Are we too entitled as hardcore WDW Park Guests?

[Brer Oswald]

It’s good to have high standards. If the parks were poor quality, it’d go against the entire purpose of the Disney Parks to begin with. When something is amiss (ie. broken effects on Splash Mountain, crappy replacements and rethemes for good attractions, etc.) I do think it’s important for us to be vocal and express our concerns with Disney.

However, I still think it’s an interesting question to pose. Do we get too entitled sometimes? I think we do, and I’m guilty with it just as much as anyone else. Take this for an example:


Here, you have a Cast Member clearly not exhibiting the full effort that we expect of a KS driver. As hardcore and knowledgeable fans, our first instinct is to complain. But let’s put ourselves in the Cast Member’s shoes, who’s probably been driving for several hours a day, in the hot humid AK weather. Maybe the CM doesn’t feel well. Maybe the CM is having family complications at home. There’s a huge difference between an explicitly rude CM and a CM that isn’t expressing the effort we expect them to.

I also see the argument that the hardcore park goer “mainly feels bad for the first timer for not getting the proper experience”. I despise the excuse I’m about to give, but it applies best here: the first timer has no idea what to expect because he/she has never been before!

I think we give the CMs a little too hard of a time. We tend to use the CMs as a scapegoat, while the bigger problem, management, gets by unscathed. It’s a lot more prominent on bigger social media platforms like Twitter, but I see it sometimes on here.

We should always put ourselves in their shoes before we type.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I don’t, but it seems a number of folks do.

 

[Brer Oswald]

I don’t, but it seems a number of folks do.

I mean, there is an entire site (that shall not be named) that is the poster example of entitled.

 

[CoasterSnoop]

I don’t, but it seems a number of folks do.

Ditto. Unless a CM was very rude to me (which has never happened), I'm not one to complain about them, and even then, that incident wouldn't end up on the interwebs if I had any say in it. It is an interesting topic to bring up, however, considering that people often make the mistake of using CMs as scapegoats as you said.

My own complaints (as well as most I read on this particular site) typically start at WDI and go up from there, occasionally dipping into maintenance.

 

[larryz]

Entitled, yes, but entitled to at least the minimum acceptable standards. A CM on the safari mute for two minutes, even as they drive a truckfull of people past a giraffe... does not meet standards.

 

[Clamman73]

I’m in general a “people owe me nothing” type of person...I normally have bigger things in life to worry about than if I was told about giraffes on a particular safari ride.
I understand how the CM should be on the ride, but I wouldn’t think too much about it b/c I cant believe this is normal or else the CM wouldn’t be a driver.

 

[JIMINYCR]

IF its a bad experience because of a bad CM, then its OK to voice a complaint. IF its caused by something out of the CM's control, then I let it slide because they are human and nothings going to be perfect. I have made multiple trips to WDW, some solo, some with my family. Over the years Ive seen and experienced a variety of Disneys. Ive seen the things people go mad over that I thought were insignificant, nit picky complaints. Ive seen the things that I felt yes, Disney should have done something about this and it was wrong they let it go this far. Good & bad exist throughout the property, its never going to be perfect. Overall Ive had excellent trips with minor glitches here and there. Disney is still the best thats out there and no one else can bring me & my family the joy, relaxation, entertainment, excitement, happiness, value for our money that they do.

 

[Nunu]

I don't feel that I am.
As a matter of fact, I'm just happy to be there and consider myself very fortunate to be able to visit.

Sometimes things don't go as planned: life

With regard to that specific KS situation, a couple of minutes of silence isn't a big deal in my book, actually after the constant stimuli at the parks, I might even enjoy it.

 

[lostpro9het]

Do I feel entitled? No. Do I feel Disney has chiseled down their own standards for quality to a point that I feel a need to call them out on it and spend my Orlando Mouse dollars elsewhere? Abso-frickin-lutely. Will I call out CMs on social media? No, I get far better results from a call/letter to Disney. In that same line of thinking, we are quick to call/write about exceptional CMs as well. We just did this last week identifying some CMs from both WDW and DCL. The interesting thing about this was how each entity responded, a reflection of their philosophy perhaps. WDW gave us a canned, single lined, response without thought. DCL sent a thankful detailed response regarding our feedback that was clearly not from response sheet.

I do feel this whole "entitled" theme gets tossed around and abused and, sure, there are some asshats that go to far to up their views/clicks. I feel, for the most part, that much of this is the result of the current Disney philosophy not inline with what we expect from past experiences or the price we are paying for the experience.

 

[Mickey5150]

I'm sure the person would have had a better time filming animals instead of a bus driver.

 

[Nunu]

I'm sure the person would have had a better time filming animals instead of a bus driver.

^^^ This!

 

[eliza61nyc]

Another point is that the person had previously ridden the ride and had a good experience.

When you ride those type of rides, the cm's can make or break the experience. Say you've done the safari 5 times and it was great, the 6th time you ride it you get CM "mute Martha" it is such a glaring difference.
Once of the reasons why I didn't care for The great movie ride, the cheesy poor fake acting from the cm's. it was painful.

I like to think that I take things with a "grain of salt", vacations are such delicate "creatures". you can plan with the precision of the D-day invasion of France and then a little thing like the weather can blow your vacation to smithereens (lol, it's memorial day ). You go in expecting one type of experience and things beyond your control happen.

I'm not into posting every detail of my life on social media so I probably would have mentioned it to someone at the exit of the ride, I then would have probably gone back around and rode it again with a different driver.

 

[bUU]

Do we get too entitled sometimes?

I think an excessive sense of entitlement is a pervasive affliction in our society beyond just Disney, but what I think you're talking about is a special brand of it - an excessively jaded attitude. They say that familiarity breeds contempt, and I find bewildering the extent to which some long-time park-goers craft rationalizations for criticisms of what is typically the very best of what's offered. Again, though, I see the same thing elsewhere in the consumer marketplace, with some people seemingly incapable of admitting that the target of their ire is actually the best in class, even though it doesn't ascend to the level of their often-rose-colored-glasses-crafted expectations. And the disconnect is even worse when the reality is that the target of their ire is something that has changed to become substantially better in the eyes of other people.

 

[TheIndoorKid]

I feel a sense of entitlement is natural once you go to the parks enough. The key to it though is keeping it in check and realizing that it's not all about you. As a regular, you get to see how things should be or how they were and once things start to change or degrade, you're the first to notice. Non regulars don't notice or look into things because they take everything at face value.

I remember once when I had an AP for Disneyland, I was on the phone with my dad. It was a super busy day, and not the most fun because of the crowds. My dad said he couldn't imagine the frustration a first timer to the park would be feeling if they chose to go that day. I responded by saying that I was just a complaining passholder, the first timers were the ones there making the best of it and probably weren't complaining as much as I was.

 

[networkpro]

Some people are just hard-wired to expect and demand exactly the same thing every time no matter how poor their recollection of it was. I'm sure y'all have seen in the parks or on the boards other guests who claim inaccurate facts and spread them as gospel. The Safari, while having set boundaries between areas, still has those pesky live animals who don't follow directions well and don't stay out of the roads. Theres only so much you can chat about the cement baobab tree, termite mounds, and cud chewing herbivores.

 

[NickPytlinski]

is there a rule book on a how a CM should act on KS?
if there is please show me.

people have become used to the CM's talking constantly or having some talking to much.

you see with your eyes, not your ears. There are so many facts a CM will know.

 

[Fable McCloud]

It's one thing to expect a great experience, but not knowing what to expect is part of the allure for me. When I took my husband on our first trip, there were things he missed on some rides, or things I knew were different and it made each ride/attraction feel unique to us. As long as the rides are functioning, you can still have fun.

At the end of the day, CM's are mostly minimum wage employees who have bad days and off days, just like we do. Give them a smile back, show them some encouragement, and be kind to them, even if they aren't at their best. Customer service is a tough gig in any environment.

 

[jloucks]

I don't know about entitled. But, we do become more aware of what good service looks like or doesn't look like.

Ok, wait, yea, we do. Because of this awareness we start to desire the better service.

Example: I eat 1-3 times a week at a certain restaurant. I know what a good size shrimp looks like. I know what a good swordfish portion looks like. I know what the clam chowder consistency is supposed to be. On the occasion that something is scrimped on or otherwise sub par, I notice. I only notice because I am a 'hardcore' customer. Now, I don't say anything, because that would be super entitled. But I am thinking it. And that is almost as bad.

 

[Indy_UK]

On a ride where the driver is meant to talk guests through the ride along with seeing the animals, yeah I do expect them to be at at standard and good at their job. Otherwise if this kind of standard becomes normal we'll soon be getting jungle cruise skippers who say nothing for the whole ride or silent parades lol

I don't want to be that guy but if cast members don't want to do a coverted position like KJS then someone else sure will..

 

[I am Timmy]

I can't tell you how many times I've seen, "Disney is a business" to explain away all the upcharge events and constant price hikes. And it's true. However, that argument then should go both ways - I'm paying for a certain level of service. I expect a certain return for that money. I don't complain to Disney when I think something is subpar, but I notice. I also don't think much of it if a CM isn't overly enthusiastic, but I do if their rude (happened maybe once in the last 10 years). Cleanliness, however is expected. I always thank the CM's in the bathrooms, and the ones trying to keep the tables clean in a quick service res. (looking at you Pecos Bill's) because they are OVERRUN with people. This falls squarely on Disney's shoulders - they can afford more CM's but choose not to. I keep going hoping that what once was will be again, and because I have a special needs son whose world would shatter if I said we were never going back. So, we continue to go. He may not notice these things (he has noticed the overflowing garbage cans - and if he noticed, it's definitely happening), but I do.