Shocking story a CM just shared with me

[mom2rtk]

If you were worried about losing your job or having your hours cut to the point that you would not be able to make your rent that month, I think you would care. Lawsuits take years and years to pay out, and that is even if you win, which is no guarantee. But you still have to make your rent at the end of the month and the landlord doesn't care if you got beat up and your hours were cut because you called the cops on some thug who punched your lights out at work.

And let me ask you, if that family brawl this summer was not caught on video and posted for all the world to see, and Wonka posted that story here, would you have believed it?

I'm told that park CMs make next to nothing. OP says this CM said this story was some time ago. She has had enough time to find a replacement low paying job if the conditions are that terrible.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I have read about punching CMs several times over the years. I don't understand it, but it doesn't seem like it's something that people keep making up. While I haven't seen it firsthand, I've read about it in enough places that it must happen.

Many years ago, it was reported on the local news that the female characters often had their breasts touched by guests and not in an accidental or nice way.

I think @WonkaKid is right to say that 90% of the people (perhaps even more than that) are good people. The problem is that the bad ones are so offensive that it makes it hard to overlook. I guess in a place where you will come across thousands of people ever day, chances are really high that you will come across some of the offensive ones. I guess "management" doesn't feel like it's worth their time to deal with it unless it becomes dangerous.

 

[DLgal]

I don't doubt she was assaulted. I just doubt that there was no follow up and that it was as bad as getting black eyes and yet, no one did anything. I would certainly hope most employees, particularly women, would hold themselves to a higher standard and leave a job that is dangerous AND that lacks employee support for such occurrences.

And yeah, there is the question about the story being shared in the first place. What if WonkaKid was a journalist or something and he took this story and wrote an article about it, calling out Disney. Can you imagine? Disney would NOT be okay with that, and it would likely come down to the lack of discretion by the CM, not their response to the alleged incident. They would have to spend time and money investigating these claims, potentially defending themselves, and cleaning up any PR mess. I guarantee you, Disney (the company) does not want these types of assault situations handled this way. I'm sure they much prefer them being handled immediately and at the level at which they occur. Poor management at the lower levels would try and "hush it up," but that is absolutely the wrong thing to do, and those people need to be fired if that is how they are dealing with problems like this.

 

[tarheelalum]

Many seem to be surprised that a CM would open up to Wonka and speak to him about things that occur at Disneyland. I assume some don't know that he is a regular there and has probably knows many of the CM there quite well so it doesn't seem out of the ordinary that some of them might share some of their experiences with him.

 

[ashley0139]

Many seem to be surprised that a CM would open up to Wonka and speak to him about things that occur at Disneyland. I assume some don't know that he is a regular there and has probably knows many of the CM there quite well so it doesn't seem out of the ordinary that some of them might share some of their experiences with him.

Oh we know.

 

[Disney Frenhines]

Why would she tell you this?

 

[RedHeadedMomma81]

This reminds me of those clickbait headers on facebook

 

[Plip]

Yeah, this isn't how Disney handles situations like this. In fact, something similar happened at WDW two months ago, except in that case an employee was punched in the face over a guest not being able to use the FastPass line. The guest who punched the employee was permanently banned from WDW (although the employee declined to press charges).

Here's the news story if you're interested:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/trav...es-employee-over-fastpass-problem/1802448001/
I suspect that this has become somewhat of a Disney urban legend since then, and as the story is told and retold, the details get changed (as they often do, especially on the internet). And that's what we have here -- a viral story with a hint of truth and a lot of inaccuracies.

 

[DLgal]

Many seem to be surprised that a CM would open up to Wonka and speak to him about things that occur at Disneyland. I assume some don't know that he is a regular there and has probably knows many of the CM there quite well so it doesn't seem out of the ordinary that some of them might share some of their experiences with him.

Um, I have 472 park visits under my belt. I know a LOT of the CM's personally. I have never had anyone tell me anything remotely like this. Our encounters are usually very light hearted and almost none of them talk about themselves. They engage me and my kids and ask about US.

 

[tarheelalum]

Our encounters are usually very light hearted and almost none of them talk about themselves.

Maybe they don't feel comfortable with you the way they do with Wonka. He comes off to me as being very personable and outgoing. He is always going out of his way to send random people maps. People can spot an outgoing gregarious personality and they often open up to that type of person more so than others.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Reminder to everyone participating in this thread:
Please keep your comments on topic and respectful to others. This thread isn't about making personal comments about anyone else in this thread.
Now, back to the discussion!

 

[ShoeCello]

Here's a relevant article from today's Orlando Sentinel - it's about WDW but I imagine there would be similar stories at DLP. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/bus...0190923-zy7o3lka3fhmhfeohjicftx74a-story.html

 

[cruisehopeful]

Here's a relevant article from today's Orlando Sentinel - it's about WDW but I imagine there would be similar stories at DLP. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/bus...0190923-zy7o3lka3fhmhfeohjicftx74a-story.html

This is so sad. Just think about it - any of our own kids could get a job there and go through stuff like this. So many crazy people to deal with.

@WonkaKid is a total contrast from the bullies. It's no wonder why so many of the CMs feel comfortable around him and want to share their stories with him. Better to get it out to someone that you trust than to keep playing the stories over and over in your own head.

 

[LPnerd]

Addendum. This is not the first CM I’ve spoken with who’s been assaulted by a guest, at least two left with bruises. I talk with many people throughout the day at DL. Many of the CMs seem to be comfortable enough to speak frankly with me about things like this for whatever reason. A few years ago I spoke with an African American CM who told me that not a week passes without a guest hurling horrible racist remarks at her. I’ve always believed that about 90% or the world is comprised of decent, loving and considerate people. The remaining 10% are either deficient or filled with hate and inflicted with unearned entitlement. Invariably, CMs agree with this assessment. That amounts to at least 1,000 angry, beligerant people every day of the year in the park. Given that number, how probable is it, then, that at some point one will lash out physically to people they deem beneath them? That probability is a number indistinguishable from 1.0.

I understand no one wants to think DL is less than ideal, but have any of you poopoo this story ever asked a CM how it is to work there, have you ever been treated badly by guests, etc??? I bet not. You want to see jerks at disney, go to WDW in 100% humidity on a 98F day and watch the guests ask the CM's to kick the europeans not wearing deodorant to get the hell out of line and go take a shower. LOL.

 

[WonkaKid]

I understand no one wants to think DL is less than ideal, but have any of you poopoo this story ever asked a CM how it is to work there, have you ever been treated badly by guests, etc??? I bet not. You want to see jerks at disney, go to WDW in 100% humidity on a 98F day and watch the guests ask the CM's to kick the europeans not wearing deodorant to get the hell out of line and go take a shower. LOL.

I talk with CMs all the time. I tend to be very outgoing and project a positive energy, or at least so people tell me. Perhaps that's why so many of them share crazy guest stories with me. I've heard many - probably just about every time I visit the park. If you ask CMs yourself, don't be surprised if you're told that about once a week a guest will spit at them or even pus/hit them. Disneyland is a wonderful place as we all know but there are a lot of disturbed people out there. When you get 50,000 people together in one place, a fair number of them will be mean, nasty and even good-old-fashioned crazy.

 

[ChanMom]

I'm calling BS on this story. First of all, can you imagine the payout from a lawsuit if this actually DID happen? I mean, if it happened to me, I would simply call the police and press charges. I wouldn't give a bleep what my boss had to say about it, and if they had the nerve to fire me over that? I'd sue them for wrongful termination. There is just NO WAY this would be handled like the OP says it was in the state of CA with OSHA laws.

Either the CM was pulling your leg or you are making this whole thing up.

And how the heck do you have this kind of conversation with CMs. I really don't believe a CM would share such a story. Reflects badly on them. It's basically gossiping.

I had a Guest Relations CM tell me today that she realized on her way into work that all 3 of her kids have Marvel character names and she JUST realized that. That's the kind of convo I have with CMs at the parks...

Especially a cast member that was too scared of losing her job to press charges against someone who assaulted her and continued working for an employer that showed total disregard for her well being. Yet, not so timid that she wouldn't tell the story to a complete stranger?!

 

[ChanMom]

Hmmm.. If it's true it's incredibly sad that someone doesn't have enough self-respect or enough knowledge of their rights that they would find this acceptable.

 

[Plip]

Disney showed again last week that this isn't how they handle situations like this.

A guest allegedly "cupped" the breast of one of Disney's Princesses during a meet-and-greet at WDW. The sheriff was called immediately, and the alleged offender was located and arrested. Disney doesn't mess around with guests assaulting their CMs.

Here's the story.