Have you ever had a shock?

[frazzled one]

I once saw a Mom drag a very unwilling 5 y/o into Space Mountain. The child was screaming and squirming and eventually latched onto some sort of railing in the area ..... Mom systematically peeled all 10 fingers off the rail and continued dragging the kid in - all the while not saying a word but looking very, very grim. They attracted plenty of attention. I can't imagine what their ride experience was like - or that a CM would let such a reluctant passenger ride.

 

[krissy3483]

I've never understood the high heels either. After a full day in the parks, even my sneakers start to bother me and I feel like I can't walk anymore. I thought I saw some crazy shoes on our trip, but badshoe.com definitely takes the cake.

 

[Grog]

or that a CM would let such a reluctant passenger ride.

I've never actually seen it, but have heard that a CM can refuse to let someone take a child on the ride if it is obvious that the child doesn't want to go (i.e. screaming, crying)

 

[hockey mom]

I have seen a cm refuse a couple getting on RnRC. They had a little guy who was almost hysterical and both parents were making him go on. When the CM stepped in and said he could not allow that child on the ride the parents got into a huge fight as to who was going to miss the ride and head out with the little guy. Pathetic!

 

[ekmdisney]

Originally posted by hockey mom
I have seen a cm refuse a couple getting on RnRC. They had a little guy who was almost hysterical and both parents were making him go on. When the CM stepped in and said he could not allow that child on the ride the parents got into a huge fight as to who was going to miss the ride and head out with the little guy. Pathetic!

And I'm sure that they didn't let the poor CM get in a word in one way or the other. Because I'm sure if they did, the CM could have told them they neither one of them had to miss the ride. That they could've done a baby swap.

Some times I really do wonder if I am missing the brain buckets every one checks their brain into at the front gates.

 

[MELSMICE]

Originally posted by ekmdisney
Some times I really do wonder if I am missing the brain buckets every one checks their brain into at the front gates.

LOL - too funny!

 

[perdidobay]

FWIW, last month when we took a 5 year old to WDW, we got in line for RnRC, planned on doing a baby swap, and they wouldn't even let me get inside the building with her, saying you can't do a baby swap on this ride!
It was news to me... has this changed lately?

 

[ChairborneRangr]

I believe the kid swap has changed on some of these rides to be handled at the fastpass line. check with the CM about a child swap pass that you can go through the FP line with. If I could remember where I was reading about this I would post a link.

sorry if this is a useless post

 

[CoMickey]

Originally posted by perdidobay
FWIW, last month when we took a 5 year old to WDW, we got in line for RnRC, planned on doing a baby swap, and they wouldn't even let me get inside the building with her, saying you can't do a baby swap on this ride!
It was news to me... has this changed lately?

When we did the baby swap at RNRC when it first opened we had to go through the fast pass line.

 

[NotUrsula]

Baby swap at RNRC is through the FP line; when you return with the FP you both go, and the FP CM will trade the second parent's FP for a special front of the line pass. They don't let kids who are under the height limit into the building at all (same drill at Space Mtn., Splash and TOT.)

 

[Tina]

Back to some shocking (and gross) stories...

DH and I like to refer to our most recent trip as PukeFest 2004.

The first incident occurred while riding the bus to Epcot one morning. The bus was about half-full and everyone was happily chatting and admiring the scenery. As we rode up toward the turnstiles and bus area, we passed a grassy area leading up to an overpass. We all noticed a taxi cab parked on the side of the road and luggage strewn all over the grass. We all looked curiously at the scene and I could hear everyone wondering aloud what was going on. Well, we soon learned as the woman exiting the rear of the cab lurched forward, vomiting and convulsing on the grass. Everyone on the bus responding at the same time with a loud "EEEEEEWWWWWWWW!"

The next scene occurred on the outdoor patio at the Rose & Crown just before the Illuminations show began. We were seated on the upper patio and there was a large family at the table on the patio below us. We looked down just in time to see one of the children, a girl about 5 or 6 years old, vomiting at her seat. Mom was quick to action as she grabbed the girl's plate of Mac N Cheese and held it under her to catch the mess. Her older brother sat and watched in disgust while holding his nose. Now for the shocking part: they did absolutely nothing to get rid of the offensive platter. They placed it back on the table in front of her and the rest of the family continued with the meal. They didn't even ask the waiter to remove it. Yuck!

 

[chell]

Originally posted by Grog
I've never actually seen it, but have heard that a CM can refuse to let someone take a child on the ride if it is obvious that the child doesn't want to go (i.e. screaming, crying)

I have seen it on the ToT. The CM handled the situation very well.

 

[Kristi1357]

Each of the last two trips we've taken to WDW, we've seen small girls on their father's shoulders, um, shall we say, giving us a view of the moon, or um, that they are aspiring plumbers!

Please keep in mind that if you place your child on your shoulders, that their little bottoms might just be hanging out of their clothing!

Not shocking really, but kinda funny.

 

[YangYang]

We just returned and among the shocking things I observed were the usual "meltdowns" including one on the bus from Epcot to Wilderness Lodge. This man started yelling at his son and whacking his bottom. Nothing that would be considered physical abuse but rather upsetting to my 9 yo nephew all the same. I heard a young teenager use some very inappropriate language in line at Space Mountain. I turned around to see who he was talking to and discovered that it was his father. He had laughingly called his dad a name for trying to get in front of him in line. I saw several adults (obviously parents) who had on objectionable T-shirts. But probably the most shocking thing I witnessed was at MGM. We were waiting to exit and get our hand stamped. The CM was busying answering a question from a departing guest. This woman and her daughter (9 or 10 yo) were trying to come in one of the turnstiles that was closed. The daughter kept saying that it was an exit but the mother forced the little girl through anyway and then she herself squeezed through. I was speechless! I guess that's one way to save money!

 

[Princess Dot]

A few years ago I was riding Goofy's barnstormer with my 2 girls who were 3 and 4 at the time. In front of us was another little girl who told me she was 5. She then asked if she could ride with us. I asked where her parents were and she said she was with her Dad and he said this ride was just for kids so he let her get on the line alone.

Now, you know that you can not see this line the whole time from outside the ride area. So already I am worried. Of course I said she could ride with us, although this caused a bit of a problem when we got on the ride. I was planning on having my girls ride together and I would ride with the other girl. But they said you have to be 7 to ride without an adult in the seat with you! Oh boy,what do we do now? Well, the cm had the 3 girls cram into one seat while I rode behind them. Not the most fun, but the girls didn't seem to mind.

The real trouble begins when we get off the ride and the girls Dad is no where to be found! I am trying to stay calm as she tells me what he looks like and what he was wearing and I start to look around for him. No luck and the little girl is starting to cry (and my girls were getting upset too!) I go to the CM at the entrance and they take over from there. But this sweet little girl starts to really cry and begs me not to leave her! Now I am crying too!

Well the CM was really sweet and he did convince her to go with him to see Mickey and I assured her that it was safe to go with him and I would keep looking for her Dad. After some frantic searching I do eventually find him in the store at the exit (he was not there earlier) and I approach him to ask if he was "Ashley's" Dad. He says yes, and does not seem concerned at all! I bring him to the CM at the entrance and they bring her back. Well she was sooo happy to see him, tears streaming down her face but Dad seemed to think it was no big deal THAT HE HAD NEARLY LOST HIS DAUGHTER!!! Sorry for the caps but that is how I felt at the time.

No thank you from the Dad (not that I needed one, but if anyone had done the same for me I would kiss their feet in gratitude!) nor an apology for leaving this small child unattended for a LONG period of time.

My girls were so upset and a lot of the day was ruined for us due to the stress of this escapade. I could not stop crying as all I could think of is what if something like that had happened to my kids? What if that girl had met some weirdo instead of us? (ok, we can be weird at times too, I mean pedophile weird!) The CMs were so great and they thanked me profusely and calmed me down. Again, I was not looking for praise as I know any Mom, Dad or other caring person would have done the same thing. But what was this guy thinking??!?

This truly was the most shocking thing I have ever seen at WDW.

 

[disvaclub92]

Your poor thing. I cannot believe some people. Especially that ride - since you cannot see the line for the wait.

I do not understand people. I know people who cannot have kids and would treasure to have a child of their own. And here is someone that did not even take the effort to enjoy the ride with his daughter. That is the whole point of the Disney experience.

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

I had a bad shock while in line for Space Mountain this past March. There were some boys (13 or 14 I would guess) sitting on the handrails. The one boy had his butt all the way over in our line. I asked him to please get off the rail. He then proceeds to call me a "fat *itch". I got right up in his face and asked him what he said to me. He wouldn't look at me or say anything else. I was going to let the incident go. Until I am strapped into the seat on SM. I see this little punk in line and he gave me the finger. I swear I have never been so mad. What is that?? There are all kinds of little kids around. Anyway, I tell the CM as he's checking that I am secured and he tells me he will have someone meet me when we get off.

A manager is waiting for me when we get off the ride. I tell him what happens and we wait for the kid to get off the ride. This kid was with his parents!!! They proceeded to say the kid didn't do anything and that I had called him a name like I am going to start being mean to kids at WDW. The manager was great and apologized to me profusely and he warned the kid and his family about his behavior, etc.

 

[daisylove]

I don't know if everyone would be shocked at this after reading all 40+ pages here but... This last March/April I took my DD5 and friend to ride at Norway. Apparently it was a busy spring break. Large school trip time because they were large groups of teens and a few adults thrown in all over the park. Well I had not rode this ride in a while and I think they either changed the line or I just did not remember that it was so long inside. It was also hot, something was wrong with the air. So we are in line for at least 30 minutes and made it right to the middle where you can really only stay or go forward as it progresses) All around us is a large group of kids speaking Spanish I think . Obviously a school trip. A couple adults up front "with them" but ignoring them completely and a couple with the group behind us, also ignoring the 70 or so teens. We are all hot and tired. Had run into similar groups all day and every one was rude, pushing, hitting, swearing, whatever the school or language , tall or small, just badly behaved across the board. Keep in mind that this was my DD's 5th B-day and we were trying to keep it happy for her also her first ride on this ride. I ended up having to carry her (almost 50 lbs)because of kids pushing etc.(ohh help my back and temper) But I stayed calm and happy for her. Until...3 rows from the loading area the kids in front of us start talking and gesturing to the kids in back of us ( mind you the kids in back were about 3 families back and definitely came at least 5 minutes after we entered the line so we did not cut anyone) Then there is a surge of rude teens and the adults too which really got me. pushing all of us out of the way and jumping over rails to meet the group in front of us. Literally a sea of about 45 exchanging places. Now my DD is already tired ,cranky, sad just wanting to ride this ride and is now forced to pretty much begin the wait again. Can't just leave because she will be crushed. Can't turn into a Tasmanian devil on the teens when the adults with them obviously see nothing wrong with teaching them that rudeness is ok. And certainly can't do anything but fume with my sweet DD confused and hurt personally by this betrayal at the happiest place on earth. Needless to say when we did get on she did not enjoy it so neither did any o us and she was worried the rest of the trip that "mean" people would bother her. Wow this is long. Guess it really did bother and shock me. sorry I hope that when my DD is old enough for a school trip she will know to be kind and considerate and I hope her friends parents have taught them the same so some other little girls b-day won't be affected. Teach your children well.

 

[disneyholic family]

well....we should take all these incidents with a grain of salt...
after all, i'm sure we've all been to WDW about a billion times and encountered a gazillion people.....so out of all that, naturally we''ve all had some shocking/disturbing/upsetting encounters....

let's see if i can think of our worst ones.....
we were standing in line for the land.....in front of us were two separate groups....one group was hispanic, i think actually from south america, the other group was american........sort of skinheads would best describe them.....well.....one of the americans started up with one of the south americans.....for absolutely no reason at all....i witnessed the whole thing....it started very suddenly and became very violent very quickly.....everyone in line wanted to get away but we were kind of dead center and stuck.....it was very scary.....fortunately, disney security descended on the scene within moments....and i do mean descend.....they came in a HUGE show of force.....all at once....swooping down in effect....they quickly removed the american group (which was clearly the one at fault and clearly very scary looking).....they apologized profusely to the south american group, took them out of line and to the front so that they could get on quickly......that was a scary one.....

another time, we were in line at the haunted mansion....a very long, very hot line....all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a pack (more like gang) of youths...about 15 of them....came barging through the line....making an awful noise and just using their body force and very loud noise to push their way through this long line.....we were close to the front of the line, where we could already see the doors of the mansion.....this group was really terrifying as they came bearing down on us from behind....(the line stretched way back to that ship area.....)
the group passed us and as they got to the door of the mansion a HUGE group of disney security pounced on them....and i don't even know where the disney security came from it was so sudden.....i'm not sure if they were behind us or if they came out of the mansion....but they were a huge group....they grabbed this gang and muscled them out of the line....and i assume out of the park......

it's clear that disney has cameras everywhere, so they can see when something like that is happening.....in both cases they were very quick and efficient....

i know i have other incidents after 31 years of WDW, but those are the two that stick out in my mind..

as for the public urination....that's a cultural thing...i live overseas now (an american living overseas)....i see it ALL the time...not that i'm any less shocked....but it's perfectly acceptable here...and not just for little kids...the men too.....disgusting....

 

[Luv2Roam]

I've never actually seen it, but have heard that a CM can refuse to let someone take a child on the ride if it is obvious that the child doesn't want to go (i.e. screaming, crying)

I have seen it, and felt very bad for the girl. It wasn't shocking. Just bad parenting in place.
It was ToT and a girl, I would say around 10, was with her parents. She did not want to go on ToT. She was crying constantly the entire wait in the boiler room.
Her parents were of no help. "Shut Up. Stop being such a baby."
I tried to console her and tell her Disney would not do anything to harm her and tried to explain the ride in a comforting manner.
Then she tells me she is afraid because she just had come off RnRC with her parents.
I said if you did that, ToT is easy!
Then she said her parents had told her RnRC "was nothing". And they were saying the same about ToT.
And obviously to her, RnRC was not just nothing.
(And saying all this with her parents standing next to her clutching her hands tightly as if she will bolt.)
So thank you parents -- she has now instilled in her mind you are cruel liars.
And she was such a sweet and polite girl. This was a time when the kid had more sense than her parents. Girl you couldn't help but like. Parents you loved to despise.
The girl was near hysterics by the time we reached the elevators and the CM would not allow them to ride.