This is going to be long, sorry.

[GuestJockey]

What is it about the last guest of the night in City Hall?

Night 1: My lead and I are the last ones left. It's 1:30 and I'm just waiting for the park to clear so I can close out my drawer and go home. In comes stroller man with a security guard. They come into the hall, but continue to talk to each other for a bit away from the counter, so I figure I'll give them their privacy until he needs me and go back to counting my fund. As I do this, I can overhear the conversation about how someone moved his stroller. I figure I'll chip in at this point, because the best way to get off on the right foot with a guest is to immediately take the initiative to try to help, so I offer to go in the back and see if there are any strollers in L&F. He snaps "sure" and I get him to describe it. I can hear in his voice that he's getting panicked, and when I find no strollers in the L&F bin, I start prepping myself for what I thought I knew was coming. I was completely unprepared for the freak-out that I experienced.

He flips. His son, age 4, is Diabetic and while he CAN walk, they use the wheelchair to limit his activity (some diabetics have an insulin pack which is programmed to give x amount of insulin for x amount of activity, so keeping the activity inside that expected range is important). I told him I completely understood and was glad the security guard had already gotten them a comp stroller for that day. He said he was coming back for the next 3 days, so I got them NSAs to get strollers for the rest of their stay. That's not good enough - how are they supposed to get back to the hotel? (the Grand Cal)? Uhm...he CAN walk a bit? The stroller can be taken all the way to the security tents. Not good enough. They're supposed to go to Toronto on Monday, they need something that they can take with them to the plane. I told him I was sorry that I didn't have anything to give him, but I could email Guest Claims and let them know the situation so that they could contact him in the morning (remember, it's 1:45am). Not good enough. Long story shortened: he refuses to leave City Hall until he has a stroller he can take on the plane with him. He suggested at one point that my lead or I take the Disney Dollars in my drawer, drive to a Target, buy him a $400 stroller, and bring it back to him. We had to finally have the Anaheim Police Department explain to him that the park was closed and escort him off property at 2:45am. Just in time for me to come back at 8am the next day!

Night 2: Two nights later I'm closing City Hall again, and again I know I'll be back in less than 7 hours the next morning. But it's ok, because it can't POSSIBLY be as bad as the LAST time I closed City Hell, right? Oh so wrong. The last guest of the night walks in with "a complaint". I'm sorry to hear that, what happened? "well, I just got off your It's A Small World, and nowhere does it say Merry Christmas. I would like to know why you people can't say Merry Christmas to me?" I explained first that it wasn't that I couldn'tsay it, and promptly said it to her. She interrupted by repeating that "No, you people won't say Merry Christmas anywhere. All you say is Happy Holidays. That ride says every other holiday all over but never says Merry Christmas." So I try to explain that the theme of It's A Small World Holiday is "Joy to the WORLD", and since not everyone in the world celebrates Christmas, it says "happy holidays" in order to be inclusive. "Well, the ride is in AMERICA, and AMERICA is a CHRISTIAN NATION!" So I tried to explain that people in America practice all different religions and we're founded on freedom of religion. I know, I know - I should have just smiled and nodded, but I'm a poli sci major and I was not about to let her trample on the Constitution. The rest, I will translate word-for-word
Religious Fantatic: "What, like JEWS?! That's like 2% of America. Our founding fathers were all Christians!"
Angry Plaid: "Actually mam, Thomas Jefferson was a Deist, not a Christian, and was very concerned with freedom of worship.
R.F. : "I'm not TALKING about Thomas Jefferson, I'm TALKING about our FOUNDING FATHERS!"
A.P.: "Mam, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence."
R.F. : "No he didn't, George Washington did."
A.P. : "I hate to disagree mam, but Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. I'm a Political Science major, this is my area of expertise."
R.F. : "George Washington read his bible every day and now you Jesus-haters are trying to take away Christmas! I don't hear any traditional Christmas music, only this "Joy to the World" crap!"
A.P. : "The next line of 'Joy to the World' is "the LORD is come."
R.F. : "I want to see your supervisor!!!"

She went on to claim my lead (the same poor lead that helped me with stroller man the night before) wasn't really a supervisor because her name tag didn't SAY supervisor (none of them do.) And when she tried to explain that the ride actually DOES say Merry Christmas, in about 7 different languages (she specifically mentioned the Hawaiian "Mele Kelikimaka", since she's Hawaiian.) and the lady said that "REAL Americans speak English and you need to put interpreters in the ride." But perhaps the most satisfying part of the night was the fact that every once in a while when talking to my lead, she would yell about "That girl's a POLITICAL SCIENTIST! Did you KNOW that?! You HIRE THEM?!" and we couldn't figure out why she kept mentioning it until we realized that she must have thought it was the same thing as Scientology. She ended up making an official complaint against me, It's A Small World, Hawaii, and Thomas Jefferson.

Sometimes you have to just laugh. :)

[hobie16]

[CENTER] Wow!! [/CENTER]

[Kwahati]

I've complained about Thomas Jefferson, Political Science, You and Hawaii many times, but complaining about IASW?!?! C'mon, that's just crossing the line there!

Seriously, though, what fools you have to deal with. There was a recent thread about people wanting to try to get into your line of work and they were promptly warned about people like you had to deal with. That's just ridiculous. I'm so sorry. On behalf of "normal" guests everywhere, please accept my apology for the few who have truly checked their brains at the gate. On the other hand, sounds like you dealt with it well. I would have laughed in her face when I caught on to the pseudo-equal opportunity violation of ranting about a religion (even if she just thinks it's your religion although it's not really a religion...although she did cover mine in there...).

But I tell you...these Poli Sci people with their "logic" and basic understanding of "government"...where the h*ll do they get off?!? :p:

Edited to clarify: the only thing in that list (Hawaii, you, IASW etc.) that I really HAVE complained about (although certainly not to city hall!) is IASW! :)

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

That why I would have a hard time working there!

RF: "What, like JEWS?! That's like 2% of America. Our founding fathers were all Christians!"

ME: listen you egotistical stupid bitch, if you don't get your dumb-ass predjuice cud-chewing butt outa her in about 3 miliseconds, I'm gonna help you meet jesus, you scum sucking weasel beaked ugly piece of doggy poop.

Oh and happy hanukkah!

(yeah I hate idiots!)

SHould I put in for guest services if I apply?

Hmmmm???

[Big Wallaby]

Sometimes, as a Christian, it's the unthinking Christians who really offend me the most. They just go so far as "The Bible say do or don't". I say take it to the next step... why does the Bible say it? Because then, instead of following a rule, you're following a smart way of life.

People like her, I am sure, fall under that first category.

I've been in a few churches where I wanted to go up to the pastor or priest after the service and ask if he believed in light bulbs, as they're not mentioned in the Bible.

[glendalais]

For the record, I'm the one who started the thread about transferring over to GR, and while I'm not going to do it right now (maybe in 6 months), it's nice to get a firsthand account about the kind of stuff you guys have to deal with (which oddly enough after hearing it, has actually piqued my interest in transferring, lol :rolleyes :) .

What is it about the last guest of the night in City Hall?

If they haven't left the park by that time, there's normally a pretty good (at least in their minds) reason for it.

...They're supposed to go to Toronto on Monday, they need something that they can take with them to the plane. I told him I was sorry that I didn't have anything to give him, but I could email Guest Claims and let them know the situation so that they could contact him in the morning (remember, it's 1:45am). Not good enough. Long story shortened: he refuses to leave City Hall until he has a stroller he can take on the plane with him. He suggested at one point that my lead or I take the Disney Dollars in my drawer, drive to a Target, buy him a $400 stroller, and bring it back to him. We had to finally have the Anaheim Police Department explain to him that the park was closed and escort him off property at 2:45am. Just in time for me to come back at 8am the next day!

As a Canadian-American, let me take this opportunity to apologize for my fellow countryman. Trust me, most of us are not like that (though people from Toronto tend to be more so than most :twisted: :p :) .

Though just to make sure, there is an entrance to the GCH from Downtown Disney, right? I can understand why he would be frustrated if his son had to walk all the way through Downtown Disney and then past the DLH. Do I condone reacting in that way, no, but I could still see why he would be frustrated.

So I tried to explain that people in America practice all different religions and we're founded on freedom of religion. I know, I know - I should have just smiled and nodded, but I'm a poli sci major and I was not about to let her trample on the Constitution.

It doesn't work with these types of people. When I was in High School, I tried to explain this concept to a bunch of people who were that we ban all non-Christian clothing from the campus (like the Muslim Hijab, the Jewish Yamulkah (sp), etc.).

Their response: "Our "Freedom of Religion" is based on the fact that we allow lesser religions to coexist in this country as long as they conform with the traditions of the Christian majority!!"

Religious Fantatic: "What, like JEWS?! That's like 2% of America. Our founding fathers were all Christians!"
Angry Plaid: "Actually mam, Thomas Jefferson was a Deist, not a Christian, and was very concerned with freedom of worship.
R.F. : "I'm not TALKING about Thomas Jefferson, I'm TALKING about our FOUNDING FATHERS!"
A.P.: "Mam, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence."
R.F. : "No he didn't, George Washington did."
A.P. : "I hate to disagree mam, but Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. I'm a Political Science major, this is my area of expertise."
R.F. : "George Washington read his bible every day and now you Jesus-haters are trying to take away Christmas! I don't hear any traditional Christmas music, only this "Joy to the World" crap!"
A.P. : "The next line of 'Joy to the World' is "the LORD is come."
R.F. : "I want to see your supervisor!!!"

You should have mentioned that many of our Founding Fathers were also Freemasons lol, that would have gotten her all twisted up (for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, many Christians regard Freemasonry as a group with cultanic tendencies).

And if she was so worried about the lack of Christianity on the ride, maybe she shouldn't have come to a park that tends to play up such things like "magic" and "wishes". As one of my Christian friends says, "Prayers not wishes, blessings not luck.".

But perhaps the most satisfying part of the night was the fact that every once in a while when talking to my lead, she would yell about "That girl's a POLITICAL SCIENTIST! Did you KNOW that?! You HIRE THEM?!" and we couldn't figure out why she kept mentioning it until we realized that she must have thought it was the same thing as Scientology.

As a fellow PoliSci major, I think this is one for the record books, lol. I've been called all sorts of things because of my major (like a few people who think I'm "coo-coo" for pursuing the Liberal Arts), but never has anyone insinuated I'm a Scientologist because of it.

Though I think she thought you were a Christian Scientist, they tend to have many of the same problems with regards to some Christian groups that Scientologists do.

She ended up making an official complaint against me, It's A Small World, Hawaii, and Thomas Jefferson.

I can imagine the complaint now:

I demand that you fire this Cast Member for being incompetent, change "It's a Small World Holiday" into a unilingual English-language ride extoling the virtues of a traditional Christian Christmas (none of this Santa and holly jolly nonsense), expell the State of Hawai'i from the Union and remove any and all references to Thomas Jefferson from every schoolbook in the nation!

Ay vey, the things you people have to deal with over there. Oddly enough, I'm even more interested in transferring over there, lol. I think something must be wrong with me ;) .

[Kwahati]

...I say take it to the next step... why does the Bible say it? Because then, instead of following a rule, you're following a smart way of life...

Oh, Big Wallaby! From your mouth to God's ears! Christians like you are why I have so many good friends who are Christians. I've had the "why" conversation so many times... Like the "why" of keeping Kosher. Most of those rules were just for lack of hygiene and meat thermometers! Some Rabbi (and let's all remember, Rabbi means teacher) saw that people were eating pork (for example) and getting sick. He didn't know why. There was no way of knowing about trichinosis back then. So he said "Hey everybody! God spoke to me! He says 'no more pork'!" A lot of that stuff (most of the rules) are just common sense translated for the common people to understand back in the day...

Anyway, before I get off of religion, there's an important story of my people (Jews) I feel I should share with you all (It's long, but bear with me...I hope you enjoy it!):

So there once was a town in the mountains called Tridia. Every year, on January First, a monster would come down from the highest mountain to the town. Some people say the monster was a Yeti. Some say it was more like an enormous wolf that walked upright. What kind of monster it was really wasn't all that important to the people of Tridia. What really was important to them was what the monster would do when it got to town. You see, every year, when the monster arrived in town, it would stalk the streets of Tridia and whenever it found a person, it would kick them! It was said that the monster would often kick the people of Tridia so hard that they would go flying great distances! The people of Tridia tried all sorts of different things to deter the monster from visiting every year including giving it offerings, setting traps for it, and even attempting to camouflage the town! Alas, all these ploys were to no avail as every year the monster would come to Tridia, find people and kick them. In desperation, the people of Tridia finally turned to a Rabbi who happened to be passing through their town only days before the New Year. The people of Tridia said "Rabbi! Please, we beg you to help us if you can. We don't want to be kicked by the monster any more!" The Rabbi said "I'll see what I can do." The Rabbi spent the next three days in study, trying to find an answer to the town's problem. Finally, the day of the New Year arrived and the Trids went to the Rabbi and said "Rabbi! Have you found an answer to our problem?" The Rabbi slowly shook his head "Sadly, no. In all my study I have been unable to find an answer to this problem. However, I do have one idea I will try. I don't know if it will work, but it is the least I can do." Just then a town guard came running trough the streets screaming "He's coming! The monster is coming! Everyone hide or risk being kicked by the monster!" The Rabbi said "I must go now. There is little time." With that, the Rabbi raced to the gates of town and ran outside the gates just in time to meet the monster. The monster looked down at the Rabbi and the Rabbi looked up at the monster. The Rabbi said to the monster "Oh monster! Please end this madness! There is no reason for you to go kick the people of Tridia! If you must kick someone, please, kick me and then go on your way! Kick the people of Tridia no more!" The monster smiled at the Rabbi and said.......
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"Silly Rabbi! Kicks are for Trids!" :p:

Okay... Happy Hanukkah everybody, there's your obligatory Rabbi joke! Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it, and Happy Holidays to those who don't! :D:

[Big Wallaby]

:hysteria: Yep, I would expect a long joke from you to be funny.

Have you heard the one where a Rabbi, a Priest and a homeless man walk into a bar? The bartender looks at them and says, "What is this, some kind of joke?"

[GuestJockey]

Ay vey, the things you people have to deal with over there. Oddly enough, I'm even more interested in transferring over there, lol. I think something must be wrong with me ;) .

Well, that may be the case, but you're not alone. Some of us are just gluttons for punishment I guess.

It was so hard to be polite to her. I wanted to just laugh and ask her to stop watching the O'Reilly Factor. That, or punch her in the nose. I can usually hold my tongue, but I freaking LOVE Thomas Jefferson! You don't mess with Jefferson. lol. [ Again, if you came to GR, you wouldn't be the only freak :) ]

[Big Wallaby]

Between you guys at DL and Zazu at WDW, we'll know that everything's taken care of.

More good luck and pixie dust to Zazu. Don't worry, I got this dust off a really hot pixie.