Is Disney too lenient to guests?

[Jimmy Thick]

Some of my recent threads have brought about some very interesting and heated discussions. One of my recent favorites was the annoying guest thread. But lets persue this a little more vividly.


Now say your in line and someone lights up a cigarette, now I would simply make a fool out of that person, and a lot of other people would as well, but some people don't want the hassle, and I don't blame them one bit. But if someone informed a CM about the person smoking, shouldn't Disney throw the person out of the park? I mean, they are breaking the rules and Disney is smoke free unless in designated areas.

Now Disney has a wholesome, family image, so I don't think they would do that, but I think they should. In fact, if I personally had my druthers, I would ban the offending person for at least a day from all the parks to teach them a proper lesson about respecting others, and if it happened again, I would throw them out for their entire stay and keep their money.

This does not just have to be smoking, but anything found to be offensive, or against the natural ebb and flow of things.

Does Disney do a good enough job keeping everyone happy, or should they start laying down the law to keep their parks free from unwanted behavior?

 

[Walt Disney1955]

Everytime I am there I have never encountered anything but happy people. Its hard to be unhappy in Disneyworld and I think many people share that belief. That being said the type of person that lights up a cigarette while in line is not going to be the type of person that would probably go to Disney in the first place.

 

[matt_taylor1985]

I think it can sometimes be that guests don't have enough respect for Disney if that makes sense?

We went to watch Spectromagic a couple of years ago and we watched it pretty much on the small path on the way in to Adventureland. The amount of families that let their kids scale the rail guard (including really young kids) to sit on the grass in the pitch black was unbelievable.

 

[happymom52003]

That being said the type of person that lights up a cigarette while in line is not going to be the type of person that would probably go to Disney in the first place.

I've actually had several experiences in line where people light up cigarettes....it happens more times than you think. And it is usually the surrounding guests that make a fuss...I've seen CM's totally ignore the fact that someone has a cigarette, even though guests are complaining.

To answer the question of the OP....I think throwing them out of the park is a bit much as long as they put it out after being asked. However, if they refuse or immediately light up another one, or start to act unruly, then being thrown out might be more justified. I think they do just an "okay" job. I do think they could do better...I've seen many things that I think guests should not get away with, but the CM's intentionally do not say or do anything.

In my expereince I've seen CM's bullied by guests, so the CM gives up...or I've seen CM's not even try to stop rule breakers. Not sure why...I've heard "rumors" mainly from people in this forum that management actually does not want the CM's to get onto guests. I also think that some CM's are just scared of having an encounter with a guest, which I can understand.

One time right before going into the stretching room at the HM, a group of rowdy young adults (I use the term adults loosely) had drinks and popcorn in their hands. The CM politely told them they either needed to throw them in the trash can, or step aside until they finish them because food and drinks were not allowed onto the ride. The group just laughed, said a few very rude things to the poor CM (including words that I was less than thrilled for my kids to hear). The CM asked them again, and the rude behavior continued. She finally gave up and looked like she was about to cry. So the group took their drinks and popcorn right into the stretching room and onto the ride with them, and no other CM's said a word to them.

 

[ChrisFL]

I think one of the more difficult roles would be a Disney Security Guard. You have to make sure people are safe, following the rules, not infiringing on others, etc. while keeping up the Disney style of friendliness. It must be a fine line.

 

[copcarguyp71]

I posted yes BUT...

I think it is difficult for Disney to ask every CM to be able to respond to this sort of conflict (if it goes that far) as not everyone is equipped emotionally or with the correct interpersonal skills to deal with these situations. I think they would need personnel specially trained for confrontation, maybe not quite as far as security guards but with the correct training to effectively communicate the rules, reason with them and then remove folks if needed. The number of these CM's would I guess be limited and it might mean that they could not arrive on-scene any sooner than to remove the knucklehead from the ride at the end for the appropriate actions but it would at least be a reasonable response as I doubt they could have that many of these folks posted around the grounds. I am sure the utilidors could get them there double quick though.

I have to say I have never experienced anything more than a teenager throwing a four letter word carelessly...not excusable but hey, what can you do?!

 

[raven]

In my expereince I've seen CM's bullied by guests, so the CM gives up...or I've seen CM's not even try to stop rule breakers. Not sure why...I've heard "rumors" mainly from people in this forum that management actually does not want the CM's to get onto guests. I also think that some CM's are just scared of having an encounter with a guest, which I can understand.

This might be because management in most areas frown upon CM's doing anything about it. I mean they want them to take care of it without conflict but they don't explain how to do it. And no matter what you do you still get reprimanded for it. So it's a win/win situation for these guests. I guess other guests will have to take it upon themselves to do something. :lol:

 

[CP_alum08]

I can vouch for 'Raven'. I did the college program, and as a CM you are only 'allowed' to handle certain situations. Majority of the time managers expect you to come and find them, which i suppose, is the role of a manager. But still...

on a second note, there are alot of CP's working too. I would say most really want to be there and really enjoy themselves. For the rest of them, they just think its like working at any other retail, restaurant, etc. and dont see the need to live up to Disney expectations. During my CP, myself and one of my roommates worked in quick service food, i thoroughly enjoyed myself, he on the other hand hated it. I would go sometimes and visit him at work and he was one of those CMs you see who wasnt smiling, mingling, etc. he was just doing his job so he could clock out and go home. I think its these CMs, even for the guests causing no trouble, that make the parks less of what it should be at times. If you have a CM who really wants to be there and really cares about the Disney experience he/she will do anything to keep the magic alive.

Sorry to go off on a rant

 

[niteobsrvr]

In many cases, a CM confronting a guest about inappropriate behaviour devolves into a He said/She Said situation when management is brought in on it. And trust me, the adults who would do these kinds of things, in any cases, will argue right back at the CM until they are visibly agitated or shaken. Then they ask to speak to a manager.

When the manager arrives, the guest claims the CM was harrassing them. That yes, they were doing someting they shouldn't have been but the CM just handled it all wrong.

I do remember one time though, when I was a Bus Driver at Disney 8 years ago when a lady got on my bus with a couple of kids, sat within my earshot (as a driver, you learn to hear things pretty far back in the bus) and then started complaining that I was driving too slow, intentionally delaying them and so forth and that I was the cause of the children missing Spectro or the fireworks or whatever it was. She did this all of the way from Port Orleans to the Magic Kingdom. Finally, as wegot closer to MK, I had heard enough. I dont remember exacly what I said to her as we pulled into the bus area but it was very polite, yet embarrassing and to the point. Several people who got off the bus thanked me for not just sitting their putting up with her barrage of comments. I never heard another word out it either.

Fortunately, I have handled a lot of confrontation and conflict in my former career lives and can make good use of those skills when needed. Many cast members dont have that experience though and what they try to do will only escalate the situation.

 

[captainkidd]

I was at the Magic Kingdom a couple weeks ago and saw a guy standing by City Hall smoking a cigarette in a no-smoking area. A marketing CM came up to him and nicely told him to put it out or go to a smoking area. The guy started giving her a hard time telling her he wasn't walking "all the way over there", wherever it was.

She should have called security and had him escorted out of the park.

 

[csaguy]

Be on alert

The National Cheer Leaders will be there this week end! Bring your ear plugs.

 

[Andrew54]

I voted Yes, I cant stand it when I see people trying to hide that they are smoking in the park. The fact is they usually get away with it.

 

[Jeff456]

I don't think anyone should be thrown out of the parks, however with regard to smoking in particular I at least think CMs should at least ensure that the guest smoking is aware of the rules in regard to smoking. I am personally not a fan of breathing in someone else's cigarette smoke, if they want to smoke its their choice but I shouldn't suffer as a result. Its not something that really affects me at Disney World very often however at Disneyland Paris its a different matter, it seems as though everyone is smoking and it really takes away from my enjoyment of the park.

 

[Vince3]

I voted Jimmy Thick over Obama! But Disney is probably to lenient.
I know that I couldn't put up with some of the guest's behavior that I witnessed .

 

[BigRedDad]

Easy solution and WDW could manage it simply. Have a mobile system that CMs can use for security. In this example, if someone is smoking, the CM can tell them that it is not permitted, swipe their pass, flag it as a warning with the reason. Then, if it happens a second time, revoke the remainder of the ticket. If it is the last day of the ticket and they are a resort guest, charge $500 to their room for smoking maintenance.

It is simple to manage. However, they would need the staff and a CM with the cojones to approach these people. Then, WDW would need the cojones to follow through with their rules. Unfortunately, WDW has a 100% tolerance policy. You could probably sell crack in line and they wouldn't do anything.

 

[Vince3]

Easy solution and WDW could manage it simply. Have a mobile system that CMs can use for security. In this example, if someone is smoking, the CM can tell them that it is not permitted, swipe their pass, flag it as a warning with the reason. Then, if it happens a second time, revoke the remainder of the ticket. If it is the last day of the ticket and they are a resort guest, charge $500 to their room for smoking maintenance.

It is simple to manage. However, they would need the staff and a CM with the cojones to approach these people. Then, WDW would need the cojones to follow through with their rules. Unfortunately, WDW has a 100% tolerance policy. You could probably sell crack in line and they wouldn't do anything.

Nice. I agree 100%.

 

[niteobsrvr]

Easy solution and WDW could manage it simply. Have a mobile system that CMs can use for security. In this example, if someone is smoking, the CM can tell them that it is not permitted, swipe their pass, flag it as a warning with the reason. Then, if it happens a second time, revoke the remainder of the ticket. If it is the last day of the ticket and they are a resort guest, charge $500 to their room for smoking maintenance.

It is simple to manage. However, they would need the staff and a CM with the cojones to approach these people. Then, WDW would need the cojones to follow through with their rules. Unfortunately, WDW has a 100% tolerance policy. You could probably sell crack in line and they wouldn't do anything.

The assumption made here is that it would be easy to get a guest to hand you their ticket media. The reality is that nothing could be more difficult. Security and managers would inevitably need to be involved. The ruckus created would be a bad expereice for guests in the surrounding area. You should see the reaction you get when you tell a guest they have to remove their baby from a stroller and fold the buggy to get on a bus and thats a federal law.

Thats one of the reasons a big deal is not made of someone smoking. In general guests don't blame Disney for other guests who smoke. They also would likely not decide to cut their stay short or never visit again because of a guest not following the smoking rules. Therefore, it makes little sense to pursue such a thing because you do risk taking away more magic for more people during the ensuing scene that would be created.

 

[BigRedDad]

The assumption made here is that it would be easy to get a guest to hand you their ticket media. The reality is that nothing could be more difficult. Security and managers would inevitably need to be involved. The ruckus created would be a bad expereice for guests in the surrounding area. You should see the reaction you get when you tell a guest they have to remove their baby from a stroller and fold the buggy to get on a bus and thats a federal law.

Thats one of the reasons a big deal is not made of someone smoking. In general guests don't blame Disney for other guests who smoke. They also would likely not decide to cut their stay short or never visit again because of a guest not following the smoking rules. Therefore, it makes little sense to pursue such a thing because you do risk taking away more magic for more people during the ensuing scene that would be created.

The answer is yes. Once this gets out 10-15 times and all the "bad" publicity, people will think very hard to break the rules. Smokers make up less than 10% of the population. It will affect less than 10% of the people. All it takes is one simple lawsuit from a guest in line with someone smoking. A CM and WDW Management ignoring a guest alerting them of the situation and the act of ignoring it opens up a nice little window for a lawsuit due to reckless endangerment. FL also has a law of no smoking in public places. Although the property is considered "private", it is still a public setting with children present. One or two lawsuits would quickly force them to change their policy. Personally, they should only allow smoking in certain areas outside of the parks.

 

[niteobsrvr]

The answer is yes. Once this gets out 10-15 times and all the "bad" publicity, people will think very hard to break the rules. Smokers make up less than 10% of the population. It will affect less than 10% of the people. All it takes is one simple lawsuit from a guest in line with someone smoking. A CM and WDW Management ignoring a guest alerting them of the situation and the act of ignoring it opens up a nice little window for a lawsuit due to reckless endangerment. FL also has a law of no smoking in public places. Although the property is considered "private", it is still a public setting with children present. One or two lawsuits would quickly force them to change their policy. Personally, they should only allow smoking in certain areas outside of the parks.

Florida does not have a public smoking rule.The statue reads as follows:

Title XXIX
PUBLIC HEALTH Chapter 386
PARTICULAR CONDITIONS AFFECTING PUBLIC HEALTH View Entire Chapter

386.204 Prohibition.--A person may not smoke in an enclosed indoor workplace, except as otherwise provided in s. 386.2045.

I imagine lawsuits regarding second hand smoke in open areas like a theme park would be very hard to win as the complainant would have to so how he or she was harmed and prove the longterm effects of the particular situaion.

 

[love disney]

The answer is yes. Once this gets out 10-15 times and all the "bad" publicity, people will think very hard to break the rules. Smokers make up less than 10% of the population. It will affect less than 10% of the people. All it takes is one simple lawsuit from a guest in line with someone smoking. A CM and WDW Management ignoring a guest alerting them of the situation and the act of ignoring it opens up a nice little window for a lawsuit due to reckless endangerment. FL also has a law of no smoking in public places. Although the property is considered "private", it is still a public setting with children present. One or two lawsuits would quickly force them to change their policy. Personally, they should only allow smoking in certain areas outside of the parks.

Florida does not have a law of no smoking public places. There is a law about smoking in certain workplaces, namely restaurants and bars, as well as governmental offices. Disney would not fall into any of the no smoking laws Florida has, and I don't think there is any chance of any type of lawsuit against Disney if someone is smoking in line and a notified CM does nothing about it. Should the CM do something about it, absolutely, the question is how to do something without making a major scene that ruins things even more for the rest of the guests. From what I have read in this and other threads so far, it sounds like Disney has sort of discouraged CMs from being proactive, or at the very least not been too supportive or helpful to them in dealing with this situation. I feel sorry for the CMs if that is really true, but all we can do is continue to politely tell the smoker that it is not acceptable in line AND tell the closest CM. If more people politely complain about this hopefully Disney will take notice. Just my two cents.