Anyone ever feel bad that they know more about the park than the tour guides?

[ManaByte]

So I was up there two weeks ago and on the train when a Guest Services CM got on the train with a small tour he was leading. As they passed by the Big Thunder Ranch area he said it was the Fantasyland Theater. When the train passed by that Theater he had to backtrack on his previous statement.

Back in December I was there and a friend of mine and I were talking to the "guide" in the 50 Magical Years Exhibit and we were stumping him on park trivia.

Anyone else ever feel bad that they know more about the park than the people whose job it is to educate people on the park?

[Druggas]

I just feel that I know way too much! But then it is my Happy Place.

[Chris Lang]

For many, it's simply a job, not an obsession.

[filmfreak11]

Back in December I was there and a friend of mine and I were talking to the "guide" in the 50 Magical Years Exhibit and we were stumping him on park trivia.

Anyone else ever feel bad that they know more about the park than the people whose job it is to educate people on the park?

Hehe, I did that! But they guide I was with was really into the attractions category. He was really upset DL didn't get Tokyo Disneyland's version of Pooh Hunny Hunt. There are guides that really do care about Disneyland. Sometimes it's just a job. Just pick your guide carefully. I remember asking this one guide where Captain Hook's ship used to be in DL. She kept insisting it was Adventureland. Few weeks later, I learned she was thinking of Disneyland PARIS for some reason. Even though I kept asking about FANTASYLAND, DISNEYLAND in CA.

[TheDude]

never bothered me. somtimes they know a little bit of info... but that little bit might be somthing I never heard of.

[PragmaticIdealist]

There's no excuse for the tour guides not knowing their stuff. People are paying for the expertise and knowledge the guides supposedly have.

Disneyland should never put anyone in that position if he or she is not fully knowledgable.

"The Art of the Craft" Tour at the Grand Californian was great when I took it, and the reason it was so good is because the hostess of the tour had such depth of knowledge. She had even been sent to other Craftsman buildings in California to give her greater perspective.

I went on "A Walk in Walt's Footsteps" once, and the host did an embarassingly bad job.

I also have been on privately-guided tours before, and the
escorts in those situations never really offered much in the way of additional information or direction. So, the Guest Relations department seems to be the problem.

[BigPigletFan]

I also think that there is SO much to know about Disneyland and Disney itself that it is quite overwhelming. I would reason that a majority of the Guest Relations CMs try to learn as much as they can about everything in the company and mainly the park or resort they represent.

I have personally been on the Walk in Walt's Footstep's tour and the 50th Tour at Disneyland and The Magic of Disney Steam Trains at Walt Disney World. On all three tours, especially Walk in Walt's Footsteps the tour guides made it known that they would share as much information that they knew, but asked us to share also. They said that they are always learning on the job, from each guest and each tour since there is so much to learn about the Disney company and the parks. I don't see that as an excuse to not knowing basic information and names of locations, etc.-- especially if they are part of the script of the tour but it does make sense. Since I love the Cast Members in plaid and aspire to be one of them I have spent time getting to know the program. Sure for some of them it's a "job" but for most of them, there's more to it than that. Keep in mind it's a learning process just like it is for any other job.

[DISNEYJUNKIE]

We have done the Walk in Walts...tour and the 50th tour and honestly I can say I was a little bored the 2nd time. The first tour was still fresh and new taking a tour and we had several friends that werent Disney nerds so they very much enjoyed it and I enjoyed the walk and got caught up in everyones elses excitement. The 50th tour we took at night mainly for priority seating for the fireworks, I found the tour a bit repetitive , also I found in crowds it was hard to keep up with the guide, I wish they would put some kind of light on the tip of the riding crop since they hold it up for you to follow but in darkness and large crowds that is quite a feat. I felt particullary sorry for an elderly lady riding on one of those scooters that got left behind a few times , we and another couple had a stroller which also was hard after a ride since the tour guide was moving on without waiting for those getting strollers or scooters. It worked out we all ended up in the same place at the end and us with our wheels to get before moving on sort of became a little sub group. But we did miss some of the spiels so maybe I really did miss some new fact???

[NWRREngineer]

The last time we were there we did the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour.

I really enjoyed it, and I did learn a few things... although at one point I had to exert some effort to keep my mouth shut after answering a few of those questions they ask expecting no one to know the answer to. It was when one of the other people taking the tour called me "Teacher's Pet" that I got the clue.

I felt bad, sure... but like PragmaticIdealist said, there's no excuse for not knowing your stuff. If someone is being a tour guide, they should know their stuff inside and out.

I was glad to know more about Ron Dominguez, though. And I was really glad to have been shown where the foundation to the House of the Future is.

[Mechavalon]

I am so happy this thread was started cause I feel like such a dork. At times I feel like I have a "Disneyland Information" sticker on my forehead.

I won't say I've overheard the tour guides very often, but other CM's have just been either completely wrong or incapable of answering guest questions.

Try as I might, I feel inclined to offer the answer desired such as, the nearest bathroom is right there, or what time is something... of course I don't ever want to be one of those creepy Disneyland fans that know everything... if that ever happens, I hope that I'll be a CM as opposed to a guest.

[filmfreak11]

If I get the chance to work at Disneyland, it would either be at the Opera House, Tech (backstage crew for shows), merchandise, or maybe the guided tour. Yup, yup.

[Mr. Eggz]

There are good guides who care a great deal and know their parks as well as humanly possible, and there are others that do not. But like any other organization, there are some people who simply don't care as much and don't do their jobs well. Trust me, the good guides are even more frustrated with the bad guides than you are. I am speaking of both WDW and Disneyland. It is up to management to selct the appropriate CMs to be guides and to create a culture that praises knowledgeable guides. I have seen many different management teams come and go at WDW and DL Guest Relations, and the most successful have been teams that embraced the geek tour guides and encouraged them to learn as much as they can and motivate each other.

[MickeysGirl]

I've been on several of the tours including "A Walk in Walt's Footsteps" each time I had a guide that was great. But even if she had made a mistake it would not have been the end of the world, she wasn't a brain surgeon.
Everyone makes mistakes and when people jump on them for it only makes them more nervous and prone to even more. Which by the way is a reflection on the person doing the complaining, not the person who made the mistake.
Disney does a wonderful job a training it's CM's and the tour guides do go through a very extensive training course. If you are expecting a Disney tour book, than buy one. It will cost less and save you the frustration of getting upset over someone making a trivial mistake.

[Soulquarian]

I can imagine how annoying it must be for a tour guide to constantly be asked questions by Disneyland know-it-alls. It's great that many of us know a lot of Disney trivia, and I agree that the tour guides should know a lot about the park, but I'm almost positive that the majority of Disneyland tour guests will not know every single drop of trivia. Just keep that in mind folks

[Jack's Return]

The VMK tour guides do know a lot about the connection of the two. Like i even learned that the music played during the Obserivatron's music is from Paris.