BAD Disney Experience...

[evilqueenmindy]

my goodness this has been a fun read. Entitled kids! Bad Parenting! Near death of a cast member! Destruction of Disney property! Now if only someone had mentioned pool hopping as a means to cheer the child, this would have it all.

My two cents- I've been going to Disney since I was a little child in the 80's, in all that time, you know from experience you're going to have good CM's and bad, great moments that keep you coming back, and less magical moments that make you grit your teeth and you roll with it, because you know the good outweighs the bad.

Over the last couple years, I've been going with my nephew, who is 3 (and a seasoned disney traveler), and I've learned there is nothing worse or more dramatic than the tear-filled disappointment of a 3-year old, and if your FIRST experience at Disney, the happiest place on earth, place marketed to the nth degree with nothing but happy magic and no frowns (however unrealistic this portrayal actually is) is the gut-wrenching disappointment of your little child, which is met with indifference, that's kinda the worst foot you can start out on. To the OP, I'm glad the rest of the trip made up for it, in the future remember at least one bad thing happens on every trip, its really best if you get it out of the way early.

 

[foodrocksluver]

It would have been cool if they had offered to take the child's autograph book backstage and gotten an autograph from Snow. There had to be a number of CM's backstage trained in doing Snow's autgraph. No expense, no big deal, but a big WINNER to an upset 3 year old.

I think this is an absolutely AMAZING idea.

 

[undertheradar]

:tQUOTE=KGK;43722361]Still haven't figured out exactly what OP wanted....

OP -- What would have made things better for you?

Earlier post someone said "She expected a bit of compassion and kindness from a CM at a place where they tout kindness and compassion and pixie dust in exchange for ungodly amounts of cash"

Is that what you wanted?

IMHO - you cannot buy compassoin and kindness for any amount of money. If you are "buying" it - it is not sincere and surely is not compassion and kindness.

Putting myself in your shoes, could anything have made this situation better? Everything is pure speculation.... We really just don't know if a stranger (the CM) trying to pacify your child would have worked or perhaps made the situation worse.

And I'm assuming, please correct me if I'm wrong, that there would not have been a problem is your child was not as upset as she was (pretty normal in my mind for a 3yo to have a meltdown).

But what did you want Disney to do right at that moment to try to make your child happy? And was there anything that you might have done?[/QUOTE]

 

[undertheradar]

my goodness this has been a fun read. Entitled kids! Bad Parenting! Near death of a cast member! Destruction of Disney property! Now if only someone had mentioned pool hopping as a means to cheer the child, this would have it all.

My two cents- I've been going to Disney since I was a little child in the 80's, in all that time, you know from experience you're going to have good CM's and bad, great moments that keep you coming back, and less magical moments that make you grit your teeth and you roll with it, because you know the good outweighs the bad.

Over the last couple years, I've been going with my nephew, who is 3 (and a seasoned disney traveler), and I've learned there is nothing worse or more dramatic than the tear-filled disappointment of a 3-year old, and if your FIRST experience at Disney, the happiest place on earth, place marketed to the nth degree with nothing but happy magic and no frowns (however unrealistic this portrayal actually is) is the gut-wrenching disappointment of your little child, which is met with indifference, that's kinda the worst foot you can start out on. To the OP, I'm glad the rest of the trip made up for it, in the future remember at least one bad thing happens on every trip, its really best if you get it out of the way early.

 

[jennyjinx3]

Finally going to throw in my 2 cents worth...our last trip we had a similar situation with meeting Peter Pan in MK. Our kids got disappointed as well. Mind you we didn't wait as long as the OP.
I think it is part of life to not have everything go your way and we try to make our kids realize this as well. The characters need breaks, I have often wondered how they do it with the heat.
I do agree that as long as the CM did say sorry, I would have been ok with that. Our kids have had meltdowns for reasons less then that and we took care of it by removing them from the situation. Sometimes parents seem to encourage the meltdowns (not necessarily you OP) and that doesn't help.
Glad the rest of your trip was better, and hopefully you guys come back again!!

 

[Mrsjvb]

read the first 4 pages, skipped to the end to write this:

why is it that we assume/expect some sort of recompense at ALL?! so many are saying..aww she should have been given a sticker or a FP or something. or aww, the CM was morally obligated to tell her a little white lie and tell her SW was very sorry she couldn't come and meet her.

Umm.. so basically what you are saying is that every time a child gets disappointed they should be rewarded? we won't even factor in the temper tantrum/hissy fit for the nonce. that doesn't matter. just experiencing something less than 100 % utter bliss is ground for anyone.. random stranger/CM/ Mum and dad.. to fall all over themselves trying to soothe their hurt feelings?

Life sucks. and then you die. trying to discount all the bad that WILL happen.. whether is a missed opportunity to meet Snow White or not getting into your first choice of Pre school( or college) is going to set the child up for failure in the real world. they HAVE to get used to the fact that not everything will go their way.

no need to be callous, but indifference? big whup. she will experience far far worse in grade school.

and WRT to making it a CM responsibility to make it all better.. uh no. once I am sorry but no it is NOT easy to reason with a 3 year old let alone a hysterical one and perfect stranger at that. if Mom couldn't do anything then whyinhell should a CM be expected to?! and some people loathe interacting with kids of any age.

oh and the comments about well she can just suck it up and not go home because dammit I sold my kidney for this trip and I am not gonna waste any money.. uhh.. again.. you have a 3 year old. sometimes money gets wasted for the child's benefit. would you insist she stay in the park if she were the one hurling her cookies?! no you wouldn't. of course in this particular instance I think it would have been cutting off a nose to spite the face if they had caved and took her back, but to blanketly state that they would never consider it is overkill.

yes we all hold WDW to certain standards. and maybe they are too high. and I am so tired of the arguments about paying a lot of money so I should get X level of service. well maybe your version of X and Disney's differ. and their;s is the one that matters.

if you feel that level x does not meet your expectations, then feel free to find somewhere that will meet it.

I have been frustrated/upset/disappointed a thousand times at Disney due to my status as a wheelchair bound guest. I have been run into, over and plowed right by. I have had to deal with pushy guests standing on my foot rests so they can see , and preventing me from doing so. I have had CM ignore me in the Handicapped accessible loading areas. and once when someone who shall remain nameless but is my DH tipped me over onto the sidewalk because he missed the curb cut through, not a single nearby CM came rushing to my aid. and only one guest did. everybody else made damn sure to not get out of line so they wouldn't lose their spot once the doors opened at the stage show.

some of my trips were less magical then others. so what? I still go back.

 

[declansdad]

It's confusing, isn't it? Of COURSE my children are special to me. What kind of parent would I be if I treated them as though they were unimportant?

That doesn't mean, obviously, that I think OTHER people should treat my children any differently than everyone else...but special? You BET they're special. And if that makes them a snowflake, then I'm a proud snowflake mama.

Then they wouldn't snowflakes.

 

[jennyjinx3]

read the first 4 pages, skipped to the end to write this:

why is it that we assume/expect some sort of recompense at ALL?! so many are saying..aww she should have been given a sticker or a FP or something. or aww, the CM was morally obligated to tell her a little white lie and tell her SW was very sorry she couldn't come and meet her.

Umm.. so basically what you are saying is that every time a child gets disappointed they should be rewarded? we won't even factor in the temper tantrum/hissy fit for the nonce. that doesn't matter. just experiencing something less than 100 % utter bliss is ground for anyone.. random stranger/CM/ Mum and dad.. to fall all over themselves trying to soothe their hurt feelings?

Life sucks. and then you die. trying to discount all the bad that WILL happen.. whether is a missed opportunity to meet Snow White or not getting into your first choice of Pre school( or college) is going to set the child up for failure in the real world. they HAVE to get used to the fact that not everything will go their way.

no need to be callous, but indifference? big whup. she will experience far far worse in grade school.

and WRT to making it a CM responsibility to make it all better.. uh no. once I am sorry but no it is NOT easy to reason with a 3 year old let alone a hysterical one and perfect stranger at that. if Mom couldn't do anything then whyinhell should a CM be expected to?! and some people loathe interacting with kids of any age.

oh and the comments about well she can just suck it up and not go home because dammit I sold my kidney for this trip and I am not gonna waste any money.. uhh.. again.. you have a 3 year old. sometimes money gets wasted for the child's benefit. would you insist she stay in the park if she were the one hurling her cookies?! no you wouldn't. of course in this particular instance I think it would have been cutting off a nose to spite the face if they had caved and took her back, but to blanketly state that they would never consider it is overkill.

yes we all hold WDW to certain standards. and maybe they are too high. and I am so tired of the arguments about paying a lot of money so I should get X level of service. well maybe your version of X and Disney's differ. and their;s is the one that matters.

if you feel that level x does not meet your expectations, then feel free to find somewhere that will meet it.

I have been frustrated/upset/disappointed a thousand times at Disney due to my status as a wheelchair bound guest. I have been run into, over and plowed right by. I have had to deal with pushy guests standing on my foot rests so they can see , and preventing me from doing so. I have had CM ignore me in the Handicapped accessible loading areas. and once when someone who shall remain nameless but is my DH tipped me over onto the sidewalk because he missed the curb cut through, not a single nearby CM came rushing to my aid. and only one guest did. everybody else made damn sure to not get out of line so they wouldn't lose their spot once the doors opened at the stage show.

some of my trips were less magical then others. so what? I still go back.

Oh my gosh, leave it to the DH! No seriously poor thing, I totally would have helped you up. Your DH must have felt terrible. I know people don't seem to care too much about handicapped spots, right before the MNSSHP parade started in Sept my family watched as numerous families thought that since they had a stroller they could squeeze in the handicapped area too. One lady had a meltdown herself after being made to leave the area three times. Sorry for all those people.

 

[Jennasis]

The problem? The CM works with customers and for Heavens sake, it's STILL touted, as The Happiest Place on Earth". . They should KNOW how to handle ANY situation. It's in the job description. This could/should have been handled differently...easy peasy.

That's DisneyLAND.

 

[lan3]

Still haven't figured out exactly what OP wanted....

OP -- What would have made things better for you?

Earlier post someone said "She expected a bit of compassion and kindness from a CM at a place where they tout kindness and compassion and pixie dust in exchange for ungodly amounts of cash"

Is that what you wanted?

IMHO - you cannot buy compassoin and kindness for any amount of money. If you are "buying" it - it is not sincere and surely is not compassion and kindness.

Putting myself in your shoes, could anything have made this situation better? Everything is pure speculation.... We really just don't know if a stranger (the CM) trying to pacify your child would have worked or perhaps made the situation worse.

And I'm assuming, please correct me if I'm wrong, that there would not have been a problem is your child was not as upset as she was (pretty normal in my mind for a 3yo to have a meltdown).

But what did you want Disney to do right at that moment to try to make your child happy? And was there anything that you might have done?

They could have come out and told her before she waited with her 3 year old for forty minutes. The CM probably forgot to tell her. The CM was wrong for not telling her that SW wasn't coming out. If I was told to wait for something for 15 minutes and 30-40 minutes later was told I would not get what I was waiting for, I would be annoyed. If the worker than shrugged at me when I was irritated, I would become even more irritated. I am a very easy going adult and that would really irk me so it would certainly send a three year old into a fit.

As for the snowflake comments, it is name calling of children by adults on this board. I, personally, would never call a child a name and I am shocked that people are so willing to name call children. I wish I had the kids of people on this board that never had tantrums at three, that never cry and carry on when they don't get their way. It must be quite satisfying to be perfect parents with perfect kids, but for the rest of us, we just trying to do the best we can.

 

[ccgirl]

Finally going to throw in my 2 cents worth...our last trip we had a similar situation with meeting Peter Pan in MK. Our kids got disappointed as well. Mind you we didn't wait as long as the OP.
I think it is part of life to not have everything go your way and we try to make our kids realize this as well. The characters need breaks, I have often wondered how they do it with the heat.
I do agree that as long as the CM did say sorry, I would have been ok with that. Our kids have had meltdowns for reasons less then that and we took care of it by removing them from the situation. Sometimes parents seem to encourage the meltdowns (not necessarily you OP) and that doesn't help.Glad the rest of your trip was better, and hopefully you guys come back again!!

I think a lot of times children feed off the parents too. Not saying that is what happened in this case. But, if a parent gets upset chances are the child would too. If the child starts to feed a fit and the parent feeds into it the chances are the fit would continue instead of ending.

They could have come out and told her before she waited with her 3 year old for forty minutes. The CM probably forgot to tell her. The CM was wrong for not telling her that SW wasn't coming out. If I was told to wait for something for 15 minutes and 30-40 minutes later was told I would not get what I was waiting for, I would be annoyed. If the worker than shrugged at me when I was irritated, I would become even more irritated. I am a very easy going adult and that would really irk me so it would certainly send a three year old into a fit.

As for the snowflake comments, it is name calling of children by adults on this board. I, personally, would never call a child a name and I am shocked that people are so willing to name call children. I wish I had the kids of people on this board that never had tantrums at three, that never cry and carry on when they don't get their way. It must be quite satisfying to be perfect parents with perfect kids, but for the rest of us, we just trying to do the best we can.

Maybe they didn't know. Maybe SNow White was trying really hard so she could to out. Maybe finally at 40 minutes they realized she could not come out.

As far as taking her autograph book what about all of the other kids? No one child is more special than other children.

Does being disappointed stink? Absolulutely but it is part of life and we need to teach our children how to deal with it.

 

[foodrocksluver]

As far as taking her autograph book what about all of the other kids? No one child is more special than other children.

The OP stated before that they were the only ones waiting.

 

[OhioDisneyDad]

I can solve all this. All one has to do is have little to no expectations from Disney. Just dutifully fork over your money, take whatever they provide and be thankful for it. That way all the flamers, naysayers, bashers, whatever you want to call them will be happy because then no one will have any ground to state anything bad about Disney and everyone who visits will be amazed that they got anything.

I can picture it now. "Look mom, they actually put pillows on the beds!" NOW THAT'S MAGICAL!!!

Now isn't that simple.

 

[lugnut33]

If only the world were perfect.

The CM could have handled it a bit better. I'm sure with a little talking he/she could have talked the little girl into visiting one of the other Disney Princesses that was probably out and about in World Showcase. CM could have escorted them over to Belle in France, Jasmine in Morocco, or Mulan in China. I think just that simple act would have made the OP and her daughter happy. Everyone would have left happy.

 

[DisneyFive]

I only read the first couple of pages so far, but I do think DIS'rs are being a little harsh on this one. Please have a little sympothy.

I feel bad that this was their first ever experience at Disney and had a big dissapointment right away! Not the way I would want to have my first few hours of my first ever stay at Disney to go.

If they told you 15 minutes, and they didn't come back for 30 minutes or more with any word of what was going on, I would not be all that thrilled either and I do feel they could have done a better job communicating. Time is precious at the parks. This is one of those unfortunate things that none involved wanted to happen. OP, please don't let this one experience ruin your Disney magic.

As far as entitlement, parenting... and so forth, well that's a whole new can of worms.

Dan

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

Its harder to replace the "live" characters then the ones in dress up.

 

[Jennasis]

Did the CMs know you were waiting?

 

[mom2rtk]

Life sucks. and then you die.

I wonder if that will be the title of the next Disney movie.

 

[Art 1]

Things happen, 3 is a good age to learn that. Let her cry it out and move along. I would't have waited the 15 mins.

 

[ccgirl]

If only the world were perfect.

The CM could have handled it a bit better. I'm sure with a little talking he/she could have talked the little girl into visiting one of the other Disney Princesses that was probably out and about in World Showcase. CM could have escorted them over to Belle in France, Jasmine in Morocco, or Mulan in China. I think just that simple act would have made the OP and her daughter happy. Everyone would have left happy.

Right, but at the same token the OP could have done the same thing. Why does it have to be the CM that does it? That's where I'm confused.