At BCV - blowing off steam

[RaymOOOnd]

OK so there have been a few irritants on this trip. Tell me if I'm being oversensitive.

1. Cast members are different, at least subjectively in my own experience. Much more confrontational and less magical. Have experienced this with and without my 2-year-old present (lest my child misbehaving be considered to be the whole difference). Grumpy, less patient.

2. Masks on transportation. Fair enough. But at the Festival of the Lion King they asked us to 'mooooove all the way down and fill in all available space!'. Literally touching strangers thigh-to-thigh. No masks. Regardless of my own views on masking policy, shouldn't it make some sense? Some coherence? Make it make sense.

3. Character dining. The characters come out and dance, kids are excited, great stuff. But when my excited kid gets out of her chair and takes two steps too close to a character, some stern-looking guard standing by with arms crossed (hard to describe it in any other way) steps forward to make comments which have thus far included "pick her up sir" and "stand her up" -- evoking memories of the cop to Michael Corleone before cracking him in the face. A few characters jumped back almost as if in a panic, clearly under some strict instructions not to be touched. Then my kid is all confused when I have to yank her back from Mickey or Goofy dancing in front of her with open arms. All confused, as she should be.

4. Tried to rent a cabana. Spent more than 50 minutes on hold yesterday waiting to talk to somebody who ultimately told me that the "system is down". System is down?? No computer access for the Walt Disney company? Wow! My wife also tried for about 20 minutes to reach our resort concierge desk and finally gave up on the call. Imagine my irritation this morning when I checked in personally at our front desk to be told they don't take cabana reservations on "day of".

Re: the call situation on general, it seems every time I call for any reason, there's a long holding period with messages explaining that they're receiving a higher than normal call volume. Hmm..sure it's not just the normal call volume, and that you might be understaffing your call centers to the inconvenience of your customers?

I'm done. Thank you for listening. I'll try now to enjoy the day.

 

[igrsod]

I can't speak to the cast members, as I haven't been back post covid. Maybe there is a difference... maybe they are feeling understaffed, over-worked and less appreciated. Hopefully that subsides over time when things get back to normal, or maybe you just had bad luck with less than magical cast members.

As for masks on transportation, I'm in the understanding that that isn't a Disney regulation. It's a government thing. Correct me if I'm wrong.

The character dining thing is really sad and confusing for little ones for sure. Maybe they should hold off of character dining until they are prepared to let kids hug and interact with the characters. I hope that changes soon.

Disney's customer service has been horrible due to understaffing. I hope that gets back to normal ASAP. Paying for deluxe and not receiving top notch customer service is not good, and will drive people to stay elsewhere if that continues.

I hope the rest of the trip was enjoyable. I always say a bad day at Disney is always better than a day at work. Don't let these things get you down.

 

[Stargazer65]

OK so there have been a few irritants on this trip. Tell me if I'm being oversensitive.

No, I think it's pretty normal to get irritated at things like that, and sometimes it's good to vent. I hope the rest of your trip goes well.

 

[Wedgeout]

I do think that the filling all the available space should not have returned.

 

[kanerf]

CDC Masks on Public Transportation

 

[TinkB278]

But does Disney transportation count as public transportation? Seems like private transportation to me.

 

[kanerf]

But does Disney transportation count as public transportation? Seems like private transportation to me.

Disney is public transportation and must comply with CDC rules.

 

[redboat45]

As for masks on transportation, I'm in the understanding that that isn't a Disney regulation. It's a government thing. Correct me if I'm wrong.

It's definitely a DISNEY thing. Disney is a private company and can do what they want with masks on their transportation. They're not required on boats which is also "public transportation". It's stilly to have to wear them but whatever at least they're not making you any other time.

 

[Evita_W]

It's definitely a DISNEY thing. Disney is a private company and can do what they want with masks on their transportation. They're not required on boats which is also "public transportation". It's stilly to have to wear them but whatever at least they're not making you any other time.

No, it is a government thing, the buses are considered public transportation and have to adhere to all such rules. For example, I was using an ECV and when the bus came, there were no disabled people sitting in the wheelchair space, the bus driver did not want to ask them to move. I politely pointed out that the law and the signs above the space says they are supposed to be asked to move (now if there was no space available, that would be a different story), he still said no, so I politely asked that he call the transportation manager to come over while I waited for the next bus, he instantly changed his mind and asked them to move.

After that We notices that every single time this was an issue for me or anyone else that I saw, the bus driver asked the people to move.

Why? Because the law requires them to do so because it is considered public transportation.

Face masks are required on all public transportation.

The monorail is also considered a train and a form of public transportation, although that one can get a little murky and I can see room for Disney to push back on that.

The ferries, boats and other forms of transportation that do not travel roads that the public can travel on are private and can set their own rules, which is why most of them do not require masks.

The other one that is iffy is the Skyliner.

 

[Evita_W]

But does Disney transportation count as public transportation? Seems like private transportation to me.

Yes, because they travel on roads the public can travel on.

 

[Timandalicia]

OK so there have been a few irritants on this trip. Tell me if I'm being oversensitive.

1. Cast members are different, at least subjectively in my own experience. Much more confrontational and less magical. Have experienced this with and without my 2-year-old present (lest my child misbehaving be considered to be the whole difference). Grumpy, less patient.

2. Masks on transportation. Fair enough. But at the Festival of the Lion King they asked us to 'mooooove all the way down and fill in all available space!'. Literally touching strangers thigh-to-thigh. No masks. Regardless of my own views on masking policy, shouldn't it make some sense? Some coherence? Make it make sense.

3. Character dining. The characters come out and dance, kids are excited, great stuff. But when my excited kid gets out of her chair and takes two steps too close to a character, some stern-looking guard standing by with arms crossed (hard to describe it in any other way) steps forward to make comments which have thus far included "pick her up sir" and "stand her up" -- evoking memories of the cop to Michael Corleone before cracking him in the face. A few characters jumped back almost as if in a panic, clearly under some strict instructions not to be touched. Then my kid is all confused when I have to yank her back from Mickey or Goofy dancing in front of her with open arms. All confused, as she should be.

4. Tried to rent a cabana. Spent more than 50 minutes on hold yesterday waiting to talk to somebody who ultimately told me that the "system is down". System is down?? No computer access for the Walt Disney company? Wow! My wife also tried for about 20 minutes to reach our resort concierge desk and finally gave up on the call. Imagine my irritation this morning when I checked in personally at our front desk to be told they don't take cabana reservations on "day of".

Re: the call situation on general, it seems every time I call for any reason, there's a long holding period with messages explaining that they're receiving a higher than normal call volume. Hmm..sure it's not just the normal call volume, and that you might be understaffing your call centers to the inconvenience of your customers?

I'm done. Thank you for listening. I'll try now to enjoy the day.

The whole world is on reboot.

 

[redboat45]

nm

 

[RoseGold]

I've been back twice post-Covid, and I thought the cast members were really trying. Some of them were enforcing dumb rules, but I found they were helpful to the extent they could be. Especially all the food staff was really trying.

It was obvious no one is in the job they started at. I asked for directions twice, and no one had a clue.

I'm pretty sure patience wouldn't be my strong suit if I worked outdoors in Orlando in July!

 

[Robbie Cottam]

I have been twice this year.
in January it seemed like everyone was thankful to be employed, very disney like.

in June, we had a mixed bag, lots good people working hard, but we experienced enough pissed off disney employees that it was more six flags and less disney….

as an example we got on the sky-liner at Riviera cast member was not wearing a mask but ask very politely for our party to wear the mask while in line. Said we didnt need them once we were in the car….

Person at the receiving station yelled, I mean loudly, “you need to wear your mask in the car”

the sign to the skyliner said please wear masks in line.

lots of little things like that like that, had any of them been one offs it would not have been a big deal, but it was like one or two an hour…

maybe cast members are getting back at disney for lay offs?

 

[Nabas]

OK so there have been a few irritants on this trip. Tell me if I'm being oversensitive.

1. Cast members are different, at least subjectively in my own experience. Much more confrontational and less magical. Have experienced this with and without my 2-year-old present (lest my child misbehaving be considered to be the whole difference). Grumpy, less patient.

2. Masks on transportation. Fair enough. But at the Festival of the Lion King they asked us to 'mooooove all the way down and fill in all available space!'. Literally touching strangers thigh-to-thigh. No masks. Regardless of my own views on masking policy, shouldn't it make some sense? Some coherence? Make it make sense.

3. Character dining. The characters come out and dance, kids are excited, great stuff. But when my excited kid gets out of her chair and takes two steps too close to a character, some stern-looking guard standing by with arms crossed (hard to describe it in any other way) steps forward to make comments which have thus far included "pick her up sir" and "stand her up" -- evoking memories of the cop to Michael Corleone before cracking him in the face. A few characters jumped back almost as if in a panic, clearly under some strict instructions not to be touched. Then my kid is all confused when I have to yank her back from Mickey or Goofy dancing in front of her with open arms. All confused, as she should be.

4. Tried to rent a cabana. Spent more than 50 minutes on hold yesterday waiting to talk to somebody who ultimately told me that the "system is down". System is down?? No computer access for the Walt Disney company? Wow! My wife also tried for about 20 minutes to reach our resort concierge desk and finally gave up on the call. Imagine my irritation this morning when I checked in personally at our front desk to be told they don't take cabana reservations on "day of".

Re: the call situation on general, it seems every time I call for any reason, there's a long holding period with messages explaining that they're receiving a higher than normal call volume. Hmm..sure it's not just the normal call volume, and that you might be understaffing your call centers to the inconvenience of your customers?

I'm done. Thank you for listening. I'll try now to enjoy the day.

You are being oversensitive on some things, fully justified on others.

My blunt reactions to what you wrote (and sorry in advance):

1. Yeah, this sucks. I've seen a mix of Cast Member behavior too, with most being great, some being cranky, even rude at times. I think this "half COVID protocols, half back to normal situation" has made their job much more difficult. I recognize they have to deal with a lot of garbage throughout the day. Still, smiling and behaving professionally while on-stage is the essence of being a WDW Cast Member.
2. You need to own up on this one. The rules are clear and available on Disney's homepage. Masks for everyone on transportation. Masks for the unvaccinated everywhere else. Optional masks for the vaccinated except on transportation. Disney has made it clear that they are going by the honor system on mask wearing. If these rules irritate you because they don't make sense, then you probably should have waited and gone at a later time.
3. You need to own up on this one as well. If you didn't know the rules about Character Dining before you arrived, then that is your fault. And if you knew the rules, then you should have carefully explained this to your 2-year-old in language your 2-year-old would understand before you arrived in order to set expectations. And you should have again reminded your 2-year-old while you were waiting to be seated.
4. Yeah, this sucks. I sympathize. Disney really seems to be struggling with technology lately, even more so than in the past.
5. Yeah, Disney's call centers are understaffed and wait times are too long. They are having the same problems everyone else is hiring.

Again, sorry for being so blunt but since you felt like venting on a public forum, you should be prepared for both supportive and critical reactions.

 

[kilik64]

1. You need to own up on this one. The rules are clear and available on Disney's homepage. Masks for everyone on transportation. Masks for the unvaccinated everywhere else. Optional masks for the vaccinated except on transportation. Disney has made it clear that they are going by the honor system on mask wearing. If these rules irritate you because they don't make sense, then you probably should have waited and gone at a later time.
2. You need to own up on this one as well. If you didn't know the rules about Character Dining before you arrived, then that is your fault. And if you knew the rules, then you should have carefully explained this to your 2-year-old in language your 2-year-old would understand before you arrived in order to set expectations. And you should have again reminded your 2-year-

[/QUOTE]

1. Think you read his complaint wrong, they are pointing out the inconsistency. No mask in a closed crowded theater, yet you have to wear masks on buses?

2. You must have never had a 2 year old or one who was very advanced for a 2 year old, that is not something you can explain well to a 2 year old. Even if you did, they'd forget it the instant they saw Mickey spreading his arms wide in the universal sign for give me a hug.

 

[kes601]

OK so there have been a few irritants on this trip. Tell me if I'm being oversensitive.

1. Cast members are different, at least subjectively in my own experience. Much more confrontational and less magical. Have experienced this with and without my 2-year-old present (lest my child misbehaving be considered to be the whole difference). Grumpy, less patient.

2. Masks on transportation. Fair enough. But at the Festival of the Lion King they asked us to 'mooooove all the way down and fill in all available space!'. Literally touching strangers thigh-to-thigh. No masks. Regardless of my own views on masking policy, shouldn't it make some sense? Some coherence? Make it make sense.

3. Character dining. The characters come out and dance, kids are excited, great stuff. But when my excited kid gets out of her chair and takes two steps too close to a character, some stern-looking guard standing by with arms crossed (hard to describe it in any other way) steps forward to make comments which have thus far included "pick her up sir" and "stand her up" -- evoking memories of the cop to Michael Corleone before cracking him in the face. A few characters jumped back almost as if in a panic, clearly under some strict instructions not to be touched. Then my kid is all confused when I have to yank her back from Mickey or Goofy dancing in front of her with open arms. All confused, as she should be.

4. Tried to rent a cabana. Spent more than 50 minutes on hold yesterday waiting to talk to somebody who ultimately told me that the "system is down". System is down?? No computer access for the Walt Disney company? Wow! My wife also tried for about 20 minutes to reach our resort concierge desk and finally gave up on the call. Imagine my irritation this morning when I checked in personally at our front desk to be told they don't take cabana reservations on "day of".

Re: the call situation on general, it seems every time I call for any reason, there's a long holding period with messages explaining that they're receiving a higher than normal call volume. Hmm..sure it's not just the normal call volume, and that you might be understaffing your call centers to the inconvenience of your customers?

I'm done. Thank you for listening. I'll try now to enjoy the day.

My takes on point 1 and 3.

Point 1 - Are some cast members less than magical? Sure, but that’s always been the case. We found the vast majority seemed very friendly and extremely happy to be back at work. Also, remember, many have been moved to new locations and jobs. For instance, last night at Chefs de France we had a server from Morocco. It was only his second day back to work and you could tell he was super nervous. Think about it — He’s from Morocco, working in a French restaurant, with Americans trying to order French food. We recognized him from Spice Road. When he apologized for being nervous, etc. we told him not to worry about it and told him we remembered him. From that point on he was relaxed and great. I even was serenaded by Happy Birthday in Moroccan (by 3 former Morocco pavilion workers).

Point 3 - You knew the rules when you booked the dining. Do you let your kids run after the characters in a cavalcade? Same rules apply.

 

[bakerworld]

We did find CM's seem to expect us to download on them so I find that if I approach them flat affect they're better. Also, the phone = waste of time. Other than that, Kudo's for traveling with a 2y old - congrats on taking her out to dinner. We're traveling with our 2y GD in February '22 and I already nixed dinners (told them to take pictures - LOL). We plan to meet them at the MK one day but other than that I can barely stand traveling with my eldest much less experience all the imagined slights to her and her family. Shoo.

 

[linco711]

OK so there have been a few irritants on this trip. Tell me if I'm being oversensitive.

1. Cast members are different, at least subjectively in my own experience. Much more confrontational and less magical. Have experienced this with and without my 2-year-old present (lest my child misbehaving be considered to be the whole difference). Grumpy, less patient.

2. Masks on transportation. Fair enough. But at the Festival of the Lion King they asked us to 'mooooove all the way down and fill in all available space!'. Literally touching strangers thigh-to-thigh. No masks. Regardless of my own views on masking policy, shouldn't it make some sense? Some coherence? Make it make sense.

3. Character dining. The characters come out and dance, kids are excited, great stuff. But when my excited kid gets out of her chair and takes two steps too close to a character, some stern-looking guard standing by with arms crossed (hard to describe it in any other way) steps forward to make comments which have thus far included "pick her up sir" and "stand her up" -- evoking memories of the cop to Michael Corleone before cracking him in the face. A few characters jumped back almost as if in a panic, clearly under some strict instructions not to be touched. Then my kid is all confused when I have to yank her back from Mickey or Goofy dancing in front of her with open arms. All confused, as she should be.

4. Tried to rent a cabana. Spent more than 50 minutes on hold yesterday waiting to talk to somebody who ultimately told me that the "system is down". System is down?? No computer access for the Walt Disney company? Wow! My wife also tried for about 20 minutes to reach our resort concierge desk and finally gave up on the call. Imagine my irritation this morning when I checked in personally at our front desk to be told they don't take cabana reservations on "day of".

Re: the call situation on general, it seems every time I call for any reason, there's a long holding period with messages explaining that they're receiving a higher than normal call volume. Hmm..sure it's not just the normal call volume, and that you might be understaffing your call centers to the inconvenience of your customers?

I'm done. Thank you for listening. I'll try now to enjoy the day.

I ve had to wait onhe phone forever too. Such a waste of time when you’re on vacation. So frustrating when our want to be doing ther things

 

[LPnerd]

OK so there have been a few irritants on this trip. Tell me if I'm being oversensitive.

1. Cast members are different, at least subjectively in my own experience. Much more confrontational and less magical. Have experienced this with and without my 2-year-old present (lest my child misbehaving be considered to be the whole difference). Grumpy, less patient.

2. Masks on transportation. Fair enough. But at the Festival of the Lion King they asked us to 'mooooove all the way down and fill in all available space!'. Literally touching strangers thigh-to-thigh. No masks. Regardless of my own views on masking policy, shouldn't it make some sense? Some coherence? Make it make sense.

3. Character dining. The characters come out and dance, kids are excited, great stuff. But when my excited kid gets out of her chair and takes two steps too close to a character, some stern-looking guard standing by with arms crossed (hard to describe it in any other way) steps forward to make comments which have thus far included "pick her up sir" and "stand her up" -- evoking memories of the cop to Michael Corleone before cracking him in the face. A few characters jumped back almost as if in a panic, clearly under some strict instructions not to be touched. Then my kid is all confused when I have to yank her back from Mickey or Goofy dancing in front of her with open arms. All confused, as she should be.

4. Tried to rent a cabana. Spent more than 50 minutes on hold yesterday waiting to talk to somebody who ultimately told me that the "system is down". System is down?? No computer access for the Walt Disney company? Wow! My wife also tried for about 20 minutes to reach our resort concierge desk and finally gave up on the call. Imagine my irritation this morning when I checked in personally at our front desk to be told they don't take cabana reservations on "day of".

Re: the call situation on general, it seems every time I call for any reason, there's a long holding period with messages explaining that they're receiving a higher than normal call volume. Hmm..sure it's not just the normal call volume, and that you might be understaffing your call centers to the inconvenience of your customers?

I'm done. Thank you for listening. I'll try now to enjoy the day.

First, as we will be there in a couple weeks, thanks for the lion king info...hard pass for us. How stupid.
3. and that takes character dining off the map as well, stupid. I get it, kids are not vaccinated, the virus hangs around on stuff, so I do get it, but why not just a stage show, or something? that's torture for a kid.

4. yep, rarely does two cast members give the same answer to anything, I think some of it it so many new members, not enough training, and things are changing dailey, and doesn't seem to be a way to get new info to all cast members. I find this more than annoying, esp at the prices we pay.
5.Hope you found a way to blow this off and have a good and safe day! and when you get a chance, how full or empty are the parks, and how long ride lines.