Bummer Experience at Scuttle's Cove

[BensMom]

Beware over-stressed crew members at Scuttle's Cove on the 5/27 - 6/3 run on the Magic. My son was yanked up by a fistful of his hair and had his wrist twisted as a means of reprimand. Security was notified. I don't mean to put a damper on things, but this is my kid and this was NOT cool.

 

[Cass]

So what happened?

What did your son do for the CM to grab him like that? Did someone witness this - or is your son telling you what happened? Did you give them a piece of your mind? Was he okay??

 

[lbgraves]

Curious here too. That is so unlike anything that we ever saw or have heard about with the ship's kid club.

 

[BensMom]

Thanks for the concern. My point is...no matter what my son did, it didn't warrant a reaction from any crewmember. My son is ALL BOY and a handful. We told them when we registered him before setting foot on the ship that he was just "diagnosed" with ADD. He has to be told lots of times to make right choices. He is also highly intelligent, actually very sweet and respectful of grownups and not a very good liar, so I believe this really happened. He doesn't just make stories up. He kicked over a bucket with water in it, and the crew member reacted by going over and grabbing his hair and grabbing his wrist hard. At first I got mad at my son for not doing the right thing, then I thought, "Wait, I need to stick up for him" because it was not right. We called security as soon as we boarded the boat. A gentleman came up, made a few notes and was very nice. He asked my son some questions. My son responded and was really good about telling him details. As my son phrased it, she was the DJ and did not have a nametag on and dressed in a costume of sorts. No nametag, if you're not familiar with Disney policy, is a big no-no. I am wondering if she was like an outsourced person that Disney hired for Castaway Cay. Anyway, I hate to even report something like this on Disboards. I love Disney. We live in the midst of it and have lots of friends who work for Disney. My neighbor is the Fairy Godmother for gosh sakes! I am just really bummed about it. We use the clubs around the resorts all the time. My son is a handful. Miss Barbara at Simba's can confirm this LOL! But I just don't think it warranted such a mean response on the crewmember's part. I do, however, still have lots of faith in the majority of the crew at Oceaneer's Club and all the parks; there are just some that aren't cut out to do this job (whose rewards will all be in heaven!) I have never, ever had a problem other than this incident (our first cruise, and it was such a drag to have this happen). My son is fine, but he does tell his friends what happened, so it made an impression. I wonder if it's the 80 hours a week they work, they are over-stressed. I really just don't know. Great news: my son can't wait for his next cruise, and we can't either.

 

[feelin'therays]

I know the crew is extremely stressed out - - they work a lot of hours and don't have much time to de-stress and get away. There is no excuse for anything that might have happened to your child, however I do work for a school and I would say that kids exaggerate situations 99 percent of the time - Especially when they know they've made the wrong choice and have gotten in trouble for it. I hope you can come to a conclusion on what really happened.

I wish the best for you and your son and hope that you do sail again...

 

[SeaSpray]

I just want to say that I agree with the sentiment that no matter what your DS did, that kind of reaction from any other adult is wrong. There are proper ways to restrain a child without pulling hair or twisting a wrist.

I'm glad your DS enjoyed the cruise enough that he wants to go back again.

P.S. I am not defending inappropriate behaviour from any child, but for any adult to lay a hand on a child, there's never justification for it.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Gosh that is horrible! From your description, I also wonder if that was someone that wasn't "technically" a castmember that was like a regular counselor for the clubs/labs or some other employee or someone hired specifically to dress up like that- you know- like take some other cast member that isn't usually in the clubs/labs to dress up or something? I can relate to a child with ADD (mine are ADHD/ODD and another diagnosed ADHD/bipolar but we're actually in the process of testing to see if he's really Aspergers) so I can relate to the "hyper/needs reminders of good choices/etc." type child- but I can also relate to a child that just simply wouldn't make something like that up. Like my youngest- if she said that happened to her there would be no doubt in my mind that it did. Period.

However- the arm grabbing I could see the person just being a little rougher than they meant to- the grabbing the hair totally inexcusable. I wonder if that was accidental or a part of her costume caught his hair or something. I'm glad you told someone about it!

I can say this- we were on the same cruise and I noticed a distinct difference in the counselors personalities and friendliness as the cruise went on. Difference as in from when the cruise first started until it ended. I figured they were getting tired... and it was mentioned a few times by the cruise director like at the farewell show/etc. that this cruise had a large amount of children on board. So I figured they were getting worn out- but the smiles and friendliness was waning quite a bit towards the end of the cruise. I'd be tired too. I can forgive lack of smiles and friendliness knowing they are tired- I couldn't forgive something like this! Glad you talked to someone about it because I bet someone is getting in trouble. Would have been better if they'd had a name tag on though. Wonder if they felt a little more "lax" in their behavior knowing they didn't have a nametag on?

 

[Cass]

Hi again, I agree that no matter what your son does he should not be hurt/grabbed etc... I was thinking that maybe someone witnessed what happened and filled you in. You would have more weight in your complaint other than just what your Son told you happened.

I'm sorry he had a bad experience, was he hurt?

 

[BensMom]

Thanks, Cass, for your feedback. However, my son is a horrible liar. He is a pretty remarkable kid for 7. He wouldn't make it up. You gotta know your kid, and I know mine. He is a handful! But he just can't tell a lie, nor can he make up far-fetched stories. I am pretty sure he kicked the bucket, and on purpose, but the reaction on the part of the crewmember was too harsh. We suspect that there were witnesses from the response we received from security, but that is speculation on our part.

 

[BensMom]

My gosh, thanks to everyone with their feedback. I hate getting anyone intro trouble. God knows I have felt like reacting like that many a time to my kid! Everyone has. I KNOW I could NOT do the job those crew members do. As I said, whenever I go into Simba's Cubhouse at AKL, I tell the castmembers there (my son's favorite club) that their rewards will be in heaven! I know my kid isn't easy, but that's why I made mention in the beginning that he is a handful. I need the break, too, just because my son isn't PERFECT. He just marches to his own drummer. I also hate to bum anyone out about Disney. Gosh, we truly love it, the parks, everything. I guess I felt it necessary to piss and moan about it because it is important. I am usually gushing about everything Disney, but this time, boo hoo. But it will all be a memory, and things will be just fine.

Yes, my son does want to go back, and so do we. What a terrific experience. We would like to try the one that goes to Barbados, etc. next time. If anyone has been on that cruise, I would love some positive conversation after this sad topic!!!

 

[lbgraves]

Thanks for coming back & giving more information so that we could understand the full picture. It is very odd that anyone was working with the kids without an ID. I am glad that your son had a great time overall. Please know that this is highly unusual. We know that noone is perfect, even Disney , but I would expect DCL to handle this quickly so that it doesn't happen to another child.

 

[tjeagle]

My point is...no matter what my son did, it didn't warrant a reaction from any crewmember.

..and that is the bottom line!
I applaud (sp??) your level headedness in reporting it to security. Too many parents either let incidents like this go....or over-react and don't go through the proper channels.

I am glad your son hasn't lost his Disney spirit!

 

[BensMom]

Ben has truly not lost any spirit...he wants to go back to the mother ship! In fact, we passed route 528 on a search of a hamster cage, and I told him that was the way to the Disney Magic. He said, "I want to go, I want to go"! We have not lost it either. I am sure all will be fine. I feel like such a heel whining about it, I truly do. I cringe every time I drop Ben off with anyone. Ben is not the social butterfly I would like him to be...we are working on it. I praise David in Security onboard as to how things were handled. We truly loved the cruise. From Tri in our stateroom, giving us incredible towel creatures to our waiters during dinner. I commend them all. I know, just know, in my heart of hearts, that the crew in the Oceaneers' Club had to watch Ben a bit more than the rest, and perhaps there were kids with a bit more issues than Ben, and I truly commend them as well. Just know that we are passionate Disney people, and always will be.

As an aside, we got to cruise with a couple who were on their 50th disney cruise! I never met them but heard of them one evening when we dined at Palo. I thought, hmmm, maybe they aren't real...well, they are...pretty cool!!!

 

[lbgraves]

ROFL! Tony and Barb are DISers. They have a trip report here that was started before the cruise. They have 3 more booked for this year & 6 for next.

 

[BensMom]

I saw Barb's post! (Inkkognito, sp?) I am not sure if I would be a bit burnt out by that many cruises...although, living in Chicago, I can understand why they want to get away from the cold! I have to admit, since moving to Central Florida, I thought I'd get burnt out on the parks, well, it hasn't happened to me, so I understand the obsession quite well!