This topic was inspired by an in-depth discussion already taking place in another forum about guests walking around the theater during COP.
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=829016
This whole debate got me thinking about something my Sociology prof. said years ago:
"Despite your nationality or cultural background, it is law that even the smartest among us goes from sane to batsh*t stupid when they become a tourist."
Besides getting a good laugh from the class, it makes a valid point: All of us...no matter how smart, hard-working, or wise we may be in normal day-to-day life, become brain-fried stupid when the work shirts go off & the shorts & sandals go on.
Those people who walked around the auditorium of COP after being told multiple times to remain seated (in multiple languages) are not stupid people in real life. The people who got up & walked around Splash Mtn, causing the rest of us to be required to use lapbars from here on are not stupid people in real life. People who take flash pictures in dark rides/shows despite warnings are not stupid, and most of these people go to work, pay bills, feed their children, budget, you name it. So what happens to cause the brain to not function when in tourist mode?
I suspect it's because we allow ourselves to unwind too much when on vacation. Sure, de-stressing and letting it all loose is fine, and are what vacations are for. Put your feet up & head back and take a nice hiatus from our daily worries...it's a healthy thing to do from time-to-time. But some people get too out of their element, causing the simplest common sense decisions to be a mental hurdle.
I used to work in the hosp./tourism industry up until 2003. I completely understand what Disney CM's, Uni employees, and anyone else in the industry have to put up with. I respect each one of them all the more for having to deal with it on a daily basis, while still making those frustrating them feel like welcomed guests. Afterall, places like Orlando would not survive if it weren't for tourists. And while local economies appreciate tourists & the $$$ they bring in, it still comes at a high price & many-a-headache. CM's do not deal with normal day-to-day people. They deal with people at their worst, with the least bit of common sense working.
Many of those people we see cutting lines, disregarding the simplest of rules, asking the most absurdly stupid questions...they are doctors, teachers, accountants, builders, students, parents, and GOOD at it....in times when the tourist mode is off, and their day-to-day brain begins to function once more.
So please be nice to CM's, or anyone dealing with the traveling public. While their job may seem like good fun from the outside, they put up with a level of idiocy that most of us do not understand.
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=829016
This whole debate got me thinking about something my Sociology prof. said years ago:
"Despite your nationality or cultural background, it is law that even the smartest among us goes from sane to batsh*t stupid when they become a tourist."
Besides getting a good laugh from the class, it makes a valid point: All of us...no matter how smart, hard-working, or wise we may be in normal day-to-day life, become brain-fried stupid when the work shirts go off & the shorts & sandals go on.
Those people who walked around the auditorium of COP after being told multiple times to remain seated (in multiple languages) are not stupid people in real life. The people who got up & walked around Splash Mtn, causing the rest of us to be required to use lapbars from here on are not stupid people in real life. People who take flash pictures in dark rides/shows despite warnings are not stupid, and most of these people go to work, pay bills, feed their children, budget, you name it. So what happens to cause the brain to not function when in tourist mode?
I suspect it's because we allow ourselves to unwind too much when on vacation. Sure, de-stressing and letting it all loose is fine, and are what vacations are for. Put your feet up & head back and take a nice hiatus from our daily worries...it's a healthy thing to do from time-to-time. But some people get too out of their element, causing the simplest common sense decisions to be a mental hurdle.
I used to work in the hosp./tourism industry up until 2003. I completely understand what Disney CM's, Uni employees, and anyone else in the industry have to put up with. I respect each one of them all the more for having to deal with it on a daily basis, while still making those frustrating them feel like welcomed guests. Afterall, places like Orlando would not survive if it weren't for tourists. And while local economies appreciate tourists & the $$$ they bring in, it still comes at a high price & many-a-headache. CM's do not deal with normal day-to-day people. They deal with people at their worst, with the least bit of common sense working.
Many of those people we see cutting lines, disregarding the simplest of rules, asking the most absurdly stupid questions...they are doctors, teachers, accountants, builders, students, parents, and GOOD at it....in times when the tourist mode is off, and their day-to-day brain begins to function once more.
So please be nice to CM's, or anyone dealing with the traveling public. While their job may seem like good fun from the outside, they put up with a level of idiocy that most of us do not understand.
