Walt Disney World Cast Members hear a lot of strange questions during the day, and for the most part they will do everything they can to help you, no matter how odd the request. Unfortunately, there are some situations where Cast Members’ hands are tied and they simply can’t do anything. Avoid uncomfortable situations and don’t ask Cast Members to do these things.
1. Supervise Your Child
Walt Disney World features ample signage reminding parents to supervise their children. However, there are still some guests who hope they can use one of Disney’s Cast Members for this job. Even if a Cast Member looks like he’s just standing around outside the attraction, he is really doing a very specific job and it cannot accommodate watching your child while you ride an attraction he’s afraid to get on, even for just a minute. “Can you watch my kid for me….” always results in a no, no matter what the end of the sentence is. Cast Members just can’t be responsible for watching over unsupervised children.
2. Ride With Your Child
This surprised me the first time I heard it too, but there are parents who will ask Cast Members to ride attractions with their children when they find out that young children can’t just ride by themselves. Once again, Cast Members have a very specific job to attend to and they can’t abandon a position to supervise children on an attraction.
3. Provide Medical Assistance
Regular Cast Members are not allowed to provide medical assistance, even when it’s something as small as putting on a band aid. Naturally this is primarily for legal concerns, but you should also consider the fact that you don’t know one Cast Member from another and have no idea what kind of experience they do or do not have with illnesses and injuries.
I’ve seen an interaction nearly come to blows because a Cast Member couldn’t provide a bandage for a child who cut his chin. The parent was furious because he felt that the Cast Member didn’t care enough to pull out the first aid kit, but the fact is that ordinary Cast Members don’t have access to these supplies and certainly can’t just dispense them.
If you do need medical assistance, a Cast Member will always be happy to call help for you, and it will reach you anywhere in the park within a few minutes. If you have a minor problem like a headache, you can get medications at First Aid.
4. Lift or Carry a Member of Your Party
Again, this rule is primarily in place for legal reasons, but it’s also intended to keep everyone involved safe. If a member of your party needs someone to lift them out of a wheelchair and into the seat of an attraction, someone else in your party must do it. Cast Members aren’t trained to safely lift and transfer guests, and doing so improperly could injure both the guest and the Cast Member.
The same is true for children, though they probably seem much easier to lift and carry (or maybe not if you’ve tried carrying a toddler mid-tantrum). Cast Members can’t hold or lift your children for any reason, so please don’t ask, or feel that they’re being rude when they don’t do so.
5. Overlook the Height Requirements
Height requirements are frequently a point of contention between Cast Members and guests. There are strict rules and procedures for determining whether a child is tall enough to ride. When she’s deemed too short, there’s nothing anyone can do and you’re being told no for everyone’s safety. Please don’t try lines like “Just this once,” “You can just overlook it,” or “We can pretend we didn’t see that.” Too short is too short. Trust me, no Cast Member relishes the moment they have to turn a child away, but this is an inevitable part of keeping everyone safe.
6. Bend the FastPass Rules
The FastPass rules have nothing to do with safety so surely they’re not that important, right? You won’t be the first or only person to ask a Cast Member to just ignore your FastPass time and send you through the line anyway. Unfortunately, if CMs let people in every time they begged for FastPass admission, the entire system would be useless. There’s a complex algorithm that goes into the concept of the FastPass and bending the rules really will cause it to break down. Ensure a smooth day for your party and just follow the guidelines like you would want anyone else to do.
7. Let You Through Parade Ropes
When you can’t see the parade right in front of you, or you can see it coming but know it’s moving slowly, it may seem reasonable to ask to just run across. After all, you know you can make it before you’re hit by a float or taken out by a dancer’s high kick. The problem is that people in large groups tend to fall into a mindless mentality of follow the leader. If one party crosses, ten more will try to follow, and pretty soon the stream is impossible to stop. Once the ropes are closed, the street is off limits so you might as well grab a good spot and wait it out.
In a park the size of Walt Disney World, it’s really the rules that keep things running smoothly. The pixie dust gives it all a nice sparkle, but Cast Members are held to rigid restrictions that ultimately keep the entire operation looking easy. Stay within the guidelines and your vacation will go off just fine.
