Clueless questions?

[Simba's Mom]

Has anyone been asked any clueless questions at WDW, or overheard them being asked? DH and I must be magnets for clueless guests. A few weeks ago, he was walking from BWV toward the IG of Epcot and encountered a couple headed towards him-"Do you know where Epcot is and how we get there?" Then they wanted to know which country the Coral Seas resturaunt was in. Boy, were they lost! Last year I was walking along the Boardwalk and encountered a couple who pointed over to the Yacht and Beach Club and asked me "Is that the Grand Floridian over there?" Then they wanted directions to the GF-it would have been so much easier if I'd just said "Yes".

 

[Robo]

Has anyone been asked any clueless questions at WDW, or overheard them being asked? DH and I must be magnets for clueless guests. A few weeks ago, he was walking from BWV toward the IG of Epcot and encountered a couple headed towards him-"Do you know where Epcot is and how we get there?" Then they wanted to know which country the Coral Seas resturaunt was in. Boy, were they lost! Last year I was walking along the Boardwalk and encountered a couple who pointed over to the Yacht and Beach Club and asked me "Is that the Grand Floridian over there?" Then they wanted directions to the GF-it would have been so much easier if I'd just said "Yes".

Seems like I answer about as many Q's while I'm AT WDW as I do on-line.

I have lots of practice.

Many questions that fall into the "clueless" category are the ones where you have to determine just what the guests actually WANT to do (or go) compared with the actual question they just asked.

Typical is, "How do we get to Disney World from Epcot?"

Or, "Which bus do we take to MGM-Universal?"

First you must determine where they actually want to go... then give the correct answer.

Or if I'm standing waiting for the Friendship at MGM and hear someone behind me talking to their party, "I wish we could just walk back to our hotel."

Naturally, I just turn around and say, "You CAN... if your hotel is 'over there' (meaning in the Epcot Resorts area)."

"It takes about 15-20 minutes, or so, to walk to the Boardwalk or Swan." I say.

"How do I get there?" they say.

"See those folks walking on the other side of the lake? That's the sidewalk."

"Are you sure?"

"I've done it many times. I'm sure"

Well, OK, but if it takes longer than 20 minutes, I'm coming back to find you."

"OK, if you can find me, I'll listen to your complaint."

 

[Tink's Pixieduster]

Last week when I was at DTD and walking down the ramp to board the boat to return to POFQ, I was stopped by a man who wanted to know what kind of ride it was, and if he needed admission. I told him it was a boat back to the POFQ/POR resorts and there was no charge for the ride. Then he asked me if it was worth it, and if there was anything fun to see or do when he got to the resorts. I told him that if you want to visit these resorts and hadn't been there before then it might be enjoyable, but it wasn't intended to be a "ride" ride, but an alternative to taking the bus back to the resorts. He was really confused about why there would be a boat ride that wasn't going to be "fun".

 

[MelanieRI]

I was in line this year at Splash Mountain (got FP for Thunder Mountain and then waited in regular line at Splash), when I overheard a family behind me talking about fast passes. Their teen son was asking why couldn't they use fast passes and they said b/c you have to pay extra for them. Part of me hoped they were answering that b/c they just didn't want their son to complain about waiting in line but I think they were really just clueless. It explains fast passes right on brochure you get when you walk into the park. How can you go to Disney and not know all about fast passes??? Oh well, all the more for us, I guess!

 

[WDWguru]

Check out the "funniest things you've overheard at WDW" thread - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=693927
there are a million of them there!

 

[northie]

Last week when I was at DTD and walking down the ramp to board the boat to return to POFQ, I was stopped by a man who wanted to know what kind of ride it was, and if he needed admission. I told him it was a boat back to the POFQ/POR resorts and there was no charge for the ride. Then he asked me if it was worth it, and if there was anything fun to see or do when he got to the resorts. I told him that if you want to visit these resorts and hadn't been there before then it might be enjoyable, but it wasn't intended to be a "ride" ride, but an alternative to taking the bus back to the resorts. He was really confused about why there would be a boat ride that wasn't going to be "fun".

I think it IS fun! You get to see the Treehouse Villas and you get to see birds like herons all lined up on the side of the river to grab the fish that get churned up when the boats go by! And it is a nice cool ride with the breeze on the water, not to mention the boats come like clockwork every 10 minutes so there is never a long wait. Compare that with the buses from Downtown Disney (CROWDED to the max and certainly not every 10 minutes!) Honestly I love those boats...they are a real pleasure!

Sara

 

[Tink's Pixieduster]

I think it IS fun! You get to see the Treehouse Villas and you get to see birds like herons all lined up on the side of the river to grab the fish that get churned up when the boats go by! And it is a nice cool ride with the breeze on the water, not to mention the boats come like clockwork every 10 minutes so there is never a long wait. Compare that with the buses from Downtown Disney (CROWDED to the max and certainly not every 10 minutes!) Honestly I love those boats...they are a real pleasure!

Sara

Well, for the record I completely agree, but this wasn't what the man had in mind when he was asking me what kind of ride it was. I would not have been surprised if he had asked me whether Fastpasses were available.

 

[northie]

Well, for the record I completely agree, but this wasn't what the man had in mind when he was asking me what kind of ride it was. I would not have been surprised if he had asked me whether Fastpasses were available.

LOL And if they were free FP...

Sara

 

[Mickey-4-Me]

JMHO: This thread is a little snobby and rude.

MelanieRI: I can understand why you would think that the parents were just trying to avoid an argument with their child. Once you realized that the family was "clueless", how could you not add some magic to the family's vacation and explain the fast pass system. You were in line for let's say 20 minutes +. HOW RUDE! SHAME ON YOU! SHAME ON ALL OF YOU!

 

[msgrimm23]

my all time fav clueless question was at downtown disney when two teenage girls where looking for the epcot bus and asked does this bus go to epcot and we where going to our resort. then another couple of people asked the same question. we had the bus driver many times and we would joke with him and ask him if this was the bus to epcot

 

[Mickey&Donald]

JMHO: This thread is a little snobby and rude.

MelanieRI: I can understand why you would think that the parents were just trying to avoid an argument with their child. Once you realized that the family was "clueless", how could you not add some magic to the family's vacation and explain the fast pass system. You were in line for let's say 20 minutes +. HOW RUDE! SHAME ON YOU! SHAME ON ALL OF YOU!

While I agree that Disney "experts" tend to be on the snobby side, especially when confronted with Disney newbies, this reaction was equally uncalled for. Relax -- snobbishness does not equal malice.

I work for Disney Store, and I am known among my coworkers to be the most knowledgeable about the parks and their ticketing system. This comes in handy when we have guests who wish to purchase their tickets with us. Selling Disney World tickets has made me a lot more patient and thoughtful when dealing with people who've never been to Disney in their lives and know nothing about it.

So, to all of you Disney veterans, just stop and think before you react rudely toward someone who is new to all that Disney has to offer. There's a lot to learn, and I'm sure you didn't become an expert overnight! Instead of laughing at someone who has no idea where they're going (to the poster who was tempted to tell someone that the YC was the GF ), or who doesn't know how the Fast Pass system works, remember to spread a little Disney magic to those folks. They'll remember your kindness and have a more enjoyable trip!

 

[Simba's Mom]

JMHO: This thread is a little snobby and rude.

MelanieRI: I can understand why you would think that the parents were just trying to avoid an argument with their child. Once you realized that the family was "clueless", how could you not add some magic to the family's vacation and explain the fast pass system. You were in line for let's say 20 minutes +. HOW RUDE! SHAME ON YOU! SHAME ON ALL OF YOU!

Wait a minute! Before you call us "snobby and rude". my DH was nice enough to go out of his way and walk the family from the Boardwalk all the way to the Coral Reef resturaunt, explaining the finger-scan as they enterred, and pointed out landmarks on the way. I'll bet others have a "rest of the story" that you may not have heard. But that comment really offended me. "Rude?!"

 

[dwaters]

For 17 pages of "Clueless" WDW stories go here--

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1126595

I think the same snob/helpful debate came up there as well -as it always does in these type of threads.

I love clueless tourist stories myself. I think they are more fun than mean.
It's not like we are posting pictures, names, or addresses of the people making the comments. We are laughing more at the comments than the people themselves since we don't know them.

 

[luvgoing2disney]

I overheard this one, so it did not happen to me personally, but in the MK a guy asked where was the Castle. Oh, by the way, we were at Casey's Corner when he asked.

 

[DisGirlAllie]

"When's the 3:00 parade?" "I believe it's at 3:00" "Okay thank you" and then they walk away as though they've just found out the answer to whether the chicken or the egg came first.

 

[AJKMOM]

We overheard a teenage girl who was walking with a group of people say "Hey, guys, did you know there is a ride in that big ball thingee? It's called "Space Ship Earth".

 

[Mickey&Donald]

I don't get it. What's so funny about that? I didn't know there was a ride in the Epcot ball until my last trip -- #3. Oh well. We rode it, but I don't really feel the need to do it again.

 

[Mickey-4-Me]

Rude? Yes. Webster defines rude as "offensive in manner or action" and "discourteous".

I stand by my comments.

 

[k5thbeatle]

No comment.

 

[Lisa Hale]

Actually, this happened before we even got to WDW, a guy talking to us at the airport heard us talking to the Flight Attendant about going to WDW and asked if our kids had been before. They said, yes, they had. He asked, "well, but what do you do there?" We thought that he meant what the kids liked best or something, but when we started talking about it, he said, "no, really. Once you've been, what's to go back for?"

I guess if you love the mouse, you love the mouse. If not, you really won't get it.