Just Back....Strange Observance

[Fire14]

Me too.

The OP said they were on the KTTK, which by definition means that they were seeing things the general public do not see. Were these CM's out in the open for all to see, or were they in a break area only accessible to guests who take a "behind the scenes" tour? If they are on break, should CM's from say the Haunted Mansion and from Buzz Lightyear be allowed to socialize out of sight from the general public?

Sorry, I'm a little dense this morning!

OP has taken KTTK tours IN PAST, during these siteings she was a regular diner at Tony's so in public area.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

I was thinking of this too. If Walt was here today I wonder how things would be. Sad.

I am pretty sure if Walt was here and saw them...they would have gotten a ear full!

AKK

 

[thatguygreg]

If the CMs are OFF STAGE then they should be in normal clothing not in their themed outfits ment only for a certain area!
That was the whole idea of different outfits they where ment only to be worn in certain places that they was working and to be seen nowhere else .

Years ago there would NEVER be a CM out off their themed area in their outfits they would have gotten a severe telling off, Its so sad how the illusion of Disney and what Walt wanted for Disney has slowly started to go down hill

If they're off stage, they could be plenty of good reasons to be in costume: walking back & forth to their location (the tunnels don't go everywhere), on break, headed to/from working a parade, and more.

In fact, before/during/after parades, you'll often see CMs from other areas doing the work for those parades, it's just the way it is.

 

[RetroCOTfan]

Yes, there would be people screaming "Look there's a dead man - why is his head frozen??"

I always think that when people say "If Walt was here . . ." I understand what they mean and the spirit with which it is intended, but I can't get past seeing the literal meaning - a 111-yr-old man walking around the theme parks.

 

[Selket]

I must have sat by the CM exit for DHS a couple of weeks ago on an EMH evening. Around 12-1a.m. the CM's were strolling past and I know some of them had on costumes - and had their purses, etc.

It was sort of funny seeing them go home from work for some reason. The theming at DHS is more cohesive than the MK I guess - so seeing someone in a ToT costume didn't seem shocking.

I guess now I want to eat at Tony's - I didn't notice CM's walking around out of place anywhere else - or inappropriate conversations or dirty sidewalks and full trash cans, etc. I was there just before the 4th and it was definitely crowded.

 

[Traveliz]

Thanks for clearing that up for me. Maybe I didn't explain it very well. On the tours they explained the reason for the Utilidors and the policy that you should only be in your properly themed area when in costume, but the observances I made were during regular time as a park guest, ON stage. I'll say, the largest occurance was during our lunch at Tony's. I would say during our hour long lunch we saw about 20 CMs go past and around the corner (between Tony's and the Chapeau) and into the backstage entrance door. They were already costumed in multiple, varying things, so it was really weird. It was the first time at Disney I felt like we saw people coming and going from WORK. They had like sweaters and purses and everything I thought they had a backstage way to get into the park, right? Why were they all coming past Tony's?

We also witnessed a lot of gossiping and inappropriate conversations in front of guests. I feel like it makes me old to say this (and I'm only 34,) but I work a lot with young people, and the new college generation has a very different idea of professionalism and I think that's very evident in the College Program CMs. It's so unfortunate.

HAHA Like another poster said that is how they get to work - it is Disney but they don't just magically appear at work and they do need their backpacks, purses, sweaters etc to go with them.

At AK there are very few backstage areas and the CMs there enter from the front just like you (but off to the side a bit) and walk through the park to get to their locations.

At Epcot there is a big circle around the back but they still have to do some criss crossing to get to their work locations.

Liz

 

[crostorfer]

Yes, there would be people screaming "Look there's a dead man - why is his head frozen??"

Can I "like" this? I want to "like" this. We need a "like" button.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Yes, there would be people screaming "Look there's a dead man - why is his head frozen??"

Mouthful of Coke + your post = you owe me a new keyboard.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Me too.

The OP said they were on the KTTK, which by definition means that they were seeing things the general public do not see. Were these CM's out in the open for all to see, or were they in a break area only accessible to guests who take a "behind the scenes" tour? If they are on break, should CM's from say the Haunted Mansion and from Buzz Lightyear be allowed to socialize out of sight from the general public?

Sorry, I'm a little dense this morning!

OP has taken KTTK tours IN PAST, during these siteings she was a regular diner at Tony's so in public area.

Thanks for helping clear it up for me. I updated the original post so there wouldn't be any more confusion I did see much of this while dining at Tony's, but it wasn't just that one occasion. I guess, based on Traveliz's response, I'm surprised I've never really noticed it before. It seems like it's pretty common.

 

[MinnieJay]

HAHA Like another poster said that is how they get to work - it is Disney but they don't just magically appear at work and they do need their backpacks, purses, sweaters etc to go with them.

At AK there are very few backstage areas and the CMs there enter from the front just like you (but off to the side a bit) and walk through the park to get to their locations.

At Epcot there is a big circle around the back but they still have to do some criss crossing to get to their work locations.

Liz

Couldn't had said it better myself Liz.
Now, former CM/CP here, and I was pretty good about keeping backstage and such at the areas I was trained at. However, cast members do get temporarily transferred and pick up shifts and maybe not know all the ins and outs of backstage and not always told how to do so. I am a victim of it lol. Picked up a shift at AK...never been so lost. Their backstage randomly opens up "onstage" at times to cross to another part of backstage. Also, they are considered OFF STAGE and Out of Costume if their work shirt is covered by a jacket, another shirt, etc. They can walk around areas that way.

 

[Butterbunkins]

As a former CM no, should not have seen any non-Main Street CMs on Main Street. It doesn't matter where the entrances to the utilidors are. There are multiple entrances in each land.

I am by no means a utilidor expert. I had it pretty easy when I worked there. I'm not sure how its set up now with the Fantasyland expansion, but the way it was we parked in a remote lot and were bused in. The bus dropped us at the back of Fantasyland. Right near the entrance you would pick up your "costume" and go to the locker rooms to change. We had to keep our personal items in our lockers. Right near here was also the lunchroom for breaks. I worked at Pinocchio's which had two ways to get in. Through the utilidor and since it was right in the back next to the bus drop off it also had a staircase right there. It was actually longer to go through the utilidor so I mostly just used that staircase.

I took a complete tour of the utildors when I started as a CM. It was emphasized to us over and over again how we were not be seen outside our land in costume. It was not tolerated for any reason nor should it be.

But things aren't what they used to be. On our last trip we got lunch from the kiosk on the Boardwalk. The CM working couldn't be bothered to get off her cell phone the whole time we were ordering and she was making our food. I don't know anywhere that this is acceptable so I was really surprised to see it at WDW.

 

[littlewitch34]

Sometimes, I think, depending on the costumes, some people have more freedom to travel between lands. Also, sometimes for parades, CMs will move to a place that might not be exactly in their land to assist with parade control, especially for the afternoon parades, as more CMs are brought in for the night-time parade, to help with the fact that the park is harder to navigate/keep orderly in the dark.

 

[Missytara]

I work with a guy whose wife grew up in Orlando and has a close life-long childhood friend that is one of the Mickeys. Diane is one of the few people on the planet that know it.

He says they are a best kept secret and have to go through several areas of the CM areas before getting into costume, so most CM's would not even know who she was.

 

[origin62]

I probably hadn't noticed it before because we never ate at Tony's and we never spent a large amount of time sitting in that one area. So this is just the entrance for Main St cast? We saw costumes from other lands going past too. Main St costumes wouldn't have looked that out of place, but these did. Thanks for letting me know.

Ah, now it makes sense. You happened to be near an access point used by many TTC CMs. You might have seen bus drivers, monorail, watercraft, and related CMs passing through that point. It's the easiest way for them to get to employee service areas behind and under the MK. I guess it could be jarring to see non-Main Street CMs walking around in that area.

The don't-walk-through-other-areas-in-your-costume rule is a lot looser in the other three parks, in part because many of their outfits are pretty generic an "unthemed."

 

[lc1965]

I'm tempted to print out this thread & mail it to the Dir of Theme Park Operations. My assumption is that this person is paid to worry about stuff like this, which I think it actually very important. Disney's ability to create & maintain the magic is its stock-in-trade! We talk about if-Walt-were-here, but I also think Michael Eisner would have had a coronary if he'd seen this sort of shoddy behavior.

 

[jpeka65844]

YES! I noticed this as well!

I saw a Tomorrowland CM in costume in Adventureland and saw Adventureland CM's on Main Street.

 

[Bullseye]

I remember from the Modern Marvels WDW episode they said that to his dismay Walt witnessd a frontierland cowboy walking through tommorowland at WDL, which supposedly contributed to the idea of having the utilidors at WDW. I know when my son was in Disney college if they were going to be in the park after work hours they had to change out of uniform.

 

[MissionMouse]

Yep, we have seen this more and more in recent trips. Lots of CMs working together carrying on personal conversations, many that are not at ALL appropriate to be had in front of guests. I've heard quite a few complaining about their jobs or other CMs.

This is what we recently experienced too and it is a reflection on Disney Management to manage their cast and the Disney "show."

 

[origin62]

I'm tempted to print out this thread & mail it to the Dir of Theme Park Operations. My assumption is that this person is paid to worry about stuff like this, which I think it actually very important. Disney's ability to create & maintain the magic is its stock-in-trade! We talk about if-Walt-were-here, but I also think Michael Eisner would have had a coronary if he'd seen this sort of shoddy behavior.

I agree with you in part. But, it was under Michael Eisner that revenue-before-show became the mindset at Disney. Finance-type CMs picked apart long-standing traditions and practices that cost money, and replaced them with "efficiencies" at the cost of show quality. Sadly, that line of thinking is the norm today.

 

[baseballmickey]

Sometimes, I think, depending on the costumes, some people have more freedom to travel between lands. Also, sometimes for parades, CMs will move to a place that might not be exactly in their land to assist with parade control, especially for the afternoon parades, as more CMs are brought in for the night-time parade, to help with the fact that the park is harder to navigate/keep orderly in the dark.

Parade duty is often when I'll notice this. Especially when Adventureland CMs are pulled into Frontierland to help.

I was CP years ago, and I remember cashing my check backstage in Main Street, not sure if that's still there. Could be a reason to CMs would be over there, though it does not excuse being seen, IMO. I believe the CM infirmary was over there as well. These were on the Firehouse side. To my knowledge, it was only parking on the Tony's side. I worked custodial, so unless I was assigned to a specific restaurant, my costume was good for all lands. One of the perks of that job.