News New Changes Coming to the Disney Look 2021

91JLovesDisney

Well-Known Member
Definitely you - some of the most friendly people I know have fun with their hair, change it up frequently, etc.

Plus, how many people often talk about how CMs that go above and beyond help make their trips special? That is very different than "aren't supposed to be noticed" - they are supposed to stand out and add to the trip. They aren't servants or machines that should stay out of the way

I know some of the best CMs I have encountered have expressed more personality and passion - and if this change let's them be more comfortable doing that and being their "true selves" then this will only make the guest experience better, IMO at least
I don't think you grasp my point - I'm not saying they're not friendly, I'm saying they're less approachable because they may not look as friendly. I don't care whether they're friendly or not, in fact they probably are, it's just human nature.
 

Timmay

Well-Known Member
What do you think Disney should have done to better manage guest expectations around these Disney Look changes?
It’s not just around the look changes. There are instances of people I know (anecdotal, yes) who have had a year or two between visits say “what the heck happened?” There are many things just piled on top of each other, and that’s not really the purpose of this thread. Anyway, I personally am not arguing for or against the changes.
 

TheMaxRebo

Well-Known Member
Couple of disclosures before I begin.

This is probably going to run a little long and I am in my mid 50’s...so my opinions will no doubt be outdated and irrelevant to some. I would highly encourage those individuals to just skip over this post and save yourself undue frustration.

I’ve been lucky enough to have enjoyed Disney parks over the last 40 years, and I come down pretty much in the middle of this. I’ve seen a lot of changes in the parks over the years...success and failures. Change is the nature of everything, so this isn’t unexpected. Couple of things though.

Back in the day...remember, I’m outdated...cast members weren’t hired to sell hot dogs or cupcakes, they were hired to play someone selling hot dogs or cupcakes a very specific way in a very specifically themed area. Obviously the concept was to provide a total experience. That was unique. Disney had a specific model and goal they were attempting to produce. It was so successful that hospitals, in an attempt to raise their patient satisfaction, began to mimic that Disney model. And it worked. It was all about creating that special and specific experience.

I don’t think anyone can deny that experience has changed over the years, and for many it has changed for the worse. That’s fine. It’s Disney’s business to run. People still flock to the parks in the millions. About 15 years ago I was in one of the parks later than I should have been taking some night time pictures. Back of the park, by myself when two cast members happened upon me. They were having a very off stage discussion in a very on stage area. I personally thought nothing of it...park was technically closed and they were just walking by. They saw me, froze, and assaulted me with non stop apology after apology. These two kids, really, fully understood they had possibly just destroyed an experience. I was both shocked and impressed by their actions of wanting to create that experience. Today, I would be just as shocked if something like that were to actually happen. Those days are mostly gone, for a wide variety of reasons. Again, that is 100% Disney’s choice.

Like it or not, it’s a fact that image plays a huge role in the customer experience. For the customer, or guest if you prefer, image is both conscious and subconscious. Back to the hospital setting. You walk into the emergency department waiting room with some issue you are dealing with. There are two nurses or techs or security officers, or whatever, standing there. One looks as if they a a promotional recruitment poster model. Everything is in place, the perfect specimen of what you expect that person to look like. The other appears as if they had just woken up and rushed to work...not anything of what you expect. Who do you go to for help? Of course you go to the one you have an expectation of looking a certain way. Well, congratulations, you just picked the employee that has been on the job exactly 4 hours. The other has been there 28 years and knows everything about everything, and could probably cure your ailments with a smile. For the customer, if you don’t look the part, you don’t know the part...period.

Some people are absolutely okay with the new look. Some aren’t. Neither is right, neither is wrong. Disney just doesn’t go to the lengths it used to, and that’s okay. It’s also okay to not like it. It’s a choice, and honestly there isn’t any good reason to be attacking people on either side...which is usually what happens here. I understand why some are disappointed. It’s just one more thing that is taking away from their expectations of what makes something enjoyable for them. Some have gone off the deep end for sure, but there is no reason for the ad hominem attacks about toxicity and other stuff. The attacks either way make no sense. It’s just a version of “my way or the highway.”

I guess I just don't see how these changes impact what you are talking about. Why can't someone with a small tattoo on their arm or solid color nail polish or natural looking hair still be hired to play the roll of someone selling a hot dog. Do hot dog sellers in real life never have tattoos?

I think there are a lot of things Disney could do better (getting Traditions back to being more substantive, empowering CMs more, paying CMs more) - I just don't see how these changes are against any of those
 

Timmay

Well-Known Member
I guess I just don't see how these changes impact what you are talking about. Why can't someone with a small tattoo on their arm or solid color nail polish or natural looking hair still be hired to play the roll of someone selling a hot dog. Do hot dog sellers in real life never have tattoos?
I didn’t say they couldn’t. They are perfectly able to do so. That wasn’t my point. My point was Disney has moved from hiring someone to play a role to hiring someone to just do a job. That was all.
 

disneygeek90

Well-Known Member
Those things don't make me nervous, however I always felt it was more along the lines of that the cast members aren't supposed to be noticed, or at least aren't supposed to stand out, they're just there to make your day easier, they're getting paid to work for you while you're there, if that makes any sense. Now I don't mean that in a disrespectful-servant kind of way, I just mean that we're paying to have a good time, and they're being paid to make us have an even better time. I think the former restrictions were really just aiming to make cast members look as normal and run-of-the-mill as possible, in a friendly way. This might just be me, but a cast member standing in front of the entrance to a ride with tattoos on their arms and neon-green hair doesn't exactly say 'friendly' to me.
There won't be neon green hair. And you likely won't even notice the tattoo. I'm literally begging you all to read.
 

tpac24

Well-Known Member
I didn’t say they couldn’t. They are perfectly able to do so. That wasn’t my point. My point was Disney has moved from hiring someone to play a role to hiring someone to just do a job. That was all.
Yes and it shows! I never encountered so many grouchy and unfriendly cast members than I did this last week. I just want friendly CM's don't care about tattoos or colored hair.
 

TheMaxRebo

Well-Known Member
I don't think you grasp my point - I'm not saying they're not friendly, I'm saying they're less approachable because they may not look as friendly. I don't care whether they're friendly or not, in fact they probably are, it's just human nature.

No, not human nature ... Your attitude specifically

I would see someone with fun colored hair as fun and more likely to be friendly, not less - more approachable.
 

TheMaxRebo

Well-Known Member
I didn’t say they couldn’t. They are perfectly able to do so. That wasn’t my point. My point was Disney has moved from hiring someone to play a role to hiring someone to just do a job. That was all.

Ok, and now by being open to hiring from a more diverse group of candidates they should be able to find more people that are better at playing the required roll - so this change, if anything, is a definite positive for that
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
If I had to venture a guess, I'd say that this change is going to be almost completely unnoticeable for the vast majority of people. Even the people really in an uproar about it will probably not actually see anything they find objectionable next time they're at the parks.

One, because the guidelines still don't really allow anything that's especially attention grabbing, and two, a lot of people tend to just kind of gloss over service employees and not really pay attention to them anyways.
 

Gringrinngghost

Well-Known Member
Right, so if they are to play the roll of a hot dog sellers this change either has no impact or a positive impact. I see no way it has a negative one
Neither do it, and hell I might actually buy something that's delicious. If anything, I feel it would be more natural to strike up a conversation because I like their tattoo. That's better guest interaction there.
 

disneygeek90

Well-Known Member
If I had to venture a guess, I'd say that this change is going to be almost completely unnoticeable for the vast majority of people. Even the people really in an uproar about it will probably not actually see anything they find objectionable next time they're at the parks.

One, because the guidelines still don't really allow anything that's especially attention grabbing, and two, a lot of people tend to just kind of gloss over service employees and not really pay attention to them anyways.
People don't even notice large signs on the ground that say "PLEASE WAIT HERE." There's no way everyone is going to notice a tattoo on someone's wrist.
 

jaklgreen

Well-Known Member
Yes and it shows! I never encountered so many grouchy and unfriendly cast members than I did this last week. I just want friendly CM's don't care about tattoos or colored hair.

I think everyone still has covid fallout. Months of not working but getting unemployment, that was probably more then they made working, and then having to go back to work in your crap job, can eat at you. Especially when there are still so many cast member not working. Going back to a job that deals with the public, and then have that public put you at risk and treat you like crap, is so disheartening. This whole situation has messed with people's heads and attitudes. I am not excusing bad behavior, but I can understand it. I work with the public and have worked this whole time. I am at times bitter at those who just sat at home and got unemployment. Why do I have to work and expose myself for a crap job while others do not have to? You don't get unemployment if you quit. Plus this situation is so divisive, people are reaching the end of their rope.
 

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Premium Member
I think you may have missed the forrest for the trees here...
Well, here's Forrest with some trees to make up for that.
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Lilofan

Well-Known Member
Something you don't see in your everyday shopping mall is a tattoo parlour. The touristy and local supported Florida Mall on Sand Lake / OBT has one and no doubt it has been frequented by cast members to get their tattoos.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
Yes, Walt built a brand image of his choosing...66 years ago. And like it or not, his perceptions of what is appropriate and what is not were heavily influenced by fashion conventions of the day, not to mention DRASTIC differences in how people of that period expressed their gender and sexuality, and/or race and ethnicity through their hair, clothes, etc. You can maintain the basic conceit of hiring CMs who are cleanly and well groomed and polite while adjusting specifics for the modern era without completely "throwing away" everything the company stands for.

Also, no we haven't dismissed the founding fathers, but they also built amendments into the Constitution for a reason, so...I think that just supports the point you're arguing against. You can retain your basic/core mission statement over a long period of time but it needs to be continuously updated to remain relevant.

You missed the point his justification for why something was relevant or not was age.. and prefaced on a metric that wasn't even part of the decision to start with.

You have the same conclusion - but for different reasons.
 

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