It was Walt Disney’s dream to make the fantasies in his mind a reality for all children and families. Walt stood by what he believed in even until the day he had passed away. All of the guests who visit the Disney theme parks could feel the love and creativities Walt and his team had put into building the parks; however, a guest came up to me and told me she no longer feels the magic she once felt. It was quite disheartening to hear so I asked her why. She claims that I am very young and didn’t get to see the true magic Walt Disney created for all the families who came. Back then it wasn’t about the amount of money that was made, it was all about the guests service and providing each guest with their own special magical moment.
Through my conversation with this lady, I found out that due to the terrible weather we been having for the last few days, majority of the characters didn’t come out to greet our guests. The specific character this family was looking for was Jasmine; it was her granddaughter’s favorite princess. They had a disabled elderly with them that was traveling by the ECV but disregard the inconvenience, they traveled around the park to find Princess Jasmine for their granddaughter. What upset them the most was when they had went through all the trouble of going from place to place as directed by other cast member in hope of seeing Jasmine, the character would be cancelled last minute leaving many guests and children disappointed. The second day, the family was hoping to have better luck in meeting with Jasmine at Epcot but the same thing happened. The worst of all was when their baby got sick and didn’t make their reservation for the Pirate’s League, thus, cancelling their reservation. This family has been in the park for two days but it has been nothing but disappointment for this family.
They went to Guest Relations hoping that something could be done but the cast members there told them all they could do is give the family a poster with Jasmine’s signature on it. It’s hard to see a family go on a vacation thinking that Disney is the one place where they won’t be disappointed and we let them down. The one thing I’ve learned working is Disney is that it’s not a hard task to put a smile on someone’s face, all it need is a little effort. Fortunately, I had a wonderful coordinator named Dalih that was on duty that night. She was willing to get a Jasmine pin for this little girl and told the family that she would make some calls to see if she can get Jasmine to come out the next day just for them. The family was very happy to hear that and I was able to apologize on Jasmine’s behalf to the little girl.
Later on that day, I found out that the only reason Guest Relations didn’t go above and beyond for this family was because they didn’t stay at a Disney Resort. I understand that we are in a bad economy and money is looked upon heavily but for a company as big as Disney, they should be able to over look the money aspect for a moment. These are guests that spend about $100 for a one day entry pass to the park and the goal is to make sure they enjoy themselves and come back again. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to spend a little money as a company on the guests that visit these parks because it will make them feel like we care about them more. The happier our guests are the more money they will spend in buying our products and the chances of their return will increase.
Mei Lin
Epcot – Future World East Attractions
Spaceship Earth
In working at Disney, I have realized that no company is perfect. While Disney is able to hit the mark with “making magic” happen time and time again, they can miss the mark. It is unfortunate when they do, but the reality, and we can see it as room for improvement.
Suzanne Tran
Front Desk Cashier
Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground