So... don't bring your whistle to Disneyland

[CactusWren]

What the title said. I can anticipate reactions anywhere from "duh, of course" to "why not?"

Apparently, there is a list of 100 items you can't bring to Disney, and one of them is "musical instrument". It never crossed my mind that I couldn't bring my Clarke original, that is always in my pocket, with me. In fact, was joking with the security girl when she pointed at it and demanded frostily "what is that?" I played it for her, presuming she thought it was a weapon of some sort. Then she informed me that it was not allowed. This put me in quite a bind, as not only could I not go into the park with my family, but I was not even allowed to cross the plaza to where my bus could pick me up. I asked her if she had any options and she suggested I throw it away. I then asked to see a supervisor. When the boss came, she let me know that I could rent a locker for $15 to put the whistle in. I did struggle with spending $15 to save a $15 whistle, but in the end, did this. Another girl was called to escort me over to the lockers. These lockers, by the way, are located outside of Disneyland, in a "Staff Only"-looking place between the park and Downtown Disney. There is a hidden picnic area there where well-informed and thrifty folk can bring their own meals instead of spending big money on the terrible stuff you must buy inside.

Being without my whistle felt very strange, as I was used to playing it when I was bored. For two previous visits that week I had done that, generally when the female members of my family were spending 30 minutes or more waiting in line for the restroom. None of the dozens of Disney people inside seemed to care, nor did I see any nasty looks from other visitors. Also in my defense, I would say that I did keep away from other people so not to spoil their line-waiting time with my poor playing and avoid the areas of the instrument that are too shrill or piercing. That being said, I understand the policy.

So--don't bring your whistle to Disneyland.

[p51baby]

I think this is a world wide policy as I had a similar experience at Disney Sea in Japan. I was heading to a Tokyo Irish trad session later that evening and was going to bring my bag of whistles in with me just for safe keeping, but I had to check it at the lockers outside the park. Not a big deal, thefts in Japan are super rare to my understanding. I believe it has to do with safety and keeping the ambience of the parks consistent. Those dreaded selfie sticks are banned at Disney Parks too, so all the better!

On the bright side, if anyone has ever been the the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo, they sure welcome whistles there! I was able to play some tunes from Totoro and Princess Mononoke outside (with permission from staff members). One even clapped in appreciation!

Cheers,

Melany

[an seanduine]

http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2015/08/dismaland/


Bob

[Joe Gerardi]

Back in the end of the previous millennium I was offered a job at Disney World in Orlando coding. The pay was fantastic, but the anti-perqs were the reason I walked away:

If you are on your own time in the park, and you buy an adult beverage at a restaurant, you will be fired.
If the waitress or waiter serving you doesn't report you for said adult beverage, she or he will be fired as well.
If you are out with your wife/girlfriend/whatever - off Disney property - and Disney management doesn't like their clothes or lipstick color, or shoes, they will tell you to tell her to change them - forever - under penalty of get getting fired. Mind you, this is if she doesn't work for Disney. If she does, they'll tell her directly.

I told them they could keep their job...

They told me Disney never offers someone a job twice...

I told them I was glad of that fact.

..Joe

[chas]

On the bright side, if anyone has ever been the the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo, they sure welcome whistles there! I was able to play some tunes from Totoro and Princess Mononoke outside (with permission from staff members). One even clapped in appreciation!

I'm so jealous of you having been to the Ghibli Museum. My one trip to Japan was too short to make the trip from Miyazaki.

Did you get to see the Catbus film? I would pay a king's ransom to see it.

[CactusWren]

Anyone who plays Joe Hisashi on their pennywhistles is a friend of mine . For some reason, I always thought an ocarina would be the natural choice. One of these days, I am going to learn how to play the theme from Howl's Moving Castle on my classical guitar.

Disneyland is a fascinating and sinister place. Not so sure about Dismaland. I do admit that I enjoy how attentive and friendly the staff is, although that does require some cognitive dissonance to ignore _why_ they're so customer oriented! (beatings will continue until morale improves) My daughter went from 5 years old, wanting to meet every "princess" and get her autograph, to 7, now just wanting to ride the roller coasters. The piano player did let her play some tunes on his upright, so there is that, too

[Blower]

The piano player did let her play some tunes on his upright, so there is that, too

[accordionstu]

I feel bad for you. I was one of those who managed to get tickets for Dismaland last year and it was great, I too always have a flute or whistle in my coat and even though they had security (fake security) I got through with an keyed F Flute and played the Belfast Hornpipe whilst sitting on one of their attractions. The expression of the Dismaland staff member s priceless, obviouslyit's a piss take of Disneyland and you are told off it you look like you are enjoying yourself. My Daughter took this pic of me playing.

p.s the wet floor isn't what you think it is, there are puddles all over the site.

[p51baby]

On the bright side, if anyone has ever been the the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo, they sure welcome whistles there! I was able to play some tunes from Totoro and Princess Mononoke outside (with permission from staff members). One even clapped in appreciation!

I'm so jealous of you having been to the Ghibli Museum. My one trip to Japan was too short to make the trip from Miyazaki.

Did you get to see the Catbus film? I would pay a king's ransom to see it.

I don't mean to make you more jealous, but I make it a habit to go to the Ghibli Museum every time I stop in Japan (I have family in Asia, so it's on the way). Catbus short is charming and delightful and there is a super cute sequence where you get to see every type of feline transport they can think of, including a double decker Nekobus! I do hope they release the shorts in a future compilation, the three I got to see were absolutely charming!

[p51baby]

Anyone who plays Joe Hisashi on their pennywhistles is a friend of mine . For some reason, I always thought an ocarina would be the natural choice. One of these days, I am going to learn how to play the theme from Howl's Moving Castle on my classical guitar.

Pennywhistles make a great substitute for ocarinas. Also, playing a low whistle on Princess Mononoke songs works out incredibly well! I believe they use shakuhachi and some other Japanese flute/fife on the soundtrack? Not too sure...

If you get the chance, I highly recommend getting this book on fingerpicking Joe Hisaishi tunes. They have a cd of all the songs too which is beautiful to listen on its own!
http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Solo-Stud ... 4636897773

[pancelticpiper]

If you are on your own time in the park, and you buy an adult beverage at a restaurant, you will be fired.

Having worked at Disneyland now for over 25 years I must point out that this statement is misleading.

There are two possibilities depending on what you mean by "on your own time"

1) Employees, during their work day (including their lunch and breaks) are not allowed use of the Parks in the manner of a Guest: they're not supposed to shop in the shops, or ride the rides, or order food or drink (adult or otherwise) from the restaurants, and so forth. You are expected to spend your breaks and lunch "backstage" and eat and drink at the "backstage" employee cafeterias. If you are reckoning your lunch break during your work day as being "on your own time" you are not correct in this regard.

2) Employees can, at times other than during their work day, come into the Parks as a Guest. This could be before or after their shift, or on an off day. When employees are in the Parks as a Guest they can do anything any other Guest can do: ride rides, shop in the shops, have any manner of food or beverage they wish. (Of course the Magic Kingdom Park in Florida and Disneyland Park in California serve no alcoholic beverages anyhow.) Believe you me, I've had plenty of "adult beverages" in Epcot in WDW during my Disney employment and it's just fine. When you're in the Parks as a Guest nobody cares what you drink; you're "on your own time" in Disney's eyes.

So, if you worked in a Park which did serve alcohol, and during your lunch break in the middle of your work day you went to an "onstage" Guest restaurant and ordered any sort of food or drink you would be in violation of Park rules. I have never, in over 25 years, heard of anyone being fired for that. In fact it's a rule that at Disneyland is commonly violated by Managers who are not in costume but in "office dress". They will take off their nametags and hide their ID cards (which must be worn on a lanyard at all times when "backstage") and go have lunch in the "onstage" Guest restaurants.

Once in a while a costumed employee will try to disguise themselves as a Guest and ride a ride or shop in a shop or eat in a restaurant. If caught they get a write-up, not fired, unless they've accumulated so many write-ups that one more means termination.

[pancelticpiper]

Apparently, there is a list of 100 items you can't bring to Disney, and one of them is "musical instrument". This put me in quite a bind, as not only could I not go into the park with my family, but I was not even allowed to cross the plaza to where my bus could pick me up. I asked her if she had any options and she suggested I throw it away.

When Disneyland banned Selfie Sticks a while back they put in a procedure for dealing with banned items: when the Disney person discovers that the Guest has a Selfie Stick or what have you they tell the Guest they're not allowed and explain that the item will be tagged and stored for the Guest to pick up as they leave. The Guest is given a tag to fill out with their name and contact information. The bag-check people do this hundreds of times a day and are all quite familiar with the procedure.

What the deal probably is, is that there's a list of items which 1) are banned from the Parks and 2) Disney doesn't want to be responsible for storing. For example, if you showed up with a weapon I'm sure Disney wouldn't want to store it for you. Perhaps musical instruments are on that list? If I can think of it I'll ask the next time I'm at the Plaza.

As an Employee I can bring in musical instruments but only through the Employee entrances. I've spent many an hour practicing my flute, uilleann pipes, and even Highland pipes in an upstairs room in New Orleans Square that's quite soundproof. Alas that room is gone now, victim to the expansion of Club 33.

[Brus]

There are three places many people like to visit (and pay a lot of money to visit) that I have no desire to visit.

Disneyland, Disney World, and Las Vegas.

[pancelticpiper]

I got through with an keyed F Flute and played the Belfast Hornpipe whilst sitting on one of their attractions. The expression of the Dismaland staff member s priceless, obviouslyit's a piss take of Disneyland and you are told off it you look like you are enjoying yourself.

What if a Guest is trying to listen to some Disneyland entertainment or enjoy a show or parade but there's a guy beside them with a big boombox on his shoulder blaring out rap with obscene lyrics or whatever?

To the person with the boombox, the music is part of them enjoying themselves. To most other people, families who have travelled thousands of miles and spent their hard-earned money to come into Disneyland and enjoy what Disneyland offers, they're an annoyance.

There's a point at which a person's right to "enjoy themselves" starts impinging on other people's right to enjoy themselves. It would be nice if everyone understood that and respected the rights of others and monitored their own actions, but there are self-absorbed people who don't care about others, and Disneyland must protect the majority of the Guests from that small minority.

[CactusWren]

Apparently, there is a list of 100 items you can't bring to Disney, and one of them is "musical instrument". This put me in quite a bind, as not only could I not go into the park with my family, but I was not even allowed to cross the plaza to where my bus could pick me up. I asked her if she had any options and she suggested I throw it away.

When Disneyland banned Selfie Sticks a while back they put in a procedure for dealing with banned items: when the Disney person discovers that the Guest has a Selfie Stick or what have you they tell the Guest they're not allowed and explain that the item will be tagged and stored for the Guest to pick up as they leave. The Guest is given a tag to fill out with their name and contact information. The bag-check people do this hundreds of times a day and are all quite familiar with the procedure.

What the deal probably is, is that there's a list of items which 1) are banned from the Parks and 2) Disney doesn't want to be responsible for storing. For example, if you showed up with a weapon I'm sure Disney wouldn't want to store it for you. Perhaps musical instruments are on that list? If I can think of it I'll ask the next time I'm at the Plaza.

As an Employee I can bring in musical instruments but only through the Employee entrances. I've spent many an hour practicing my flute, uilleann pipes, and even Highland pipes in an upstairs room in New Orleans Square that's quite soundproof. Alas that room is gone now, victim to the expansion of Club 33.

I wouldn't have minded at all if they had taken the whistle and kept it for me. It was being put in a bind and then forced to pay $15 for duffel-bag sized locker for a pencil-sized instrument, while being delayed, put in an unwinnable situation, and made to feel like a criminal, that I didn't particularly enjoy. I don't think anyone meant to make me feel this way, but the bag-checker person probably didn't handle it as sensitively as she could have. With very few exceptions, in about 12 visits in 3 years, I have been pleasantly impressed with Disney staff. It would be interesting if you could find out what the policy actually is. Not that I intend to test it again.