BrightImagine
Well-Known Member
Blocking out Mark Hamill on short notice was a crummy thing to do.
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Attendance: Cast vs Tourists
- Thread starter PhotoDave219
- Start date
TubaGeek
God bless the "Ignore" button.
That always blows my mind. If you don't LOVE the place, there's not much reason left to work there. Yet, a lot of folks I worked with hadn't spent free time in the parks for YEARS.
Figment2005
Well-Known Member
Yeah, same for me. I just never quite understood why some folks wouldn't take advantage of that excellent perk.
I disagree.
As a paying guest, it was nice not being in a wall-to-wall environment with 5000-10000 CPs. It was very relaxing and easy to get around and actually do things.
BrightImagine
Well-Known Member
Of course, guests come first. But if there had been more than a week's notice, then one might have had a chance to budget tickets for it. On the day before weekend 4 we learned that the calendar had changed. Disappointed child, disappointment all around.
With all due respect, you have to be näive to think that Disney wouldn't black out Cast for a 50k projected day. Especially if they blacked out MK for the 24 hour day, they would naturally black out cast for Mark Hamill.
Cast was allowed in for Friday, just no maingates.
Yes, I know of several that did that during the 24 hour day last month.
Perhaps I can offer another perspective. My husband works for a Disney owned company outside the State of Florida. He is offered free admission for himself and his family as a perk. However, the are block out dates and the block out dates are plenty! Albeit most of it the MK. Almost the entire summer has been blocked out for MK, including every special event (24 hour, etc.) also Star Wars weekends, and most of the high seasons such as spring break time, Christmastime, etc. You get the idea. Now, how would a family who needs to travel during the periods when school is out of session be able to use this perk. It's becoming nearly impossible because we live a plane ride away and don't have the luxury of popping down on unblocked day at a whim. So a perk my husband gets, that he may use once every two years, has so many restrictions on it he can barely use it at all. He's been with this company for 10 years and personally, I think he deserves to use the perk when he can. I understand there are people who may abuse it who live locally and that causes problems for paying customers but it's not one size fits all. CM do deserve the right to use the perk that they work hard to get.
Mad Stitch
Well-Known Member
Only if your a CM. Otherwise it's a benefit by freeing up the parks for the people who pay for them.
flynnibus
Premium Member
Which needs quality cms to function. So you should embrace Disney treating their staff well else you'll end up with a crap product
I think you misunderstand the point. I am certainly not saying that cast member should be blacked out. Just a little more expecting capacity crowds… Like if luke skywalkers coming. And rightfully it was blacked out because you've got all of these little college program kids that would just make the place a disaster for the regular guests.
But beyond that, I'm just wondering exactly what the percentage of the guest Population is made up of cast?
This is all based off the observations from the studios and this past weekend
Sure. CMs have every right to use the perk. That being said, you have to define the perk appropriately. The perk is not 'free admission to MK'. It is 'free admission to MK on specific dates'.
I would not go that far. There is no reason nor a need for them to block out cast members unless they were expecting a capacity crowd of regular guests for special event.
Kman101
Well-Known Member
Can't they simply tier the blackout dates for cast? Be a little more flexible on the dates for the longer running cast members and be a bit more strict on the blackout dates for the CP's? Basically, the longer you work there, the more perks you have, and as a CP, you have a bit more restrictions.
asialeigh
Active Member
In a way they already do this. CPs and seasonal CMs can only get family in 6 days a year. Part time and full time can 16 days a year.
These blackout dates are rare. To have two events in two weeks has not occurred in recent memory.
There's no real need for it, unless it's a marketed event when you're expecting huge crowds as it is.
You're talking main gates and if you have a silver pass, you can do it every day.
I'm talking about blacking out a cast ID.
WDWFigment
Well-Known Member
I can see both sides to the debate that has sprung up, and ultimately I think it comes down to an issue of respect.
I think everyone, or most everyone, can understand that reasonable blockout dates on Cast Member entry are acceptable. What's not acceptable is giving insufficient advance notice. Disney knew that Mark Hamill was coming to Star Wars Weekends months ago, and should have immediately blocked out the date once he was booked. Now, you can say that they didn't have attendance projections then, but it doesn't take a statistician to tell you that Mark Hamill is popular with Star Wars fans. Better to err on the side of caution, block the date out immediately, and then later announce a lifting of the blockout if projections show it to be unnecessary. People would rather be pleasantly surprised by an 'added' perk than disappointed that something they were counting on is yanked away at the last minute.
Anyone who has ever had their plans changed as a result of last-minute changes by Disney (bonus points if you first learned about your plan changes from the internet, before Disney contacted you), should be able to empathize with this.
As a general rule, I am all for Disney giving Cast Members as many perks as possible, especially when those perks have low-cost or no-cost to Disney. Deep discounts on unfilled rooms, cruises, event party tickets, and more are great. Sneak-peaks at new offerings, preview events, etc., I think all are great. Most of these things have little cost, too. (Unfilled rooms are perishable, so why not offer them to Cast?) Disney does this fairly well already, but I think there's room for improvement.
I think the more perks Disney offers like this, the more it will attract people with a passion for the product or, at the very least, it will encourage those who may have a borderline interest to take advantage and increase their product knowledge. Plus, it's good for morale.
At the same time, I think a set-in-advance number of blockout dates for the busiest days of the year is also reasonable. Giving the attendance a bit of breathing room on these days improves the guest experience. "Compensate" for these blockout days by trying to offer more of the discounts and perks.
To me, this is win-win-win. Disney benefits by attracting better employees with minimal expense. Guests win because the Cast as a whole is better and more passionate about what they're doing. Cast Members win by having better perks and having a sense that they are being treated with respect by the company for which they work.
I think everyone, or most everyone, can understand that reasonable blockout dates on Cast Member entry are acceptable. What's not acceptable is giving insufficient advance notice. Disney knew that Mark Hamill was coming to Star Wars Weekends months ago, and should have immediately blocked out the date once he was booked. Now, you can say that they didn't have attendance projections then, but it doesn't take a statistician to tell you that Mark Hamill is popular with Star Wars fans. Better to err on the side of caution, block the date out immediately, and then later announce a lifting of the blockout if projections show it to be unnecessary. People would rather be pleasantly surprised by an 'added' perk than disappointed that something they were counting on is yanked away at the last minute.
Anyone who has ever had their plans changed as a result of last-minute changes by Disney (bonus points if you first learned about your plan changes from the internet, before Disney contacted you), should be able to empathize with this.
As a general rule, I am all for Disney giving Cast Members as many perks as possible, especially when those perks have low-cost or no-cost to Disney. Deep discounts on unfilled rooms, cruises, event party tickets, and more are great. Sneak-peaks at new offerings, preview events, etc., I think all are great. Most of these things have little cost, too. (Unfilled rooms are perishable, so why not offer them to Cast?) Disney does this fairly well already, but I think there's room for improvement.
I think the more perks Disney offers like this, the more it will attract people with a passion for the product or, at the very least, it will encourage those who may have a borderline interest to take advantage and increase their product knowledge. Plus, it's good for morale.
At the same time, I think a set-in-advance number of blockout dates for the busiest days of the year is also reasonable. Giving the attendance a bit of breathing room on these days improves the guest experience. "Compensate" for these blockout days by trying to offer more of the discounts and perks.
To me, this is win-win-win. Disney benefits by attracting better employees with minimal expense. Guests win because the Cast as a whole is better and more passionate about what they're doing. Cast Members win by having better perks and having a sense that they are being treated with respect by the company for which they work.
I am by no means arguing for more blackout dates.
But as a guest, it was a really nice time. Really reminded me of the 2004-05 time frame when we had fewer guests.
But as a guest, it was a really nice time. Really reminded me of the 2004-05 time frame when we had fewer guests.
The Crafty Veteran
Active Member
Is this a serious thread or just another weak backhanded excuse to try to explain why Disney parks in Florida keep increasing in attendance?
As for CM's being blacked out, I believe they should be for any and all hard ticket special events. If I drop 70 bucks for an exclusive event I should not have to share a queue with someone who did not pay to get in. Even if they work there. But I also believe CM's should be able to be in the parks 365 days of the year for free because that's a perk for employment. They shouldn't have to suffer blackout dates, that's a little ridiculous.
As for CM's being blacked out, I believe they should be for any and all hard ticket special events. If I drop 70 bucks for an exclusive event I should not have to share a queue with someone who did not pay to get in. Even if they work there. But I also believe CM's should be able to be in the parks 365 days of the year for free because that's a perk for employment. They shouldn't have to suffer blackout dates, that's a little ridiculous.