The West Side of the Kingdom
Page 3 of 3

Back to Pirates we go. I cannot tell you how many times I had an angry father or mother question my seating arrangements while loading people into the boats. I was challenged at least once a day, and I am sure today’s Cast Members get it just as much, if not more. It was amazing. Even if a family had an entire boat to themselves - I would seat them in row two or three to balance the boat safely. I would always get, “Why can’t the kids sit in the front?” I would explain it was to balance the boat properly and often would be blown off with, “What do you mean, balance the boat? These things are on tracks. You just don’t want us to sit in the front.” Yup; again, they would guess my real purpose in life.

It was not uncommon for people to get up and climb over the rows to their preferred seats once we’d dispatched them into the Bayou. Parents honestly feel sometimes that they know best how to seat their families on these rides, and that is a scary sense of false security. If I was in the Tower operating the ride and happened to notice someone changing seats in the Bayou, I would actually put on the brakes at the top of the first downramp, engage the P.A. system, and tell the guests that they needed to go back to their seats assigned to them by the Cast Member before I could allow them to continue. This was most effective and once the people were back where they should have been, I would release the boat to descend the first downramp.

So, the battle between good and evil, safe and unsafe wages on each day at the Disney theme parks. It is the responsibility of each Cast Member to ensure the utmost safety of each guest they come into contact with. It is furthermore, the responsibility of each adult to ensure the safety of his or her family, the Cast Members and the other guests around them in all that they do.

I have no idea what happened those fateful moments inside Roger Rabbit at Disneyland or on Splash Mountain in Florida. The bottom line is that something failed somewhere - and the prices were paid heavily. I know that Disneyland and other theme parks in this great industry constantly strive for better safety measures and guidelines. Always listen to the Cast Members and understand that their directions can be the difference between a great experience and a problem. If you feel uncomfortable with a Cast Member’s instructions and feel that perhaps he or she has made an error in judgment, most will be more than happy to discuss guidelines with you. Just be civil about it and let the Cast Member know that you merely want to understand the situation perfectly.

My heart goes out to the families of those involved in these and other accidents. I also applaud those Cast Members that work hard each day to bring us the best, most safe Disney experience possible.

Hopefully, the proper authorities will find out just what happened at Roger Rabbit and new guidelines will be put in place if need be, etc. to ensure this nightmare doesn’t happen ever again to another family visiting the Park.

With Thanksgiving coming, be sure to take a few extra moments and wish each Cast Member you come into contact with a happy day if you happen to be with friends and families at Disney theme parks over the holiday. Those Cast Members set aside their special family time to come to work and give you and yours hours of wonderful memories. As a one-time Cast Member that knows how hard it is to pass up a home dinner for a shift at the Park, I assure you - if you take the time to wish them a happy Thanksgiving, it will make a fantastic difference and impression on them.

Happy turkey day to all that celebrate - enjoy! Have a wonderful and safe time at the parks! We’ll see you next month for the final West Side of 2000!

Related Links

• Ongoing Coverage of the Roger Rabbit Car Toon Spin incident
• Ongoing Coverage of the Splash Mountain incident

-- Rick West (November 15, 2000)

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