Just a tale of caution.

[robbwilder]

We stayed at Art of Animation over the weekend. We were very excited to stay at this resort as with a family of four the extra room was going to be quite welcome. Our kids are 5 and 19 months. We were in the room for about 20 minutes I had just brought up the first load of luggage when our 19th month old took a misstep and as much as I can say gently went headfirst into the coffee table. No sound no nothing. We look over and he is covered in blood. He opened a gash above his right eye.

We investigated the room after and it seems the furniture is so NEW that the laminate on almost everything but the pull down bed still has overlaps that are very sharp. Something to be watching with young tumbling kids.

It took 7 people to find out where an emergency room was. The first three people showed no concern no nothing and just said rather rudely " you will have to goto the front desk..." It took 7 people to find out where an hospital was. meanwhile, we have a washcloth covered in blood over the face of my 19 month old. The lack of concern or knowledge was very disheartening to us. The management staff was indifferent and basically gave corporate speech for off. We were told rather sternly that 911 was a free ride at disney world but thats the last thing I was thinking of because i know i can drive quicker than they could get there and I still needed to follow to bring them back.

Maybe we were hypersensative at this point but there didnt seem to be a communication even when dealing with the food court. Lines took about 20 minutes to pay for food as dining plan people were told oh you get a drink with that they would come back and oh you get a dessert also. The workers were slow in moving lines whether it was getting food or the cashier.

Previous to this trip, we stayed at Carribean Beach in September. The room was disgusting. Hair between the sheets, caught up behind the hair dryer, the faucets and all in the shower curtains. The floor didnt look like it was cleaned ever and there were several sticky parts on the carpet that we layed a towel over so our baby didnt get into it and the towel stuck to the floor.

Prior to THIS trip we stayed at Port ORleans French quarter for a week in June and had a wonderful experience (except it rained four out of 6 days).

My main point is with small children be careful of the furniture at Art of Animation till it gets warn down and as many times as we have been to Disney have an emergency plan and know where the nearest hospital is prior.

 

[Gabe1]

Oh my! Poor little tyke.

My DD 15 months at the then Port Orleans slit her tummy open on the tiny merry go round in the arcade. A cap was missing from the foot rest and when she dismounted well....blood.

The staff was so concerned and helpful and it was very late in the evening. The next day when we came back to our room in my DDs crib was a Plush Minnie Mouse and a card with a picture of Minnie addressed to her, with her name with a message of sorry she had a boo boo and hopes for the rest of her vacation to be magical. DD still knows that is her boo boo Minnie. She clung to it the rest of the trip.

That is how Disney should respond when bad things happen.

 

[WDW_Emily]

Ugh thats terrible! We stayed at AoA in June and my sister, who is 15 banged her leg on the end table. Mind you she is much older than your little one but her leg got black and blued and she was in some pain. We didn't tell any of the CMs because it wasn't too serious but that is ridiculous that they weren't helpful.

 

[BigRedDad]

I am so sorry your child got hurt and had to go to the ER. That is never a pleasurable experience. My daughter was 2 and playing in the kiddie pool at CSR. She was running in the water, fell, and almost face first into the edge. Luckily, her hands caught the edge before her face or we would have been going too.

I am shocked cabs or no one knew the way to an ER. That is when you get your phone out and GPS an ER or an urgent care.

As for how slippery a floor or room is, it has been complete for several months with many people occupying the rooms. I do not see them improving any time soon because the traffic has already been there and worn them down.

 

[Hulacat]

That's horrible! I hope that your little ones aren't still shook up from this. Sorry you had such a rotten experience.

 

[wdwstateofmind]

My main point is with small children be careful of the furniture at Art of Animation till it gets warn down and as many times as we have been to Disney have an emergency plan and know where the nearest hospital is prior.

So people took their eyes off the baby and it got hurt yet it's disney's fault for the furniture? If you don't know how it happened you clearly stopped watching the kid...seems like ur trying to justify a lapse in judgement...

you have a higher probability of seriously hurting yourself getting out of bed everyday as opposed to hurting yourself any other way (i.e.: car accident, etc...) and that even stands with children. Would that be the beds fault or the floors fault if it had happen as well? I can almost 100% guarantee that you do not have EVERY corner of furniture on your house sanded down so the child doesn't hurt itself, so don't expect the same from the rest of the world as accidents do happen, its just a matter of actually taking responsibility instead of blaming Disney...

 

[olinecoach61]

Sorry you had such a poor experience. We had the opposite experience a while back. I arrived at the world with food provisioning, the front desk asked me if they could give me a ride to the hospital. I was surprised and very grateful.

 

[Poofiesdream]

It doesn't matter how or why it happened. They should have been more helpful!

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

I am so sorry you had an experience like this. Throughout our years of Disney vacations, there have been bumps and bruises but nothing serious, and the Cast Members were always extremely attentive and caring. Unfortunately any where you may choose to vacation, little ones can get hurt (Im sure we have all had our share) I honestly hope this hasnt soured you from future trips to Disney and truly hope your little one is OK

 

[robbwilder]

So people took their eyes off the baby and it got hurt yet it's disney's fault for the furniture? If you don't know how it happened you clearly stopped watching the kid...seems like ur trying to justify a lapse in judgement...

you have a higher probability of seriously hurting yourself getting out of bed everyday as opposed to hurting yourself any other way (i.e.: car accident, etc...) and that even stands with children. Would that be the beds fault or the floors fault if it had happen as well? I can almost 100% guarantee that you do not have EVERY corner of furniture on your house sanded down so the child doesn't hurt itself, so don't expect the same from the rest of the world as accidents do happen, its just a matter of actually taking responsibility instead of blaming Disney...

Since you just want to be full of assumptions and blame for others yourself let me dispel your assumptions and your lack of judgement for your whole post.

I know exactly how it happened and I watched it happen the whole way thorugh . He was walking a took a misstep and barely fell into the coffee table. He came up gashed and covered in blood. No high impact. No falling from a bed. He barely hit but came up sliced. After I got back to the hotel room I felt around that table and other furniture other than the pull down bed you could feel where the laminate hangs over the edge just slightly in places. The ER doctor said it looked like a scalpel had cut him open.

As for my house, we have no coffee tables in the middle of the floor.. Every table has rounded edges that he comes in contact with. Baby gates to keep him from getting into parts of the house that we know are safe.

I was warning others with small children this could happen and to watch out. My issue was the lack of concern, the lack of knowledge, the lack of training that was displayed this trip to disney. The lack of someone to direct us to a hospital to get stitches. The indifference that was shown at this resort at every turn we made. We are not disney newbies as we are at Disney atleast 4 times a year.

 

[robbwilder]

I am so sorry you had an experience like this. Throughout our years of Disney vacations, there have been bumps and bruises but nothing serious, and the Cast Members were always extremely attentive and caring. Unfortunately any where you may choose to vacation, little ones can get hurt (Im sure we have all had our share) I honestly hope this hasnt soured you from future trips to Disney and truly hope your little one is OK

What soured me alot was the lack of helpefulness and knowledge that we got after it happened. A baby with a bloody wash cloth to his face and they were just saying You have to goto the front desk and talk to them. It was shocking.

We usually stay at French Quarter without ONE issue but we figured we would try this at a friends recommendations. With the larger rooms at a decent price and a bigger family we thought this would be ideal.

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

What soured me alot was the lack of helpefulness and knowledge that we got after it happened. A baby with a bloody wash cloth to his face and they were just saying You have to goto the front desk and talk to them. It was shocking.

We usually stay at French Quarter without ONE issue but we figured we would try this at a friends recommendations. With the larger rooms at a decent price and a bigger family we thought this would be ideal.

and that I can truly understand, but again, am so sorry for your experience.

 

[robbwilder]

I am so sorry your child got hurt and had to go to the ER. That is never a pleasurable experience. My daughter was 2 and playing in the kiddie pool at CSR. She was running in the water, fell, and almost face first into the edge. Luckily, her hands caught the edge before her face or we would have been going too.

I am shocked cabs or no one knew the way to an ER. That is when you get your phone out and GPS an ER or an urgent care.

As for how slippery a floor or room is, it has been complete for several months with many people occupying the rooms. I do not see them improving any time soon because the traffic has already been there and worn them down.

Floor wasnt slippery it was the edging of the table with my 19 month old but we get stuff happens my biggest issue was the lack of helpfulness from staff. Was far from magical. I expected that kind of service on 192 not on property.

 

[robbwilder]

Oh my! Poor little tyke.

My DD 15 months at the then Port Orleans slit her tummy open on the tiny merry go round in the arcade. A cap was missing from the foot rest and when she dismounted well....blood.

The staff was so concerned and helpful and it was very late in the evening. The next day when we came back to our room in my DDs crib was a Plush Minnie Mouse and a card with a picture of Minnie addressed to her, with her name with a message of sorry she had a boo boo and hopes for the rest of her vacation to be magical. DD still knows that is her boo boo Minnie. She clung to it the rest of the trip.

That is how Disney should respond when bad things happen.

For me if they would have just shown concern it would have been great. They did take a negative and turn it into an absolutely positive for her. Disney Magic.

 

[sublimesting]

So people took their eyes off the baby and it got hurt yet it's disney's fault for the furniture? If you don't know how it happened you clearly stopped watching the kid...seems like ur trying to justify a lapse in judgement...

you have a higher probability of seriously hurting yourself getting out of bed everyday as opposed to hurting yourself any other way (i.e.: car accident, etc...) and that even stands with children. Would that be the beds fault or the floors fault if it had happen as well? I can almost 100% guarantee that you do not have EVERY corner of furniture on your house sanded down so the child doesn't hurt itself, so don't expect the same from the rest of the world as accidents do happen, its just a matter of actually taking responsibility instead of blaming Disney...

They didn't say it was Disney's fault but to be careful of something dangerous that we may not be aware of. Kids are quick and get themselves into trouble at the speed of light. Last year at POP our 3 year old was sitting on the bed watching Mickey....I turned around to grab something off of the counter and turned back and she was upside down wedged between the nightstand and bed. , she was just in the center of the bed 1.5 seconds ago. Why?!?!? Why did she, for some unknown reason dive at lightspeed off the bed and get wedged in. It was OK she laughed and we laughed but seriously !?!

 

[hiptwinmama]

So people took their eyes off the baby and it got hurt yet it's disney's fault for the furniture? If you don't know how it happened you clearly stopped watching the kid...seems like ur trying to justify a lapse in judgement...

you have a higher probability of seriously hurting yourself getting out of bed everyday as opposed to hurting yourself any other way (i.e.: car accident, etc...) and that even stands with children. Would that be the beds fault or the floors fault if it had happen as well? I can almost 100% guarantee that you do not have EVERY corner of furniture on your house sanded down so the child doesn't hurt itself, so don't expect the same from the rest of the world as accidents do happen, its just a matter of actually taking responsibility instead of blaming Disney...

I saw no blaming of WDW for the accident, just a warning to other parents. Yes, kids can get hurt anywhere, this is true. However, given that WDW caters to families they should maybe avoid sharp edges at a low level like that. Did you read where she said the MD said the cut was so sever it looked like a scalpel had cut it. That tells me, they weren't thinking about safety in the design.

 

[aristo_cat]

I'm sorry that happened to your little bean. I would've been terrified. Kids have accidents, all of us were kids and all of us had similar incidents. So blaming this on the parents is really short sighted.

That being said, god forbid this ever happens again or to anyone else, go directly to the hotel info pack that exists in your room (usually in a drawer or on the night stand or table) In this packet you will usually find addresses and phone numbers for nearby hospitals and clinics.

 

[robbwilder]

I'm sorry that happened to your little bean. I would've been terrified. Kids have accidents, all of us were kids and all of us had similar incidents. So blaming this on the parents is really short sighted.

That being said, god forbid this ever happens again or to anyone else, go directly to the hotel info pack that exists in your room (usually in a drawer or on the night stand or table) In this packet you will usually find addresses and phone numbers for nearby hospitals and clinics.

I appreciate that and we even had smart phones on us but we wernt thinking about that. I need solid directions and quick. I dont think it is too much to ask that they be able to direct you to the nearest hospital. I dont think it was too much to ask to show a little concern and put some urgency in it. Its not like I was asking where the nearest MCD's was cause the food court food was aweful but I do respect your opinion.

The customer service I recieved this trip wasnt on Par with my 20 experiences in the past 4 - 5 years I have had with disney.

 

[Weather_Lady]

So sorry to hear about your little one's injury! Thanks for the word to the wise: I feel sheepish now that we haven't ever bothered to learn where the nearest E.R. is. I'll be looking that up for next time!

 

[docdebbi]

i am so sorry this happened to you, and thanks for the warning.
don't let anyone here make you feel bad that it happened, if you had eyes on the kid at all times it could have happened as you WATCHED the tot fall down- unless you wrap your arms around the kid at all times and keep it from moving around, these kinds of things are going to happen.
i am appalled that no one helped you find the hospital location. whenever i needed something medical from a CM there, i have always had the magic. they informed me of the prescription delivery service and gave me the number (so you never even have to leave WDW to get it). they let me know where there were both urgent care and real ERs, and regular doctors offices. they have OTC meds stashed away in just about every gift shop in every park (you gotta ask, and they turn around a cabinet door and voila.............).
i have stayed at a value once before only for one night and was shocked at the difference in level of service and assistance we were shown. I guess I am spoiled that I usually stay deluxe, and kept saying I couldn't believe they actually treat you differently, but in my experience they do. Bell staff, check in staff, concierge, etc. You are on disney property, everyone should be shown the magic. that's one of the reasons you stay there.
I would so be writing a letter to guest services about this. One to make them aware of the issue with the furniture and maybe it can be resolved, and two, it'll just make you feel better .