Let's Keep Each Other Updated On Fridge Replacements...

[Goofy4TheWorld]

I just heard that the new refrigerator over at The Carousel of Progress now holds more food than ice cubes! It's a great big beautiful tomorrow indeed!

[Lindsey]

I will be at AKL Aug 4th !! I will let you know !!

That would be great, I'll be staying at AKL in early October. If I don't get a fridge that's fine, but I would certainly like one.

[mickeys_princess_mom]

I just heard that the new refrigerator over at The Carousel of Progress now holds more food than ice cubes! It's a great big beautiful tomorrow indeed!

[Crow]

yea probably colder than the ones in the resorts were

[#1donaldfan]

That would be great, I'll be staying at AKL in early October. If I don't get a fridge that's fine, but I would certainly like one.

Me too !! Love my cold water !!!

[Strmchsr]

Okay - just got back from WDW and spoke with the GM of Pop Century while I was there. Here's the deal on the fridges. They were a problem from day 1, but not a safety hazard. They broke constantly and did not cool as they were supposed to. We all knew that. The supplier did not fulfill their end of the maintenance agreement so it was one big nasty mess. Well, very recently there have been multiple safety issues which caused Disney to pull the plug (literally and figuratively) on this company and these fridges. But the safety issues came on quite suddenly, which did not allow a smooth transition process. Disney also doesn't have a big warehouse where they can dump all the useless fridges at the moment, so they have all been deactivated and are sitting in the rooms with a note on them explaining that the fridge cannot be used. Disney is currently taking bids and negotiating with a couple of companies to replace all the current fridges with new models. Once a company has been selected and the negotiations are complete the replacements will begin. That's where they are being so nebulous on the timeframe and are expecting 3-4 months. They do have a very limited number for medical purposes only and they are a new model. They worked quite nice. My DS has to keep his insulin cool so we had one the medical fridges and it worked way better than the old ones. But, they unfortunately cannot guarantee even a medical fridge. If it comes to it, they will store the medicine in the fridge at bell services. No, that's not ideal but it's the only option right now. So, all fridges across the whole resort are current out of service and will remain soon for the foreseeable future. The GM thought it would be 1-2 months at the earliest before the switchover process could even begin and would then take 1-2 months to finish.

[mickeys_princess_mom]

OK, gonna throw the styrofoam ice chest in the car. Not stressing about it. Thanks for the info!

[smallworld]

Chris, thanks for posting that information on the fridges that are available for medical purposes. I have a question if you don't mind. Could you tell me how big the fridge was that you had at Pop Century?

We will be at WDW next month and I called Disney to ask about the fridge situation. One of my kids is on the autism spectrum and has some very particular food issues related to texture and smell of foods. It isn't strictly a medical issue but we always like to have that fridge so we know for sure we have foods available that he'll eat. When I mentioned this to the person at WDW, she said "No problem, I'm going to mark on your reservation that you have a medical need for a fridge." So that's good, but now I'm wondering how much refrigerated food we can order for delivery. With the old fridges, I had a good sense of how much we could have delivered. Any info or advice for me?

[Strmchsr]

Could you tell me how big the fridge was that you had at Pop Century?

It was a little smaller than the normal fridges that were in the room. It was a "cube" as opposed to the "dorm fridge" that has been in there. About 1.7 cubic feet if I had to guess. I have one in my office that size and it was similar, so it doesn't hold a lot, but at least it's something for you.

No freezer but it cooled well.

[JerseyDad]

Okay - just got back from WDW and spoke with the GM of Pop Century while I was there. Here's the deal on the fridges. They were a problem from day 1, but not a safety hazard. They broke constantly and did not cool as they were supposed to. We all knew that. The supplier did not fulfill their end of the maintenance agreement so it was one big nasty mess. Well, very recently there have been multiple safety issues which caused Disney to pull the plug (literally and figuratively) on this company and these fridges. But the safety issues came on quite suddenly, which did not allow a smooth transition process. Disney also doesn't have a big warehouse where they can dump all the useless fridges at the moment, so they have all been deactivated and are sitting in the rooms with a note on them explaining that the fridge cannot be used. Disney is currently taking bids and negotiating with a couple of companies to replace all the current fridges with new models. Once a company has been selected and the negotiations are complete the replacements will begin. That's where they are being so nebulous on the timeframe and are expecting 3-4 months. They do have a very limited number for medical purposes only and they are a new model. They worked quite nice. My DS has to keep his insulin cool so we had one the medical fridges and it worked way better than the old ones. But, they unfortunately cannot guarantee even a medical fridge. If it comes to it, they will store the medicine in the fridge at bell services. No, that's not ideal but it's the only option right now. So, all fridges across the whole resort are current out of service and will remain soon for the foreseeable future. The GM thought it would be 1-2 months at the earliest before the switchover process could even begin and would then take 1-2 months to finish.

...since you seem to have your "ear to the tracks" regarding this replacement issue ...see if you can find out what brand of fridge will take the place of the old ones ....I want to buy stock in that company before they sell 25,000 units!!

[Strmchsr]

...since you seem to have your "ear to the tracks" regarding this replacement issue ...see if you can find out what brand of fridge will take the place of the old ones ....I want to buy stock in that company before they sell 25,000 units!!

lol, no problem. If I hear anything I'll let you know.

[smallworld]

It was a little smaller than the normal fridges that were in the room. It was a "cube" as opposed to the "dorm fridge" that has been in there. About 1.7 cubic feet if I had to guess. I have one in my office that size and it was similar, so it doesn't hold a lot, but at least it's something for you.

No freezer but it cooled well.

Thanks for the helpful info! I appreciate it.

[BugeyedMuggy]

Does anyone know if this also effects the fridges in the DVC studios? They are different than the ones in the regular rooms.

[Strmchsr]

Does anyone know if this also effects the fridges in the DVC studios? They are different than the ones in the regular rooms.

DVC is not impacted by this.

[BugeyedMuggy]

DVC is not impacted by this.

Thanks so much for all your very useful information.

[disneymomma2010]

I would love it if someone can keep us posted about Riverside. We will be there in September!

[LarryBoy]

I'm at ASM right now and my room has a fridge. Was flew this trip, and I was not expecting one. So we have nothing to put in it, but we've got a refrigerator none the less.

[Crow]

an actual fridge and not that cooler type..hm could they have replaced some already.

[Strmchsr]

an actual fridge and not that cooler type..hm could they have replaced some already.

No. None of have been replaced (see my post above). Whatever fridge is in any room would be one that had been fairly recently replaced, that they had deemed "safe." It's also possible it was overlooked. Fridges are still in every room on property. They've just been unplugged with a sign put on them explaining why they aren't to be used. I suppose one other possibility is a guest removed the sign and plugged it back in and housekeeping missed that.

[brownie]

No. None of have been replaced (see my post above). Whatever fridge is in any room would be one that had been fairly recently replaced, that they had deemed "safe." It's also possible it was overlooked. Fridges are still in every room on property. They've just been unplugged with a sign put on them explaining why they aren't to be used. I suppose one other possibility is a guest removed the sign and plugged it back in and housekeeping missed that.

We don't even know if it was on; LarryBoy didn't really say anything other than there was a fridge in the room.