DISNEYLAND

lennyd

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jan 29, 2016
I am in Disneyland right now and I’m a little disappointed We are staying at the grand Californian and it doesn’t hold a candle to the grand Floridianbut that’s ok it is very convienent to the parks,my problem is I don’t find the warmth from people ,the cast members walk right past you without saying good morning the locals will not even look at you and say hi .I said something to the security guard about it and he told me he has been working here for the last 18 yrs and it was mandatory to be friendly back then now it is not .When I first got here I said how are you doing to a guy and he bum rushed me and said what you say I said how are you doing he said oh ok .I remember reading or hearing that the guards at the hotel gates were very rude , I did not find this to be the case they were very respectful and friendly so it is not all of the cast that has been unfriendly the PROS of California the Coast is beautiful and so is the weather the CONS the people are not friendly the bottom line is if I had to choose between Disneyland and disneyworld I feel disneyworld does a much better job at customer service. I would like to hear if other people feel the same or differ.
 
I am in Disneyland right now and I’m a little disappointed We are staying at the grand Californian and it doesn’t hold a candle to the grand Floridianbut that’s ok it is very convienent to the parks,my problem is I don’t find the warmth from people ,the cast members walk right past you without saying good morning the locals will not even look at you and say hi .I said something to the security guard about it and he told me he has been working here for the last 18 yrs and it was mandatory to be friendly back then now it is not .When I first got here I said how are you doing to a guy and he bum rushed me and said what you say I said how are you doing he said oh ok .I remember reading or hearing that the guards at the hotel gates were very rude , I did not find this to be the case they were very respectful and friendly so it is not all of the cast that has been unfriendly the PROS of California the Coast is beautiful and so is the weather the CONS the people are not friendly the bottom line is if I had to choose between Disneyland and disneyworld I feel disneyworld does a much better job at customer service. I would like to hear if other people feel the same or differ.
Sorry you're not having the best of it right now, hopefully it turns around, and you will have a magical pixiedust: rest of your visit!
 
I'm bummed that you haven't been treated as well as I've experienced at the Disneyland Resort, and hope that you'll encounter some of the wonderful people there. Also, I hope this doesn't affect your enjoyment for the overall Disneyland Resort. I know how it is going someplace and being disappointed.

I'll be in the parks on Saturday. We might run into each other, and I WILL say hi. :flower:
 
Why would you expect "locals" to say hi to you? How do you know who the locals at Disneyland are? I'm a local and I don't go around the parks saying hi to other random guests. That's just weird. It sounds like you are expecting"southern hospitality" here and you're not going to find it. In general, though, I find the people here much friendlier in a genuine way than the fake way they are in the south. To each his own, I guess. I have lived in CA for over 20 years and find Californians to be some of the happiest and most pleasant anywhere (I've also lived in NY, NJ, and VA).

I also find Disneyland cast members much better than WDW cast members. I always have pleasant interactions with them.

Gonna also disagree with your assessment of the Grand Californian vs Grand Floridian. Stayed at both recently and for me, the GC shines much brighter than the Floridian. I found the GF overly pretentious and the rooms were showing their age BIG time.
 


I am in Disneyland right now and I’m a little disappointed We are staying at the grand Californian and it doesn’t hold a candle to the grand Floridianbut that’s ok it is very convienent to the parks,my problem is I don’t find the warmth from people ,the cast members walk right past you without saying good morning the locals will not even look at you and say hi .I said something to the security guard about it and he told me he has been working here for the last 18 yrs and it was mandatory to be friendly back then now it is not .When I first got here I said how are you doing to a guy and he bum rushed me and said what you say I said how are you doing he said oh ok .I remember reading or hearing that the guards at the hotel gates were very rude , I did not find this to be the case they were very respectful and friendly so it is not all of the cast that has been unfriendly the PROS of California the Coast is beautiful and so is the weather the CONS the people are not friendly the bottom line is if I had to choose between Disneyland and disneyworld I feel disneyworld does a much better job at customer service. I would like to hear if other people feel the same or differ.

I'll be honest that when we went to Disneyland I too was expecting to have amazing Cast Member experiences and I just didn't - I've had much, much better CM experience at Walt Disney World than I did at Disneyland. Only a few were downright rude (yelling at people to move out of the way, etc) but most were just "blah"

I think a lot can be just what you are used to and of course your personal experience - I've heard a ton of people say they have great experiences in Disneyland but also others that have described even worse than I experienced

We also had some other challenges (so much of DCA my kids were too small to ride, just rediculous levels of crowds, etc.) - but some of that I assume is just not being as familiar with the park vs WDW

Everyone has different experiences and it is OK to not gush over Disneyland like many people do - it's all opinions (and often based on different experiences)
 
I think DL gets over hyped a lot compared to WDW, things can seem a little bit of a let down when they’re overhyped to such an extent. I look forward to trying it for myself at some point however!
 
I think DL gets over hyped a lot compared to WDW, things can seem a little bit of a let down when they’re overhyped to such an extent. I look forward to trying it for myself at some point however!

I do think that was part of my issue in that it had been built up in my head like this nirvana, and when it fell short of that I was a bit disappointed

Don't get me wrong, we still enjoyed it and I got emotional seeing Walt's light in the window, and would love to go back - just didn't hit my (probably unrealistic) expectations
 


I do think that was part of my issue in that it had been built up in my head like this nirvana, and when it fell short of that I was a bit disappointed

Don't get me wrong, we still enjoyed it and I got emotional seeing Walt's light in the window, and would love to go back - just didn't hit my (probably unrealistic) expectations
It’s understandable, all you ever hear are glowing reports from DL it would actually be impossible for it to live upto all of them.
 
I MUCH prefer Disneyland but that's where I go more often.
I've had outstanding and crappy experiences at both places. It's just folks like us working at each place. Nothing special or different.
 
I just returned from my first visit to Disneyland a few weeks ago and completely agree. We have a few cast member experiences at Disneyland that I would never expect from Disney, and frankly anywhere else to be honest. We have a cast member serve us old popcorn, scraping the bottom and it reflected that taste so I went back up and requested the fresh popcorn she was making, to which her reply was there’s nothing I can do about that. I completely agree that I had built it up to undeliverable expectations though and while there were some great aspects and I did enjoy myself, WDW will always be home.
 
I am confused by this post as a DL local... is there something that we are supposed to do for people form out of town?

I have found CM's to be amazing at both coasts. Just last night at Disneyland I had a CM ride Ladybug boogie with me after my daughter kicked me out of her ladybug. I received a free cone because the swirl was not perfect according to the CM on the first cone that was handed to me and had a random conversation with some strangers during the test run of Incredicoaster.

I will never understand why people have the need to compare apples to oranges .
 
I’m local. I find our CM’s to generally be extremely friendly, I’ve very rarely encountered one having a bad day- which we all have. We have a lot of seasonal employees right now but also a lot of super long time CM’s here as well, people who really love their job and will do anything to make your day magical. Just as I believe WDW has a mix as well with college program.

And while I am generally friendly to everyone, I certainly don’t seek out out of town guests to greet them!

I hope your stay turns around and you enjoy the rest!
 
Why would you expect "locals" to say hi to you? How do you know who the locals at Disneyland are? I'm a local and I don't go around the parks saying hi to other random guests. That's just weird. It sounds like you are expecting"southern hospitality" here and you're not going to find it. In general, though, I find the people here much friendlier in a genuine way than the fake way they are in the south. To each his own, I guess.
I truly hope that you don't think the Southerners are faking being nice. My husband likes to chat in lines or at other opportunities (both of his parents were that way...and some would not consider them to be true Southerners) to spend the time. On our honeymoon trip to WDW, we were given a Disneyland pen by a family ahead of us in one of my first rides at MK. It was fun learning some of the rides because we did not plan really beyond purchasing tickets ahead of time.

Back to the OP...I can't wait to have my first trip out to CA. I will more prepared than I was when I had my first WDW (at least we will have advance hotel reservations/knowledge). I think one key to finding fun is to keep an open mind. WDW was my first Disney park so that will always be special in its own way. Disneyland may hold a familiar feel, but its different to be where Walt had the greatest influence.
 
We are at DL a lot as APs, and have always had good experiences. I spent my first 3 1/2 years here on a cane due to still recovering from injuries and had the nicest people. Props to the CM who literally lifted me out of the Matterhorn once when I was struggling. Yes, the security people can be a bit abrasive, but their job is not to play a part but to check people both thoroughly and quickly which is not an easy task.

Honestly, I still remember several bad experiences we had back in '96 when we went to WDW, including multiple CMs watching our family get run down by a mob at the Haunted Mansion instead of staying in an orderly line, which knocked my mother literally to the ground, and doing nothing. It was other guests who helped her up and one actually yelled at the CMs for not doing anything and they just shrugged. So one can have bad experiences everywhere.
 
The problem is perception.

I grew up going to WDW. It's always been my "home" park. And honestly, it wasn't until hearing Pete and other DIS'ers raving about Disneyland that I had even an interest in visiting it for the first time. To me, sure, it was "Walt's park", but my perception had been that it was small, surrounded by sprawl, and everything there was done just as well(or better) at WDW. But after listening to several DIS shows talk about it with such passion and love, I made it a point to get out to Cali and see it for myself. I expected it to be magical and perfect and blow WDW away in many areas, including specific attractions, food, and the "feel" of the park, including the CM's.

And in many ways, it did. The in-park food puts WDW's to shame. Some of the attractions(not all, but some) are definitely better than their WDW counterparts. And there is definitely a cool vibe to DL that you don't get at WDW. But to be honest, I don't remember a think about the DL cast members....which means they weren't bad(I'd remember that), but I didn't have any experiences where they went above and beyond(I'd remember that, too).

Part of that was the fact that I only spent two days there, and was racing just to get everything packed in, so I didn't take much time to slow down, soak everything in, and really experience the place. So it was a great experience, and I want to go back....but it didn't live up to the impossible hype I'd built up in my head(much like @TheMaxRebo mentioned above).

On the other hand, with WDW as my "home" park, I'm way more prone to see its warts and faults, and likewise, way more prone to buy into prevailing opinions about the crowds, the upkeep, the lines, the CM's, the food, etc. So I always look at it with a skeptical eye, because I love it so much.

But I just went a couple of months ago(for the first time in a few years), and I gotta say, the CM's were outstanding, especially at MK. The lines were manageable. The food was the best I've ever experienced at WDW. Some of the rides definitely need some TLC, but for the most part, it was a trip that exceeded expectations. It couldn't have gone better. I was pleasantly surprised.

And I attribute that to the pre-trip mindset in both places. I expected too much from one place, and too little from the other, so the perception of both trips was altered as well.
 
Thanks for your thoughts @KingLlama - I definitely think expectations played a big role

Also for us, I think we also tried to get "too much" done - or at least thought we would be able to get more done than was reasonable. The crowds were just crazy so it just took a lot more to do any one things ... and having multiple smaller kids also made things take a lot longer than I thought (even just to physically get from one thing to the next)

I just found out my team will be doing an off site in California the end of July and if I can make it work I might try to do a "solo day" at Disneyland before heading home and try to just take it easy (though there are a few new things I know I will want to get to see) and give it another try


To your last point, it does seem like there has been an upswing in overall CM feedback at WDW as well - like it got to a relatively low point and people were commenting on how better moral among team members at Universal and stuff and that an effort was made to try to improve moral (or at least, the public face) of CMs at WDW ... not hearing some of the bad stories you heard a few years ago
 
I'm really sorry about your experiences. Here is what I have experienced.

1) I grew up 20 minutes from Disneyland for the majority of my life before moving to the Midwest. When I moved to the Midwest, I immediately could tell there was a difference in the culture between people and the way of life than in Southern California.

2) In terms of Disneyland vs. Walt Disney World. I will say that both parks have great CM's. I have had many great experiences at both parks. However, with my experience, Cast Members at Disneyland are more invested into that park. I'm not trying to say WDW Cast Members are not invested into their parks. It's just "temporary help" or "college program" is definitely more prevalent at Walt Disney World, and it definitely makes a difference. The only time I have complained to a manager about a cast member was at WDW. I only did that though, because I knew that Cast Member was breaking the "rules" of a Disney Cast Member. I don't know if anything ever happened, because I didn't stick around. I do know it was a College Program CM though, because it was during Food & Wine last year at one of the booths.

3) The best cast member experiences I have ever had have been at Disneyland. I'm also not always trying to go out of my way to have cast member experiences, but I think the "feeling" behind that park is just better. The legacy of Disneyland helps. I also think a big factor for CM's at WDW is the weather. When you are working outside in 90+ degrees + humidity, I would probably be cranky as well.
 

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