Disney CMs calling guests " Friends"?

NickMaio

NickMaio

Well-Known Member
tallica said:
Has anyone else that has visited the parks recently noticed CMs referring to you/your party as "friends"? This has happened the last 2 days at Animal Kingdom numerous times from interactions from entrance to exit. For example buying food, exiting rides, visiting gift shops, and just strolling down the walkways. Wondering if this is a new protocol or if it was a happy coincidence, either way I liked it. In my opinion it good without being overly sweet.
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Yes.....
Call me old fashioned but I did not really enjoy it.
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
TrainsOfDisney said:
It’s creepy when people assume gender, age, or relationships. Everyone should be greeted the same. “Hello my friend” or “hello friends” is a perfect greeting in my book.
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How about simply hello, good bye or just, have a magical day or a fun day. There is absolutely no need for any gender or relationship identification when it comes to being cordial with someone you have never seen before. I'm not "friends" with any of them and it just sounds awkward to me. Also I am not a guest or friend with anyone that insisted that I pay them large chunks of money to see them. I am a customer/client at that point.

Say Hi, how are you, would work. Then the thing anyone that enjoys creating reasons to be offended can do is leave unsatisfied. I'm sick of the foolishness. We, as a society should just grow up. We live in world where the children are the intelligent ones and the adults are acting like two year old's. Mine, me, mine, me, mine, me. Intellectual maturity no longer exists. We really can be welcoming without being connected on a gender or relationship level.
 
C

crawale

Well-Known Member
tallica said:
Has anyone else that has visited the parks recently noticed CMs referring to you/your party as "friends"? This has happened the last 2 days at Animal Kingdom numerous times from interactions from entrance to exit. For example buying food, exiting rides, visiting gift shops, and just strolling down the walkways. Wondering if this is a new protocol or if it was a happy coincidence, either way I liked it. In my opinion it good without being overly sweet.
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It is the new Disney 'wokeness'. No longer are there boys and girls, men and women - just friends.
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
Being called "friend" by someone I don't know personally doesn't bother me a bit -- any more than being told "welcome home" when I pull up to a hotel a few thousand miles away from my actual home, or being told to have a "magical" day when I don't personally practice witchcraft, or informed that Jenna the waitress is going to "take care of me this evening," when we all know she's not really going to be giving me my medicines or tucking me into bed. The last thing I want on a fantasy vacation is to be addressed realistically or accurately: if that was the case, CMs would be greeting me with, "Hey, welcome back, you irreverent, sarcastic b$*ch! Note that I addressed you by your apparent gender, because I totally looked at your bazooms." 🤣

Others can fret about the nomenclature. I'll be over in the corner enjoying the Dole Whip I just bought from my friend.
 
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networkpro

networkpro

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
Aside from being presumptuous assuming familiarity in both of the locations I live, it's a cautionary form of address that if not heeded will lead to rapid escalation and confrontation. It might be a common language, but there are regional variations in meanings.
 
networkpro

networkpro

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
MisterPenguin said:
I am thoroughly discombobulated and close to fainting when a cartoon mouse has the audacity to presume such intimate familiarity with me and my family by addressing us as "pals."
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For a character, it's just part of its shtick, as the assumption of familiarity is just as egregious as other categorial assumptions that others get up in arms about.
 
LittleBuford

LittleBuford

Well-Known Member
I find it strange that anyone who considers “friend” too intimate/presumptuous is OK with all the other ways—terminological and otherwise—in which Disney already treats us with artificial familiarity. It’s an unavoidable part of the experience as it already stands.

Those mourning the loss of gendered forms of address should recall that Disney’s aim—from a brand and marketing perspective—has always been to sound as welcoming as possible. What sounded welcoming several decades ago may not resonate in quite the same way today. Why should Disney stick with tradition if they can easily shift to something that better achieves their goal? Had “friends” been the original form of address when the parks first opened, I suspect none of us would find it in the least bit strange or inappropriate.
 

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