Ride breakdowns are typical at Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure – it’s bound to happen when thousands of Guests are boarding each ride every day. Typically, issues are resolved within minutes. But sometimes, Guests must be evacuated.
Seeing backstage areas is a dream for many Disney Parks fans, but it quickly became a nightmare for some Disneyland Resort Guests this week. Dozens of Guests were stuck on Pirates of the Caribbean in New Orleans Square for two hours before Cast Members came to the rescue. @eat.sleep.positivity documented the experience on TikTok:
In the video, a Cast Member wades through the water to manually push boats to a platform, where Disney Security Cast Members help pull visibly relieved Guests off the boats. The Guests didn’t say if they were given Lightning Lanes or any compensation for their experience.
Formerly The Living Sea, The Seas with Nemo & Friends is the star attraction of SeaBase, EPCOT’s impressive aquarium. After meeting a sea turtle at Turtle Talk With Crush, go on a serene adventure with Dory, Nemo, Squirt, Marlin, and friends.
For a few Disney Park Guests this week, their journey under the sea was less than magical. Katie (@katie.rom) was at EPCOT with her son when she witnessed an altercation between other Guests and a Cast Member:
As Katie and her son exited The Seas with Nemo & Friends, riding a conveyor belt out into the SeaBase aquarium, they were suddenly blocked by a family in front of them. She called it a “dead stop.”
Katie waited patiently because she wasn’t sure what was happening in front of her. Eventually, a Cast Member nicely asked the family to step to the side so Katie, her son, and other Guests could pass by.
As Katie and her son looked at the fish, she overheard the Guest yelling, “I’ve been on Nemo a million times!” at the Cast Member. She was confused because the Guests were in the clamshell next to theirs and didn’t mention any problems during the ride.
“One, I didn’t hear you say a word the whole time except have your phone out, by the way, which, in a dark ride, I can see your bright screen, and it’s kind of annoying,” Katie said. “Two, what gives you the right to yell at a Cast Member?”
Katie explained that the Guests were screaming in the Cast Member’s face, and it upset her:
“They deal with a million people like you every single day. They don’t deserve to be yelled at. They don’t deserve to be screamed at. They don’t purposefully go out of their way to ‘ruin’ your Disney vacation. You don’t like something? It’s not their fault. Sometimes things happen. Maybe you had just a negative day, and you were taking it out on somebody else. One thing I’ve also learned is if you are negative, you are going to be purposefully looking for the negative. We need to switch up our attitudes; remember that Cast Members are still people. They deserve our respect.”
“Please do better,” Katie begged at the end of her video. “Cast Members don’t deserve that at all.”
“Appreciate this so much! Cast member here,” @clfite96 commented. “We love and support all cast members here! You help to make Disney magical and wonderful 🥰,” Katie replied.
Over the past couple of years, the world has learned how to live with and fight COVID-19. It seems that no sooner did we learn how to get COVID under control than a new disease made its way into the headlines — Monkeypox. Monkeypox is a virus — similar to smallpox — that is commonly spread by skin-to-skin contact with someone who has the disease. As of right now, the United States has more than 15,000 reported cases of Monkeypox, the most anywhere in the world. Earlier in August, the Biden administration declared Monkeypox a public health emergency.
Unfortunately, it looks like Monkeypox has made its way to The Happiest Place on Earth. According to Twitter user @silly_cinder, a Disneyland Resort Cast Member was recently diagnosed with the disease.
So probably because Disney isn’t gonna put it out, just so y’all know, we have a confirmed case of monkeypox at the resort.
So probably because Disney isn’t gonna put it out, just so y’all know, we have a confirmed case of monkeypox at the resort.
Silly_cinder said the Cast Member worked in Disney California Adventure Park as part of the entertainment. They shared that the Cast Member in question shared their diagnosis on a private Cast Member Facebook page. At this time, only one Cast Member has been diagnosed with Monkeypox, and that Cast Member is in quarantine, so they do not risk accidentally infecting anyone else.
Monkeypox is quickly spreading throughout the country and the world. Here is more information from the CDC about the signs and symptoms of Monkeypox:
People with monkeypox get a rash that may be located on or near the genitals (penis, testicles, labia, and vagina) or anus (butthole) and could be on other areas like the hands, feet, chest, face, or mouth.
The rash will go through several stages, including scabs, before healing.
The rash can initially look like pimples or blisters and may be painful or itchy.
Other symptoms of monkeypox can include:
Fever
Chills
Swollen lymph nodes
Exhaustion
Muscle aches and backache
Headache
Respiratory symptoms (e.g. sore throat, nasal congestion, or cough)
You may experience all or only a few symptoms
Sometimes, people have flu-like symptoms before the rash.
Some people get a rash first, followed by other symptoms.
Others only experience a rash.
While Monkeypox can be spread from person to person, it is highly unlikely that you would catch it while visiting a place like Disneyland Resort. Merely touching a railing or standing in line with someone who is infected is unlikely to spread the disease. Monkeypox is most commonly spread through direct contact, respiratory secretions, and touching infected surfaces like bedding and towels.
A Cast Member employee at the Walt Disney World Resort is facing felony charges after sending explicit messages to an undercover detective who was posing as a 15-year-old girl.
The Disney employee, Zachary Hudson, 30, told the undercover detective posing as a teenager that he was texting her while he was at work as a bus driver at Disney World on June 4 and June 5, according to an affidavit from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Transcripts of the explicit messages sent by Hudson to the “teen” (undercover detective) reveal the content of those messages, including Hudson’s offer to meet to engage in sexual activity. He also sent her an explicit photo of himself.
Orange County deputies arrested the Cast Member at Magic Kingdom while he was working on June 6. He was charged with third-degree felonies: transmitting material harmful to a minor and using a two-way communication device to commit a felony.
Zachary Hudson is one of 12 people arrested in an undercover investigation by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office that served as a child predator sting operation.
According to records, Hudson and the detective posing as a teenager met on a social media website, and even after she told him she was a minor, he continued exchanging messages with her.
One of the text messages he sent to her read, “I could honestly go to jail for this, but I’ll risk it for you.”
Further messages between the two indicate that Hudson told the undercover detective that he worked at Disney World before he suggested that they meet at her house “in secret and private,” according to the affidavit.
He also told her that they would “need to be cautious” and referenced the difference in their ages. Afterward, he sent her a graphic photo as well.
Disney has issued an apology after a Cast Member who ruined a Disney wedding proposal between a young man and woman in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Paris.
Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Park is enveloped in golden accents and pixie dust as though it has been magically enchanted. Here, guests can explore winding passageways where the epic tale of Princess Aurora is told through spellbinding dioramas. Inspired by the film’s original Eyvind Earle artwork, this iconic attraction features 3-dimensional displays, sound and stunning special effects. The climactic final scene features Maleficent’s transformation into a fire-breathing dragon. (Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort)
In a video which has made the rounds online, a young man and his girlfriend are seen standing on a concrete space with Sleeping Beauty Castle in the background. The man drops to his knee and extends an engagement ring to his girlfriend, but just before she takes the ring from him, a Cast Member races up from behind the couple, runs between them and snatches the ring away from the groom-to-be.
The Cast Member says nothing but motions for the couple to follow him.
“She said yes,” the man says to the Cast Member, who replies with “Yes, that’s great; over here will be even better.”
Immediately, the crowd that gathered to witness the momentous occasion began jeering, shouting “boo” to the Cast Member.
The Redditor who posted the video of his best friend’s proposal says the Cast Member “ruined” the couple’s moment and claims his friend “asked for permission beforehand” to be in that location near Sleeping Beauty‘s beautiful castle.
Comments from other Redditors online ranged from disbelief to anger over the Cast Member’s actions.
The Redditor who posted the video wrote, “The woman [Cast Member] gave him permission, [then] this he ran up to him and [grabbed] the ring.” Many who commented online raised questions about whether the involved Cast Member was at risk of losing his employment at the Disney Park.
One comment came from someone who claimed to know a Cast Member at Disney who told him that Walt Disney Company employees are “explicitly told that we never touch a Guest without their clear permission, given either verbally or through body language.” The Redditor further stated he was told that Cast Members are “not allowed to take their property under any circumstances and doing so results in termination.”
The comment went on to say that the Cast Member also said the following:
“We’re also trained to do anything we can to keep our Guests happy and continue to sell the image of ‘Most Magical Place on Earth.’This employee will be terminated pretty swiftly should this video make it to the right people. All he had to do was wait 10 seconds. Get it out there and he’s a goner.”
Though we don’t know whether the Cast Member is a “goner,” we do know that a spokesperson for Disney has addressed the situation, saying “we regret how this was handled.” The spokesperson went on to say that Disney has apologized to the couple attempting to experience a magical Disney wedding proposal. Disney has reportedly even offered to make the situation “right,” according to Newsweek.
Disney Park wedding proposals are so common that PlanDisney has devoted time to answering Guests’ Disney wedding questions, as well as Disney wedding proposal questions.
One particular response online is very thorough and reads in part as follows:
“A proposal at the Disneyland Resort can be as simple as popping the question in front of the castle or as elaborate as a grand gesture involving Cast Members. Either way, your next journey with your partner will start in the most magical way! It’ll be a memory to last a lifetime. While you are not required to contact Disney in order to propose, you may want to if you’d like to plan something more elaborate. You’ll want to reach out to Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings and Honeymoons. These specialists can provide support and ideas to make sure everything goes smoothly.
If you are looking for something more simple, you can simply work with Disney PhotoPass photographers to help capture the moment. It helps if you give them a little heads up that you are planning to propose. But, I’ve seen them spring into action without warning and capture beautiful proposal pictures. They are true professionals!”
