Stupid Guest Tricks

Frontierland Railroad Station. The train about to depart. I'm working the platform, and am about ready to give the proceed signal when the gate opens up and a family wander out on the platform.

So, I put the family back in the queue, made them wait for the next train, and warned them not to open their own gates in the future.

"You people are full of shit! I've been getting the same attitude from you people from the moment I got here today!"

So which answer did I give him?

a) "Really? Have you been opening your own gates all day too?"

b) "Sir, it's all about safety -- *your* safety."

c) "Perhaps you'd have more fun if you spent the rest of your vaction at Universal."

d) "Your train will be here in about six minutes."

Yes, as a matter of fact, I *am* a chicken. :chicken1: Especially when the guest looked like he was ready to rip the gate off it's hinges and feed it to me. :taz:

i woulda started with a and gone back and forth until i got to d

or just go striaght to d

zazu, i almost want to say a

Zazu wrote:Frontierland Railroad Station. The train about to depart. I'm working the platform, and am about ready to give the proceed signal when the gate opens up and a family wander out on the platform.

So, I put the family back in the queue, made them wait for the next train, and warned them not to open their own gates in the future.

"You people are full of shit! I've been getting the same attitude from you people from the moment I got here today!"

So which answer did I give him?

a) "Really? Have you been opening your own gates all day too?"

b) "Sir, it's all about safety -- *your* safety."

c) "Perhaps you'd have more fun if you spent the rest of your vaction at Universal."

d) "Your train will be here in about six minutes."

Yes, as a matter of fact, I *am* a chicken. :chicken1: Especially when the guest looked like he was ready to rip the gate off it's hinges and feed it to me. :taz:

In your professional Disney opinion, do you think that the surly moods are there before they get into the park, or do you think something happens after they've arrived?

AngelEyes wrote:In your professional Disney opinion, do you think that the surly moods are there before they get into the park, or do you think something happens after they've arrived?

Judging from the attitude problems encountered at the turnstiles -- and even the parking lots -- it's my professional Disney opinion that such guests woke up as tourons. :notallthe

Don't you dare do C....we sent him to YOU!

Now I may only be 18 but Im not the average "immature" 18 year old I come across on a daily basis (In that with me living with my grandfather who served 26 years in the Marine Corps and then spent 25 years teaching a Marine Corps JROTC program at the high school I attended. Add on the fact that he was my teacher for the four years of high school for the program and that I consider him both my father and grandfather, I seriously act WAY more mature than what I should be for an average 18 year old).

But anyway I had this group of 16-19 year old kids come through at Coaster yesterday and they were bragging about how they skipped the preshow (As most people who do so, um, do). So I turned around and told them, in my regular "Dont question me" voice "Bragging about something like that isn't the brightest thing to do. Skip it again and I'll kick you all out"

Oh needless to say the immaturity level kicked in with them with the "Go ahead and try it" comment.

So later they skipped it again and lo and behold Im at the back group area, notice that they are the only ones coming out and said, "The yellow door is there for your use. Have a magical day."

This happened before but I had a similar situation today in which the kid was RIGHT THERE on the height stick. Well I wasn't going to let the kid ride (after explaining to the parents that if the kid went on the ride, when they went through the loop, the kids neck WOULD get jammed when she was forced into the harness). "Oh that's bullshit" (Said the father).
Naturally I kicked in with the comment of "This is Disney, use the language elsewhere"

To my surprise the father came back with a "F*** off" comment. Then I, cutting the arugment before we got into it (Which he would lose if we did) "Great way to be a role model for your kid. Have a nice day." then assisted the next guest.

I don't know what's they right thing to do though, let the kid on and later in life when they're dealing with an injury caused by their parent's stupidity, or listen to how great a role model parents can be sometimes.

Course today there was the moron who almost got into it with one of the loaders because he wanted to sit in row 4 1/2 but Im not getting into that one (Think of the way the limos are set up and think where Row 4 1/2 would be.....and he was getting pissed because we were trying to stop him)

Oh man, I would have loved to have cheered you on with the kids that cut the preshow. Beautiful.

And as for the parent who used such colorful language, nice response.

You have to just love the human experience, don't you?

AngelEyes wrote:In your professional Disney opinion, do you think that the surly moods are there before they get into the park, or do you think something happens after they've arrived?

I actually believe they're miserable like that before they even set foot out of whatever state or city they are traveling from. After having dealt with so many of them in DRC Guest Services I have come to the conclusion that there is a huge population of folks who come to WDW miserable and with the only intention of screaming until they get something free.

It's a shame

:barf:

JT ex CM 88-05

Zazu, Jennly, I have to agree with you. There are some miserable people out there, no doubt! My question is, do they really think coming to Disney is going to somehow make them happier or improve their mood? Seems like the last place on earth a grouch would want to go. Indy, good job with the teens. Would you have been working the coaster the Friday a week after Thanksgiving this past year? By that I mean 8 days after Thanksgiving, which was a Friday. I guess that would've been December 3rd. I remember seeing a young guy inside right before you go into the studio.

AngelEyes wrote:Zazu, Jennly, I have to agree with you. There are some miserable people out there, no doubt! My question is, do they really think coming to Disney is going to somehow make them happier or improve their mood? Seems like the last place on earth a grouch would want to go.

Well, some of us think that going to Disney will help. It sure helped me once.

I had just moved to Central Florida and was teaching at a sad, tuition mill of a local college. The schedule was grueling, the students unwilling to work, and the administration disinterested in learning ... or listening to the professors. I had just about decided to tell the college to stuff the job and move back to Tennessee.

Woke up on my day off grumpy. :grumpy: Didn't like my breakfast, even though I made it. Grumped my way over to WDW, parked in Grumpy, rode the tram grumpy, took the monorail grumpy, and grumpily I stuffed my AP into the turnstile at the MK.

"Smile," said an unnamed CP greeter :D: , "You're at Walt Disney World now. It's okay!"

And you know what? It was. In that moment, I realized that resigning from that college was the right thing to do, even if it meant moving back to Tenn. and my job at the Holiday Inn. I saw that my misery was of my own making. I realized that I didn't have to be grumpy, that I could hug Grumpy instead!

I won't go so far as to say that that visit to the MK changed my life, but because of that one joking statement, that pass through the turnstiles changed my career path. Not what the Imagineers intended when they designed the turnstiles, I'm sure, but a pretty good result nonetheless.

So yes, grumpy people *should* come to Disney to improve their mood and get happier. It's a great place to do so if you let it.

... and if we CMs have the good fortune and good timing to say just the right thing.

But if that doesn't work....