Jerks at MGM Parking

[Hockeytchr]

Sorry but need to vent here. I am still fuming over the illiterate people working at MGM's parking today. I have a AAA diamond pass and the idiot at the "toll to the troll" payment booth had no clue where to tell me to go. I followed the blue lines like all other parks and when I reached another attendant he didn't even look at me to see that I wanted to ask a question. SO I had to park in the hole like everyone else and not once did any "Cast Member" offer to tell me where the AAA section was. I am VERY DISappointed in these "Cast Members" and I made that clear to Disney Officals as well. So anyone who reads this and drives to MGM (Hollywood) Studios..........beware of these people. They have almost ruined my faith in Disney at this point.

Hockeytchr

Note: This incident didn't ruin my day. We did get there early, and I am sure being there right when we could first get into the lot, meant that there should have been some AAA spots open. I noticed later in the day that the lots that were closer (that were empty when we arrived were not even full yet.) I was more upset over the fact that the cast member did not even make eye contact with me. I did stop and look at him but he just kept motioning to move on and yelling "down here". I know the lines are supposed to be green, but at EPCOT, they told me to follow the blue lines. Most of this could have been avoided if the young man at the first gate had known what he was doing in the first place. My husband does have lower back issues and doesn't qualify for a handicapped pass. So we do rely on this "perk" to get closer parking. I don't mind the trams at all, it's just that I expect cast members to at least have some more knowledge when it comes to this issue. After all I didn't park illegally or somewhere where I could have gotten a "red ticket" unlike the people whom I noticed were not parked in the deisgnated lines yesterday. That's what I call lazy, and if you are handicapped (which is the area where I noticed this) take advice from me. My mother-in-law is handicapped and has a permit. When there are not handicapped spaces available, we simply stop near an entrance an she gets out of the car, then we go park elsewhere. I read these posts today and I am heading out to the parks for the rest of the day now.

 

[Robo]

I'm thinking that this complaint might reach "more helpful ears" if you send it to Disney.

wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com


Walt Disney World Guest Communications
PO Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0040

 

[HunnyPots]

So... did you have a good time once inside the studios?

My advice is for you to read your tag and make it your mantra...

 

[mirs]

the people i know that work in mgm parking are really nice, great people! dont let one experience ruin your trip, mgm provides trams so you dont have to walk far either way!

 

[disneymyway]

I don't knoW anything about the AAA diamond pass. Did you have to pay for it? If so, I can understand your anger. But Robo is right, you should complain to Disney. I think that if I paid for something that ended up being worthless I would be upset too.

So what is the story with the AAA diamond pass? How much is it? When you got it, was there some sort of guarantee with it?

 

[wilde_oscar]

eh, if you book though AAA you get it... not something you pay extra for per se.

 

[wilde_oscar]

but on a similar note, I was standing in an area where the CM was keeping it clear for some reason, where there High school musical comes out or something. I was literally talking to a cast member, asking a question, about the location of the ECV parking and viewing area, when another CM is yelling "keep this area clear" it just seemed so over the top. I turned and said, "if I am asking a CM a question is it company policy to yell at the guests? notice I point with two fingers" he perked up a little ask asked how he could help.

helps to know the CM lingo.

Sometimes, it takes a squeaky wheel to get the oil, come to a complete stop in front of the CM, signal clearly you intend to speak to them. if they ignore you, note the time, date, location, and name on the tag. report to guest services, follow up with an email, follow that up with snail mail.

 

[disneymyway]

eh, if you book though AAA you get it... not something you pay extra for per se.

Then maybe he should complain to AAA. I just know myself and if I booked a trip through someone and they promised me something, I'd expect for whatever that was to be true.

I really hope it didn't ruin your trip. I am always so happy at WDW that not much gets to me! But I would complain about it when I got home because it is just not right to make false promises to get someone's business.

 

[kaytieeldr]

AAA Diamond Parking isn't a promise, it's a perk and it's subject to availability and blackout dates.

Random (vs. accurate, but I will try to count next time) figures: If there are 50 AAA Diamond Parking spaces at DHS-formerly-MGM, and 75 Guests show up in the first hour with Diamond Parking passes, they're not all going to be able to park there. Supply and demand.

And, yeah, some people pay for these nontransferable cards on e-bay.

 

[centurythree]

I guess I'm not understanding what there is to get upset over. As someone else said, this is something that's always subject to availablity--for example, in our last several trips Epcot has never offered Diamond parking.

If the OP went yesterday, the park was almost certainly very busy. Diamond parking at DHS is limited, and around 50 spaces does sound right. The lot was likely just full.

I"m not seeing what the problem is with "parking with everyone else." It's certainly not worth calling people names.

 

[dejr_8]

but on a similar note, I was standing in an area where the CM was keeping it clear for some reason, where there High school musical comes out or something. I was literally talking to a cast member, asking a question, about the location of the ECV parking and viewing area, when another CM is yelling "keep this area clear" it just seemed so over the top. I turned and said, "if I am asking a CM a question is it company policy to yell at the guests? notice I point with two fingers" he perked up a little ask asked how he could help.

helps to know the CM lingo.

What CM lingo did you use? The "... notice I point with two finger?"

 

[centurythree]

What CM lingo did you use? The "... notice I point with two finger?"

I would say that use of the term "guest" and pointing with two fingers would be code to anyone working in any part of the hospitality industry (particularly hotel and theme park) that the person was somehow an "insider." At Disney, "Cast Member" is also company specific.

 

[JPN4265]

What the F...... sorry I am still fuming over the illiterate people working at MGM's parking today. I have a AAA diamond pass and the idiot at the "toll to the troll" payment booth had no clue where to tell me to go. I followed the blue lines like all other parks and when I reached another attendant he didn't even look at me to see that I wanted to ask a question. SO I had to park in the hole like everyone else and not once did any "Cast Member" offer to tell me where the AAA section was. I am VERY DISappointed in these "Cast Members" and I made that clear to Disney Officals as well. So anyone who reads this and drives to MGM (Hollywood) Studios..........beware of these people. They have almost ruined my faith in Disney at this point.

Hockeytchr

Do you hear that, its my violin playing....do you want some cheese with that whine?

 

[Schmeck]

but on a similar note, I was standing in an area where the CM was keeping it clear for some reason, where there High school musical comes out or something. I was literally talking to a cast member, asking a question, about the location of the ECV parking and viewing area, when another CM is yelling "keep this area clear" it just seemed so over the top. I turned and said, "if I am asking a CM a question is it company policy to yell at the guests? notice I point with two fingers" he perked up a little ask asked how he could help.

helps to know the CM lingo.

Sometimes, it takes a squeaky wheel to get the oil, come to a complete stop in front of the CM, signal clearly you intend to speak to them. if they ignore you, note the time, date, location, and name on the tag. report to guest services, follow up with an email, follow that up with snail mail.

And sometimes it is just not the right time to be in an area the CMs are trying to keep clear, even if you have a question. What if everyone who had a question ignored the CMs instructions to stay clear? What if they all pointed with two fingers????? If I were a CM and had instructions to keep an area clear, and a guest approached me, I'd ask them to get back and after the area was secure, I'd answer the question.

 

[disneymyway]

AAA Diamond Parking isn't a promise, it's a perk and it's subject to availability and blackout dates.

.

Oh, subject to availability. That changes things a bit. Maybe the OP didn't understand that. I'm the reigning champion of misunderstanding things (not reading instructions, not listening when people explain things, etc). Let's just assume that the OP didn't understand that it was not guaranteed.

 

[kydisneyfans]

I had a simlar situation at the Animal Kingdom lot, the left hand had no idea what the right hand was doing. Not one person directing traffic could speak English either. Disney did not respond to our complaint, I guess I need to take Spanish classes before my next visit.

 

[centurythree]

How interesting. I've never run into a CM that didn't have a solid grasp of English . . .

 

[disneymyway]

How interesting. I've never run into a CM that didn't have a solid grasp of English . . .

Sometimes I think that others are going to a different WDW than I am! I have never seen this either!

 

[Robo]

How interesting. I've never run into a CM that didn't have a solid grasp of English . . .

Well, I don't know about that...

It brings to mind an aside about the Hong Kong Disneyland CM's whom Disney brought to WDW for in-park training.

They had MANY of these kids, all of whom could speak English... up to a point.

They were training them to interact with guests on all the WDW attractions, (some of them had speaking roles like the greeters who have spiels like, "Welcome to Muppetvison 3D, in a moment, the doors on your right will...") and that was OK on most...
BUT... they put some on as Jungle Cruise Skippers (!)

As most here know, the JC spiel is made up mostly of puns and double-entendres that rely on subtile (and not-so-subtile) "word-play" in the English language.

It was bizarre trying to listen to these Chinese CMs, for whom the spoken language was only moderately understood, tell "jokes" with wordplay double-meanings.


The Chinese CMs didn't understand the double-meanings in the jokes, and the guests didn't understand the Chinese CM's accents, so the jokes didn't WORK.

It was one of those times where "You had to be there" to appreciate the strangeness of the situation.

Unfortunately you probably weren't there, but we WERE.

 

[dbmarie]

We have never had an issue using the diamond parking pass. There is actually a (green) line that you follow to the AAA parking lot. It is usually located up near the handicap parking.