Disney promised me fireworks! Where are the fireworks?

It may sound insignificant, but to Mona Ogden, the fireworks at Disneyland are a big deal. She even spent $900 to upgrade into a “club-level” room at the Disneyland Hotel on a recent visit because they promised “a view of the Disneyland Park fireworks show from above with in-house soundtrack.”

“Night after night we planned around the supposed show time and hauled back to the hotel, up to this special room,” she says. “And nothing happened.”

What, no pyrotechnics?

That’s right. For five nights, the Ogdens waited for the show but saw nothing but darkness outside their hotel window.

When they returned, she wrote a brief note to Disney.

This was our first visit and we were extremely disappointed with our stay. We planned months in advance and specifically upgraded to a concierge access deal in order to view the nightly fireworks there.

We were even given a sheet at check in reminding us to go there to view them. Not only were there no fireworks at all during our stay, but this information was never communicated properly.

We therefore spent needless time and effort making evening plans around this show – hurrying back and assembling to watch it finding out only minutes before that it was “canceled.”

Here’s the response from Disney:

Thank you for your e-mail to the DISNEYLAND® Resort. We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with us.

Although we have no control over the weather, we do try to make the best of all conditions. The decision to close any of the attractions, or cancel any form of entertainment, is certainly not taken lightly and is made only after taking into consideration many factors of our operation, especially safety for our Guests and Cast. We do apologize for the
disappointment and inconvenience that you experienced.

In addition, we are sorry for the disappointments you mentioned in your e-mail. It is our goal to create magical memories and exceed the expectations of our Guests during each and every visit. Please be assured that we have shared your comments with our leadership team, along with the appropriate Hotel management, as feedback such as yours is taken very seriously.

That only made Ogden angrier. Here’s her response:

That is completely bogus. According to the Orange County Register, (front page 12/31), the fireworks went down a full 5 days prior to our arrival due to an “employee injury.”

There is no excuse for not communicating this info at check in and giving us the opportunity to cancel our concierge room upgrade to see them. Not only did we unnecessarily pay for this room, we needlessly ran back each time to watch when you knew full well it was down — it was NOT last minute “weather” or “technical difficulties.”

I demand a refund.

And here’s Disney’s final answer to her:

Thank you for your continued correspondence with the DISNEYLAND® Resort.

We regret that you were not satisfied with our original response to you. Your comments concerning your visit are appreciated. Please know that comments such as yours are taken into consideration and we can assure you they have been shared with the appropriate management for their review.

Again, thank you for contacting us. Comments such as yours are welcomed in that they assist us in evaluating our operation and our success in generating happiness for our Guests. We hope you will have the opportunity to visit the DISNEYLAND® Resort soon and that our attractions and entertainment will delight you in every way.

Can you say “form letter”?

OK, so should Disney consider refunding part — or all — of Ogden’s stay?

Let’s have a look at how Disney advertises its “club-level” rooms:

For added convenience and luxury, Club-Level rooms feature priority check-in, nightly turndown service and a staff available prior to your visit for assistance in reservations and vacation planning. Club-Level rooms are located on floors 9, 10 and 11 of the Adventure tower and services can be added to any suite for an additional charge.

Club-level includes access to an exclusive lounge featuring:

• A view of the Disneyland Park fireworks show from above with in-house soundtrack
• Continental breakfast bar
• Sodas, snacks and fresh fruit
• Evening wine and cheese reception
• Desserts after dinner
• DVDs available for check-out

If one of those amenities went missing, would a guest be able to ask for a full refund? Maybe not, but a partial refund wouldn’t be out of the question.

I think the customer-service representative dealing with her email probably thought, “Fireworks? Come on!” and to be honest, that was my first reaction, too. But it’s sometimes the little things that make it a magical vacation. At the very least, Disney should have send her more than two form letters.

You’re probably wondering: Why didn’t the Ogdens say something when the fireworks failed to launch. They did.

“We repeatedly asked staff members during our stay what was going on with this, and nobody claimed to know anything,” she told me. “Clearly that had been instructed to be evasive. Had we been given proper notice, we would have canceled the concierge room access and spent our time very differently each evening.”

I don’t know if I can advocate for a full refund, or even for a partial one. But something tells me Disney could have done better with this guest complaint.

(Photo: Jessica James/Flickr)

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  • Anonymous

    Then the problem lies with the fact you have hordes of unruly teens taking over a park where some parents are bringing their smaller children.  Teens and little kids rarely mix very well, neither of them pays attention to anything. 

  • http://twitter.com/travelingiraffe Crissy

    I don’t like the way the OP was treated by Disney, but after the first form letter I would have sent a letter to a higher power.  I can say that because I have done that with Disney and gotten a better response.  They did have access to other concierge services so they don’t deserve a full refund, but at least an actual response.

  • https://me.yahoo.com/a/5eKbZXoptotAyXTBCL8iE7XZ#ae6ff J

    I personally think the concierge upgrade is overpriced, but I know plenty of people who pay for it, and they do it for access to the lounge.

    First of all, the difference in price between a concierge room with a view of the park (fireworks) and one without is $19 per night. This tells me that the $130 – $150 upgrade is not because the primary benefit is a view of the fireworks.

    Second, the article the OP quoted states the fireworks were canceled on 5 out of 6 nights, not 5 consecutive nights. Also, there are articles where Disney is quoted as saying they were canceled due to weather and technical difficulties. Apparently in the 2 paragraph world of internet articles you can find something that states the facts how you want them.

    Third, I have read reports from people in the park that there were announcements as early as noon saying the fireworks were canceled and that City Hall had accurate information. The OP doesn’t appear to be claiming she asked if there would be fireworks before leaving the park, just that no one told her why they were canceled. (And, again, it appears they were not canceled for 5 straight days.)

    I’m not saying Chris should never mediate, but I don’t think he should attempt to obtain a refund in this case.

  • https://me.yahoo.com/a/5eKbZXoptotAyXTBCL8iE7XZ#ae6ff J

    I personally think the concierge upgrade is overpriced, but I know plenty of people who pay for it, and they do it for access to the lounge.

    First of all, the difference in price between a concierge room with a view of the park (fireworks) and one without is $19 per night. This tells me that the $130 – $150 upgrade is not because the primary benefit is a view of the fireworks.

    Second, the article the OP quoted states the fireworks were canceled on 5 out of 6 nights, not 5 consecutive nights. Also, there are articles where Disney is quoted as saying they were canceled due to weather and technical difficulties. Apparently in the 2 paragraph world of internet articles you can find something that states the facts how you want them.

    Third, I have read reports from people in the park that there were announcements as early as noon saying the fireworks were canceled and that City Hall had accurate information. The OP doesn’t appear to be claiming she asked if there would be fireworks before leaving the park, just that no one told her why they were canceled. (And, again, it appears they were not canceled for 5 straight days.)

    I’m not saying Chris should never mediate, but I don’t think he should attempt to obtain a refund in this case.

  • Anonymous

    But those are also the dates when American kids are on break.

  • Anonymous

    If the fireworks view costs an extra $19/night then that sounds like an excellent way to calculate the value of what the family lost out on and deserve to be compensated for in some way.

    FYI: the Orange County Register reported that the fireworks were canceled for 7 out of 8 nights:
    http://ocresort.ocregister.com/2011/12/29/disney-worker-avoided-burns-in-fireworks-incident/106401/ 

  • Anonymous

    well then you have to make some choices.  Personally I’d pull my kids out of school for a few days rather than go to Disney during a high traffic period.  Maybe go over a long weekend (President’s Day for instance)  so they don’t have to miss as many days.  Go over Spring Break or Thanksgiving when the park will be jammed packed but with American kids. 

    All I know is a few years ago I was in Orlando for a conference the week BEFORE Thanksgiving.  I took a few extra days and went to the parks.  Rode nearly all the rides at every park, rode some popular ones multiple times and never waited more than 20 mintues (did not use FastPass as there was no need to).  My brother and his family went the week of Thanksgiving which is a peak time.  They spent hours in line for rides.  For me hours in line, crowds, annoying and unruly teenagers, higher prices, it’s just not worth it.

  • Anonymous

    Raven, Watch this funny xtranormal cartoon re Brazilian Weapons of Mass Annoyance.

    http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/8249045/theme-park-actor-meets-annoying-brazilian-tourist 

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JMWGAXPPZDZCLV4C7AYDWJG52E Walt

    You must have missed the part where it says that Disney tried to blame the fireworks cancellation on the weather, but then admitted it was due to injury.

    That’s the exact same thing the OP was told, which lends credence to the OP’s version of events.  

  • Anonymous

    $900, indeed, is a lot of money just to watch fireworks. We watch it for free during Macy’s 4th of July in NYC.

  • Anonymous

    You’ve got a good point there; it’s a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t situation. I was just trying to point out that they might have reasons for really, really wanting a good vantage point for the fireworks. :)

  • Anonymous

    According to Disney themselves (as well as media sources) there were NO fireworks on 12/29 (which was a Thursday):

    http://wdisney.com/2012/01/01/disneyland-fireworks-return-friday-night-around-disney-the/ 

    “Disneyland brought back its holiday fireworks Friday night after canceling the show eight times in nine days. Disneyland first halted its “Believe in Holiday Magic” fireworks show on Dec. 22… ”

    What’s confusing is that there aren’t 9 days between Dec 22 and Dec 30.  Was Dec 21 cancelled for a different reason?  If so, there were two separate 4-night outages sandwiched around Dec 25.

  • Anonymous

    If they were upgraded to this room at the time of their checking in telling them specifically about the fireworks viewing knowing full well it has been suspended for possibly the next week due to injury or malfunction then this constitutes F-R-A-U-D.

  • Anonymous

    That doesn’t sound very safe.

    I’ve seen professional fireworks tubes before.  There was a time when they had to be lit or fired by hand, and there used to be instance where worked would get injured or even killed when something went wrong.  How they typically use remote firing mechanism and even computer programmed firing sequences.

    If they started arming as soon as they were placed in the tubes, that sounds quite unsafe.  However, I thought that modern fireworks firing is done electrically, and the the connection to the firing system is always the last step as a safety procedure.

  • http://twitter.com/johntbaker John Baker

    y_p_w … I’ve talked with some of the Disney guys and one of the pyro technicians before. At Disneyland, they apparently use an air launch system to propel the shells skyward (think spitballs and straws) and an electrical / radio arming system on the shells to explode exactly to the music (instead of the timed system they use / used at WDW). So it is entirely possible that the radio arming system was malfunctioning.

  • Anonymous

    I was going to say no to mediation, but then I read Disney’s second response to the OP’s letter.  The OP provided specific reasons why she was unhappy and stated a request of what she want done to remedy it.  Disney flat out ignored what she said in their response and just gave a generic bit about passing her comments along to appropriate personnel (or in reality: trashing it).  Disney owed her the courtesy of a personalized response, even if what they had to say was not what the OP wanted to hear.  Business in the hospitality industry should treat customers with respect and not blow them off in hopes they will go away.

  • Anonymous

    I voted yes, NOT because I expect WDW to be able to control the weather, but because I expect them to tell their customers the truth.  It appears that the OP checked with them every day and was told each time that there had been a cancellation–and not a single time did anyone explain honestly that this was due not to the weather, but to an already known safety problem with an unknown resolution-date.  If they had fessed up to the OP at the beginning, she could have discussed the possibility of changing their reservation (cancelling this club-perk, which she would then have known would probably not be useful to them for the rest of their stay), AND she and her gang could have planned to do/see other things in the evenings instead!  As it is, the WDW staff appear to have been shamelessly stringing them along, which is outrageous.

    On top of all that, to get a form letter that indicates falsely that weather was the issue makes it ten times worse!  What would Walt think? 

    The letter SHOULD have indicated the correct reason for the fireworks-cancellation, and apologized for the incorrect information that the OP received from the staff–and there should have been some sort of assurance, however vague, that there would be follow-up with those lying staffers.  Once the letter had given the OP these protestations that the higher-ups do indeed care about both telling the truth AND their customers’ experiences at WDW, it could have discussed some sort of compensation–and personally, I would probably have been satisfied with relatively little monetarily, IF they had been honest and apologetic first.

    But under these sleazy circumstances, I say go get ‘em!

    I have learned so much about Disney from your articles, Chris, that I don’t think I would ever go there now.  Thank you for the info that you give us!

  • Laura McDonough

    If they wanted to see the fireworks so bad, why not stay at the resort itself to watch them?   Why did they have to do it from their room?  Also, doesn’t WDW publish a mini paper each day, that you pick up near the entrance on Main street, where they list out the activities?  If the fireworks were listed there, and they had experienced a couple of nights of missing them already, I would have asked someone there.  Onsite personnel are very very knowledgeable and could have probably addressed this issue.

    I agree with others that they deserved more than a form letter in response, but I would have taken it up with the hotel manager before leaving.

  • Joe Farrell

    The issue is NOT she was lied to . . . because that assumes that the employees she spoke to knew the true state of facts . . . and that is a BIG assumption with an outfit as big as Disney.  ‘Someone’ knew what was going on with the fireworks but I am not satisfied from the facts that the OP EVER spoke to that person.  Did they have a corporate policy to be as vague as possible and give out no affirmative facts to staff so staff would not lie to guests – you bet.  If they say there will be no fireworks then they need to deal with guests who want compensation – if they are vague about it they can then later hide behind the customer taking action based on vague information and simply being ‘disappointed’ and not likely to do any thing about it. 

    Your choice is to decide if you want to do business with a company like that.  But don’t tell me anyone ‘lied’ because we simply do not ‘know’ that . . .

  • Anonymous

    I agree with you that we do no have solid grounds to conclude that she was lied to.  

    This isn’t directed at you, but what irks me is that many commenters here are very quick to pounce on OPs’ for any detail that they MIGHT have omitted (e.g. were the 5 nights w/o fireworks in this case consecutive?)  

    And yet it’s usually condoned as par for the course if a businesses withholds crucial information or misdirects the customer (e.g. “we have no control over the weather”).

  • Anonymous

    Actually, there is NOWHERE in the description where it GUARANTEES a clear view of the fireworks display, only a special area where they can view the fireworks.  They could have checked daily at the park, and they could have asked for additional amenities to make up for it while there is they wished, but to ask for a refund after the fact is ridiculous.

  • Anonymous

    Again – NO guarantee OF fireworks displays, just a better view of the area.

  • Anonymous

    And since she insisted on a full refund, and gave them no other recourse to make her happy, they will find the request as unreasonable and simply decline.  As they should. 

  • Anonymous

    To watch the NYC fireworks for free, you generally have to arrive a few hours in advance and stand in packed crowds.

    Plenty of people (not me) shell out anywhere from $75 to $200+ to watch from a water taxi or from the USS Intrepid or from various private roof decks & lounges.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OEPJGQPIEB75YYDE5CJY6R3VFE Carver Clark Farrow II

    Because not everyone is a savvy traveler

  • Anonymous

    I would love to see some of the updates on these cases :D

  • Anonymous

    Arrogance, thy name is Disney. Good luck Chris, but don’t expect much. Disney doesn’t care… they don’t have to. :-(

  • Anonymous

    That is a silly answer.  If you are unhappy, then the time to deal with it is when you are there when something could be resolved and make the stay more to what they felt they wanted.  That doesn’t take savviness, it takes responsibility.

  • Andrea Boltz

    Except that if you weren’t able to view the ball drop from your room it would indicate that you weren’t given the room that you paid for. The OP got what she paid for, access to the club. One of the amenities of that club is that you can view the fireworks from the club…when the fireworks are going. Disney does not, and cannot, guarantee that the fireworks will occur, weather and safety can and do prevent the fireworks show.

    The sheet the OP was given at check in is likely the standard sheet given to everyone, including a reminder that you can watch the fireworks from the special lounge. It’s not a promise that the fireworks will be running during your stay. Nowhere in the above article does the OP indicate that she ever asked a cast member if the fireworks would be taking place before trekking back to the hotel to watch them, just that the family would haul over to the hotel only to find them missing. Even if unsure in the morning about whether the fireworks would be done or not that evening, by the time the OP left the park to go back to the hotel, it would be on the main board and cast members would know.

    I don’t think you can even argue that one of the amenities was missing from the club pass, as Chris suggested in the article. The fireworks are not the amenity, the seating in the club is. That seating was available and if the fireworks had been shown the customer could have used it.

  • Anonymous

    But that is NOT what their literature states.  It states the access to the club amenities, and states it gives one a private viewing area for the fireworks – NOT that they actually GUARANTEE fireworks – in fact, there is a notation the nightly entertainment can be changed or cancelled.

  • Anonymous

    But the park CLEARLY states cancellations, so I don’t know WHY they would have headed back to the hotel every night.  I don’t think we are getting a completely honest picture here – just the fact that they waited till they returned from the trip makes it that much harder for anyone to even address this – they should have spoken to the hotel manager and seen if he could find another amenity to make it up to them – but you do that WHILE you are there, not when you get home!

  • Anonymous

    But if you’ve ever been to the park, her explanation makes no SENSE!  The park board CLEARLY states if there is a cancellation in the fireworks, so there would have been no NEED to keep trekking back to the room to see the fireworks.  I think she may be elaborating on the fact, so we feel more likely that she should get money for this. 

  • Anonymous

    And they are NOT GUARANTEED!!!  The clients purchased a club level room for a host of emenities – if they did not get to utilize the ONE NOT GUARANTEED then they should have asked the manager for another to make up for it – not wait till they get home and expect a full refund for soemthing never guaranteed in the first place!

  • Anonymous

    AGAIN – Disney does NOT guarantee the fireworks show will take place – in fact, they do state nightly entertainment can be cancelled or changed without notice.  They DO NOT SELL this amenity as a fireworks extravaganza, but as a concierge upgrade – one of the amenities the client may CHOOSE to use is the viewing area for fireworks shows, when they are presented.  No fraud, as she still received what she paid for – if she was really so disappointed in the loss of the fireworks show, and didn’t wish to watch the alternative shows presented, she should have asked the manager to make it up in the form of a different amenity – perhaps a character meal.

  • Anonymous

    It is fraud if they give the customer the pitch of they could upgrade to this deluxe room to see the fireworks KNOWING  FULL WELL THEY WERE NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
     
     As with all fireworks shows there is a chance they may not happen.  This is very different from them suspending them until further notice because they needed to investigate what happened.
     
    From my impression they seemed to be people who booked one room, walked up to the counter and the sales associate gave them a sales pitch on them upgrading their rooms by mentioning to them they could see the fireworks display. 
     
    I dont know what they said to the hotel manager during their stay on this, but if they kept telling them it was cancelled for no reason is lying because they knew prior to their arrivial this was cancelled because of the accident.  The manager could have given them a reduced rate or free tickets/passes to other activities or free meals.
     
    The core issue in this is being lied to.  After a few days that they didnt catch up to knowing this is a direct deriliction of duty on the management of the hotel.
     

  • Anonymous

    Yes – because while they had a great time at the park, they did plan, rush back to the room, pay for and expect the fireworks, and they let the staff know this as well.

    They could have had the option to downgrade and spend a lot

    longer time at the park if they had known.

  • rybashka

    No to mediation, yes to small claims court.  If I were them and not entirely sure about what to do, those insulting form letters would have definitely made me want to sue Disney.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Patrick-Harris/100001432209403 Patrick Harris

    DISQUS still does not like me so I had to use Facebook.  BLEAK!!!!  Anyway what a hoot.  Disney actually gets extra money for viewing the fireworks show?  My aunt and uncle lived in La Habra.  Want to watch the fireworks from the level of the top of Magic Mountain?  Just go out on their front deck.  Might not have sound but very impressive at no cost.

  • Anonymous

    Disney collected additional moneys based on a promise. They failed to abide by their promise. Disney did not earn the additional moneys.

  • http://twitter.com/xrae Rae A

    I disagree about the timeliness of a Disney Guest Services response. We had what I felt was a minor complaint about our room at the WDW resort Port Orleans Riverside last year. I sent a brief, POLITE, email to Guest Services immediately upon our return to let them know of the issue. I received a personalized apology and an offer for one night’s refund within two days.  

    I agree with other posters that Disney is good about posting show cancellations when you’re in the park. I wonder if the OP spent their days in the theme park, or if they hurried back from other activities expecting fireworks.

    Someone else wondered about getting a refund if a pool or other resort amenity is closed for refurbishment. The Disney website lists ongoing attraction and amenity closures, and I know if even a pool slide is closed at one resort, you are able to use facilities at a different resort to compensate.  

    It does seem strange that the Concierge staff wasn’t able to give the OP accurate information about the fireworks. I’m on the East coast and I knew what was going on … 

    (and yeah, my avatar is WDW fireworks over Space Mountain. :) )

  • http://twitter.com/xrae Rae A

    A great private fireworks viewing option at WDW is to hire a pontoon boat that holds a maximum of 10 guests. You can view Magic Kingdom fireworks from the Seven Seas Lagoon, or you can view Epcot’s Illuminations show from their lagoon. The current cost is about $350 including tax. You can even hire private dining to cater if you want to impress your significant other with a romantic evening. :) 

    We did the Illuminations one with family a couple years ago. We had a full boat, and felt it was a great experience. It was a nice splurge. 

  • http://twitter.com/xrae Rae A

    I think Disney should have built their next park in Brazil instead of Shanghai. 

    We were on the Disney Dream cruise ship last September and spoke to a Brazilian couple one night. There were a fair number of Brazilians on board, but except for one instance we didn’t find them disruptive. 

    The couple told us it’s so much less expensive for them to come to the United States for vacation and even shopping than it is to travel domestically.

    Sounds like we might be stuck with the Brazilian groups for a while. 

  • Anonymous

    I LOVE IT!!!

  • Anonymous

    Culture clash or not, when in Rome…

    For instance, I would not go to France and act surprised when a restaurant refused to seat me for supper if I were wearing blue jeans.

    If Di$ney is going to allow these brats in the parks with no supervision, they at least have the duty to:

    1. Educate them on the idea of queues and lines.

    2. Educate their handlers on the proper etiquette for rides/attractions–ie: no chanting, no banging on bleachers, no flash photos when told.

    3. Toss a few out of the park to make a statement when they’re caught breaking the rules.

    4. Do something about the mass-fast-pass stealing by the handlers. 

    5. Oh, and teach them that “SINGLE RIDER” means just that. We were on Test Track and watched a bunch of them run down the Single Rider line and ignore cast members telling them one at a time. They filled a few cars and laughed while the cast members just shook their heads.

    6. Tell their handlers that they are not allowed to just loiter. Try stepping over them when they’re sitting on the ground somewhere. I watched them ignore a woman in a wheelchair asking them to give her some room to get by. Ridiculous.

  • http://twitter.com/luisa_hr Luisa H

    Lindabator, do you work for DL? You’ve commented no less than 9 times saying that the fireworks are not guaranteed. SO WHAT? The OP was lied to. At least their honesty should be guaranteed.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_BJ7Z3K5BX5BRFAUWLVAWLSSWDQ eliza

    Disney is really getting a reputation as sucking in customer service.  Many times people only complain after they have been given the runaround by the company.  Had disney simply said some thing to the effect of “Due to technical problems we are unsure as to when the fireworks will return” guest could have at least had information to make knowledgable decisions.  I’d be pissed off to if every night I returned to the my room to view fireworks in the comfort of my room, only to see zippo.  Maybe she does not deserve a full refund but I would comp here maybe a 1 day pass to finally see the fireworks.
    Customer service is one way you seperate the truly deluxe from the motel 6′s.  Disney is slip sliding into motel 6 land.

  • y_p_w

    Just revisiting an old thread. I’d just like to say that I made a mistake assuming that Chris was a Southern California native because he attended UC Irvine. However, I’m pretty sure that he got quite familiar with how big the Disneyland fireworks show was in Orange County. People literally watch it from taller buildings as far away as Irvine.

    Also – last 4th of July we were out of town and saw a county fireworks display at a local fairgrounds. We got there late and the only place to park (good spots on the street were taken for hours) was in the paid lot at the fairgrounds. We got a really good look at the launch site. I thought they were going to use one of those electronically controlled/programmed or remote firing systems. However, they were still using hand-lit fireworks. I saw the pyrotechnic workers running around with flares lighting the fireworks individually. At the end of the show, they declared it was over by waving their flares over their heads. I thought it was rather unusual (I’ve seen professional fireworks tubes with wires leading to the remote firing sequencer) but I suppose some smaller time operations can afford the insurance but not the equipment.

    Of course there could be something like San Diego’s municipal fireworks show that lasted all of 15 seconds when the firing sequence was programmed incorrectly.

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