And during the holidays? Not the best time to go. Don’t get me wrong; I am a Disney fan, and I was with my wife and 6-year-old grandson. But since it was the end of the holiday season, the park was
slammed. It was a human car wash where you agitate your way through the crowd.
There are, however, a few strategies at Disney to make your day a little less hectic, like taking advantage of Fast Passes. Fast Passes allow you to schedule certain rides or activities in advance so that you don’t have to wait in line. A ten minute wait to ride Space Mountain instead of two hours, just for riding within a certain time frame? Yes, please!
Disney even has an app to help you create Fast Pass appointments. When the appointed time arrived, we scanned our Disney card at the line, but it didn’t indicate that the Fast Pass was activated for that ride. I showed the Disney crew member working the entrance that I had set up the Fast Pass, and she informed me that I had actually set a reminder for a ride, not a Fast Pass. Since we were with a group, I protested and lost my cool for a few seconds. As poorly as the Disney app is constructed, this crewmember wasn’t responsible for that! In the end, we were able to get onto the ride with our whole group and the “crisis” was averted. I went back and looked at the app and, sure enough, there was an option to set a reminder for a ride inside of the Fast Pass feature. (Not a smart design if you ask me.)
I thought about this afterward. I reacted hastily instead of taking a moment to respond. Luckily, I caught myself before I acted like an ass. But here’s the thing: I was using a Disney app and Disney has a reputation for excellence and quality. The fact that they have an app so poorly-designed seems so incongruous with everything that Disney stands for.
So, yes, it’s my responsibility to remain grounded and keep my cool. But if you are going to create a brand associated with excellence, it has to be consistently excellent, across all access points and customer interactions.
(Full disclosure: the next day, we again had an issue with a Fast Pass and found a customer rep who assisted us with professionalism and expertise. My faith in Disney is restored!)