To the CM's on the board: what is the one "tip" you can give us?

[dayvewc]

I've never had a bad interaction with a CM, and while I don't always remember to go by GR while at the parks, I always do the surveys when I call or chat online.

I know that CM's strive for high marks on the surveys and comment cards, so I'm curious about the last question on the phone survey. It asks something along the lines of "Consider the most recent call was it 1) Efficient, 2) Magical, " and then some other really nice words. I usually press 2, as the calls are always handled quite well, and leave me feeling much better at the end than at the beginning.

But is giving a response of 2 not as good as a response of 1? Efficient seems to imply to me a more clinical detachment in the conversations that don't exist - yet I don't want to inadvertently bring down an excellent cast members rating because of my interpretation of a word.

Thanks

David

 

[HMANSION LOVER]

Go to the left??? Seriously? Do people subliminally pick "right" for some reason or are the left lines built to be shorter?

LOVE the Splash Mountain tip! I could have ridden it a dozen times without trying it! This is why I like a different perspective!

Also, good tip about managers and custodial staff! Thanx!!!!!

Studies have shown when a right handed person is lost in the woods they tend to walk in circles to the right and when it is a left handed person they tend to circle to the left, so it is not subliminal it has to do with handedness. That being said, and considering there are more right handed people than left handed people the left side line will almost always be shorter because people tend to choose to walk in the direction of their handedness.

 

[coffeequeen]

I haven't read the whole thread yet...it's a bazillion pages long...but one tip I have to guests in general (though it doesn't apply to you lovely people because you are on this board, after all!) is that they should come prepared. Have a general knowledge of the Disney Parks before one arrives.

I'm not saying have the map memorized...but...don't walk up to a ride that has been in the park since 1973 and ask, "what kind of ride is this?" CMs expect that guests have at least some general knowledge of the existence of classic Disney attractions.

Also, if you have disability, know in advance which rides you will be able to/not be able to ride based on that disability--if you will need to transfer out of your wheelchair, etc. That will save one from disappointments later.

I am going to finish the thread before I add anything else.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

I didn't see it so perhaps I'm not understanding you correctly. Did all the people that were waiting get on the bus? And were there 2 spots available for the 2 ecvs to load?[/QUOTE

No, the bus was standing room only...only the original people waiting (my family and the other 2) would have been waiting to get on. If the family with the 2 ECVs got on first (and it was obvious the bus was full) then all of us who had already waited 20 minutes would have had to wait even longer. The ECVs had just walked up. That's what the issue was. The man just assumed front of the line rights. He completely disregarded the people waiting.

Several years ago, when DH and I were new to WDW, we bought tickets to the Christmas Party and spent most of our time there waiting on Main Street so that we could have a fantastic spot for the parade. Five minutes before the parade started a woman in her ECV and her large entourage came up to where we were standing and we suddenly found ourselves 4 or 5 rows deep away from the parade. We and a few other people complained that we had been waiting well over an hour to have those spots. She then pulled the Don't get on to me, I'm handicapped card. Well, there was nothing we could do without looking like incredible jerks, and this woman was milking it for all it was worth. I think I told her to go ahead and take our spot because it must be terrible for it to take 12 hours to get ready for the day just so you could see a parade.

Now, I wouldn't wait and 1 1/2 hour for the Christmas parade again...but that woman was out of line.

On a side note, we stayed at the Contemporary on that trip and on several mornings, we saw two women with a severely handicapped child get on the escalator. I don't know if they pre-planned this or not...but one woman picked up the front of the wheel chair while the other woman picked up the back and they never skipped a beat. These folks had a legitimate problem that I'm sure was a logistical nightmare and they dealt with it.

A few years later I related these two stories to our university disabilities coordinator. She told me...there are jerks everywhere. Having a disability doesn't make you a saint.

The point is...its ok to be upset at somebody for being a jerk...not for having a disability.

 

[ttintagel]

Several years ago, when DH and I were new to WDW, we bought tickets to the Christmas Party and spent most of our time there waiting on Main Street so that we could have a fantastic spot for the parade. Five minutes before the parade started a woman in her ECV and her large entourage came up to where we were standing and we suddenly found ourselves 4 or 5 rows deep away from the parade.

It doesn't excuse the woman being rude about it, but if you were waiting so far back from the parade route that 4 or 5 rows of people could fit in front of you, it's pretty much a given that that space will fill up.

 

[ConnieB]

...but I know Mickey is real...wouldn't it just be creepy and weird if it was just a guy or girl in a costume? No way Disney would EVER allow that!

Yeah, just about as weird as them having a guy on a string flying overhead pretending to be Tink.....why would you need to do that when Tink can do it best!?

 

[ninamouse]

Wow! I have just got all the way through this thread.

Thank you for all the great tips. I will be taking some of them with me on my trip in October.

It's also lovely to see how many kind and thoughtful people there are out there.

I will stay subscribed!

 

[shyjade]

Yeah, just about as weird as them having a guy on a string flying overhead pretending to be Tink.....why would you need to do that when Tink can do it best!?

Gotta love seeing Tink with a full, dark mustache fly overhead from the castle! I'll never forget seeing that!!

 

[Kat016]

Gotta love seeing Tink with a full, dark mustache fly overhead from the castle! I'll never forget seeing that!!

Your kidding??? They didn't even have a "feminine" looking guy doing it???

 

[keahgirl8]

Your kidding??? They didn't even have a "feminine" looking guy doing it???

Nope. I've seen the pictures!

 

[Kat016]

Nope. I've seen the pictures!

Lol wow...That's all, just wow. I'm surprised because you would think disney would notice that.

 

[moralesdavis]

Agreed!!!! We're not doing it to be mean, and we're not (as so many accuse us of) "abusing what little power we have".

On that subject though... if your child is tall enough, but tends to hunch under the measuring bar (kids are afraid of hitting their head, this is pretty common) tell them to hold their hands behind their back and take a deep breath. Most kids will stand up straight when they do this and can then be accurately measured.

Wow! That is a great tip! Thanks!

 

[dawnmichele]

My best tip for adults and older children meeting characters is to drop all your inhibitions and throw your embarrassment to the curb. Don't feel shy when posing for a photograph.

That is such great advice! For meeting characters and for life in general!

 

[skriegerjr]

there are many CM's on these boards, not all of them want it to be known.

I'm sure many would like it to not be known, however, they could always pretend it's coming from someone else...like...

"My friend who was a cast member told me to xyz, or I once overheard a cast member telling a guest to abc." There are many ways to disseminate the information without revealing that the person sharing it is a CM.

 

[wbh1964]

love all these great tips!!!

 

[tigger&tigerlover]

Whew! 80 pages took a few days to get through! But thank you for all of the tips and stories. I now want to go more than ever!

Although the comments on thanking the janitors and bus drivers did clear up a bit of confusion I've had for quite a while. I've worked in customer service, cleaned restrooms, and had friends or family in food service and public transportation, so I always just made sure to thank everyone that helped me. I thought that was normal, and was always stunned when they were often so very grateful to be thanked. Now I know why. I highly recommend everyone do that, and not just at WDW.

My best suggestion is to be patient when you're waiting in line. The heartburn or increased blood pressure you get by getting angry while waiting for someone else who's ahead of you isn't worth it. You never know what's happened in their life, or even in the last hour. Also be flexible. Don't schedule everything so closely that the 5 minutes you lose in line will ruin your day. Things will happen to throw off the schedule. Relax!

Smile at strangers. That might be the one thing they needed to turn their day around from horrible to hopeful.

 

[nocomment711]

Just got through this thread hoping to find some tips and instead I got misty-eyed.

I'm printing out thank you cards to give to CMs on my next trip. I wish I would have done that for my Disneyland trip, since there were so many people that made that trip what it was.

CMs are the often times unsung heroes of WDW.

 

[stacecakes]

Thanks to everyone who posted. We haven't hit highs or lows as extreme as some of the ones posted; there have been spats in the world showcase and minor kid meltdowns, just as we've been able to share fastpasses, and received a voucher to replace a pair of minnie ears that didn't make it out of buzz lightyear. But all in all, this thread has reminded me why I love disney, what I need to remember in order to make our vacation the best possible, and some of what I can do to help others have a great time too. Thanks for lighting that fire.

Stacey

 

[sasamong]

wow, 2 sittings worth of reading. Just wanted to reply to thank everybody that posted tips and the replies on some of the tips.

 

[Chaoticsweetness]

Love this thread! There are so many helpful tips!