Overly hostile security, and poorly informed leadership
Jan 9, 2025 Thomas W
I pulled up to the Fort Wilderness security gate in the afternoon earlier this month (January 2024). I gave the cast member, Christopher, my ID and told him that I was visiting family at site 2052. I gave them the last name for the reservation, and he said “we’re not allowing you on property since you’re not on the reservation”. I mentioned that… Read more
I pulled up to the Fort Wilderness security gate in the afternoon earlier this month (January 2024). I gave the cast member, Christopher, my ID and told him that I was visiting family at site 2052. I gave them the last name for the reservation, and he said “we’re not allowing you on property since you’re not on the reservation”. I mentioned that there hadn’t been an issue the past two days and asked if there was a reason that the policy suddenly changed. He said I have no idea, and I replied, “Well, I’m just confused as to why that suddenly changed.” To which he repeated, “ I have no idea.” I replied, asking if there was someone who could explain why, and he said “my manager” and radioed someone to the booth. While he was calling the manager up, the woman behind him in the booth, without coming out to acknowledge me or identify herself, yelled out to him, “Don’t bother; we will just trespass him and the family.” To which I replied, “There’s no need for that,” and I let Christopher know that I will turn around and exit the property. He then said, “If you park anywhere on the road adjacent to the property, we will have you trespassed.” My fiancé and her sister had driven over in the golf cart while this was going on to make sure there wasn’t an issue with me coming in. They walked over to the booth to ask how I could come to visit. The two cast members went inside the booth as they approached and closed the door and window. My fiancé’s sister knocked on the door to ask if there was a way to add me to the reservation or something that needed to be done to grant me access. They yelled out to her that they were not allowed to be there and would be trespassed. The leader, Neil, then approached them. They told him that they were trying to sort out how to let a family member in. He stated that he already knew about the issue and that they could be trespassed for this. He stated that if I wanted to visit, I could visit them at the security gate to say goodbye or whatever I needed to do, but no one but hotel guests are allowed on property at any time. He stated that the property rules had changed in the last year, and the resorts no longer allowed anyone who wasn’t staying at the specific hotel on property. They asked if I could be added to the reservation, and he said no. My fiancé stated to me that he remained very hostile and mean throughout the interaction. I am absolutely appalled at how aggressively this was handled. I felt like I was being treated as a criminal for trying to visit my family. When they decided to drive down in the RV to visit, they specifically asked the front desk staff if I would be able to come spend time with them and were told that it shouldn’t be an issue. This was the driving decision for booking this resort. I visited customer support at Disney Springs, who were incredibly friendly and tried to find a way I could visit them. They called Fort and found out they were in a “phased closure” but noted that the cast member should have suggested I try parking at Magic Kingdom or going to Disney Springs. The cast member apologized for the incident and also noted that they might have been “particularly hostile and on edge since you drive a Tesla (Model 3) based on recent events” referencing the recent terrorist attack using a CyberTruck. From my vantage point, the initial interaction with Christopher was handled poorly because when I was confused by his rejection, his response was to continually repeat that he had no further information, rather than offer alternatives such as TTC or Disney Springs or to mention that they were under a phased closure, which is why he couldn’t allow visitors in. Instead of stepping in when he didn’t have an answer, his coworker chose to immediately escalate the situation by saying she was going to have both me and my family trespassed. The second interaction where Christopher and his coworker closed themselves in the booth and shut the light off to avoid my fiancé asking them how to add me to the reservation was childish. The leader, Neil, then yelling at my fiancé and her sister that they could get trespassed for trying to resolve the issue was unacceptable for a manager. He chose to continue to escalate the situation, aggressively threatening two young women and providing contradictory information to what had been given at the time of booking. This entire situation was incredibly upsetting to both me and my family. My family ended up leaving that night since they couldn’t visit with me and don’t plan to return to a Disney resort anytime in the near future. I understand this is an incredibly busy and stressful time of year for guests and staff, but aggression and threats should not be the very first interaction from any person, be it a guest or employee, and it’s entirely unacceptable behavior. I reached out to customer support via email outlining everything above and never got a response. Read less
