Are Grownups Ruining Disney?

[va32h]

We just returned from a trip to Disneyland...and while we did end up having a good time overall, there were a few unpleasant incidents - and every one of them involving other, adult guests.

It makes me wonder if some grownups aren't spoiling Disney in their quest to make the perfect vacation for their kids, or relive a fantasy perfect vacation from their own childhood.

For the 50th anniversary, Disneyland has a golden vehicle in each of the original 1955 rides - a golden teacup for the Mad Tea Party, a golden Dumbo, a golden boat on the Jungle Cruise, etc. It was great fun to luck into a golden vehicle, but unfortunately, we saw a lot of jockeying for them. At the Mad Tea Party ride, an adult guest was so eager to get the golden teacup that he pushed past my 10yo, who was in front of him in the line. (The ride attendant, fortunately, saw it and told him she could have him kicked out of the park if he did that again).

At California Adventure, a woman literally laid down on the ground, spreadeagle, to reserve spots for the Block Party Bash, and told a little boy, who could not have been more than 4 to "back off" when he wandered into "her space".

And don't even get me started on the characters. If there was no formal line, adults pushed their way up to the front, or pushed their children ahead of others. At our character breakfast, we never did get to meet all the characters, because diners would not stay at their tables and wait for the characters to come to them. They followed the characters around the restauarant, preventing the characters from visiting other tables.

Another thing that annoyed me was the number of guests who refused to share ride vehicles. Lines are long enough as it is. Do grown adults really have to ride in their own Dumbos? Or all drive their own cars on Autopia? Is it so awful to have to share your Matterhorn bobsled with a couple of strangers?

While we did meet a few friendly guests, I noticed a distinct lack of Disney-esque attitude in the air. People seemed to be very much out for themselves, treating other guests as obstacles, not fellow tourists.

 

[sugarpie]

For the most part I've found people at DW are extremely friendly, but we did have one incident on our last visit. A man in a scooter started yelling (& swearing) at my DD (she was only 3 years old) to watch where she was going, that he was handicapped, and she needed to get out of the way. He said he was tired of all the kids getting in his way.

I didn't even know what to do. I just sat there. I was in shock. She was a child on her first trip to DW so she was looking around, probably not paying much attention to other people. She was just a kid. He was an adult. (technically)

I know it must be difficult to be handicapped, but geez!!!

 

[pearlieq]

Jerks come in all shapes and sizes. Let's not start blaming one group.

For every story about a pushy adult, I can offer you one about a clueless, obnoxious kid.

Luckily, the majority of people I encounter at WDW are normal, decent folks just trying to have a nice vacation.

P.S. I really don't think it's unreasonable to want your own ride vehicle. I like my personal space, and I sure don't want to be trapped with someone who wants to hog the control and turn Dumbo into a vomit comet!

 

[escape]

I don't think grownups are ruining Disney. I think it's rude people that are ruining the magic for a lot of people.

 

[Jrsy Boy]

I don't think grownups are ruining Disney. I think it's rude people that are ruining the magic for a lot of people.

These are the same rude people who you run into all over the place, whether it is running you over with their cart or blocking the entire aisle in the supermarket or wanting to cut in front of you because their friends are ahead of you at Six Flags or making you miss the green arrow to turn left because they are busy with their cell phone. The best we can do is learn by their example NOT to be like them and to explain to our kids why they should not to be like that as well. We can't change other people who feel they are priveleged or owed, but we can do our own part not to let them take over the world or ruin our world for us.

 

[grinningghost]

I'm not sure if this matters, but MANY of the people I saw at Disneyland behaved badly. Not just adults. People of all ages. Mostly packs of teenagers running around acting all cool and like they owned the place.

I've seen some jerks in WDW, but nothing like DL. The clientele there was just really bad.

 

[arminnie]

Another thing that annoyed me was the number of guests who refused to share ride vehicles. Lines are long enough as it is. Do grown adults really have to ride in their own Dumbos? Or all drive their own cars on Autopia? Is it so awful to have to share your Matterhorn bobsled with a couple of strangers?

I often travel solo or go solo on rides that my friends don't want to do. I certainly have never minded sharing. Although I have questioned at times if it is really wise to put two small children in a ride alone with a strange adult. Of course I know that I'm OK, but you just have to wonder what some pervert might try.

 

[va32h]

P.S. I really don't think it's unreasonable to want your own ride vehicle. I like my personal space, and I sure don't want to be trapped with someone who wants to hog the control and turn Dumbo into a vomit comet!

Even your own kids? When I wrote that part, I was thinking about a family that took up three Dumbos - one for the children, and one each for mom and dad, who photographed said children from all possible angles while they were on the ride.

On the Matterhorn, I sat with my daughter in the front of the bobsled, and another couple sat in back of us, but there were several pairs who insisted on taking up the entire sled for just the two of them.

I've seen some jerks in WDW, but nothing like DL. The clientele there was just really bad.

This is what I almost added to my post. We have done WDW twice in the last four years, and not had these experiences.

 

[Missy1961]

I don't think grownups are ruining Disney. I think it's rude people that are ruining the magic for a lot of people.

I agree!

 

[Missy1961]

I've seen some jerks in WDW, but nothing like DL. The clientele there was just really bad.

I've only been to DL once, in 1995. And the only bad thing to happen to me at a Disney park happened there. We think my nephew's (age 4) baseball cap fell off his head--it was a little small. Some teenagers most have found it & were playing with it. When I asked them to return it to him, they denied having it--but my sister in law saw them with it. It was hard to explain that to a 4 yr old & his twin brother.

 

[tiggersmom2]

I have never been to DL, so I can't comment on behavior there; but when I was in WDW a couple of weeks ago, it struck me how very kind everyone was. I know we had at least 10 random couples offer to take a family picture of us...and the BIGGEST shocker was....during Spectro Magic this one couple insisted that we bring my youngest son to the front of the rope so he could see better!! We had a very, very nice time.

 

[brando5111]

Umm - all I can think of to say is.....Welcome to California....

Brando

 

[ktulu]

The CM's need to grow a set and tell someone that they need to share the ride if it's busy. If it's not, who cares.

 

[vellamint]

I'm not sure if this matters, but MANY of the people I saw at Disneyland behaved badly. Not just adults. People of all ages. Mostly packs of teenagers running around acting all cool and like they owned the place.

I've seen some jerks in WDW, but nothing like DL. The clientele there was just really bad.

Yes...I agree with this. I wonder because a lot of people go to Disneyland as a day (or two) trip and in Florida "most" people seem to be there longer and therefore maybe relax more and dont feel the need to see everything at once?

 

[Planogirl]

We were apparently lucky when we visited DL a few years ago. I don't remember having any problems with rude people.

 

[TDC Nala]

Do grown adults really have to ride in their own Dumbos? Or all drive their own cars on Autopia?

These are two person vehicles, if they're riding alone, who are they supposed to share with? I'd bet they don't get a lot of single riders. I've ridden Autopia in a group of three and somebody had to have their own car.

And if I am riding the matterhorn with someone I am not dating or related to, I really don't want to do lap sitting, thank you.

 

[wdw4life]

I must be lucky. Other than people trying to cut in line I can't think of a single bad experience I've had at DL.

 

[KristaTX]

There are rude people everywhere. However, I was at Disneyland 2 weeks ago for the first time since I was a child. It's not a bad thing and I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was somewhat surprised that it seemed to be more of a "regional" park guest-wise with Californians comprising the vast majority of guests. People who we talked to (all of whom were Californians, I think) were surprised that we were from out of state.

As I stood in line to get into the parks (LONG lines, I might add), I noticed that a lot more people at DL than at WDW seemed to have AP's. So while that doesn't explain rude behavior, it does imply that there might be fewer people in the parks who have scrimped at saved for a dream family vacation, and more who come out to the park on a regular basis and maybe take it for granted (including groups of local teens without their parents). That could lead to less courteous "vacation" behavior.

Actually the behavior that I noticed the most different? It was the behavior of some of the cast members. Nothing bad, but I encounted several instances of CM's seeming to have much less realization or concern about their behavior when they were "on stage". I noticed this way more at DL than I ever have at WDW. Not with most of them, but with enough that I noticed it. It wasn't so much that they were doing anything wrong as that they were simply not even trying to be in-character.

That might be all wrong, but it's how it seemed to me. DLR was still terrific, though (but won't be replacing WDW in my heart, just as DCL will not).

 

[arminnie]

And if I am riding the matterhorn with someone I am not dating or related to, I really don't want to do lap sitting, thank you.

My very, very, very first trip to DL was in the early 70s as part of a work trip. I rode the Matterhorn with a guy that I worked with that I hardly knew. I'm still embarrassed 35 years later.

 

[KristaTX]

I love my husband dearly, but I didn't sit in the same seat with him on the Matterhorn. I watched couples doing that from the queue as we waited, and I wasn't about to sit like that. And it's probably a good thing for him that I didn't. That Matterhorn is kinda rough . We only rode it once, and there wasn't even a line.