[Question] Weird Tower of Terror Experience

[Dinglehopper]

My two step-daughters participated in this years gumball rally and had an interesting experience that I was wondering if anyone else had as well. Towards the end of the evening they decided that they had time to do Tower of Terror really quick before heading to the finish line. The wait time was only 10 or 15 min. Once they got out of the room with the TV and up the stairs into the line, they were counting how many people were in front of them to determine if they could get on the last elevator. The cast member stopped the line when there were six spots left and my step-daughters were 5th and 6th in line. The people in front of them were two separate groups of two.

Here's where it gets weird. The cast member then yells down the line "Do I have a party of 6?" and the four people in front of my step-daughters, and my step-daughters got mad and said that they were next in line. The cast member then said "You all left the room at the same time, this isn't a line I can pick whoever I want" And continued to then ask the line "Do I have a party of 6? Two parties of 3? Or a party of 4 and 2? And a group in the back said they were four and two so he had them come up to get on that elevator.

Did this guy have friends in the Rally that he was trying to help? Is this an actual rule? Or was he just being rude?

[KiMcHeEfOrLiFe]

Re: Weird Tower of Terror Experience

I have never heard of anything like that happening before, but I doubt that the CM was conspiring against your step-daughters. The only thing that I can think of is maybe the spots that were open were the back row, and the back row is the only joint row and the CM wanted to efficiently put a large group in the back so they would be able to sit with each other? But then it doesn't make sense why the CM couldn't just put all six of them in the back row. Well whatever the case is you have to remember that the CMs loading the guests onto an attraction want to do it in the most efficient way possible. It is harder to seat larger groups versus small groups since small groups are pretty flexible on where they can be seated. Maybe it's just the CM's strange method of loading *shrug* Well in any case, I'm sorry your step-daughters had a bad experience. I agree that what happened is quite strange. I too do not understand why the CM couldn't have just loaded all six of the guests.

[Dinglehopper]

Re: Weird Tower of Terror Experience

True, but they were the last six spots on the elevator, so once he loaded them he would have had a completely empty elevator to load large groups into, and if that were the case wouldn't he have stopped after asking if there was a party of six and nobody came forward?

[KiMcHeEfOrLiFe]

Re: Weird Tower of Terror Experience

True, but they were the last six spots on the elevator, so once he loaded them he would have had a completely empty elevator to load large groups into, and if that were the case wouldn't he have stopped after asking if there was a party of six and nobody came forward?

Yeah, I agree. I don't quite understand what the CM was thinking or why the CM couldn't have just loaded your step-daughters and the four other guests into the empty spots. Maybe it's just the CM's weird method.

The seating arrangements on ToT is a little weird too. Maybe the CM thought since he/she had a large space for a large group available, it's easier to rid of the large group now than having to deal with the large group after the CM 'Tetris-ed' the other groups into a new elevator. Like, if the CM already filled the back row with smaller groups and the only spots left were the middle row, the CM wouldn't be able to seat a six man group together and would either have to separate them or save them for the next elevator. Again, not sure what the CM was thinking but it's probably just they way he/she does it.

[Dinglehopper]

Re: Weird Tower of Terror Experience

That's fine if that's the way he does it I guess... but I've never seen it done that way, and the way he spoke to them was kind of rude. Plus he then asked if there were two groups of three or a group of four and a group of two even though he knew the first people in line were a group of two.

[KiMcHeEfOrLiFe]

Re: Weird Tower of Terror Experience

That's fine if that's the way he does it I guess... but I've never seen it done that way, and the way he spoke to them was kind of rude. Plus he then asked if there were two groups of three or a group of four and a group of two even though he knew the first people in line were a group of two.

I'm with you on that. There's no excuses for rudeness! Especially at a Disney park! Again, sorry your step-daughters had to experience that But I hope they had a good time at the Gumball Rally!

[Dinglehopper]

Re: Weird Tower of Terror Experience

Yeah they had a great time at the rally! And this makes for a great story. It didn't effect their points at all so they didn't mind too much... it was just weird!

[chadb14]

Re: Weird Tower of Terror Experience

Strange indeed...

[biggsworth]

Re: Weird Tower of Terror Experience

Strange I doubt they were trying to sabotage the gumball rally participants but not sure why the CM wouldn't at least fill the spaces with the immediate guests first.

[GRD999]

Re: Weird Tower of Terror Experience

Having been a bellhop at WDW's Tower, I can tell you that given the grouping of the platform, its easier to find 2 parties of 3 (instead of 3 parties of 2), so that all seats get filled and no one has to be split up from their group. Also, with the way the DCA boiler room is set up, any overflow they can usually just send to the next platform to be grouped together. I seriously doubt it was anything personal, just a bellhop trying to be efficient.

[kirstenh]

Re: Weird Tower of Terror Experience

Having been a bellhop at WDW's Tower, I can tell you that given the grouping of the platform, its easier to find 2 parties of 3 (instead of 3 parties of 2), so that all seats get filled and no one has to be split up from their group. Also, with the way the DCA boiler room is set up, any overflow they can usually just send to the next platform to be grouped together. I seriously doubt it was anything personal, just a bellhop trying to be efficient.

But even if that were the case, why would he pull a group of 4 and a group of 2 from the back of the line when there was a group of 4 and a group of 2 at the front?

[KM63]

Re: Weird Tower of Terror Experience

That doesn't make any sense...not logical. 2+2+2=6, last time I checked a calculator. However, it may be something as simple as trying not to exclude groups larger than 2 from being able to get on that particular elevator. After all...just because you're in a group of 3, 4, 5 or 6, why should you be penalized by having to wait longer?
In my opinion, a CM being rude is inexcusable, unless he/she is doing "duck duty" or "face duty" and portraying a villain...OR the guest is out of control!
I've only had one instance when a CM was kind of rude: My gf and I were getting on the train at the New Orleans Square station and they were letting us board the caboose, but this young lady castmember incorrectly called it something else. (I don't recall exactly what, but it was specific and wrong) As I began towards the caboose I turned and corrected her saying "caboose!" I continued walking and heard her say something like "Are you correcting me?" or "Don't correct me!". I turned and glanced back again and she had NOT said that with a smile on her face....she seemed to be genuinely grumpy and defensive. I didn't think that was too cool.
(I realize that's an entirely different circumstance but I was inspired to tell that story)

[brianpinsky]

Re: Weird Tower of Terror Experience

It might be a new CM, they trained a lot of new CMs last week.

[Dinglehopper]

Re: Weird Tower of Terror Experience

It might be a new CM, they trained a lot of new CMs last week.

Very true... however, still doesn't excuse the rudeness. When the people at the front of the line ask why he's pulling from the back, there must be a better "Disney-approved" statement than "I can choose whoever I want."

KM63- That's a very UN-Disney comment! How long ago was that? I feel like this newer batch of cast members for summer are more rude than I have ever seen at Disneyland. I never had a rude cast member experience until I went a little over 3 weeks ago and it was Tinkerbell! She was great when we were meeting her, but the person I went with and I were doing one of our own Disney challenges and seeing how many pictures we could take with characters. We don't usually do take time to take pictures with the characters. So she was chatting with us a little and we thought it was an okay conversation, but as we walked away I heard her say "wow can't joke with those two" So I don't know if we missed a joke or something???? It was strange. Maybe I misheard. But then this instance with the TOT bellhop? Hope this isn't a trend starting!!!

[themur]

Re: Weird Tower of Terror Experience

He may not have had friends participating in Gumball bit it wouldn't surprise me if some cast members tried to make the process just a bit more difficult.

[G24T]

Re: Weird Tower of Terror Experience

How late in the evening was this?

It seems to me that the CM was trying really hard to maximize counts and wanted to go for the guaranteed load instead of chancing it that the groups of guests right in front of him would equate out to six (even though if he took a moment to do a visual count of the guests, regardless of group size, her step-daughters would have been on that elevator). This could be one of two things:

1. Incompetence, which is very likely given that there have been so many threads on MiceChat in the past couple of years discussing less than average CM behavior.

2. There's a resort-wide competition that takes place internally between attractions where the attractions crews duke it out to see who can pull the highest counts per hour/day/week. I'm not sure though if this still takes place or if TDA sponsors it anymore. The last time I heard about this taking place was in 2001. During this time the grouper CMs are working on maximum efficiency mode and have been known to be a little rude at times.

[brianpinsky]

Re: Weird Tower of Terror Experience

Very true... however, still doesn't excuse the rudeness. When the people at the front of the line ask why he's pulling from the back, there must be a better "Disney-approved" statement than "I can choose whoever I want."

KM63- That's a very UN-Disney comment! How long ago was that? I feel like this newer batch of cast members for summer are more rude than I have ever seen at Disneyland. I never had a rude cast member experience until I went a little over 3 weeks ago and it was Tinkerbell! She was great when we were meeting her, but the person I went with and I were doing one of our own Disney challenges and seeing how many pictures we could take with characters. We don't usually do take time to take pictures with the characters. So she was chatting with us a little and we thought it was an okay conversation, but as we walked away I heard her say "wow can't joke with those two" So I don't know if we missed a joke or something???? It was strange. Maybe I misheard. But then this instance with the TOT bellhop? Hope this isn't a trend starting!!!

I think at this point you need to report the situation because a CM is never allowed to be out of character or lose the Disney Customer Service with guests. Since looking at your location on your user ID it does not look like you will be back in town for a while so go to Disneyland.com and click Contact us at the bottom. From there on the text box include the Day (May 4, 2013) The CM name and hometown (if you remember), the approximate time, and the post the CM was at. That was beyond what a CM should have said for you and I know it might be a little late for you but you can prevent the CM doing that same thing to other guests.

[soothseyer]

Re: Weird Tower of Terror Experience

Unbelievable.

I'm really sorry that happened...that was extremely unDisney of the CM...did you go to Guest Relations as other posters have asked?

Of all the time I have been to the DLR, I have only run into rude guests, not rude CMs...but I guess some CMs just have to give the wrong people the wrong treatment.

Ugh.

[4Apples4Disney]

Re: Weird Tower of Terror Experience

Very odd.