Just found this thread today and read the whole thing! Awesome! Some comments I'd like to share:
Not a current CM, but crossing my fingers for the College Program starting this summer! Anyway, having been to WDW about a million times solo, my tip is to keep your ears open in the ride queues, specifically rides that need to fill x number of seats like Soarin, Space Mountain, and Tower of Terror. Often if there is an extra seat available the CM will call back "Party of one?" and sometimes "Party of two?" so that they can fill those extra seats. I've been skipped to the front many times because of this, but it can be hard to hear the CM sometimes and you may miss the announcement if you're not listening for it. But when I hear that call for "Party of one?" I always throw my hand up in the air and wave it around to alert the CM. The CM will take the first party (starting from the front of the line and working back) that fits the number of available seats.
This is very true! Back in January, we were in the standby line for Soarin'. All of a sudden, a CM started asking for a party of 3. Now, we were quite aways back, so I thought for sure there must be a party of 3 in front of us. NOPE! So, I raised my hand and they pulled us out of line. By the time we were at the front/loading area, there was no room for us. Someone (probably a small child) had decided to ride at the last minute. They told us we would have to wait for the next ride and they apologized. We said it wasn't a problem! But, we did get to load first and we were in the front row! It was great.
BWAHAHAHA, This is exactly what I was going to say! One time I was going through the turnstiles somewhere (I believe it was HM) and the one on the left was going really slow and the one on the right was cruising so I took my girlfriend by the hand and went to the right and got through the turnstiles at least 5 people ahead of the person who was immediately in front of me. Then once we were through there was room ALL the way up the right side almost to the door and the castmember was saying "Please fill all available space" so I walked allll the way up, as did the line of people who followed me and some lady started throwing a hissy fit yelling at all of us and the cast member saying we were cutting. It's not my fault that I followed the directions and she didn't.
We always make sure to fill in all the space when we're directed to do so. I don't know why other guests get so angry at us for following directions!
Also, the line to the left for POTC is actually a lot shorter (distance wise) than the right. I paced them both out. The line on the left enters the boats from the left whereas the line to the right has to go up and over the water and down the other side to get on the boats. So that "always pick the left line" definitely works in this case.
Back in January, everyone (and I mean everyone) was getting in the left line for POTC. There was a CM right at the entrance telling everyone that both sides were open. So, we hopped in the right side and there was not another guest to be seen! We got right into a boat. As a matter of fact, the boats on the right side were not even half full because everyone was going to the left. On the left side, there was quite a line building. It pays to pay attention!
I wish I'd taken the time to 'write-up' Snow White and Belle from our 2005 trip. The kind interest and genuine kindness they showed our kids was extraordinary. In fact, all of the other princesses fell kind of flat after them!
On our last trip, we had breakfast at Akershus. Belle was very sweet and spent a good amount of time with each child. Halfway through our meal, we were told that our DD would need to get her picture retaken (she must have blinked or something). So, we got back into line. Belle commented that she was back for more picture! We told her that she must have blinked so Belle reminded her to smile real big, but keep those eyes open! Belle then told our DD that she would be in France later.
Much later that day, as we were walking through WS, we saw that Belle was out with the Beast. We hopped into line and noticed it was Belle from breakfast (she had changed into her blue dress by this time)! When it was our DD's turn, Belle remembered her! She asked how our breakfast was and what she had been doing all day. Our DD had the biggest smile on her face! It really made her day.
The villains are amazingly fun to play with. Smee tried to get my daughter's Wendy Coca Cola pin away from her, and Captain Hook threw their autograph book down a well in Adventureland because DS was wearing a Peter Pan shirt.
I couldn't agree more about the villians. Our DD was wearing a Tinkerbell tank top when she met Captain Hook and Mr. Smee. When she handed Captain Hook her autograph book, he grabbed it by the corner and acted like it smelled! He just passed it off to Mr. Smee. He then got right down on our DD's level, pointed to her shirt, and did a "peee-yoouuuu" gesture! She was laughing hysterically! Captain Hook eventually signed her book, but then made her work to get it back. He held it waayyyy over her head and made her jump for it. The kids behind us were wondering what was going on and I had to tell them that she was wearing a Tink shirt. They just laughed and laughed. That was one of the best character interactions we had the whole trip!
We also received a Magical Moment while we were at AK. We decided to get some ice cream at an ice cream cart in Asia. The CM told us the ice cream was on the house if our DD could identify the animal in the picture that he had. Well, she had no idea what it was, so he had her just repeat after him (it was an impala). He then told us our money was no good there and to go ahead and pick out whatever we wanted! We couldn't believe it! The CM told us he had been waiting to give out a Magical Moment all day. We were the only ones around, and it was nice to spend some time with such a lovely CM. It truly made our day and we'll never forget it. I wish I could remember that CM's name! I'll definately be bringing my CM appreciation cards on this trip in a few weeks!
CM's-Thank you for all that you do. You made WDW the most Magical Place on Earth!