It was a short but great year for Disney Cast Blast! Let’s take a quick look at some of the best stories submitted to us in 2013. A huge thanks to all of the cast (past and present) who have submitted stories this year. Keep ’em coming. Have a safe and Happy New Year and here is looking forward to 2014!
Kick (and punch and bite) off the New Year
I picked up an overtime shift one New Year’s Eve at Disney-MGM Studios years ago, handing out free plastic hats and horns to guests. They were cheap, but neat, hats that looked like small colorful tissue streamers pressed air tight between a white and clear plastic hat. The horns were paper and plastic horns.
We were told that each guest should only receive one hat and one horn. One lady asked the guy I was working with if she could get a second hat for her kid. He said sure and gave her one. The lady I was giving a hat too asked if should could get six more for her family. I explained that we could only give one per person and that her family is more than welcome to come pick out their own horn and hat.
She said “well, that woman got an extra one!” The other lady said “what woman?” and walked up to her. The lady I was working with made an inappropriate comment and before you could say zip-a-dee-do-dah they were on the ground throwing punches, biting and scratching each other. One of families came up and broke it up and it ended right as security arrived. It was so busy at that point they disappeared in the crowd and life went on. But .Huey Lewis and the News was great on New York St. that year.
Well…it IS an Animal Park…
We were about to close the guest relations lobby at Animal Kingdom during the first few months after opening in 1998 when a very tired family walked in to get some information. There were three of us in the lobby. Two of us were cleaning and straightening while the third was helping the guests.
The mom and dad had a lot of questions about Disney transportation on how to get from here to there and also mapping out their transportation plans for the next day. It had been raining almost all day and they were hot, wet and as patient as someone who had been in a theme park all day could be. The kids were getting bored. They were nine or ten years old if I had to guess.
The parents told the kids they could walk around the lobby while they spoke with us about the requested info. For those who may not know we had some pest problems around the park prior and during the first few months of operation. Everything from a huge wasp nest to rats to rabbits…we had it.
As the kids were on the floor playing they both stopped and tried to peek around the corner of the front door outside. It was dark outside and hard to see. I looked at the other guest relations host and pointed over to the kids to see what they were doing. The crept closer and closer to the front door. The parents were oblivious to what was going on. I asked the kids “What do you see out there?”
They both froze. A giant rat ran across the threshold across to the other side quickly followed by another rat running after it. The two kids looked at each other in shock and started backing up towards us. At that time a black snake shot across the entryway following the same paths of the rats. Needless to say, the kids lost it.
Yes Ma’am the Shamu Show is in Fantasyland
I was working at the Emporium on Main St. USA in the Magic Kingdom. Shortly after we opened to guests for the day, a lady came in with a Publix bag and said that she had a return. I walked over to help her with the return and she pulled out a bottle opener that still had the price tag on it.
I kindly asked her if she still had her receipt. She suddenly became annoyed and snapped “no, I just want my money back.” Being a new Cast Member I was not quite sure how to handle the situation because I had never been placed in such an awkward spot.
She said again that she wanted her money back. I explained to her that I was not sure if we could take it back. Then it started…
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN’T TAKE IT BACK??? YOU ARE DISNEY WORLD. WHERE IS THE CUSTOMER SERVICE I ALWAYS HEAR ABOUT?
“Ma’am, I’m sorry but I am not sure you purchased this bottle opener from this store. Are you sure you purchased it here?
YES I DID! ARE YOU CALLING ME A LIAR?!?!?!
“No ma’am. It’s just that this bottle opener has a picture of Shamu and says Sea World on it.”
THIS IS INSANE! WHERE IS YOUR MANAGER? I BOUGHT THIS HERE AND YOU ARE CALLING ME A LIAR!
“Where is my manager? I’ll be right back.”
I went to the back to talk to my manager so I did not have to explain the situation over the phone at the register. He said that we were going to take it back and that we would use an existing sku to return it under and give her cash back. I asked why we were doing this when she clearly was in the wrong. He simply replied “sometimes you can’t fight crazy!”
Monorail? or Monofail?
One evening during sunset, I was piloting a train on the express beam to the Magic Kingdom. At that time we still loaded four guests in the front cab of the monorail. It was monorail blue if I remember correctly.
That day I experienced one of the most memorable conversations I have ever had with a guest. It was a lady in her early 50’s. She looked and reminded me of Flo from the old television show “Alice.”
GUEST: “OM MY GOD! THAT SUNSET IS JUST GORGEOUS! It’s like the sun…like…..it’s like a giant ball of fire!”
ME: “Ma’am? It is.”
Are you a Cast Member and want to share your story? You can share them anonymously by e-mailing us at [email protected].
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