Animal Kingdom: atmosphere change or CMs just not happy?

[KBLovedDisney]

Sorry, but my rant for the day:

Last year when we did a two day trip for my birthday, I wanted to do the AK. It was awesome! It was crowded and super hot, but nothing was bad. Flow of traffic was fine, etc.

However, go to May of this year. The park was sub par. I am not sure what was going on. I am not sure if people forgot how to walk in straight lines, or they were intentionally doing serpentine motions to avoid others? The CMs were not happy or something that day.

All-in-all though, yeah I know Pandora is catching a lot of the traffic now since it opened, but has anyone else noticed a slight change in AK? It feels like it has become somewhat lackluster.

(This could very well have been because of the large groups of teams from across the globe that came for the cheer competition. The crowds usually don't bother me, but I think when they misbehave a good bit or don't abide by rules, it makes CMs very unhappy.)

What are your thoughts? Notice any differences? Does crowd amount change the happy atmosphere?

 

[JusticeDisney]

Well, first off, I'm sorry you had that experience. I was just at WDW last month, though, and had a great time on both days that we went to AK. Didn't experience a single issue and the CM's that we dealt with went out of their way to help us out.

I hope your next experience there is better!

 

[KBLovedDisney]

Well, first off, I'm sorry you had that experience. I was just at WDW last month, though, and had a great time on both days that we went to AK. Didn't experience a single issue and the CM's that we dealt with went out of their way to help us out.

I hope your next experience there is better!

Ah, I kind of figured it might have just been bad timing on our part. We were there throughout the entire cheer-leading competition days. I am guessing the crowds of unruly teenagers set the CMs off a bit.

 

[Tootsie]

Sorry, but my rant for the day:

Last year when we did a two day trip for my birthday, I wanted to do the AK. It was awesome! It was crowded and super hot, but nothing was bad. Flow of traffic was fine, etc.

However, go to May of this year. The park was sub par. I am not sure what was going on. I am not sure if people forgot how to walk in straight lines, or they were intentionally doing serpentine motions to avoid others? The CMs were not happy or something that day.

All-in-all though, yeah I know Pandora is catching a lot of the traffic now since it opened, but has anyone else noticed a slight change in AK? It feels like it has become somewhat lackluster.

(This could very well have been because of the large groups of teams from across the globe that came for the cheer competition. The crowds usually don't bother me, but I think when they misbehave a good bit or don't abide by rules, it makes CMs very unhappy.)

What are your thoughts? Notice any differences? Does crowd amount change the happy atmosphere?

I know we made the mistake of being in the parks during a cheer competition, if I got hit in the face with one ponytail, I got hit 10 times, I don't understand the behavior of some people, it does how ever effect the mood of the whole park and CM's.

 

[KBLovedDisney]

I know we made the mistake of being in the parks during a cheer competition, if I got hit in the face with one ponytail, I got hit 10 times, I don't understand the behavior of some people, it does how ever effect the mood of the whole park and CM's.

Omg yes!! It's almost like the existence of other people occupying space is completely disregarded. I was more or less pushed around by backpacks and almost hit in the face several times with cameras going into selfie-mode. That and especially with teens, they text and walk at the same time, so there is more bumper car action on the walkways.

 

[JIMINYCR]

I have noticed a difference when the crowds are increased or tour groups are in the parks. Ive overheard CM's talking to one another about being frustrated with the antics of large tour groups and unruly teens. They are trying to do their jobs and get through their shifts and have to deal with additional problems. Its frustrating when you want to deal with issues but cant because you know your supervisor probably wont like what you do and youll get penalized. Combine that with the added heat and humidity and its hard to maintain a smile. But Ive never witnessed a CM lose control or make my experience less than magical.

 

[KBLovedDisney]

I have noticed a difference when the crowds are increased or tour groups are in the parks. Ive overheard CM's talking to one another about being frustrated with the antics of large tour groups and unruly teens. They are trying to do their jobs and get through their shifts and have to deal with additional problems. Its frustrating when you want to deal with issues but cant because you know your supervisor probably wont like what you do and youll get penalized. Combine that with the added heat and humidity and its hard to maintain a smile. But Ive never witnessed a CM lose control or make my experience less than magical.

I have only seen a CM act rudely once, and unfortunately that was towards us when we walked up to CRT and told the lady our reservations. Ugh. Here I was with the hubs, about to go into CRT for the first time, both of us excited, and the following happens. We tell her our reservation for 2, she stops, looks up at us, rolls her yes, and says in a very Vidia like way (from the first Tinkerbell movie), "Oh look. 2 adults. What a surprise." And then looked back down, continued to type...so the hubs and I just excused ourselves in CRT's lobby...talk about strange and somewhat disheartening.

 

[KBLovedDisney]

Other than that though, I was more referring to what you described when CMs have to deal with humidity and terrible customer behavior. I could not do their job. I think the big crowds make a huge difference.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

I went in May. I thought the cast members were fine. I'm sorry you had a bad experience, though.

 

[KBLovedDisney]

I went in May. I thought the cast members were fine. I'm sorry you had a bad experience, though.

Meh, it happens. I am not really that upset about it. I was more so afraid that something big had been changing, like the protocol of Disney employees/amount of people let in on rides/park etiquette/etc. I think I just overlooked the amount of people that were in the parks during that time. It was crazy!

 

[World_Showcase_Lover007]

I find that every trip is a different experience. We all know that people are the worst, so I would be aggravated with a bunch of teens bopping around, so I understand. Some CMs are slightly rude, but my strange recent experience was a conversation between two female CMs on Space Mountain. We were in line, and the next to board, so we were right in front of the two CMs. They were carrying on a private conversation from earlier, and one of them proceeded to tell the other how boyfriend came over to her apartment last night and so on. She didn't really say anything inappropriate, but I didn't know where the conversation was leading, and it seemed to be a rather "adult" conversation to be having in front of guests.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Generally the hotter it is, and the more crowded it is, the more the guest service will suffer. This applies across the board to all of the theme parks.

 

[DfromATX]

We were there last July (before Pandora, but it was open at night) and we thought it was better than ever before! We can't wait to see Pandora!

 

[Princess Kaylee]

Disney can't be magical all the time. Everyone has bad experiences once in a blue moon, but we don't let that define our opinion of WDW. Cast members stand in 95 degree heat all day, I wouldn't be cheerful either. I never had a bad encounter with a cast member and I'm sorry you did, but remember how they must feel. I hope your next trip to AK is better!

 

[_caleb]

This is why I want Disney to recognize the value of paying its workers well and start raising CM pay. When people are well-compensated, they tend to feel appreciated and do better work. Longevity usually brings stability (consistent customer service). Also, employees have more to lose if they are put on notice for bad behavior.