Tonight, I told my Coaster coordinator to please send me a teleportation machine. That way I could teleport myself over to Studios for the fireworks and head right back to work after so no one would miss me!
His answer: "I can't find a teleportation machine. But hey, I'll get you a really fast car. A limo. In fact, I'll make it a super stretch! It's out in the alley!"
Well played, sir. Well played.
Friday, July 4, 2014
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Dear Angry Guest:
You're not supposed to punch people. Like ever. Except maybe in a rare case of serious self defense. But, if you're a guest and want to get on a ride before that other guest who you don't like, punching people is not the best solution. In fact, the best solution would be to resign yourself to the fact that you can't always have everything you want as soon as you want it and move on.
But if you're a guest, and you're angry, and you want to ride a ride, don't punch somebody in order to get on the ride first. Because chances are, the ride operators will be calling police very quickly. And while you're on the ride, you're at the mercy of the ride operators, who can slow down or even stop the ride in order to prolong your existence in the area to ensure that you will be there when police arrive.
Chances are you'll also be escorted out of the park and lost your magical vacation. And chances are you'll end up at some official center filling out paperwork instead of having fun with your family.
This is all hypothetical of course.
Moral of the story. Don't punch people.
But if you're a guest, and you're angry, and you want to ride a ride, don't punch somebody in order to get on the ride first. Because chances are, the ride operators will be calling police very quickly. And while you're on the ride, you're at the mercy of the ride operators, who can slow down or even stop the ride in order to prolong your existence in the area to ensure that you will be there when police arrive.
Chances are you'll also be escorted out of the park and lost your magical vacation. And chances are you'll end up at some official center filling out paperwork instead of having fun with your family.
This is all hypothetical of course.
Moral of the story. Don't punch people.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
That Awkward Moment...
That awkward moment when you comment on a Disney cast member's costume and ask where it's from because you don't recognize it..... only to find out it came from their personal wardrobe at home.
If anyone needs me I'll be sitting in the corner with my foot in my mouth.
If anyone needs me I'll be sitting in the corner with my foot in my mouth.
Friday, March 7, 2014
Things NOT To Call My Office About
Yeah, I never finished cruise posts. I'm just so hurt that my camera's gone...
Here's three funny phone calls I received the other day.
1. I received a call on my back door line from Ontario. My direct phone line is reserved for a very few, select coordinators/managers on property and that's it. No one else should have it, and they should only call it for specific things when they only need to talk to me. Well, I saw the number was from Ontario, but then I thought, "What the heck, I'll answer it." Soooo, I did.
"Deployment, this is Dianna."
"Hi, I'm calling about my dietary restrictions?"
"Your.... um... okay..... sorry?"
"I need information about dietary restrictions for a few months from now."
"Are you looking for Disney?"
"Yes." This woman obviously thinks I'm an idiot.
"Okay. Are you're a guest?"
"Yes!" She answered a little flustered. "We're planning a trip and members of my party have dietary restrictions. We need information."
I was so completely thrown of I actually started laughing part way through the call. Fortunately, the woman wasn't upset at all (though I feel like she had all reason to be). I got her the right number eventually and sent her on her merry way.
2. Later, I actually was working phones, so it was more understandable that I get random calls. A woman called me, this time inquiring about her daughters termination status. "Yes, my daughter already put in her two weeks notice but she's still on the schedule. We just wanted to be sure she's leaving in good standing with the company."
This girl had received FOUR "no call, no shows" starting two weeks ago, so I assumed that's when she thought she was supposed to be done working. As I asked the woman which manager the daughter spoke with the mom said, "Hang on, I'll ask." And she actually held the phone away from her as I heard her ask the daughter, "Which manager did you speak with?" The daughter answered. In hindsight I probably should have made the mom put her kid on the phone.
To make the situation better, the girl had put in her two weeks notice starting three days ago. Of course she's still on the schedule, because you still have a schedule for two weeks after you put in the two week notice. That's how it works.
The NCNS notations were before her two week notice and she didn't come in because she "didn't feel good" and she didn't call in because she "didn't know" and she didn't return our calls to her for not showing up because "we didn't know it was actually Disney calling, or someone else."
And then the icing on the cake. Her reason for leaving the company and not fulfilling her six month contract was, "I don't like working nights. They make me feel sick."
I tried to be empathetic. I truly did. I'm sure there's struggles there I don't know about. But... man. Wow. (Side note: I have no say involving the termination of cast members)
3. Finally, I received a call from a woman who told me, "Hi, I know this isn't the right number to call but I thought maybe you could transfer me to security? I just found a woman passed out in the parking lot and she's just totally unconscious."
"Ma'am, I believe the number you're looking for is 911."
I know it's a serious situation, and I certainly hope that poor woman was okay! But I struggled a bit to keep a straight face and steady voice on that call.
Here's three funny phone calls I received the other day.
1. I received a call on my back door line from Ontario. My direct phone line is reserved for a very few, select coordinators/managers on property and that's it. No one else should have it, and they should only call it for specific things when they only need to talk to me. Well, I saw the number was from Ontario, but then I thought, "What the heck, I'll answer it." Soooo, I did.
"Deployment, this is Dianna."
"Hi, I'm calling about my dietary restrictions?"
"Your.... um... okay..... sorry?"
"I need information about dietary restrictions for a few months from now."
"Are you looking for Disney?"
"Yes." This woman obviously thinks I'm an idiot.
"Okay. Are you're a guest?"
"Yes!" She answered a little flustered. "We're planning a trip and members of my party have dietary restrictions. We need information."
I was so completely thrown of I actually started laughing part way through the call. Fortunately, the woman wasn't upset at all (though I feel like she had all reason to be). I got her the right number eventually and sent her on her merry way.
2. Later, I actually was working phones, so it was more understandable that I get random calls. A woman called me, this time inquiring about her daughters termination status. "Yes, my daughter already put in her two weeks notice but she's still on the schedule. We just wanted to be sure she's leaving in good standing with the company."
This girl had received FOUR "no call, no shows" starting two weeks ago, so I assumed that's when she thought she was supposed to be done working. As I asked the woman which manager the daughter spoke with the mom said, "Hang on, I'll ask." And she actually held the phone away from her as I heard her ask the daughter, "Which manager did you speak with?" The daughter answered. In hindsight I probably should have made the mom put her kid on the phone.
To make the situation better, the girl had put in her two weeks notice starting three days ago. Of course she's still on the schedule, because you still have a schedule for two weeks after you put in the two week notice. That's how it works.
The NCNS notations were before her two week notice and she didn't come in because she "didn't feel good" and she didn't call in because she "didn't know" and she didn't return our calls to her for not showing up because "we didn't know it was actually Disney calling, or someone else."
And then the icing on the cake. Her reason for leaving the company and not fulfilling her six month contract was, "I don't like working nights. They make me feel sick."
I tried to be empathetic. I truly did. I'm sure there's struggles there I don't know about. But... man. Wow. (Side note: I have no say involving the termination of cast members)
3. Finally, I received a call from a woman who told me, "Hi, I know this isn't the right number to call but I thought maybe you could transfer me to security? I just found a woman passed out in the parking lot and she's just totally unconscious."
"Ma'am, I believe the number you're looking for is 911."
I know it's a serious situation, and I certainly hope that poor woman was okay! But I struggled a bit to keep a straight face and steady voice on that call.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Second Disney Cruise: Day One
Well this whole thing started a few weeks ago when I found the discounted price of the cruise and realized that I could get the corresponding days off of work. After a few excited phone calls and the agonizing wait to be sure that I could have time off of work, the cruise was booked! We set sail for Cozumel, Mexico and Castaway Cay (Disney's Private Island) one week ago today.
At the last second our plans changed, so my mom and I had to drive to the port ourselves. We didn't really want to pay the $20/day fee that the port charged. So I whipped out my genius phone on the way and found a cheaper place to park. It was right by the port.
We pulled into the parking lot, which wasn't paved very well (or marked in any way, for that matter) and some random guys were sitting just outside smoking. They told us it was $6/day for parking plus something like $4/person for the shuttle, both ways. We paid cash and they gave us a blue sticker and told us to park wherever we wanted.
Yes, this situation felt a little sketch. But I have to say, while the service was nothing grand, we felt we got our money's worth. My mom left her GPS unit out in plain sight for the week in this parking lot and nothing was stolen (probably wasn't a good idea... we didn't do that on purpose for sure). We waited a good twenty minutes for the shuttle, but we had a place to park, close to the port and it was far worth the money we saved.
After getting to the port, we began to wait in the many lines. There was a line to get in the building, a line to go up the escalator, a line for security, a line to check in, then a waiting area for your boarding number to be called, then a line to get your picture taken, then a line to scan your ID one more time, then a line to board the ship. While Disney has a lot of lines, the good thing is they were all fairly short. I think the longest we waited in a given line was maybe ten minutes. The whole ordeal felt like it took less than an hour.
Like I said, all my good pictures are gone, along with my camera. But once on board we ate a great lunch of fresh seafood, then headed to the room.
Our room was fantastic! It was on Deck 2. We paid a little more for the port hole but oh. my. gosh. it was soooo worth it! The room itself was huge as well. We had a kind of double bathroom with the toilet in one room and the tub/shower in the other. The closet was big enough so we could fit all our suitcases to keep them out of the way. And we had plenty of space for our stuff in the drawers and closet, even though we had three fairly large suitcases full of stuff (I blame my mother for packing heavy... she kind of got excited for the whole pirate night ordeal).
We met our stateroom hostess who was named Sooshila. She was from some island off the coast of Africa/Madagascar area. She was incredibly nice and helpful. Our room was missing the remote for the TV when we got in, but she had a new remote ready within an hour or two of finding out it was missing.
The welcome show was at 6:15 and it was basically a little "taste" of what was coming up for the cruise. Then we had dinner at 8:15 where we met our servers who would travel with us across the dining rooms for the entirety of our trip. They we spectacular as well. There were eight of us dining at the table and I didn't know all the names at the end of the week. Our servers, however, memorized our names AND likes/dislikes that first night so that by day 2 they had my mom's plate of lemons for her water on the table waiting before we even sat down.
That night my mom and I decided to go to the adults only area (18+) to hang in the hot tub for a bit. It was deserted, which was nice. One of the cast members approached me a few minutes later telling me that the area was 18+. I told him I was aware, and then found out that his point in telling me was not to be informative, but to make me prove that I was over 18. I'm 24 people. I guess the good thing in all of this is that maybe when I'm 40 I'll still look 30?
He felt terrible for getting my age wrong, but I was more amused than offended. Day one was finished, with a bit of humor, and a TON of relief that we were on the ship and about to embark on a journey of no worries and no chores!
At the last second our plans changed, so my mom and I had to drive to the port ourselves. We didn't really want to pay the $20/day fee that the port charged. So I whipped out my genius phone on the way and found a cheaper place to park. It was right by the port.
We pulled into the parking lot, which wasn't paved very well (or marked in any way, for that matter) and some random guys were sitting just outside smoking. They told us it was $6/day for parking plus something like $4/person for the shuttle, both ways. We paid cash and they gave us a blue sticker and told us to park wherever we wanted.
Yes, this situation felt a little sketch. But I have to say, while the service was nothing grand, we felt we got our money's worth. My mom left her GPS unit out in plain sight for the week in this parking lot and nothing was stolen (probably wasn't a good idea... we didn't do that on purpose for sure). We waited a good twenty minutes for the shuttle, but we had a place to park, close to the port and it was far worth the money we saved.
After getting to the port, we began to wait in the many lines. There was a line to get in the building, a line to go up the escalator, a line for security, a line to check in, then a waiting area for your boarding number to be called, then a line to get your picture taken, then a line to scan your ID one more time, then a line to board the ship. While Disney has a lot of lines, the good thing is they were all fairly short. I think the longest we waited in a given line was maybe ten minutes. The whole ordeal felt like it took less than an hour.
Our room was fantastic! It was on Deck 2. We paid a little more for the port hole but oh. my. gosh. it was soooo worth it! The room itself was huge as well. We had a kind of double bathroom with the toilet in one room and the tub/shower in the other. The closet was big enough so we could fit all our suitcases to keep them out of the way. And we had plenty of space for our stuff in the drawers and closet, even though we had three fairly large suitcases full of stuff (I blame my mother for packing heavy... she kind of got excited for the whole pirate night ordeal).
We met our stateroom hostess who was named Sooshila. She was from some island off the coast of Africa/Madagascar area. She was incredibly nice and helpful. Our room was missing the remote for the TV when we got in, but she had a new remote ready within an hour or two of finding out it was missing.
The welcome show was at 6:15 and it was basically a little "taste" of what was coming up for the cruise. Then we had dinner at 8:15 where we met our servers who would travel with us across the dining rooms for the entirety of our trip. They we spectacular as well. There were eight of us dining at the table and I didn't know all the names at the end of the week. Our servers, however, memorized our names AND likes/dislikes that first night so that by day 2 they had my mom's plate of lemons for her water on the table waiting before we even sat down.
That night my mom and I decided to go to the adults only area (18+) to hang in the hot tub for a bit. It was deserted, which was nice. One of the cast members approached me a few minutes later telling me that the area was 18+. I told him I was aware, and then found out that his point in telling me was not to be informative, but to make me prove that I was over 18. I'm 24 people. I guess the good thing in all of this is that maybe when I'm 40 I'll still look 30?
He felt terrible for getting my age wrong, but I was more amused than offended. Day one was finished, with a bit of humor, and a TON of relief that we were on the ship and about to embark on a journey of no worries and no chores!
5 Night Western Caribbean Disney Cruise: Wonder
That's right. This last week my mom and I set out on a nice long Disney cruise to Cozumel and Disney's private island in Castaway Cay.
The bad news? I lost my camera a few days in so I'm severely lacking in the photo department. At least that's better news than the other thing I lost.... passports are no fun to lose, ya'll.
I think that just proves that I really, really needed a vacation.
Anywhoo... Disney knows how to get people vacationing, that's for sure. You can read about my previous Disney cruise here:
Here for part one
Here for part two
Here for part three
Here for part four
The bad news? I lost my camera a few days in so I'm severely lacking in the photo department. At least that's better news than the other thing I lost.... passports are no fun to lose, ya'll.
I think that just proves that I really, really needed a vacation.
Anywhoo... Disney knows how to get people vacationing, that's for sure. You can read about my previous Disney cruise here:
Here for part one
Here for part two
Here for part three
Here for part four
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Foreign Taxi Service: China Edition
As I prepare to travel next week, I started thinking about taking the taxi in Cozumel to head to a place called Chakanaab that my friends suggested. But as I thought of taxis, I was reminded of this story that I experienced once in China:
It was probably mid-October. Saebra and I had just finished our trip to Chengdu to see the pandas and were nearly home. Our plane landed at the airport around midnight, and we headed outside, tired and hungry, to grab a taxi home. As we approached the parade of taxis we handed them the paper our liaison had given us with our address. The first taxi driver took the paper, glanced at us, and held up his fingers, "Sam bai quai!" (three hundred yuan??!). No. Way.
We knew very well from experience that it was 40-45 yuan MAX to get home, even in bad traffic. We showed him this with our fingers, and tried to gesture at the meter in his car, but he just walked away. We headed to another driver, who had seen the whole thing, and gave him the paper. He looked at it and scratched his beard... then grinned as he held up his fingers. 280 quai. No. Way.
Frustrated, Saebra and I looked around for another driver, but they were all huddled around us, watching. It's kind of hard not to draw attention to yourself when you're Americans in China. The lowest price we found was 200 yuan. None of them even spoke English, and a lot of them, we were pretty sure from their mannerisms, didn't even know where the address was.
Finally, Saebra said, "I don't care if we spend the night in the airport. There is no way I'm spending 200 yuan (which is about 35 dollars) to get home."
I followed her as we made our way back inside. We were about halfway, when we heard a shouting and turned around. A man ran up to us and held out his hand for the paper. We handed it to him and he read it. He looked a little confused, then looked up at us, then offered sixty quai.
Sixty. Saebra and I looked at each other. I told him fifty. He held up his hand and said sixty again. Then grabbed Saebra's luggage and, still holding our address, walked off. Of course, we followed and let him pack our stuff in the car. Hungry, tired and frustrated, we succumbed to the tourist tax. After all, he was driving a blue and yellow taxi which were supposed to be the best. The greens we weren't supposed to trust as much.
I sat in the front, and the driver began to go. He looked at me and said some stuff in Chinese and I just shrugged my shoulders. A few miles down the road he stopped the car at an intersection. He pointed in a direction and asked me something in Chinese. Again, I shrugged my shoulders as he decided that direction must be right and kept driving. He then pulled out his phone. As he spoke to the unknown person on the other line I distinctly heard "mei guo da" which means "American" so I knew he was conversing about us. I also heard him say the name of the Hotel right by our apartment.
He started yelling at the person on the other end. Surprisingly this didn't surprise me since Chinese people often appear to be a lot angrier than they really are. Then he hung up. Then he lit a cigarette. Then he apparently said something funny in Chinese again to himself because he started laughing.
Twenty minutes passed, then thirty. It was only about thirty minutes to the airport. I knew we must be getting close. Forty minutes... fifty.......
The man slowed a little more. We were on some giant highway all by ourselves. He looked around, confused. I started to look around too, desperate to recognize SOMETHING in this foreign country. And then, I saw it! High rise apartment buildings just like the ones where we lived. I pointed excitedly and said "duay!!!" which is a form of saying "correct." I was so thankful I had bothered to learn that word.
He looked at me, confused, and then got off at the next exit to head down there. As he went, I recognized more and more and directed him, asking him to turn, only pointing and saying "duay" as that's all I knew. I didn't know the roads, but I knew the direction I wanted to go and I just went from there. Finally, we went past the school, and just a moment later we pulled up to the hotel which was just down the road from where we lived. I gave him his sixty yuan, which was probably well deserved for going so far out of his way. It was now more than an hour since we had left the airport and I was ready to be done with taxi drivers.
He pulled our stuff out of the trunk and went to walk into the hotel with us. We shook our heads, stood at the entrance of the hotel and waved goodbye to him. It took him a minute, but he finally got the message. He smiled and waved before getting back in his car and driving off.
We were finally home.
Or so we thought. After that ordeal, we dealt with being locked out of our complex because it was the middle of the night, our liaison's phone was turned off, we awoke a street security guard who took off running after we showed him we were locked out, then a drunk guy came up to us to try and help. The drunk guy grabbed our luggage and we ended up following him to get home.
I couldn't make this stuff up, people! It's a miracle I'm alive today. That's all I'm saying.
It was probably mid-October. Saebra and I had just finished our trip to Chengdu to see the pandas and were nearly home. Our plane landed at the airport around midnight, and we headed outside, tired and hungry, to grab a taxi home. As we approached the parade of taxis we handed them the paper our liaison had given us with our address. The first taxi driver took the paper, glanced at us, and held up his fingers, "Sam bai quai!" (three hundred yuan??!). No. Way.
We knew very well from experience that it was 40-45 yuan MAX to get home, even in bad traffic. We showed him this with our fingers, and tried to gesture at the meter in his car, but he just walked away. We headed to another driver, who had seen the whole thing, and gave him the paper. He looked at it and scratched his beard... then grinned as he held up his fingers. 280 quai. No. Way.
Frustrated, Saebra and I looked around for another driver, but they were all huddled around us, watching. It's kind of hard not to draw attention to yourself when you're Americans in China. The lowest price we found was 200 yuan. None of them even spoke English, and a lot of them, we were pretty sure from their mannerisms, didn't even know where the address was.
Finally, Saebra said, "I don't care if we spend the night in the airport. There is no way I'm spending 200 yuan (which is about 35 dollars) to get home."
I followed her as we made our way back inside. We were about halfway, when we heard a shouting and turned around. A man ran up to us and held out his hand for the paper. We handed it to him and he read it. He looked a little confused, then looked up at us, then offered sixty quai.
Sixty. Saebra and I looked at each other. I told him fifty. He held up his hand and said sixty again. Then grabbed Saebra's luggage and, still holding our address, walked off. Of course, we followed and let him pack our stuff in the car. Hungry, tired and frustrated, we succumbed to the tourist tax. After all, he was driving a blue and yellow taxi which were supposed to be the best. The greens we weren't supposed to trust as much.
I sat in the front, and the driver began to go. He looked at me and said some stuff in Chinese and I just shrugged my shoulders. A few miles down the road he stopped the car at an intersection. He pointed in a direction and asked me something in Chinese. Again, I shrugged my shoulders as he decided that direction must be right and kept driving. He then pulled out his phone. As he spoke to the unknown person on the other line I distinctly heard "mei guo da" which means "American" so I knew he was conversing about us. I also heard him say the name of the Hotel right by our apartment.
He started yelling at the person on the other end. Surprisingly this didn't surprise me since Chinese people often appear to be a lot angrier than they really are. Then he hung up. Then he lit a cigarette. Then he apparently said something funny in Chinese again to himself because he started laughing.
Twenty minutes passed, then thirty. It was only about thirty minutes to the airport. I knew we must be getting close. Forty minutes... fifty.......
The man slowed a little more. We were on some giant highway all by ourselves. He looked around, confused. I started to look around too, desperate to recognize SOMETHING in this foreign country. And then, I saw it! High rise apartment buildings just like the ones where we lived. I pointed excitedly and said "duay!!!" which is a form of saying "correct." I was so thankful I had bothered to learn that word.
He looked at me, confused, and then got off at the next exit to head down there. As he went, I recognized more and more and directed him, asking him to turn, only pointing and saying "duay" as that's all I knew. I didn't know the roads, but I knew the direction I wanted to go and I just went from there. Finally, we went past the school, and just a moment later we pulled up to the hotel which was just down the road from where we lived. I gave him his sixty yuan, which was probably well deserved for going so far out of his way. It was now more than an hour since we had left the airport and I was ready to be done with taxi drivers.
He pulled our stuff out of the trunk and went to walk into the hotel with us. We shook our heads, stood at the entrance of the hotel and waved goodbye to him. It took him a minute, but he finally got the message. He smiled and waved before getting back in his car and driving off.
We were finally home.
Or so we thought. After that ordeal, we dealt with being locked out of our complex because it was the middle of the night, our liaison's phone was turned off, we awoke a street security guard who took off running after we showed him we were locked out, then a drunk guy came up to us to try and help. The drunk guy grabbed our luggage and we ended up following him to get home.
I couldn't make this stuff up, people! It's a miracle I'm alive today. That's all I'm saying.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
How to Be an Awesome Disney Guest
I loved working front line with the guests. Sure there were good days and bad days, but today I was trying to remember my favorite guests who I still remember, years later. As I prepare for a Disney vacation of my own, I'm going to try and remember to be this way once I'm a guest again.
1. Be happy. This really is the number one thing I loved to see as a Cast Member. Guests who were just happy, excited, and playful. When they enter the parks with giant smiles, passing the happiness on to each other, it sure makes my job a whole lot easier!
2. Play the game. There is one Mickey and only one Mickey Mouse. There just is. But have fun with it. Talk about how Cinderella lives in the Castle. Quiz Cast Members to see where they'll go! One guy asked me question after question for about ten minutes trying to break me, "Who lives in that castle?" "Cinderella." "I thought castles belonged to kings?" "Come on, are you king of your castle?" (his wife was standing right there) "Okay, but where are the servants?" *indicated my nametag* "How many Mickeys are there?" "One." "Noo, I mean how many people play Mickey?" "Umm, you're aware Mickey's a mouse, right?" "But how many costumes does he have?" "I don't look in my boss' closet, that's for Minnie's eyes only." On and on.
3. Ask questions. Never be afraid to ask for what you want. A mother once came to me and said her son got sick and she just wanted some water to... erm... wash things down. I remembered how my mom always gave me soda. I ran over to a drink stand and got the mother a large water, and two Sprites (I only asked for one, but they made two). She was so happy! I love when families ask for a certain row on rides. I warn them they'll have to wait a bit longer, but they're always okay with it and generally those families are most excited to go on the rides! Also, I love being the knowledgeable one answering what are the best places to eat, the best rides, etc. Don't be afraid to sound dumb. As cast members, we've seen it all.
4. Show respect and be nice to the Cast Members. We really do go out of our way to help you, if you're being sincere and kind. The only times I didn't go out of me way were when people were being ridiculous.
"My wife needs to sit in the preferred parade viewing area last minute (specially reserved) because she can't stand for a long period of time but she doesn't want to sit in any of the THREE handicapped viewing areas (with a complimentary wheelchair I offered to get them) because she doesn't want to be around handicapped people. And it's too close to the start of the parade to sit in any of the other seating areas along the parade route." I legitimately had that one night. I didn't even tell them no. In the beginning I told them "Maybe, I don't have my list yet so I don't know if I have room." He wouldn't believe me, and said I had attitude when I tried asking him about why none of the alternative viewing opportunities were satisfactory. But he yelled and screamed enough that he got his way (he demanded to speak with a manager and when the manager came, with the list-which I still hadn't seen to know if I had room-I had the guest speak to him. The manager then let him in and apologized to me for not bringing the list sooner.) We did make him sit in the very back of preferred viewing with the lousiest view. That's a story of what not to do, though.
Another time I was working the preferred viewing area and older man and his wife were walking by. The man pointed at the area and asked, "What's that area for?" I explained the preferred viewing for the parade and he asked how to get in. "Well, your name has to be on my list!" I told him as I showed him my paper. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a pen and said with a smirk, "Alright, let me see that list there..." I laughed and the man put the pen back in his pocket chuckling, but suddenly an idea occurred to me. The area was less than half full that night, so I had plenty of room for extras. I gave him my list and said, "Go ahead and put your name down there." The mans eyes were going to bulge out of his head when I told him to return approximately ten minutes before the parade and he's have a spot! One of my favorite magical moments.
5. Be realistic in your expectations. That doesn't mean lower your expectations. Still hold Disney that high standard and complain when necessary. Just... we can't control the weather. If we had a nickel for every time a Cast Member complained that rain ruined their vacation, well... we'd be even more than a multi-million dollar company! Sometimes, rides break. You won't get an entire Disney vacation refund because Space Mountain was down for three hours on one day of your vacation. That is what we call
unrealistic and entirely ridiculous. You may, however, get a few Fastpasses for more rides or certain other forms of compensation. We do make mistakes. Bad things happen. Don't hate the entire company based on one Cast Member's mistake. When you do complain (which is perfectly okay, and encouraged to an extent) just make sure you're being realistic and genuine in your complaints. We really do want to make your vacation as magical as possible.
6. Enjoy the moments. It's Disney World. There will be lines. There will be lines to get into lines. There will be waiting for shows to start. There will be waiting for parades. There will be crowds. Don't focus on the stress of being a part of a huge group of people herded from point A to point B. You're on vacation. You're with your family. What happens happens. Enjoy the people you're with. And find the smaller things you can do like scavenger hunts for hidden Mickeys or playing with the new Disney apps or practicing Disney trivia, quoting lines from movies or something. Even after living here for years, Disney is still a really fun place to be, in my opinion. And honestly, there are ways to plan around the lines if your smart. I never wait in lines these days. And I know a family who came quite close to the holidays last year who planned well enough to not wait in lines. The trick is to come early and/or stay late. Use the Fastpass system to the fullest. Know the most popular rides. Have a list of your top three or four things that you absolutely want to do. And, most of all, recognize that you simply may not be able to do absolutely everything at once.
7. Be happy. I just want to reiterate this. The excited guests are the most fun. That's the whole point of the parks.
1. Be happy. This really is the number one thing I loved to see as a Cast Member. Guests who were just happy, excited, and playful. When they enter the parks with giant smiles, passing the happiness on to each other, it sure makes my job a whole lot easier!
2. Play the game. There is one Mickey and only one Mickey Mouse. There just is. But have fun with it. Talk about how Cinderella lives in the Castle. Quiz Cast Members to see where they'll go! One guy asked me question after question for about ten minutes trying to break me, "Who lives in that castle?" "Cinderella." "I thought castles belonged to kings?" "Come on, are you king of your castle?" (his wife was standing right there) "Okay, but where are the servants?" *indicated my nametag* "How many Mickeys are there?" "One." "Noo, I mean how many people play Mickey?" "Umm, you're aware Mickey's a mouse, right?" "But how many costumes does he have?" "I don't look in my boss' closet, that's for Minnie's eyes only." On and on.
3. Ask questions. Never be afraid to ask for what you want. A mother once came to me and said her son got sick and she just wanted some water to... erm... wash things down. I remembered how my mom always gave me soda. I ran over to a drink stand and got the mother a large water, and two Sprites (I only asked for one, but they made two). She was so happy! I love when families ask for a certain row on rides. I warn them they'll have to wait a bit longer, but they're always okay with it and generally those families are most excited to go on the rides! Also, I love being the knowledgeable one answering what are the best places to eat, the best rides, etc. Don't be afraid to sound dumb. As cast members, we've seen it all.
4. Show respect and be nice to the Cast Members. We really do go out of our way to help you, if you're being sincere and kind. The only times I didn't go out of me way were when people were being ridiculous.
"My wife needs to sit in the preferred parade viewing area last minute (specially reserved) because she can't stand for a long period of time but she doesn't want to sit in any of the THREE handicapped viewing areas (with a complimentary wheelchair I offered to get them) because she doesn't want to be around handicapped people. And it's too close to the start of the parade to sit in any of the other seating areas along the parade route." I legitimately had that one night. I didn't even tell them no. In the beginning I told them "Maybe, I don't have my list yet so I don't know if I have room." He wouldn't believe me, and said I had attitude when I tried asking him about why none of the alternative viewing opportunities were satisfactory. But he yelled and screamed enough that he got his way (he demanded to speak with a manager and when the manager came, with the list-which I still hadn't seen to know if I had room-I had the guest speak to him. The manager then let him in and apologized to me for not bringing the list sooner.) We did make him sit in the very back of preferred viewing with the lousiest view. That's a story of what not to do, though.
Another time I was working the preferred viewing area and older man and his wife were walking by. The man pointed at the area and asked, "What's that area for?" I explained the preferred viewing for the parade and he asked how to get in. "Well, your name has to be on my list!" I told him as I showed him my paper. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a pen and said with a smirk, "Alright, let me see that list there..." I laughed and the man put the pen back in his pocket chuckling, but suddenly an idea occurred to me. The area was less than half full that night, so I had plenty of room for extras. I gave him my list and said, "Go ahead and put your name down there." The mans eyes were going to bulge out of his head when I told him to return approximately ten minutes before the parade and he's have a spot! One of my favorite magical moments.
5. Be realistic in your expectations. That doesn't mean lower your expectations. Still hold Disney that high standard and complain when necessary. Just... we can't control the weather. If we had a nickel for every time a Cast Member complained that rain ruined their vacation, well... we'd be even more than a multi-million dollar company! Sometimes, rides break. You won't get an entire Disney vacation refund because Space Mountain was down for three hours on one day of your vacation. That is what we call
unrealistic and entirely ridiculous. You may, however, get a few Fastpasses for more rides or certain other forms of compensation. We do make mistakes. Bad things happen. Don't hate the entire company based on one Cast Member's mistake. When you do complain (which is perfectly okay, and encouraged to an extent) just make sure you're being realistic and genuine in your complaints. We really do want to make your vacation as magical as possible.
6. Enjoy the moments. It's Disney World. There will be lines. There will be lines to get into lines. There will be waiting for shows to start. There will be waiting for parades. There will be crowds. Don't focus on the stress of being a part of a huge group of people herded from point A to point B. You're on vacation. You're with your family. What happens happens. Enjoy the people you're with. And find the smaller things you can do like scavenger hunts for hidden Mickeys or playing with the new Disney apps or practicing Disney trivia, quoting lines from movies or something. Even after living here for years, Disney is still a really fun place to be, in my opinion. And honestly, there are ways to plan around the lines if your smart. I never wait in lines these days. And I know a family who came quite close to the holidays last year who planned well enough to not wait in lines. The trick is to come early and/or stay late. Use the Fastpass system to the fullest. Know the most popular rides. Have a list of your top three or four things that you absolutely want to do. And, most of all, recognize that you simply may not be able to do absolutely everything at once.
7. Be happy. I just want to reiterate this. The excited guests are the most fun. That's the whole point of the parks.
Friday, February 7, 2014
Parking Lot Woes: Tales from a Disney Cast Member
A little back story to the Magic Kingdom cast parking lot. It's big. HUGE. It has to be. We'll call it "West Clock."
Did I mention it's big? Well, even with a decent sized parking lot, West Clock sometimes overflows with Cast Member cars. Therefore, when I first worked at MK, I realized it was better to park across the street and park at DU (Disney University). It was a bit of a longer walk, but at least that way I was guaranteed a parking space since that lot didn't fill up nearly as fast. I got into the habit of parking at DU for quite a while and it worked out nicely, despite the longer walk. And it was nice because I could park in the same spot every day.
Then, I got a job in Deployment. I got access to a special parking lot in a different area completely. It even has it's own different bus that takes you to the mouth of the tunnel! Fancy! Trouble is, you have to remember that you parked in that special other parking lot (named "Pluto"), because at the end of the day if you got on the wrong bus... well... you'd have to take the West Clock bus all the way to West Clock, get off (because they clear the bus each time it stops), go back through security, get back on the bus, ride back to the mouth of the tunnel, go through the tunnel to where you catch the Pluto bus, and then ride it to the appropriate parking lot. Ugh.
You still with me? Good. It's gonna get worse.
So here we have the parking lots. The "main" one is West Clock. The "side" one is DU. And the "manager" one is Pluto.
I stopped parking in Pluto because I'd forget that I parked there and the buses didn't come as frequently. So I still parked at DU. But Disney, in all their "safety" protocols, decided that they didn't want people parking at DU anymore because it wasn't safe to have so many cast members crossing the street, especially during rush hour. So they put up cones and traffic blocks to make it much more complicated to get to the DU lot to discourage people from parking there. It became so complicated that I decided to try parking at West Clock again. Only West Clock was too crowded and I'd drive in circles for nearly twenty minutes before my shift searching for a spot.
So then I started parking at Pluto, where I could be guaranteed a spot. (Keep in mind that my poor brain, through all this, is trying to recollect each and every day where in the world I parked!) Only because they discouraged so many people from parking at DU, and because they were hiring piles of new Cast Members for the new Starbucks and the new Fantasyland expansion, they opened Pluto to everyone. Pluto was no longer a guaranteed parking spot.
Back to DU. I didn't care about the extra five minutes it took for me to drive back behind buildings and deal with all the stop signs. I wanted to be guaranteed a parking space without having to stalk people for twenty minutes!
Well, then someone at Disney came up with this grand idea. They decided to close the Pluto lot entirely. When I said this was a grand idea, I mean it was a terrible one.
They thought they'd be able to cram ALL the CM cars into the one, West Clock parking lot, on top of the new Fantasyland expansion, Starbucks opening, and the expansion that is to come. Also, this decision came shortly before the Holidays.
Their reasoning was that they would expand the original West Clock lot. And they did! Let's use some rough numbers (these numbers are waaay off, but in the sense of relativity it feels accurate, at least to me)
Say West Clock had 1000 spots. Pluto had 300. DU had 200. They cut off Pluto and DU, but added 200 spots to West Clock to make up for it. That's still 300 spots less than what we originally had, and that was BEFORE the extra CMs that were hired!
Then, on top of that, they decided to reorganize the West Clock parking lot because it was very difficult to navigate. Decent idea, but in doing so they built a driveway straight through the center erasing about 100 more spots. In the end, we have significantly less spots, with more cast members to come.
And this all happened right before the Holidays last year. I remember as we approached December we discussed it in my department. There is no way this is going to turn out well. Not a chance. As I drove through the parking lot on the first few days of the Holidays there were people parking in illegal park zones and even in the grass all over the place! We were forced to reopen the Pluto lot. Literally forced.
Then, they redirected the traffic back around so we could again have better access to park at DU. They put a crossing guard out to help direct the traffic for pedestrians. I find it funny that whoever was making these decisions never saw these problems coming. Especially since you could ask any cast member in all of MK and they would have called it from miles away! West Clock is simply not enough.
Well, during this whole shamboozle, my parking habits got entirely messed up. Depending on the time of day I had to go to a different part of the lot that I knew would be open. For a few weeks we actually had cast members out directing traffic around the parking lots with radios determining where the open spaces were and telling cars to go there.
The worst part in all this is that I wouldn't remember where I parked each day. With three different parking lots, each one larger than the next, I was lucky if I even remembered which lot I was in! It actually became quite hilarious as I'd wander aimlessly through the parking lot, trying to find where I thought I'd parked but then wondering if I was even in the right lot, and what did I even have for lunch today!? I'd take frequent turns in circles and chuckled to myself telling me that "at least I'm getting my exercise."
Tonight, however, it was less funny. When I forget my jacket and it's only 40 degrees and rainy... and I don't know which parking lot my car is in... my life becomes suddenly much sadder. Put that at the end of a twelve hour shift of a sixty hour work week and you have a very dreary me.
Despite this long post complaining about parking, I have to say that I do love working for Disney. I'm confident that the people in charge of these parking issues are working to find the best solution as quickly as possible. I am always able to get a spot, and I've never been late to work yet (except that one time when I accidentally slept through my alarm). It's hard to keep that many cast members safe and organized all the time and I admire what they do.
Now if only I could get an app on my phone that remembers where my car is for me...
Did I mention it's big? Well, even with a decent sized parking lot, West Clock sometimes overflows with Cast Member cars. Therefore, when I first worked at MK, I realized it was better to park across the street and park at DU (Disney University). It was a bit of a longer walk, but at least that way I was guaranteed a parking space since that lot didn't fill up nearly as fast. I got into the habit of parking at DU for quite a while and it worked out nicely, despite the longer walk. And it was nice because I could park in the same spot every day.
Then, I got a job in Deployment. I got access to a special parking lot in a different area completely. It even has it's own different bus that takes you to the mouth of the tunnel! Fancy! Trouble is, you have to remember that you parked in that special other parking lot (named "Pluto"), because at the end of the day if you got on the wrong bus... well... you'd have to take the West Clock bus all the way to West Clock, get off (because they clear the bus each time it stops), go back through security, get back on the bus, ride back to the mouth of the tunnel, go through the tunnel to where you catch the Pluto bus, and then ride it to the appropriate parking lot. Ugh.
You still with me? Good. It's gonna get worse.
So here we have the parking lots. The "main" one is West Clock. The "side" one is DU. And the "manager" one is Pluto.
I stopped parking in Pluto because I'd forget that I parked there and the buses didn't come as frequently. So I still parked at DU. But Disney, in all their "safety" protocols, decided that they didn't want people parking at DU anymore because it wasn't safe to have so many cast members crossing the street, especially during rush hour. So they put up cones and traffic blocks to make it much more complicated to get to the DU lot to discourage people from parking there. It became so complicated that I decided to try parking at West Clock again. Only West Clock was too crowded and I'd drive in circles for nearly twenty minutes before my shift searching for a spot.
So then I started parking at Pluto, where I could be guaranteed a spot. (Keep in mind that my poor brain, through all this, is trying to recollect each and every day where in the world I parked!) Only because they discouraged so many people from parking at DU, and because they were hiring piles of new Cast Members for the new Starbucks and the new Fantasyland expansion, they opened Pluto to everyone. Pluto was no longer a guaranteed parking spot.
Back to DU. I didn't care about the extra five minutes it took for me to drive back behind buildings and deal with all the stop signs. I wanted to be guaranteed a parking space without having to stalk people for twenty minutes!
Well, then someone at Disney came up with this grand idea. They decided to close the Pluto lot entirely. When I said this was a grand idea, I mean it was a terrible one.
They thought they'd be able to cram ALL the CM cars into the one, West Clock parking lot, on top of the new Fantasyland expansion, Starbucks opening, and the expansion that is to come. Also, this decision came shortly before the Holidays.
Their reasoning was that they would expand the original West Clock lot. And they did! Let's use some rough numbers (these numbers are waaay off, but in the sense of relativity it feels accurate, at least to me)
Say West Clock had 1000 spots. Pluto had 300. DU had 200. They cut off Pluto and DU, but added 200 spots to West Clock to make up for it. That's still 300 spots less than what we originally had, and that was BEFORE the extra CMs that were hired!
Then, on top of that, they decided to reorganize the West Clock parking lot because it was very difficult to navigate. Decent idea, but in doing so they built a driveway straight through the center erasing about 100 more spots. In the end, we have significantly less spots, with more cast members to come.
And this all happened right before the Holidays last year. I remember as we approached December we discussed it in my department. There is no way this is going to turn out well. Not a chance. As I drove through the parking lot on the first few days of the Holidays there were people parking in illegal park zones and even in the grass all over the place! We were forced to reopen the Pluto lot. Literally forced.
Then, they redirected the traffic back around so we could again have better access to park at DU. They put a crossing guard out to help direct the traffic for pedestrians. I find it funny that whoever was making these decisions never saw these problems coming. Especially since you could ask any cast member in all of MK and they would have called it from miles away! West Clock is simply not enough.
Well, during this whole shamboozle, my parking habits got entirely messed up. Depending on the time of day I had to go to a different part of the lot that I knew would be open. For a few weeks we actually had cast members out directing traffic around the parking lots with radios determining where the open spaces were and telling cars to go there.
The worst part in all this is that I wouldn't remember where I parked each day. With three different parking lots, each one larger than the next, I was lucky if I even remembered which lot I was in! It actually became quite hilarious as I'd wander aimlessly through the parking lot, trying to find where I thought I'd parked but then wondering if I was even in the right lot, and what did I even have for lunch today!? I'd take frequent turns in circles and chuckled to myself telling me that "at least I'm getting my exercise."
Tonight, however, it was less funny. When I forget my jacket and it's only 40 degrees and rainy... and I don't know which parking lot my car is in... my life becomes suddenly much sadder. Put that at the end of a twelve hour shift of a sixty hour work week and you have a very dreary me.
Despite this long post complaining about parking, I have to say that I do love working for Disney. I'm confident that the people in charge of these parking issues are working to find the best solution as quickly as possible. I am always able to get a spot, and I've never been late to work yet (except that one time when I accidentally slept through my alarm). It's hard to keep that many cast members safe and organized all the time and I admire what they do.
Now if only I could get an app on my phone that remembers where my car is for me...
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Brain Overload
I distinctly remember sitting in my second grade class with Miss Fisher up front teaching us cursive letters. I remember thinking the whole lesson was just silly because not only had my sister already taught me how to do the letter 'J' in cursive, but my dad had taught me how electrical circuits worked just the night before because my daddy knew everything and since I was clearly superior to the other kids with my science knowledge, I didn't need second grade anymore.
I remember tuning out the teacher and mulling over in my mind what Dad had taught me the night before and doodling a picture of a closed circuit lighting a light bulb on my paper, trying to make it look like I was making it some made up cursive letter. Then, a thought occurred to me.
As I thought of electricity, I thought of how that costs money... and my parents had to somehow pay for it. Then I thought of our house, and how they had to keep up on payments for that. Then I thought about school and how my parents had to keep up with that, my assignments, my dentist appointments, my meals, etc. They kept up with our new address which had just changed even though we hadn't moved. I thought about all that I required from my parents and then I realized that I had to multiply that by FOUR because I still had siblings they had to watch out for! Then there was all the extra volunteer work that they did, Church things to take care of, vacations to plan, no to mention the times when we got sick or if something broke on the house or car! I even thought about how ridiculous it was for our government to actually expect so much from people to actually keep up with all the extras they put on stuff like figuring out taxes or registering cars (I don't know how I knew about all this stuff at such a young age, but I do remember making a list and I definitely remember writing "government stress" on it as one of the things I thought should stress a parent out)
As I tried to think about all the stuff my parents had to think about my brain just wanted to explode. I specifically remember wanting to cry as I thought about how maybe one day I would have to keep up with all that stuff (I was a very emotional child, people... and I may have taken things a little bit too seriously). In the end, I decided that the brain of an adult simply had to be far superior than what my brain was in order to handle that. Maybe adults had some implant they put in their brain to organize it all. It just shouldn't even be possible to keep up with all that information. I probably would have decided to simply hire a life manager to take care of it when I grew up... but I didn't know what a life manager was at the time.
Well, I sit here nearly twenty years later to confess that I have had no such implant, and my brain is, as predicted, ready to explode. The last few weeks have stressed me out as I try to remember all the stuff with my church callings, the new CPs I've met, my job and all that entails, finances and bills, taxes, doctors appointments, dentist appointments, hanging out with friends, needing to exercise, spending time cleaning and eating healthy, etc. etc. etc. My brain simply wants to explode.
I don't know what my parents secret is. I don't know what anybody's secret is. But at least I know how a closed circuit works. I know the basics of life, I guess. I survive and where I fail or struggle there are people to help me.
And if all else fails, I can just go to Disney World and pretend none of it even matters in the first place.
Yeah, I guess that's why that company exists. It is a pretty good purpose.
I remember tuning out the teacher and mulling over in my mind what Dad had taught me the night before and doodling a picture of a closed circuit lighting a light bulb on my paper, trying to make it look like I was making it some made up cursive letter. Then, a thought occurred to me.
As I thought of electricity, I thought of how that costs money... and my parents had to somehow pay for it. Then I thought of our house, and how they had to keep up on payments for that. Then I thought about school and how my parents had to keep up with that, my assignments, my dentist appointments, my meals, etc. They kept up with our new address which had just changed even though we hadn't moved. I thought about all that I required from my parents and then I realized that I had to multiply that by FOUR because I still had siblings they had to watch out for! Then there was all the extra volunteer work that they did, Church things to take care of, vacations to plan, no to mention the times when we got sick or if something broke on the house or car! I even thought about how ridiculous it was for our government to actually expect so much from people to actually keep up with all the extras they put on stuff like figuring out taxes or registering cars (I don't know how I knew about all this stuff at such a young age, but I do remember making a list and I definitely remember writing "government stress" on it as one of the things I thought should stress a parent out)
As I tried to think about all the stuff my parents had to think about my brain just wanted to explode. I specifically remember wanting to cry as I thought about how maybe one day I would have to keep up with all that stuff (I was a very emotional child, people... and I may have taken things a little bit too seriously). In the end, I decided that the brain of an adult simply had to be far superior than what my brain was in order to handle that. Maybe adults had some implant they put in their brain to organize it all. It just shouldn't even be possible to keep up with all that information. I probably would have decided to simply hire a life manager to take care of it when I grew up... but I didn't know what a life manager was at the time.
Well, I sit here nearly twenty years later to confess that I have had no such implant, and my brain is, as predicted, ready to explode. The last few weeks have stressed me out as I try to remember all the stuff with my church callings, the new CPs I've met, my job and all that entails, finances and bills, taxes, doctors appointments, dentist appointments, hanging out with friends, needing to exercise, spending time cleaning and eating healthy, etc. etc. etc. My brain simply wants to explode.
I don't know what my parents secret is. I don't know what anybody's secret is. But at least I know how a closed circuit works. I know the basics of life, I guess. I survive and where I fail or struggle there are people to help me.
And if all else fails, I can just go to Disney World and pretend none of it even matters in the first place.
Yeah, I guess that's why that company exists. It is a pretty good purpose.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Disney In My Every Day Life
There's a pavilion in EPCOT which houses the "Journey into the Imagination with Figment" ride. Of course, the title of the is quite a mouthful, so we usually shorten it just to "Imagination." Well, that's still long, and if you know anything about Disney Cast Members we have a nickname for literally EVERYTHING. So we shorten it even more to call it "Image" -- pronounced: "eye-mage" ('mage' rhymes with 'badge')
Well, even though we pronounce it weird, we spell it "Image" and that's how it's written all day as I go into the system and make changes to their location and cast members. That means that now, when I see the word "image" I still pronounce it in my head as "eye-madge" instead-even when they legit mean image, as in an image on a computer screen. Ah well.
Well, even though we pronounce it weird, we spell it "Image" and that's how it's written all day as I go into the system and make changes to their location and cast members. That means that now, when I see the word "image" I still pronounce it in my head as "eye-madge" instead-even when they legit mean image, as in an image on a computer screen. Ah well.
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