Problem guests at WDW

[DisneyorBust]

We all have read or unfortunately experienced 'problem' guests in the parks. You know the line cutting folks, people using the flash or extrernal lighting where they are not allowed etc. The type of folks that think the rules don't apply to them.
My question is this; why doesn't WDW seem to do anything about it? We have seen CM's attempt to correct the behavior but are the CM's backed by administration?
Especially now with attendance way up (since 9/11) I think that the majority of rule abiding guests would like to see the offenders removed, allowing everyone to enjoy their vacations to the fullest.
What do you think?

[DisFan01]

Very true. I have seen on some rides (POTC, CoP, ect...) where a CM comes on the intercom and reminds guests to refrain from flash photography and video tape lighting. Most of the time, they usually stop after that. Most of the time. Then there are the camera crazy people, who seem to take a picture every second. :D

Not sure why Disney doesn't "put their foot down"...maybe they don't want any complaints for being to "strict". :confused:

I recently went to Universal Studios (never again), and they are way too lenient. You could go on ET and eat popcorn, drink coke, spill it all on the floor, and no one would seem to care. At least Disney is better than this.

Sorry...didn't mean to start a complaining session... ;)

[Darbylew]

Smoking in the parks is my issue. Why don't
the CM stop people from smoking when they
are walking around. They have spots for the
smokers but a lot of times the smokers are
walking among us. It worries me that a child
could run by and get burned by just brushing
up against the smokers. :smokin::(

[Dopey's Girl]

The last problem guest I encountered, was a problem group, and the CM's handled it beautifully!

I was in the single rider line at R'n'R in Hollywood Studios. There were 3 women (obviously in a tour group, they were dressed the same.) in front of me, then about 5 mins. after I got in line, 5-10 more women (part of the tour group..again same clothes) came up behind me. We got through the pre show, then into the ride line. Then the women behind me decided they were going to push me out of the way, and get up by their friends. They all actually thought they were going to ride the rollercoaster together. Well the CM at the head of the line saw all this, and attempted to tell them they needed to get back behind me, and that since they were in the single rider line, they would ride when there was space. They argued for a while, then the CM got a manager in, she basically told them they could decide wether to get back in line, or be escorted out of the park.

It was very nice to see the CM's sticking up for the people following the rules!

[BigRedDad]

With their attendance skyrocketing, they need to become very strict and have the management behind it to handle it. It is quite simple. All tickets are maintained on a central computer. Give them a warning, flag their ticket with Security. Next violation, they are escorted out of the park for the day and that day's ticket is revoked. After that, they can use another day on that ticket to get back in and the ticket is banned from any upgrades (i.e. adding another MYW day for $3).

I promise you, once the word got out on how strict it becomes, the more people would follow the rules. I know Busch Gardens VA is a nice park, but no where near as nice as WDW. We went when Griffon just opened. The guy walked everyone to the ride and stated no one will get there before he does. He walked at a moderate pace. There was security at the ride. Those people that ran past him expecting to get on first were met by security and escorted out of the park. Nothing like losing $40+ for running. It was genius how they did it. They let them in line, held everyone out, checked their closed of the queue line and took their tickets away.

[DisneyorBust]

My thoughts exactly! With attendance skyrocketing, I don't understand why any manager would worry about offending a 'guest' that doesn't follow the rules. I would work to keep the guests that behave properly and remove the others, this would create a better experience for all guests and the CM's.

[BostonChic]

I remember when we stayed in 05' at PO(fq)we had an ajoining room with a smoker :mad: and the smell was all over our room when we returned from the parks :sick: I told him we had children and our room was stinky.I evened tried covering the bottom of the door with a towel(didn't work:confused:) basically they moved his room :) so we said always make sure we're far away from smoking rooms as possible :nono: I guess Disney hotels finally became smoke free :clappy:

[DisFan01]

...give them a warning, flag their ticket with Security. Next violation, they are escorted out of the park for the day and that day's ticket is revoked. After that, they can use another day on that ticket to get back in and the ticket is banned from any upgrades (i.e. adding another MYW day for $3)...

That's a great idea! :thumbsup:

[Ian]

Whenever this topic comes up, I like to relate this annecdote ...

Back in 1978, I was in WDW with my Mom and Dad. I was about 9 and we were on the Skyway riding from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland.

At some point during our "flight", I was playing with a straw wrapper and (being a typical 9 year old boy) I ended up flicking it out of our car and down into Fantasyland below us.

Well virtually immediately (I know because I saw it happen) a janitorial CM saw it happen and walked underneath our skyway car all the way to the station in Fantasyland. He spoke to a security CM there, who immediately tracked us down and tried to evict us from the park. I mean he was dead serious ... my Dad (who had a silver tongue) was able to persuade him to let us stay, but let me tell you that it took a major effort!

Now compare that with the response you see today to people breaking rules. You're lucky if a CM even says anything to them, let alone tries to have them thrown out.

WDW management just doesn't back the line CM's in conflicts with guests, so the CM's don't feel empowered to deal with issues. I reported a guy for smoking in a non-smoking area once and the CM outright told me there was nothing she could do because, "Her manager wouldn't let her say anything."

[ibrowse17]

Last week we saw two examples of CM's taking strong action towards problem guests.
1- We saw security in a heated discussion with a family over those dreaded wheelies. We watched as the kid skated down the ramp from the monorail at MK, almost knocking a lady over. Security stopped him and told the parents the shoes were not allowed. As they walked off, the kid started to skate away and made a gesture to the guards and the parents laughed about it. This lead to the heated discussion, which I think ended with the family not entering the park. Way to go Security!!:thumbsup:
2- We also saw a family asked to leave the Liberty Tree after their small kids made such a disruption through running around tables and shouting and crying. People clapped when they were leaving, which lead to a few choice remarks by the really "high class" family as they left. No one, that I heard, said anything back to them. We just kept clapping, then enjoyed our meals in relative peace.

[BelleLovesTheBeast]

I think part of the problem with them addressing issues is security of other guests. Lately I've seen many people getting very aggressive when asked not to do something. Yelling and threatening behavior....Disney might think it is better to allow some of these things to occur than have a scene and put guests in danger.

However....the smoking issue needs to be addressed. There are more and more people dying of lung cancer who receive it second hand. Non-smokers don't want to breathe this in.