Free fastpasses if you're Important!

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MasonDuo

Active Member
Forget the fastpasses put them in disguises. I highly doubt that they don't already get to go to the front of the line -- even on hogan knows best they stated that they never wait in line for rides. Plus I have never seen a celebrity standing in a line.
 
E

Eyorefan

Active Member
Richard Bruvofe said:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-fastpass1008apr10,0,5369377.story
I really like the following statement:
"We also have heard from security teams traveling with these high-profile guests that they would prefer they not be in the midst of large crowds or in any one place for an extended period of time."

.....so what are they doing at Disney?:veryconfu
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um...Do you got to Disney because of the large crowd and long lines? I don't. Yes, those are things I have to deal with, but I don't think I have ever had someone tell me they were going to WDW because they love being in the midst of large crowds.

Think of it this way, if you are a public figure large crowds aren't just annoying, they are a saftey concern for you as well. I would guess that is why a lot of those people go to exclusive resorts and private islands for their vacation.

Disney is just trying to make it safer and easier for high profiles to visit. I don't see anything wrong with it.
 
figmentmom

figmentmom

Well-Known Member
Celebrities in the parks would tend to attract huge crowds if they traveled unescorted. It's for everyone's safety that they enter attractions privately.
 
figmentmom

figmentmom

Well-Known Member
donniedisney said:
WDW treats rich people like they are the greatest people in the world anyway would you expect anything less?
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Actually, I think they treat ALL people like they are the greatest people in the world. Disney doesn't treat the famous differently just BECAUSE they're famous - it's a safety and security issue.
 
DMC-12

DMC-12

It's HarmonioUS, NOT HarmoniYOU.
Richard Bruvofe said:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-fastpass1008apr10,0,5369377.story
I really like the following statement:
"We also have heard from security teams traveling with these high-profile guests that they would prefer they not be in the midst of large crowds or in any one place for an extended period of time."

.....so what are they doing at Disney?:veryconfu
Click to expand...

Pffft who does wanna be around such common folk with their cooties, sweat, odors, and such? :veryconfu Am I right?!

:lol::lookaroun
 
PlutoInOrlando

PlutoInOrlando

Active Member
In the Parks
Yes
I just liked how they referred to it as "line-cutting".

I dunno - just made me laugh at that.

And if there are no more than 25 of them being used on any given day throughout the resort - your odds of ever seeing one being used is highly remote. You are probably talking no more than 6 or 7 at any one park on one day (but that's just me :wave:).
 
mousermerf

mousermerf

Account Suspended
Disney also forks these over to guests who they've wronged (lose people's luggage, etc..) and Make a Wish families.

It has next to zero impact on the experience of other guests.
 
sarabi

sarabi

New Member
When I was a CP I was impressed with the way WDW handled celebrity guests. It doesn't feel like a vacation when you are getting mobbed and signing autographs all day long. Face it, although they are rich and talented, celebrities never get a break from being what they are... which is why Disney makes them as comfortable as possible by giving them an escort and getting them on and off rides without having to stand in a line.
Personally, I think this is fair. They are on vacation, too. It's not their fault people mob them.
When I was a CP, I had the pleasure of seeing Robin Williams and Justin Timberlake strolling through the park with an escort. The escort kept them from being very much noticed (looked like just a gaggle of CMs strolling along). We were trained to treat them as any guest and not to go overboard for celebrities. When Robin Williams passed my ice cream cart, I remember smiling and nodding at him as I would at any guest. He returned the smile, very casually and by the look on his face, he was enjoying his stay being treated like any other guest. He got what he wanted, and I got a smile from Robin Williams! Rock on! :)
 
P

progroupie

Member
Hm, that's kind of an interesting article. It isn't so much about celebrities but elected officials. Of course if people see Johnny Depp walking around Disney they're going to recognize him and mob him, but some random senator? I kind of doubt they're in any danger aside from major politicians like presidential candidates or someone of that nature. I don't think I'd recognize my state represenative if I saw them on the street, much less Disney World. It seems to me in this case it's more a matter of Disney trying to please a high powered guest, not so much them looking out for their safety as with celebrities. Although I can't say I blame them.
 
DizneyPryncess

DizneyPryncess

Well-Known Member
figmentmom said:
Actually, I think they treat ALL people like they are the greatest people in the world. Disney doesn't treat the famous differently just BECAUSE they're famous - it's a safety and security issue.
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I agree, because a few celebrities have offered money to stay in Cindy's castle and been told no. If Disney really wanted to cater to the rich, they would have taken those offers.

Also, my brother was in a long line once behind a Backstreet boy & his wife when they were more popular. I guess not all celebrities get to line jump - probably only those that request it, or that are causing scenes by being mobbed. Not many people were bothering the "boy", maybe because he was w/his family.
 
henryt93

henryt93

Member
While the article tries to hide it, they do briefly mention that this is only for celebrities who don't want guides. For the ones who get guides, this isn't anything new.
 
slappy magoo

slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
This one of those lose-lose, lesser-of-two-evil situations for a company like WDW. If they don't offer this kind of service to high-profile guests, then guests could get hurt if they somehow found themselves in between a celebrity and a horde of adoring fans. But because they do, then they're coddling people just because they're famous, and that's no fair, people should be treated the same at Disney blah blah blah...

I remember a story, I think Xmas season 2006, where a day guest who looked kinda like Santa came into the park wearing suspenders and a red shirt. Not exactly the Santa outfit, but something that'd look like Santa's workshop outfit. And he wasn't exactly saying "no" when kids would ask if he was Santa. And he was starting to generate crowds of followers. WDW asked him to change or leave, mainly because they were unprepared for someone who would be getting that kind of attention - Santa IS a celebrity after all - and they couldn't guarantee his safety, or the safety of others, if that crowd got too excited being in the presence of an A-lister like Santa. I'd bet some of the people who complained at the time that "Santa" should've been left alone are the same people complaining about the perks A-listers get.

I'm not even thinking about this in terms of those poor celebrities, who want so badly to be like us, but they can't because they spayyyyshullll. :rolleyes: I'm thinking about this in terms of me, and my family. If my wife or baby were to get trampled by a bunch of screaming teenage girls who recognized an unescorted Justin Timberlake and the hell with anyone between them, I'd be rightly pi**ed off.

But if I were to think about this situation in terms of being famous...first of all, I wouldn't mind getting on all the rides in just a few hours and get out before it gets too hot :D But also, if I were a famous guy AND a family man, you've got that scenario where you want to spend quality time with your family like any other family, but wherever you go, you risk people interrupting your day for a moment of your time, and those moments add up, and your kids who might want to spend time with you so badly have to wait for another moment with another stranger...and another...and another, until the day is done. It's not their fauly I'm so famous, you know? Poor kids. So having some kind of escort might not be the same thing as being like any other family, but at least it's uninterrupted time.

Ultimately, I'm more worried about you pool-hopping a-holes then whether or not Brad Pitt gets cutsies. :lol:
 
WDWRLD

WDWRLD

Active Member
Some celbs I have seen in the parks that were dressed as everyone else and did not have a escort. They were blending in and enjoying the park just like everyone else. Its the ones that wear outlandish clothing and have the Disney escorts that draw attention. But that is how a celbs make their money, with their image which in turn allows them to visit Disney.
 
W

WDWTrojan

Well-Known Member
Having worked in Guest Relations and Global Marketing, I can tell you that Disney has ALWAYS (at least in the last 12-15 years) issued VIP tour guides and their guests on tour a special "Priority Entrance Pass." This allowed VIP guides to take their guests on various attractions, without being questioned by various cast members or having to wait in a queue. However, without this "PEP Pass," as they call it, attractions cast members are told not to permit VIP guides and their guests in the Fastpass line or backdoor entrances. A good tour guide, however, has ways around this.

Also, you don't have to be particularly famous in the United States to get the PEP Pass. Celebrities in other countries are often issued one, as they might be exceptionally famous in China, France or elsewhere. I remember I saw a list once that denoted three reasons why somebody must ALWAYS be issued a PEP pass, I forgot two of the reasons, but one was definitely, "Guest and/or their Family under the protection of the US Secret Service, US Marshal Service and/or the Florida Highway Patrol."

Disneyland has always had a Fastpass version of the same pass (printed on Fastpass card stock, instructing cast members to leave the pass with the guest, rather than collecting it), which they issue to guests and tour guides. Being Disneyland in celebrity-heavy CA, many high-profile guests do not get VIP tours, bur rather are just issued these passes to expedite their day and make it more enjoyable. The majority though, are still used only for guests on VIP tours. WDW only recently adopted this as well.
 
F

fosse76

Well-Known Member
slappy magoo said:
I remember a story, I think Xmas season 2006, where a day guest who looked kinda like Santa came into the park wearing suspenders and a red shirt. Not exactly the Santa outfit, but something that'd look like Santa's workshop outfit. And he wasn't exactly saying "no" when kids would ask if he was Santa. And he was starting to generate crowds of followers. WDW asked him to change or leave, mainly because they were unprepared for someone who would be getting that kind of attention - Santa IS a celebrity after all - and they couldn't guarantee his safety, or the safety of others, if that crowd got too excited being in the presence of an A-lister like Santa. I'd bet some of the people who complained at the time that "Santa" should've been left alone are the same people complaining about the perks A-listers get.
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That's not quite true. Disney informed him that they laready had a Santa and that he needed to change (i.e., shave his beard) or leave. This is what the man claimed (and not entirely out of the realm of probability): "'They told me I either needed to alter my appearance or I needed to leave the park because I was impersonating Santa Claus. They told us that Santa was considered a Disney character,' said Worley." http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,236796,00.html
 
donniedisney

donniedisney

Member
figmentmom said:
Actually, I think they treat ALL people like they are the greatest people in the world. Disney doesn't treat the famous differently just BECAUSE they're famous - it's a safety and security issue.
Click to expand...

Is that why the people who pay to have personal tour guides don't have to wait in line????
 

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