Stupid Guest Tricks

Working in Peter Pan's Flight and "it's a small world", Lord knows an insane amount of strollers come through our narrow path. As a result of the family friendly popularity of the area, there are two designated stroller parking areas, one at each end of the corridor.

The first stands in front of Mickey's Philarmagic and the other down in front of the old Skyway. Both "so far away" or "all the way down there"...

I love giving guests specific instructions and/or directions as to WHERE to park their stroller... "At the end, past the wooden archway, in front of that brown building, behind the sign marked 'Stroller Parking'." And yet I'll continuously find abandoned strollers crowded next to the exit... 10 feet away from the entrance to stroller parking. Sometimes, I purposefully park their strollers in the farthest spot possible from where they left it.

I'll get the occasional group that bashfully admits that they realize they left their stroller in front of a "No Stroller Parking" sign and ask where it would have been moved to.

I laugh at the guests who come up to me and scream inches from my face like it's the end of the world, "MY STROLLER HAS BEEN TAKEN!!!"
And I think, "No, dumb*ss, I pointed STRAIGHT towards where to park it and I WATCHED you wander and stick it next to the closest empty space and run to catch up with your group that has already gotten on the ride because you failed to observe that there's no wait time, so I moved it for you... *pointing* OVER THERE!!!"
Then they're like... "Oh, okay, thanks!"

Or perhaps when you're rearranging the strollers in the parking area because you have to make room... and guests who come in and KNOW it's been moved and are STILL pissed about it anyways purposefully and loudly complain, "UGH, WHY DO THEY MOVE THE STROLLERS?!" so that they know you can hear them and then continue to shrug you off when you attempt to explain.

I hope to witness a bonfire of strollers one day...

First time I ever experienced this was at MGM by Playhouse Disney. I parked in the right area, but didn't realize they shuffled things around. So after playhouse and Little Mermaid it took me a little bit to locate the dang thing. I felt like one of those little old people that come out of the grocery store and stare blankly looking for their white car.

Now that I know, we tie something bright to the handle so it sticks out.

I love the "find my stroller" game. I know the CM's will move it, so I have fun with it. I think they should paint lines in stroller parking like a parking lot, when it is full the people have to "drive" around looking for an empty spot. I can just see people bird dogging others for a chance at a spot, fights breaking out when someone steals a spot out from someone else...ah...good times...

Just for the record, it is not always the CMs that move them. Often Guests move them. Generally just in the process of parking or retrieving their stroller they get bumped or have to get moved to get theirs out, that kinda thing.

lady ulrike wrote:Just for the record, it is not always the CMs that move them. Often Guests move them. Generally just in the process of parking or retrieving their stroller they get bumped or have to get moved to get theirs out, that kinda thing.

I can actually tell, if the stroller is lined up, it was a CM, if it is haphazardly moved, it was a guest :D:

Evil person that I am, when I worked Indiana Jones this past winter if I was assigned to stroller straightening, or just killing time, I would move all strollers which were illegally parked. The two legal stroller parking areas for Indy are (when facing out from the entrance) (1) along the fence to the left of the stairs that go to the lake, and (2) along the fence to the right of the ice cream stand. The illegal ones are to the left of the ice cream stand to the stairs, blocking the stairs, or to either side of the Indy entrance on the same side of the walkway as the entrance.

My normal procedure for the illegal parking was to the other side of the entrance as far as I could go, and probably blocked in by other strollers. On teh right I might even go past the next set of stairs and to the left I would go all the way past the water fountain. Make it as difficult as possible for the people who did not obey the rules.

Ahh yes, the Pan/Small World stroller zoo ... there was one that was parked such that it was actually touching one of the "No Stroller Parking" flags that hang from the chains at Small World. One of the coordinators re-parked it ... at the Haunted Mansion.

(and, even though it sounds like something he'd do, no it wasn't "Snarky 80")

Ah Fantasyland, my old stomping ground. How well I remember working in the stroller capitol of the world.

I miss before they levelled out Skyway. During the busy season (holidays, when we were expected to go to Phase 4) we would valet park the strollers with managers who were doing Cross-U's. One side was personal strollers. Up the hill we had them arranged into single and double park strollers and then in groups according to last name. It was a fun job! I know they still do some of that stuff now, but it's not the same.

It was always amusing the guests who swore up and down their strollers was stolen, or asked us increduously if we moved the strollers (as you have a stroller in each hand). On the plus side, I am now a professional stroller driver and parker.

I swear on my children's lives that I have never parked in a no stroller parking area! :)

And I promise that when I visit in just a few short weeks, I will park in the appropriately designated space!

(PS - I have been know to move strollers to the correct area even though I don't work there....mainly just to upset the jerk who parked in the wrong place)

DockMaster09 wrote:I hope to witness a bonfire of strollers one day...

LOL!! That is way too funny. I had a lady in Ariel's grotto who was screaming and yelling on how I was insensitive was being. They had a baby and it was sleeping and mom didn't want to carry him. Finally a manager came by and took care of her, still she went huffing and puffing since it was a 'stupid rule' anyway.

Then I love the ones that try to sneak the stroller thru the entrance by the side of the bathrooms like if we won't notice. Look it's NO strollers. I don't make the rules I just enforce them, get off my case.