A Missing Kid Story

[KappaSigHero]

This is the sequence of events from the end of the meeting, quoted directly from the father's blog. I've bolded to emphasize points I'll post below.

"Near the end of the meeting, the Cruise Director asked me what they could do to make it up to us. I told him I didn’t have a specific remedy in mind, but something needed to be done, especially for my wife since this cruise had been booked to celebrate her birthday. What happened essentially ruined her birthday and spoiled the entire trip for her.
I mentioned that we had a dinner reservation for her birthday, and I thought to myself that maybe the Cruise Director or the Captain might come by to wish her a happy birthday and apologize to her in person. At least to show that they do value their customers and that truly cared for what had happened to us.
Later, I spoke with my wife and we agreed that the best outcome would be not having to pay for a vacation that was ruined. So I sent a note to the Cruise Director and then headed to the restaurant.
Dinner was alright, considering we were hardly in a mood to celebrate after what had happened. Disappointingly, no one came by to apologize or offer birthday wishes.
When we returned to the room that night, there was a printed note from the Cruise Director saying someone from their corporate office will contact us after the trip."


So after the meeting with the cruise director, the events occurred in this order:
-Father states to CD that something needed to be done, especially for his wife.
-Father mentions the Palo reservation for his wife's birthday, and thinks to himself that it would be nice for an apology to be made during dinner.
-Father speaks with wife, they agree that the best outcome would be a refund, and notify the CD in writing.
-After dinner, the couple finds a note from the CD that this would be handled by the corporate office.

The reason I outlined this is to clear a few misconceptions I've seen repeated by those on both sides of the argument. Using only the information provided by the father, it is clear (and not an assumption or inference) that.
-The father did mention his wife's birthday and dinner reservations, but did not directly request a visit by the captain or CD.
-The request for a refund was not due to the captain or CD not appearing at dinner, as the request was made prior to dinner.

So I don't hold the CD or captain at fault for not reading the father's mind, nor do I follow the line of thinking that has been repeated by some skeptics that the father only requested the refund because of the dinner absence.

 

[KappaSigHero]

That said, I'm leaving this topic (or attempting to do so) so I can make my DIS footprint elsewhere. Best of luck, everyone!

 

[tinkerone]

I thought you were done with this thread.

that was funny! thanks for the smile.
I think i'm out to. I feel like i'm banging my head against a wall with this thread. there are some who will not come to agreement, its either Disney did wrong or nothing. the words of the blogger have been missused and changed to suit the needs of the posters. why not just open your eyes and see the blame could be on either side.
yes, I am a Disney lover and proud of it. not so proud I can't see both sides. wish the haters could do the same.
peace out everyone

 

[jjje]

Yeah they could not find his kid for 45 minutes and this guys has the gall to ask for an apology or some reassurance that they take these things seriously ?
That's its too much to even expect lip service about how it wont happen again.
I dont think the father expected the captain to sing happy birthday.

If a server spilled something on you in the MDR, I suspect they would try to make it up you somehow.

Um, yeah. I said he had legitimate concerns and that it was reasonable to expect those concerns to be addressed. My point is that expecting the captain to come over and wish his wife a happy birthday was out of the blue and seemed totally random to me. If a server spilled a drink on me I wouldn't expect the captain to let my kids steer the ship for an afternoon. (And I wish people would stop referring to the kid as missing or misplaced since he was exactly where he was supposed to be the whole time. He wasn't lost, he just hadn't been found yet.)

I was once injured at Disney World (badly enough to need medical attention) and they bent over backwards to try to make things right for me. I suspected it was partly to keep me from suing but I would have never done that. I hate the attitude of "I've been wronged so what can I get out of it?". If the company/person/entity that wrongs or injures you sets it right then you need to move on. Trying to profit off of it is icky. That's where I see this dad headed and I see that from his own words. His kid was found (thank goodness safe and sound) and his legitimate concerns were going to be addressed. He needed to drop it after that. Wanting a free cruise out of it seems weird to me.

 

[lbgraves]

I haven't read the past pg 1 of responses but for those of you who say having a missing child doesn't ruin an entire trip....has NEVER had a missing child.

Then you should read the other replies to see how many of us have also experienced our children missing. While it makes your heart stop, I would never say that the experience has ruined our week, our year or any trip we were on at the time.

 

[lorenni]

If it IS normal for the kids' club, that a 3 year old could go missing for an hour or more and no one would notice that they hadn't seen him or that his bracelet had gone on the fritz, then good for this dad for publicizing it, because that's information that any parent should take into consideration when leaving their kids at the clubs.

Agree 100%

 

[mmouse37]

And I'll ALWAYS believe that if this had happened on any other cruise line, most of the people here who are calling this man a liar and a money-grubbing jerk would instead be rallying behind him.

Isn't this assuming on your part?

I can't believe I've read all 15 pages... and that I'm chiming in for the first time at this point! If I had been in that man's place, given that neither he nor the CMs in the club could locate his child AND the child's wristband came up unreadable, I would have been pretty upset as well. I'd like to think that I would have kept my composure, but I can't guarantee that I would have.

The issue to me is not how he reacted in the moment, but the type of recompense he asked for afterward. In the aftermath of an incident like that, I just don't see asking the cruise director to have the captain to stop by my table at dinner to apologize and wish me or DH a happy birthday. I also can't imagine asking for a full refund. As others have said, I would want to know what actions would be taken to try to prevent similar incidents in the future. Plus, honestly, I would want to see DCL offer something as a goodwill gesture. A bottle of wine and tickets to WDW would have gone a long way for me.

Even more telling than the above though, to me, is the way that the dad posted on his blog. Unless I've missed it, no one has mentioned the title of his blog post:

"How Disney Wonder Cruise Lost Our Child, Destroyed Our Vacation, and Lost Our Confidence"Can you say "sensationalism?" This is where the man's profession comes into play. I would argue that he came up with the most inflammatory wording possible in hopes that the "story" would spread.

One other note. I agree that the issue with the wristband is concerning, but no technology works 100% perfectly 100% of the time. It is unfortunate that, in this instance, the wristband was being worn by a child who was asleep out of sight.

I agree with this and is how I feel. My whole gripe with his blog is that it is written like a cheesy, dramatic novel. If his intention was truly to bring attention to a possible lack of safety procedures in the kid's club he could have written it differently without bashing and bad-mouthing everyone there.

As we are all entitled to an opinion, mine is that based on his profession, which is taken directly from his blog page: (Brent Csutoras is a social media marketing consultant and entrepreneur, who specializes in social media marketing, content marketing, and viral content creation) it greatly reduces his credibility (bolding is mine). Honestly, if he was Joe the Barber (no offense to Barbers....my dad was one for 45 years) I could understand more his willingness to make people aware.

Another thing that bothers me is if it was such a traumatic, cruise-ruining experience, how could they leave the kids and go out for a nice dinner and hope the Captain came by to wish his wife a happy birthday (I certainly could not if I just went through such a traumatic ordeal, birthday or not....I would want to be with my kids every minute for the rest of the trip and not worrying about birthday wishes).

As far as his not asking for anything....he did...he asked for a complete refund.
I do not doubt he felt terror as I lost my child once on a beach boardwalk and it was terrifying. I was so happy and grateful when she was found. The band not working is concerning and should be looked into to.

I can't help but feel his profession to "create viral content" certainly lead to his blog about this.


MJ

 

[mamabear0222]

Then you should read the other replies to see how many of us have also experienced our children missing. While it makes your heart stop, I would never say that the experience has ruined our week, our year or any trip we were on at the time.

I have just finished reading through the thread and I would still say my missing child would in fact ruin MY entire trip. I guess I love my children that much that I consider them my entire world

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[jjje]

I have just finished reading through the thread and I would still say my missing child would in fact ruin MY entire trip. I guess I love my children that much that I consider them my entire world

You realize how that sounds right? Like people who wouldn't consider their whole trip ruined don't really love their kids all that much?

 

[darkwing818]

Then you should read the other replies to see how many of us have also experienced our children missing. While it makes your heart stop, I would never say that the experience has ruined our week, our year or any trip we were on at the time.

Well said, as a parent, who had a 3 year old go missing (for about an hour) it does make your heart stop. But finding them safe & sound is truly an unbelievable joy & relief.
Trust me if we had a Palo dinner reservation the following evening, we probably would have cancelled, just so we could enjoy our child's company & count our Blessings that she was found. I think that would be all of the Birthday wishes my wife would want.

 

[Ginger Renae]

I have just finished reading through the thread and I would still say my missing child would in fact ruin MY entire trip. I guess I love my children that much that I consider them my entire world

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So if my child is "missing" and found exactly there she is supposed to be and I don't let it ruin my vacation, it must be because I don't love her as much as you love your spawn. Dang. You really got me (and several other posters) figured out, don't you?

Thanks.

 

[lbgraves]

I have just finished reading through the thread and I would still say my missing child would in fact ruin MY entire trip. I guess I love my children that much that I consider them my entire world

So that means that if our trip wouldn't have been "ruined" we don't love our kids? First of all I didn't panic [any of the three times DD has disappeared] so that I could answer questions and give an accurate description -- even when it was to a police officer in my living room. I find that remaining rational helps the situation more than the panic and hysteria. When I saw her safe is when I cried with relief. Each time we talked about what happened, learned from it, made changes, and moved on. We enjoy talking about DH's graduate ceremony, meeting friends at the Baltimore aquarium and spending time with my ILs more than the 20 minutes we didn't know where DD went after she ran around a corner at the hotel but we thought she slipped into the elevator. Lesson learned that time -- leave MIL even when recooping from surgery to get herself downstairs instead of trusting DD6 to stay right by me.

 

[DISNEYFOS]

I have just finished reading through the thread and I would still say my missing child would in fact ruin MY entire trip. I guess I love my children that much that I consider them my entire world

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but yet he was able to go the next night with his wife out to dinner without their children. I'm with the PP that stated they wouldn't leave their child's side after that.

My sense is he had a legitimate bad experience, but he was looking for a lot monetary compensation for it ..didn't get it.... so he's trying to make the story go viral

and we are helping him do it

 

[dansamy]

I have just finished reading through the thread and I would still say my missing child would in fact ruin MY entire trip. I guess I love my children that much that I consider them my entire world

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The school lost my child once. I was at work. I am a nurse. I got a call from my sister that my sons got off the bus, but my daughter didn't. I pushed every panic button my psyche has. We're talking complete & total meltdown of Chernobyl proportions. My coworkers had to call my husband. The day charge nurse was preparing to stay & assume care of my patients. (Calling her mother to keep her kids, etc. A nurse cannot just leave. Someone has to be responsible for the patients' care.) Long story, but in the end she was found by the bus driver & dropped off to my sister after over an hour. She was found before I was able to leave work. My sister called me. I did decide to stay & finish my shift, but I did have to take a break to calm down.

 

[mamabear0222]

And to add insult to injury... the people who were supposed to be caring for his child...didn't know his whereabouts. This is a serious issue. Tell me. You pay for daycare on a normal day. You go to pick your child up after work. No one can locate your child or give you answers as to where your child is. Do you just brush the incident off?

No. You will likely tell your family. Your friends. Anyone who will listen about the frightening incident that took place that day. This to me is no different.

Disney is a billion dollar operation. One $5000 cruise (no clue how much they paid) is hardly going to blow their budget or put them under the red line.

IMO this isn't a slip on some water and breaking your leg kind of incident. It's someone you entrusted with your child's life that failed to do so. Irreplaceable. Found or not. Why should this family or ANY family have to be used as the poster family about what "could have been prevented. Or what they need to change or review" Those systems should already be in place.

Disney should be bending over backwards on this one. To earn back the trust lost. Saying "hey....please try us again". This is what we will do or have done to ensure this never happens to your family or anyone elses. What if the child wasn't located? Would people feel different? What if he was located elsewhere? Things like this don't always turn out well. Maybe the family will go again. Maybe not. At least it was offered.

Of course this is just my opinion. I feel strongly about people losing a child.

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[TLSnell1981]

The man's profession is probably why, he handled the incident in the blogosphere. It is unimaginable for many of us, but this is his "normal". We all react differently to stressful events and can even vary from our usual behavior. Don't ignore the message, just because you don't "like" the messenger.

Bottom line..his 3 year old child was missing for 45 minutes. I wish, that I had filled out an incident report when I was told..my DGD was NOT checked into the kid's club. I had to INSIST, that she WAS checked in and MUST be there. How many times does this happen? If, there is a problem or a "glitch", it needs to be addressed.

 

[mamabear0222]

You realize how that sounds right? Like people who wouldn't consider their whole trip ruined don't really love their kids all that much?

People will always interpret how they see fit. I said it would ruin my vacation. If it wouldn't ruin someone elses....great for them. Like everyone else I'm entitled to my feelings. However for those who are so taken aback that this situation ruined this family's holiday.... there are people out there whose holiday it would ruin. (like mine). Not a chance my child would be left again in the care of the staff who couldn't find my child to begin with.

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[mamabear0222]

So if my child is "missing" and found exactly there she is supposed to be and I don't let it ruin my vacation, it must be because I don't love her as much as you love your spawn. Dang. You really got me (and several other posters) figured out, don't you?

Thanks.

Does it matter where the child was found? The fact is ..the staff didn't know where the child WAS.

I never said you or anyone else didn't love your child. Interpret as you see fit.

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[jjje]

I feel strongly about people losing a child

. Well of course you do. No one here thinks a lost child is no big deal. That's not even in dispute. Let's not act like anyone would laugh it off if Disney actually lost a child.

I've been a blogger for 12 years and I have seen fellow bloggers use social media in this way fairly often. Don't like the way a company treats you? Write about it and get your twitter followers all riled up on your behalf. Often you can get a bigger response if you get a nice big mob behind you. I've seen it happen with airlines, appliance manufactures, restaurants and about a dozen other incidents just off the top of my head. I'm jaded enough to think this guy was after something when he wrote this post.

 

[dansamy]

People will always interprete how they see fit. I said it would ruin my vacation. If it wouldn't ruin someone elses....great for them. Like everyone else I'm entitled to my feelings. However for those who are so taken aback that this situation ruined this family's holiday.... there are people out there whose holiday it would ruin. (like mine). Not a chance my child would be left again in the care of the staff who couldn't find my child to begin with.

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See my example above regarding the school losing my child. We now homeschool. I still have to pay my property taxes though...