Current CM at a resort hotel here. We definitely can give out band aids as well as antacids, non-aspirin headache pills, allergy pills, and something to help female guests through their time of the month. We could not offer, unless it was asked for. We would then bring out a special case for guests and they could choose what they wanted themselves.

Also, do not ask me to 'see if my kid will walk away with you'. Please teach your children stranger danger on your time, not mine. I'm not going to be the bad guy. Kids are taught to trust employees/staff/cast/crew with name badges and I'd like to keep my job :) True story...

One time a Cast member DID allow people ahead of me in for a Mickey Photo when it wasn't time yet. So I, who DID have a valid fast pass was kept waiting. Standing longer was a hardship for me and I did NOT appreciate it.

My 5th child (of seven) was the recipient of a cast member breaking rule #4. This was at Disneyland, in 1995. My son was about a year old, and was crying while being held by his mother in Frontierland. Remember, 5th child, so we have four others with us, ages 10, 8, 6, and 3. Dale (or Chip) came over, unasked, and held him, calmed him down. Dale's nose greatly intrigued my son. We knew at that time that this action was against protocol; wish I'd had my camera ready for that very rare moment.

Are "Cast members" the same as Characters? Because I alway wanted to ask one of them to ride something with me. It isn't fair that I see them in pictures riding the carousal... I want that moment before I die. haha :/

In reply to by Michael Lee (not verified)

At 9:20am the step sisters and their mother ride the carrousel every day.

In reply to by Michael Lee (not verified)

Sorry to burst your bubble, but no character will ride with you on an attraction. Characters have even stricter rules than the rest of us do.

I was a cast member at Disneyworld,and we were told if we knew cpr and feel comfortable to use it we call for help first then help the guest, and if we can get to an aed, use it.

My daughter fell in EPCOT a little over a year ago when she was 4, bad cut needed stitches. I did not have a map and asked the cast member where first aide was located. They did not know nor were they allowed to call for assistance when I asked. My daughter was with me crying hysterically and bleeding. Other guests helped more than cast members. I find it easier to carry your own first aid kit from now on when I am in the parks in case anything happens. We have been lucky this was our only problem - we go a few times a year.

In reply to by Karen B (not verified)

I find it hard to believe that the Cast Member was "not allowed to call for assistance". That's usually the first thing we do in a case like this. If the CM didn't know where First Aid was, then they SHOULD have called for assistance, either to ask another Cast Member where First Aid is located, or for medical assistance to help your daughter.

In reply to by Karen B (not verified)

I am sorry your child was injured at EPCOT. We are trained to ask a guest if they are in need of an EMT. We are supposed to ask up to three times during the course of our interaction with the guest. If they told you they were not allowed to call for assistance, they were gravely misinformed. They should have called for a supervisor if they did not have the time to assist you.

i've actually had parents ask me to yell at their kids for them....

I think all these rules are reasonable! If you bring your child, you are the parent and must take care of him!

Just so you know, cast members are now allowed to provide guests with bandaids, that rule changed last year. But that's all they can do and the rest is up to first aid or if necessary 911.

In reply to by A (not verified)

Former cast member here, it's true that we cannot give out bandages or apply them. However, we did sell them. I believe it's a pack of 5 with ointment for $1 and change if they didn't want us to call paramedics or didn't want to visit first aid (where they could get it for free because there are nurses there)

In reply to by Jessica Martinez (not verified)

Or, you can just go to the First Aid station and the trained medical staff will give you a free band-aid.

In reply to by A (not verified)

the rule has not changed! just had training and that's one thing they did mention is never to even give a guest a bandage

Maybe where ever you work you're not
Allowed. But where I work, last summer we were told that we were allowed to give bandaids, but only bandaids. So thanks.

Why would parents ask cast members to ride a ride with their kid anyway? Why can't they just ride it with them?

Also I understand CM's not being qualified to perform medical services, but applying Band Aid, which nobody can screw up on? C'mon!

In reply to by Lisamarie (not verified)

Because the parent gets motion sick, doesn't like thrill rides, is older (there with their grandkids), has an injury (like a broken arm), has another younger child to watch .. there are lots of reason for a parent not to ride. (I personally am too big to be comfortable on Dumbo).

Band-aids seem simple, but the point is, is that it's easy to deny ALL medical treatment than to explain why they can put on a band aid in one conversation, but not ointment in the next. If the child has an allergic reaction to the ointment, for example, guess who they blame?

Again, easier to say "none" than "some but not others"

In reply to by Jennifer (not verified)

I would say that if you suffer from any of what you sad about why a parent can't ride a ride, and that parent took the child by themselves, then the parent shouldn't take the child without someone else that could ride with them.

In reply to by Jennifer (not verified)

Not to mention in this word of disease etc.. Why would you expect somebody not trained to attend to your wound big or small and vice versa they know nothing about you or what they could be exposed too. I agree 100% with this rule it's COMMON SENSE!

In reply to by Lisamarie (not verified)

It's not that is just a band-aid. It's a liability, you ask for a one a cm give you on now the have treated you without medical training and something else could of been wrong and they can say " that they just gave me a bandaid" and stuff. Plus locations don't keep bandaid close to the guest.

In reply to by Lisamarie (not verified)

Some people might be Alergic though and the cast member would be blamed and held responsible for a reaction.

In reply to by Lisamarie (not verified)

Think about it....applying a bandaid requires a person to come into contact with another's bodily fluids. That is t safe without the proper protection or training regarding the bodily fluid.

In reply to by Lisamarie (not verified)

Cast Members cannot apply bandaids or give any medical supplies because someone could be allergic to the supplies. Even if a guest insures they are not allergic, if something happens it goes back on that cast member. Do not get mad at them if they deny you medicine or a bandaid. They can lose their jobs.

In reply to by Lisamarie (not verified)

Many different situations cause them to ask a castmember for this favor... ride car capacity/too many kids that cannot ride alone, single parents having multiple kids, etc. Lets say u have a 6yo and and a two year old and the two year old is too scared to ride. Can't leave the 2yo alone and the 6yo cannot ride it by themselves thus "Can you ride with them?" or "Can you hold my 2yo?" is the parents question.

In reply to by Lisamarie (not verified)

Think of it like a mother has two or three children who are all under the age of 7 years old, but meet the height requirement. Disney has a strict rule where anyone under the age of 7 must be accompanied by someone 14 or older. Most attractions only fit 2 seats, some fit 3 or more. What is the mother going to do after waiting in line for 30+ minutes that one child cannot go because they're not old enough. They panic and ask random guests, or the cast members if they can help her. Either that or they storm off upset.

As for the bandage thing, I would understand because blood is blood. Blood can have so many diseases, that helping someone with a bandage can over dramatically give you AIDS or HIV. Some kind of infection you don't know about. Whether it being a child or an adult, your own safety is always more important than anyone else's. You can't trust that every single guest is not sick with something. Give me some gloves or something I would gladly help. But if I were to help someone with a bandage and then have to stand there for the remainder of the shift freaking out about not having hand sanitizer or washing my hands I would go crazy.

Just my 2 cents.

In reply to by Lisamarie (not verified)

It could also be for Cm safety that they are not allowed to apply band-aids for guest. Possible blood contact and all.

In reply to by Lisamarie (not verified)

when I was a kid my dad had a heart condition and he couldn't go on the rides with me, so we used to make sure someone was with is that could.

In reply to by Lisamarie (not verified)

I'm sure, somewhere along the lines, someone has tried to sue Disney for inappropriately applying a bandaid or something dumb like that. The amount of lawsuits they face is probably ridiculous!

In reply to by Lisamarie (not verified)

Because if a parent has multiple children that can't all fit into one ride vehicle...the only attraction on which I've ever seen a CM ride with a child - and it's a *necessity* some times - is the Tomorrowland Speedway. The child *might* be able to reach the pedal, but still might have difficulty.

As for the band-aid thing...it's more of a hygiene issue than anything. We are not allowed to apply any type of medical ointment or treatment at all. Cast Members do not know how the child got injured, or what the general "status" of the injury (if it's infected, etc.). it's best to just send them to First Aid (or call for medical treatment by qualified personnel) in the parks.

In reply to by Jim (not verified)

If you have more children than you can take on a ride with you (if required) you probably have more children than you can adequately supervise at the park, particularly if there is a problem. Arrange for another adult to be part of the party.

In reply to by Jeff (not verified)

That seems like such an ignorant thing to say! What about a mother with a 6year old who is tall enough, and a 18 month old who is not? That is a completely reasonable amount of children to bring to the park, but still would not be possible for a single mother to take one on a ride as well as stand on the side with the other. Not everyone has the money to bring along another adult for each child on an expensive trip to WDW.

In reply to by Jim (not verified)

I had a cast member ride with me on tomorrow land speedway once. I was technically tall enough to ride the ride on my own, but I could barely reach the pedal and was having trouble pressing it, so one of the cast members that are around the track to help rode with me for the rest of it to press the pedal. I was already partway through the track when he did this though.

In reply to by Lisamarie (not verified)

I guess I would say thank a lawyer for that, because chances are someone somewhere sued over something trivial and thus a rule was born.

In reply to by Lisamarie (not verified)

Because of hippa laws. They cannot touch a child without authorized consent. Not sure about why they can't hand you one but cm can't touch your kid. The child or cm could have something no one is aware of.

#7 PLEASE. I've worked parade crowd control for years and my biggest pet peeve is people dashing across the street with the first floats coming around the corner. Sometimes they make the run BETWEEN floats while dragging kids! Those float can weight several tons and cannot stop quickly, and castmembers can and do put themselves in danger trying to herd guests back onto the curb. Keeping guests from crossing the street is mid-parade like playing a dangerous game of whack-a-mole for us, and it can get you thrown out of the park by security (without a refund) for disregarding your own safety. When the castmembers say don't cross, DON'T CROSS!

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