Can you give me an opinion?

[EeyoresButterfly]

Merge Point is where the Fastpass Line and Standby Line meet. The CM there is in charge of merging the guests and enforcing the FP/SB ratio. The problem: Nobody in standby believes us when we say it's a 90 minute wait because the majority of the line is around the corner from the entrance and they cannot see it. The part they can see makes it look like nobody is there. When I worked there the machines printed out too many FPs (by the time you took into account guests with mobility problems and alternate entrances) so the FP line was always backed up, especially if you had somebody who was not on top of their game or if the ride went down. Now, the two lines meet face to face and you are in the middle. If FP gets backed up, then it's a long wait for both and so you literally have both people yelling at you from each side. Plus, you have to admit more FP than normal to clear the line and SB gets to see exactly how many people go before them. We've had people run out of there crying!

Ok, now a good story to balance it (because really, there are for more good than bad). This isn't one that happened to me, but it's still a great story. A little girl was coming through MAW. She got very sick on the plane and an ambulance had to meet her at the airport. Her wish was to visit Cinderella. The Disney managers got wind of the situation. They went to Toontown to ask Cinderella if she would visit the girl in the hospital. Cinderella went and visited the girl in the hospital room- the girl died later that night. The next day the mother came into the park and told Cinderella how much what she did meant to the little girl and the family. They have pictures of it backstage Epcot, and it always makes me tear up.

[Ms. Matterhorn]

Peter Pan Merge Point sounds like hell on earth.

But that Cinderella story was fantastic!

[joanna71985]

I had never really been to Disney before I began my CP. I went to DAK the day before and was enthralled by the parks. Working there has made it an incredibly magical experience, and I have never regretted it. Many of the CMs I work with still recognize me, having worked entertainment, some of the characters will go out of their way to greet my family and me. Sure, you see the nitty gritty stuff. I have had to calm down my share of irate guests (Peter Pan Merge Point is killer), but I have also been able to help make some amazing memories!

One of my favorites happened to me when I was helping Mickey outside DAK at the end of the day. There was a little boy from GKTW using a walker. He left the walker with his mother and struggled to walk up to Mickey. The mother started crying, and Mickey was a little worried that he had done something wrong. When we got backstage, Mickey asked his attendant what was going on with that family. This is what the attendant told him: That little boy has Muscular Dystrophy. When he returns home he will have to start using a wheelchair- probably for the rest of his life. His wish was to walk up to Mickey Mouse, those were the last independent steps that little boy will ever take. Not only was it a magical moment for that little boy and his family, it was a magical moment for me as well. I got to help Mickey make the little boy's wish come true.

We've all had experiences where we've been able to really make a guest's day. Whether it is randomly picking a family and expediting them onto a ride, giving a child a pin when they can't decide which of theirs to give up, or making an extra special meet and greet with a character, these are the memories that we will hold in our hearts forever.

Oh my goodness, that is such a beautiful story!

[joanna71985]

I have a couple of examples myself.
1) This was after working the Tomorrowland dance party for mnsshp. The other attendant told me this story: She has worked another party, and there was this little boy acting all shy, and afraid to get up and interact. So she went over to him, and got him involved, dancing around and the such. After the party was over, his parents went over and they started talking. They told her that they were in WDW to celebrate. They had just officially adopted the little boy, and had gotten him from an abusive household. They had not seen him so happy. Well, after hearing that story I was just a blubbering mess. She was crying too telling it to me.

2) This story came from the recruiter at my school, and he told it during one of the school presentations: This was just after 9/11, and he had just been in NY for a presentation and was now going back to FL. One the plane, he was sitting next to a little boy and a family member (I can't remember who). They started chatting, and the little boy was on his way to WDW. Anyway, right before the plane landed he found out that the little boy had lost someone (I believe a parent) in one of the towers during the 9/11 attacks.

These are reasons why I love being a CM- getting to meet people like these. I have so many more reasons too.

[February]

Oh Butterfly!!!

That story is heartbreaking- but what a gift for that little girl, her family, and for Cinderella.

I've done some charity work in the past that has to do with kids that are that sick, and I'll tell you. Once you see a child with a little bald head and a feeding tube smile at you still- it changes who you are at a molecular level.

You can't ever be the same after experiences like that. They stay with you.

Bless her heart. *tears*

[Big Wallaby]

Ok, now a good story to balance it (because really, there are for more good than bad). This isn't one that happened to me, but it's still a great story. A little girl was coming through MAW. She got very sick on the plane and an ambulance had to meet her at the airport. Her wish was to visit Cinderella. The Disney managers got wind of the situation. They went to Toontown to ask Cinderella if she would visit the girl in the hospital. Cinderella went and visited the girl in the hospital room- the girl died later that night. The next day the mother came into the park and told Cinderella how much what she did meant to the little girl and the family. They have pictures of it backstage Epcot, and it always makes me tear up.

That is one of my reasons for being a Cast Member. Every once in a while, I just might get to be a part of that. I have a story kinda like that, I'll share it some time.

[joanna71985]

Ok, now a good story to balance it (because really, there are for more good than bad). This isn't one that happened to me, but it's still a great story. A little girl was coming through MAW. She got very sick on the plane and an ambulance had to meet her at the airport. Her wish was to visit Cinderella. The Disney managers got wind of the situation. They went to Toontown to ask Cinderella if she would visit the girl in the hospital. Cinderella went and visited the girl in the hospital room- the girl died later that night. The next day the mother came into the park and told Cinderella how much what she did meant to the little girl and the family. They have pictures of it backstage Epcot, and it always makes me tear up.

I've heard that story. It absolutely gets me every time.

[ktulu]

These stories make it hard for me to be the macho man I am ;)

Just don't visit me when my wife and I are watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

[Syndrome]

Awww, my eyes are all moist now...some thread!!

[EeyoresButterfly]

Ok, this one doesn't have to do with sick children, but it's one of my favorite memories that happened to me. I was helping out Stitch at the Timekeeper in tomorrowland. We were pretty slow and a lady and her friend came up to Stitch. Stitch played around with them for a little bit and then they pulled out an autograph book for him to sign. They said it was for the ladie's son who she was adopting the next month. Stitch was signing the book, and as a whim added, "P.S. I'm adopted too." When he showed it to the ladies, they were tearing up. I thought it was good that the little boy would have a character to identify with.

We should get a "magical memories" thread going. We do a lot of venting on this site because anytime you deal with high guest traffic, there will be things to vent about, but there are also some wonderful memories, and that is why I want to go back.