Stupid Lady

[Filmdirector17]

Ok this past weekend the monorails were down for about six hours, because orange and the switch decided to take a dive leaving us with only purple. So later in the evening the decision comes to begin operating with only one train, not a good idea. So we open up and the line gets backed up very quickly, and of course with a line comes angry hotel guests. A lady approaches me and asks,

Lady: How much longer until the next train comes I have been standing here for 45 min (it had been 15) and I'm in a hurry to get back to my hotel.

Me: I'm sorry about the wait but we are only running one train and are in the process of bringing another one out from the shop.

Lady: Well where the hell is the shop, it's in L.A. isn't it? how long does it take yo to drive them from L.A.?

Me: The shop is behind Small World.

Lady: No! It's in downtown L.A. I have seen it there.

Me: Well then in that case it will be another 25 min.

Lady: I can't wait that long I'm in a hurry.

Me: You could always walk there.

Lady: I'm not going to walk.

Me: Then it will be 25 min

Lady: Fine (stomps off in anger)

Yeah driving those monorails to downtown L.A. takes a while and the walk back is even worse. It's funny because later in the night a man asked me if the monorails went to Barstow. Have you ever seen a monorail running through Barstow?!! Some people amaze me.

[Polar33]

Lady: How much longer until the next train comes I have been standing here for 45 min (it had been 15) and I'm in a hurry to get back to my hotel.

I love how guest time is always different than regular time. I recall a situation where a guest clamed to be waiting in my line 45 minutes and because of it they wanted me to give them their food for free. I wisely denied him his request because the wagon that I was working at the time was in a location where the parade cuts off all access to my wagon. I looked at my watch and sure enough, exactly 45 minutes prior the parade had started. He wasn't to pleased with my response, but blatant lying won’t get you anywhere with me.

And with all the times I’ve heard the monorails going 101 recently, it might just be a better idea to walk anyway. I swear you guys are trying to set new records for most downtime in a day or something. :wink:

[Filmdirector17]

Hey, we have to have a record for something, right now we are going for downtime because that way we all get really long breaks. I think of the monorails like litte children, sometimes they behave well, but for the most part they are being dragged around kicking and srreaming until they decide they don't want to go anymore. If anyone is visiting I suggest walking as opposed to using the monorail, most of the time we are only down for a few min, but one day you will be riding along and bam your stuck on the beam for a good 30-45 min before the tractor reaches the train to tow it in. And even if you see the monorail opening again walk, because of the stupid intrusion system test it takes 25 min before we are up and running again, so you will spend most f your time watching the train come and go. Yeah and if you visit this week and are wondering why we are only running 2 trains it's because the switch is broken and we can't get blue out off the shop.

[mahaihai]

As a CM at the Downtown Disney Ticket Booth we always are feeling the effects of the many 101 calls for the monorail. With purple always losing parts, blue not wanting to close its doors and Orange just being its usual POS self. I always wonder when we are going to get these "new and improved" monorail trains i have heard so much about. Any idea?? Or is this just another Disney wish on the list? But, i do however remember one particular guest who so eloquently put it to me as i was informing her the Monorails were 101 for the rest of the night. she said "This is the biggest load of crap i have ever heard you gus just are trying to make us walk to the main entrance so we will be tempted to buy thing along the way in DTD." To which i responded "Mamm, i am very sorry but the monorail is broken because it is old and tired, if you really feel that way i will be more than happy to direct you to your car!" She stormed away in anger...oh well just some people think the world is out to get them :bang:

[Filmdirector17]

Yeah, those supposed new monorails will most likely never happen, it is a wish list sorta thing, everytime a train e-stops for any reason no matter how stupid we make note of it in the e-stop log, and we call the attraction 101 most of the time even if it is only for a min, the idea is to show management how much down time the attraction really experiences, but according to them the monorails, "run just fine now." Stupid management if they rode the trains all day I gaurntee that they would have at least 1-2 e-stops.

[BirdMom]

...I remember when we first got the "new" monorail trains back in the 80's - and what I was told was that all they did was dismantle the old Alweg trains and put the new fiberglass bodies and seats on top of the old chassis - so if that's true, the guts of the monorail system have been in service since 1959 (just like me!!!) - that may be why so much down time.

:?

[GapToothed]

I too love guest's perception of time - yesterday a guest came up to me and started to go on and on about how her ribs were the most disgusting thing she's ever eaten in her life - obviously she's never eaten at Del Taco, but I digress... anyway, she claimed she waited in line for an hour. Puh-lease! She came after the 245 Shamu show and that rush was not busy at all. If she truly came an hour ago, she wouldn't have waited in line at all because we weren't busy! :shrugs: oh, well...

[mahaihai]

Why for the love of JEBUS can't we get new trains. This past weekend i had a guest YELL at me because the monorail was stuck in tomorrowland station becuase it had to hit the E-Stop becuase the breaks didn't catch. This guest yelled at me becuase she wanted to ride the Monorail from DTD to tomorrowland and she couldn't. I told her tough but she complained and yelled. When she finally got to DL I got a call from City Hall telling me that the guest had come to the hall and filed a complaint on me. YES!!!!! i am so proud my first Guest Complaint for something i didn't do. GO ME!!!!! But, best of all City Hall took her complaint apoligized then sent her on her way with nothing. YEAH!!! Sometimes life works out for me :D :)

[tabacco]

Aww, I never got a complaint! :(

I feel left out.

[mahaihai]

Someday you will get your complaint..maybe this summer. You are going to be there RIGHT!!

[tabacco]

Sadly, no :(

I just can't afford it. If I had somewhere free to stay in the area (like, with relatives, etc.) I'd come back no problem, but as it is I end up just about breaking even every summer. I'm just too tired of not having any money. I'm working for Ofoto.com this summer.

You'd better believe I'll come visit, though ;)

[mahaihai]

Okay fine but don't think this will go unnoticed i will see you again here soon in that ugly burger king costume we wear...but i promise i will direct guest complaints to you at Ofoto.com

[tabacco]

Well, they ARE owned by a Disneyland sponsor ;)


(Kodak)

[IndyBob]

I was working Marque at indy one day, back before it was changed to the crap it is today, and this girl came up and asked me what the wait time was, as i looked at the wait time indicator just 2 feet to my left, and told her about 60 minutes. She started to complain and gripe so I told her its only an hour and she relpyed OK thats much better. What the hell is wrong with these people. :?: Im glad i left, but i really miss the stupidity and entertainment like that. Maybe I will go back someday.

[BirdMom]

Reminds me of a certain guest control lead over at Splash who used to make the wait time read "2 hrs. 30 minutes" for the line when the ride was new just to scare people away. Of course, then if you were at end of line, some jerk would have to come by and say "the wait was only 45 minutes!" in a really nasty tone of voice. Eh, who cares - they were the ones stupid enough to get into the big ol' line in the first place...

[Excalibur]

I love how people can claim to see things or have been places that dont exist like this mythical shop in downtown, btw that created an entertaining visual inmy head of a monorail haulin down the 5 freeway... anyway... its like people who can swear to you they bought dippin dots (rat terds) from YOU on this EXACT wagon and it was YESTERDAY.... nevermind you were off yesterday they somehow bought it from you anyway.

[Dante101]

I had an older guest (65 or so) ask me one day when they took out the Main Gate station for the monorail. I politely told him that it never stopped at the Main Gate. He insisted that it used to stop at the Main Gate. "Perhaps you're thinking of the monorails at Walt Disney World in Florida - they stop at the Park's Main Entrance."

"No, I'm not thinking of Walt Disney World, these monorails used to stop at the Main Gate."

Realizing where this was heading, I simply replied, "Oh."

He walked away muttering, "It was before your time..."

[Fritter]

stupid people!

Dippin' dots...gosh I get asked for that every once in a while.

As for more randomness, someone told me they were working down at the beginning at Main Street and a guest pointed down Main Street and asked where it lead to. He said "ummmm, the park." It would have been nice to say, "Oh, that leads nowhere, but if you turn around and go through the turnstiles again, you'll get somewhere good." :twisted:

[BirdMom]

I love how people can claim to see things or have been places that dont exist like this mythical shop in downtown, btw that created an entertaining visual inmy head of a monorail haulin down the 5 freeway...


Well, someone just may have seen a monorail going down the freeway. :shock: I don't think they still use it, but once we got the new Monorails, they took the original red front cab built by Alweg, and put it on what must have been a bus chassis, then used it sort of like a glorified Winnegego for publicity tours. Mickey used to appear with the thing - think it was called the Mouse-o-rail or something to that effect. It has been awhile. It was featured more than once in the old Disneyland Line and in the newspaper.

[Excalibur]

Yea older guests can bug me too, they think because theya re old they know EVERYTHING, which is bs, I hate hearing it was before your time because I remember all that shit from when I was a little kid like the power boat ride in the lagoon behind the hot dog wagon in small world or my parents have told me about all the stuff they went on as kids so dont assume because I'm younger that I dont know, tch I work here I know more than 99% of all guests know about park ops and things that either were or never were and they imagine it. That old fart was just probably remembering how the monorail went over the ticket booths like it still does but it was probably more obvious with the parking lot where it used to be. Alot of people think its all one park or they dont even realize that theres actually awhole different park on the other end of the foyer. To which I think..... how did you not see the 10 foot tall letters spelling California?!?!?!?! Once again people that swear things existed that never did.

[Guest Relations King]

Guest: "I wanted to go to Disneyland, but I came in this park by
accident, how do I get there?"

Reply: Big damn sign out in front threw you off huh? Hmm, since you are
obviously without sight, go out the gates and make a right, keep
walking until you hear traffic, and then run as fast as you can
towards the sounds. Have a nice day!

- GRK

[tabacco]

On the other hand, it's sometimes fun tot alk to older guests about what the park used to be like. I remember I sold a ticket to this older lady once who said she hadn't been to the park since 1956. She was SO excited about seeing it again, it was kinda cool (even if it's TOTALLY different). Imagine if you came to the park for your second trip and stuff like New Orleans Square, Pirates, and the Matterhorn were totally new to you.

[Dante101]

Imagine if you came to the park for your second trip and stuff like New Orleans Square, Pirates, and the Matterhorn were totally new to you.

Imagine if you came to the park for your second trip, and the price had jumped from $1.00 to $50.00! And most of the nice, slow, relaxing attractions that you remember seeing back then and thinking, "That ride would be a nice one to go on when I'm a senior," are now torn down and replaced by thrill rides.
:?

[tabacco]

Because clearly Disneyland is nothing but thrill rides.

[Excalibur]

heh heh, yea sure we are. yea sometimes older guests have interesting stories but they also dont know when to stop so yea I'll just get back to work have a nice day lol.

[Dante101]

Because clearly Disneyland is nothing but thrill rides.
Compared to what it originally was, yeah - pretty damn close.

No need to be hypersensitive - I didn't come close to saying "Disneyland is nothing but thrill rides."

[VonSeegs]

Guest: "Where's the best place to see the fireworks?"
Me: "Look up."
Guest: "Ok. Thank you!"
Me: "My pleasure. Have a nice day."
*30 seconds later*
Guest: "HEY!"
Me: "I'm sorry ma'am. I couldn't resist. Maybe you should yell at the
ones in your party because they were clearly amused by my
answer."
Guest: "That's not funny guys!"
Me: LMAO!

[pertle659]

just once ( ok, maby more than that ) i would like to have a guest read out loud a little piece of paper that says...

"I Am We Todd Ed
I Am Sofa King
We Todd Ed!!!"
:P

Then say...
"yes your right, your always right."

[VonSeegs]

Ha Ha! You said Sofa King!! I remember the first time I heard that! My sister had my grandma do it and to this day I don't think she knows what she said! *amusing sigh* My grandma's cool.

[BirdMom]

You said Sofa King!!


Ummm - I'm missing something, because I don't understand that reference...

sofa king = suffering?

totally confused... :?

[CujoSR]

I think I am letting this one go too far guys. Funny stuuf be even I have limits.