February 18, 2009

Disney vs. Momma

To see my Wordful Wednesday post, go here



To the Big Wigs at Disney,

I am writing this letter to express a few concerns. I am a mother of 3 young children. I am a Canadian living through a cold, snowy winter. I like to call it the cold version of Hell but that would be harsh. I love my country and I love experiencing all four seasons. Really, I do.

I digress.

Recently my husband and I visited a few travel companies to inquire about taking our young children on a vacation to the Most Magical Place on Earth....Disneyland, Orlando Florida. Your place of employment. The place that employs you. The place that makes you the big bucks. We had it all planned and while discussing it and looking at brochures with our children, they then became, well, very excited. Their excitement was contagious and we became quite anxious to book our trip. It was going to be so memorable. The trip of a lifetime. Something my family would remember forever. Well, probably not my youngest as she is only 10 months old, but we would take alot of pictures so it would be just like she remembered it. Or...we would have to come back in a few years when she gets older so she will have the memories too.

I digress again.

We made the trip to the mall at 7pm on a weeknight with our three young children to book the trip. That is alot to ask, but we were ready. This was going to be the best decision we ever made for our kids. We were going to be the best parents EVER! We told the nice girl exactly what we wanted.

To stay right at Disney so we could experience all of the wonderful choices your company has to offer. I mean, Disney is geared towards families and making it as easy as possible, what other choice could two smart educated parents make? Yay Disney. We wanted return a flight from Toronto. We wanted your wonderful Meal Plan and the Park Hopper passes. This was just too easy.

Yay Disney!

The nice girl checked her fancy shmancy computer and noticed a few things.

There weren't many flights available. She also noticed that Disney does not have very many rooms that will accommodate 5 people. HUH? Apparently we would have to stay at All Star Music Resort in a Family Suite......which costs more money. The room "might" be booked. HUH? We would have to leave all of our information and they would get back to us within 3 days to let us know if we could have the room. Excuse my confusion, but I didn't quite understand. Being the nice person that I am, I went along with it and happily handed over our info. It has been a week and we still haven't heard anything.



If Disney is a company devoted to families, why are there so few rooms available in a Value Resort to accommodate a family with 3+ children? We are not "abnormal" having 3 children. Heck, I know people with 4, 5 even 6 children. Why are we not able to get a regular room and then just rent a crib? I was told it was due to your fire code but am having a difficult time understanding why the creators/builders of your wonderful Resort did not think of this??????



The nice girl put everything on paper for us and the total cost of our one week vacation to see Mickey, Minnie....maybe even Donald was $6000.12. That is in Canadian dollars.



A week later I am still trying to pick up my jaw. I am also trying to figure out how your wonderful, magical company can charge that much to families wanting a nice family-friendly vacation for their children.



I realize that you have no control over the fees that the airlines charge, but still. Geesh. Can't you help a young family out?? Am I missing something? Have you given out free passes and accommodations to the many families that visit your resort every year without us knowing? How do people afford this? What have we done wrong when inquiring? All we want is to take our kids on vacation. But spending $6000 for one week is just a little out of our price range.



Your reply is appreciated.



Momma.

9 comments:

Lindsay family said...

Wow.

I can't wait to see if you get a response. We were thinking of making a trip in the future with our two girls... but seeing the price quote, I am experiencing sticker shock.

Good luck... I hope you get a positive response!

~*Jobthingy*~ said...

that is nuts!

Kell said...

Honestly, the trick to Disney is going there at the right time. When I was growing up, my family went every 3 years and ALWAYS during the month of October. It's not necessarily a popular travel time and rates are SIGNIFICANTLY lower. My family, by no means, is "rich" or even considered "upper class".. but we always enjoyed our Disney trip. I don't understand the thing about the crib - that sounds like complete nonsense.. but perhaps consider changing your travel dates? I know it's probably not first on your agenda.. but it could save you a lot of money.

Good luck with everything, I wish you guys the best.

Country Mouse, City Mouse said...

We went a couple of years ago, we drove (from Ontario) and still spent $4500.

Same problem, we got away with it though, because we booked the trip ourselves online. We got park hoppers, and meal plan. Look into it! We had fewer days though because we drove.

Jen said...

Oh.My.Stars! That is just wrong on so many levels.

Synergy Girl said...

ya...Disney...would be NICE...course, I have one more child than you do, so we would probably have to rent a condo, a small bus, and our own private restaraunt...guess we will wait...!! Hope they totally COMP you woman!! LOL!!!

scrappysue said...

$6000 - did i read that right? sheesh! they oughta be paying YOU to go! did u get flights???

namaste said...

You're f'ing kidding me! Holy shitoly! I'm in shock and it's not even my money!

Amy said...

I just returned from a fabulous trip to Disney. My 7yr old daughter in a magical trance the whole time. It should not cost that much. Check around. Call the direct Disney line. They are wonderful.

Good Luck
Don't give up