One of the things that guests can often count on when they are visiting a Disney resort is that their room will be nice and clean. In this instance, however, things took a nightmarish turn for one family who is now speaking out on their very “un-magical” experience.
Disney resort rooms can often start in the mid $100.00 price point area (specifically at Walt Disney World Resort, with hotels like All-Star Sports, Movies, and Music) and end up costing into the thousands. On average, a hotel at Disney World, Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disney Resort, and all of the other Disney parks around the globe will run you a few hundred dollars each night.
If you are visiting any of these theme parks, there are always cheaper hotel options if you choose to leave the Disney bubble, but for those wanting the full Disney experience with all of the perks that come with staying at Disney, staying at an official Disney resort is key. One thing guests do expect when paying these high prices, and when staying at a hotel associated with Disney in general, is a certain level of cleanliness and maintenance in their hotel room.
At Walt Disney World Resort, for example, guests have access to nearly everything they need at their fingertips (literally, My Disney Experience can help you accomplish nearly anything you need). There are four incredible theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT, as well as two water parks: Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon and the currently closed Disney’s Blizzard Beach, as well as Disney Springs. That is all just scratching the surface because guests can also enjoy the 25+ resorts on property, golf, mini golf, visit ESPN Wide World of Sports, and so much more. The large theme park mogul is plotted on a size of land that is equivalent to San Francisco — which means the theme park is truly its own functioning city.
When guests stay at Disney World, it is expected that Cast Members have cleaned their room before they check in. Although this is what is expected, it is not always something that meets guest standards, which can certainly put a damper on your very costly Disney vacation. The same goes for Disneyland Paris.
The park that started as Euro Disney and then transformed into Disneyland Paris with Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studio Park has grown so much over the past 30 years, and now as the park continues to expand, we are finally able to kick off the amazing celebrations of the 30th anniversary, which will come to an end on September 30.
Sleeping Beauty Castle is now lit with LED lighting, the decor is in place, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and the rest of the gang have their outfits ready, Illuminations returned, and there is an all-new song for the celebration that sends a party down Main Street, U.S.A.! And that is just the tip of the iceberg; we haven’t even discussed the new drone technology that lit up the night sky.
If you want to know what has changed, in short, there is new packaging on everything, from water bottles to sandwich boxes, Minnie Mouse is looking chic as ever in her new pantsuit, the After Glow show illuminates Sleeping Beauty Castle with an amazing drone experience, The all-new Dream… and Shine Brighter has also debuted, and so much more.
With so much going on at Disneyland Paris, and so much ending in just a few days, visiting the theme park has been a popular option for those looking to vacation in Paris as of late. One family who decided to go and enjoy Disneyland Paris expected a magical vacation, but instead, had to ensure a broken bed, and a moldy room which caused them to have to sleep elsewhere to avoid any severe asthma issues as their breathing was now compromised.
Missrami took to Reddit to share her story, and below, you can see one of the visible spots of mold in her hotel room.
The guest began, “We recently stayed at the Davy Crockett Ranch on our trip to DLP. It was my daughters (4 yo girl) birthday. Our first trip to DLP but as I had gone to WDW several times as a kid, I was excited to share the experience with her.”
Sadly, things got worse after they arrived.
“When we first entered our cabin, I could smell the musty/mildew/moldy smell. It seemed to be strongest in the main bedroom (with the double bed) which also had the ensuite,” the guest said. “I tried opening all the windows thinking I just needed to air out the rooms…but the smell persisted. After taking a shower, I saw the black mold in the ensuite bathroom. I thought that since I could see it, and I could smell it, there might be more lurking that was not visible.”
They continued, “My husband and daughter both have asthma, and our baby is 14 mo. So we thought it best to avoid the bedroom with the ensuite. My husband and I ended up sleeping in the other bedroom with twin beds with our toddler and baby (in a cot). However, one of the beds was also broken! It was already sagging when you lifted the blanket.”
The guest carried on, “We both tried to speak to the reception about this…my husband first went to explain to them, and they said they would send someone to come fix the bed. The CM he spoke with did not understand what he meant by the mold. I also went to speak with them, this time with pictures as proof.”
Unfortunately, nothing was seemingly done to truly rectify the issue, “By the time I went to speak with them, the bed was broken again (the repair person only replaced two of the wooden parts, and didn’t check if any others were damaged) and it was also late in the evening. The CM I spoke with was in training and tried her best to help me.
She kept going into the office to speak to (I presume) her manager or supervisor, who never came out to speak with me in person. They asked if I would like to change cabins – since we were checking out the next morning, and the kids were all asleep, I declined. As the smell was concentrated in the bedroom with the ensuite, and we all slept in the other bedroom. I figured we could just deal with it for one night. My husband ended up sleeping on the floor (there was a pull out mattress).”
The guest also added that the room was not cleaned correctly either, “Also, the floors were filthy. My toddler was wearing socks and after about an hour the bottoms were black! I felt this was further indication that the cabin was not properly cleaned.”
It has been a week since this guest stayed at Disney’s Davy Crockett Ranch, similar to Fort Wilderness at Walt Disney World Resort, and now they are still bothered by their experience.
They said, “Anyway, all this was about a week ago, and something is still not sitting right with me. I feel with how much attention to detail and care is taken in the parks, and (I hope) the other hotels…this particular cabin we got was really unacceptable and they should have done something more to make up for the fact that the we could only use half the cabin…and for the potential health hazard that mold/mildew can present! I know Davy Crocketts is the lower priced accommodation but I feel there is an expectation for a basic level of cleanliness.”
Of course, guests quickly agreed that this issue should be escalated, “Absolutely escalate it. There are no cheap trips to Disneyland so you should get a reasonable level of service,” one reader said.
Another said, “Yes, you should escalate it. My experience is that Disneyland is pretty good at answering those claims. On our last trip we got upgraded when my mattress was too old to sleep on it comfortably. Since your trip already ended, they might give you some free tickets or other form of compensation. The resort is too expensive and this is unacceptable.”
Others noted that this issue is happening at many hotels in Disneyland Paris, including Disney’s Hotel Cheyenne “I just got back from staying in Cheyenne and had the same experience. Black mold in all the corners of the shower. We didn’t keep toiletries or anything in the bathroom. Opened the window to try and get the musty mildew smell out and housekeeping closed it smh”.
Another complaint of cleanliness comes from one guest who stayed at Disney Newport Bay Club, they said: “We stayed in the Newport Bay. Dirty floors, food was horrific, there was a cup in the corridor the whole time we were there, and someone stuck a shitty nappy outside our door”.
Overall the complaints about Disneyland Paris hotels only seemed to grow in the Reddit chain. The original poster promised to update everyone once Disney replied to her claim, but nothing has been stated yet.
Of course, a situation such as this is not very magical, and one that should have likely been dealt with when the guests brought their concerns to Disney while on vacation, including showing the moldy room photo.
Other Issues at Disneyland Paris
Sadly, it seems Disneyland Paris has been having a rough go as of late.
We discussed how the shopping experience at the theme park has been completely altered following the receipt ban in France. Paper receipts will no longer be available due to a ban from the French government. Although the cash register receipt, printed automatically after every purchase in a store, was due to be banned in France on January 1, 2023, the measure was subsequently postponed several times. The government finally decided to postpone its effective date for a third time to August 1, 2023.
On top of this, the parade, Disney Stars on Parade, has been reported to be in very rough shape, with some floats broken while others are entirely missing.
At Disneyland Paris, we recently spoke about the closure of two of their parades, ““Dream… and Shine Brighter” and “Disney D-Light” will end permanently on September 30.” Of course, this left many Disneyland Paris guests devastated, as parades are an essential part of the Disney Park experience.
Also, “The “Disney Jr. Dream Factory” will be closing its doors temporarily from September 25 to October 20, 2023, included.
This will not be the only show to experience downtime, as “TOGETHER: a Pixar Musical Adventure” will not be performed from Nov 6 to Dec 15, 2023. On top of this, there will be several hotel pool closures:
– Disney Sequoia Lodge: Nov 6-17, 2023
– Davy Crockett Ranch: Nov 20-Dec 1, 2023
– Disney Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel: Dec 4-8, 2023
– Disney Newport Bay Club: Dec 11-15, 2023
A ticket to Disneyland Paris starts at $119 euros with transportation, so it is highly unlikely that leaving the park for seven hours is feasible or a good idea for guests who are visiting Paris and do not live there. It also creates panic for tourists who are coming for the first time, expecting to enjoy their day, and immediately seeing that the theme park is advising them to leave for the majority of the day.
Have you ever had to deal with a dirty room at any of the Disney parks?
