Sorry! We're CLOSED!

[DLSweeper]

g: you are a terrible employee haven't you heard a customer is always right?

They maybe a customer in other places but at the DLR they're guests.

[Ho-say]

I give all CMs who work in attractions/merch so much credit. I work in Resorts at WDW, and unfortunately hotels operate 24/7... so I'd be there forever if I waited for "closing"! :) So - when it's time for my shift to be over, I finish with my last guest and simply don't take anymore... file my paperwork, sign off the computer system and take my bank drawer backstage.

Of course this doesn't always work... there's always that guest who walks right up to your station without waiting for you to call them over. I enjoy telling them I'm closed and that the next available Cast Member will be with them shortly ;)

[DisneylandIs101]

This may be before some of your time, but there was a time in Disneyland's history when Guest Service actually counted. That meant that shops, restaurants, and attractions actually stayed open during Park operating hours (and Disney pulled it off at half of today's admission price). Many guests aren't there daily like we are/were, and may not have been there since Disney started putting guests second-to-last in the line of priorities (just barely above Cast Members).

Balloons used to go in when Main Street closed, ½ hour after the Park. Now the Balloon Controller comes out to drag you in if you aren't backstage by the Park closing time...then they complain when City Hall calls to get balloons for guests who promised their kids one when they were leaving (and were one of the few who actually meant it). Tomorrowland Terrace (I still can't call it Club Buzz) was once the second-busiest fast food restaurant in the world (behind the Moscow McDonald's). Now you are lucky to catch them on a day when they are actually serving food.

I miss those days. Yes, we worked harder and longer. But we also got more smiles (and the company made more money). I guess that's what happens when you put people in charge who got business degrees but never learned common sense.

That being said, I've had plenty of experiences after the closing spiel, when people would come up to me wanting a churro in Fantasyland when I was waiting for my push-in (before tuggers, when I couldn't just lock up and leave). I would explain that Disneyland had ended it's normal operating day (I love that phrasing), and that I had no more churros.

Guest: Where else can I get a churro?
Me: I'm sorry, sir, Disneyland is closed.
Guest: So where can I get a churro?
Me: There's a donut shop across from 7-Eleven at Harbor and Katella. I don't know if they sell churros, but it may be worth a try.

[GeorgieL.]

Back in the day....late 80's before The Emporium went all high tech with new fangled registers that compute the tax for you.... I worked closing shift.

The Park closed at 1am. Main Street closed at 1:30. Which means I was stinkin' lucky to get my time card punched before 3am.

We couldn't tell them to get the hell out and go home already. No...that just won't do. This is Disneyland.... I swear on all that is holy that there were people who wanted to be the LAST person to leave Disneyland and there were always two of them perusing the souveniers trying to out wait the other guy.

I thought we rather looked like the Secret Service making sure no one crossed the invisible line that keeps the public from the president. But I'd be damned if someone was gonna go back to Plush after we closed that door. And once we got them past Glass...no way...I'll fetch the Tinkerbell mug for you. And so on until we got them out the south door.

It was closer to 2am than 1:30. And it was often well on the way to 2:30am. Then we had to cash out the registers. The slackers that did pick ups (seriously, they were slackers) couldn't count money to save their lives. So registers NEVER balanced. And when your numbers didn't balance, you had to start over and recount. After the third recount, call a lead. But you had to wait for a lead. Cause everyone else was having the same issue. Finally they said if we were within $20, call it 'balanced'. Cool. Cash control always said they found the problems. Always in the pick ups. So why are we counting?

Anyway.... "guests" would get mighty peeved off that we wouldn't let them have free roam of The Emporium (and plush, and toys, and clocks and jewelry) at 2 am.

Yea...no problem. I don't want to go home or anything. I haven't been on my feet dealing with maniacal morons such as yourself for the past 8 hours. I haven't listened to the Electrical Parade music for the millionth time. I haven't answered the "what time is the 9:00 parade" question 17 times tonight alone. PLEASE let me stay another hour while you contemplate the pros and cons of an 18" Mickey Plush over a 22" Mickey Plush.

(how pathetic is it that I still know this shit nearly 20 years later??)

Then we'd all clock out and go to Spires for french fries and cokes....

Somewhere in my jewelry box I have a duly sanctioned Disney pin that says "I (heart) ER" resplendent with Mickey Ears and everything. I should wear it and be the last one out of the Emporium when we go next summer!

[manderson6309]

I think it's hilarious. At Dumbo, our queue is like a maze if you aren't shown exactly where to enter. So after it's closed, obviously the chain is put up and there is no obvious visual entrance. Plus on top of our chains, we have a fence with a gate for our inner queue. So, I love to watch whenever I'm closing lines or Dumbo and see people try their hardest to get to the front of the line. The can never figure out the queue so they just jump over or duck under the chains and get to the fence...this is my favorite part. Somehow, they get over the fence [jumped it] and start walking to the turn style...

"It's stuck...we can't get throught!"

Me: Um, it's not stuck kids, I locked it. And BTW the chains were closed for a reason. Same goes for the GATE on the fence. You should not ever jump over a fence. It's there for a reason. If we were opened, it would be open so you could get through. So please turn around and exit the way you came in!

It's really funny, because by making them exit the way they came in, It is them indirectly telling me that they jumped the fence and chains....Idiots!

[grimgrinningghost]

This is THE BEST part very often for me. Nothing "mean" when following DLR policy. Ain't it a thrill? 8)

I think this is the worst part for me. The miserable 90 day away, 7:06am Cinderella heartbreak stories. (For those who don't know, it's easier to win Stones tickets on the radio than to get into cindy's.. You have to call right along with the other 1000 people that want those tiny 45 tables 90 days out at exactly 7am, always sold out at 7:05) The 7:06 call when you tell them it's full is always the same conversation. It's also the same conversation you will be repeating verbatim for the next hour at least. It's repetitive and painfull and very hard to have sympathy when they all say the same damned thing.
guest: "How can it be full? I called at exactly 7am?"
cm: "I understand, so did about a thousand other people"
guest: "But I promised my little girl, it's her birthday"
cm: "can I check the princess breakfast at epcot for you?
guest:"no, it has to be the in the castle"
cm: "is there anything else i can find for you? maybe dinner in the castle?"
guest: "is cinderella there?"
cm:"no"
guest:" is there a waiting list?"
cm: "I'm sorry, but there are no waiting lists at Disney, it wouldn't be possible. Any cancellations for cinderella's will be rebooked within one minute. By the time we called the first person on a waiting list, it would have been rebooked by an incoming caller. Please feel free to call back and check for cancelations anytime."
guest "well then i guess we have to cancel the whole vacation"
cm: "can I have your reservation number?"

needless to say, I tend to take my morning break early to get back on the room res queue, and as far away from "Cinder-hella" as possible.

[GMC]

Preach on!! If I could get away with saying that...I totally would!

why aren't you couldn't you get away with that? are you a guest at another job? a manager spying on me? ... Are you Matt Ouimet? I KNEW IT!!! YOU ARE, aren't you? Save Disneyland... PLEAAASSSEE!

[GMC]

I was at greeter at Screamin' and it was about ten minutes before closing. This woman and her son come up to me and ask me what time we closed. I told them, they looked at the queue a bit and decided to leave. Apparently they felt they would have enough time to do whatever and return later and still be able to ride with no problem.

So, I close the line at 9p.m. sharp! About aproximately 9:05 the woman and her son return.

I said, "Sorry guys we're closed now."

They said, "What? But we were just here. You saw us."

That's why at indy, we close the line, collect lost and found, and rider switches, then leave.

[Main Streeter]

are you a guest at another job? a manager spying on me? ... Are you Matt Ouimet? I KNEW IT!!! YOU ARE, aren't you? Save Disneyland... PLEAAASSSEE!

LOL, ROFL! There are times GMC I'm positive you are a Leno writer. Thanks 4 the laffs :cheers:

[MagicInTheStarz]

Wow. Do the guests really think we can just reopen magically and give them what they want :roll: ? "Leave your brain at the gate!" as they say! Anyone have any similar stories to share?

When i was closing the Gag Factory last Christmas, i had this family of 6 who made it in before i shut the doors. When it was time i shut the doors and walk around and tell everyone we are closing soon and to make their final selections. 10 Minutes later they were the only guests left and they were shopping like we had shut down the shop just for them to shop to their hearts content.... So I walk up to the parents and tell them that we need to be clear for the Fireworks since they are shot from behind this very building... "ok.... we are almost done" says the woman... 5 Minutes later i walk up to them and say "Our last register is closing in one minute..." ... The guests started scrambling around grabbing almost everything in sight (making a huge mess) and take it to the register.... Once they left i had to talk to Theme Park One about why my shops closing had delayed the fireworks.... If i ever see that family again, i dont care if i lose my job, i would give them a piece of my mind!!!!!