Abusive Disney Guests...When To Interfere?

[Tink10]

I don't know if this is the appropriate arena to open this subject, but with each visit to WDW, I'm seeing more & more WDW visitors who are totally abusive to Cast Members, other WDW guests & even family members.

On our last trip, it became sort of a daily game of "How many mad people can we count". It all started during a lunch at the Electric Umbrella at Epcot on our first day. There was a man in front of me in line who special ordered food. He took quite an attitude with the Cast Member who took his order, but things got really bad when he saw that other people were receiving their food before he was. To make a long story short, he ended up screaming at 2 of the CM's behind the counter & even went as far as to try grab the sleeve of one of them. (by the way, when the dad got his food, he grabbed the tray in one hand and the child's shirt in the other and then sat down and got into an argument with his wife).

On another incident at the All Star Sports in mid July, we were checking in and the line was very very long, we waited about 30 minutes to check in. There was a mom & 2 kids ahead of us & you could tell that the mom was quite upset. When she finally got up to the counter, she started yelling about how SHE paid a fortune to have a wonderful vacation & SHE should receive better treatment than this & that HER vacation was now ruined because SHE had to wait. She too, was totally abusive.

Not only is it families arguing or people screaming at cast members, but I've even seen people in the lines arguing with one another. And forget Illuminations at Epcot. We, like many, always grab a nice spot early & just hang out until it starts. Then, people come up at the last minute and want others to move. I've seen major arguments & tons of name calling in this very situation.

All too often, I've wanted to say something to the offender, if not that, then tell a Cast Member, but like many, I don't want to get involved and ruin my day. But at the same time, I don't want my daughter to have to listen to abusive language. Have any of you ever said something to these people or to someone about these people? Is there any way to curb their behavior? Are any of you out there "screamers"? I'd love to know if I'm the only one totally bothered by the "holier than thou" abusive obscenity screamers .

Thanks!

 

[emmagata]

Sorry to say that these types of people will never change.

So unless it's a matter of life or death, I wouldn't get in between a guest and a CM or two guests. That's what security and management are for.

But deeeeep down inside of me I would really like to *****-slap some of these people.

 

[mrsltg]

It is unfortunate, and it seems like I'm seeing it more and more. Verbal abuse is not appropriate and it's sad that some people seem to think so. People seem to think that their time is more valuable than someone else's and they are determined to "get their money's worth". Definitely sad.

I have spoken up to offenders before. I have also spoken loud enough to the abused party as the abuser walks away about how some people have no manners, class, tact, etc etc etc, and that clearly this person should not be bothered by the rantings of an uneducated horse's behind. It always puts a smile on the face of the person who has been abused, and usually draws a scowl from the abuser. Oh well!

Erin

 

[capegirl]

Tink 10, you are right. We too have witnessed alot of rude behavior at the resorts and parks. We have even had bullies try to intimidate us "out of our seats" at both parades and Illuminations.
One woman insisted on standing in the middle of a roped off area during a MK parade. She was asked to move several times by a CM, and each time she returned to the same spot. The poor CM finally gave up.
Another time, my daughter was sitting on the curb watching a parade. A dad wheels a stroller up behind her, and allowed his 3 year old to kick my daughters back. We asked nicely if he would tell his son to stop the kicking, and he just stood there. My husband had to switch places with our daughter. When the kicker's view was blocked they finally took off.
What a shame...this bad behavior is so unexpected at such a happy place.

 

[deadheadbelle]

Originally posted by mrsltg
I have also spoken loud enough to the abused party as the abuser walks away about how some people have no manners, class, tact, etc etc etc, and that clearly this person should not be bothered by the rantings of an uneducated horse's behind. It always puts a smile on the face of the person who has been abused, and usually draws a scowl from the abuser. Oh well!

I do this too! I think it is probably the wimpy way out, but it avoids confrontation & it usually makes me (and hopefully the abused) feel better. Hopefully, it embarasses the abuser (wishful thinking!).

 

[Deafmedic]

LOL! I just let my wife deal with it. For such a small petite woman, she can be quite intimidating. We were in a Disney Store once and they were having an after christmas sale. A man push our stroller into a rack with sweatshirts while she was standing right beside it with our daughter in it. No apologies from him or even an "excuse me". She called me over and told me to watch the kids and she ran him down and in a very firm and loud voice proceeded to lecture him on manners. A large crowd gather and were having fun watching. It was all I could do to keep from cracking up. Everytime he tried to step away from her, she stepped in front of him. Finally security showed up and asked him to leave. He accused my wife of being racist (he was black). Then the police officers showed up and suggested she press child assault charges against him. That's when he got quiet and apologized. He was escorted out of the mall thru a cheering crowd. When we go to WDW, my wife is patient and tends to let things slide until someone touches us or our stuff. The n the ugly monster rears it's ugly head. Quite a site to see.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Originally posted by Deafmedic
LOL! I just let my wife deal with it. For such a small petite woman, she can be quite intimidating. We were in a Disney Store once and they were having an after christmas sale. A man push our stroller into a rack with sweatshirts while she was standing right beside it with our daughter in it. No apologies from him or even an "excuse me". She called me over and told me to watch the kids and she ran him down and in a very firm and loud voice proceeded to lecture him on manners. A large crowd gather and were having fun watching. It was all I could do to keep from cracking up. Everytime he tried to step away from her, she stepped in front of him. Finally security showed up and asked him to leave. He accused my wife of being racist (he was black). Then the police officers showed up and suggested she press child assault charges against him. That's when he got quiet and apologized. He was escorted out of the mall thru a cheering crowd. When we go to WDW, my wife is patient and tends to let things slide until someone touches us or our stuff. The n the ugly monster rears it's ugly head. Quite a site to see.

Wow, I think the guy was wrong to push the stroller into the rack.
I also think your wife was wrong for the way she handled it. I can understand saying something to him about pushing the stroller with the baby in it, but to continue to step in his way as he was trying to leave?

I think the guard should have escorted both of them out of the store.

 

[jimmytammy]

I have witnessed a lot of this type behaviour myself at the parks especially. IMO people are expecting a lot out of their vacation which is understandable. When even the WDW "magic" cant deliver people get bent out of shape. Families bent out of shape with each other is where I personally have seen this the most, and thats bad cause folks should leave WDW feeling happy and refreshed, not worn out and mad at each other.

The cussers are the ones I have a problem with. This wasnt as apparent when we first went in '99 but it is more obvious these days. I will say something if someone is speaking in front of my kids in those tones. Ive never been confronted back yet. I guess they figure Im crazy enough to say something no telling how far I will go

 

[C.Ann]

The thing I find curious about this type of behavior - especially in WDW - is that we ALL spend a ton of money to go there and have a good time.. Yet - the same people who are screaming about "how much money I spent for this vacation" are in effect ruining their OWN vacation by getting all riled up over each and every little thing that comes along..

I think the only time I might confront someone is if they were using foul language in front of my granddaughter or doing something to frighten or harm her.. Otherwise I would probably just laugh at them and walk away..

When a "vacation" becomes that stressful, I think someone needs to stay home!

 

[minniepumpernickel]

Lol, I learned my lesson on this issue. One time a lady in line started ranting and raving about how long she had to wait, etc. I told her to bleep up and stop driving us all crazy! Very bad move, she just got worse. One of my relatives asked me why I didn't just ignore her. I wished that I had, instead of letting myself be sucked into her miserable orbit!

Next time I'll do better. It's not worth the trouble!

 

[lucky_bunni]

Originally posted by C.Ann
When a "vacation" becomes that stressful, I think someone needs to stay home!

I think when a vacation becomes stressful someone needs to look into getting some help!

 

[Bojangles]

Originally posted by disneyjunkie

I think the guard should have escorted both of them out of the store.

I agree. It sounds like they both showed bad behavior and poor judgement.

 

[DISNEY4FUN]

I can see why some people tend to get frustrated. The first time my family went to WDW I planned and scheduled the trip down to the minute. You read all of these tips on what to avoid and what you must see. If you plan to take your family only once in a life time or once every few years, there is a lot of pressure to see everything and get your money's worth. BUT at the point when you start to boil over and get nasty, it's time to get a grip and remember it is a vacation and a time to relax. It's not the CM's fault nor the other guests fault that your trip is not going as planned. Next time, give these nasty people the classic advice of Timon and Pumba, Akuna Matata. (I'm not sure how to spell it)

 

[year2late]

Anyone remember the thread about the mom and child who chased down a princess exiting the stage and was abusive toward the character until she finally gave up the photo op? Some people actually supported her behavior!

Or the posters EXPECTING the towel animals that posters had talked about and gave lip to the management or stiffed the maid because they did not get special treatment?

Or the posters who frequent one resort or another and go into tirades because of loss of one small amenity or another.

The sense of entitlement is alive and well at Disney.

When to interfere ---- tough question - more than likely a person who would take something out on a CM who has no control over the situation might not be the most receptive anyway. I videotaped an interaction at check in 3 years ago and gave it to the manager with my compliments to the CM for her grace under pressure. The few people who tried to interfere only seemed to draw the situation out more.

 

[BrerMom]

Originally posted by year2late
I videotaped an interaction at check in 3 years ago and gave it to the manager with my compliments to the CM for her grace under pressure. The few people who tried to interfere only seemed to draw the situation out more.

Very creative!

I think some people get an adrenaline rush from trying to make somebody else's day miserable.

 

[kasar]

After a VERY long and frustrating day at MK on New Year's Eve, we decided to stake out our spot along the parade route about and hour and a half before the start. Well, you guessed it, last-minute Sally shows up and pushes her two kids and HERSELF in front of us. The kids we have no problem with as they were shorter than ours but when we asked the mom to move, it became really ugly. I had to leave since my DH and SIL are very much alike and don't have any problem with confrontation (darn my whimpy parents who would never let us disagree!). I wonder how many fights break out over that parade!

 

[Eeyore1954]

When to interfere? For me -- NEVER. I am on vacation and plan to have a wonderful time. Unless the person is addressing their abuse directly to me, I just ignore it. The CMs are trained to handle this and Disney has an effective security team to step in if the abuse moves from verbal to physical. It's not my place to interfere with someone else's attempts to ruin their own vacation.

 

[Deafmedic]

Bojangels and Disneyjunkie,
She never raised her voice but her body language is what intimidated him. All she wanted was an apology and she would've let it go. He didn't apologize until the police showed up and advised her to press charges.

 

[RUDisney]

I'm with Steve on this one... NEVER. Besides, these abusive complainers only provide for laughs at dinner when we recount our day. Most of these people are just so pathetic that in retrospect, you can laugh at why they got upset in the first place.

If it doesn't affect me or my family personally, it's not my problem to fix.

 

[caitycaity]

When to interfere? For me -- NEVER. I am on vacation and plan to have a wonderful time. Unless the person is addressing their abuse directly to me, I just ignore it.

i agree.