ScoutN said:Email the park for that response. That is not one of my smart responses either
Does the park staff themselves call them that?
New Costumes
- Thread starter Griffon
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Does the park staff themselves call them that?
They're costumes because it's a theme park. Yes, the costumes are uniform, in that sense of the word, and yes, they are required wear, but the people who work at good theme parks are part of the themed experience, and as such are performers.
Again, I'd compare it to Colonial Williamsburg. I mean, the Red Coat getup is a work uniform for anyone marching in the military parades, true,but it is primarily a costume for a performer.
Again, I'd compare it to Colonial Williamsburg. I mean, the Red Coat getup is a work uniform for anyone marching in the military parades, true,but it is primarily a costume for a performer.
doctormoneymd said:
They would take great offense to the term "costume." They refer to their garb as their "kit."
The park is set up like a production. The areas where the guests are allowed are considered "onstage" and all of the areas they aren't allowed (as marked by signs that say "Team/Cast Members Only (depending on how old the area is)) are considered "backstage." we were originally called Cast Members therefore we wore costumes, not uniforms. All of that terminology is still used besides Cast Members. And yes since the park and uniforms are so heavily themed, wearing costumes just makes sense. And plus, would you really wear some of the costumes out in public (forget about OFs new ones and all of the normal looking ones). I for one would never wear Festa's, Sesame's, LODs, or many others out in public.
I (and I think most people) would associate "costume" with portraying a character. I can't fathom if I was a ride op at BG referring to my uniform as a costume. Would seem incredibly silly to me. But whatever.
Not to impune the quality of Busch Gardens employees (I've ever had a bad experience with them), but don't you think maybe the fact that some of them "can't phathom" calling their uniforms costumes is a small part of the problem?
I promise you that people who work in Tomorrowland understand their unis to be costumes.
I promise you that people who work in Tomorrowland understand their unis to be costumes.
Shafor said:
I was just commenting on the general decline of the overall theming and attention to detail at the park, and I'm not the only one who has this perception. I only meant to say that if the employees cannot see their unis as costumes, then they don't see themselves as performers...they see themselves as operators, janitors, what have you. That indicates a problem with park culture. The bosses and the hirers and the leadership ought to be impressing upon the CMs (or is it TMs now?) that they are, themselves, a huge part of the themed experience.
Don't get the wrong idea. I think Busch Gardens is awesome. I'll be there in a few weeks all the way from Canada. It's far superior to KD, and I won't even go to SF or those kinds of places. I still buy season passes (when I'm living in the area) to the park. I just think there are some things that could be improved, and this uniform situation (and the culture that surrounds it) is one of those things.
the only thing I don't like is that they made the workers at Alpengeist change there uniforms now that doesn't make sense to me
This might be the dumbest conversation I've been a part of on this board. I mean, does anybody in their right mind consider a cashier a "performer?" Good grief. Is the cash register a "prop?" So silly.
Do you guys consider the peanut vendor at a football stadium a professional athlete too? Just silly semantics.
doctormoneymd said:
Theming land for land there for Busch or any other cannot even be compared. The theming of the attractions, stores, and what not is not even in a comparable category. Take note of how employees carry themselves attraction wise with the theming at Disney vs elsewhere. They truly are in character and on stage. The level of uniqueness that is at Disney also requires that the "costume" term be maintained. They have an entire class for new employees on the term "costume."
Shafor said:
1) A football game is a demonstration that a spectator goes to watch.
2) You better believe that the venue owner rightly considers the behavior and decorum of that vendor to be a reflection on the venue, itself.
3) A theme park is intended to be an immersive experience. Again, you don't see the "cashier" at the Apothecary in CW dressed in a polo shirt and khakis. He is PART of the themed experience, and as such, is a performer.
It's not semantics. It matters. The quality of the illusion is DIRECTLY correlated to enjoyability of the experience. Theming, from the cashier to the roller coaster, is what makes Disney World the industry leader, and what makes Busch Gardens lightyears ahead of King's Dominion.