WDW Has The Best Cast Members

[Disneysea05]

That's reaching a bit I think. I didn't think any less of the cast member at Magic Kingdom giving tidbits to people about how Walt loved being in the park at night and how he lived in the castle. That's completely incorrect information.

Having a vast amount of knowledge on Disney trivia, while a plus, is not required to be a good cast member.

And yes, I've found Disneyland CMs to "know their stuff" throughout my many visits. I won't think anything of it if one doesn't know who voices the singing busts in the Haunted Mansion.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I totally disagree with this, although I can see where you are coming from. I don't think the customer service touches as WDW ever really come off as fake.

My other complaint was the opposite of your experience. DL Cast Members seem to actually know very little about their park. I asked several questions since I'm not quite as familiar as at WDW. I remember some specific questions that I'm sure will irritate you.

1) Where will Paint the Night start tonight? "I'm not sure, but I think it always starts at Main Street." - It actually started at Small World that day.

2) Can I get to Disneyland hotel by walking through Downtown Disney? - "I don't think so. I would just take Uber." LOL, that didn't sound right to me so I called the Disneyland hotel and they told me I could walk right out the back of DD and I'm there - They were right.

3) I asked my WAITER at Carthay Circle which World of Color viewing we'd get with our package (there were 2) and he said he wasn't sure.

4) I asked the CM in Great Moments with Lincoln if it was Paul Frees doing the narration (I was 99% sure it was). He response was, "Who?" I said, "Paul Frees, the Ghost Host." She looked at me like I had 2 heads. I said, "You know, the voice fo the Haunted Mansion." She says, "OHHH, I thought you meant something else...well, I'm not sure but It's been the same since I've worked here." I was like, ummm...ok.

Again, I had some solid experiences as well. Many CMs smiled and waived, but just not as many in a very noticeable way. They seemed very unknowledgeable to be honest.

I'm not speaking on WDW, I'm speaking on Disneyland. It comes off as fake and corporate at Disneyland.

Just because you ran into a few people who couldn't quite answer your question, it doesn't mean Disneyland employees as a whole don't know their stuff. They could have been new employees.

As an Angeleno who's frequented the DLR since childhood and as a previous DLR employee, I can confidently tell you lots of CMs know what they're talking about. There are thousands of them, a the few you ran into don't represent the whole.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

The first time I stayed on Disney World property, I chose to use the perk of having my park and Disney Spring purchases sent to the hotel. I didn't know how it worked, so the cast members at Island Mercantile very nice to me. They were kind enough to explain to me how the process works. Now I know .

 

[John C. Shepherd]

My favorite are the CM's in Epcot in France, the accents just get me. My wife made me leave because i was being to freindly. LOL I will agree with you the CM's are freindlier at WDW, i have been to both multiple times and it isnt the same.

 

[Disneysea05]

I will say that my favorite Walt Disney World cast members are the ones in World Showcase. You do get the occasional one that is bored/tired/indifferent but overall they are excited to be there and interesting to start chatting with.

 

[yeaitspootie]

I just returned from my 2nd trip to Disneyland, and I've been to WDW around 15 times.

Cast member "cheer" is in short supply at BOTH resorts, anyone who's visited WDW in the 20th century can tell you that. I did notice that the rides seemed to be less staffed in CA, and there were a few times I actually took a wrong turn in a line without realizing it due to vague organization (almost exited Space Mountain, hah). But I wouldn't say things are "worse" in CA.

As for bag checks, the lines were long, the longest stretched back to the shuttles, but they were fast for me, I highly doubt anyone waited an hour (and trust me guys, I'm a line complainer, these bag checks were fast)

 

[GVentola]

My last visit to Disneyland was in 2012. My only problem with employees is they didn't have handlers come out with the characters. As I went alone, I didn't have any relative or friend available to take my photos with the characters. So...I asked Mary Poppins to take my picture with Bert. She seemed offended and I was embarrassed. Then the person behind me in line rescued me by saying she would take the photo for me. Embarrassment, for me, is a worse emotion than anger, and the incident sticks out in my memory more than anything else when I think of my trip there. Some people have pointed out to me that characters are not supposed to take photos. Well, I didn't know that at the time. Also, that's why they should've had a handler out with the Mary and Bert. I think they've started getting rid of the handlers out here at WDW, too. I think they should create more jobs instead of cutting back and getting rid of jobs.

Also, is Paul Frees the voice of Lincoln out here at Hall of Presidents, too? I associate that voice with Lincoln so much that any other actor playing the role of Lincoln sounds "wrong" to me!

 

[OliveMcFly]

Ugh with the cell phones on stage. This was always a peeve of mine. I don't see it much in the parks but here at home I do. My cashier the other night at Target was busy texting as I was checking out. The former CM in me almost said something but I had to keep it in LOL. I know not every company has Disney standards but it's also a common courtesy to not be on your cell phone while interacting with customers.

 

[jloucks]

I have not been to Disneyland in a long time. I have been to WDW 3 times in the last 5-6 years. I have only seen 1 staffer seem like she should not be there. I have not seen any cell phones out on staff that were on the clock. At Universal Studios I have seen 5-6 performing below par with cell phones and what not, but not much beyond that. S At my local Six Flags last weekend I had a combo bad-service experience with the food server both texting and jamming with headphones on. Yikes!

On a related point from earlier posts, they do this thing on certain Harry Potter rides where they manically clap when the ride is over. The first time you witness it, it is cool, but after that it gets weird. Especially when there are only 4 of you on the ride.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I have not been to Disneyland in a long time. I have been to WDW 3 times in the last 5-6 years. I have only seen 1 staffer seem like she should not be there. I have not seen any cell phones out on staff that were on the clock. At Universal Studios I have seen 5-6 performing below par with cell phones and what not, but not much beyond that. S At my local Six Flags last weekend I had a combo bad-service experience with the food server both texting and jamming with headphones on. Yikes!

On a related point from earlier posts, they do this thing on certain Harry Potter rides where they manically clap when the ride is over. The first time you witness it, it is cool, but after that it gets weird. Especially when there are only 4 of you on the ride.

The only time that I saw much in the line of less then OK CM's was in 2012 or 13, don't remember which year. I went there to witness my sister in the Marathon. After the run I went for two days to WDW and two days to Universal. The difference at that time was so obvious that it was almost sad, for Disney. At Disney I repeatedly saw groups of CM's just standing around having conversations with each other. They were totally ignoring the guests almost as if they felt that if they didn't make eye contact they wouldn't have to deal with the public.

The contrast at Universal was startling. If you even so much as looked around as if you were looking for something or someplace, almost instantly a TM would be there asking if they could help. I even had a custodian stop and ask me the same question. He didn't have to, I wasn't expecting him to, yet he did. In fact, he made it a point to talk to me and ask about me, where I was from, how long I was going to be in the area, how to get to the attraction I was looking for and just plain friendly and helpful and it genuinely felt like they really wanted to help. This is coming from one of the most sensitive to non-authentic, fake attitude radars on the planet. Mine!

 

[Disney Stine]

Returned from Disneyland in August. My fiance and I found several very friendly CMs all around both parks. This ranged from CMs who simply greeted us with a smile and a hello to CMs who randomly gave us a "buddy pass" allowing us to skip to the front of the line and CMs who danced with us while in line to meet Captain America and Spiderman. In fact the only upsetting moment we had while there was our 40 minute wait for a dining reservation... I didn't notice any CMs on their personal cell phones (I'm sure they did a fantastic job hiding this fact) and I also didn't ask them Disney trivia questions, so I cannot comment on this.

My fiance ended up loving Disneyland MORE than WDW (which sort of hurt my heart a bit since I'm a long time WDW fan).

 

[Jedi Stitch]

One thing that happens at DLR that I don't know happens at WDW. Things may have changed, but it was common practice to let save on child care by getting an annual pass and handing the kids a few bucks for a lunch, while dropping them off. This was very prevalent back when the parking lot was at the front gate. As mentioned before some of these kids coming to work at DLR, pretty much grew up in the park, so it like a mall job or working at the local pizza joint, and I could see it with some of the CM when I would go. I also had a bad CM reaction or two at WDW. I like WDW over DLR, because at DLR you can have an all inclusive trip paying most of the trip all up front. I felt more relaxed at WDW and had better CM moments. I found some of my CM interactions are part of younger less experienced, but also guests like me who are forking over the money for the food and merchandise, and might the upteens person to make the snide comment the CM is tired of hearing.

 

[Disneysea05]

Just got back from another trip to Tokyo Disney Resort. Still the best CMs in the world!

 

[Sonconato]

I am continually amazed by cast members, particularly at WDW.

I just spent 4 days at Disneyland and must say, the difference (for me at least) is night and day. Did I have any bad experiences at Disneyland? No, but it's extremely noticeable generally.

At Disneyland, I noticed a few trends.

1) Practically every cast member is very young and from California. I feel like this gives them quite a bit less diversity and may be the root of my dissatisfaction.
2) Cast members seem to be talking amongst themselves quite a bit. Saw several CMs on their phones.
3) Much more understaffed, particularly at attractions than WDW.
4) Stuck up? I get very little warm feeling from cast members who seemingly just do the minimum at Disneyland. They don't always waive to you as you start the ride, don't always tell you to have a great/magical day, and it's almost like you're interrupting them if you ask for help.
5) Restaurant staff is subpar overall. Refills are scarce, had to send back an appetizer at Carthay with no care whatsoever from the waiter, and a general "go through the motions" attitude.
6) Bag check - One word. Awful. I know it's a pain at WDW, but I should post a picture of the line just to get in on Saturday. It was out to Harbor street and many people commented they had been waiting over an hour.

I think WDWs ride range of young and old, American and Non-American staff gives them the clear advantage. There are always exceptions, but the overall Cast Member feel was incredibly "meh" for me at Disneyland and quite the opposite at WDW.

At Disneyland, it was just like any other customer service experience whereas at WDW, the service is a highlight of the whole experience.

I haven't been to Disneyland since '85, but I can say that one of the reasons I still go to WDW is because of the cast members. They make up for many of the mistakes TDO has made. Part of my days there are spent talking to them. I have made many cast member friends this way.

 

[Chef Mickey]

I haven't been to Disneyland since '85, but I can say that one of the reasons I still go to WDW is because of the cast members. They make up for many of the mistakes TDO has made. Part of my days there are spent talking to them. I have made many cast member friends this way.

Word up. Great cast members make any situation positive. WDW does an excellent job staffing the right people who seem like they want to be there. They certainly don't pay well, so they clearly do want to be there.