"But... if my dream were to propose in front of a Broadway crowd, I should just get a new dream (and certainly wouldn't expect apologies and free tickets!)"
That's the top-rated comment at "Disney Apologizes After Employee Thwarts Marriage Proposal/A man had been planning for months to pop the question at Disneyland Paris, but the employee instead snatched the ring and ushered the couple off a stage" (NYT).
Second-highest: "I don't understand why people feel the need to have public proposals in the first place."
Third: "OMG grow up. this whole thing is ridiculous. fire the employee? discipline the employee? dont go up on a stage at disney with its uber security measures without getting permission from a proper authority WAY in advance."
You can see the video here — at Reddit, where the headline is "POS destroyed my best friends moment. He asked for permission beforehand." But did he have permission? The NYT says:
Before climbing up to the stage, he said, he whispered into an employee’s ear, asking her for permission. Disney did not immediately answer questions about whether that was the case, or whether the employee who shunted them off the stage had faced disciplinary action.
There are too many apologies these days. I feel sorry for employees who follow and enforce rules and then get undercut by management that's afraid of criticism, even unjustified criticism.
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24 comments:
I enjoyed going to the parks and watching the movies as much as the next guy.
But adults who worship all things Disney are creepy.
A visit to Disney ain't what is used to be.
For that matter, a visit to my local grocery ain't what it used to be either.
And don't get me started on my old school
The entire purpose of hiring low level employees to enforce arbitrary and capricious rules, rules that result in bad publicity when enforced, is exactly to have someone other than management available for firing by management, who made those rules, especially when bad publicity occurs. Sure, the rules were made to insure that problems would not occur that threatened management's ease, but enforcing the rules looks bad. So fire the low level employee forced to implement compliance with the rules to deflect blame for stupid rules made by management for reasons long ago obscured. That is called, in many large corporations, wise management planning. Or as we know it, covering their asses.
Something about informally doing something formal. Is that like a social media spillover?
In social media, authenticity is king. The stunt is now known to be inauthentic, not done in the spur-of-the-moment; how did that ring get into your pocket?
It caught the public's imagination the first couple times. Now it's passe.
'And don't get me started on my old school'
Well played : )
Thomas Wolfe approves...
"Before climbing up to the stage, he said, he whispered into an employee’s ear, asking her for permission."
WTF?
You call them up a month before, tell them you want to propose at Disneyland, and ask them how you can do that.
Then they work with you, and find a time for you to do that which does not screw up their schedule.
You do NOT ask 5 seconds before violating the rules and going on a stage. The "POS" here was the idiot guy who did everything wrong
Whenever someone pops the question in a public venue, like on the big screen at a major league sporting event, I always scream for the woman to say NO! Is that wrong?
Agree with that commenter about public proposals generally. I mean everyone likes to throw around the "narcissism" diagnosis but this is the real thing.
And what if she's really not that into you? Does she accept just to spare you the embarrassment and because it's just kinda fun-in-the-moment? Can you just drop it all later?
I suppose next they'll do gender reveal parties that start wildfires.
I don’t know about this particular stage but the Broadway stage comment seems unrelated to a Disney situation. Disneyland has permanent and temporary stages all over the Park. A large number of them are only closed immediately before, during, and immediately after a performance. The rest of the time the stage is open to the crowd to walk, dance, pose, and sit on. When I saw the headlines (with the picture of Sleeping Beauty’s (?) Castle in the background) I thought he had just pushed too close to a performance time.
Long term permanent stages open to public include Tomorrowland Terrace and King Arthur’s Stone in Fantasyland.
I do think everyone apologizes too much. It isn’t the end of the world and makes a funny story for the grandkids someday.
I can't support jumping on a stage to make a proposal, but Disney is the type of place that seemingly used to accommodate such requests. The argument related to a Broadway crowd seems very broad, as in I can see not jumping on the stage after Hamilton curtain call to make a proposal, but I could see standing on a Broadway sidewalk after attending a Broadway musical and making a proposal. It is still a nuisance for those intending just to use the sidewalk and leave the theater, but there used to a good deal of tolerance for a couple making a decision like this in public. I don't think Disney parks want to be known as a place to skip when planning a proposal. Nor should they be known for finger pointing at employees doing their job to protect other patrons and performers.
The NYT article implies that Disney Paris is the happiest place on Earth. It has to be behind Disney Florida and Disney Tokyo, but certainly happier than Disney China or Disney Hong Kong.
The video adds context to the story. Proposal video on Reddit
This doesn't look very public, just a platform behind a railing. The employees are almost certainly instructed to not allow people passed the railing, so it appears they did exactly as instructed. Disney management should have backed up the employee and explained that at a big amusement park, authorization comes at a higher level. It's Disney, they could make this a purchasable option.
It is a learning moment for the potential bride. Now she knows that her man is prone to romantic gestures with little regard for practical considerations.
Sorry but it is my belief that something as personal as a marriage proposal should be an intensely private affair. I do not understand this desire by some to make it into a public spectacle.
Well, yeah, as far as Disney goes, get a new dream. Good advice. Now about that Mickey Mouse copyright ...
Proposing marriage on a Disney stage is a stupid idea, regardless of the permission given or not given.
Snatching the ring was criminal.
Disney needs to apologize for everything they've done since, well... Toy Story was wonderful... everything from 2000 onward has been utter shit. Mea culpas for the proposal incident are an easy way for the upper management creeps to change the subject.
The ring grabber was a complete ass about the whole thing. Was it related to a disdain for conventional, heterosexual relationships.
Looked that way to me.
Faulty reddit link?
Public proposals are a bad idea ethically unless you have already agreed to marry at some point.
Solidifying Paris as the least fun city ever.
Public proposals put unfriendly pressure on the lady.
The suggestion was made that Disney wanted money for a special proposal package. I have no love for Disney and no opposition to public proposals. Given all the money people spend on weddings, is it surprising that they also want their proposals to be spectacular?
'I always scream for the woman to say NO! Is that wrong?'
How do you know it's a woman?
“ Faulty reddit link?”
The Reddit link in the post is good.
These are photo ops, not real surprises, I assume. They shouldn’t be imposed on the assembled crowd, which did not show up for their antics.
Their 🐜 icks
That employee has Great-Mime-Reduced-to-Eurodisney-Hall Monitor written all over him.
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