Bizarre question(s) concerning what may be brought in...

[AmericanItGirl]

Okay, so 2 things on my "bucket list" are to play my fife (yes, I have a fife, I'm a nerd and proud of it) on either the dock area of TSI or on the Columbia and to play checkers in Disneyland. Now I know that Disneyland frowns upon any confusion between guests and CMs, but do they really care about it if it's absurdly clear that you're not working for/representing them? Would my bringing my fife in break any rules (even if I did not play it but used it as a prop for photos)? Also, is it cool to bring in your own checker pieces?

 

[LuLusApple]

I don't know the answers, I just thought they were kind of cute fun ideas. Hopefully a CM will catch your thread soon I have seen kids with games sitting on blankets waiting for F! But never seen anyone at tables playing checkers. Tables are usually hard to come by unless you are eating
my thought however is.... If you don't draw a crowd it would probably be no big deal. But if a crowd starts CMs will probably be irked real quick.
interesting ideas Hope you get your answers

 

[toocherie]

don't know about the fife, but on the checkers, a good place to play and not disturb anyone would be in Carnation Gardens over by the castle--usually pretty quiet over there and lots of tables and chairs.

 

[disney1990]

There use to actually be a place in Frontier Town that you could play checkers. I have pictures of DH & DD playing checkers in a tropical storm in their raincoats. These were Disney checkers; we didn't bring our own.

As far as the Fife, I think Disney is going to frown on that. We had a couple friends that started singing (music from the Candlelight Processional) at Downtown Disney one evening. They were stopped and told that because they were not part of Disney entertainment, that they needed to stop. The security guard actually followed them around for a little bit to make sure that they start singing someplace else.

 

[LavenderPeach]

You might be able to bring the fife in for photo ops (not sure what their policy is on musical instruments) but I doubt they would let you play it. How big is the fife? Could it fit in the bottom of your bag where they probably wouldn't look? Not trying to suggest you break the rules but it doesn't seem like there would be any harm in just bringing it in to take pictures.

 

[chrissiecutie]

Of course you can bring them in!

You may have to be a bit "sneaky" about it, but seriously....CM's at the gate have way too many folks to screen and just don't care too much about items like this.

They are looking for weapons, drugs or other harmful items- like glass bottles.

I always bring in a big cooler full of outside food and soda and I've never had any issues. Of course my cooler is NOT a wheeled one and I have no glass bottles, both of which or clear "no-no's".

I would suggest burying your items at the bottom of a largish (10-12 can sized) cooler and if you have a stroller, just strap that thing on the back of it. They will ask you to pull the cooler or backpack off the stroller but have never actually emptied everything out and even dug to the bottom of ours. They usually just want to confirm that yep- there's really food in this cooler and nope, there's no glass or weapons.

Several CM's even complimented me on how smart is was to put our chocolate (I brought organic choc muffins in for breakfast) inside the cooler to keep it from melting into brown goo during the summer heat.

The only issues that I can think of you having are of CM's stopping you from playing the instrument or games out of confusion/distraction to other guests. But if you're quiet about it- really....they don't care!

It's not like your going to be walking down Main St. playing an impromptu concert, right?

 

[limace]

Shhhhhhh. I don't want my husband to see this or he might try to bring his accordion with him. We all should pray that security would stop him in time.

 

[barefootmomma]

After watching an interview with the guys from The Buried Life on MTV, which is the same concept, I say do it! If you can get it in and play for even 15 seconds before you're possibly noticed and asked to stop, you've done what you set out to do, right? And they're likely not going to kick you out if you stop once asked, if you even happen to draw the attention of a CM. Good luck!

Also, I certainly hope if you have success that you'll share the story and possibly photos! What a great couple of things to have on your list.

 

[Brancaneve]

Shhhhhhh. I don't want my husband to see this or he might try to bring his accordion with him. We all should pray that security would stop him in time.

 

[Eeee-va]

I can't imagine checkers would be a problem.

Security is hit-and-miss. Some hardly even look through your bag, and some make you open every single pocket. In the (perhaps unlikely) event that you're unsuccessful, it sure would be annoying to have to trek back to the hotel/etc. to drop your fife back off if you weren't allowed to bring it in.

There are enough secluded areas in TSI that I think you could probably pose with your fife for pictures there, but playing it anywhere on the island (unless it can be played super-quietly) might be asking for trouble. I think if you did it in an area near CMs (either of the areas you described would be, IMO), you probably wouldn't even get 15 seconds, and if they thought you would continue to do it, they MIGHT possibly feel the need to take some sort of action. I'm not sure I see the appeal of doing something against the rules for a few seconds just to say you did, but I suppose it's your call.

It's pretty perverse but as I think about it, one place you may be able to get away with playing it would be in the restroom!

 

[pixiewings71]

fyi you can play checkers on a board inside the coffee house on Main Street, the girls used to play checkers and listen to the phones all the time in there. they loved it.

 

[PinkBudgie]

fyi you can play checkers on a board inside the coffee house on Main Street, the girls used to play checkers and listen to the phones all the time in there. they loved it.

I was going to say that too. They have (or had last time I was there) a checkers table all set up. I think it was in Market House but not sure. One of those on Main Street.

 

[Disney Dreams]

... Also, is it cool to bring in your own checker pieces?

To fulfill your dream, does it have to be YOUR checkers? And does it have to be REAL checkers?

They have checkers on the computer surface tables inside Innoventions in Disneyland. We have played checkers at DL many times.

...to play my fife...on either the dock area of TSI or on the Columbia...

As for playing your fife, the only question I have is if there would be an issue getting it through the bag check area. If you have it in a case, could it be seen as something you could use to hurt someone (not saying you would)? I would call DL and ask. 714-781-4000. I could not see anyone stopping you from playing it if you are standing there in your jeans, shirt, and clearly a guest. Now, if you tried to play for 5 minutes and gather a crowd... yeah, they'd stop you. But really, how long do you need to play to make your dream come true? A few notes? Easy. I would think you'd be fine.

- Dreams

P.S. Once we saw a man doing some sort of Shakespearean monologue on the steps of the riverfront. People started gathering. Security asked him to stop because people thought he was a Disney performer. That's what you want to avoid.

 

[Sherry E]

Shhhhhhh. I don't want my husband to see this or he might try to bring his accordion with him. We all should pray that security would stop him in time.

 

[Leofoenget]

Does that mean I can bring my bagpipes??

 

[darph nader]

How big is the fife?

Small enough to hide inside a tuba.

 

[AmericanItGirl]

Small enough to hide inside a tuba.

Exactly. It's about the length of a flute, and was used prior to the bugle for calling out commands.

Fife action shot:

I can see Disney getting antsy about something with words that they can't control (although one of the songs played by the pirate band [sans lyrics] was "What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor").

Anyways, for the checkers, there are the tables inside of the Markethouse on Main Street and a table on TSI that have checkers game boards painted on the top. I think they used to let people borrow pieces to play on the ones on Main Street (saw people playing as a kid), but I haven't seen anyone play there for quite some time (I can imagine hat people might want to take them as "souvenirs").