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

[ellyn2000]

Finally finished this thread and boy was it worth it! Thank you, CM's, for all you do to make my vacations magical. I will be certain to thank you in person on my upcoming trip!

 

[loughmann]

I'm wondering about the sharing of table services. We are going with a group of 10. Some of those 10 are visiting friends for a few days so there will certainly be TS's left over. I didn't think that you can share them. Are the really strict about this at the restaurants? Obviously CS's are alot easier to share.

I was able to add family to ours that were not on the dining plan. Remember 18% gratuity is automatically added.

 

[amberg93]

I'm not a CM at Disney but I was a team member at a Cedar Fair park (owned by Cedar Point) and I worked custodial (sort of, I just did sweeping and other things like that) and I have to say that whenever someone came up and talked to me, it made my day. Even more so when they thanked me for what I was doing because it gets hot out there cleaning up after everyone else.

Plus, this time around I really need to write down names. I'm still kicking myself from last time when we had a super amazing waiter and never took down his name.

 

[ellyn2000]

I agree amberg93....I will make more of an effort this trip to acknowledge excellence whenever I can, including contacting Disney after out trip. I want to encourage those doing such a good job to keep up the good work because it really makes a difference.

 

[cinderellagirl2280]

I'm not a CM at Disney but I was a team member at a Cedar Fair park (owned by Cedar Point) and I worked custodial (sort of, I just did sweeping and other things like that) and I have to say that whenever someone came up and talked to me, it made my day.

Which Cedar Fair Park? Wonderland? Just wondering since I'm a platinum pass holder .

Well 81 pages later and I'm done reading! This is going to be the longest wait however I have a ton of tips to take with me next year. I think for me the biggest tip I can take from here is to not overplan and to enjoy myself! I know that when I walk through those gates and see the castle I'll be like a giddy school girl and lord help Cinderella when I meet her (someone should video it) because I'll be like a 2 year old all giddy with excitement lol. (To give you an idea...my friend got Cinderella to make a video message to me a few years ago and I watch it daily!)

As a first time solo visitor any suggestions or tips?

 

[jlm196]

Bump

 

[vikster1]

Awesome thread. Thanks for the tips!

 

[bowmandanielle]

Going for our first trip in March next year, sitting here with my "Disney planning book" writing down tips like crazy!!! Love this!!

 

[DizkneeFreak]

Hi there! I've been reading DIS for a while and finally decided to post. I hope I do it right!

I have been going to WDW since it opened. Albeit, I was too young to remember the early days! One of my favorite things to do is talk to the CMs. They are some of the nicest, kindest people I have ever met. I think it is great that they have their hometown on their name tags... it makes it easy to strike up a conversation when you can say "Oh I see you are from xxx!"

I don't need pixie dust or anything like that. I am just grateful they are always friendly and willing to help. I always say thank you, even when I am not asking for help, rather just conversating. We are leaving for WDW trip this coming Sunday! I can't wait because I wasn't able to fit in a trip last year due to illness. Anyway, this thread has inspired me to do something a little extra when showing my gratitude to CMs... I had personalized thank you cards made up... I wish I could post it here, but I do not have 10 post yet. They are about the size of a return address label, but a little bigger, and they have a picture of happy ghosts, black cat and bats on the front left side that says "Thank you for making our day extra magical!" On the flip side it says:
"Mark & Debi O'Keefe
New Jersey

Saratoga Springs
Halloween 2013"

http: //i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy54/hdgurl02/TY_zpsad0c426b.jpg
(had to put two spaces after the http: so I could post the link)

I got them made at Zazzle.com. They were really quite affordable... $23 for 60.

 

[pampam]

Hi there! I've been reading DIS for a while and finally decided to post. I hope I do it right!

I have been going to WDW since it opened. Albeit, I was too young to remember the early days! One of my favorite things to do is talk to the CMs. They are some of the nicest, kindest people I have ever met. I think it is great that they have their hometown on their name tags... it makes it easy to strike up a conversation when you can say "Oh I see you are from xxx!"

I don't need pixie dust or anything like that. I am just grateful they are always friendly and willing to help. I always say thank you, even when I am not asking for help, rather just conversating. We are leaving for WDW trip this coming Sunday! I can't wait because I wasn't able to fit in a trip last year due to illness. Anyway, this thread has inspired me to do something a little extra when showing my gratitude to CMs... I had personalized thank you cards made up... I wish I could post it here, but I do not have 10 post yet. They are about the size of a return address label, but a little bigger, and they have a picture of happy ghosts, black cat and bats on the front left side that says "Thank you for making our day extra magical!" On the flip side it says:
"Mark & Debi O'Keefe
New Jersey

Saratoga Springs
Halloween 2013"

http: //i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy54/hdgurl02/TY_zpsad0c426b.jpg
(had to put two spaces after the http: so I could post the link)

I got them made at Zazzle.com. They were really quite affordable... $23 for 60.

 

[DizkneeFreak]

Thank you, pampam!

 

[heidihoho50]

If you want to acknowledge a waiter/waitress, is it better to give message to a manager at that restaurant or still at guest relations?

 

[mom2of2]

If you want to acknowledge a waiter/waitress, is it better to give message to a manager at that restaurant or still at guest relations?

Either or both. Sometimes managers are really busy and forget to fill out the paperwork and the server never knows.

 

[PoohBearFriends]

Thank you for all the ideas. We have received great info from talking to CMs also. Always fun.

During Dream promotion we had a princess balloon on the stroller a CM not from dream team came up and asked the girls if they would like to meet 2 princesses privately. The girls were able to meet Cinderella and Aurora in a pvt audience. It was amazing.

That CM spent time answering ? And giving us info. Funny part was after we were talking for a bit I looked at her nametag and she was from our town. Too random! The attendant for the princesses gave all of us a hard time.

 

[Badamon]

Bump

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Laundry rooms are actually a separate building from the hotels, at least at the values they are, so no need to worry about noise from them as your room won't be connected to the actual laundry area itself. They are just asking for a room that has a short distance to walk to the laundry building.

Actually the laundry room at WL is in the building we had a room a cross the hall but a few doors down from the laundry room. So convenient and never heard anything. At AKL the laundry is on the third floor but a few feet from the rooms.

 

[polineedyan]

From personal experience...If you lose something in the park, don't waste your whole day retracing your steps. Check in at the main Lost and Found location (at MK, it's City Hall) at the end of the day. If it hasn't been found, they will give you a card for the Central Lost and Found (at the TTC where the kennel used to be), and you can call and check periodically. Just specify the park and the date the item was lost. Any items not claimed at the end of each day gets shipped over to the Central Lost and Found the next morning.

We lost my DH's brand-new android phone on our first day this last trip. We wasted an hour or two retracing our steps, checked City Hall several times, and felt pretty miserable about it. After a day or two, they had it at the Central Lost and Found location. Apparently, it slipped out of his pocket during Space Mountain and it took a while to be found.

This is great advice! My dss had dropped his ipod exiting little mermaid at hollywood studios. it was lost. we asked the cast members, but the shows were a half an hour long, and they hadnt found it after one show. he was so mad. he had given up hope.
after riding a few rides we decided to check the front desk. it was there. and they gave us passes for toy story. dont lose hope, people are nicer than you think. i think?

 

[Kpskyman]

I loved reading this thread. So many great CM's out there, and so many wonderful guests doing wonderful things for others. Now for a few of my favorite tips...
1) when using transportation, be courteous, everyone is excited in the morning and tired at night, expect meltdowns and grumpiness.
2) Take time to enjoy the little added touches. There are so many things to look at that are normally missed, for example, the top windows on Main Street is actually a HOF of Famous Disney Employees, see how many you recognize. Look for Paul Revere's 2 lanterns in the tower to the HOP. In Muppet Vision, in the pre room, overhead, you can see an ode to Annette Funnicello,( a net full of Jello). These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the little things that make Disney special
3) treat the parks as you would your home, Don't spit, throw garbage, run, etc... One trip I took, I actually witnessed a man pic up his boy while in line for HM, put him on the right side wall, and allow him to urinate..
4) My final tip for now... If you really enjoyed something,anything, be sure to let a CM know it.

 

[NEDisneyFans]

I loved all the tips, and decided to make "thank you" cards to hand out to CMs (in addition to "reporting" them).

Found a great deal at Vistaprint ($10 off advanced design* + free shipping; coupon code "FINISH") and made this for our upcoming trip:

Front of the card:



The photo array was already there, just plugged in our photos!

Also sprang for full-color on the back of the card:



Can't wait until they arrive!

*Advanced design allows for the most customization.

 

[ms.ojo]

This is great advice! My dss had dropped his ipod exiting little mermaid at hollywood studios. it was lost. we asked the cast members, but the shows were a half an hour long, and they hadnt found it after one show. he was so mad. he had given up hope. after riding a few rides we decided to check the front desk. it was there. and they gave us passes for toy story. dont lose hope, people are nicer than you think. i think?

It sometimes takes awhile for the ride, attraction, restaurant to bring the item to the front. Some seem to hold onto it longer in case ppl retrace but they are all suppose to turn things in at the end of each day.