In listening to this week’s segment on the issue of whether or not we know too much, a thought struck me: are we, the fan community, to blame for the perceived decrease in Disney’s quality? Now, don’t get me wrong, Disney is a company whose founder was a believer in the idea that “quality will out” and so should not be taken off the hook if this thought were to bear fruit, but… Maybe it is partially our own fault for the loss of some of the stuff we’ve all lamented. On a larger scale, maybe it’s Disney World’s guests in general.
I’ve often heard Pete lament the loss of the “Disney Difference ™” and I too feel that there has been less of an effort from the cast members in terms of going above and beyond. We’ve heard tales of how these little special touches that used to surprise people have just vanished; that CM’s used to be much more helpful in making a vacation a truly memorable experience for the guests and that now that type of stuff is vanishing. I’ve read how people lament the loss of cast members treating a birthday boy or girl to a free dessert or a newlywed couple to a glass of champagne, and while these things do still happen, it seems to a lot of folks that they happen less often.
We’ve seen the loss of personalized and individual experiences fading, Miyuki in Japan, the candy lady, used to give the fondant animals to children to take home, then it was reduced to only taking suggesting and not distributing the candy, now she’s gone altogether. The paintbrushes on Tom Sawyer’s Island, waking Tinkerbelle, shouting “Andy!,” all of these are not urban legends of a bygone era in the Disney parks.
Sure it is easy to chalk all of this up to Disney being cheap and trying to show record profits quarter over quarter, and there is certainly an element of that going on. But I wonder if the fault, dear Brutus, lay not in the stars, but in ourselves.
Most of us came to the boards for one of a couple of reasons. Some to share stories about recent trips, some of us to seek guidance in purchasing DVC or how to best plan a vacation, some to discuss Imagineering; the list of reasons for each of us to come here is long and varied, but those reasons all share one common element, the exchange of information. This is not inherently a bad thing and many of us have been better able to enjoy the parks because of that very knowledgebase so readily available, but maybe we all overshared. Maybe we all let everyone in on things that were meant to be private, magical moments just for us. Maybe that very sharing made it impossible for Disney to do it for others.
Consider this: A cast member sees a young man who is really upset about just missing the height requirement for Space Mountain, which all of his siblings have cleared. The kid is obviously dejected and on the verge of tears when the cast member suddenly remembers that Buzz Lightyear was on the lookout for a special agent to take on a mission for him. The cast member then gives Mom a FP and says you need to take him over there right now, and he can’t wait in line because this mission is of utmost importance so show them that security pas and they’ll get you to the front of the line.. The kid and mom hurry off the Buzz and now the kid has a great story instead of a dashed hoped. Mom comes home, writes a glowing trip report and let’s folks know that if your kid can’t get on Space Mountain, the CM’s can give you a FP for Space Ranger Spin. And so it spreads, something that was a one off decision made in the moment is not an expectation. Is this a simplified version of what happens? Is this perhaps a bad example? Sure, but I think that it illustrates the point. Let’s look at something a little darker and a whole lot more likely.
Mom and dad are out eating at Tutto Italia when mom orders an item that comes with mushrooms and asks that they be left off, as she has an allergy. The waiter makes a note, but forgets to ring it in, or the cook is swamped and somehow misses it, in any event the sauce is prepared with mushrooms and Mom has a bad reaction, eventually needing medical attention and an unpleasant evening getting acquainted with the lovely décor of the bathroom in the Port Orleans Riverside studio in which her family is staying. Disney comps not only the meal, but are offering a comped stay at a resort in the future, stating that it was an unconscionable screw-up and they are mortified and want to make sure that she’s ok and able to come back in the future and enjoy a trip on them. Does this sound crazy and overly generous of Disney? Perhaps, but there are plenty of stories of a similar nature out there that indicate that stuff like this has happened.
Mom comes home and writes about this on the boards, and it is read by another mom, Gina Handout, who is always looking to get something for nothing. Gina Handout dines at a variety of on-site restaurants and at each one has a litany of special requests for each item ordered: no cherries on the sundaes, substitutes for every vegetable, etc… And when one dish arrives incorrectly, she catches it immediately and demands to see a manager. Though no one has actually ingested the item in question, the fact that her precious baby MIGHT have done so is enough to warrant Disney doing something to “make it right.” She screams, carries on, and freaks out, secure in the knowledge that she knows what they CAN do; after all she’s read about it online.
Every time we share something special or unique that a cast member did for us, or every way in which Disney goes out of its way to make our vacations magical or make up for a mistake on their part, we raise the level of expectations. If folks read about something someone else got and then they themselves don’t get it, they feel cheated, and you can’t deny that when you are dropping several thousand dollars on a trip (something most folks only spend on cars and houses), there is a certain level of entitlement that is understandable.
I’m not immune to this. I’ve read numerous stories on this board and others about how Disney responded in a medical emergency; how a cast member arranged transport to the Celebration Hospital and had Disney pick up the cost of the cab or did something else special for a person who was sick or injured during their vacation. Imagine my surprise when I hobbled down to the main lobby at 3 in the morning sweating profusely and barely able to speak due to what had yet to be diagnosed as a severe case of strep throat, and was handed directions to the hospital and a phone number for a taxi company. My father had driven down and so I roused him and he drove me over, which wasn’t that big of a deal, except it made me wonder why I didn’t get that same level of care and attention. Did Disney OWE me a ride to the hospital, no, but I felt entitled to one, and I’m not usually that kind of a person.
I think that we need to understand that if we keep blabbing to one another about all of the special ways in which Disney created magic for us, there is less of likelihood that they will be able to do it again for someone else in the future. Rather than face those dashed expectations, I believe that Disney is setting the bar lower on purpose, so that they can raise it only slightly and still come across as having gone out of their way for us. The issue of scale is a major problem for Disney and you can hear it all the time when folks talk about how the parks are so crowded.
Maybe if we all stopped LOOKING for ways in which Disney can make our trips even more special, and instead just enjoyed the vacation, we could all find the magic again and be surprised when something special does happen. Well, that’s my $0.10 (it’s a Disney board, I had to jack up the price of my thoughts to keep pace with the parks), what does everyone else think?
