GilesFamily said:
Hmm..I guess I was mistaken when I thought WDW was for kids.
No, WDW is for EVERYONE. I love kids. It's their parents that I can't stand sometimes. Some people seem to lose thier minds at WDW. Getting their kids off schedule, up at the crack of dawn to be at a park when it opens, no nap in the afternoon, and out until five hours past bedtime to see fireworks. That makes for cranky, miserable children, and then nobody has a good time.
And as far as strollers go, there are a lot of courteous people, and there are a lot of idiots who get too involved in paying attention to everything but where they are pushing, and then think it's anyone elses's fault but their own when they drive the doublewide into someone.
Or the parents who have never taken their kids to a restaurant except for Chucky Cheese, and choose their vacation when the kids are already wound up and/or off kilter to try a fine dining restaurant where dinner takes teo hours. Then they ignore the kids who start to throw food, pitch a hissy fit, run around chasing each other, or otherwise disturb other diners, instead of seeing that their kids have had enough, asking for dinner to be packed up and leaving.
Or the parents who let the kids run up and down the hotel halls, repeatedly open and slam shut a connecting door between rooms, or push every button in the elevator--no, it's NOT "cute".
The list goes on, but I'm sure you get the picture. Sometimes a kid will get fussy, and within a moment or two the parents have either settled them down in the theatre or left. That's the reasonable thing to do, and I'm certain anyone understands that sometimes a kid will have an issue. As long as the parents either tend to it or remove the child, I can't imagine anyone getting upset about it. A coupel years ago I was in the Little Mermaid show, and there was a kid who started WAILING about five minutes into it. For oever five minutes this child carried on, and his parent walked with him to the area near the exit door, but didn't leave! I literally couldn't hear the show. I walked over to the parent and suggested that maybe they should step outside as the obviuosly very upset child was disturbing everyone else. The mother says to me "But then I'd miss the show". What??? Instead I walked out, rather than choking her.
You need to keep your kids on schedule as much as possible. If they still nap, then plan on a break in the afternoon for that important nap. Make ADR's so your meal schedule is on track. And take cues from your kids, if they tell you they are tired, hungry, don't want to do something, or just want to back to the hotel for a swim, then listen to them.
If you use common sense and courtesy, I'm sure you, your kids, and everyone will ahve a great time. I've seen a lot of wonderful kids at WDW, and fewer little monsters. Behind *most* of the monsters was a parent who was inconsiderate or clueless, or to selfish to put their kids needs first.
Anne