Rules of the Parks

[ktulu]

I think in some cases the CM may be intimated by some guests. I got that feeling when I was at DL and a cm was hesitant to tell a guy about the smoking zones. I can understand if the CM wants to avoid confrontation. They could have had a bad day and just want to get through their last few hours and go home and post the story on SGT.

[hobie16]

Now I have to go find a smilie that says "no spine".

How about an amoeba or Bill O'Reily?

[vixen101485]

or a paramecium I just like the word**vix dances around the room chanting paramecium, paramecium...la la la la la.

[mechurchlady]

:snail1:
Do you mean these spineless critters?


I was at the store waddling along and it got bad with SGs shopping. It would have been worse if I had told them to move their slow butts out of my way then got into a yelling match.

In a park people are happy then here comes a CM who explains the rules. The rule breaker starts yelling and maybe even cursing. Why ruin everyone's day over heelies. Line cutting cannot be enforced unless the mob is unruly or the act is seen. Smoking is a different matter and should be enforced.

This site is getting me to start to see things in a different way. From restaurants and markets to parks it changed. I now am learning to see SGs as sometimes doing things because of reasons like mental illness, handicaps, or poor home life as a child for example. I now try to give workers some slack. I saw last night a waitres with 8 tables and she was hauling rump but it got to where she was not serving fast enough because of too many tables and snafus.

I wish I could undo all the things I did in the past.

[ICStupidPeople]

As a former smoker, I will say that at some parks it's easier to locate smoking sections than others. For instance, the front of Epcot is a bit difficult (at least it was prior to learning where the areas are) as it showed one on the map between Mission Space and test track, but when I was smoking there while waiting for my husband to ride TT, a CM mentioned I wasn't in a smoking area (it was early in the a.m. noone else was around as Mission space was still under construction at that time) and asked me if I needed help locating a smoking area (which obviously I did).

I was about 20 yards from the designated area, and, until then, didn't realize that the smoking area garbage cans had sand/gravel in the top. I didn't take offense to it (I knew there were designated areas, I just thought I was already in one due to the lack of other patrons). I think that it would help sg's such as myself to actually acknowlege that the smoking area garbage cans will have a sand/rock butt disposal on the top. In retrospect, I should have realized this, but it's not something that came to mind right away.

I no longer smoke (6 months nicotine free thanks to the colorado quitline that provides the patch for free at 1-800-quit-now..sorry for the plug, but seriously, it's free and many states offer the patch for free, nothing to lose by trying it. It's paid for by tax dollars from cigs actually..i'm not associated with them in any way, but thought i'd plug it in case others wanted to try..it's no cost, nothing to lose) so I don't have to worry about it, but since quitting I have mentioned to a guest that was smoking in a non designated area where the areas in DL are. It helps if you approach them as a fellow smoker I think (even though I no longer am, they don't know that). I pretend I still smoke and how it's great that disney has such nice areas to get away from the crowds to smoke since we don't want it around our kids and wish we could quit..yada yada.. (I don't have kids either, but they don't know that..lol)

It gets the point across in a non confrontational way. I will say, there are VERY VERY few instances of smoking outside a designated area in DL compared to WDW. I think it's due to the fact that CA residents are used to places being smoke free. You won't find cali residents smoking outside the areas I would bet. It's people visiting from places that smoking everywhere is not considered taboo yet.

[Alyssa3467]

2. Some CMs do not care a hoot. They are the people you meet at the store, bank, movie theatre, or other form of employment who do not care about enforcing rules.

I think that's a big part of it. Many of the Cast Members I've spoken to (at Disney's California Adventure at least) don't care about enforcing the rules on Heelys (or knock offs) or smoking out of bounds. They tell me "it's not [their] job," so they don't care. :mad: If I'm not in an essential position (only person in the store/room, behind a register with a line, etc), I'll stop someone I see skating with Heelys or the knock offs, or if I smell cigarette smoke and I'm able to trace it back to a person or group of people.

[mechurchlady]

DL did have some smokers over by the train station in Tomorrowland. It did not make sense that the smoking area was along a railing at the lagoon and right across from the Matterhorn. Why not put smokers and dining tables along the back of the building and the Matterhorn. They could put an awning and tables. Let the smokers have one big smoking place when they could dine and smoke.

I rarely saw smokers outside designated areas at DL but did get a whiff of marijuana a couple times.

[CBeilby]

Over the years, I've noticed that there are relatively few guests at DL who do smoke outside of the designated areas, but there are a few areas that always seem to attract them. Particularly are the two backstage accesses flanking Plaza Inn. I once was on my walk time, and on the way to wardrobe to change, when I caught a couple of women smoking in the main backstage access (south edge of the hub, right by Inn Between and Guest First Aid.) Now, when it came to Heelies and Smoking, I've always been one to be proactive about the rules, and I mentioned to them that they weren't allowed to smoke there. I was as polite and nice as you could want, and the two women got irate about it, because I had explained that the nearest smoking area was the one in Fantasyland, by the Matterhorn. When they said they were going to go to City Hall, I gladly gave them my name (Hey, I wasn't the one breaking the rules,) and then went backstage. Fortunately, one of my managers was right there, and I immediately told him my side of the story. Funny thing is, nothing ever happened to me as a result, so either they didn't go to Guest Relations, or else Guest Relations actually had a spine for once.

Another time, I caught a guy on the other side, the smaller backstage access between PI and Star Tours, back by the restrooms. Same thing, I politely asked him to please put the cigarette out and go to the Tomorrowland smoking area. This one didn't even bother complaining. Instead, he simply blew smoke in my face. :mad: I shrugged it off (former theater tech, so I'm a chain second hand smoker,) ducked backstage, and ran into a security officer right there... :twisted:

[lady ulrike]

Same thing with heelys, the SG parents will argue about about their child's heelys. It is just not worth it. No big deal.

That's why I never talk to the parents about the heelys. I tell the kid directly to please just walk in Disneyland because skating is not allowed. They always stop. They might start up again 5 feet past me, but at least they've stopped for a little bit and I've never had an argument about it.

[Switchbeam 9]

Banning Heelys would be asking lizards to be banned from the parks. If they are skating full-tilt down the monorail ramp, then I will yell out a "Don't skate down the ramp!" Otherwise, just no point in confronting nearly every kid in the park. Plus, I haven't seen anything saying that they are banned, must not be big potatoes to Disney.