.

[Disney Khaleesi]

I think this is a very male thing to do. I've definitely had people say to me, "Oh you're a comic book fan? Then name what issue so -and-so first appeared, and also who was the letterer on issue #48 of the third run. If you don't know you can't possibly be a fan and you are a fakey fake faker."

Like, my enjoyment of something doesn't need to be proven to you. And a person doesn't prove they're a bigger fan just because they can memorize minutia. And I say this as someone who loves trivia, and Disney trivia especially. You should always approach sharing it as "Did you know...?" not "Bet you didn't know!"

This happens to me ALL THE TIME. I go to a ton of comic book conventions, and no, I don't know every little detail, but gosh dangit I stood in line for six hours to meet Carrie Fisher and if that doesn't make me a fan I don't know what else does.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I used to get the gender thing when I worked for my last company every now and then. Some men resented speaking with women regarding insurance matters as if they believed they didn't have the authority nor knowledge. I once had a female agent from Montana talked me and say "oh honey it's just hard out here for us gals with these men".

 

[Squirlz]

I used to get the gender thing when I worked for my last company every now and then. Some men resented speaking with women regarding insurance matters as if they believed they didn't have the authority nor knowledge. I once had a female agent from Montana talked me and say "oh honey it's just hard out here for us gals with these men".

I think we can all agree that it was a total Richard move.

 

[spbink]

I used to get the gender thing when I worked for my last company every now and then. Some men resented speaking with women regarding insurance matters as if they believed they didn't have the authority nor knowledge. I once had a female agent from Montana talked me and say "oh honey it's just hard out here for us gals with these men".

Did you see this article about the insurance worker who signed with his female colleague's name for a week and realized how much push back he got just for being "female"? Meanwhile his coworker had the most productive week of her life.

 

[Lady V]

Has anyone out there ever upstaged a cast member with more Disney trivia knowledge then the CM had? I remember being at California Adventure many moons ago and in the backlot area there was a CM outside what used to be the Walt Disney Story (or the Animation building or something, I can't remember), but she and I got talking enough that I stumped her with so much Disney trivia and knowledge that I feel like I upstaged her quite a bit. She probably went home that day feeling rather down in the dumps. The friend I was with at the time, still brings this up, to this day when we're talking about that trip because I guess I blew him away with all of my Disney knowledge.

Have you ever done this to a cast member that purports knowing a lot about Disney when they really don't know much at all?

Why would I? I would never want to know I hurt someone on purpose. I can keep my knowledge to myself.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think we can all agree that it was a total Richard move.

First time I read that I was like "huh" then the second time I was like "ohhhh I see what they did there" . And yes I do agree on that.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Did you see this article about the insurance worker who signed with his female colleague's name for a week and realized how much push back he got just for being "female"? Meanwhile his coworker had the most productive week of her life.

No I hadn't seen that article before you posted it but it doesn't surprise me in the least. The insurance industry is still male-dominated too so that doesn't help things. In my specific case it was a gender thing that crossed cultural boundaries too. I should say there were only a few agents from all around the country each year who acted this way so it def. wasn't the majority. Those were interesting articles to read though gets your mind thinking.

 

[pryncess527]

Some guests are curious. "Silly little tidbits" are part of a wider conversation about the country. Like I said, World Showcase was supposed to be educational. Otherwise, why not hire local labor to staff the booth and add lumberjack and hockey costumes, instead of taking the time to find people from Canada? If I wanted to Google something, I can save money and stay home.

I always learn something from the African staff at AKL. They love to talk about their home towns, countries, and the African continent, and they are very knowledgeable, to a person. I will never forget when I was told "welcome home" in a click language. Blew me away.

This, makes sense to me. I'd expect CMs to be able to share silly tidbits, personal experiences if they have them, and maybe some interesting cultural facts about the country

I think that if you're working as a representative of a country, like at the kids stop, but not, for example, at a food cart, you should know basic information about the country. That would include population, approximate size of the country, who the current leaders are, a little bit of history such as when the current country government was founded, national symbols, a few landmarks, important people who are from the country, etc.

I would not, however, consider ANY of the things you listed to be silly tidbits ore the types of things CMs might know. Rattling off statstics about a country isn't the same (or as engaging_) as talking about home towns, culture, the people, etc.

 

[atkinstogram]

A lot of cast members are College Programme kids there for the experience... I wouldn't really get a thrill out of "upstaging" them. It's very peculiar that somebody would imo.

Ohhh, I think we both know why they do this kind of one-upmanship.. *wiggles little finger*

 

[KC Mouse]

I have never upstaged a cast member but I have to admit that one of my guilty pleasures is telling cast members well known Disney "secrets" such as, "Really, I have never heard that! Did you know that under the Magic Kingdom runs a serious of tunnels that connect to each section of the park? I do believe they are called the "Utility Tunnel System of Secret Access Points" or UTSSAP for short." When they attempt to correct me I simply say, "Lets agree to disagree." or "When in Rome." It really throws them off their game.

 

[atkinstogram]

I have never upstaged a cast member but I have to admit that one of my guilty pleasures is telling cast members well known Disney "secrets" such as, "Really, I have never heard that! Did you know that under the Magic Kingdom runs a serious of tunnels that connect to each section of the park? I do believe they are called the "Utility Tunnel System of Secret Access Points" or UTSSAP for short." When they attempt to correct me I simply say, "Lets agree to disagree." or "When in Rome." It really throws them off their game.

"YOU may think that.... I couldn't possibly comment..."

 

[Plaid Princess]

As far as trivia, we aren't Show-Offs, so we sit back and let the tourists have all the fun.

Yes, exactly! When I was a CM, people always wanted to show off their trivia knowledge, and that's awesome! I'm not going to (to borrow a word) upstage you when you're paying to be there.

I'm sure she had actual work to do, but was being nice and humoring you.

 

[Sweetpancake]

When I worked for Disney, knowing disney trivia was not a prerequisite for the job. And as big as a Disney fan I am, my knowledge of Disney trivia is not that vast. And in fact, a lot of my co-workers weren't even very big fans of Disney but wanted to be young, party and have an adventure down in Florida and decided to apply for the program. I'm definitely not one to try and make others uncomfortable by stumping them or trying to make it look like I know more than they do.

 

[Jamie77]

When I read this post, I took it as the OP not really meaning to upstage the CM but looking back on it felt like she did and feels guilty, not proud she did it. Sometimes we feel bad about appearing to be a know-it-all when we're talking Disney and get really excited.

 

[VikingInMouseEars]

I didn't upstage him, but several years ago we were waiting on the ferry to MK one morning. The CM doing crowd control started asking fairly obscure Disney trivia questions, the kind of questions that basically only a Disney-phile would know. I was the only one to answer the first several and then I slowed down to give others a chance, most of the time no one else knew the answer and the CM would look at me and I would answer. By the time the ferry arrived it was basically just he and I, but I believe that he was having as much fun as I was. I did feel a little bad for monopolizing the game, but most of the times I hesitated to let others answer, no one did.

 

[KC Mouse]

I didn't upstage him, but several years ago we were waiting on the ferry to MK one morning. The CM doing crowd control started asking fairly obscure Disney trivia questions, the kind of questions that basically only a Disney-phile would know. I was the only one to answer the first several and then I slowed down to give others a chance, most of the time no one else knew the answer and the CM would look at me and I would answer. By the time the ferry arrived it was basically just he and I, but I believe that he was having as much fun as I was. I did feel a little bad for monopolizing the game, but most of the times I hesitated to let others answer, no one did.

Every time they start that up I just start mis quoting well known Disney Facts. "Did you know Walt and Roy where actually second cousins?" No Sir, I do believe they were brothers. "In a universal since, yes indeed. But no, they were actually second cousins...." Then I just sit back and bask in the awkward silence.

 

[Brazen Wench]

Don't really think the CM left that day feeling down about that. For one it's not worth getting down over not knowing a ton of Disney Trivia even if you are a CM. I wouldn't even think to do that or really even the the time to stand there and converse over Disney Trivia with a CM while I'm on vacation and there are a ton of things I want to do in the parks.

 

[leebee]

Every time they start that up I just start mis quoting well known Disney Facts. "Did you know Walt and Roy where actually second cousins?" No Sir, I do believe they were brothers. "In a universal since, yes indeed. But no, they were actually second cousins...." Then I just sit back and bask in the awkward silence.

Why? I don't understand the humor or satisfaction here; can you explain?

 

[KC Mouse]

Why? I don't understand the humor or satisfaction here; can you explain?

Because that crap gets on my nerves. Its very satisfying to shut those guys up. But thats just me. It's like a computer tech discussing his new drive or a gear head bragging about the engine he just replaced.

 

[Magpie]

Because that crap gets on my nerves. Its very satisfying to shut those guys up. But thats just me. It's like a computer tech discussing his new drive or a gear head bragging about the engine he just replaced.

I'm not sure why either of those examples are annoying? If someone is thrilled about something new in their world, why would I begrudge them the chance to talk about it? I may not understand it all, but I can still take pleasure in someone else's excitement.

Also, the post you quoted was describing a CM attempting to entertain the crowd with a Disney trivia Q&A. This seems entirely appropriate and is probably part of the the CM's job description, at least in spirit, if not in the actual fine print. "Entertain the crowd." Why would you want to shut the CM up, especially if others in the audience are enjoying the questions or finding the factoids interesting?