Inconsistencies abound...

[magicofdisney]

We know the CMs can do it. The one reigning example is Fast Pass entry. They have the ability to abide by the rules and enforce them on park guests. So why the inconsistencies in so many other areas.

In the last year, or less, I've witnessed supposed rules being broken, with no one to deter the offending patron.

Late one evening, while standing in the line for the resort bus, a family in front of us had their kids waiting in the wagon they brought with them. A bonafide, heavy duty, all purpose, child's wagon. I thought these weren't allowed in the parks, but I've seen it more than once recently. More surprising to me was the fact they allowed them to bring it on the bus.

Another supposed no-no is the cooler on wheels. I'm not talking about a cooler that fits in a stroller. I'm talking about the kind you take camping and use as extra seating around the camp fire. When did these become acceptable?

And let's not forget the every popular, refillable resort mugs. In fact, some CMs encourage the abuse-I've personally experienced this.

I don't buy the "They don't want to offend anyone" reasoning anymore. I've seen enough people offended with their fast pass entry to know that offense is not a primary concern. Additionally, I've heard enough complaints recently about poor customer service, in general.

Perhaps the Traditions class needs an overhaul. I also realize the work pool is lacking. Maybe, in my case, I'm just there too often and I observe too many disappointments.

I still love Disney. I still long to be there constantly. I guess I'm so bothered to see things fall by the wayside.

[disneymom2000]

I'm glad you brought this up. My last couple of trips I have seen girls enter eating establishments in their bikini tops and shorts and I am not talking at Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon. I'm talking about in the restaurants in World Showcase and Disney Studios. I thought there was some sort of dress code. And those kids with the wheelie's (shoes with wheels). I thought those were suppose to be banned. It's not like it is just one CM that overlooks these things because obviously the kid I saw with them went throught the whole park with them cause I kept seeing him all over the place and he was using the wheels. Maybe when they are checking bags at the entrance they need to check the shoes too.

[JPL]

I noticed alot of the Coleman rolling coolers on my most recent trip. I always thought a cooler needed to be small enough to be stored in a locker in order to bring it into the parks. I also lots of guest with rolling suitcases and not the ones that Disney was selling as a promotion. I really could care less except for the fact that these should be safety concerns since other guests can easily trip over them. I even saw a guest with the cooler almost injure themself while trying to board TTA with it. The CM said absolutely nothing to the guest. One of the latest trends I have noticed is guests eating the food they brought into the parks inside CS locations without even buying a drink or anything else from the location. I never understood why Disney makes these rules and doesn't enforce them

[DVC2004]

I'll add to this with the supposed "dress code" at signature restaurants. Now I could care less what someone is wearing to dinner as long as it's not a bikini- but we have been made a point to be told on the phone when booking the ADR the acceptable dress code. We bring acceptable clothes and go to our room to change and clean up before our Reosrt Hotel Signature dining experience. Then, we had dinner at Jiko and a guy comes in in dirty construction work boots, cutoff jean shorts and a tie -dye tee. Another lady comes in in sweats. We were probabloy one of 5 families that actually adhered to the "rule". Of course these others weren't turned away but if that's the case why even have a dress code. Why mention if they aren't going to enfore and people just do what they want anyway? And why do people think the rules apply to everyone else and not them?

I also agree about the coolers. You can trip very easily esp. when they are trailing behind the person who using it. Also another I would add are the overstuffed backpacks filled with bottles of frozen water and other heavy things. In line for Buzz the lady in front of us had one so heavy and huge and full she would almost fall over when picking it up, nearly hit us three times where hoisting it over her shoulder, or just resorted to kicking it along with her feet. Seriously if it's that heavy lose it! Buy a refillable bottle and refill it. Geez. I don;t get it. Yes we all want to save a buck but come on. I don't need a concussion because you don't want to buy bottled water.

[Tekneek]

I don't need a concussion because you don't want to buy bottled water.

Nobody needs a concussion for any reason. Of course, your description makes it seem unlikely that it would cause such a thing. Concussions are generally more due to sudden movement which causes the brain to crash against the skull, not merely being bumped in the head by something.

[DVC2004]

Nobody needs a concussion for any reason. Of course, your description makes it seem unlikely that it would cause such a thing. Concussions are generally more due to sudden movement which causes the brain to crash against the skull, not merely being bumped in the head by something.

Very literal. I was being sarcastic. You are standing in a queue line and shouldn't have to have your or your child's head hit or foot smashed by someone repeatedly hoisting and dropping a too-heavy backpack and not being mindful of those around them while doing so. You should as a guest have a reasonable right to safety.

[SBETigg]

I'm with you on wanting to see some rules enforced. They are there for the safety of other guests. So, in letting one guest get away with breaking the rules so as not to put a damper on their good time, they are possibly upsetting dozens of others. It's ridiculous.

On the Signature dining dress code, they have gone so far as to make it lenient enough. As if business casual was too hard for some to follow, they took it down from there to just exclude torn clothing, flip flops, and bathing suits, pretty much, so for goodness sake how hard is that to enforce? That's not a safety issue, though. It's not as important to me as enforcing the coolers and wheelies and wagons that could impede or injure other guests. Honestly, even the Fast Pass return rule not being enforced bothers me. People don't follow the pass time and come back whenever they want after it expires-- that creates problems with lines later, and the CMs overlook that one fairly consistently.

[Goofy4TheWorld]

I am actually glad Disney does not go out of it's way to enforce most of these rules.

The only rule Disney enforced on me was the "no entry on this side" nonsense at Cosmic Rays. It really stressed me out that I had to walk the long way around (and navigate through limited walk space) to get back from the fixins' bar. It was by-far the most annoying experience I had with any CM the entire week.

I am glad they allow you late returns using fastpasses, because as a Dad of a two-year-old who must nap from 12 to 3, I would never be able to use the morning's fastpasses before we had to leave for nap time, and by the time I returned from nap time, the fastpasses would be all gone.

I don't really break any rules except the fastpass thing, but I am glad that, while at Disney, I am not constantly observing CMs chastising people all day long. Everyone has their pet-peeves, but if Disney CMs worked to accommodate everyone's pet-peeves, it would be more like Elementary school and less like a vacation, all IMHO.

[magicofdisney]

Everyone has their pet-peeves, but if Disney CMs worked to accommodate everyone's pet-peeves, it would be more like Elementary school and less like a vacation, all IMHO.

I don't expect them to enforce my pet peeves. I expect them to enforce the rules they've set in place.

[JPL]

I don't expect them to enforce my pet peeves. I expect them to enforce the rules they've set in place.

Exactly! and for some reason they choose not to enforce them at all! It really just snowballs after people start seeing what they can get away with and take advantage of ie. the refillable mugs.

[SurferStitch]

I don't expect them to enforce my pet peeves. I expect them to enforce the rules they've set in place.

Thank you!

I do wish the dress code at signature restaurants and the parks in general were very strongly enforced. While many people say they don't care how badly the people at the table next to them are dressed, DH and I DO care.

When I'm at a very nice dining establishment (Narc's, Cali Grill, etc.), DH and I dress VERY nicely, and we expect others to do the same, or at the very least adhere to the bare minimum of the dress code. Really, is it THAT difficult??? Dumpy/sloppy patrons do put a damper on the experience for us, especially if we have them in our line of sight the entire meal.

When we were in WDW in May we saw two, let's say less-than-fit late teen/early 20's girls wearing skimpy bikini tops at the MK. Not only did they look terrible in the tops, but they weren't supposed to be wearing them anyway! I didn't see on CM say anything to them, and they sure weren't leaving anything to the imagination.

We are also sticklers for the FP rule, and do not use expired FP's. There is a a time window on the FP for a reason. I wish other patrons followed the rule, too. I don't care if CM's let them get away with breaking that rule...it's still a rule and we follow it.

[DisneyorBust]

I have heard from former CM's that the problem doesn't lie with them, it's with the frontline management. In a nut shell, the CM's don't have the support of management, when the CM's attempt to enforce WDW rules and when the so called 'guest' complains, management backs the offending 'guest' and the CM's often recieve verbal reprimands.
What does this accomplish?
1) CM's become reluctant to enforce rules.
2)The rule breakers are rewarded for their behavior.
3) Guests, like us here on Intercot, become frustrated/aggravated at how these situations are dealt with.

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

In defense of the late return on the fast pass-what if you DID return during your window and the ride was down? Does that mean that you now have to go through the stand by line when it comes back up? I am asking this because we all know how often rides go down and that has a lot to do with guests returning after their window. I'm not saying that's always the case as I'm sure it's not. But it has and does happen.

[Narawen]

In defense of the late return on the fast pass-what if you DID return during your window and the ride was down? Does that mean that you now have to go through the stand by line when it comes back up? I am asking this because we all know how often rides go down and that has a lot to do with guests returning after their window. I'm not saying that's always the case as I'm sure it's not. But it has and does happen.

Yes. A few trips ago, a friend and I got FPs for Jungle Cruise. When out window was open, there was a bad thunderstorm and the JC was not running (obviously metal boats in water during a t-storm is not a good idea). The CM actually told us we could come back any time later that day, so we did. Other than this though, we try to stay within our FP window.

Funny story, on that same trip we had a CM enforce a FP non-rule on us that was very annoying, but we never complained to anyone. For another ride, our FP window was something like 4:50-5:50. We walked up at 5:45 and the CM at the ride entrance by the big "official" FP clock looked at our passes and told us we had to wait 5 more minutes. We were confused, thinking she had read the ticket wrong, but she insisted we had to wait until 5:50 and would not let us pass. So we had to stand there for 5 minutes until the clock read 5:50 before we could go in. When we walked in the FP line, there was literally no one else waiting there, we walked straight up to the ride entrance, waited for the CM to finish loading a party from the stand-by queue, and hopped on.

[Tekneek]

Exactly! and for some reason they choose not to enforce them at all! It really just snowballs after people start seeing what they can get away with and take advantage of ie. the refillable mugs.

Are you sure about that? So, before the invention of the length-of-stay mugs, there were no other problems on property?

[Love of Disney]

Regarding the FP return time, I have been told by multiple CMs on multiple trips that the return time is just a guide to try and keep the FP return line down. They said you can return anytime after the start of the FP return time. I just figured this was how it was after being told it multiple times.

[Tekneek]

I just figured this was how it was after being told it multiple times.

It is hard to know, apparently, since we cannot depend on Disney CMs to tell us how it really is. From the tone of this thread, letting people come back anytime with a Fast Pass, or letting them fill up a mug from a previous stay with soda that Disney doesn't even have to pay Coke for, is causing the decline of western civilization.

I know I'm the one being sarcastic now, but I'm obviously not seeing the connection between these disparate issues/events that others are. I know the human mind tries to make connections, even when there are none (which studies have shown), so perhaps that explains it.

[luvdiznee]

Unfortunately you always will have people pushing the envelope to see what they can get away with. And as long as no one is saying nothing, before you know it, it is accepted. That's just how things go.

Is it right? No. But it will be up to Disney to see that their rules are enforced. Whether or not they are afraid of lawsuits or whatever, they need to make sure people are doing the right thing.

[SBETigg]

I know I'm the one being sarcastic now, but I'm obviously not seeing the connection between these disparate issues/events that others are. I know the human mind tries to make connections, even when there are none (which studies have shown), so perhaps that explains it.

Well, it's really very simple to find the connections. The OP introduced the thread as rules that are not being enforced and went on to explain some examples of rules not being enforced that annoy her. The connection is that all things listed are park rules of Disney's own making that are inconsistently enforced. Doesn't end civilization, not really a big deal, just that it clearly annoys her and she wanted to know if others felt the same. A few others do. A few others don't. That's generally how it works.

[Tekneek]

Well, it's really very simple to find the connections. The OP introduced the thread as rules that are not being enforced and went on to explain some examples of rules not being enforced that annoy her. The connection is that all things listed are park rules of Disney's own making that are inconsistently enforced. Doesn't end civilization, not really a big deal, just that it clearly annoys her and she wanted to know if others felt the same. A few others do. A few others don't. That's generally how it works.

The FastPass argument doesn't seem to jive with that, though. I have not found an authoritative source that says they are only valid during the printed return time.

Even the official page about it at disneyworld.com doesn't state the return window as a requirement. It says the return time is a 1 hour window, but then says you do not have to return at a specific time (exception appearing to be for shows). It goes on to specify that they are only good on the day of issue, but not that they are invalid after the return window has passed. Is there a more authoritative source than that?

Editing to add that I am aware that the printed FastPass says "Return Anytime Between" the two times, but nothing on it says it is invalid after that time. At that point it appears to be subject to the discretion of a particular CM, as there is no stated policy I have found that provides a definitive answer.

As well, the rules, policies, procedures, etc, are really whatever is enforced. I don't happen to think that 'letter of the law' enforcement is always proper or that it solves all problems. Surely, it would be better if it was more consistent, I can agree with the OP on that. I see these as one-off incidents that are not related to each other. People are not reusing mugs more often because people are violating dress codes elsehwere on property. People are not bringing coolers into the park because other people are getting away with late FastPass returns. From that perspective, these are not really related and are all separate issues.