Just got back...

[Mugglemama]

we just got back home to boise a few hours ago. we were at DLR monday and tuesday of this week.

i was kind of disappointed with this visit, to be honest. for the first time ever, i wondered to myself whether DLR is really worth the money.

i just didn't get that same feeling i usually have while there. i was sick of lines, and sick of militant CM's barking at everybody about those yellow lines (we stay behind them, but it gets so ANNOYING listening to them nag everyone for a child's tip toes barely brushing the edge of the line...). we were also a little pissed off when a CM tried to stop us from going into a friggin' gift shop before the rope drop. it was extremely warm outside and we just wanted to walk around in the air conditioning and look at souvenirs before the rope drop, but they acted like we were going to break into the rest of the park or something.

there were a lot of ride closures, although temporary. and i was totally annoyed that they insisted on measuring my kids 3 times for each and every ride that had height requirements, sheesh!

additionally, some crunchy CM working the Indy ride totally snapped at us when he pulled us out of line to measure my daughter (who by this time, had already been measured twice in the same line), and my husband said she'd already been measured two times.

i don't know. i just felt disenchanted with it all.

now for some useful info, lol. the lines weren't bad. we didn't use ridemax, and examples of the wait times were, 25 minutes for PP, 10 minutes or less for POTC, 30 minutes for Splash. at other times though, these same rides had much longer waits. we just happened to jump in line if we found the wait time to be reasonable.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Welcome home then I guess. What was the best part?

 

[bonofreak]

Sorry to hear that you did not have a great visit ...I hate to play devil's advocate here, but isn't it possible that the CM's are simply doing their jobs? And that there are reasons that they are trying to make sure that everyone is safe during parades and so we must all stay in certain areas and that there are height limits for safety reasons too? I understand that maybe some of them might get a little over zealous, but I really do believe for the most part they are simply doing their jobs. Afterall, if any of the guests were to get injured I'm sure they would be questioned as to how and why it happened...JMHO. But I really do hope the next time, you and your family have a really great trip! I'm seriously not trying to be rude, just trying to see it from all sides.

 

[mariezp]

I wonder if bonofreak may be right with some of her thoughts. (I'm not trying to be rude either.) What might have annoyed you really might have just been the cms trying to do the best they could. I imagine there are a great number of guests who never listen to a word they say. Also, each cm probably has no idea that your child just got measured and they have no idea if you child will go from barely standing on the line to suddenly jumping in front of a ride vehicle. With all the sue happy people out there, Disney has got to train its employees to do what they can to protect guests and themselves. They should, however, step up the training so that it also teaches them how to implement the rules without being rude.

On your behalf, I imagine that I would have come home feeling like some of the magic was missing, as well. I do hope you decide to give Disneyland another chance in the future.

 

[cruise cruise cruise]

I have no problem with CMs doing their job as long as they are doing it "magically" and not rudely.

But come on, I have never uderstood the reasoning that a child must be measured 3+ times in one ride cue. Do they not trust the first CM to make an appropraite call??

 

[MonkeyDishwasher]

Sometimes, people make their children taller when they first get in the queue so that they pass the first bar, and take their "height enhancers" off after they make the first bar. Sometimes, the CM doesn't know that the child has already been measured, and is doing their job by making absolutely sure that the child is tall enough.

And sometimes, just SOMETIMES (and I know this may be hard to believe), people LIE and say they've already been measured, when in all reality they just somehow circumvented another set of CM eyes. So I vote we please forgive the CMs for actually caring enough to not let somebody put their child in a potentially dangerous situation (and for protecting their own rears in the process!).

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Why not measure once at the end of the line? That solves the lying issue, and concern about if another CM did it or not.

From what I've heard people put on many socks, or wear high shoes. They usually don't remove them in line. If they are caught, that's one thing, but I don't see how measuring kids 2-3 times is going to stop people from doing that.

Sounds like doing this would just make the wait longer in line, with all this checking.

 

[MonkeyDishwasher]

But imagine if you got to the front of some 45 minute line, only to be turned away because you weren't tall enough to go on. Yeah, that can't be the best feeling in the world, all that wasted line time and anticipation.

And generally, the ones being measured are pulled to the side of the line so as not to lose their place, and not hold up the line, with another party member staying where they were. So, no, it really doesn't stop anyone from going anywhere. Being measured several times may be annoying, but it doesn't hurt to be absolutely without a doubt sure, regardless of whether or not someone else already looked.

Besides, it sounds like the kids got on OK afterward, so no foul.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Well true, but that's why they have those signs in the beginning of the line saying you must be "this tall" to ride.

I don't know, just seems odd that they need to do this now. I've been going my whole life and when I was a kid it never seemed to be an issue. You got measured once, and you paid attention to the signs.

 

[avalon451]

So sorry to hear your trip wasn't as magical as you had hoped.

 

[DangerMouse]

Well true, but that's why they have those signs in the beginning of the line saying you must be "this tall" to ride.

I don't know, just seems odd that they need to do this now. I've been going my whole life and when I was a kid it never seemed to be an issue. You got measured once, and you paid attention to the signs.

I'm sure that lawsuits weren't running rampant when you were a kid as well. I'm sure Disney, their lawyers, and the agencies that check for safety, are the ones who set the multiple check system in place. It's not there as an inconvenience. It's there because people are sue-happy and Disney needs to protect not only its guests, but itself.

To the OP, I'm sorry your trip wasn't all you hoped it would be. I've had disappointing visits myself. Hopefully the magic will return on your next trip.

 

[KelliLee702]

Why can't DLR measure a child then put a wrist band on them that indicates they have been officially measured?

 

[bonofreak]

Why can't DLR measure a child then put a wrist band on them that indicates they have been officially measured?

KellieLee, I think that is the best idea I've heard in a long time! So simple! It's the kind of idea you read and want to smack yourself on the forehead and say, "Why didn't I think of that?" Brilliant!

 

[danabalana]

Why can't DLR measure a child then put a wrist band on them that indicates they have been officially measured?

Genius

 

[DangerMouse]

Why can't DLR measure a child then put a wrist band on them that indicates they have been officially measured?

There was a time several years back where DLR tried this. From what I have read, it wasn't successful because the wristbands were shared or traded with others.

 

[Mugglemama]

Why can't DLR measure a child then put a wrist band on them that indicates they have been officially measured?

i agree, this is a FANTASTIC idea.

to everyone who mentioned that the CM's are just doing their job, i expected that kind of feedback. and i totally agree, they ARE just doing their job. i just found the redundancy annoying, that's all. it ends up feeling like work just to get on the darn ride.

it seems to me like disneyland stayed the same for a long time, and then in recent years there have been these obvious changes. i'm not trying to say that DL is not justified in implementing those changes, i'm just saying that i find some of them really irritating.

i'm sure we'll go back to DLR. in fact, we already have a trip planned for june for my daughter's graduation. i hope that trip is better.

 

[DisneyAprilFool]

Eh, I think sometimes- depending upon your attitude and how the day/trip is going, DLR CAN be less magical then you remember. It's all an attitude, after all. Sometimes, I go to DLR and wonder, "Why spend the money?" Othertimes, I go- like when we took my Grandmother, who had never been spoiled in her life, and was suffering from a terminal illness- and I cannot even say how special that time was at DLR with her.

Anyways, I'm sorry your trip wasn't magical I think the wristbands are a great idea- per se- but I understand that they'd be easily abused because people will go above and beyond to abuse any system set in place to get their kids on the rides.

 

[Disneyluvr2]

DisneyAprilFool is right....it's all in your attitude! I don't care when you go, there's ALWAYS going to be rude guests and maybe an over zealous CM or two but if you go to the park knowing this in advance you be in the right mind set and not let ANYONE ruin your trip! There are always more good things that happen than bad on my trips and I just focus on the good and let the bad roll off my back. I don't let anyone ruin my Disneyland trips for me! It's my time in the park and I spend a lot of money to go so I always have a great time no matter what!

Did you have any good memories from your trip? We'd love to hear them!

 

[CraftyMouse]

Wow, we were there at the same time and had a completely different experience. We found the CMs we encountered to be fun and upbeat and didn't have any of the negative encounters you described. Perhaps you just had a bit of bad luck.

As for the wristband idea, I believe they did this when California Adventure first opened. I seem to remember my kids getting them in California Adventure when we were there in 2002. Of course my brain function isn't as good as it once was, so perhaps I'm wrong, but I have a distinct memory of them getting the wristbands near the stroller rental just inside the park. I know that they've done this at Disney Quest and I think it's a fantastic idea that would eliminate so much of the hassle of having kids on the borderline.

 

[BlueBayou]

Sorry your trip was not magical this time.

We did a one day summer trip - because of all things some friends from Iowa with kids the same age were in town and our family from TN was at Disneyland too - Never in a million years did I ever thing something like that would happen. We were just along for the ride - trying to meet up with both groups and never pleasing anyone.

The day was horrible. We did everything the DIS tells to not to do (arrive after opening - go to DCA first and spend an hour shopping and eating ice cream - the list goes on and on). It ending with an overtired 2-year-old vomiting on my DH and the security blanket she needed to sleep with. Try blow drying a blanket with a little hotel hairdryer so you can get a screaming kid to bed. Not fun. If that had been our only trip - I doubt we would have ever gone back. But instead, after about a month to decompress, it had us thinking about a do-over trip to recapture the magic.

About the CMs and hight restrictions. I guess we just don't mind being measured over and over again. I have very petite girls. Neither one was 40 inches until they were 4 or 5 - so they had a decent comprehension of the height requirement. I measured them barefoot at home. If they were at the 39 1/2 inch mark barefoot - I got them prepared that they were close to making the height with their shoes on. I let them know that they would probably get measured over and over. I also let them know that depending on how they stood - they might make the height one day and not the next.

It was never a problem. Once my kids are tall enough - they are more than happy to prove it again and again.