Disneyland cast members are asked almost daily by friends, acquaintances, and even strangers for free admission into Disneyland. Most of the time, we say no.
Why say no when we can take people for free?
The main reason is because we only get a limited number of free admissions. If I had an unlimited number of times I could take people into Disneyland for free, I probably would never say no, but, since I only get a small number for the year, I choose to be picky.
I love Disneyland, I love working there, and I love sharing it with my family and friends, not strangers or acquaintances.
When my dad or siblings ask to go to Disneyland, it's an honor to take them. I love eating churros on Main Street with my dad or riding Splash Mountain with my sisters. I don't really care to do those things with the random guy in my math class. It doesn't mean as much to me when it's not someone I'm close with.
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It doesn't make me a jerk because I'd rather save my free admissions for my family and close friends. If you think it does, reevaluate yourself.
Think back to when you were in school and you opened up a brand new pack on gum. Awesome, right? But then everyone in a five mile radius is asking you for a piece. It got annoying because that gum was yours, and sure you maybe gave a piece to your best friend, but you didn't plan on giving gum to everyone in your science class. After all, there are only so many pieces of gum in a single pack.
That is exactly what it's like for us cast members being asked for free entries into Disneyland.
Also, we don't like feeling used. If you text us asking us about our lives and you genuinely want to catch up, that's awesome. But it's upsetting when a friend you haven't talked to in years messages you and then 20 minutes into conversation asks if you can take them to Disneyland for free.
Dozens of people do this to me everyday, which has turned me into an awful communicator. I don't respond to half the messages I get because 99.9% of the time it's someone looking to get into Disneyland for free, and I'm just sick and tired of it.
When you do ask me for free Disneyland after a twenty minute conversation you'll probably get a response like this:
Even if I'm not out of free admissions, I'll probably tell you that just to get you off my back.
Keep in mind, we work at Disneyland, we have heard every excuse in the book, and we don't want to hear them from you. When you ask us for free Disneyland and we say no, don't give us any of these reasons as to why you need to go:
"But I have a friend from out of town who's never been!"
"I've never been!"
"I really want to take my boyfriend/girlfriend but I don't have the money."
Or any other reason for that matter because, if we want to take you, we'll invite you.
I took two of my very good friends into Disneyland for free as a gift for their anniversary. They didn't ask me or have to prompt me to do this for them, I just did because I wanted to for them. Just because I did it for them doesn't mean I will do it for you. The difference was that I wanted to take them and they didn't ask. You want me to do and you asked.
If a Cast Member says no, do not offer us money. We can lose our jobs by selling our free admissions to the park. We all value our jobs to much to lose them over you and an extra couple bucks. Also, if you're going to offer us up money for Disneyland, just save your money and take yourself, leave me out of it. You're not worth losing our jobs over.
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If we say no, it's not to be mean. We just either don't have the admissions to spare, or we just really don't want to waste them on you. We don't want to be mean people, we just know exactly who we want to use our free admissions on, and sadly, you're not on our list.
So please just do us both a favor and don't ask your Cast Member friends for free admission. The answer is almost always going to be no, and it will most definitely make us think differently of you. Thanks for understanding, your Cast Member friends appreciate it!
