A vacation to the “happiest place on earth” is supposed to be fun and magical. Unfortunately, there is always a Gaston, Ursula or Hades who are a little too high strung and just do not “Let It Go”.
Not All Good Deeds Go Unpunished
Not only is it nice to do, but it is also self-rewarding to help others. You’ll see some who look confused, pondering one restaurant to the other, which ride to go to first, etc. While some people may appreciate advice whether it is sincere or not, some people tense up and give you “tude”. Maybe they feel like they know everything and “how dare someone give the know-it-all advice”.
Bottom line is that the helpers are trying to be nice and simply……..help. They are not mind readers. They are simply trying to make your vacation as magical and seamless as their vacation has been and are recommending their experienced advice. Continue to be kind. Do not take anything personal if you get a negative reaction and it is up to them if they choose to take your advice into consideration.
Follow Cast Member Directions
They instruct everyone to fill in the space, move down and keep walking so they can fit as many people in as possible. I know I appreciate that when I am the one waiting outside to get in. Unfortunately, some stop in their tracks, because they like that viewing spot.
If you pass them, you get ugly looks. If you walk insinuating they need to keep walking, you get ugly looks. So, just remember to not take it personally and kindly state “they are telling us to keep going so others can get in”. You are not the Disney police. If they do not move, it is not your problem. If you pass them, be prepared for the ugly stares. Kindness goes much further.
Offering Your Seat On The Bus
There are many men or young adults that should give up their seat, but do not. It is customary to offer your seat to the elderly, women, kids, pregnant women, etc., no matter where you are in the world. Unfortunately, many see the need, but do not do anything about it. Once a kind person does give up their seat, the seat hogs get embarrassed. They still refuse to give into common courtesy and crowd demands to stand up. They give dirty looks and give “tude” to the nice people who started the vacating-seat movement.
Just remember to hold your head high knowing you are the better person for doing the right thing for the pregnant mother, 6 year old child or 80 year old man. While it is customary for a man to give up their seat, there are women, including myself, who often do the right thing.
Offer To Take A Group Picture
Now, most people welcome this, but there have been some who look at you like you are Cruella de Vil. I am assuming it is because they fear you will run with their camera? While there are some really bad people out there, most people at Walt Disney World paid big bucks to be there. They are just trying to be respectful by offering you the same respect they would hope someone would give to them.
Cash Registers At Quick Service Restaurants
Tempers fly high with this one, because many are already tired from hours of walking. Most importantly, because they’re hungry!! That is the main ingredient for a recipe for disaster. Most first-time Disney guests do not know that each cast member at a Quick Service Restaurant register takes orders on both sides of them. They take turns between each side to keep the lines going. Every moment is precious when you are talking about those crowds when they are hungry.
The cast member is not obligated to tell people to go to the empty side. If they did, that could cause more tense moments if people from other lines jumped over. They would feel the cast member told the wrong people about the empty line, blah, blah, blah. Pay attention to your surroundings and not just your growling stomach. Or, (here is the million dollar answer), ask someone! If you see a shorter line or no line and walk over, that is ok! Just be prepared for the dirty looks from those who are in line 10-15 people long. You snooze you lose.
False/Hateful Assumptions
When a family with a DAS pass or a Genie Pass (Make-a-Wish) pass the line directed by cast members, do not jump to false conclusions, spew out any hateful remarks or be sour in any way. A disability cannot always be seen by everyone. A disability does not require a wheelchair, a cane, someone to appear deathly ill, etc.
Making statements as simple as “must be nice” are not only hurtful, but I am sure the person with the disability, a painful, life threatening disease or a terminal disease would gladly switch places with you. You take the Parkinson’s Disease and you can skip the lines. They would rather wait in line than have Parkinson’s Disease or have a life threatening disease. “Think before you speak.”
If you are the person who gets aggravated by one or all of the above, maybe taking up Yoga or drink less caffeine before you go to Walt Disney World is in order. Being at the most popular location on earth takes patience, respect, common sense and the ability to look at every situation from others’ shoes. No one is a mind reader and not everyone is out to embarrass you, steal from you or ruin your vacation.
Personal Story
I did have a situation where a very angry man began to turn a very large crowd against a cast member. He was angry over the “large crowd”. The cast member was doing the best he could at keeping everyone walking. I had the necessity to speak up and come to the cast member’s defense in order to get King Titan to calm down. I was professional, used no swear words, no name calling and stated the obvious about the need to calm down and how it wasn’t this cast member’s fault.
The guest continued to get uglier and turned his anger towards me. At this point, the crowd turned against him, because I had the cooler head. I conducted myself in a calm, cool manner by trying to diffuse the situation and I was rewarded for my actions by the crowd who got the Meany to walk away. Moral of the story, keep calm and always do the right thing. Kindness always goes much further.