Not our finest moment as a family..whats yours lol

[luvbeinamom]

Having our two year old and 3 month old, we had planned to go back to the hotel for a mid day nap. It was only 11:30, but when we told our daughter we were going back to the hotel for a bit, we hadn't realized she had already reached the point of no return. She had a major meltdown in front of Mickey's house. I laughed and took a picture. She was being so rediculous I found it funny and wanted the memory. My DH got mad at me because he was embarassed about her crying and throwing herself on the ground and I was just standing there laughing.
I walked away with our 3 month old knowing he was certainly going to be more level headed with her than I would be at that moment.
We all deal with things different I guess. I still love this picture and the memory of that day even if it was a tense time as a family.

 

[luvbeinamom]

I had a meltdown in MK last year. It was during a trip with my MIL and both she and my DH got sick. The entire trip just went off the rails. We ended up in MK on a Saturday afternoon - pure insanity - and as we were sitting under a tree in Frontierland one of those large white birds flew over us and pooped all over us. That just did me in so I burst into tears and cried "I am SO over this trip! I just want to go home!!". Oh I lost it.

I totally understand the tears! I would have broke down as well.

 

[ttintagel]

I had a meltdown in MK last year. It was during a trip with my MIL and both she and my DH got sick. The entire trip just went off the rails. We ended up in MK on a Saturday afternoon - pure insanity - and as we were sitting under a tree in Frontierland one of those large white birds flew over us and pooped all over us. That just did me in so I burst into tears and cried "I am SO over this trip! I just want to go home!!". Oh I lost it.

Where is the bluebird of happiness when you need him?

 

[budafam]

I have 2... both were on our last trip in May with my MIL (surprise, surprise ) The first one was the fact that we dragged my non-willing 5 year old son on Tower of Terror. We lied and told him we were just checking out the queue... then we got on the ride and he figured it out, screaming the whole time. We're bad parents I guess.

The second one was on our very last day. We started the walk around World Showcase. My big plan for the day was to let DD3 pick a pearl. I had been talking about it the WHOLE trip. We walked past Mexico and I did not see the counter service area... by the time I said something, we were in Norway and I had wanted to get myself nachos & a margarita. DH flipped out on me about not paying attention. That got the ball rolling. Eventually we were just at each others throats and I took DS5 to get away from it all for a bit. We walked ahead of everyone else and when we came back, they were in Japan, PICKING A PEARL WITH DD3!!! I was bawling my eyes out when I saw them doing it without me and MIL KNEW I was mad. I'm still mad at her for it and I haven't done anything with the crappy pearl that she let the CM pick out!!! The WHOLE POINT OF PICK A PEARL IS TO PICK IT YOURSELF!!! Ugh... k, I'm done.

 

[DessertGirl]

This is too funny...I have to add ours!

It was our first trip in May 2009. My husband was in grad school and had been very busy, so we had been looking forward to this trip for a long time. We left early in the morning and got to CBR by 1:00pm. We quickly boarded a bus to the MK and we were on our way. All four of us were tired, hungry, and had that yucky "I've been traveling all day" feeling. We got to the MK, it was crowded and hot and humid. We went to Casey's for a quick bite to eat and then rode buzz and pirates. On the way out of pirates I got super sick to my stomach and was feeling so sick. My husband suggested we duck into the tiki room where it was dark and cool. As we sat there waiting for the show to start I realized that it was a bad combo from the heat, the food, and the traveling and this day wasn't turning out to be my picture perfect Disney vacation! I started to cry, and cry. I knew in my head I was being ridiculous, but couldn't stop just the same. As soon as the show started and those crazy parrots started singing I felt better. The rest of the trip turned out great and we had a fabulous time!

We learned that day not to push ourselves out first day!!!! Ha ha!!!

 

[dtstampz]

I guess for us it'd be MVMCP back in 2009. My son had recently been diagnosed as hypoglycemic and his blood sugar (and consequently his mood) were not well under control yet.

My husband is a bit crowd-phobic and gets surly under stress.

My daughter was a bundle of overly-talky anxiety, due to everyone else in the family being snappish.

And I was just trying to manage everyone! (Probably over-managing, as I sometimes do.)

Probably our "finest" moment was when my son, in the middle of a Christmas Party stage show in the most magical place on Earth, with castmembers dancing on all sides, suddenly wailed, "I'M NOT HAPPY!" and burst into tears. Fortunately no one noticed, as there was too much going on around us for anyone to hear us. I terrorized him into silence before my husband could flip out, and then I dragged the entire family over to a spot in front of the castle and parked them there for the rest of the night.

The fireworks, parade and stage show made up for a lot!

Oh my gosh--this made me laugh out loud! And it's been a tough day & I
needed a good laugh. Thanks for sharing--I am SO using this for our trip in
5 days!

 

[Albion218]

Haha well our meltdown happened the morning we were leaving for Disney. My mom and I were flying in to play tour guide to my aunt, uncle and 3 cousins who would be arriving later in the day. Well I was so excited I couldn't even sleep the night before. I'm also a worrier when packing.

I finally fell asleep around 3:30am and we had to get up around 6. I told my mom to wake me at 5:30 so I could straighten my hair, so I didn't even think about looking for my straightener. Well I will talk to people and turn off my alarms without even waking up, so when my mom finally comes beating down my door at 6:10, I spring up and freak out. I asked her why she didn't wake me up! She says she did and we end up in a huge argument. I go to straighten my hair and what's missing but my straightener. Turns out I left it at my DBFs family's house when we went to visit them. I am 20 years old and don't wear a stitch of make up and straighten my hair only, so my straightener is pretty sacred!

My mood is shot from lack of sleep and lack of straightener and now so is my mothers. We finally screamed and yelled until we couldn't any longer. I also stopped and used my money on a new straightener we now refer to as the emergen-chi. Once we stepped off the plane in Orlando things were perfect and we didn't argue once during the trip! I joke that when we go on vacations we need to start a fight before we go to the airport so we can get it out of our system!

 

[maryj11]

Happened to us are first trip. We underestimated break time. I think we failed to realize how much sensory fatigue there is. Yes it's hot and there is a lot of walking but I think your brain just needs a break now and then. That's part of the reason I love the dining plan with table service meals.

Totally agree with the dining plan thing That table service meal is what helps us to relax and regroup. Aww getting into the air conditioning, sitting our tired legs down to a very nice meal is a great pick me up.

 

[ajh88]

Animal Kingdom is our meltdown park of choice...I don't recall us ever loudly arguing with each other, but on 2 separate trips we have experienced:

1. DH left the camera case open, dropped our camera, the film and batteries popped out on the bridge to Africa, and DH lost it. I wasn't sure I would ever be able to talk him down from that. He was primarily mad at himself...

2. We criss-crossed the park multiple times and I was HUNGRY...I about lost it because my DH didn't read my mind and figure out that I needed food and drink, like NOW. DD & I had a pretzel and bottled water while DH went and rode EE...all's well that end's well.

I also had one EPCOT meltdown...I needed to use the restroom and DH walked us clear over to the Odyssey, only to find that there were no facilities there. We were in the no man's land between Future World and WS, I was feeling a bit motion sick (from Journey into Imagination no less), and I was crying a little. I just needed a bathroom, a snack, and a drink...in about that order.

We have learned...to zip the camera bag always, to know where all the restrooms are at all times, and to feed me when I'm hungry or thirsty. I also take a Bonine a day while at WDW, just in case.

And just so my vomit story isn't excluded...in 2005, we all got a touch of stomach flu on our trip - starting with my nephew on the trip down and cycling through my sister, my mom, my dad, my DD, and me (I got sick on the trip home). DD was 4 at the time and she and I were sharing a bed. I woke up in the middle of the night to her throwing up...in my MOUTH! I guess I was mouth-breathing and she hit the target (she was half asleep herself). ACK! At least she had eaten Oreo cookies before bed...

 

[maryj11]

Melt down at Epcot.
Of all the parks and days this happened at my favorite park and the most planned day. It was the last day of our trip, we were all kind of tired because we went to bed late and got up early. It was at least 95 degrees out and we were all hot and hadnt eat yet. Our melt down began about 2 hours after we arrived.
My grand daughter began to fuss and whine she was hot and hungry with tears in her eyes, my daughter began to scold her and told her to straighten up and that I spoil her and let her behave this way. Actually my daughter was behaving as badly as my grand daughter so I said you are not setting a good example. She got mad at me because she said her daughter wouldnt listen to her because of me LOL ! Anyway we all were mad at each other, hot, sweaty, tired, and hungry. We did go get something to eat and then did Kim Possible even though we were still hot we had fun searching WS It was one of those kind of days where you are sweating about 10 minutes after you leave the resort.
Later on after playing Kim Possible and touring around WS we had another melt down. I think with the so very hot temps and my daughter and her caffeine addiction with her not being able to find mountain dew anywhere were a big factor in these melt downs or fights lol
Everyone was thristy so we went to one of the drink stands near Canada. I was trying to calculate the cost of the drinks to figure out if I should pay OOP or use our dining credits. Well I'm not super quick with math so according to my daughter I was taking to much time. She basically yelled out to me that WE ORDER OVER HERE WILL YOU HURRY UP ! Pointing to the lady at the cash register ! I began to boil and yelled back how can you scold your daughter for having an attitude and being rude when your are doing the same thing ! We yelled a few other things back and forth . The lady at the cash register had this wide eyed scared look on her face lol. During the whole day I tried to remain calm but this was the breaking point. I usually do not yell in public and was ebarrassed afterward lol. After that my duaghter went back to the resort room and me and my grand daughter stayed at Epcot until illuminations.
The next day everyone was fine and all forgiven. I think this was one of the worst days I have had at Disney World ! I think next time I will order a case of mountain dew from the garden grocer to avoid her caffeine withdrawals !

 

[Ckmommy72]

Ours occurred at AK. On the bridge near the Nemo show to Asia, near EE. DH is in sales and works from home. Each week, he takes/mails his signed contracts and checks/credit card info he's collected from his sales that week to his office. The information must arrive by Tuesday for him to get both credit for his numbers as well as paid his commission for that week's payroll. DH can be a little well, lets say rigid about getting it there. Most of the time, he drops it off personally, however, we were scheduled to leave on an early Saturday morning flight and were staying at an airport hotel Friday night, so there would not be time. He wanted to go out of our way to the post office to drop his mailing at the post office and I (being a stressed out control freak) insisted that just putting it in the mailbox up the street was sufficient, as it was Friday afternoon, and the office was 2 towns over, so it would surely arrive by Tuesday. He seemed fine with this at the time.

Well, Tuesday was our AK day and as we were heading for Everest to use our FP's, DH checks his phone and has an email from the office saying they'd just gotten the mail and his stuff hadn't arrived yet. He'd get no credit or commission that week. He was PI$$ED . Blamed it on me not "letting" him take it to the post office. We were already a bit hot, hungry and tired, so I did not take this well. Almost left his butt on the bridge to find his way back to the resort. But I didn't, we both got over it, and his paperwork arrived the next day. It was by far not our proudest moment.

 

[elaine amj]

And just so my vomit story isn't excluded...in 2005, we all got a touch of stomach flu on our trip - starting with my nephew on the trip down and cycling through my sister, my mom, my dad, my DD, and me (I got sick on the trip home). DD was 4 at the time and she and I were sharing a bed. I woke up in the middle of the night to her throwing up...in my MOUTH! I guess I was mouth-breathing and she hit the target (she was half asleep herself). ACK! At least she had eaten Oreo cookies before bed...

EEEKKK - that's gotta be the grossest vomit story I've heard!! (and I thought mine was bad...my DD once puked all over my face)

 

[PhoenixStrength]

My story is from my first trip when I was 13 with my father, mother and 2 younger sisters (7 and 10). The meltdown actually happened at another park (one with aquatic animals ) but the follow-up happened in WDW, so I'll post it here!

My family drove to all of our vacations, the first flight I ever took was when I was 23. We left around 9:30pm in my Mom's mini-van. My Dad was driving, my Mom in the front passenger seat, I was in the back row of 2 seats alone, and my 2 sisters were sharing the middle row of 3 seats. We had practiced beforehand, and all 3 of us were able to lie down comfortably so we could sleep overnight during the 16 hour drive. Unfortunately my DSis7 couldn't sleep, so she decided no one could sleep. She talked non-stop the entire ride down, so none of us slept. I've always had insomnia, so I was fine. DSis10 was okay, my Dad knew he wasn't sleeping since he was driving so he was fine, my Mother was not! If she doesn't get at least 10 hours of sleep a night you don't want to be near her! She insisted we still go to SeaWorld as planned, so we did. We were there about 2 hours before she lost it. I don't remember what it was over, but she started screaming and crying and sat on a bench and refused to move. My dad had to get her an ice cream (to at least help her blood sugar, as she is mildly hypoglycemic too, though too mildly to need meds). Once she finished it she felt a little better, but we still left the park, having done almost nothing. We grabbed dinner then went to our (offsite) hotel. We all went right to sleep and spent the rest of the week at WDW, with no further meltdowns. We just made sure she slept well each night and never got too hungry and all was good. When we went back down for our second trip 2 years later we left at 4am, got to the hotel around 8pm and went right to bed. We learned from the first trip!

 

[disneydee6]

I thought of my own meltdown. We were on the line for the 2nd show of Fantasmic! and they were having technical difficulties. We waited, and waited, and waited some more. Then, success, we were let it into the queue, the long walk into F! When, stopped again, technical difficulties. So, in the heat of the summer, we were all packed in the walk area (with lots of fun yelling tour groups, I'm not going to start a fight about which...but I'm sure you all can take a guess as to what kind of tour groups it was). Again, patiently waiting. And waiting. And I had it! I started pouting, saying that we should just leave. Then, I was stomping my feet, complaining about how HOT it was, that this was b.s...among other not so nice words. I was screaming at my family at this point, saying that I wanted to leave!! I pushed through a bunch of people and sat down on the ground on the side, my family not coming after this 20 year old acting like a 2 year old. I was so furious. A few minutes later, Hallelujah, we were allowed in. I pulled myself together, and walked in with my loving, and forgiving family. I look back at this, not a fine moment, and there was nothing my family could've done about it, but they did let me have my moment of frustration without being hard on me at all.


Another time, on our first trip, we were at MK, and about to go onto BTMRR, and my sister, who was 9 at the time, was not about to go on any roller coaster. My dad had to use the bathroom, and we got on the line with sister in protest. We figured we would call him to and come get my sister off the line. Only the line ended up being a very short wait, and my dad, as usual, did not have his phone on him (kept safe in the hotel room ). As we lined up for the ride, my sisters fury was evident. We asked her, cautiously, "Are you going to ride it?" and she looked at us and yelled, "Yea...CAUSE MOM'S FORCING ME!" We rode it, and so did she. It ended up being her favorite ride, and every trip since, we bring that up on that line.

 

[Squidgyness]

Ill post my story that i mentioned a while back (hopefully on a different thread)

On our 09 trip, several things combined to make me, a 17 year old boy (I don't think I was a man just yet lol) melt down big time.

I was overweight, got cranky if I was hungry, had terrible joints in my legs, didn't deal well with heat, had some balance issues and hence didn't want to ride the big headliners in most cases because of this, after a motion sickness related incident earlier in the trip.

One day, I didn't get to eat breakfast (HUGE MISTAKE lol) twisted my knee on the bus and got dizzy, thirsty and hungry all at once, while being overheated. Well, then my father starts a CONSTANT stream of "I paid x amount of money for this, ride some rides" "hurry up!" "We'll eat later, come on, at least ride one roller coaster" and so on and so forth.

Well, I lost it. Went into full on, quiet rage, murder plotting sulking mode. This lasted for that whole day and the next morning in the privacy of our room when my father started up again I lost it even more lol. I burst into tears, screamed that I was staying put and they could go without me, I'd just swim. Well my mother is a little protective of me, and said no I had to come or no one was going. After 30 minutes of trying to persuade, bribe or intimidate me into changing my mind, she finally got my father to say we could just do a lazy day and I didn't have to do all the rides.

Well, that lasted for all of 15 minutes. The irony is I was about to crack and just let myself go, but after he started up again that was it and the whole thing repeated all over again. It didn't help that day was REALLY busy...

After that they learned their lesson and didn't try to push me to do anything I didn't feel up too balance wise, so to compromise for this I agreed to go on anything that wouldn't make me really dizzy (no matter how childish my 17 year old brain said it was), and for the rest of the trip I had a blast!

I'm now slimmer and healthier, don't get dizzy so much and have taught myself how to deal with hunger. My family still hasn't quite let go of the fact I didn't want to go on some of the rides, and still accuse me of being chicken... Though this might have played a small part on 1 or 2 rides, admittedly , I still think if they'd either let me sulk by myself at the hotel pool I'd have come around faster... Or is that teenage confidence rearing its ugly head again

Now I feel much more up to going and ready to tackle the big rides, but my next trip isn't even on the horizon... Gah! /long story...

 

[BMWTeamLeader]

The first day of all our trips is usually a fiasco due to early flights, lack of sleep, etc. So bad that this year we are talking about making t-shirts for myself and DDs that say "It's not vacation til somebody's crying" and one for DH that says "It's not vacation til I make somebody cry". Last trip DD got a henna tattoo at Morocco the first day (8:30am flight was changed to 6:00am so we ended up having to get up at 3:30am) and bumped and smudged it 3minutes after leaving the stand. Which turned into a DH tirade about no respect and not taking care of anything blah blah blah until tears were flowing in the world showcase. This year we are taking an 11:45am flight and just going to DTD the first day. Hopefully that will work out better!

I am the over planner in my family. I have a t-shirt I wear if I make it halfway through the trip...from Monty Pythons "Spamalot" proudly professing

I am not dead yet!

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Here are our two......

In 1999, DH and I were staying at Dixie Landings (now POR) for our 10 year anniversary. It was the actual day of our anniversary and it started out magical with us doing Dolphins In Depth and being able to interact with Bob and Toby the dolphins at the time.

Later in the afternoon, after a resort break, we decided to take the boat from POR to DTD. It was back in the day when the boats were smaller, fit less passengers and lines to board were common. Well, we were in line waiting, and I decided I needed to get out of line to use the restroom or go to the gift shop or something that I can't quite remember now. When I came back outside, my DH was standing there and let me know that everyone had boarded except for us and that it had already left!! I just couldn't believe they had "turned the boat" that quickly and that I missed it and, for the life of me, I couldn't believe my DH didn't ask them to hold the boat for me as I would be right back! I was so angry that he didn't ask them to wait and started yelling out to him "why didn't you ask them to wait?????" Everyone around the immediate area turned to look at me because I was laying into my husband and being a real witch. Not exactly a fond memory of our 10 year anniversary. Ugh..... We made it on the next boat and had fun at DTD and a magical dinner in France later that night, but still....it's all these years later and I can still vividly recall laying into my poor DH.

DH is the one who lost it in June 2011. Our DDs, 11 and 7 at the time, were driving us batty the entire trip with their bickering betwen each other. And, our 11yo was driving us nuts PERIOD with her pouty attitude and defiance. DH was especially fed up. Well, the last night, MK was having EMH until 2am and we had planned to stay for it. We had been planning that day/night for months, wondering what MK would be like at that hour as we had never been there so late. We took a long nap in the afternoon and were totally prepared for it. Somehwere about 10pm, DD said something to DH that ticked him off and he just couldn't take it any more. He went off on her in the middle of MK and said "Let's just go. I've had it. We're leaving." Well, trying to prevent him from completely blowing his top, I suggested that she and I would go and that he should stay with our youngest DD. The next thing I knew, he and she were off! I thought I should stick to my word, so older DD and I left MK and silently took the bus back to BCV. DD and I cried silently on the bus because it was such a disappointment and ugly scene we had when this was suppose to be a magical night for our family. DD cried and cried when we got back to our room and cried herself to sleep. It was pitiful and I was sooooo pissed at DH for losing his cool. I heard them come in at 3:00 and couldn't help but feel furious that they had enjoyed all those hours in the MK without us on our last night. The next morning, DH tried to tell me about all the fun they had and how they walked onto so many rides and that the park was virtually empty and on and on. Sorry buddy, not interested!! I cut him off and said " sounds like it was fun", and that is pretty much the last time we've talked about it. He said to me "I didn't think you guys would actually leave.....I thought you'd go off by yourselves and do the rides together, I didn't think you'd actually leave the park". UGHHHHHHHH

On our trip in 2006, we heard the classic statement from a Mom in DHS: It was still pretty early in the morning and we overheard the kids asking if they could go back to the resort to swim. The Mom snapped at her kids, "I didn't spend thousands of dollars on this trip for you to swim in the pool". She obviously never saw the report that states the number one thing that kids enjoy most about their vacation: swimming in the hotel pool!!!

Several days of 24/7 togetherness can wear on any family. Like so many others here, we've had LOTS more magic than un-magic. Way too many magical moments to even list here!!

 

[TandLMommy28]

Oh I have one now... Ugh...

Epcot. My mom takes my 4yo and says she is going to get popcorn. I say it's a bad idea to split up (she always gets lost and never pays attention to things like agreed upon meeting places. I lost her five times last week). She says they need popcorn. I was ready to leave. I pointed to a door directly across from the cart they were headed to and said "I am going to stand in tge a/c inside THIS door".

Thirty minutes later, no sign of them. The cart by the door I was at (for innoventions) didn't have popcorn so they wandered halfway across the park looking for popcorn. Then they went inside tge nearest door ( Mouse Gear) and mom was furious when I wasn't there waiting! Duh! I was inside the door nearest the original cart!

That led to a screaming match that lasted all the way through the park, out the gate, out to the bus stop and most of the bus ride home (thankfully it was nearly empty). I was hot, tired and frustrated. And scared. A few days earlier, mom wandered off at MK, tripped over a curb and ended up in the ER. I think I was just tense that she'd hurt herself again if she left my side. But instead of "I'm worried about you" it came out "you are ruining my vacation". Sigh. Definitely our worst moment ever, Disney or not!

 

[butsy113]

Our "moment" took place at AK. I knew we were buying photo pass so I wanted to get all of the special shots. The one shot I most definitely wanted was my kids holding baby Simba. We saw a photographer on the back side of the park, and asked if he could do the Simba picture. With the tree as a backdrop it was set to be s "perfect" picture. That is until my then 9yo DS decided to throw a fit. The photographer simply wanted him and my DD(7) to stand with his arm partially around his sister. He did not want to touch his sister! Absolutely refused! Of course, I told him he was going to because I said so He finally did but his face was not so pretty in the pic I can't even blame his or my meltdown on heat or hunger. He was being a snot and I just wanted this one pic. I always give to everyone, can't they give me what I want this once? Anyway later in the day things were good again and he asked if we could get the pic redone. We did get it done, but the new pic made Simba look like he was floating through space. I should photoshop his head from the second pic to the first pic, then I'd have my shot! However, I am the type of parent that loves to snap pics of crying fussy kids. That's often how you can look back and see true memories

 

[Disney/Universal Fan]

LOL Mine was not a family Moment as much as it wasnt my finest moment

My husband and daughter dont do "scary" rides. But our rule as a family is you have to try everything at least one time before you can say you dont like it and not have to do it again.

I don't understand why "kids" or other "family members" are forced to ride rides or go on attractions that they are afraid of or do not want to ride. There are enough other things to do at Disney that you don't have to put people in that situation. Of course, who am I to say what is right or wrong, it's just something I cannot understand.
We and our neighbors took a trip to Disney back in 2005. Our neighbor's son, who was eight years old at the time, was completely terrifed of Tower of Terror and did not want to ride it. I told them that I would sit with him while they rode it with the rest of my family. They did not allow that and told the son if he did not ride, they were leaving the park and go back to the hotel and he could stay in the room while they went swimming. Of course, he rode Tower of Tower, was completely shaken up, and for years would not go anywhere that was crowded, or could not stand being " closed in." He saw a therapist for a while and is just now coming out of his shell.
I know that is an extreme example, but may have been avoided.