Has anyone else noticed an upswing in CM friendliness?

Bairstow

Bairstow

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I don't go to the parks often enough to really provide any sort of expert opinion on this, but I just got back from a trip last weekend and was last at Disney last October. Both trips had both weekend and weekday park visits.

For whatever reason, the cast members I encountered this time around were markedly more outgoing and friendly than they were last year. I was especially impressed with the extra effort made by some of the load/crowd staff at Tower of Terror cutting it up/scaring guests in the preshow/loading areas and the Wilderness Explorer guides at Animal Kingdom, but wherever we went it seemed like the CMs were really going above and beyond to make everyone's day a little better. Was it nice weather, low crowds, or has something changed in the last year regarding CM training/policies?

Anyone know anything or want to weigh in on the current state of CM-itidue?
 
IWantMyMagicBand

IWantMyMagicBand

Well-Known Member
Bloomin well hope so. Last time I was there I almost thought I had gone to Disneyland Paris instead ;)
CM friendliness was my major gripe in WDW last year. We expect it in France, but when we used to go to the world in the 80's/90's it was all "have a nice day" etc. Last year they were about each other and to each other. Leave it at the door guys!
 
IWantMyMagicBand

IWantMyMagicBand

Well-Known Member
I witnessed something at the entrance to BTMRR last year. A guy, who didn't speak much English, was having trouble with the FP process. He went to the normal entrance as he thought it was his ticket for the ride. He was trying to show the CM who was just saying "no that's fastpass", and then she just let rip at him and the crowd waiting for their FP time to arrive. She actually showed the guy "the hand" and said "can you get out of my personal space".
I then saw two CMs at JII arguing about who had done the most work that day, and one of them refused to do something as they thought they had worked harder already.
At the Emporium I was party to an awful CM interaction that involved one, saying to the non-English speaking one, "I just can't understand you".
I did write to Disney when I got back as I also complained about our ME driver who accelerated sharply before we had had a chance to sit down and my 1 year old fell out my arms. I know that Disney do not employ the ME drivers so the feedback was passed to Mears.
 
ExtinctJenn

ExtinctJenn

Well-Known Member
Master Yoda said:
I have never noticed a downswing.
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joanna71985 said:
I've never noticed a difference (then again, I've never had any problems with CMs)
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rsoxguy said:
As some have stated, I never noticed a swing in either direction. They're always nice to me. Perhaps it's my gracious personality?
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I'd have to agree with these posts... I've read threads where people have complained about experiences with CMs but in almost every case, I sided with the CM. Most of those "horror" stories I read were situations where a guest was expecting something or breaking the rules and were upset when they were told not to etc. It's rare I've read a story where a park CM has truly been anything but great. In my experience, every CM I've dealt with has been awesome and I never saw that change.

A few years back (during the period lots of folks seem to feel CMs went downhill) I had an awesome interaction with a CM who caught me wanting to peer behind the walls during the SSE Postshow refurb and he ended up walking my family around, talking to us about Horizons and then got everyone onto Misson Space without waiting.

Now all that said... everyone has bad days so the few times we've seen a CM who maybe was fine but not as great as others, I let it go. We are there for our vacation but they are there for a job and I always try to understand that. :)
 
Jacquellie

Jacquellie

Member
This aspect of WDW fascinates me - the sunny attitude of CMs. So I grilled a couple of CMs about this. At first they said yes, they WERE always happy in their work but on further questioning ... They said the were always happy in their work! It was as simple as that, they have a great attitude because the sort of people who get those jobs have a great attitude to start with and actively believe in the magic. My cm told me that obviously people have down days, but they believe their troubles shouldn't ruin people's holidays. However, she said if a cm's attitude is down continuously, they go back to hq to "get pixie dust sprinkled back on them". Many volunteer for it anyway - like a car gets a service! And you know, I honestly think something kinda magic does happen. There were industrial issues a couple of years ago, so maybe that was the problem.
 
BiffyClyro

BiffyClyro

Well-Known Member
When i've been the majority have been nice. I usually make an exception to the ones who are a bit moody though, just because i know how some members of the public can be and it can bring down your mood.

Honestly, i've seen some people be so rude to some cast members and think that because they are at WDW they should be catered to for every little need, so i can sympathise with the ones who aren't all smiles all day. :D
As long as they aren't offensive or rude to the point of unreasonable i shake it off :)
 
WDWYankee15

WDWYankee15

Well-Known Member
Tom Morrow said:
lower crowds and better weather will definitely get you better service that a frantic, hot summer day.
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THIS!!!

Been there in late August 3 of the last 4 years and have experience way too many "unmagical" moments with CM's. However there are way many more great moments and employees. Of the approximately 60,000 employees of the WDW Resort, you are bound to find a few having a bad day.

So while I hope for and expect nothing "unmagical" to happen while I am in the WORLD, I am also realistic and know things will happen. It is when they do, how people respond that makes the difference.
 
The Empress Lilly

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
Master Yoda said:
I have never noticed a downswing.
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Me neither. CM friendliness is one area where WDW has not detoriorated to me. WDW has held up admirably well even in the face of a changing demographic and cultural base to draw from.

Quality of staff may not have dimished, but the quality of the guests most certainy has. A loud ill-disciplined host, with a great many ASBO-types thrown in for good measure. WDW and its CM's need some recommendation for maintaining the high standards they do despite all that!
 
afar28

afar28

Well-Known Member
Didnt really notice a downswing, they have always been great to me. Only thing is on ToT, its a 50/50 chance that they will be in character. At least in my experiences.
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
The Empress Lilly said:
Me neither. CM friendliness is one area where WDW has not detoriorated to me. WDW has held up admirably well even in the face of a changing demographic and cultural base to draw from.

Quality of staff may not have dimished, but the quality of the guests most certainy has. A loud ill-disciplined host, with a great many ASBO-types thrown in for good measure. WDW and its CM's need some recommendation for maintaining the high standards they do despite all that!
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And that is it in a nutshell. There are far too many of the "MAKE MY DAY MAGICAL OR I'LL HAVE YOU FIRED!!!!" types in the parks these days. Given what I have seen CMs smile and endure from guests make me surprised that there is not running tally of CMs that have snapped and tossed guests in Rivers of America.
 
Tom Morrow

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
afarese said:
Didnt really notice a downswing, they have always been great to me. Only thing is on ToT, its a 50/50 chance that they will be in character. At least in my experiences.
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Being in character isn't actually required at ToT, just recommended.
Master Yoda said:
And that is it in a nutshell. There are far too many of the "MAKE MY DAY MAGICAL OR I'LL HAVE YOU FIRED!!!!" types in the parks these days. Given what I have seen CMs smile and endure from guests make me surprised that there is not running tally of CMs that have snapped and tossed guests in Rivers of America.
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Also this, plus more and more foreign guests who don't speak any english and have no clue what is going on and are determined to do what they want anyway. Stuff like that.
 
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doctornick

Well-Known Member
Master Yoda said:
I have never noticed a downswing.
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joanna71985 said:
I've never noticed a difference (then again, I've never had any problems with CMs)
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Me neither. I've consistently had only positive experiences with CMs in WDW over the decades. While I've had some that where unable to help me, I have never had a situation where I felt one was rude or ignored me. And I've had a few that have gone well above and beyond the call of duty, even in recent years.

The only bad experiences I've had with CMs was with 2 different ones in DLR in summer 2010.
 

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