So, what if anything can be done??

[diberry]

From recent trippies it seems there are 2 major causes of complaint after visits to DLP:
1. the lack of queues when meeting characters resulting in a "free-for-all" and generally unsatisfactory experience for children especially (and photos not as special as they could be because of lots of other people on them).
2. the less than charismatic behaviour of some CMs (a minority but enough to spoil the experience for some guests) who seem to be lacking the Disney spirit.
These complaints surface with great regularity.
So, is there anything we, as devoted Disney fans, can do about it?

 

[DisneyRGB]

(Helpful aren't I?!)

 

[diberry]

(Helpful aren't I?!)

It's not like you to be stuck for words!!!!!

 

[DisneyRGB]

It's not like you to be stuck for words!!!!!

Any ideas anyone?

 

[Rascal1003]

Yes, I have a bit of a theory, but I don't know the reality.
I would recommend Disney consider a management job-swap so that each can share in the experiences of the other parks.
I am certain that they can then consider best practices and there is then the potential for a balance in the way the parks are run.
I think the bias is with the French park being managed by American management that would lead to the most productive outcome.
This might also be a good thing to carry out through the more Customer Facing staff. Get some American team leaders in, or send the staff to Florida to develop the Disney-isms. It is the easiest solution. They would spot the problems quickly amd put measures in place to tackle them, but it has to be acknowledged from inside that there are these problems. Perhaps they are not aware ???

Or.............Employ me as Park Manager (Dream job !!), I have a few ideas on how to kick them into line !

As for the character queues, it seems to me that the biggest difference is the lack of input from the CM that attends the character. In WDW, the CM plays a pivotal role in crowd management. In DLP, they are often nowhere to be seen. Place the emphasis on these individuals as it seems they do not understand the importance of their job. (Including public safety).

I wonder if there are grounds to argue that the CM's in WDW are treated better and more respected than their counterparts in Paris. This makes them a more dedicated workforce as they appreciate the significance and importance of their place within the Global Corporation, regardless of job description.

Booo ! I quit work at 11am for Christmas and still can't drop the Project Manager's role.....I need some Chill-Out Pills !

Love you all and be sure to have a great Christmas !

 

[diberry]

Thank you for your ideas Russ. Oooh - running DLP - now that sounds like fun!!!! I agree that getting some Americans into the management team would be the ideal scenario but I think they are totally separate organisations. A while back I was having a major problem with DLP and wrote several letters and emails to no effect so in desperation I wrote to the American headquarters but my letter was returned and I was told they had no input and I would have to deal with DLP. I find this weird - as was said yesterday, Disney has a brand to protect - but they seem to have no influence over DLP. Shame! And you have a wonderful Christmas too Russ!!

 

[arieliwish]

I'm sad to see that this is still a problem in DLP, as we had the same experience on our only visit there in Nov 2000!! The queue thing was very frustrating, especially as the worst culprits were grown adults shoving small children out of their way to almost strangle Mickey and Minnie!!
We were bitten by the disney magic then, but didn't experience the full splendour of it until our visits to WDW, which is sad, but I do know a lot of people prefer WDW for these and other reasons, such as weather, cost, etc.

 

[Cyrano]

I think in a positive way we can help the change.
I'm never thought to go to City Hall and commend a CM who has given good service, smiled or gone the extra mile with the troops.
Next visit I'm determined to record the name of a CM who deserves recognition and equally a CM who would benefit from additional customer service training will also be named.
If all of us told City Hall that the Character interaction could be better handled then perhaps they might do something

 

[diberry]

I think in a positive way we can help the change.
I'm never thought to go to City Hall and commend a CM who has given good service, smiled or gone the extra mile with the troops.
Next visit I'm determined to record the name of a CM who deserves recognition and equally a CM who would benefit from additional customer service training will also be named.
If all of us told City Hall that the Character interaction could be better handled then perhaps they might do something

Great ideas Reid!! Praising good CMs by name and mentioning by name less than satisfactory ones could have an effect. Also if enough people comment on the unsatisfactory character interactions the powers that be might take notice. But I do think it's important to comment on all the good aspects too.

 

[emmaness]

I agree the free-for-all is totally ridiculous. I got my photo with a couple of characters this time, but only because I was lucky and caught them when there were very few people around! I wouldn't feel right barging in in front of a little kid or something, they would be mortified!! Some people are just completely shameless though.

They would have to take action if enough people complained! *nods*

 

[jodyb]

Diana, this is a lovely thought - that we could "do something", but as I said in my first post about what happened to me this year (not in my trippie though, maybe I should have) here is what I think as far as facilitating change:

I truly believe that people do not appreciate being TOLD how to behave, and a lot of behavior is culture-bound, so that what we might consider rude, is actually not seen that way by others - as bizarre as that may seem to us, because we think "how can they not think it's horrid to elbow a 6 year old!??" or whatever... and of course from our point of view we are absolutely right... but your question was not about who is right, it was about how we can make things better. And I think that the only way to do this is the what we are doing now, and every time we go to DLP - we are SETTING AN EXAMPLE. By keeping our love for the place and what it stands for alive, by going with a smile, time after time, and by keeping our positive love and attitude foremost, we are slooooowwwwwwly, but surely, changing not only DLP but the world. I think it's fine to report once in a while when things happen that are not to our liking - everyone needs to vent and get support from like-minded people - we are human and we like a little pity and comfort once in a while... but I would only complain about DLP on a forum where everyone loves it as much as I do BECAUSE I know, and I believe, that on the whole it is a beautiful place full of kindness and magic, and that BY OUR EXAMPLE, the small amount of negative is slowly evolving to a happy "medium" that can make everyone feel good.
As for the character interactions specifically - Liav and I made a particular effort this year to observe the people of other cultures, looking to see if they were unhappy. What I saw was a bit of a revelation. I had been so busy being "upset" that there was no queue for the characters and that the CM's accompanying them did not organize things, that I had missed how HAPPY everyone seemed!!! The crowds - yes, disorganized and frustrating as they were to us - of little kids around Stitch, Woody, and some bear character whose name escapes me - were full of SMILING kids - all from cultures other than my own (and non-English speaking) were not suffering!! Our perceptions can sometimes cloud our "good-bad" meters... I had a flash that standing in a quiet and orderly queue where the only person interacting with the character is the one whose "turn" it was, was maybe just not quite as exciting or "happy" as the "chaos" they seemed to enjoy.
I'm NOT advocating that we don't have organized queues! I'm just saying that "our way" is not always the "right way". What is ALWAYS right is people being considerate of one another and looking out for one another and as long as we keep a positive attitude and our love for the place and for all people foremost in our minds, we ARE facilitating change - and the change will evolve naturally and painlessly.
I believe that "fighting against" something, only shines a light on the bad, and causes resentment. So I'll keep going to the Disney parks, probably for the rest of my life, and I'll keep behaving in the way that I deem right, and trying to notice only the good in everyone else. I have a feeling that 10 years from now we can start a thread called "How things have changed for the better", and even with no "wars" against the "horrid" things that we don't like we'll have tons of responses to celebrate!!!! YAY!!!!

 

[Joanne UK]

Jody,

That is such a good point you made about what is frustrating to us actually makes the children happy. I had, what I considered to be a frustrating experience last summer with Genie. Amber was one of the first children to go up to him and he signed a couple of autographs then ran off. He did this about half a dozen times with the crowd getting larger all the time. I was getting really fed up with literally having to chase him around as Amber was determined not to give up, but the children were absolutely loving it. Eventually he did sign Amber's book - I'm sure he realised that she had been there for the duration. She always says that Genie is the best character she has ever met. Obviously with a character doing this there is not much any assisting CM could do to keep order anyway.


We're fortunate that we haven't had any unpleasant experiences with CM's. I think one would have to be really rude or out of order for me to actually report him/her. I do agree though it's a good idea to praise one who has been really good above and beyond the call of duty - it had never occurred to me either to do that but it's definately something I will try and do on future visits.

I've seen people shouting and being generally rude to CM's - one English person inparticular I remember ridiculing a cleaner in a really demeaning and loud manner because she had missed some litter on the pavement. She smiled at him and apologised. Nobody should have to put up with that from anyone. Incredibly, on another occasion I saw someone (English again) complaining to a CM that the songs being sung in Belle's Christmas Village were in French! On the whole I think the CM's do a fantastic job bearing in mind that they must be confronted with this kind if idiocy several times a day and most of the time they respond to it in a courteous and Disney like fashion.

 

[diberry]

This is really bringing up some very thoughtful and interesting ideas. I totally agree Jody that having a positive attitude is absolutely essential and though we may complain about things we don't like, we all love Disney immensely and it would take an awful lot of negative issues to stop us going back! I'm sure the vast majority of us will always love the whole Disney ethic and like you we'll keep going back as long as we're physically capable of getting there!!! I only put the thread up because there have been a lot of comments lately about the lack of queues and a few less than wonderful CMs and I thought that rather than keep repeating these comments maybe there was a way to help the situation along - I'm not very good at "wait and see"!!! You make some excellent points Jody about the magic and setting a good example but pushing children out of the way and rude CMs are not examples of: "people being considerate of one another". I don't think it hurts to bring these points to the attention of management as long as it's done in a positive way and the good points, of which there are an enormous number, are also commented upon.

 

[jodyb]

Diana - absolutely, I agree with you and Reid- letting the management know in a positive manner that something "unDisney" took place is certainly not a bad idea. I hope it didn't sound as if I meant otherwise.

Also, I'll say this because it's apropos to this thread, that I am going to say in the next installment of my trip report:
The day after our really bad experience at the Lucky Nugget Liav and I played the "benefit of the doubt" game to make ourselves feel better. We decided that the CMs in the restaurant were frazzled and under the gun because it WAS frightfully busy because of the rain, AND we decided that the waiter that held Liav "hostage" probably has been made to pay in the past when his customers left without paying the bill, and we would not want that to happen to him again! And etc etc... in other words, we tried to come to an "understanding" of how this type of thing could happen, AND we reasoned that if that waiter had known English better he may have been able to communicate to Liav without terrorizing her... in other words, they were probably, like us, just having a "bad day" and are just human after all. After playing this game we felt a lot better, and the truth is, if it hadn't been so expensive, we probably would have gone back on a different day and hour just to have a better experience to report. Tune in next year!

 

[diberry]

That is such a brilliant attitude Jody - I really admire that way of a putting a positive spin on things - fantastic Disney spirit!!!

 

[Cyrano]

That is such a brilliant attitude Jody - I really admire that way of a putting a positive spin on things - fantastic Disney spirit!!!

I agree. Worth keeping this in mind when things don't go as planned

 

[SandraVB79]

As for the character queues, it seems to me that the biggest difference is the lack of input from the CM that attends the character. In WDW, the CM plays a pivotal role in crowd management. In DLP, they are often nowhere to be seen. Place the emphasis on these individuals as it seems they do not understand the importance of their job. (Including public safety).

One day, I saw poor little Daisy Duck almost get crushed. There was no CM around, and she was just attacked by kids, I felt sorry for her!

I'm sad to see that this is still a problem in DLP, as we had the same experience on our only visit there in Nov 2000!! The queue thing was very frustrating, especially as the worst culprits were grown adults shoving small children out of their way to almost strangle Mickey and Minnie!!
We were bitten by the disney magic then, but didn't experience the full splendour of it until our visits to WDW, which is sad, but I do know a lot of people prefer WDW for these and other reasons, such as weather, cost, etc.

First of all, I have never shoved kids away at DL.
BUT: I am maybe a little tall and old to be a kid, I am a big fan of mickey and Minnie Mouse. I pay lots of money to go to DLP to have a picture with Minnie Mouse. Do you think I managed to get one at DLP with Minnie? NO! That makes me mad. Yes, I know those kids like pictures and autographs and stuff, but jeez, it's not because I'm an adult that I don't have the right to get on a picture with her.
I wished they would just form a line, and wait for their turn, just like in california. That way, everyone gets his/her picture, without 38 other people in the picture. I wished the CM accompanying the character (if there is one), would tell the people to get in line, just as they do for the picture with Mickey.

 

[cannp123165]

It would be great if they had lines....... or like in WDW they have character halls.
I have seen Winnie the Pooh with a queue at DLP and I am sure it works much better as you would get a few minutes on your own with him- although his queue was very long.
Another good thing is in the Studios, in October we arrived about 30 minutes before park opening and Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck were there- and there were only about 3 people getting autographs/ photos with them- it was one of the highlights of my trip, especially as it was the first time we entered a park.

 

[wideeyes]

Hi everyone!
when my daughter had her picture taken with belle near the castle there was a queue rope and we waited about 15 minutes.

I find it easier to meet the characters at the hotel as they always had queues at the meet and greet location . They were also characters in the lobby during the afternoon and not many people about so it is worth checking the notice broad at the hotel as it lets you know the times they will be their.

In regards to adults shoving, i find it is some parennts who shove there children to the characters the worse.

Once i rember a parent shoving their scared child up to a characther screaming " It just a man in a costume" at them. Not nice for the younger children around.

 

[Queenie]

I have to say that my only experience of DLP was somewhat marred by negative experiences which could easily have been rectified (they would never have occurred in WDW I'm sure.) On New Year's Eve the queue for the Explorer's etc hotels was right around to the Disney Village. While this was to be expected on such a busy night, it still seemed to take MUCH longer that it should to get to the front, which was when I figured out what was happening. People (mainly Europeans from where I was standing) were just walking to the front of the queue and getting on the buses and the CM's were ignoring this, it was also happening on the ride queues. It was only when some British battle-axe type women started kicking up a fuss (as only us Brits can) that the CM's stopped leaning against a tree smoking and started sending people to the back of the queue. The smoking thing also bothered me as every time I stood in a queue I was permanently in a cloud of smoke. As an asthmatic it could have caused a lot of damage to me and landed me in hospital, I was lucky.

I agree that some American management could really help out at DLP.