To the CM's on the board: what is the one "tip" you can give us?

[mebbradley]

I know tons and tons of people use this website, and I do too, but only for park operating hours and EMH hours.

I have tried to use it on several occasions for things such as the Jammitors and character meet n greet times and have found it to be incredibly inaccurate.

I MISS YOU, Roommate!

 

[mickeyonasticky]

I MISS YOU, Roommate!

AAAAHH I miss you too!!!

 

[princessbride6205]

Found this thread a few days ago, and just finished reading! Took me 3 or 4 sittings.

Excellent advice throughout. I can't wait for our next trip to really focus on the magic: interact with CMs, report fabulous ones to guest services, and sprinkle some pixie dust on other guests.

 

[ejrj]

I soooo enjoyed this thread. Bumping so others can read too!

 

[mickeyonasticky]

I just got home from work about half an hour ago. Here are my two tips from tonight:

Don't be afraid to ask Cast Members for assistance, even on the tiniest things. For some reason tonight, more than usual, I had Guests very cautiously asking me, "Can I ask you a quick question?" Typically they're asking if we carry a certain item, where they can find something, etc. Don't worry about bugging us with "little" things. That's why we're there. To help you.

On the other side of the coin, don't be afraid to ask Cast Members for assistance, even with larger, more out-of-the-way, potentially time consuming things. Tonight I helped a woman and her daughter shop for about twenty minutes. I helped them carry their items around while we looked, I offered my opinion on items for gifts, I showed them where they could find things. And when they were done, I took them right up to a register that had no line. I was more than happy to help these Guests. What I'm saying is, don't worry about taking up my time. All I was doing was stocking the plush section. It'll still be there at the end of the night :]

Ooh, I just thought of a third tip that kind of goes along with the previous two.

You'll definitely get better Guest service if you're nice to us. If you're gracious and sweet, we're more likely to go out of our way to help you. At least that's how it works for me personally. (Not to say that I give bad Guest service to rude Guests. I think you know what I mean.)

 

[Bonniec]

You CMs rock! I wrote about this in another thread I think but I wanted to briely mention it to the CMs.

I have a very shy 5 year old son. He thought pirates were "bad" and we were trying to show him that some pirates are cool....since that's kinda all Disney has for little boys. He was afraid to go on POTC but he had just been on Everest earlier that day and loved it, so I knew he could handle it. When we got about halfway through the line, he started getting upset so we left out an exit door. A very nice pirate saw my son and spent a good 10 minutes or so talking to him and showing him how cool pirates are. Then he took us right back in and straight to the ride. My son ended up loving the ride of course.


Since that time, my son now loves pirates. He has watched the POTC movies, asked to be one for Halloween, etc. I of course wrote in about the CM and how awesome he was.


Between this and how awsome CMs are with pin trading, I have really noticed a difference in my son's shyness. Disney is really bringing him out of his shell (we have passes)! So a HUGE thanks to all you CMs. You all touch our lives in probably more ways than you will ever know.

 

[THEJOEL]

The best tips I got from this thread on our last trip were:
1) Look before you leap. Check the lines at the entrance and take a quick glimpse.
2) The CS lines have a left and a right. I used this tip many times and got the remark, "Oh they serve both sides." I never waited to order an jumped in front of people every time.
3)Stop and smell the roses.
4)Be nice and smile!! (This one paid off NUMEROUS times w/)

 

[IMACM]

As a former CM/dine agent that took informational calls as well....

The 3 o'clock parade in MK really does start at 3 o'clock and thank you for calling WDW, have a Magical day!!!

 

[DizDragonfly]

As a former CM/dine agent that took informational calls as well....

The 3 o'clock parade in MK really does start at 3 o'clock and thank you for calling WDW, have a Magical day!!!

Except for a couple of weeks this past July, when it started at 3:30.

 

[ppony]

That gave me goosebumps! It's the CMs like you ESPECIALLY that make the magic at our (collective "our") favorite place. W/O you guys, it's simply be real estate. Cute real estate but nothing super magical. Like adding water, add CMs and BAM! BLESS YOU!!!!!

and
**** @ mickeyonastickey... you have the BEST user ID EVAH!


This is easily my most FAVORITE thread EVER on DIS.

As a former CM I would like to say is don't be afraid to ask us for anything. Perfect example, I have seen many a family miss out on a really awesome photo op when there wasn't a photopass location around cause they had no one stop to take a picture for them nor did they ask a CM to take the photo for them. We will GLADLY take the photo for you (provided we're not terribly busy) and we will do anything to help. I also like suggesting some awesome hidden magical moments and of course I like to also share my favorites that I have in each park.

Another tip I have for my fellow DIS'ers is to just relax and be patient. Its vacation, enjoy it! No use stressing and crying over spilled milk, if something doesn't pan out, don't freak out, there's always a little sprinkle of pixie dust at the end of your tunnel. And sometimes, depending on the moment, at the end of that pixie dust is a Cast Member. I have a moment of sprinkling some pixie dust, I worked at the BBB in DTD and I was going out to pixie dust in the World of Disney and I noticed a princess walking around the store who got done up in the Boutique and her Fairytale Princess bun was falling out (as in she had it done that morning and it was already falling apart) and I said to her "Princess, my goodness. Stitch just flew by, bottled up all the magic in your hair with a straw and ran away! You can't go to the royal ball without magic hair. We must fix it before its midnight!!" She was with her mother and the mother looked at me and said "well you heard your fairy godmother, what're we to do!?" Now on this particular day it was a rather busy day in the boutique but I decided on my own accord to shuttle this special princess into the boutique and back into the chair to fix her hair. As I fixed her hair, me and another fairy godmother proceeded to sing to the princess as we fixed her up. We sang part of your world together and got applause from everyone in the boutique and from everyone in World of Disney who were within hearing distance. Once I was finished with her hair and I had turned her around in the mirror, she smiled into the mirror and she looked at me with the same smile on her face and said "Thank you Fairy Godmother. I feel absolutely ready for the ball. You made me feel beautiful!"

With a hug and a wave she was off to the ball. And at that moment it was little moments like that that made me happy and proud to hold the title of cast member.

 

[mickeyonasticky]

**** @ mickeyonastickey... you have the BEST user ID EVAH!

Awww, thanks :]]

 

[ocean134]

I agree with the Fastpass...."giveaways".....On our last trip - We always had extra fastpasses (kids too short, etc...) and I always looked for a a group/family with the same amount of people as the fastpasses I had left, and I would ask if they wanted them.....I would get just as excited seeing their expressions as riding the ride!


I just hope someone(s) return the favor this trip...

I've done this before too. My sister, BIL and I had FP for Space Mountain. The stand-by line was pretty short, so we got in that line and figured we would use our FP later. Well, once we rode, we decided that was enough for us and saw a group of 3 just getting into the stand-by and asked them if they wanted our FP. I can rememeber the smiles spreading across their faces to this day. It was awesome and it made all of us feel pretty good.

I have also mentioned, on a trip in Oct. '09, I was in line getting breakfast and the lady behind me offered to buy my meal since she and her family were leaving that morning and wouldn't use the rest of their QS meals for their dining plan. I was thrilled. Sometimes it not just CMs that spread the Disney magic.

 

[ocean134]

The exception for that seems to be PotC, every time I go on there tons of people to go the left even though the CM directs them to the right so we get a shorter wait

I was going to say the same thing. I notice that the right line is typically shorter than the left. I suppose it's because, normally, most guests are coming from the left (entrance of Adventureland) than from the right so they head directly for the first line at POTC (left) than walk a few more feet to the right. Funny.

 

[lakeman]

I read the whole thread in one day. Didn't get much work done I guess.

One time I was getting off of TT and saw this lady struggling to get out of the car. I think she had a spat with her husband or something because he just walked away. I noticed she couldn't walk so I immediately told my family wait a second and I headed over to her and picked her up and out of the car. It was like no one was going to help her. She was so thankful but hacked off at whoever she was with for leaving her. I'll never understand what happened. Anyway I was glad to help her and hope her day got a little better.

I love all the stories of people helping people and making their days more magical with a kind gesture or just a thank-you.

We will be going back again for the 8th time with my family of 4 and 4 newbies. Should be fun and I promise to slow down and enjoy the magic.

 

[Clochette nordique]

bump!

Poussière de fée!

 

[Pjimmeyer]

 

[April1971]

Not a CM but a couple of things I haven't seen here yet:

Request: Please turn off your bluetooth headset on the rides if it has a light on it. We endured a ride on POTC blinded by the blinking bluetooth earpiece of the man in front of us. And wouldn't you know that was the time the ride was stopped for 15 minutes? I know the man didn't realize that it was a problem, so to anyone else with such a device, please realize that the flashing is surprisingly bright in a dark room.

Tip: Beware of when the restaurants close. I have two very picky vegetarians and we had planned to eat at Pinocchio's for pizza, but arrived just after it closed, even though the park was still open for another couple of hours. The only other foods they liked were offered at table service restaurants which were fully booked. I found myself saying the words I never expected to utter after years of Disney visits: I want to go home. (Said very whiny too.) We ended up at another QS place, cobbling together a meal of carrots, yogurt and chocolate milk, and the CM who heard me complaining to my DH about this problem (we have always been disappointed with Disney's lack of vegetarian kid options AND with our annoyingly picky children), the CM gave us a free dessert. Very sweet of her and it really went a long way in me forgiving Disney (but not my kids Anyway, in the future, I won't assume the restaurants will be open the same hours as the park and plan accordingly and I hope this tip helps others avoid the same mistake!

 

[DisneyFan1980]

We will be leaving for WDW in a few short days. Tomorrow I will be printing business size cards that I will be handing out to CM's each day. We started doing this a couple trips ago and I know how much they are appreciated! Our DD worked for WDW on the college program for a couple of years and she's the one that opened ours eyes to this. The CM's aren't the only ones that can brighten a day, we can do that for them as well!!!! And it warms our hearts to see that extra bright smile that little card can bring.

I also miss the bus drivers talking, especially late in the evenings. We've had some that have made the rides back to the resorts such fun. They would share trivia, get people singing, etc.

 

[mickeyonasticky]

We will be leaving for WDW in a few short days. Tomorrow I will be printing business size cards that I will be handing out to CM's each day. We started doing this a couple trips ago and I know how much they are appreciated! Our DD worked for WDW on the college program for a couple of years and she's the one that opened ours eyes to this. The CM's aren't the only ones that can brighten a day, we can do that for them as well!!!! And it warms our hearts to see that extra bright smile that little card can bring.

I also miss the bus drivers talking, especially late in the evenings. We've had some that have made the rides back to the resorts such fun. They would share trivia, get people singing, etc.

Ooh, come visit me! I want a card! haha :]]

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

We will be leaving for WDW in a few short days. Tomorrow I will be printing business size cards that I will be handing out to CM's each day. We started doing this a couple trips ago and I know how much they are appreciated! Our DD worked for WDW on the college program for a couple of years and she's the one that opened ours eyes to this. The CM's aren't the only ones that can brighten a day, we can do that for them as well!!!! And it warms our hearts to see that extra bright smile that little card can bring.

I also miss the bus drivers talking, especially late in the evenings. We've had some that have made the rides back to the resorts such fun. They would share trivia, get people singing, etc.

What do your cards look like?