3/29There's No Crying at the Guest Relations Counter..TheyTook Me Into the Back Room!

[Robbi]

What a jerk the manager was! Like he would know your granddaughter would never have made it out of the turnstiles. Supposing someone had picked her up when she was crying and walked right out of the park with her? How would he have stopped that?
Disney drops the ball big time with this type of thing which is close to being a parent's worst nightmare.
I am so sorry you all had to experience this.

 

[Li Li]

Oh yuck. Not a good response at all. How is being assured that a child would be stopped at the turnstiles any comfort or appropriate action? As you said, anything could happen, and why would a child wander OUT of a park without their family? I wonder if guest services staff get too desensitized to this kind of thing after while on the job? Not an excuse at all, just curiosity on my part.

I worked at Hersheypark for three summers, and we were always trained to take lost children to the Lost Children station, which is a big red caboose. It's listed on the map as where lost children go and you were always able to properly direct parents and children there because there was always the one central location. Even though Disney parks are bigger, now that I think about it, why wouldn't Disney set up something similar?
Hmm, anyway, glad the good times outweighed your bad experience!

 

[dragonflydoll2]

I am so sorry for what happened to you. I find it disturbing that Disney doesn't place CMs at both the entrance and exit. Ideally you would have the entrance and exit near each other when you are dealing with small children. My daughter never had any interest in playing in the play areas and she is far past that age, but even Chucky Cheese's has matching handstamps for parents and children and won't allow a child to exit without an adult that has the matching handstamp.

 

[TiggerMom76]

So, she makes it turnstile and they don't let her out...how traumatized is a child by the time they have been away from their adult for that long? I would venture to say he was not a parent!

 

[appleorchard]

What a jerk the manager was! Like he would know your granddaughter would never have made it out of the turnstiles. Supposing someone had picked her up when she was crying and walked right out of the park with her? How would he have stopped that?
Disney drops the ball big time with this type of thing which is close to being a parent's worst nightmare.
I am so sorry you all had to experience this.

He really didn't live up to my Disney expectations....

Oh yuck. Not a good response at all. How is being assured that a child would be stopped at the turnstiles any comfort or appropriate action? As you said, anything could happen, and why would a child wander OUT of a park without their family? I wonder if guest services staff get too desensitized to this kind of thing after while on the job? Not an excuse at all, just curiosity on my part.

I worked at Hersheypark for three summers, and we were always trained to take lost children to the Lost Children station, which is a big red caboose. It's listed on the map as where lost children go and you were always able to properly direct parents and children there because there was always the one central location. Even though Disney parks are bigger, now that I think about it, why wouldn't Disney set up something similar?
Hmm, anyway, glad the good times outweighed your bad experience!

I do think they get a little desensitized to it, especially in playgrounds like this one. It's very hard to keep track of kids and some kids wander. J just isn't one of them; it was totally out of character for her, and that's what they should have listened to.

I am so sorry for what happened to you. I find it disturbing that Disney doesn't place CMs at both the entrance and exit. Ideally you would have the entrance and exit near each other when you are dealing with small children. My daughter never had any interest in playing in the play areas and she is far past that age, but even Chucky Cheese's has matching handstamps for parents and children and won't allow a child to exit without an adult that has the matching handstamp.

This is what I've suggested to everyone I've talked to about this--and I did talk to someone after we got home too. There's no reason to have a CM at the entrance--put her next to the exit! And actually, they're right next to each other there--I think. I've honestly tried to block the playground out of my mind!

 

[appleorchard]

So, she makes it turnstile and they don't let her out...how traumatized is a child by the time they have been away from their adult for that long? I would venture to say he was not a parent!

That would be my fondest hope. I can't believe he thought that was a reassuring statement.

 

[QueenQueso]

I've been lurking for a while (this thread was 3 pages when I started following ) and I just had to comment after the last two entries. So glad J made it to her stroller on her own and had the good idea to stay still until she was found. That's the thing that my parents always taught us when we were little- If you realize you are lost, stay right where you are. Don't get MORE lost.

I lost my son four years ago at the museum. He was 3, and there were 3 adults watching him. We were in a multi-level play area and did pretty much the same thing. He went up the ladder, down the slide and up to do it again. This time, he didn't come down. We waited for a few minutes, then my boyfriend and I went into the play yard while my mom waited by the exit. Somehow, he came down somewhere else and slipped out the exit (there are two, but they are only 5 feet apart. We thought she could watch both...) and walked about 20 yards across the children's area before a staffer decided to find out why this toddler was sobbing by himself. We were all traumatized for life and he has never wandered off again. It's a good bet that J won't either!

And then on Saturday, we took him to the circus. I went to the restroom at intermission and on my way back, I noticed a little boy sobbing and turning in circles. I hung back and watched for a minute, making sure he was really on his own. He definately was. So I went and got him and took him to the nearest usher--WHO HAD BEEN STANDING FOUR FEET AWAY FROM HIM FOR AT LEAST TEN MINUTES and hadn't noticed him. At all. I had to explain to her TWICE that this was not my child, he was lost and needed help. Fortunately, there is a program (I think it was by the venue, not Barnum & Bailey) that gives kids free wristbands that they write the kids seat number on with a sharpie. That way, if they are lost, the show the band to someone and they will be taken back to their seat.

The museum people were soo much better than the circus people about the lost kids, and it's sad to hear that the Disney CM's are even worse!

 

[Pesky]

Wow. What a horrible response. Seriously, how hard is it to say "we have an in-depth lost child training and I will ensure that the team members in the area and the ones you mentioned repeat their training at the earliest opportunity. We will do our utmost to ensure this does not happen again. My deepest sympathies on your upsetting day, that is not what we strive for. I can only imagine how upset you and your daughter must have been and still are." Seriously, how hard? It doesn't promise much but sounds like they are doing SOMETHING and taking it more seriously. Ugh. This is why I got some pins for my kids to trade. Not because I think pin trading is the best but rather I'm hoping to help them figure out who the CMs are and how to quickly identify one (look for the nametag).

 

[appleorchard]

I've been lurking for a while (this thread was 3 pages when I started following ) and I just had to comment after the last two entries. So glad J made it to her stroller on her own and had the good idea to stay still until she was found. That's the thing that my parents always taught us when we were little- If you realize you are lost, stay right where you are. Don't get MORE lost.

I lost my son four years ago at the museum. He was 3, and there were 3 adults watching him. We were in a multi-level play area and did pretty much the same thing. He went up the ladder, down the slide and up to do it again. This time, he didn't come down. We waited for a few minutes, then my boyfriend and I went into the play yard while my mom waited by the exit. Somehow, he came down somewhere else and slipped out the exit (there are two, but they are only 5 feet apart. We thought she could watch both...) and walked about 20 yards across the children's area before a staffer decided to find out why this toddler was sobbing by himself. We were all traumatized for life and he has never wandered off again. It's a good bet that J won't either!

And then on Saturday, we took him to the circus. I went to the restroom at intermission and on my way back, I noticed a little boy sobbing and turning in circles. I hung back and watched for a minute, making sure he was really on his own. He definately was. So I went and got him and took him to the nearest usher--WHO HAD BEEN STANDING FOUR FEET AWAY FROM HIM FOR AT LEAST TEN MINUTES and hadn't noticed him. At all. I had to explain to her TWICE that this was not my child, he was lost and needed help. Fortunately, there is a program (I think it was by the venue, not Barnum & Bailey) that gives kids free wristbands that they write the kids seat number on with a sharpie. That way, if they are lost, the show the band to someone and they will be taken back to their seat.

The museum people were soo much better than the circus people about the lost kids, and it's sad to hear that the Disney CM's are even worse!

That wristband idea is a really good one--have to remember that for any trips we take to places with seats! What made me the saddest with Disney is that I"m always reading people's wonderful experiences with these kinds of situations. And mine haven't been wonderful.

Wow. What a horrible response. Seriously, how hard is it to say "we have an in-depth lost child training and I will ensure that the team members in the area and the ones you mentioned repeat their training at the earliest opportunity. We will do our utmost to ensure this does not happen again. My deepest sympathies on your upsetting day, that is not what we strive for. I can only imagine how upset you and your daughter must have been and still are." Seriously, how hard? It doesn't promise much but sounds like they are doing SOMETHING and taking it more seriously. Ugh. This is why I got some pins for my kids to trade. Not because I think pin trading is the best but rather I'm hoping to help them figure out who the CMs are and how to quickly identify one (look for the nametag).

That is exactly what I expected. And that was all I wanted-some reassurance that they recognized a problem and would do something about it. Not a stuffed dinosaur. Ugh.

 

[Jerzetta]

That would be my fondest hope. I can't believe he thought that was a reassuring statement.

Scary scary scary. Taking my 3 year old in oct and I am scared because she loves the small play area at the mall. She would go nuts at Disney. Thank you for being so honest abt J. I am using this to start discussions in case we get lost. Ughhh. I hope Disney management is reading posts and changes their operating standards.

 

[appleorchard]

Scary scary scary. Taking my 3 year old in oct and I am scared because she loves the small play area at the mall. She would go nuts at Disney. Thank you for being so honest abt J. I am using this to start discussions in case we get lost. Ughhh. I hope Disney management is reading posts and changes their operating standards.

After we got home, I sent Disney a calm, detailed email about this whole thing. They had someone call me who sounded about as old as the first CM. She did not try to minimize things and told me she would make sure it was appropriately dealt with. I'll be there in May with my 2 older grandkids (11 and 8) and I'm sure we'll go in there, or at least past it, so I'll check the exit to see if anything's changed.

 

[appleorchard]

Well, you can do one of two things when bad things happen: wallow in it or get past it. We decided to get past it. So we jumped on the bus to the Magic Kingdom.

There were only two Electrical Light Parades this week, and we weren't sure we'd see them both. But J dearly loves this parade, so we knew it would take her mind off everything that had happened. Ours, too.

The park was much more crowded than it was for the first parade, but they announced they'd be staying open for an hour after, so we stuck it out. We plopped ourselves down in Frontierland, hit up Pecos Bills again for food, maneuvered the stroller to save M's space and just chilled out. The place was modded--it took her 45 minutes to get food!

We had nearly an hour before the parade, but it was so crowded, it seemed better to just sit and wait, so we did.

The parade was noisy, fun and completely uneventful, just what we needed. Afterwards, we moved in tandem with the crowd towards the front of the park, so we would get closer to New Fantasyland and try to see Belle during Wishes.

For some reason, we decided not to fight the crowd and watched the castle show right up near the castle and slightly to the right; there's a little brick building there that I can't quite picture at the moment, but that's where we were.

Then, inexplicably, the crowd in front of the castle thinned out, so we sat down and watched Wishes from there.

And it was magic. M loved the view from there, and sitting on the ground looking up holding J on her lap. Of all the times we saw Wishes this week, this one was by far the best -- even better than the dessert party the next night. After Wishes, we got to Belles as quickly as possible, given the sea of humanity going in the opposite direction. But it paid off; the wait was only 20 minutes.

When M found out the kids and grownups who wanted to could play parts, she (of course) wanted J to play Belle.

I could see the look of disappointment on her face when J got the part of the Beast, for her terrific roaring abilities. I told her none of the kids were playing Belle, which made her feel better. J was thrilled to be the Beast-- she got a cape and everything.

The show was very cute and J got to dance with Belle, because she was the Beast!

This made her night --- ours, too.

We finally did Ariel, or, in my mind, Nemo II. Really, this ride just wasn't that impressive to us. Your mileage may vary. Maybe nothing would have been impressive after dancing with Belle.

Before we left, we jumped on Aladdin -- and déjà vu struck. We went up and came right back down. Just like Dumbo. Some little guy had loosened his belt or done something. This time we saw him; he was sitting with his little sister and when they brought the ride back down, he was crying his eyes out, obviously embarrassed to death.

The CM was very sweet, told him he could go on the next ride as long as he stayed seated. His parents marched him off, though. It took forever to reset the ride; the poor CMs kept trying and trying without any luck. We left them and went over to see Cap'n Jack one more time, since it was almost closing time and it was a walk-on.

J was singing "Yo ho, yo ho" as we got up to the boats and the CM told her if she sang it all the way through we could sit in the front row lol. The looks on the faces of the people around us were priceless. You could see that none of them wanted to stand around waiting for a kid to sing a song that was going to be in their heads for the next hour anyway.

J got shy and stopped singing, and the CM gave us the front seat anyway. Yo ho!

On the way out, we stopped at Aladdin, which was finally moving, and got in one last ride. We soared over the nearly deserted park on our magic carpet ride and just enjoyed it. The ending of the day made up for the rest. Thanks goodness. And tomorrow was our last day. We had food planned for both ends-- the Castle for breakfast and the Dessert Party at night!

We walked out the gates and turned left. Nothing compares to walking home from the parks. It's the best feeling in the world.


Next chapter

 

[Suvadoo]

Hello,

Thanks for writing such a fantabulous trip report. I'm sorry you had such a frightening and disappointing experience in Animal Kingdom.
We all expect such great things from Disney and when they mishandle a situation it's hard to accept. I hope your experience does result in changes. You're right, there should be cast members posted at all playground entrances and exits. This is a no brainer.

Andrea

 

[appleorchard]

Hello,

Thanks for writing such a fantabulous trip report. I'm sorry you had such a frightening and disappointing experience in Animal Kingdom.
We all expect such great things from Disney and when they mishandle a situation it's hard to accept. I hope your experience does result in changes. You're right, there should be cast members posted at all playground entrances and exits. This is a no brainer.

Andrea

I'm SO hoping we see this when we go in May! We do hold Disney to a high standard-- much higher than I would hold our local Great Adventure, where I honestly expect nothing-- that it hits like a ton of bricks when they don't come though

 

[Enchantress01]

Wow. What a horrible response. Seriously, how hard is it to say "we have an in-depth lost child training and I will ensure that the team members in the area and the ones you mentioned repeat their training at the earliest opportunity. We will do our utmost to ensure this does not happen again. My deepest sympathies on your upsetting day, that is not what we strive for. I can only imagine how upset you and your daughter must have been and still are." Seriously, how hard? It doesn't promise much but sounds like they are doing SOMETHING and taking it more seriously. Ugh. This is why I got some pins for my kids to trade. Not because I think pin trading is the best but rather I'm hoping to help them figure out who the CMs are and how to quickly identify one (look for the nametag).

Well said.

I'm so sorry you had to endure such a traumatic experience. And I agree with the poster above, the manager could have said something far more reassuring indicating that they at least took your concerns seriously. And a plush toy??? Really??

I'm so glad you were able to get past it - J dancing with Belle, a perfect spot for the fireworks and sailing over the park in your magic carpet! What a wonderful end to a very trying day.

Still along and waiting for more wonderful moments.

 

[appleorchard]

Our last day is always so bittersweet -- I'm sure that's true for most of us. We hate to see a single minute go by, knowing that the next day well be back to the grind of worrying about work, adding up the bills, wishing wed done certain things differently and -- in our case -- heading back to colder weather, although, wouldn't you know it, New Jersey was having a heat wave the week we were gone.

It moved out the minute we came home, of course.

We call it the Disney bubble. M and I -- and many of you, too, I'm sure -- have issues in our lives that make things very difficult at times. But when were in Disney, we put them all completely behind us. And I mean, completely.

The real world doesn't intrude on our Disney time. At all. We don't think about it. It's probably the one time in my life where I attempt to live in the here and now. I dont always succeed, but I succeed way more at Disney than I do anyplace else except maybe church.

So we walked the path to the park for the last time this trip, listening to the train whistle, watching the monorail and just really soaking it in. Were lucky and we know it that we get to do this as often as we do. M and I are going again in October, and Im getting ready to book another trip for us next March. DH and I are going with my son and family in May.

Queen M is having a hard time with that. Shes horribly jealous that Im going again before her. But I decided a long time ago that I can't take all my grandchildren to Disney at the same time. There's too much competition for my attention and too many chances for hurt feelings over anyone being slighted.

We walked up to the castle with mixed feelings. On my part, I had mixed feelings about eating there. I've had terrible food on our last two trips there for dinner inedible the first time, and just sort of blah the second. We even talked about not going this time, but J loves the character interaction and all that wand waving.

M had actually talked J into one of her princess outfits for her last day, so we was dressed as Jasmine, who I didn't even think we'd see in the castle, but whatever. She looked very cute anyway.

Queen M really enjoys messing around with hair -- hers and J's.

Unfortunately, J didn't get M's hair, which is thick and gorgeous she got her dads thinner hair. Today, like every other day when J had on a costume, everyone asked if shed been to BBB. We had been explaining that no, she hadn't, we went there our first time and she didn't like it.

For some reason, she got it into her head that this wasn't a good things for us to tell people. So she let us know.

"I don't want you to say that I didn't like Bibbity Bobbity Boutique anymore," she warned us, hands on hips for emphasis.

"But you didn't like it," I said." You pulled your hair out of the bun practically five minutes after we walked out the door."

"But just don't say it,"she said nicely. And every time we started to say it, she gave us the evil eye and the scowl. So we tried not to.

I find the process of checking in at the Castle rather confusing. I'm never quite sure where the line is or whether to just walk in and stand in line to see Cinderella or to wait to be escorted there. I don't seem to be the only one, either. I watched two people try to check in for BBB there and one try for a walk-in. As if.

We debated about whether we should all take our picture with Cinderella or just J, and decided to go for a group picture, in spite of the fact that its very hard to get three people to look good at the same time. Well, M and J always look good, to my jaundiced eye.

We finally scored a table next to the window this time, and the food and festivities commenced almost immediately. The food was great! M and I both scarfed up everything and loved it. We had some kind of steak, and I dont know what else, but it was more than just edibleit was delicious!

J, predictably, ate absolutely nothing-- she never does at these meals.

And the princesses came out in quick succession -- including Jasmine! Wonderful -- one less line we had to stand in today for autographs!

So we saw Snow White

Ariel(still J's favorite next to Belle, but don't tell the rest)

Aurora...

Waved the wand around, since wishes really do come true...

And left, all full of good feelings about the money we'd spent on this meal that we weren't sure we really wanted to do again. But as long as J is little enough to really love it, we'll keep doing it.

It's a tradition. And tradition is one of the things Disney is all about.


Next chapter

 

[Robbi]

Yay, so glad it was such a nice meal!

 

[Enchantress01]

It's so true about the last day. You know it will be wonderful, but in the back of our mind you realize each minute brings you closer to a ride on the "not-so-magical" express. Ugghhh! But then you spring out of the door and suspend reality one last time - soaking in the sounds, the smells, and every last bit of that wonderful place. Aaahhhhh!

I'm so glad you tried again and enjoyed your meal at the Castle. It's a tradition for us too. We were pleasantly surprised by a delicious lunch after some lack-luster meals on previous trips.

J looks so beautiful in her Jasmine dress, having a wonderful time.
We met the same Jasmine in Adventureland on our last trip. The interaction was perfect.

Thanks for the updates in this fantastic TR!

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Your visit to the Magic Kingdom was absolutely magical! Much better than that awful experience at the Animal Kingdom.

J's hair looked beautiful and she looks like she had a great time at the castle.

I have really enjoyed your trip report, hope you write more.

 

[appleorchard]

Yay, so glad it was such a nice meal!

It was a pleasant surprise! We're sticking to breakfast from now on lol.

It's so true about the last day. You know it will be wonderful, but in the back of our mind you realize each minute brings you closer to a ride on the "not-so-magical" express. Ugghhh! But then you spring out of the door and suspend reality one last time - soaking in the sounds, the smells, and every last bit of that wonderful place. Aaahhhhh!

I'm so glad you tried again and enjoyed your meal at the Castle. It's a tradition for us too. We were pleasantly surprised by a delicious lunch after some lack-luster meals on previous trips.

J looks so beautiful in her Jasmine dress, having a wonderful time.
We met the same Jasmine in Adventureland on our last trip. The interaction was perfect.

Thanks for the updates in this fantastic TR!

It's such a bummer to have that sad Mickey Mail giving the details of your pickup hanging on the back of your door. We just keep telling ourselves how fortunate we are to be able to do this so often. The bad part is, the more often you go, the more often you WANT to go lol.

Your visit to the Magic Kingdom was absolutely magical! Much better than that awful experience at the Animal Kingdom.

J's hair looked beautiful and she looks like she had a great time at the castle.

I have really enjoyed your trip report, hope you write more.

Yup, it took the sting out of the previous day. Animal Kingdom will never be our favorite park! It's my other granddaughter's favorite, though, so I'm resigned to spending lots of time there in May with her.