Being the Ideal Guest

On our last vacation to Walt Disney World, one less-than-perfect moment wasn't the fault of Disney or a lack of planning, but rather had to do with another guest, who rudely tried to elbow his way to the front of a check-in line at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre. This got me to thinking about the "role" of the guest: How do guests add to or detract from the whole vacation experience? What makes an ideal guest? And (gulp!) am I an ideal guest?

To find out, there could be no better source than those fine people who have been there, done that, and wear the nametag: cast members! Let me admit from the start that I am not a Disney employee and have never worked at a theme park. I have, however, been fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of many current and former cast members (and employees of other non-Disney theme parks), both in person and online, and I really admire and respect the work they do. I've also come to learn that the ones who have been at it for any length of time have seen it all -- good, bad, and ugly -- and most have formed strong opinions about what makes a good guest. (Thanks especially to the regulars at www.StupidGuestTricks.com for their suggestions!)

Here are just a few tips I've gleaned from their experience:

An ideal guest is considerate. This seems basic, but cast members say that common courtesy will take you a long way towards becoming an ideal guest! This means, of course, thinking about how your actions affect others, and treating other guests and cast members with respect. It's the simple things -- waiting patiently in line (unlike the guest at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre), or following instructions (like "move all the way across the theater, filling in all available seats" rather than stopping in the middle and making people climb over you) -- that can make life easier on everybody. Of course "vacation stress" can get to any of us, especially when things start going wrong, but in those situations an ideal guest tries to keep his or her focus on calmly solving the problem rather than berating other guests or cast members.

An ideal guest respects the rules. Courtesy is high on the list of priorities that cast members themselves follow, but it is not the highest item -- safety is! Unfortunately, many guests seem to think that vacation time means complete freedom from any restrictions, and that is not the case. There are laws and regulations that must be followed, most involving safety, and a vital part of cast members' jobs is making sure those rules are enforced. When workers have to tell guests not to climb on walls, or to refrain from jumping over ropes or chains, or to smoke in designated areas, or that the guest's precious munchkin is not tall enough to ride a certain attraction, they are not doing so to be mean or to persecute anyone, but to protect the guest and others.

Cast members who operate attractions with height restrictions encounter parents every day who try to beg, plead or cajole the cast member into letting their too-short child ride. These parents either don't realize -- or don't care -- that the restrictions are safety matters, and that they are putting their child at risk of injury if he or she rides. (Stories are numerous, too, of parents who try to dodge the rules by making their child "taller," stuffing the child's shoes with things such as tissue, toys, and in one notorious instance, ice cream bars -- quick, measure him before they melt!) An ideal guest respects the rules -- and the people enforcing them.

Which leads to the next tip...

An ideal guest who is a parent... is still a parent. Too often, cast members observe parents who think that they are on a vacation from responsibility for their children. Stories abound of parents letting their kids engage in unsafe or disruptive behavior: climbing walls, standing up on trains, making noise during attractions. Others seem to think cast members are babysitters, and will leave their very young children unattended. Once, in Disney's Animal Kingdom, a worker who was rearranging strollers outside the Pocahontas show found a sleeping infant -- the baby's parents had parked her in her stroller and gone in to watch the show!

Most of us parents realize that we should keep closer watch on our kids while on vacation, not less -- but this is another way some guests can be less than ideal.