Clueless guest comments at WDW

[LibertyLover]

TJ - I know what you mean. Everytime I've made PS I've been asked/reminded about tickets as well. Heaven alone knows what NYC Wife and Husband may have been thinking, if they even heard that part. Perhaps they thought their hotel cards were enough.

 

[peacefulgirl]

If these people are this clueless ... can you imagine the job of the CM's on the phone booking these trips !!! They should get paid millions for dealing with this stuff! Gosh, they must be sooo HAPPY to get people who do know what they want and what they are talking about!!!

CHEERS for the all the CMS !!!!!!!!!!!

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Originally posted by BaciBecky
....
Thanks for the memories...
and for so many funny comments that I've also heard many, many times in the Parks or from friends and family who are not as much WDW lovers as the rest of us But sometimes there are precious moments as well..hearing a child's (or adults's) reaction the first time they walk up main street, or see a character they love...heartwarmers every time

This was so well stated. Our first trip (honeymoon) we weren't nearly as prepared (neither of us had been to WDW since we were kids). Had one PS and only planning on MK on day throughout our stay. It happened to pour cats and dogs the day we went to MK and we were miserable! In fact, to get out of the rain we went into the Hall of Presidents. I was CONVINCED (and extensively argued with my husband about this afterwards) that all of those men on the stage were REAL MEN! I thought to myself, "How nice it is for Disney to hire all those retired men. They must spend hours a day in makeup just getting ready for these shows!" What an IDIOT I was!!!

The entire trip was wonderful and we really enjoyed Epcot and MGM, but never saw any shows, didn't stay for any parades. Stupid stupid stupid.

I'm a teacher and we stayed at the Swan the entire time not realizing I could have gotten a deeply discounted TEACHER RATE. Stupid stupid stupid.

A short while after this trip I discovered the DIS, allearsnet.com, etc. and became an information junkie! It was amazing what I learned and all trips from that point on were AMAZING! Even bought into DVC last year.

So, the point of my telling you all of this is that DH and I always smile/wink at one another when we see people doing many of the same things we used to do -- a direct result of not being prepared enough. Now we feel like we have a Master's degree in Disney & Disney Cruiseline!

 

[sha_lyn]

I can credit the DIS for keeping me from being one of the clueless on our first trip. At least I knew enough that we should book/plan ahead. DH thought we should just drive down and not book a thing (not even a room) for spring break. I didn't know about SoG PS's, Character meals etc.
We had booked a package through the website and then Istarted researching. Luckily I found the DIS and realized we could save a ton of money by booking through SoG (they were booked solid). I bought guidebooks and read on the DIS daily for 3 months. By the time we went to WDW had our trip planned down to the 1/2 days around EE and our PS's.

2 yrs later we planned a trip with my mom, sister and niece. They though I was nuts for planning things down to the sections of the parks we would be in in the AM, Afternoon and evening. Found out later that my sister commented to her employees that she would have missed a lot of stuff if I hadn't done the planning and research.

 

[Belle0101]

We had gone to WDW in December of 2001 with my cousin's family. Heard a lot of clueless comments from my cousin. Never mind that I had read the guidebooks and had discovered the Dis boards and they had read nothing at all. They thought winging it would be a good way. Did I mention we were going between Christmas and New Year's.

Anyhow, two comments that stand out have to do with trees.

She to this day insists that the upside down tree on the Safari is real. Real in the sense that it is an actual tree and not built.

And the other tree? The Tree of Life. She insists that it's an actual tree and it really was carved. She even asked a CM "Is this tree real? Because she thinks it's fake". Of course the CM told her it was real - with a big grin on her face!

Beats me how she can think Disney built parks around these two huge trees. And that carving into a tree so extensively and walking throught it's root system would not kill it.

 

[ibouncetoo]

Originally posted by got2travel
.

Anyway, any time she talks about the trip she calls it our Disneyland trip. I've tried to politely correct her, its Disneyworld not Disneyland. Her comment is just, you know what I mean.

Have patience with her. I did the very same thing when planning (very excitedly) my first WDW trip. I KNEW where I was going, but DisneyLAND just kept popping out of my mouth! I thought it was understandable for someone my age.......I'm only five years older than Disneyland!

 

[Ecdubfan]

Originally posted by KEH
Someone I know thought Tower of Terror was a virtual reality ride. This was a few years ago when you had the first big drop - when the doors opened she just had to say the first few words of "Doesn't the park look real" before plummeting.

OMG, that is soooo funny. I can envision one of my friends doing the exact same thing.

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

Originally posted by thatchicktrish
some of these are great! I don't recall many stupid comments on our last trip but I do remember...

The line for Splash was huge so DH, DS and I got fast passes
we came back later and walked right on the ride (front seat of the "boat" no less)....I tried giving them to atleast 5 different people and everyone looked at me like I was trying to hand them a vial of cocaine or something. DH finally said forget it, just throw them away but instead I just layed them on top of the garbage can nearest the entrance of splash hoping someone would come along and get a surprise.


I was also irked by the amount of people who know nothing about fast passes and that got angry when we would walk through and get right on the rides when they waited for a long time in the regular line.

That was you who left those FP for Splash? Hehe, I'm sure it wasn't the same ones, but I have found them there and other places (even the ground - hey, I'm not proud!) people have disposed of them.

I hear you about the people in the stand-by line getting irked at people in the FP line. Two weeks ago I was at the Land in Epcot, and I wanted to do Listening to the Land. The stand-by line was 25 minutes, and the FP return was 30 minutes. So, big decision for me - stand in a line for 25 minutes, or grab a drink, sit down, enjoy the Land, write in my journal/chat for 30 minutes, then walk on the ride. Not rocket science, right?

I got totally cursed at by one guy and had evil looks given to me by many others (and the few people smart enough to do what I did) who had been standing there since I walked up to the FP booth and relaxed in the rest of the pavillion. Granted, if everyone did this FP wouldn't work, but it amazes me how people turn off their brains when on vacation.

This thread is great - I'll have to add some of my own experiences as soon as I finish my trip report from my last visit. I really identify with those people who "butt in" on other people's poor planning; I work in a city, where you look straight ahead when you walk and mind your own business, but at WDW I feel like I'm a kid in a small town again and will strike up a conversation with anyone that seems like they need help. I too feel bad for those who spent thousands on a vacation and get totally lost once they get there - mostly for the kids that just wanna see Disney World and their parents seem to get in the way.

Great thread! Has kept the last hours of my late-night shift bearable.

N.E.D.

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

Originally posted by KittyKitty
I'm going to my 1st MVMCP and Mousefest . I know I'll be asking some dumb questions to other ppl. They aren't dumb to me. Thats how I learn.

I can't be afraid that someone will laugh at me, or make fun of me, or post it on board. I don't like be new at something, but it's the only way I've found to experience new things, ask questions.

As a teacher, the students ask many questions that an experienced person would think are dumb. But the students are learning. This is all new to them.

So if you are there in early Dec, and an 55 yr old woman asks you a dumb question, have a heart. I'm still learning, hopefully forever.

See ya there!

Susan

Susan, you are so right.

In MOST cases, no one is going to make fun of you for asking questions, unless it's "What time is the 3 o'clock parade?"

It's not so much questions, but authoritiative answers that some people give that are what is humorous. Example, someone at MGM asking where Jaws is. A CM tells them that is at another park, Universal. The guest starts insisting that it was here a few years ago, they knew they rode it, "why did they send it to Universal??!!"

There are plenty of people like me who would love to answer some of your questions while we are down there. And 99% of CM's are happy to assist you as well - they love it when someone comes up and genuinely has a question and politely asks it, not grunting a complaint about the park in general or something beyond the CM's control.

You've obviously found these boards, and that's a HUGE step in the right direction. Never be afraid to ask questions at WDW, because you never know what magic it may bring.

Good luck, and I hope you have a WONDERFUL trip,

N.E.D.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

And what I've said at times before asking what might be seen as a stupid question is "this might be a stupid question, but...". That kind of takes the sails of the whole stupid question idea since I'm pointing it out. And of course that gives the person being asked a chance to say that there are no stupid questions (which we know isn't true, but it's still the polite thing to say ).

T&B

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Originally posted by Tigger&Belle
And what I've said at times before asking what might be seen as a stupid question is "this might be a stupid question, but...".
T&B

I've done that too...but the other day I was reading a CM board (someone on DIS had posted a link) and one of the things some listed as #1 annoying was people sayng "this might be a stupid question..."

I was not thrilled - but some comments were funny. Then I thought, well, maybe these are just cm's who hear so many questions in a day that they need to vent. Got out of that site quickly because it was not making me feel too good. Gosh, folks are on vacation, excited, tired etc...as long as someone is not being rude or obnoxious, why make fun of them?

When I was a cm the people I worked with never made fun of anyone. The only thing we dreaded were people who would think we were not in a hurry at the end of the day (to leave) and they'd take their time wandering about, thinking how nice to have the place to themselves...

 

[disneysteve]

Since I started this thread, allow me to jump in with a few comments.

First, thank you all for your stories. Some of them are hilarious... and scary.

Second, I titled the thread "Clueless" comments, not Stupid comments. I think there is a big difference, so can we please drop the S word because I think some people find it offensive to call other WDW guests stupid and I tend to agree.

Third, I also agree that at one time or another, most of us have probably done something that others might think is clueless. Just as one example, on our visit last week we encountered the same thing that NewEnglandDisney describes: the FastPass return time for an attraction is about the same as the Stand-By wait time. There were a few occasions where we chose to stand in line even though we knew we could get a FP and do something else. Why? Because we were in an area of the park where there wasn't really anything else we wanted to do and the wait time wasn't all that bad. Also, on at least 2 occasions, the actual wait turned out to be significantly shorter than the posted wait time. On BTMRR, for example, the sign said 30 minutes. We were through the line, done the ride and getting back in line to do it again in 17 minutes. Of course, we didn't glare at or curse out those who sped by us in the FP line.

Thank you all for your stories. Keep them coming as they have been quite amusing to me and my family. Even my DD-9 is having a ball reading them. Of course, she just returned from her 12th visit to WDW so she's a Disney veteran.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Originally posted by BaciBecky


I've done that too...but the other day I was reading a CM board (someone on DIS had posted a link) and one of the things some listed as #1 annoying was people sayng "this might be a stupid question..."

I also looked at that board last week and actually got a laugh (but I didn't see the "this might be a stupid question" comment...) . Brought me back to the days that I worked in a gift shop at a National Park and we'd sure get the questions. My favorite was people who would ask where the bathroom was when it was literally right in front of them with a big RESTROOM sign. Of course thinking what a silly question that was and actually saying it to the customer are two very different things!

Steve, you're right that there is a big difference between clueless and stupid comments and, for that matter, clueless and stupid guests. Hopefully most people who make some of the comments who have been posted here are just simply not thinking (what time is the 3 o'clock parade, etc ) or not asking the question that they mean to be asking (ie, maybe they mean to ask "what time does the 3 o'clock parade pass by this area?").

And even more important, hopefully a CM or another guest wouldn't let on to the person asking the question that the question is in any way clueless, stupid, silly, etc. I'm sure that we've all asked questions or said comments that can be seen as clueless or silly.

I did one yesterday (not a question, but just as bad maybe), as a matter of fact. My husband was having chest pains and I got the pleasure of spending the afternoon in the ER with him (turns out his heart is fine). The admitting person was listing me as the emergency contact person and asked if my last name was the same. Well, technically it isn't (I hyphenate my name legally, but do go by my married name, also) and when she asked I hesitated, thinking to myself, does it matter if she has my legal or just my husbands name. Well, she was a bit irritated and thought that I was sarcastic (I did explain my hesitation, but she was an all-business type A kind of person lol). We all (my DH, the nurse who was in the room and me) got a laugh out of the situation, but I can see that lady returning to her office grumbling about the clueless wife not knowing her last name.

We can't judge the person by an isolated comment, no matter what label you give to the comment. Still, it's fun to relate stories of things we've heard. For that matter, we could also start up a thread about clueless comments we've said.

T&B

 

[SueM in MN]

On one trip to WDW, my family was entering Epcot when my FIL saw a friend and his wife standing outside of Epcot looking sort of lost. I'll call the friend Tom (not his real name, but this will be very confusing if he doesn't have a name).
Tom told my FIL they were waiting for a friend (Harry) who was staying at another resort with his family.
They had agreed to meet at "the entrance to WDW". Tom had been waiting for about 1/2 hour past their appointed time and wondered where Harry and his family were.
In talking to them, we found out they were meeting to eat in the castle, which Tom thought was hidden behind "that big ball" that he could see from where he was standing.
We explained that the part of WDW they wanted was MK and sent them on their way, with complete instructions on how to get there. My FIL later found out they had met up OK.
It turned out that Harry's last trip to WDW was years ago, when all that was there was MK and he had never been to any of the other parks.
Tom and his wife had been to Epcot once with friends from Florida for the Flower and Garden show and thought Epcot was all there was.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Sue, that's funny! Poor guy--glad that he met up with his friend.

T&B

 

[WDWprincessloyola]

This didn't happen at WDW but it did happen in the Disney store. A sweet woman kindly asked me "Do you carry anything Tinkerbelle?" Me: "Well we have T-Shirts, Fleece, blankets, toys, dolls....shall I continue?" Woman: "No, I think I got it now. My niece loves Tinkerbelle. I didn't even know she was owned by Disney"

Or the other favorite "Which princess wears pink?" Me: "That would be Princess Aurora." "This doll here....no, this is sleeping beauty!" Me:"......right"

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

You know the big fake spider in a cage in line for Jungle Cruise? There was a couple in front of me, and the woman asked if the spider was real. The man replied that of course it was, and that Disney made sure to find a real one that looked fake, so that people would wonder!

Once, after getting off the Safari, a man turned around and asked me "So, which animals do you think were real, and which were fake?" I didn't have time to get the baffled look off of my face before he said "OH! I thought you were my daughter!"

Not a comment, but I always got a kick out of seeing people eating chicken mc nuggets and french fries near the WS entrance during the F&W fest. I know everybody has different tastes, but it seems so funny that you can be surrounded by all of that amazing food and go for Mc D's!

 

[hockey mom]

The mcdonalds baffles me to. My son did not want anything from the food and wine stands so I went to Mcdonalds when a man walks up and wants a cheeseburger- I just looked at him and said are you joking me. With everything there is to choose from this is what you want?. He said I know-call me crazy- but I just want a cheeseburger.

 

[Stitchfan]

Not clueless but going along with the McDonald's theme:

We were leaving MK one evening and pretty much everybody on the tram seemed pretty wiped out. The only people on the tram really talking was a small family discussing where they were going to eat dinner. They apparently made their decision b/c the next thing I know is that their little boy practically shouts with joy 'We're going to McDonald's for dinner!!!!' The sheer amount of joy and excitement radiating from this kid getting to eat McDonald's for dinner was totally priceless I had to smile, after a day at the happiest place on earth the kid still appreciated the little things