneyland (by the lost and found). Once we got there and told our story another cast member told us yet again that it wasn't something their department handled and sent us to customer relations by the California adventures lockers.

Once we got there we were met by a snarly girl in her early to mid twenties who spoke to us as if we were just looking for a free day in the park. When we asked for just an escort to get our picture and then we would leave we were told that "they don't do that" & "maybe on your next visit".

We tried to explain to her that we had driven all the way from Phoenix and this picture was our only reason for buying the card and coming in the first place. She replied with "well when you get home you can cancel the card free of charge". This obviously upset and angered my fiance so he told her that he would be telling Chase that she told him to cancel the card and she told him that she "was prepared for the repercussions".

I can't help but feel as though had we been a middle age couple or a family (two people in our 20s) we wouldn't have been talked to in the same manner or treated as though our needs weren't as important when my fiance spent quite a good bit of money to get into, eat at, stay at, get souvenirs, just like everybody else did.

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA -- Our 2010 Disneyland Experience! These are comments concerning our recent visit to Disneyland, CA in December, 2010. 1. We paid for a World of Color Dinner at Ariel's Grotto and had a reservation time which would allow us ample time to enjoy our meal and attend the show. But, when we arrived we were asked to wait over 1/2 hour to be seated, even though we had arrived prior to our reserved time. Note: there were several other parties waiting, too.

Drinks and appetizers were prompt, but dinner lagged seriously and dessert, too! Because of the delay in seating us and serving our main course, we could not have an enjoyable dining experience and could not finish our dessert. We had to rush out to see the show and could not obtain comfortable viewing, even though that was our intent when making our reservations. The host/hostesses were very unconcerned about our wait time and acted like we were being unreasonable. Note: our waiter was very understanding and tried to help. I don't think it was his fault that dinner/dessert was untimely. The show was fabulous, but not as enjoyable as it could have been.

2. During parades, firework shows, and preparation for Fantasmic we experienced very unpleasant and disturbing Disney employees. Basically they acted like they were herding cattle/sheep and would not even make eye contact or say please when approaching YOUR GUESTS... They acted like the guests were an annoyance and seemed very unconcerned at the impact they were making on the guests. This was the first time out of approx. 6 visits to Disney properties that we were treated this way!

3. On our last day, Christmas Day, (the trip was our Christmas present to our teenagers), rain caused the Fantasmic show to be canceled after waiting in the rain for over 90 minutes. We then tried to ride a few nearby attractions, but were told of an electrical problem and the rides were closed. The attendants, of course, exhibited absolutely NO concern and once again acted like we were unreasonable when we tried to find out if the they would reopen that evening.

Afterward, wet and tired from being repeatedly rejected and herded like cattle, we went to Tomorrowland. There we tried to use our FastPass for the Space Mountain ride, (which we had obtained sometime around 4 PM or so and had not been able to ride during our 3 day visit because of excessive wait-times), but could not. We were told to wait until our designated time (around 10:30 PM). We tried to explain to the attendant that we were refused access to other attractions because they were unexpectedly closed and should be given consideration to board the ride somewhat early because of that.

Once again, we experienced NO concern for our issue and a very uncaring attitude. How is it that a company thinks it is acceptable to close rides and not offer some compensation or at least attempt a compromise? How can you think that is it acceptable to allow so many visitors into the park that wait times exceed an hour for any ride? AND the FastPasses are for 4 to 5 hours after getting the pass. How is that fast, would you go to McDonald's and like to be told to come back in 3 hours for your burger or need to wait 2 hours if you didn't have a fast pass?

4. Another issue is that here seems to be no storm drainage throughout the park. We were ankle deep in water trying to exit the park on Christmas Day, feeling dejected after being treated rudely and not riding any attraction for over 4 hours. That is our last impression of leaving Disneyland… the place where dreams come true and magic happens!

By the way, our last vacation was a visit to Disney World and a Disney cruise, but we will think seriously before we book another Disney destination and will be letting others know of our experience! It wasn't just one issue, but a pervasive attitude throughout the entire resort. It's all about the money! We even had to wait extraordinarily long to make purchases at the stores!

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA -- I had my daughter, her husband and my 4 grandchildren drive down from Washington State in order to go to Disneyland and California Adventures on one day Park Hopper Tickets. The main reason we bought Park Hoppers was to see the World of Color show. Towards the end of the day, we decided to go over from Disneyland to get on a couple of rides and wait for the show to begin. We saw NO signs or did we see the little flier at the gates that stated that we had to get FastPasses in order to see the show.

When the time came to go over and wait for the show to begin, whereas in Disneyland, when the fireworks show starts, it's first come, first served as far as the best view, but... EVERYONE can see the show... It was then that we realized that something wasn't right. We talked with one of the Park staff and he apologized and said he didn't agree with the way the show was being handled as far as viewings. He directed us over to a standing room only area that was already full and instructed us to wait for the first showing to get over and when people left, go to the rail for the second show.

There were a lot of people there that were in the same boat as us, not knowing about the FastPass deal in advance. They were upset and they were willing to put their children up on their shoulders in order for the kids to see the show, which made everyone standing behind them even more angry. We couldn't see the show in any way shape or manner.

We watched in disgust, during the entire first show, as all kinds of people were cutting in front of each other, stepping on each other, pushing each other and battling for spots with each other, with children on their shoulders, having their kids hold video cameras and digital cameras to film for the parents and I was sure someone would get hurt. People were arguing all over the place, kids were fighting with each other and their parents. It was TERRIBLE.

After the first showing was over, we did as the staff member had told us and went to the rail to wait for the second show. BUT WAIT!! A group of staff members comes over, ropes off the area and makes us LEAVE the railing and tells us that there is a line we can go in, to get into the next show, in the SRO area, and we are like... WHAT? We look over where the line has formed and it is soooo long that we would be right back where we started the first time. MY GRANDDAUGHTER STARTED CRYING!!!!! At the most "Wonderful Place On Earth" your screwed up policy made my grandchildren cry. PLUS, you have staff members providing incorrect information to unsuspecting visitors.

I am more than just angry about this... My family came 1500 miles to see that show and your ridiculous policy ruined our evening. I am sending this to the local newspapers and online blogs along with a complaint to the Better Business Bureau and to several business complaint websites, in order for the public to become aware of how your running your operations. Tickets to your theme parks are extremely expensive and our experience should have never happened. We are no longer patrons of Disney Co.

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA -- On Saturday, May 15, 2010, I went to Disneyland with my 26 year old daughter, my 2 grand-babies, my spouse and a few others. I stopped by store # 575 to purchase a shirt for my 29 year old daughter. When I got to the cashier I was being service by a person named **. He said to me "You look like you were beaten!" I said "What? Why?" He could not answer my question. I again asked why? He just looked at me. I then said am I all red? I have dark hair & eyes but fair skin and I burn easily. I assumed I might had gotten burnt by the sun. Before I left I thanked him for letting me know & I was going to look in a mirror to see how bad I had gotten.

When I left the store my family was waiting for me outside. My 26 year old daughter liked a summer dress in the store, I told her I would buy it for her but I was not sure if I should get her a small or a medium. My children are all petite, so I went back into the store to purchase the dress. When I got on line there was a lady cashier named ** (according to the receipt). Behind me I hear **'s voice say "Oh you're back!" I did not turn around, I just said my daughter wanted this dress. Then while I was paying for the dress, ** said to me "He thinks you're scary looking!" I could not believe what I just heard. I have never been insulted about my appearance before.

** was an old man (gray haired) and ** was a large framed girl. I didn't think any of them had room to insult anyone. I still assumed they were talking about maybe I getting burned by the sun. When I left the store I asked my husband if I was red (burnt). He said no. I looked in a mirror and I was not red at all. I then realize those two were just insulting me, a 49 year old women.

Like I said I have never been told anything negative about my appearance so I was totally surprise that these two had the nerve to say I was scary looking. They were both light eyed, and probably light hair (** was but ** now had gray hair). I don't know if this had something to do with my dark color hair & eyes.

I am planning on filing a complaint with Disneyland about these two. I am sure this was not their first time doing this. This is also my first time being treated this way at Disneyland. I've been to Disneyland many, many times.
Please keep in mind, I was not sunburnt. I only assumed I must had been sunburnt because ** would not elaborate on why he made the comment of me looking like I had been beaten. Also my first encounter at the store was just ** & I. I did not encounter ** until I returned to the store the 2nd time whom seemed to be making eye contact or speaking with **. Both were very unfriendly.

I guess I was just shocked to be spoken to in that manner, since I am not used to being insulted about my appearance. I work in the human resource department for a large company. I deal with proper and fair treatment of all employees.

I wish I had gotten over my shock while I was still facing these two employees so I could had asked them if they were 4-year-olds and asked them if they've taken a good look in the mirror before they even attempted to make comments about other people. They obviously are out to hurt others because if they were not they would had shared their comments only with each other, not going directly to the person and making their comments. Also if ** were half the man he may think he is then he should had been frank when I asked him to elaborate on his comment rather than to remain quite & giving me the impression I had burnt from the sun, when I was not.

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, CALIFORNIA -- We just got back from visiting relatives in CA over the Holidays. We live in NJ. The one thing that I wanted to do while on our [vacation] to CA was go to Disneyland. I have a 13 year old son who has some special needs issues and I thought it was best to get a doctor's note to see if we could avoid wait times in line which would make for a more pleasant day for him. Now, my son is very sensitive to the term Special Needs and very much aware of how he is perceived. His special needs have mostly to do with learning disabilities, sensory issues and ADHD. He is not handicapped.

When he heard that we had to wait on a "handicapped line" to get a pass to avoid lines, he freaked out. He almost started crying and wanted to leave the park. He had to have his picture taken, like a mugshot and every time we went on a ride, the employee that we handed the pass to would look at it and ask for the person whose name was on the pass, which was my son. There was absolutely no discretion which made him very self-conscious.

Disneyland should be the ultimate place to forget that you have a disability. I know the park is trying to accommodate everyone and some procedures are necessary since many people take advantage of a special situation for their own benefit. My recommendation is to limit the amount of people that enter the park, and treat people with special needs specially. Call it "Our Special Guests" and get rid of the word "handicapped" and do whatever you can not to make people with disabilities feel singled out. They have to live with this everyday of their lives.

I love Disneyland and have been going since I was a kid. I don't know if I will ever get my son to go back. But it be nice to know if he did, it would be a more positive and enjoyable experience. I hope someone with authority to change things at Disneyland reads this and gets back to me.

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA -- My family is not wealthy by any means, but we wanted to take my kids to Disneyland. We finally arranged a trip to California and Disney was the main goal. We got there at opening time and there is way too much gimmicky overpriced stores to have to walk through to get to the rides. Then when it comes time to wait in line for a ride, prepare for a standing wait of up to an hour or more. My son is severely handicapped. By noon the park was so crowded, he was getting jostled, pushed, shoved. We finally found where to get a large stroller but with the crowds it was next to impossible to push the stroller through.

The lowlight of the day was when we went on the Haunted Mansion ride. There were so many people crowded into the ride that I couldn't see or hear what was going on. At one point, people are told to hop onto some moving cars to continue on to the end of the ride. There were 4 of us in the group.

My mother and other son managed to get on a car. My son and I were being left behind and it was EXTREMELY hazardous for my son with a paralyzed leg to "hop" onto a moving car that is in water. As I saw my mother and other child disappearing, I THREW my handicapped child into an already occupied car and jumped into it AS IT MOVED. Then I angrily told the female attendant "THIS BOY IS DISABLED" at which time she shrugged and said "WELL, YOU DIDN'T TELL ME". There is no way I could have told her anything because of the crowd and noise level in the room. I sat there through the rest of the ride and cried, my arms shaking.

Totally ruined my trip to be mistreated and have my son at risk. Many rides at Disneyland are old and outdated, with tiny music and dirty cars. The crowd level is dangerous and ridiculous. The prices are way too high. But mostly, I give this park a THUMBS DOWN for special needs people.

CALIFORNIA -- Arrived at Disneyland October 24, 2012 with friend to celebrate our birthdays. Parked the car and headed for the buses when it all started going downhill. The parking attendants asked if we would like to purchase our tickets at their kiosk in the parking lot but had to use a credit card. I agreed and purchased to one day passes for $87/ea. When my card was charged the attendant says "Oops I charged you for a 2 day pass for a total of $362.00 and there's nothing I can do to change it. Here you'll have to go ticket booth inside the park." At that point no one at the friendly kiosk booth no longer wanted to make eye contact or talk to us... Just wanted us to go away.

Next we find the ticket booth, explain what happened and the attendant says "Ohhh, well okay, yeah I'll credit your card." I asked if it would credit immediately and she responded, "Yes, of course." Well two days later and I've still been charged $362.00, no credit. When I called Disneyland and finally reached a live person after 10 phone calls, they informed me I would have to take it up with my credit card company... They actually said it was my problem now. THEY WERE ONES WHO MADE THE MISTAKE AND NOW IT'S MY PROBLEM.

Also, when we arrived we intended to stay late to see the lights of Disneyland and they informed us the park was closing at 6:00 P.M. for a party but we would still be charged full rate and sorry. We had called and checked online prior to heading there and everything said it was open 9 to 10 p.m., when we told them, they said "Sorry, we're closing at 6:00". It's been a while since I've been there. The staff all appear tired and bored with their experience and I'm out $362.00 for a mistake on THEIR PART THAT WANT NO PART OF CORRECTING. FURIOUS TO SAY THE LEAST!

Upon check in on August 14th, 2011, we had breakfast reservations at 1900 Park Fare Port Orleans Riverside, said they would hold my luggage until we were finished in the parks. We had come from another hotel, not an airline. I distinctly remember everything I packed. When we returned to our room, our luggage was brought to us by the bell hop, from the bell hop storage. There were 3 2-liter bags of soda, 2 boxes of juices, multiple snacks initially noted missing. I started to unpack, and much to my surprise, was every single piece of jewelry that I brought down missing. The jewelry was at the very least worth $1800.

I called the next morning, and they said they would check into it. Received a call that night, that they did not find it. Wednesday, spoke to **, manager of bell hop services, who stated she would look into it. Thursday the 18th. Security was sent to my room. I filed a report. When I returned home I filed a report with the Orange County police. I was told to also file a claim to Walt Disney World. I did. I faxed over the complaint 3 times, with the Walt Disney report number, and the Orange County police report number. I emailed Walt Disney and they said they would pass the information along.

Now home almost a month, and I haven't heard one word from Walt Disney regarding this matter. This trip took us a long time to save up for, and it was for 10 days, and after day one, the rest of the 9 days were wrecked from this incident. I thought Disney was supposed to be a trusted place, however, I see that it is not. I requested that they review tapes in the bell hop room where luggage is stored, I was told they do not have them, are you kidding me, our personal belongings are there, and they are not being watched.

It saddens me, that what my family looked forward to for two years was wrecked by someone actually opening up my luggage, rummaging through it, and taking what was not theirs. And NO action was taken by Walt Disney. Nothing was done by Walt Disney World to even soften the blow of this. We were totally disregarded. I feel horrible for my children that what they looked forward to thinking this was the happiest place on earth, and now went back and told all their friends how my jewelry and other items were stolen from us. And as I told their parents, I don't know if I would recommend going, Walt Disney World disappointed us.

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA -- I took my seven year old daughter and mother to Disneyland for Christmas. I thought it would be amazing and a great way to celebrate the holidays. Boy was I wrong. It was soooo crowded and they had strollers piled up everywhere. You had to just move around them the best you could. There was so many people you were walking shoulder to shoulder being led down these roped off areas like a herd of cattle. People were frustrated and so you had to deal with being stepped on, pushed, and shoved. The wait time for an average ride was 1 to 2 hours. We didn't even use our FastPass the 3rd day we went home. Don't ever buy FastPasses. It's a ripoff.

I paid $20.00 for 1 caramel apple and 3 small rice crispy treats my daughter picked out and they were awful, old, and stale. Customer service was non-existent. My daughter got a $12.00 balloon on Christmas Eve that lit up and only lasted 2 hours. She cried both days and asked me to take her home on the 3rd day so we left.

The bus passes you get from your hotel are supposed to offer buses every 20 minutes what a joke. They came every 45 minutes to an hour and were full most of the time. My mother needs a wheelchair so we really were relying on these things. Our smoke-free room at our hotel had about 8 or 9 burn holes all over the counters in our room. It was disgusting and dirty. I think what bothered me the most though was the MADE IN CHINA label on EVERYTHING IN DISNEYLAND. Disneyland is American big business AT ITS WORST. The level of greed in this country is at an all time high and I will never subject my family to that again.

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA -- Sunday, May 3rd. I took my 3 sons and another young boy to Disneyland for a surprise. First of all it cost half of a fortune to get in the park! Secondly it was a long walk and 30 minutes to get to the ticket booth. The place was PACKED and there was only ONE TICKET booth open. I would have turned around and gone home if it weren't for the little faces looking up at me with pleading eyes... So ONE MORE HOUR AND $500 later, we were finally in the "happiest place on earth".

It was AWFUL! Maybe it was a special occasion, I don't know, but it was packed and a whole bunch of really freaky people were walking around with ripped up black outfits, pale skin and freaky make-up to look like vampires I think. Some of them were mean and one was saying nasty stuff to one of my sons. They basically took over the park.

THIS IS WHY WE DON'T GO TO MAGIC MOUNTAIN! Some of the "vamps" guys were wearing girly vamp clothes and another guy was in a very, very tiny mini skirt. We seen one with a casket on his back. What's even weirder is the day was so hot, I thought I was going to pass-out in one of the 90 minute waiting lines to get on a ride. We could barely walk through the crowd. We had to hold hands to keep from getting separated.

At the end of the day we were able to ride 3 RIDES! My youngest boy had a migraine brought on by stress and heat. He was spooked in a line when some crazy vamp was wearing contacts to make her eyeballs look like a cat. He started to think that real dead people were around us. Disneyland is not the place it was when I was a kid. I was online today looking for a way to write them.