Scary Regulars

[EeyoresButterfly]

Let's not get into a line of work pissing contest! Regardless of your role you will always have to deal with people, both children and adults who get into trouble due to a lack of understanding. I have seen grown adults stick their hands into food and lick spoons on buffets. I'm sure merchandise has their own issues as well. I saw a video on AFV of a little girl using a potty that was on display in a home improvement store. What made me mad was that the adults in the situation laughed about it and then ran away as soon as she was done! They should have known better.

When I worked attractions I very rarely had problems with people with developmental disabilities. If they had enough cognitive ability to be by themselves they typically followed our directions (sometimes better than "normal" adults!), if they did not they had somebody with them as there were other issues there as well.

I have heard some horror stories though. While going through my MK training we were told about a man with developmental disabilities whose family got sick of him and just left him to his own devices. As the CMs were closing, they saw him sitting alone on Main Street. He didn't know how to get back to his resort (which was thankfully on property). A CM had to drive him to his resort in a company van as transportation had already stopped for the night.

Another time a trainer told me a similar story about a man who had been left to his own devices and rode Splash by himself. As the story goes, he stepped out of the boat at the top of the lift and fell to his death. I know there was a similar death on splash when a man stepped out while the ride was in motion and died. He told the others on the ride that he felt ill. I do not know if this is the man and if he truly had a disability, or if she is simply repeating an urban legend, but I'm sure it could happen.

I have worked in a home for people with developmental disabilities. Several of my residents (some of whom are still only teenagers) have been all but abandoned by their families, and it breaks my heart. I just got done being a buddy at special olympics yesterday and I was sad to see one student who felt that it was okay to use "short bus" type of humor.

I'm sure every area has to deal with people who are abusive. I will admit that in attractions it never moved beyond verbal abuse whereas when I was in entertainment I did have to deal with physical abuse such as punching or inappropriate touching. However, I would rather have to deal with neither. :) I guess if I had to deal with an odd or abusive guest that I know or one I don't, I would rather deal with the regular guests because at least I know what to expect and how to defuse the situation.

[SpaceMagic]

Ah, does anyone know the elderly guy with the lights all over his wheel chair? Or the couple that hang all their disney keychains on their ECVS? They're lovely to chat with on a boring day at Tip Board. Friendly and have a lot of wonderful stories.

[Theme Park Where]

The guy with the lights on his ECV comes to Fantasmic all the time too. He is nice to talk to, although he has his timing down perfectly so he's often arriving at the busiest part of show load and we don't always get a chance to chat.

We actually had to shut down Rock n' Roller coaster because a developmentally challenged young lady from Brazil decided to sit on the hood of the limo. She rode once with no problem (and apparently no chaprone). She wanted to ride again, so before anyone could stop her she ran back along the reride hallway and over the gate onto the load platform. We'd already loaded the limo and the gates were closed, so she jumped over the rail to get there. She ran up along the limo, and since the front seat was full jumped on the hood of the car, clinging to the harness of the poor guy in the front row. She wouldn't let go and kept insisting she was riding in the front row. We ended up calling OPD to come in and get her off the ride. Her group leader was there, but couldn't have been bothered to help.

Shortly after that incident we had another e-stop when a developmentally challenged girl decided her family was in danger riding the ride. She was supposed to be waiting for them at the exit (they'd sent her down the reride hallway by herself to wait for them) and instead jumped the gate and ran down the launch tunnel after them. Luckily she didn't get hurt, but it could have been a disaster, and all because her family would rather ride the ride than look after her.

[BRWombat]

Let's not get into a line of work pissing contest! Regardless of your role you will always have to deal with people, both children and adults who get into trouble due to a lack of understanding.

Right, especially since I can top you all. I deal with criminal defense attorneys. :p:

(My wife, who substitute teaches both in public schools and a couple of church preschools, will sometimes ask me if I want to switch jobs: "Do you want to deal with some four-year-olds today?" My response? "I think I already do!")

[CMGUY89]

Does your wife sub for PISD? (no wisecracks please)
If so I might have had her!

[EeyoresButterfly]

I can empathize with your wife! Thanks to an accommodating class schedule I sub up to three days a week for my local school district. Many of those days I sub for paras so I am with a lot of children with special need such as autism or Down Syndrome. Since most children with special needs do not handle change well, it can make for an interesting day...

[Christine43]

I have a question for CMs, would you want to know in advance that my son is autistic? He can be very animated at times but very flat at others. He is still a child but I can't help but worry about how people will react to him when he is an adult and I can't be there to help him every minute. So, if he were older and fully grown, would you want me to let you know he is autistic right off? It is easier to recognize Downs Syndrome than Autism. I'm honestly just curious.

[CMGUY89]

In my opinion that is no ones business and you do not have to share that you really want to. I suggest getting a Guest Assistance Card from guest relations so you don't have to explain at every attraction. You just show it and they will give you the assistance you need, no questions asked. You can explain quietly if you chose but at no point do we ever need to hear what disability your child has. That is your business and you are not obligated to tell that. If there is anything we can do to make your trip easier like warning of loud noises or startling effects that could frighten your child. You are entitled to your privacy and no cast member should ever ask you what your son's disability is, they should ask what kind of assistance you need.

[EeyoresButterfly]

On your other thread I mentioned having a T-Shirt or Pin. I have seen children use them, and it definitely makes a difference in how other guests treat them. It shouldn't make a difference in how a CM treats him, but sadly, for some I'm sure it does. This is completely personal preference for you. If he has a tendency to hit or kick, it's nice to let any characters know just so that we can be on the lookout. I always appreciate it as you don't know how every kid will react, and getting hit when you're not expecting it is no fun :( . We try to be understanding of little kids or kids with special needs as opposed to a jerk teenager who thinks it's fun, but it's helpful to have a heads up. Most families of children with autism or other special needs will tell us in advance so that we can avoid those problems.

[bpgstudios]

Ok I have put this off long enough. I'm finally going to write about our scary regular in F-land. There is a lady and her husband who come frequently (AP holders). The woman has a small yorkie service dog, and is in a double-wide wheelchair.

Experience 1: Small world, she wants to go on the wheelchair boat, which we are not allowed to load doublewides on since it wont fit right, so when asked if she could transfer to a standard wheelchair or directly into the boat, she demands our ops duty manager by full name. When the manager is called, this woman calls Guest Relations from speed dial on her phone, complaining that they didn't really call because he wasn't there yet. GR tells her that he has been called and is on his way. Ops manager tells her the same thing we did, and walks off.

Experience 2: Philharmagic. She is the first one in line in the wheelchair holding area of philhar lobby. when the doors open, she screams at the CM there that she is going to the middle wheelchair space. Mind you, there are 5 more parties behind her, all with wheelchairs as well, so we must be fair to everyone and have her go to the end of the back row. Manager called, same old story again.

Experience 3: Peter Pan. Since service animals are not permitted on this attraction, her husband waits by unload for her. Because it is not TOO busy and to prevent her from bitching MORE, the unload CM permits her to ride 5 times in a row. After her 5th time, the CM says that is enough and she does need to get off. She insists she gets another 5 rides taking her husbands turn. CM says no, GR is called on the cellphone to complain about CM.

Experience 4: Wishes ropes. Lady and husband approach snow white ropes 1 minute prior to show start, meaning the launchers are armed and ready to fire so no guests can enter from the back. Insists that she must view the fireworks from inside the castle because anywhere else upsets the dog. Claims that they have always been allowed to go in, etc. They argue and go on and on. Wishes starts, they insist they are still going through. The dog is fine btw. Manager called, backs up CM obviously.

There was a while where she wasn;t around, but just recently (around easter time) came back and caused more troubles. It makes me wonder why a record of complaints and manager calls isn't kept on guests that seem to be looking for trouble and just putting a ban on them.

And for the record, only one two of the above experiences I have personally witnessed. The others are stories relayed by fellow CMs.