Christians- Rides/ Attractions to avoid

[tchrrx]

We took our daughter on everything. The only one that bothered me was the Ellen ride (sorry, I'm stuck on the name...) I think that if you've raised your children to recognize God's work, then they'll point out things that you would have never thought of. For example, in Spaceship Earth, my daughter automatically associated the Egyptian scene with Moses and the monks with quills as writing the Bible.

On the other hand, my daughter is not easily scared & finds most things amusing. Even though she doesn't believe in ghosts, she loves the Haunted Mansion as a ride (as do I). I think it really has a lot to do with how things are perceived & what teachable moments you are willing to have.

BTW- I haven't read through all of this thread, so I hope I'm not too off topic or just repeating what someone else already said.

 

[RMulieri]

Wow, I just read through this entire thread. I have to say I was very misled by the title of the post -- for future reference, I think anyone looking for this type of information should ask for "Evangelical", or a specific denomination of Christians.

This is why people get offended. I clearly do not share the OPs belief, but the implication throughout this thread that if you don't you are not a "strong Christian" is disturbing. Do I believe less in my faith because I practice it differently than you do? Am I less faithful or determined in my convictions? I think that is what leads to all the controversy.

If the thread had been titled (this is an example, not singling out a specific group) "Creationism Christians" or "Southern Baptist Christians", I would never have opened it and been offended at the implication that I am not a "real" Christian because I don't share your beliefs.

I am perfectly capable of "honoring God in all things" and riding all the rides at WDW -- because nothing conflicts with my beliefs. You may not have intended this, but the posts come off as self righteous -- i.e. you are the honoring God in all ways because you choose specific rides, if others don't do that, they are not living up to God's standard. I just have one Bible verse for you -- "Judge not, lest ye be judged". I'm sure you can counter that with many others, but that is more applicable to my beliefs, so that is what I will share.

After reading this whole thread thru I have to agree. I offered up avoidance of Universe of energy simply because I remembered how much it really upset an evangelical friend of ours. But this thread is really a prime example of why Christianity gets a bad rap. how can we be so loving and yet so exclusionary, and how can we expect others to be tolerant of us when some of us can't be tolerant of each other

 

[mmexpress]

By your own analysis the characters Disney created depict evil, that being said.
Disney being the creator of these "evil" things must also be evil, so you should avoid it all together.

 

[talulabelle]

Wow, I just read through this entire thread. I have to say I was very misled by the title of the post -- for future reference, I think anyone looking for this type of information should ask for "Evangelical", or a specific denomination of Christians.

This is why people get offended. I clearly do not share the OPs belief, but the implication throughout this thread that if you don't you are not a "strong Christian" is disturbing. Do I believe less in my faith because I practice it differently than you do? Am I less faithful or determined in my convictions? I think that is what leads to all the controversy.

If the thread had been titled (this is an example, not singling out a specific group) "Creationism Christians" or "Southern Baptist Christians", I would never have opened it and been offended at the implication that I am not a "real" Christian because I don't share your beliefs.

I am perfectly capable of "honoring God in all things" and riding all the rides at WDW -- because nothing conflicts with my beliefs. You may not have intended this, but the posts come off as self righteous -- i.e. you are the honoring God in all ways because you choose specific rides, if others don't do that, they are not living up to God's standard. I just have one Bible verse for you -- "Judge not, lest ye be judged". I'm sure you can counter that with many others, but that is more applicable to my beliefs, so that is what I will share.

I feel this same way. I have always been annoyed when Evangelical Christian or Southern Baptist and their "non-denominational" break-off churches just call themselves "Christian" as if they are the ONLY CHristians. and now I see some are qualifying their "belief in the whole Bible" as being a "Strong Christian" as if anyone with diferent beliefs is not a strong christian. That is what I meant when I said I get tired of one group "owning Christianity and the word Christian. Like when my Evangelical Christian neighbors child said at my dinner table (after inviting us for the 100th time to their church - this is SO offensive when you already are a regular church goer - it is like go save someone who needs saving!) what religion are you if you don't go to my church? I said "we are Catholics" She said," what is that? "(with a very distainful tone) and I said "we are Christians too, we just have different customs, but we worship Jesus just like you" and she said "oh, it is such a shame that you aren't real Christians" It is so offensive to just take over the word Christian, or qualify it as being "strong Christian" and act like other Catholic and Protestant religions are lesser Christians (or not Christian at all).

So I agree with the above post - it should say Evangelical Christian or Southern Baptist.

 

[Schmeck]

OK, I have solved the riddle of the conflict between the scientific age of the earth, and the biblical age.

Men wrote the bible, and we all know how bad men are about time! At least there were enough women working in the scientific field (a female cousin of mine is studying trilobite fossils as I type) to make sure the time was taken care of. If a woman was involved in any of the many bible revisions, the time frame would have been more authentic..

At MK, about the only thing safe would be Main Street - walk down to the loop (don't look at the castle, fairy godmother there, magic!) and walk back out.

EPCOT - close your eyes, go straight through Future World, and head to World Showcase.

DHS - Big old Sorcerer's Hat overshadowing everything - better skip the whole park.

AK - avoid the whole Dinosaur area, of course, maybe just do the safari, the two walking trails, that's about it? Lots of 'natives' at AK though, definitely stay away from EE, as the prayer flags are not Christian.

Yes, this is all tongue-in-cheek, but I'm just trying to see how anyone can even go out of their own house and avoid non-Christian situations.

There's been some awesome info on here about how to actually deal with the fact that the world is never going to be 100% Christian (because the Christians can't even agree on who is the most/right/proper type of Christian) and learning how to explain that to your kids is the best way to make them strong, caring adults, (who respect and even follow your religion) and not psychopathic religious freaks.

Oh yes, and Tolkien deliberately insisted that there was no intent in his LOtR tales to reflect any religious "Jesus" message. My daughter spent last semester studying all of his works, letters, etc, for her AP Literature class, and had a whole section on his intent. He did have some important messages in there, but it wasn't the Jesus theme. Of course, I always thought Gandalf was the Jesus figure. We've had some great conversations about LOtR!

 

[asktriplets]

I don't want my 4 year olds scared or harmed in any way if I can avoid it. Also, we are going to the Holy Land Experience before the parks so that should be fun dawn

..the Holy Land Experience is where they act out the Passion of Christ and the crucifiction a few feet away from you (and your small children), right? Yikes! Not sure what could be more scary or harmful than seeing men commit horrific acts of violence against others!

 

[MegaWoman]

I am posting this because I think you are unclear on who a Christian is, and the title of your post needs to be more specific.

ANY PERSON WHO BELIEVES IN JESUS/CHRIST IS A CHRISTIAN.
Therefore, Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, Anglicans, Eastern Orthodox, Methodists et al. are ALL CHRISTIANS!! Please don't lump your beliefs with all of those who believe in Jesus / New Testament. I am a Christian, and my beliefs vary GREATLY from yours. I believe in Evolution, I don't take the bible literally, I believe in Gay Marriage/adoption/families, and I don't believe in Hell. I also believe that Jesus & God love us all. No matter who or what we believe in.

But I also believe that everyone is entitled to they're own beliefs, whether they are Christians (of any denomination), Jews, Muslims, Buddists or non-believers (of anything).

Enjoy your vacation, wherever it is, but if you are too concerned about WDW, maybe it's not the place for your family. I would hate for you to have a terrible time, a family vacation is just that, spending time with your family, making great memories and relaxing. Go where you would feel most comfortable.

Hello all,
If you're looking here I'm hoping that you are Christians and can assist. I'm not trying to be offensive, I'm just hoping to get input from people with a similar perspective.

We love Disney and just purchased annual passes after not going for over 14 years! We now have 2 little ones. Blessing #1-4years old and Blessing #2 18months.

Here are my concerns. I want to enjoy WDW and not feel like I'm having to protect my kids the whole time, so I want to have a game plan. I feel that I'm responsible for what I expose them to and in my opinion (I'm NOT looking to argue viewpoints- just suggestions from LIKE MINDED people) some things at disney are truly opposed to the scripture. This may seem silly to some but prefer to see a witch portrayed as something bad (like n Snow White-although we WON'T do the ride so I don't scare my kids) that a sourcerer as something good...like Mickey in Fantasmic OR Maybe I just don't like Fantasmic because of the sheer amount of evil presented...I'm not 100% sure. I can tell you that we saw fantasmic at Disney LAND and we left feeling sick.

If you feel the same, can you tell me what rides or attractions to avoid?

Also, I'm about to post about a book called The Gospel According to Disney...look there and contribute, I'de love to know your opinion.

In Him,
Silvia

 

[Mickey Fliers]

I just wanted to say KUDOS TO YOU! Our family is also a strong Christian family who believe every word of the Bible. I commend you for being a parent who is on the look out to shelter/protect their children from the wrong paths and steer them towards the right paths.

Just so we are clear....these two things aren't mutually exclusive!

 

[hudsoncs]

By your own analysis the characters Disney created depict evil, that being said.
Disney being the creator of these "evil" things must also be evil, so you should avoid it all together.

Was this directed at ME

I'm not trying to argue a point of what evil is. I'm actually not arguing ANYTHING I'm simply looking for like minded individuals to give some ideas. Because I need ideas from people who are dealing with a similar situation, I have to define my beliefs.

On the same token, I need to kindly say that I don't see where you got the above concept from...I do not think that someone who creates an evil CHARACTER is evil. I tell my sons stories that have good and bad, simply because I make up a character that it bad, it doesn't mean that I am bad....or good for that matter. If that were the case most authors would have split personalities. An author who writes about a murderer is not necessarily a murderer.

I'm confused by where people get that I am "putting down" other people or other Christians for that matter...If you see it that way, please let me know what I have written that you find PERSONALLY offensive. I'm not offended by other people's views and I hope you are not offended by mine. I hate to have to "defend myself"...this was written for Christians who may struggle with the same thing that we struggle with...I have TRIED to make that clear.

 

[verlee]

Op, Despite what others may want to say you are presenting yourself in a very reasonable and thoughtful manner. Way to go! With this hot subject that is hard to do.

From what I have gathered from your posts our families share similar values.
The only attraction (and we did all recommended for our age group) that we did not like, that suprised us, was the Tiki Birds Show. I know that may sound crazy. But, there are angry spirits or gods that are talking from the walls that need to be appeased. Tiki birds was dark, loud and very scary. My two boys did not really grasp the other gods issue with Tiki. They did not like it cause it was scary. However, it disturbed DH and I. We were taken by suprise with the spiritual stuff.

Those are difficult issues to talk to young kids about. As they get older we most definately compaire and contrast our beliefs with others according to the childs level of understanding. I want my kids to have an appreciation for all people. After all God made them all. But at their ages, glorified non-Christ centerd spirituality in a entertainment form causes confusion.


Good luck with your trip. You will not have too much trouble. We are trying to figure out how we can get back to WDW. We had a blast

 

[MiniGirl]

Wow!!! I'm surprised to see this thread still going and also the anger here. The OP has stated that she realizes not all Christians believe as she does and that she respects that. I also know some of you took issue with my first post in the thread, and I admitted that I used a poor choice in wording. I also said that I realized that Christians interpret the Bible in different ways that is why there are so many denominations. I further stated that I feel quite certain God does not favor one denomination over another and that He looks past all that and into our hearts.

As far as qualifying what type of Christian in the thread title.... I don't think I would've either. I guess I just see myself as a Christian -- plain and simple. What type of church building I sit in and worship in or if I believe in pre, mid, or post tribulation rapture ( or any rapture at all) or creation or evolution or whatever doesn't really matter. I am simply a Christian -- no better or no worse than anyone else and all part of the same body. I never saw a need to put a qualifier in front of the word Christian. I will most definitely remember to do so from now on though.

Good night. I'm off to put the kids to bed and get some sleep myself.

 

[verlee]

I am posting this because I think you are unclear on who a Christian is, and the title of your post needs to be more specific.

ANY PERSON WHO BELIEVES IN JESUS/CHRIST IS A CHRISTIAN.
Therefore, Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, Anglicans, Eastern Orthodox, Methodists et al. are ALL CHRISTIANS!! Please don't lump your beliefs with all of those who believe in Jesus / New Testament. I am a Christian, and my beliefs vary GREATLY from yours. I believe in Evolution, I don't take the bible literally, I believe in Gay Marriage/adoption/families, and I don't believe in Hell. I also believe that Jesus & God love us all. No matter who or what we believe in.

But I also believe that everyone is entitled to they're own beliefs, whether they are Christians (of any denomination), Jews, Muslims, Buddists or non-believers (of anything).

Enjoy your vacation, wherever it is, but if you are too concerned about WDW, maybe it's not the place for your family. I would hate for you to have a terrible time, a family vacation is just that, spending time with your family, making great memories and relaxing. Go where you would feel most comfortable.

Wow, I think you are putting words into the ops mouth. She has not attacked anyone or put down anyone. She just wants to avoid rides that may be offensive to her and her own family. I think you have preconcieved ideas of who she is and what her purpose is. Those ideas have caused you to lash out in anger.

Hummm just a thought.....what is having preconcieved about different religions or races called called??? You might want to take a look at yourself before calling out others.

Please be careful people. All religion (evengelical too!) is a personal decision and really no need to be debated here. Op clearly just wants some information and is not trying to judge anyone. If you can offer constructive ideas great if not please move on.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

-I AM a Bible believing Christian who chooses to honor God in ALL things...even a trip to WDW Some people have mentioned that their faith and/or religion does not keep them from rides...my faith is ALL encompassing...it does!

I found this personally offensive -- You clearly state that since your faith is "all encompassing", it keeps you from rides, you "honor God in all things", and you are a Bible believing Christian.

The implications are:

1) Your faith is stronger than mine or "all encompassing" because you don't ride certain rides. What do you know about my Christian faith? I assure you, I am following the precepts of my religion as closely as you are yours, and I can ride all the rides.

2) If my family rides all the rides, we are not "honoring God in all things". Again, subjective based upon the tenets of your particular Christian denomination.

3) I believe in the Bible, yet I do not take it literally. It is still possible to believe in the Bible and not handle poisonous serpents (hey, if you're taking it literally, that's something you should do). Again, someone can believe in the Bible and not believe exactly what you do. You imply that only Bible believing Christians have your beliefs, which is simply not true.

This is the what you posted that I found most offensive. Faith means many things to many people, and you clearly imply that because I don't believe what you do, my faith is less valid and inferior.

In general, with reference to other posters, calling yourself a "strong Christian" implies that others are "weak Christians" if they don't believe exactly what you do. One of the other posters got it right, when she said she is a conservative Christian. That is much less offensive, yet let's others know her viewpoint.

 

[Tink561]

We're Christians and we don't avoid any of it. I don't see the need.

 

[MasterChief]

Interesting tidbit...the Nazarene Church is having their General Assembly/World Conference in June just minutes from WDW. I think that many of them who are traveling very far to make it to the conference will be going to WDW while they are there and they will have lots of fun.

They even have links to WDW on the confrence website.

 

[verlee]

I found this personally offensive -- You clearly state that since your faith is "all encompassing", it keeps you from rides, you "honor God in all things", and you are a Bible believing Christian.

The implications are:

1) Your faith is stronger than mine or "all encompassing" because you don't ride certain rides. What do you know about my Christian faith? I assure you, I am following the precepts of my religion as closely as you are yours, and I can ride all the rides.

2) If my family rides all the rides, we are not "honoring God in all things". Again, subjective based upon the tenets of your particular Christian denomination.

3) I believe in the Bible, yet I do not take it literally. It is still possible to believe in the Bible and not handle poisonous serpents (hey, if you're taking it literally, that's something you should do). Again, someone can believe in the Bible and not believe exactly what you do. You imply that only Bible believing Christians have your beliefs, which is simply not true.

This is the what you posted that I found most offensive. Faith means many things to many people, and you clearly imply that because I don't believe what you do, my faith is less valid and inferior.

In general, with reference to other posters, calling yourself a "strong Christian" implies that others are "weak Christians" if they don't believe exactly what you do. One of the other posters got it right, when she said she is a conservative Christian. That is much less offensive, yet let's others know her viewpoint.

If you look at the context of the statement she was responding to others who stated that She should "relax and not worry about it, she is in wdw". She was explaining that she does not leave her beliefs at home when she goes on vacation. I do not think it was to condem others... rather trying to clairify who she is personally and why she wants the info.

 

[hudsoncs]

I feel this same way. I have always been annoyed when Evangelical Christian or Southern Baptist and their "non-denominational" break-off churches just call themselves "Christian" as if they are the ONLY CHristians. and now I see some are qualifying their "belief in the whole Bible" as being a "Strong Christian" as if anyone with diferent beliefs is not a strong christian. That is what I meant when I said I get tired of one group "owning Christianity and the word Christian. Like when my Evangelical Christian neighbors child said at my dinner table (after inviting us for the 100th time to their church - this is SO offensive when you already are a regular church goer - it is like go save someone who needs saving!) what religion are you if you don't go to my church? I said "we are Catholics" She said," what is that? "(with a very distainful tone) and I said "we are Christians too, we just have different customs, but we worship Jesus just like you" and she said "oh, it is such a shame that you aren't real Christians" It is so offensive to just take over the word Christian, or qualify it as being "strong Christian" and act like other Catholic and Protestant religions are lesser Christians (or not Christian at all).

So I agree with the above post - it should say Evangelical Christian or Southern Baptist.

WOW! This is a FULL blown argument! NOTHING I have said was meant to offend...I clarified my opinion, because I was being told about others who stated that their faith DID NOT affect the rides they rode. In order for me to get the input I was looking for I had to clarify.

I have been BASHED even though I said in the first post:

"I feel that I'm responsible for what I expose them to and in my opinion (I'm NOT looking to argue viewpoints- just suggestions from LIKE MINDED people) some things at disney are truly opposed to the scripture."

This CLEARLY says that I'm looking for someone who feels a sense of responsibility for what they expose their kids to at Disney that they think may be against the Bible. If you do, then don't worry about the post...I never said that makes you any less of anything.

I am not judging anyone but I am CERTAINLY being judged by being TOLD that I should not call myself a Christian!!!!! That is CRAZY. I am FIRST and foremost a FOLLOWER OF CHRIST! I have been to many types of churches but what dictates my life is not my church or my denomination it is My LORD and His WORD!

EVERYONE PLEASE read the ORIGINAL post...there are obviously LOTS of misunderstandings. If you are not like minded, then contributing to the post is silly.

I don't understand why all the fuss

 

[hudsoncs]

OK, I have solved the riddle of the conflict between the scientific age of the earth, and the biblical age.

Men wrote the bible, and we all know how bad men are about time! At least there were enough women working in the scientific field (a female cousin of mine is studying trilobite fossils as I type) to make sure the time was taken care of. If a woman was involved in any of the many bible revisions, the time frame would have been more authentic..

At MK, about the only thing safe would be Main Street - walk down to the loop (don't look at the castle, fairy godmother there, magic!) and walk back out.

EPCOT - close your eyes, go straight through Future World, and head to World Showcase.

DHS - Big old Sorcerer's Hat overshadowing everything - better skip the whole park.

AK - avoid the whole Dinosaur area, of course, maybe just do the safari, the two walking trails, that's about it? Lots of 'natives' at AK though, definitely stay away from EE, as the prayer flags are not Christian.

Yes, this is all tongue-in-cheek, but I'm just trying to see how anyone can even go out of their own house and avoid non-Christian situations.

There's been some awesome info on here about how to actually deal with the fact that the world is never going to be 100% Christian (because the Christians can't even agree on who is the most/right/proper type of Christian) and learning how to explain that to your kids is the best way to make them strong, caring adults, (who respect and even follow your religion) and not psychopathic religious freaks.

Oh yes, and Tolkien deliberately insisted that there was no intent in his LOtR tales to reflect any religious "Jesus" message. My daughter spent last semester studying all of his works, letters, etc, for her AP Literature class, and had a whole section on his intent. He did have some important messages in there, but it wasn't the Jesus theme. Of course, I always thought Gandalf was the Jesus figure. We've had some great conversations about LOtR!

I am certainly not suggesting this

 

[KathyTX]

There are plenty of suggestions here, and several guidebooks on the market that will detail for you to content of all of the attractions.

Since the premise of this thread is, in itself, divisive and prone to lead to argument, this discussion is now closed.