"Treasured Guest" moment

[ErinCat]

We were waiting in a long line for Magical Mickey Saturday night. We were surrounded by multiple families who were letting their kids in and out between the ropes to play in the area between the Mickey meet and the Tinkerbell meet and generally driving the cast members crazy. We get up to the first anteroom where the stand-by line meets the FP+ line. In front of us are an adult and two girls who looked to be 16 and 10. The 16 year old had no shoes. She said that she never wore shoes. The CM actually arranged for her to be brought free shoes. No thank you, nothing. Then they were sent into the next waiting room. Mickey must have had to take a break for some cheese, because the ten year old came back out and asked for "paper" to use to pull out her tooth. And argued for the CM to go get her some paper. The poor CM finally told her to not pull her tooth until after she saw Mickey. My daughter and I then went into the first waiting room and then followed the shoeless teen and tooth pulling girl into Mickey's dressing room. When it came time for them to see Mickey the CM said loudly something like, "these guests have come a long way to meet you" I think it was a code because I have never seen a group of people get rushed through a meet with Mickey so fast in my life!

 

[KimBean]

So sad and funny at the same time. This girl was walking around the park not wearing shoes? You would think there would rides she could not get on without shoes.

 

[pampam]

Thanks for reporting. I'm guessing the barefoot girl really didn't want any shoes. Do you think the adult with them was a parent? I'd never let my children act like that.

 

[Alesia]

I cannot believe they didn't eject the girl from the park for refusing to wear shoes.

 

[Magpie]

I cannot believe they didn't eject the girl from the park for refusing to wear shoes.

While Disney's dress code does say, "Proper attire, including shoes and shirts, must be worn at all times," I'm guessing it isn't enforced as long as the guest isn't entering any areas that serve food. I've seen plenty of people, especially near the end of the day, hobbling along barefoot with their shoes in their hand.

While my mum never let me, back in the 70s going barefoot was quite the fashion for awhile among certain granola-lovin' segments of the population. I remember being SO jealous when the traveling chess prodigies came to town in the early eighties... they were about 8 and 12, homeschooled, and never wore shoes. To me, it seemed like they were living the sweet life.

And in the 90's I once worked at a comic book store where, for a couple of months one summer, none of us wore shoes. Our boss didn't care! And it was fun to run around footloose and footwear-free. But that kind of thing is very self-limiting in Canada (it gets cold!).

In any case, I don't think there's any reason to eject the girl from the parks, just because she prefers to go barefoot. She's no hazard to you or anyone else, though your kid might get jealous.

 

[lovethattink]

I guess security and tapstile cm failed to notice?

 

[mom2rtk]

I can absolutely see Disney insisting on shoes being worn. Because when that girl steps on something sharp and hurts herself, the parents are going to want someone (besides themselves) to pay.

Now, whether a given CM would follow on that policy at a given time would be highly variable.

 

[mom2rtk]

I guess security and tapstile cm failed to notice?

I'm guessing the girl's mom probably had the shoes in her backpack somewhere else in the park.

 

[Magpie]

Thanks for reporting. I'm guessing the barefoot girl really didn't want any shoes. Do you think the adult with them was a parent? I'd never let my children act like that.

I think my favourite "I'd never let my kid act like that!" moment was watching a little boy use the hand rails in the monorail as his own personal gymnasium. He was even hanging upside down. And all the while his mother is determinedly ignoring him.

Meanwhile, two unrelated children (a boy and a girl) are sitting next to me staring at him with their mouths open and eyes bugging out. I could practically hear them thinking, "Our mom would NEVER let us do that!!"

Eventually, he managed to swing around and kick his mum in the face. Whereupon she said, "Quit it!" But she didn't make him get down, or anything. She just glared, rubbed her cheek and went back to ignoring him. He didn't even have to apologize! I thought the good little girl next to me was going to fall out of her seat from sheer astonishment.

It was highly entertaining, but I was happy when I got to my stop and could make my escape before the kid either booted me in the head or landed on his own head.

Give me a bare footed teen, or a kid trying to work a loose tooth out of her mouth, any day!

 

[Alesia]

While Disney's dress code does say, "Proper attire, including shoes and shirts, must be worn at all times," I'm guessing it isn't enforced as long as the guest isn't entering any areas that serve food. I've seen plenty of people, especially near the end of the day, hobbling along barefoot with their shoes in their hand.

While my mum never let me, back in the 70s going barefoot was quite the fashion for awhile among certain granola-lovin' segments of the population. I remember being SO jealous when the traveling chess prodigies came to town in the early eighties... they were about 8 and 12, homeschooled, and never wore shoes. To me, it seemed like they were living the sweet life.

And in the 90's I once worked at a comic book store where, for a couple of months one summer, none of us wore shoes. Our boss didn't care! And it was fun to run around footloose and footwear-free. But that kind of thing is very self-limiting in Canada (it gets cold!).

In any case, I don't think there's any reason to eject the girl from the parks, just because she prefers to go barefoot. She's no hazard to you or anyone else, though your kid might get jealous.

It's a liability issue. Having a guest wandering around the park barefoot is asking for trouble.

 

[Magpie]

I can absolutely see Disney insisting on shoes being worn. Because when that girl steps on something sharp and hurts herself, the parents are going to want someone (besides themselves) to pay.

Now, whether a given CM would follow on that policy at a given time would be highly variable.

Couldn't Disney just point to the dress code, in that case? Especially if they were informed, and chose not to follow it anyway.

It may be different in Canada than in the US, but generally speaking if someone puts up a fence and a sign saying, "Careful, stay back from edge of cliff!" you can't then sue them if you climb the fence and fall off the cliff.

 

[mom2rtk]

Couldn't Disney just point to the dress code, in that case? Especially if they were informed, and chose not to follow it anyway.

Easier still to just actually require shoes. Then they won't have to busy up their legal team addressing the nonsense lawsuits.

 

[Alesia]

Couldn't Disney just point to the dress code, in that case? Especially if they were informed, and chose not to follow it anyway.

It may be different in Canada than in the US, but generally speaking if someone puts up a fence and a sign saying, "Careful, stay back from edge of cliff!" you can't then sue them if you climb the fence and fall off the cliff.

Sadly, that is not how it works in the US. The fact that the CMs noticed but didn't enforce the rules would actually strengthen the guest's case.

 

[Magpie]

Sadly, that is not how it works in the US. The fact that the CMs noticed but didn't enforce the rules would actually strengthen the guest's case.

Thanks, I didn't know that!

 

[KimBean]

Now I know how to get a free pair of shoes! Hehe...

 

[wilkeliza]

I never understand the shoe thing. I would not walk around Disney barefoot no matter how much my feet hurt. I don't even like seeing kids in flip flops. There are trading pins everywhere. It is not uncommon for them to fall off the lanyards and one step not paying attention and that thing is in your foot. Depending on where it hits it could be serious damage or just a really bad cut.

When I was a CM I was the biggest enforcer of shoes. Until you have to make the medic call for a little kid with a gash on their foot from their parents letting then run around barefoot you don't realize how serious it is. I actually had grown adults fight me over that policy even though it was one of the big things we were told to enforce at Epcot. During food and wine it isn't just pins but also the plastic cups and plates that get broken and can be on the ground.