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Finally felt the Disney MagicWalt Disney World: You got me Disney, you made me feel warm and fuzzy inside, at least for one day. :)
From Mark Fairleigh
Being a Universal fan, I never got into the whole Disney Magic thing all that much. Today changed all that. I decided to use my free birthday admission on Epcot and got my first serious dose of the Magic. Kudos to Disney for coming up with this idea. You get a birthday badge with your name on it so everyone in the park knows it's your birthday. I've never gotten so many "happy birthdays" in my life (cast members, other visitors, other birthday celebrants). One of the cast members in the World Showcase even made a point of stopping the crowd to have them all wish me happy birthday. That was nice. In addition to that, Mickey and the gang and a whole crew of cast members greeted everyone who had gotten there early. And at the end of the day another crew of cast members stood in line to thank everyone for coming. You got me Disney, you made me feel warm and fuzzy inside, at least for one day. :)Posted November 5, 2009 at 10:06 PM
Comments in chronological order. Most recent at the bottom. Scroll down to respond. From Anthony Murphy
Yep, thats Disney for you!Posted November 5, 2009 at 11:53 PM No matter what, Disney will always be king of customer/guest service in FL period. Even on a bad day, you are treated pretty well.
From Rob P
Nice.Posted November 6, 2009 at 4:02 AM Not sure if all that attention would suit everyone but , as Anthony says, that's Disney for you. When it comes to customer service they can't be beat.
From Mark Dingley
Whilst on our honeymoon Me and my Wife eat at the Liberty tree . We had our honeymoon badges on that were given to us when we arrived at our resort ( Carribean beach ) . We were so impressed with the way they looked after us , when we got to our table , they had decorated it with confetti and letters spelling out congratulation's . We will alway's remember that , and I think that's what make's WDW so magic . And give's it that edge over Universal . Posted November 6, 2009 at 3:59 AM
From Anthony Murphy
This is why I think whomever came up with the "Celebrate You" idea is a genius.Posted November 6, 2009 at 8:35 AM At first, I was a bit cynical on how Disney was going to pull this off, but it seems to be an special thing that everybody can participate and, on the money side, cost Disney next to nothing. I find myself getting happy when seeing somebody celebrating something at Disney. I wonder if anybody else feels the same way? I know I could be considered a bit bias, but Disney really does the whole customer service thing the best. I am not saying that I never had a bad experience at Disney (check my trip report!) or that Universal is bad or anything, but Disney has this down so well, that they have published a bunch of books and put on classes around the US on customer service.
From TH Creative
Great story!Posted November 6, 2009 at 12:05 PM
From TH Creative
Hoping Mr. Niles responds to this -- what with him being an old, old, old, old old school WDW MK CM like yours truly (Jungle Cruise [Greatest Attraction EVER, EVER, EVER, PERIOD, END OF SENTENCE] 1992 - 1984).Posted November 6, 2009 at 9:47 PM After reading Mr. Fairleigh's post, I was struck by the quantity (and POWER) of the human (CM to guest) interaction that finally gave him a sense of the WDW magic. If you re-read what he offered none of the positive experience came from a cool attraction or show. He was jazzed by the personal attention he received from the people ... the CMs. Back when I was a Jungle Cruise (Greatest Attraction EVER, EVER, EVER, PERIOD, END OF SENTENCE) skipper, the CMs were trained to maximize their level of courtesy. But (over the years) it seems that Disney has exploited that element of their reputation and really turned up the role and visibility the CMs play in creating a powerful theme park experience. Those in the know who arrive early at EPCOT are smart enough to make a beeline for Soarin' -- to beat the LONG lines that occur later in the day. Knowing this, Disney has the CMs who work the food court out in the guest areas, singing and dancing and welcoming the first stream of guests arriving at the attraction. Meanwhile at the Magic Kingdom when they kick off the "Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party" they bring the Main Street USA retail CMs out of the stores and on to the sidewalks to sing and dance as a part of the show. The food cart CMs along the parade route and hub also join in as part of the entertainment. I know when I was there (and I am guessing when Mr. Niles was still wearing those incredibly stylish sunglasses in nineteen sev ... er .. eighty-something) CMs were polite and friendly. But the company never seemed to make a concerted effort to truly integrate them into the show. Again, Mr. Fairleigh's post expresses how charmed he was by the CMs and that interaction. And (also again) the Jungle Cruise is the Greatest Attraction EVER, EVER, EVER, PERIOD, END OF SENTENCE. We now return you to your regular program already in progress.
From Adam Nodjomian
This does bring up a great point of Disney vs. Universal. Although Universal may be on the leading edge currently with their attractions (i.e. Harry Potter), but one thing they cannot beat Disney on is simply SERVICE. Every time I have visited Disney, no matter what the weather and no matter the time of day, the CM's are always welcoming and respectful to everyone (and that's saying something considering there are some real jerks down there). My family visited during The Year of a Million Dreams and in one day we got "Dream Parking" and "Dream Fastpasses" for Animal Kingdom. Not but a few months earlier, we visited Universal and Islands of Advenutre. While at UO and IOA, only one CM stood out as superior. Much different form Disney's attitude that every single CM you see is doind their job, smiling while doing it, greeting people or saying hi, and even taking time out to say Happy Birthday or Happy Anniversary when appropiate thanks to Celebrate You. As TH said, the CMs add so much to the "magic" and wonder of Disney which is why they still continue to beat out Universal. Posted November 7, 2009 at 1:30 PM
From Mark Fairleigh
TH's illumination of the human factor is something I hadn't really fully realized even while writing about my experience. Whether it's a friendly hello, a warm thank you, even the kind of interaction you see between actors and audiences in a show, those interactions are really energizing. It can even make you immune to the usual annoyances like getting nearly run over by any number of baby strollers. ;) I remember a few years back when staying at Port Orleans Riverside a CM had remembered me having a cold the night before and asking how I was feeling. Those little moments stay with you.Posted November 7, 2009 at 6:45 PM And to touch on what Anthony said about the joy of watching others celebrate, he's right on. Whether it's someone celebrating a birthday, a wedding, a first time visit, when you're happy, you get happy for others too. It's an infectious energy. I joked with my wife that I should wear my birthday badge all the time. :) As far as Uni vs. Disney, before thursday, I would have disagreed with Adam, but to have such a powerful experience it really does change you. Friday we revisited USF and it just wasn't the same. Sure, part of it was being tired after a week, but we couldn't help pointing out little things we noticed like how at the Studios earlier in the week we asked a passing character-manager for "Bart Simpson" if we could get a picture and was totally ignored. I'm sure these guys are on some sort of schedule, but to not even say "sorry, would, but can't" was a real negative. And little things got to us too, like dirty tables left uncleaned for long stretches of time or a park attendant yelling at guests about not taking flash photos. We just couldn't imagine those things at a Disney park...especially now that we've been bit.
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