A bit disappointed in the workers at this year Halloween Party.

[KimbaZ]

We went trick-or-treating two years in a row with children and adults and both years the employees were rude to the adults in our group! I don't care how old you are, if you are a PAYING customer then you should be treated with respect.

[biggsworth]

We went trick-or-treating two years in a row with children and adults and both years the employees were rude to the adults in our group! I don't care how old you are, if you are a PAYING customer then you should be treated with respect.

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. My group was comprised of 4 30 something year olds the CMs had a lot of fun with us of course we were joking around with them as well. What rudeness did you encounter with the CMs? Did you report them to city hall?

[Ammerzon]

I went with my 12yroldson & another adult (all in costume). We got about half the candy we got last year. I also noticed most CMs distributing candy chatting amongst themselves. I also couldn't find a cm that knew where the Carnival games were located. I could tell by the signs that it was near TRBBQ but even CMs working there didn't know. Finally found a manager that said it was already closed.

[Diznehound]

I say if they soak you an extra 50 bucks to stay in the park when you've already paid through the nose for a premium pass and traveled almost 400 miles, you deserve as much candy as anyone else.

[darkamor]

WOW ! A heated topic, but a significant one that makes you wonder if paying an up charge for deluxe experiences during Holidays @ Disneyland is worth it (& its my opinion that it's not worth it anymore) ....


I attended the 1st year (2010) Disneyland hosted Mickey's Trick or Treat Halloween & <3 'd it (with a few pet peeves) as there was a minimum amount of Park Guests inside Disneyland from 6pm - 1am (& that meant there was never a long queue line for anything, nor a lack of space to enjoy the Fireworks and Parades, nor Cast Members who looked overwhelmed and under compensated, average wait for Character photo op about 7 minutes, etc) .....


I attended the 2nd year (2011) Disneyland hosted Mickey's Trick or Treat Halloween and it was awful (over crowded, over sold, Pirates of Caribbean was closed for rehab leaving New Orleans Square a mess, Cast Members that look overwhelmed and irritated, shops closed by 8pm, Fantasyland / Mickey's Toontown closed by 9pm, no room to enjoy Parades and Fireworks, 2 hour wait for Sally and Jack photo op, etc) ....



Conclusion? Team Disney Anaheim must only care about making a profit now (vs park guest satisfaction), so I will no longer visit from Out of State to pay extra for an up charged event that becomes an EPIC FAIL when you over sell it by doubling the recommended capacity! In fact? I won't be visiting Disneyland / DCA until 2015 for the 60th Anniversary (hopefully all rehabs will be complete and anything new will be open for the park guests to enjoy) ....


To be fair? Even Knott's Scary Farms 40th was a let down (& I've been going for 27 years in a row). Conclusion? Don't get cheap & don't do a half arse job of running an event! Park Guests pay hard earned $ to experience things (we want to be scared, we want to be entertained, we want a full boo fet with a souvenir cup, we want mazes that have great characters vs mazes that should've been retired years ago, etc). I will return to the Halloween Haunt in 2013, but if the Pre-scare Boo fet is going to be a let down again? I will skip paying for it & just pick up a chicken dinner to go before I leave Knott's & return to the Hotel. As for the Tricksters antics? Even I had to grab one (who tried to take my book bag off my shoulder) and drag him directly to security to file a complaint ("attempting to take a personal belonging off a park guest is considered theft" & you know I was ready to file charges). Meeting Elvira was worth it (I got to meet both Elvira and Linda Blair here in Las Vegas during Fright Dome's opening two weeks ago), but over all ?I think Fright Dome outshined Knott's this year ....


Whether you had a bad experience (which I hope you didn't) or a good experience (which I hope you did) I wish everyone a Happy & Safe Halloween -


C J

[OfficeDepot14]

If you had to work after hour halloween parties with underaged children, you'd have the same attitude.... especially if you worked in a theme park

[EpicOswald]

I am sorry hearing most people's bad experience at the event, but I cannot complain! I went this year for the first time with my girlfriend (I'm 25 and she's 26) and we got 6 pounds of candy and we didn't even visit all the booths and this was after her and I finished all the apple bags they gave us (it was a hot day and the apples were refreshing).
Some CM's did give only two or three candies, but by no means did my girlfriend and I take an offense. We just assumed that they needed to ration their candy for the whole night. And besides, 6 pounds of candy between two people is a lot.

[calsig31]

If you had to work after hour halloween parties with underaged children, you'd have the same attitude.... especially if you worked in a theme park

I'm sorry, but that is the job they signed up for. Their job is to not show attitude and be polite to guests. They had an agreement with Disney when they signed up that they would do the job that Disney told them to do and Disney woudl pay them x dollars to do it. Really, how hard is it to hand out candy and smile when you do it? If they can't do that they are not living up to their agreement. Maybe it's time to start looking at monster.com.

[DisneyLover0331]

From a CM stand point this thread is very hard to read. I understand that we are paid a certain amount by Disney to up hold everything that Walt stood for and everything that the Guests want us to be, but can you honestly say that every moment that you are working your job that you are upholding everything that your company’s founder wanted you to be? I am in NO way condoning the attitudes that some of you have experienced at the resort lately and it sickens me to think that we do have some CM's that act this way, but aren't we all human? I also have to say that it is SO much easier to blame someone and to say something negative for some people than it is to recognize great service and the little things that are done to ensure that you have a good trip. Do you remember the name of the CM that loaded you onto a ride in the exact position that you wanted? I bet not, but I can guarantee that you remember the name of the CM that asked you to do something that you didn't want to do.

From working both last year's MHP and this year I can say that it does feel busier, but I do not think that it is for profit on Disney's end. In fact I think just the opposite. You have no idea how many times we got yelled at, threatened, and how many tears were shed from people that weren't able to buy tickets to the event. How is offering this party to more people that want to be there a bad thing?

For those that have said that they look at nametags to see how experienced the CM's are that night, you must keep in mind that some of us don't wear our year pin on purpose. Disney is training us the way that they always have and if you do have an issue with the way that you have been treated I 100% agree that you should either e-mail or go to City Hall. You honestly have no idea how the comments that are left really come back to us all, so don't be afraid to recognize CM's for their good work, or let the resort know where they are lacking. The expectation is so much higher and sometimes people have to realize that CM's are people too. It is as much our "happy place" as the Guests that walk through the gates, and for some of us it is our home where we spend every holiday, make lasting friends, and get to see a castle every time we come into work. When people get mad at us because "they deserve more" sometimes it does feel like a personal attack and some days it only takes one comment to put a CM in tears.

Just something to think about.

[Goofy Daddy]

When people get mad at us because "they deserve more" sometimes it does feel like a personal attack and some days it only takes one comment to put a CM in tears.

Just something to think about.

To be fare and give you something to think about as well, perhaps you are putting your own feelings into defending fellow CMs. I have not (unless I missed it) seen anyone on this thread say the "they deserve more". I have seen some say "they deserve the same as the person in front of me in line got regardless of age or other differences."

In my job I absolutely see the complete worst side of people, sometimes to the point of violence, yet I am required to stay professional when dealing with that. Maybe you had a personal experience that rubbed you the wrong way because I have no doubt that there are guests in DLR every day who think they are royalty and should get more of everything than even the other guests around them. I haven't seen that in this thread however.

No matter what, thank you for your hard work! I agree that all feedback is good, positive or negative. When a CM helps make our trip to DLR special/magical for my family I always take time to thank them AND make sure Disney hears about it. I hope others do the same.

[calsig31]

To be fare and give you something to think about as well, perhaps you are putting your own feelings into defending fellow CMs. I have not (unless I missed it) seen anyone on this thread say the "they deserve more". I have seen some say "they deserve the same as the person in front of me in line got regardless of age or other differences."

Very well said.

From a CM stand point this thread is very hard to read. I understand that we are paid a certain amount by Disney to up hold everything that Walt stood for and everything that the Guests want us to be, but can you honestly say that every moment that you are working your job that you are upholding everything that your company’s founder wanted you to be?

It’s not about being everything that the company’s founder wanted you to be at this point. Disney long ago stopped encouraging that in their workers. This is more about doing the job that you agreed to when you signed up. If that job means putting on a happy face and greeting guests as they come up for candy then that is what is expected. Complaining to your fellow worker across the candy cart that you have to work until closing is not part of that. It was a small minority of workers there that were not doing what they were supposed to, however, that is what sticks out most in a guests memory and it is those bad apples who need corrective action.

I am in NO way condoning the attitudes that some of you have experienced at the resort lately and it sickens me to think that we do have some CM's that act this way, but aren't we all human?

That really is not an excuse for not performing your job. I have bad days as well, but I still manage to do everything that is asked of me when performing that job. I look at it as living up to my end of the agreement.

I also have to say that it is SO much easier to blame someone and to say something negative for some people than it is to recognize great service and the little things that are done to ensure that you have a good trip. Do you remember the name of the CM that loaded you onto a ride in the exact position that you wanted? I bet not, but I can guarantee that you remember the name of the CM that asked you to do something that you didn't want to do.

This is very true. I wish more workers there realized this as it is more motivation to display a positive and helpful attitude toward people.

When people get mad at us because "they deserve more" sometimes it does feel like a personal attack and some days it only takes one comment to put a CM in tears.

Goofy Daddy pretty well covered this, but I will add that I also don’t think people were complaining that they deserved more. Most people just wanted service. Meaning being greeted with a smile and workers not displaying attitude.

Again, it was the minority of workers conducting themselves in that manner, but that is what sticks out in everyone’s mind.

[fifthrider]

We're looking at two sides of the same coin and missing the big picture. No wait, correction, TDA is missing the big picture because they're causing both problems.

Conclusion? Team Disney Anaheim must only care about making a profit now (vs park guest satisfaction)

Right, exactly. So in order to milk that they start to shut down parts of the park when it's a crowded special event. This is total BS and a decision that rests squarely on their shoulders. They made this moment miserable for everyone, everyone including.....

If you had to work after hour halloween parties with underaged children, you'd have the same attitude.... especially if you worked in a theme park

...including the CMs. I'm normally all about the work ethic, and will often be one of the first to trumpet "It's your job, it's what you get paid to do, etc." but on an occasion like this I can see how the management made for an uncomfortable situation and then shoved their CM's out there and said "Now go smooth things over!" This is completely not fair to the CMs to have to pick up the slack for a terrible management decision.

No employee wants to go to work to find that at their low level they are expected to defend or mask the terrible decisions made by those much further up the totem pole. Where's the suits and ties, walking the park with a radio and checking on how things are working out in real time? Acknowledging the bad decisions and shifting on the fly to keep the customers happy?



You know where they are? Working for Universal in Orlando, apparently.

[ComPrt3]

As for myself, the parties are no longer more enjoyable to me than a normal day at the park when it is less crowded. Getting candy at Disneyland is fun, but since I might never purchase another AP again (way too expensive) my trips will be once a year so I would rather experience the park free of trick or treaters. If Disney really does read these boards, they should realize that they should really re-think this whole no CM parties thing. The impact from removing benefits can be seen by guests and that means guests will intern be less satisfied with the service quality. I have seen it, the OP has seen it, and I'm sure thousands of others have seen it.


I payed full price, why should the service to me be different to the service to children?

I agree with you completely. But I believe that this has been coming for a long time now. The ALL MIGHTY DOLLAR has replaced "The Dream" and its only going to get worse for CM's aswell as guests. I really am not looking foward to the future of Disneyland.