Disney World employees share the 7 things they wish park-goers would stop doing

"A lot of guests sort of ignored safety-related directions," Devin Melendy, a former cast member and author of "Devin Earns Her Ears: My Secret Walt Disney World Cast Member Diary," told Business Insider.

Melendy, who worked in Frontierland, said she often helped with crowd-control during park parades. She said she felt "uncomfortable" whenever she asked guests to move to a better location and often got attitude in response.

Quagliano agreed, adding that he sometimes encountered guests who were reluctant to comply with requests like moving strollers to the side to avoid blocking foot traffic.

"We don't tell people what to do just for the sake of doing it," Melendy said. "Disney is very devoted to safety and making sure that guests are happy and in a safe zone. We don't do it for fun. It's so everyone can enjoy the park and the parades in a safe manner."

"You'll have guests try to argue about the height requirement when they're at the front of the line," former Disney cast member Christina Hartless told Business Insider. "You'll have guests who try to stuff their kids' shoes."

Hartless worked at the now-defunct Epcot attraction The Sum of All Thrills

The ride, which allowed guests to custom-design a simulated roller-coaster experience, had two height requirements. You had to be 48 inches tall to ride and 54 inches tall to use the feature that would flip the attraction upside down.

As a result, Hartless said she often encountered people who'd try to persuade cast members to look the other way when it came to height requirements.

"I once had a family tell me that they had come all the way from Brazil just so their three year old could ride that ride," she said. "Which I kind of doubted."

Fortunately, Walt Disney World's website allows you to check which rides have height requirements before you waste your time waiting in line and bugging cast members.

Magical moments are a Disney parks tradition.

The Disney Information Station defined a magical moment as "a spur of the moment act of kindness between cast members and the guests."

A magical moment can be anything from a cast member slipping a family a free fast pass to a cast member giving a child a free pin or Mickey Mouse sticker.

Former Disney World cast member Jake Kleckner, who worked in Frontierland, told Business Insider that "giving away free stuff" was one of his favorite things to do while working in Frontierland.

"I did it so much more than I was supposed to because I just thought it was so fun to surprise someone," he said.

They're supposed to be spontaneous although, oftentimes, cast members also use magical moments to fix problems or cheer up guests — like giving a kid a certificate to replace his or her dropped ice cream cone.

But you shouldn't ask for a magical moment. You'll just be putting cast members in an awkward spot.

Former cast member Missy Farni said she encountered a number of guests who explicitly asked for free stuff and magical moments.

"I was like, 'No. That's not how that works,'" she told Business Insider. "It's a magical moment because it happens when you're not expecting it. Not when you ask for it. Don't ask cast members for magical moments. Because it's probably not going to happen."

Kleckner described one magical moment led to a situation that he said left a bad taste in his mouth.

He had just given a kid — who was at the park by himself — a free fast pass to Splash Mountain to brighten his day. Kleckner said that a man, who had witnessed the magical moment, walked up and demanded fast passes for his whole family.

"It was just like, I can't believe you're taking advantage of the kindness that we have set aside for people who might actually be experiencing a bad time," he said. "I knew at the back of my mind that if I said no, I'd get in trouble. All he had to do was go tell someone that he asked me for something and I didn't give it to him, and I most likely would've gotten in trouble."

He said that guests shouldn't blatantly ask for free things and magical moments, as it goes against the spirit of the tradition and is unfair to cast members and their fellow guests.

Former cast member Chantelle Judd, who worked in Frontierland, told Business Insider that she was sometimes concerned with how older guests went about trading pins with children and cast members.

"Often, they would pick out the best ones for themselves and leave the kids with the ones that weren't so favorable," she told Business Insider. "Don't get me wrong, I understand how pin trading works, it was just sad at times to see younger kids miss out on some great pins as a result of older people wanting these."

Judd said she would purchase pins herself to give to younger guests.

"Often, kids would work so hard for pins, and they really deserved these," she said.

Kleckner said he sometimes encountered pin hunters who'd interrupt him in the middle of a rush — or even grab his shoulder to get his attention.

"They'd be like, 'Can I please see your pins?'" he said. "I'd be like, 'Of course you can.' But what I wanted to say was, 'Don't touch me. Your fascination with the pieces of metal around my neck is not more important than my personal space.' I never got to say that."

Kleckner said that he understands that pins are fun to collect and said he's kept his own collection. But he said some guests' "obsessive" behavior over the pins was enough to make him "uncomfortable."

"We got in trouble if we didn't wear our pin lanyards," he said. "But truly and honestly sometimes I just left mine in my car."

Sometimes, nobody's to blame when things go wrong.

Florida weather can be unpredictable. Many of the cast members at the park have nothing to do with operating rides, which need to be shut down from time to time. And most cast members have no say over the prices at Walt Disney World.

So scapegoating cast members isn't the way to react to misfortune at the park.

"If a ride goes down, don't blame the cast members," former Disney cast member Meghan O'Neill, who worked in Future World in Epcost, told Business Insider. "It isn't their fault. Just be nice, we appreciate it."

"People would come to us with the strangest requests and complaints — like for some reason it was our job as the merchandise cast members near Splash Mountain to make up for someone having a bad experience on the ride itself when that wasn't even our department," Kleckner said.

Judd said that, while she understands how pricey Disney trips can be, it's not possible for cast members to just start handing out arbitrary discounts. So don't ask.

"There are definite ways to cut costs — you are able to bring in your own food and drinks — no alcohol — so anything food related could be sourced from home," she said.

Quagliano told Business Insider that he's experienced interacting with guests who started "screaming at you over something nobody has control over, like the rain."

"'Why is it raining? I paid so much to come here!' And you're standing there with a smile on your face like, 'Alright, I'll control the weather next time,'" he said. "'Sorry about that.'"

"Remember that the cast member that you're talking to is human," Farni said.

Farni asked that guests not assume the worst about cast members before they even have a chance to try and resolve the situation.

"Disney cast members are there for the guest first and foremost," she said. "They're going to try to help you out in any way that they can. Know that they're coming from a good place."

Kleckner said that some people treat those working customer service and retail jobs as beneath them, because "... they have this mindset that you're just a little bit lower than them because you're serving them." And Disney guests were no exception, he said.

"I think that people when they go to Disney just have this inflated sense of self," he said. "Yeah, you're here. You paid a lot of money to be here. But if you could please tone it down a little bit, that'd be great, because you're really bringing me down right now."

"Just be kind," Kleckner added. "Please be kind. If you are having a bad day, just be nice. It takes zero energy to be nice, and it takes so much energy to be negative and take your frustrations out on the poor cast member who's just trying to do their job."

Are you a current or former Disney cast member with a story to share? Email acain@businessinsider.com.