Honestly, I fully anticipate the park reopening to be a massive clus... I mean... a not ideal situation.No, I know. My heart goes out to the furloughed middle management ranks who have mortgages and bills and kids falling hopelessly behind as they don't learn a thing on their worthless Zoom school.
But when I poke fun at "TDA", I generally mean the senior executives. Who are mostly just lower-middle executives in the pecking order of the entire Walt Disney Company. (I mean, heck, those theme park execs still have to wear plastic nametags at work like a parking lot attendant or a snack bar employee! How degrading! Or so the thinking goes in Burbank's more stylish ranks)
Those executives and their senior managers were for the most part not furloughed. They stayed on the job, overseeing an abandoned and empty theme park and hotel complex for the past 13 months.
And then, after a year, they finally tried to do a little foodfestivalexperience, and they pretty much failed at it. But Knott's and Sea World pulled the same type thing off just fine, and never had normally compliant and flattering bloggers upset at them.
That's got to tell you something. And it makes me even more concerned about Disneyland's relaunch on April 30th.
I am right there with you commiserating with the front-line management, and certainly the front-line CM's, at events like this.
My criticism and snark is directed entirely at the executive levels in TDA who were never furloughed and were disconnected enough from their core product that they thought they could pull off a downsized foodfestivalexperience and had the gall, or perhaps just naivete', to charge people $75 for $25 worth of food.
With free frustration and un-organization thrown in for that $75 price.
It is what it is and it too shall pass.
Honestly, I fully anticipate the park reopening to be a massive clus... I mean... a not ideal situation.
But frankly, the primary people I care about are the CM's - from the frustrated cashiers still trying to smile as the 'Legacy AP' is irritated they're not applying their discount correctly to the Dockers-clad, stick-carrying leads trying to handle the complaints after the AP has demanded to see someone above the cashier. Because I appreciate them so much for the magic they've made for me and for everyone for so many years and I will grant them a surplus of magic and kindness and sympathy they have earned from me in return. These are the people dealing with a totally unprecedented situation while working for a global bureaucracy just slightly less complicated than the US government. lol
It's easy to be disdainful of those higher-up, especially when they may seem out of touch with the reality of the parks we know and love. But I'd rather spend my time worried about people who deserve my concern and appreciation for what they do than focused on people who may not. And again, it's easy to assume they are up in their glass towers looking down upon the poor huddled masses. But I'm going to take a wild guess that some of them, probably a lot of them, are human beings trying to deal with a pandemic just as much as the rest of us, even if they have more resources than I will ever see or experience in my life. EVERYONE ultimately has a P&L to make work - whatever your level is - whether that's figuring out how to keep food on the table or justifying reopening a food festival at a park that has been closed for a year.
So while your cynicism, snark and frustration may be well aimed - I will continue to balance it with my best attempts at patience, compassion and understanding at what everyone everywhere is going through these days. Even in TDA.
You're much more chic than I am with clearly better fashion style, so that makes perfect sense to me.You and I could have a good Vegas stage act together; with my snark and your graciousness, we'd be like Sonny and Cher.
I get to be Cher.
Having worked at a themepark before. It's the people in management that are screwing over the workers. The reason CMs are stressed and overworked is because the executives cut staff or poorly plan events.Honestly, I fully anticipate the park reopening to be a massive clus... I mean... a not ideal situation.
But frankly, the primary people I care about are the CM's - from the frustrated cashiers still trying to smile as the 'Legacy AP' is irritated they're not applying their discount correctly to the Dockers-clad, stick-carrying leads trying to handle the complaints after the AP has demanded to see someone above the cashier. Because I appreciate them so much for the magic they've made for me and for everyone for so many years and I will grant them a surplus of magic and kindness and sympathy they have earned from me in return. These are the people dealing with a totally unprecedented situation while working for a global bureaucracy just slightly less complicated than the US government. lol
It's easy to be disdainful of those higher-up, especially when they may seem out of touch with the reality of the parks we know and love. But I'd rather spend my time worried about people who deserve my concern and appreciation for what they do than focused on people who may not. And again, it's easy to assume they are up in their glass towers looking down upon the poor huddled masses. But I'm going to take a wild guess that some of them, probably a lot of them, are human beings trying to deal with a pandemic just as much as the rest of us, even if they have more resources than I will ever see or experience in my life. EVERYONE ultimately has a P&L to make work - whatever your level is - whether that's figuring out how to keep food on the table or justifying reopening a food festival at a park that has been closed for a year.
So while your cynicism, snark and frustration may be well aimed - I will continue to balance it with my best attempts at patience, compassion and understanding at what everyone everywhere is going through these days. Even in TDA.
