"Saving money" vs "ripping off Disney"

[roliepolieoliefan]

Rolieoliepoliefan, you mean to tell me that you have never, ever celebrated any of you kids/families/friends bdays after or a little bit before they happen??? If you don't, then kudos to you because that's extremely hard for most of us. I'm not yelling or trying to start something with you, but based on what you said, I just had to ask that question.

.

When in my OP did I ever mention birthday parties at home?

I never did. People make things up from posts they read and then run with it. I said if you can't be at WDW for your birthday, then too bad for you. But I will edit to say, OK at least within the month of your birthday.

But because you can't pull your kid out of school in April when his birthday is and you go to WDW in August and wear the birthday pin anyhow, thats ridiculous. Its not his birthday, its not close to his birthday, end of story.

 

[nunzia]

Is there a difference between squeezing as much fun out of a trip as you can on a budget... and going so at Disney's expense? Yes, yes, they charge a fortune, we'll acknowledge that right up front. But are there things you do -- or family members do, with or without your tacit approval -- that sort of cross the line? Do you think those kind of actions wind up hurting everyone in the end when the company has to factor those losses in to price hikes? Or do you take a "heck, they make enough money as it is" stand?

I have friends who do everything and anything in their power to get the most out of their trips, and I often feel embarassed by some of the things they do. They bring bags to buffets and slip extra food into their purse. "I paid for all I can eat" is their logic, which makes me nuts. "It doesn't say all you can steal!" i reply.

What's your take?

When I was asst manager at the MGM Grand Buffet you would not believe what people pulled..stealing TONS of food, stuffing it in bags and putting them in the baby stroller. Drove me nuts and when we informed guests of our policy of only eating what they could consume in the restaurant they were so indignant. Drove me nuts..soo..The people I travel with don't do this, and I never would either. It is stealing to try and get residence passes if you aren't a resident..it is stealing to lie about kids ages..so many little things, but they all add up to that "I'm allowed to do this because I WANT to" mentality.

 

[Trixiezzz]

 

[CarolA]

Posts like these always make me smile.

People, myself included, are quick to find fault or point out where others are doing wrong, but never see the *speck in their own eye.*

They might be the people who:

- ask to *use* someone else's KOHL's 30% off code!

- try to use 2 coupons for the same product at a drug store and then cheer when they both go through!

- take home a packets of Sweet & Low or napkins from a restaurant

Ok, i could go on and on but you get my point.

So whats the big diff?

It is funny!

How many of you posting the "stories" of others have done a Photo Pass share on here? How many of you have READ the info Disney sends you? Is it "stealing" to violate copyright law? Hmm.......

 

[canuckandy]

Yes, of course it would be ok to get a fridge for any medication.

The people with the zipper bag of shrimp-one day they will get very sick. They deserve to. I hope they don't die, but some of them will. Nothing is free.

I think people should have to pay for that which they take and don't eat.

If it's not your birthday, don't pretend it is. You're stealing from the people who's birthday it is. My daughter is turning 15 next week, please don't steal from my 15 y.o. daughter.

Buffets should be banned because the pathogen counts are.
The food is exposed to dangerous temperatures for far too long.
Frequently food is "married" or stacked, dirty vessels are reused, utensils are not cleaned.
The person restocking the food handles the soiled utensils and does not sanitize his hands.
There is also the risk of moisture borne disease through saliva, urine, faecal matter and others through utensil contact, sneezing, breathing, drooling etc. Never eat unwrapped mints or use unwrapped straws.
Ice is a problem, too, if not handled properly.
Take napkins to the toilet, and do not use the warm air dryer, you'd be better off peeing on your hands. That is why food service professionals are not ever allowed to use warm air dryers, they are too dangerous. Use the napkins to turn off the taps and open the door, most people do not sanitize correctly.
The chronologically capable and the chronologically enhanced should never eat buffet food. Old people and children are far more susceptible.

Remember this, every single time you have "food that doesn't agree with you", you have been poisoned. Probably 48-96 hours ago. Go and see a doctor. You may be able to pass the poison. Your grandmother will die. You need to identify the disease fast enough to protect others and so that the supplier of the tainted food can be reprimanded and corrected.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

When I saw the title of the thread and the OPs name...I thought

Most people aren't going to admit when they do something that they know is wrong... IE..most people (hopefully) KNOW that taking food home from a buffet is wrong.

IMO, having 5 in a room instead of 4 is ok if one is a baby who wont be using the bed anyway.

IMO, when your child turns 3 in the middle of a trip, you can get them in for free because they were 2 when the trip started. CMs tell you that.

And...as far as the bday thing, I think within reason, its fine to go on a day that isnt the EXACT day of your bday and get a pin if the reason you went is for a bday celebration. 2 yrs ago my daughters present was a trip to Disney. But, we went a week BEFORE her birthday, and celebrated then. Not everyone gets to have the exact date available for fun....

 

[DMRick]

My oldest sons dad is retired military and cannot go. If we bought tickets through him (and knew we could get in without him being there) then I absolutely would do it and wouldn't be ashamed of it at all. .

You don't need to go in the park with the military person..however, we did need to be present and show our ID's (licenses for us) when they were bought. Our names are on each ticket. Once there..we all went our separate ways and the parks we each wanted to go to.
Just FYI.

 

[Todd&Copper]

. . .

Remember this, every single time you have "food that doesn't agree with you", you have been poisoned. Probably 48-96 hours ago. Go and see a doctor. You may be able to pass the poison. Your grandmother will die. You need to identify the disease fast enough to protect others and so that the supplier of the tainted food can be reprimanded and corrected.

I am not sure if you meant your post to be funny, but

I only have one grandparent left, and she eats at buffets in Atlantic City all of the time. I hope she doesn't die b/c of bad married shrimp.

 

[Scurvy]

I'm all for saving money, but not for "ripping off Disney". For me, the difference comes when you have to lie about something or sneak to do it. Planning your trip for just before your child turns 10 is smart. Planning to lie about your child's age after they are already 10 is wrong. If you don't want Disney to find out how many people are in your room, you shouldn't have that many people in there.

If you have to lie or sneak to do whatever it is, you obviously know it's wrong and you shouldn't be doing it.

 

[Ava]

Posts like these always make me smile.

People, myself included, are quick to find fault or point out where others are doing wrong, but never see the *speck in their own eye.*

They might be the people who:

- ask to *use* someone else's KOHL's 30% off code!

- try to use 2 coupons for the same product at a drug store and then cheer when they both go through!

- take home a packets of Sweet & Low or napkins from a restaurant

Ok, i could go on and on but you get my point.

So whats the big diff?

I totally agree with you, and I will admit I have done 2 out of the 3 things you listed above. I have also:

- saved the photos from my last trip off of the PhotoPass website because I didn't want to pay $99 for a CD with less than 50 photos on it

- did not tell the front desk that my MIL would be joining us in our hotel room (making a total of 3 adults in the room) for 2 nights out of our 6-night stay

Everyone has their own "moral compass." I'm sure some people find my above-mentioned offenses morally objectionable, and I'm sure others here do things that I would find morally objectionable.

 

[mdrob214]

Yes, of course it would be ok to get a fridge for any medication.

The people with the zipper bag of shrimp-one day they will get very sick. They deserve to. I hope they don't die, but some of them will. Nothing is free.

I think people should have to pay for that which they take and don't eat.

If it's not your birthday, don't pretend it is. You're stealing from the people who's birthday it is. My daughter is turning 15 next week, please don't steal from my 15 y.o. daughter.

Buffets should be banned because the pathogen counts are.
The food is exposed to dangerous temperatures for far too long.
Frequently food is "married" or stacked, dirty vessels are reused, utensils are not cleaned.
The person restocking the food handles the soiled utensils and does not sanitize his hands.
There is also the risk of moisture borne disease through saliva, urine, faecal matter and others through utensil contact, sneezing, breathing, drooling etc. Never eat unwrapped mints or use unwrapped straws.
Ice is a problem, too, if not handled properly.
Take napkins to the toilet, and do not use the warm air dryer, you'd be better off peeing on your hands. That is why food service professionals are not ever allowed to use warm air dryers, they are too dangerous. Use the napkins to turn off the taps and open the door, most people do not sanitize correctly.
The chronologically capable and the chronologically enhanced should never eat buffet food. Old people and children are far more susceptible.

Remember this, every single time you have "food that doesn't agree with you", you have been poisoned. Probably 48-96 hours ago. Go and see a doctor. You may be able to pass the poison. Your grandmother will die. You need to identify the disease fast enough to protect others and so that the supplier of the tainted food can be reprimanded and corrected.

 

[BeckyScott]

Youngest DS has food allergies and we were doing dining plan. The table services would bring him a basket of gluten-free dinner rolls. It just seemed to be a "thing", whether it was a buffet or not, they'd bring a basket of those rolls to the table. And that's great, 'cause he loves them.

But I gotta tell you, it broke my heart to leave them there. I know they go in the trash. And they'd bring like 6 rolls and he'd eat 2. And I know they cost about $5 for a pack of 6 little rolls, 'cause we buy them for him at home. It went against all my budget-conciousness to walk away from dinner rolls that he could have snacked on later, that I knew were just going in the trash, that we literally ration out to him at home because they cost so much. But I did it. Mostly 'cause I only had a fanny pack.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

I want a "dont feed the trolls" emoticon!!

 

[hsmamato2]

They deserve to. I hope they don't die, but some of them will.

You're stealing from the people who's birthday it is. My daughter is turning 15 next week, please don't steal from my 15 y.o. daughter.

do not use the warm air dryer, you'd be better off peeing on your hands. they are too dangerous.

chronologically enhanced should never eat buffet food.

Your grandmother will die. .

I think I'M going to die from laughter now.....
I thought this thread was amusing at first,but now....
No one in the whole wide world has the same birthday anyway,right? b/c that would be stealing.....

I don't know who IS chronologically enhanced,but I think it sounds appealing...
Ok, I think the mod was right,can't last,I'm sad about that...

 

[mrsklamc]

Not quite sure why you feel the need to be all finger-pointy and accusatory about something that, even if it were true -- which, again, it's not -- would be none of your business,

Pot, meet kettle.

That is to say, if people do these things, how is it any of your business.

And actually, I don't have latent guilt over doing those things because I haven't done them. And I don't fixate on other people doing them, because I can't do anything about it, so to fixate on them would just be a very sad existence.

 

[spaceykiddette]

If you have to lie, steal or sneak around it is wrong.

And if you are making your kid lie, then you don't deserve to be a parent.

 

[Kit'smommy]

If it's not your birthday, don't pretend it is. You're stealing from the people who's birthday it is. My daughter is turning 15 next week, please don't steal from my 15 y.o. daughter.

I haven't seen many people really abusing the birthday pins. I am sure it happens, but when I ask children in line about their pins, their birthdays have always been within a few days.

DH and I always go the weekend before our anniversary and have for the last 10 years. We are both in accounting and our anniversary is December 5th. We will never be able to be on vacation and probably will not be able to even go out to dinner on our anniversary. So we celebrate it the weekend before. When we go make ressies and they ask if we are celebrating anything, I tell them we celebrating our anniversary. We get the pins which we may wear the last couple of days we are there and occassionally we get a dessert or something. It may be the 3rd or 4th, but it is still the only time we can go out and have a nice meal and celebrate.

DS's b'day is February 6th. Once again, taking his b'day off from work to do something with him isn't going to happen. This year it fell on a Friday. Saturday we went to Epcot (his choice) and to LeCellier (again, his choice). When I was asked on the phone if we were celebrating anything I said that DS's b'day is the 6th and we were celebrating that. I didn't lie or ask for a note to be made. Still, he got a signed card, a pin and a dessert plate with Happy Birthday written in chocolate for his sundae. Also, many strangers and cast members wished him a happy day. This certainly made the day for my child, and this took nothing away from anyone whose b'day was actually on the 7th.

 

[Ava]

Youngest DS has food allergies and we were doing dining plan. The table services would bring him a basket of gluten-free dinner rolls. It just seemed to be a "thing", whether it was a buffet or not, they'd bring a basket of those rolls to the table. And that's great, 'cause he loves them.

But I gotta tell you, it broke my heart to leave them there. I know they go in the trash. And they'd bring like 6 rolls and he'd eat 2. And I know they cost about $5 for a pack of 6 little rolls, 'cause we buy them for him at home. It went against all my budget-conciousness to walk away from dinner rolls that he could have snacked on later, that I knew were just going in the trash, that we literally ration out to him at home because they cost so much. But I did it. Mostly 'cause I only had a fanny pack.

I'm sure they would've wrapped them up "to go" for you if you'd asked. I've had servers at places like Olive Garden and Outback offer to wrap up our breadsticks/bread with our leftover meals.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Youngest DS has food allergies and we were doing dining plan. The table services would bring him a basket of gluten-free dinner rolls. It just seemed to be a "thing", whether it was a buffet or not, they'd bring a basket of those rolls to the table. And that's great, 'cause he loves them.

But I gotta tell you, it broke my heart to leave them there. I know they go in the trash. And they'd bring like 6 rolls and he'd eat 2. And I know they cost about $5 for a pack of 6 little rolls, 'cause we buy them for him at home. It went against all my budget-conciousness to walk away from dinner rolls that he could have snacked on later, that I knew were just going in the trash, that we literally ration out to him at home because they cost so much. But I did it. Mostly 'cause I only had a fanny pack.

I bet if you had asked the server, they would have boxed them up for you..I mean using common sense, they can't take them back to the kitchen. We have had servers at a buffet ask us if we wanted them to bring extra rolls for us to take home, they even brought a box!


I will admit to the birthday fudging. DS#1's birthday is in March and DS#2's birthday is in January. One year, I promised them a trip to WDW for their birthdays. The best weekend we could take was St. Pat's weekend, the schools here close on the holiday. So I took them on their birthday trip two months after DS#2's brithday. Was that his fault? Not at all. So when I made our resort reservation, I said we were celebrating two birthdays, one actually on the weekend, one that was two months earlier. They left two birthday cards and two helium balloons for the boys in the room upon our return to the room one night. I also got each of them a pin at Guest Services..it was a birthday celebration for both of them. Yes, I know the pin says "It's my birthday", but I got it anyway. I am not aware of any other free thing in the parks for birthdays, and if it makes anyone feel better..neither boy wanted to wear the pin all day, so no CM took precious time away from a "real birthday" kid to tell mine "happy birthday".

 

[disneyjunkie]

That is to say, if people do these things, how is it any of your business.

It becomes our business when the actions of the cheaters impact us. (Higher prices, tougher rules...)