Why to be nice at Disney World: An observation from a trip.
You’re not that guy.
Let’s face it, kids. We’ve all been somewhere. A place that someone – maybe even a darker part of our soul – that has exploded all over an employee. And trust me, I know how getting riled up and letting loose on some defenseless person can really make you feel good. And frankly, it sometimes does let off some of that steam. And often, you might win that battle – and get what you want. But you’ve sacrificed your level of dignity – and perhaps the dignity of people in your party without even knowing it. I was on a bus last week, and for whatever reason, a left turn light wasn’t working. The driver waited through five lights before moving slowly out into traffic, and going around the block to get to another entrance to the resort. A person on the bus started loudly complaining about the speed of the trip – and her kids became more noticeably embarrassed. When the bus arrived, we waited for the guests to get off the bus, and thanked the driver profusely. We compared the driving of the Disney drivers – SUPER SAFE to the Mears drivers – MUCH different…
When you are kind, karma tends to pay you back in kind.
I want the best to happen. And I know that it often doesn’t, or can’t. But if everyone watches out for everyone, things tend to really move for the better. If nothing else, I have the confidence that I have done the best possible thing. When we were in Hollywood Studios, we noticed some cash lying on the ground. Discreetly, I picked it up, and showed my wife. It was over twenty dollars. A twenty was on the outside, and it had more cash in the little pack. We watched around the area for ten minutes, wondering if someone else would look for it. No one did. So we approached two cast members, and told them that someone had lost the money, and we asked them to take the cash, and turn it over to lost and found. I am not a dolt. I absolutely understand that probably one of two things happened. If the cast members had scruples, they turned the money over to Disney – and no one ever claimed it. Disney made a profit. If the cast members were unscrupulous, then they split the cash. But that meant that one or both of them would have had to cross that trust line to each other – over something like twenty bucks. Either way, if it happened to me, I’d like to think that the money would have been turned in. Either way - I'm watching out for you.
You never know what might happen
Years ago, I noticed something amazing about my wife. She has a distinct ability to put others first – nearly all of the time. It’s kind of scary how it really works. She constantly notices others – especially in difficult situations. We watched a couple trying to navigate getting on and off a bus – and we insisted on picking up a diaper bag and a stroller. We never sit on a bus if anyone else is ever sitting. Frankly, it makes us happier to be helping others – makes our vacation a little better, too. But here’s where it gets better. One thing I have always tried to do now is take pictures for other people. See a family with one person taking a picture and the other one standing? Offer. Take the picture. Often, they’ll take the pic for you. Or… something even better. See, I was walking through the streets of America, and took a picture for a couple. And the woman offered to take a picture for me. We’d just had one with someone else, so I smiled and declined. And she leaned in and asked if I liked characters. “Of course…” I said. She told me she was a cast member – and suggested that I stay around three minutes for the Character greeting coming. I’d know about it, and was specifically waiting for it – but this confirmation was a beautiful thing, and great to see. I can’t tell you how many times something like this happened… Over and over again. I am a big fan of asking for opinions. When I can’t make a choice – I always ask. At Tangierine Café, I asked, “Which is better, the cashew or the pistachio baklava?” The cast member chose the pistachio, then asked if I had tried the other. I hadn’t, so she pulled out another slice for me to try. We talk to anyone who will listen. We struck up a conversation with a Dad and his adorable three year old son. Two days later in line, I heard him say, “It’s our friends from Pittsburgh!” He asked if we were returning to Epcot, and we were, and he turned over his rider exchange pass – telling us that he couldn’t use it before he left. Bonus ride on Soarin’! I don’t know if anyone has stayed at the Boardwalk lately, but Nico, the bus concierge, is a hoot. He tells wonderfully bad jokes – and even will get anniversary couples to get ‘re-engaged’ at the Boardwalk bus stop – complete with commemorative buttons. A few nights later, we ran into him at the fireworks party at Hollywood Studios, and he joined us (along with two other couples) and we had a grand old time. We walked back to the hotel with him – and he told us about a bunch of cast stuff – and why Disney employees all have similar priorities. We even walked back to the bus stop the next day, for another round of bad jokes, and he gave us a Pinocchio ‘cast member’ fast pass when we were delayed for the bus. On our first trip, we actually received two of them when I lost my ticket – and a cast member re-printed one for me that morning. We missed the entrance into the park, and she gave us two for any ride in the park. On past trips, our daughter never hid her enthusiasm for Disney – and twice cast members invited us for re-rides on headliners. Once on Test Track, and once on Space Mountain. Funnily enough, we never had to even use the advanced pass for the Magic Kingdom. Our plan for the day was pretty good – and we fast-forwarded through everything we wanted to see – and the things we loved multiple times. Of course, we were able to secure a fifth fast pass that day through our advanced planning.
Kindness is contagious
Remember – you are on vacation. It’s fun! You are spending all of this time to enjoy yourselves. Take full advantage. Smile. Laugh. People watch. All of them. Being without children, our eyes were drawn multiple times to people with kids – but most noticeably the people with kids that were not having a good times. Fighting, crying, or angry groups. Will things go perfectly? Probably not. But remember ALL THE TIME that this crazy place is where you want to be. And you will be down when you return. And you will want to go back. I've found that we strike up conversations with other people - quite often. Enjoy while you can. On that Star Wars weekend night, we even spent the remainder of the evening with Nico, a couple from London - and a couple from Maryland - laughing most of the night. We even took a few GREAT photopass pictures.
Ask. They know.
Something I wanted to add - after I was thinking around. I am a big believer in employees. Especially little guys. I stop and talk with custodians. And servers. And busboys. When I don't know what to order, I ask, "What's your favorite?" Especially on something like desserts - when nearly all can be good. Ask what the server likes. From a logical perspective - you're asking an expert. From a respect perspective - it empowers that person. From a selfish perspective - the other person might want to give back.
Enjoy the trip.
Nico told me that he was quite impressed with Disney - and the cast members had a similar training and priority.
1. Safety
2. Courtesy
3. The show
4. Efficiency
Could we as guests use that to our advantage? Probably. I can't tell you the number of times I'd heard of people complaining to get what they wanted. I am choosing the opposite.
My favorite story was an odd one. Last year, we were walking into Hollywood Studios. At rope drop - but without the SERIOUS mission to run to Toy Story. I struck up a conversation with a man walking down the center of the park. I found out he was from Pittsburgh, and even was close friends with a former colleague of mine who had retired a few years ago. He asked if I was planning on seeing Beauty and the Beast later in the day. I told him that the kids were entirely in charge of the plan on our last day. Turns out that he was the director for the Beauty and the Beast show - and he gave us passes (with a specific instruction) for priority seating later that day for the show. We sat down front - and even had a great talk with him later regarding the 'PG's' (problem guests).
He told us that no matter what - even problem guests - are still guests.
Do good. Be good. And enjoy.
You’re not that guy.
Let’s face it, kids. We’ve all been somewhere. A place that someone – maybe even a darker part of our soul – that has exploded all over an employee. And trust me, I know how getting riled up and letting loose on some defenseless person can really make you feel good. And frankly, it sometimes does let off some of that steam. And often, you might win that battle – and get what you want. But you’ve sacrificed your level of dignity – and perhaps the dignity of people in your party without even knowing it. I was on a bus last week, and for whatever reason, a left turn light wasn’t working. The driver waited through five lights before moving slowly out into traffic, and going around the block to get to another entrance to the resort. A person on the bus started loudly complaining about the speed of the trip – and her kids became more noticeably embarrassed. When the bus arrived, we waited for the guests to get off the bus, and thanked the driver profusely. We compared the driving of the Disney drivers – SUPER SAFE to the Mears drivers – MUCH different…
When you are kind, karma tends to pay you back in kind.
I want the best to happen. And I know that it often doesn’t, or can’t. But if everyone watches out for everyone, things tend to really move for the better. If nothing else, I have the confidence that I have done the best possible thing. When we were in Hollywood Studios, we noticed some cash lying on the ground. Discreetly, I picked it up, and showed my wife. It was over twenty dollars. A twenty was on the outside, and it had more cash in the little pack. We watched around the area for ten minutes, wondering if someone else would look for it. No one did. So we approached two cast members, and told them that someone had lost the money, and we asked them to take the cash, and turn it over to lost and found. I am not a dolt. I absolutely understand that probably one of two things happened. If the cast members had scruples, they turned the money over to Disney – and no one ever claimed it. Disney made a profit. If the cast members were unscrupulous, then they split the cash. But that meant that one or both of them would have had to cross that trust line to each other – over something like twenty bucks. Either way, if it happened to me, I’d like to think that the money would have been turned in. Either way - I'm watching out for you.
You never know what might happen
Years ago, I noticed something amazing about my wife. She has a distinct ability to put others first – nearly all of the time. It’s kind of scary how it really works. She constantly notices others – especially in difficult situations. We watched a couple trying to navigate getting on and off a bus – and we insisted on picking up a diaper bag and a stroller. We never sit on a bus if anyone else is ever sitting. Frankly, it makes us happier to be helping others – makes our vacation a little better, too. But here’s where it gets better. One thing I have always tried to do now is take pictures for other people. See a family with one person taking a picture and the other one standing? Offer. Take the picture. Often, they’ll take the pic for you. Or… something even better. See, I was walking through the streets of America, and took a picture for a couple. And the woman offered to take a picture for me. We’d just had one with someone else, so I smiled and declined. And she leaned in and asked if I liked characters. “Of course…” I said. She told me she was a cast member – and suggested that I stay around three minutes for the Character greeting coming. I’d know about it, and was specifically waiting for it – but this confirmation was a beautiful thing, and great to see. I can’t tell you how many times something like this happened… Over and over again. I am a big fan of asking for opinions. When I can’t make a choice – I always ask. At Tangierine Café, I asked, “Which is better, the cashew or the pistachio baklava?” The cast member chose the pistachio, then asked if I had tried the other. I hadn’t, so she pulled out another slice for me to try. We talk to anyone who will listen. We struck up a conversation with a Dad and his adorable three year old son. Two days later in line, I heard him say, “It’s our friends from Pittsburgh!” He asked if we were returning to Epcot, and we were, and he turned over his rider exchange pass – telling us that he couldn’t use it before he left. Bonus ride on Soarin’! I don’t know if anyone has stayed at the Boardwalk lately, but Nico, the bus concierge, is a hoot. He tells wonderfully bad jokes – and even will get anniversary couples to get ‘re-engaged’ at the Boardwalk bus stop – complete with commemorative buttons. A few nights later, we ran into him at the fireworks party at Hollywood Studios, and he joined us (along with two other couples) and we had a grand old time. We walked back to the hotel with him – and he told us about a bunch of cast stuff – and why Disney employees all have similar priorities. We even walked back to the bus stop the next day, for another round of bad jokes, and he gave us a Pinocchio ‘cast member’ fast pass when we were delayed for the bus. On our first trip, we actually received two of them when I lost my ticket – and a cast member re-printed one for me that morning. We missed the entrance into the park, and she gave us two for any ride in the park. On past trips, our daughter never hid her enthusiasm for Disney – and twice cast members invited us for re-rides on headliners. Once on Test Track, and once on Space Mountain. Funnily enough, we never had to even use the advanced pass for the Magic Kingdom. Our plan for the day was pretty good – and we fast-forwarded through everything we wanted to see – and the things we loved multiple times. Of course, we were able to secure a fifth fast pass that day through our advanced planning.
Kindness is contagious
Remember – you are on vacation. It’s fun! You are spending all of this time to enjoy yourselves. Take full advantage. Smile. Laugh. People watch. All of them. Being without children, our eyes were drawn multiple times to people with kids – but most noticeably the people with kids that were not having a good times. Fighting, crying, or angry groups. Will things go perfectly? Probably not. But remember ALL THE TIME that this crazy place is where you want to be. And you will be down when you return. And you will want to go back. I've found that we strike up conversations with other people - quite often. Enjoy while you can. On that Star Wars weekend night, we even spent the remainder of the evening with Nico, a couple from London - and a couple from Maryland - laughing most of the night. We even took a few GREAT photopass pictures.
Ask. They know.
Something I wanted to add - after I was thinking around. I am a big believer in employees. Especially little guys. I stop and talk with custodians. And servers. And busboys. When I don't know what to order, I ask, "What's your favorite?" Especially on something like desserts - when nearly all can be good. Ask what the server likes. From a logical perspective - you're asking an expert. From a respect perspective - it empowers that person. From a selfish perspective - the other person might want to give back.
Enjoy the trip.
Nico told me that he was quite impressed with Disney - and the cast members had a similar training and priority.
1. Safety
2. Courtesy
3. The show
4. Efficiency
Could we as guests use that to our advantage? Probably. I can't tell you the number of times I'd heard of people complaining to get what they wanted. I am choosing the opposite.
My favorite story was an odd one. Last year, we were walking into Hollywood Studios. At rope drop - but without the SERIOUS mission to run to Toy Story. I struck up a conversation with a man walking down the center of the park. I found out he was from Pittsburgh, and even was close friends with a former colleague of mine who had retired a few years ago. He asked if I was planning on seeing Beauty and the Beast later in the day. I told him that the kids were entirely in charge of the plan on our last day. Turns out that he was the director for the Beauty and the Beast show - and he gave us passes (with a specific instruction) for priority seating later that day for the show. We sat down front - and even had a great talk with him later regarding the 'PG's' (problem guests).
He told us that no matter what - even problem guests - are still guests.
Do good. Be good. And enjoy.
Honestly, when I read the title I was expecting something a bit different and my first reaction was uh-oh .... 
but how wrong I was!
