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Disneyland is known as the “happiest place on earth,” but for one Guest recently, that wasn’t the case.
In a recent post made on Reddit, u/dlanderer asks why Cast Members are “so rude lately” saying that several “seemed like they were having a bad day” and claiming one told them they “need to do a better job listening” to directions. It’s an unfortunate situation, especially considering how much money people spend to enjoy a Disney vacation. While a handful of comments shared their own less-than-magical interactions with Cast Members, most of the comments put the blame back on Disney Guests.
As u/PrunyBobJuno explains, “It used to be that cast members mostly had to look out for young children and unruly teens. Now there’s a crop of asshole adults and narcissists who never learned basic courtesies. Lots of toxic people now.” “It’s frustrating when grown adults can’t comprehend and follow simple instructions. I noticed so many inconsiderate guests our last visit,” said u/whirlwindofemotion. Others referenced obnoxious and entitled Guests, people shoving each other, running through the Park, ignoring Cast Members, and other stories.
Other comments chimed in, stating that they understand that Cast Members are overworked and underpaid, citing recent Union negotiation issues and tales of homelessness and financial crises coming from Cast Members. One comment from u/iSavedtheGalaxy explains that “Disney has largely scared off or run through the pool of local candidates who would be great Cast Members…only the best worked at Disneyland…being a CM used to be a respectable career.” However, another comment demanded to stop redirecting to the complaint of rude Guests and focus on the issue of rude Cast Members, stating that it’s worth discussing because it is an issue.
This is expanded on by a comment from u/monmonstara who blames the pandemic and Disney’s response/treatment of Cast Members for the decline in hospitality. Prior to 2020, they said, “working for Disney was considered honorable, self-rewarding, and the CMs generally enjoyed what they did.” During the pandemic, thousands of Cast Members were left without work and eventually without pay, and Disney began to lay off thousands. They explain that during this time, Cast Members realized they needed to find work elsewhere and were able to find jobs that let them work from home or present more individuality than the Disney Parks allowed prior to 2021 so many of the remaining Cast Members left for better work opportunities.
Now Cast Members being hired by Disney are treating it like any other minimum wage, customer service job because to them, that’s all it is. Many of the die-hard Disney fans turned Cast Members left, taking the over-the-top hospitality and Disney standards of labor with them. While this does boil down to an increase in “rude” Cast Members, it’s directly related to the increase of entitled Guests and poor employee management and retention efforts by Disney. If Disney addresses the variety of issues that have led to this problem, it’s possible that it will positively affect the interactions between Cast Members and Guests, but it will require a lot of concentrated work on Disney’s part.
Do you think there’s an issue with rude Cast Members recently or entitled Guests? Share your opinions in the comments below.