Disney is first and foremost about kids...

[mousermerf]

Bolded mine...I didn't know that! I need to read some good books about park history. Anyone have any suggestions? Is there such a thing?

I wrote a book, it's not perfect but it's a book about history:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Epcot-Explorers-Encyclopedia-Greatest/dp/1478211075/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Essentially proved people would buy such a book.. and trust me, Disney noticed. Working on a vastly expanded edition but that's a long way away.

 

[Liz Z]

Honestly, having been a CM, i'd have gotten her manager and looked into her being retrained. That's simply an unacceptable response all by itself, but certainly not something she should ever say to a guest.

Thank You for that. We were taken quite aback, and have never had a CM come back at us like that in all the 18 years we've been coming down

Don't get me wrong we had some wonderful CM,s but it does seem that some of the magic is dissipating.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Walt Disney did not create Epcot/EPCOT Center. And Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom are outgrowths of Epcot concepts (literally, they both started as pavilions for Epcot conceptually).

So applying what he wanted for his Magic Kingdom style park in California to the majority of the Walt Disney World resort is disingenuous.

Other people made Epcot and it was intended for a more adult audience.

I think your overlook a very important fact. True Walts Epcot is not what was built. However the *other people* that designed and built Epco and to a lesser degree, HS and AK were trained by Walt and it would be disingenuous to say they didnt used alot of Walts ideas and the skills he trained in them to design the parks.

AKK

AKK

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

Walt Disney did not create Epcot/EPCOT Center. And Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom are outgrowths of Epcot concepts (literally, they both started as pavilions for Epcot conceptually).

So applying what he wanted for his Magic Kingdom style park in California to the majority of the Walt Disney World resort is disingenuous.

Other people made Epcot and it was intended for a more adult audience.

Oh, believe me, I am aware of Epcot's origins and what actually was built and where DHS and AK came from. My post was in response to a statement about "Disney" being for kids. Not regarding a particular park, or even a resort. I used WED's quotes to illustrate the feelings he had toward what his company was creating. You and I both know after his death, the company continued to create experiences for all age groups. After all, it is much better for the bottom line.

 

[mousermerf]

Oh, believe me, I am aware of Epcot's origins and what actually was built and where DHS and AK came from. My post was in response to a statement about "Disney" being for kids. Not regarding a particular park, or even a resort. I used WED's quotes to illustrate the feelings he had toward what his company was creating. You and I both know after his death, the company continued to create experiences for all age groups. After all, it is much better for the bottom line.

Until recently.. where there's been a hyper-focus on young children.

 

[GreenCntryGirl]

I wrote a book, it's not perfect but it's a book about history:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Epcot-Explorers-Encyclopedia-Greatest/dp/1478211075/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Essentially proved people would buy such a book.. and trust me, Disney noticed. Working on a vastly expanded edition but that's a long way away.

Thanks! I've bookmarked it and will look forward to checking it out.

 

[starjazz]

Just for the record...

You can be 3' 8" tall and ride EVERY ride in Magic Kingdom. My 3 yo can ride all but one ride there.

I go to any other park in the country, that is NOT the case. Not even close. In fact, most other parks have little subsections with a few county fair rides for the children.

So, I'm glad the place is for kids. And I'm glad that this big kid and my two little ones can all go and have fun.

 

[princessSunshine]

I agree with this. As an AP holder I go to WDW 4-6 times a year. I may take one of my grandkids with me, or my elderly mom, sometimes I go solo and sometimes my husband and I go together (he is not as big a WDW fan as I am, so will only go once or twice a year). However, I work in a high stress job and need my WDW trips to decompress and relax every few months. I don't know how many times, I have found the perfect parade spot so that I can get good pictures with both the castle and the floats in them, just to have some parent push their kids in front of me at the last minute and then grin and say "I know you won't mind, since WDW is for the kids after all". Actually I don't mind if it's just the kids they push up there, but invariably it's the parents themselves that then push themselves up there too, with the excuse that they have to see their kids faces when they see the parade and since I am by myself they know I won't care. At that point is when I say, 'yes I do care. Your child is welcome to stand in front where he can see, but I will not give up the place I've been reserving for the last hour, just so you can see. You should have got here an hour ago, like I did.'

Back when Tusker House used to be a CS restaurant, I was solo and finally found an open table for four in the back, so walked to it and was standing there taking my food off the tray. Just as I finished and was about to sit down, some lady suddenly rammed the back of my legs with her stroller and loudly demanded I give the table to her because she had kids and needed the table. I told her she better not try to hit me again unless she wanted that stroller around her head and motioning with my arm, asked her exactly where she wanted me to sit as all the tables were full and I'd gotten there well before her. Perfectly serious she said, that since I was by myself that I could just take my food outside and eat sitting on the wall, but she had to have that table for her family. When I laughed at her and told her it wasn't happening, she threatened to get a CM to make me move. I told her to go ahead and try, everyone saw that I was at that table unloading my food, before she even walked up. About that time, I saw an elderly couple walking by looking for a table and asked them if they'd like to share my table. They took me up on my offer and the other lady stalked off, after making a comment about people without kids shouldn't even be at WDW, since WDW was just for the kids.

I don't normally wait in lines to take character pictures, but one afternoon when I was leaving MK, they had Clarabelle the Cow out. It was the first time I'd ever seen her out, so I got in line to grab a picture. Right after I got in line, the handler said that she'd be going in, in five minutes and I'd be the last person she saw. A family just walking up, stepped in front of me and when I asked what they thought they were doing, they laughed and said they knew I wouldn't mind if they cut in front of me, since otherwise their child would not be able to get a picture with Clarabelle. When I said it wasn't happening they got mad and called me a b--ch and said WDW was for the kids and they couldn't believe I wouldn't give up my spot for them. Heck, that kid didn't even know who Clarabelle was and didn't even want to be in line. She was whining to go ride a ride.

I love watching the kids enjoying WDW. I do not enjoy their pushy, obnoxious parents that think their little snowflakes should get priority over everyone else. I don't like parents who let their kids run wild disturbing other guests' vacations and then use the excuse that kids will be kids and WDW is for the kids afterall, so it's OK to let them run wild. I take my GKs down there. We have a great time, but no way would I let them disturb other guests or expect other guests to let them cut in front of them.

We all pay good money and deserve to enjoy our vacations. The 70 y/o has just as much right to be there as the 7 y/o. My parents never took vacations, so my mom never got to go to WDW (or anywhere else, except to see family), until I took her after we had to put my dad in the nursing home a few years ago. She was like 74 y/o her very first trip and my favorite picture of that trip was her on Dumbo grinning from ear to ear. Yeah, to get that picture we took up two Dumbos (me in front and her in an elephant just behind me). But we had just as much right to stand in that line as any 7 y/o. I've read posts on here about how adults shouldn't be allowed in the Dumbo line without a kid, because it loads so slow and their kids shouldn't have to wait too long. Sorry, don't agree! I had that picture blown up into a 5"x7" and it still sits on a shelf in my computer room. Out of all the pictures I have taken at WDW I treasure that one the most. That 74 y/o grinning from ear to ear, loved riding Dumbo for the first time just as much as any kid there and probably appreciated it more as it took her 74 years to get there.

Part I bolded - brought tears to my eyes, what a lovely memory for you and your mom! And I bet not only did she enjoy it as much as any kid, but probably more than some (as she had years of waiting/anticipating and understading what Disney is all about and this visit would have meant more to her)

 

[hvanes]

I have family who uses their kids, all the time, to excuse their selfish and bad behavior. We know better than to go to Disney with them...they have this opinion that if you are with them then you are to watch their kids while they entertain themselves and ignore you and their children. Or they demand we reschedule our lives for them, only they use their kids as the excuse.

Reading many of these posts, I end up feeling sad for the kids. Most of the examples given reflect bad adult behavior - adults who happen to have kids accompanying them. When I have seen really terrible behavior from kids, there's usually an equally awful adult parent standing behind them. One of the worst Disney moments I've ever witnessed was a psycho grandma trying to repin her granddaughter's Little Mermaid sash before an Ariel meet and greet. That lady scarred me for life.

 

[lynypixie]

No, there will be some brat in a Cinderella frock seen running amid the AVATAR or Star Wars stuff with pixie dust trailing her, curly fonts, castle looming in the background in powder blue sky.. and some cliche line about "She'll only have ONE first trip to another planet! Believe to remember the magic and wishes! Memories!"

It'll be that trite, I guarantee you.

Brat? Seriously?
It's Disney World. It's flooded with kids, get used to it!

Like I said, it's the ONE place in the world when they can go on vacation and feel welcomed.
So yes, we, the adults, will have to live with it.

And kids run around and are loud. They are being over stimulated, I think it's normal. I would worry about a child in Disney World that always stays calm.

I've been to Disney World before having kids. I knew what I was getting into, and not once did I think that it should be adult only (appart for pleasure Island, of course, but as much as I loved it, I could have lived without it too)

I think, as much as kids free are anoyed that people tell them it's for kids, I'm fustrated when I ear them complaining about kids being loud in WDW.

 

[donaldlovesdaisy]

Brat? Seriously?
It's Disney World. It's flooded with kids, get used to it!

Like I said, it's the ONE place in the world when they can go on vacation and feel welcomed.
So yes, we, the adults, will have to live with it.

And kids run around and are loud. They are being over stimulated, I think it's normal. I would worry about a child in Disney World that always stays calm.

I've been to Disney World before having kids. I knew what I was getting into, and not once did I think that it should be adult only (appart for pleasure Island, of course, but as much as I loved it, I could have lived without it too)

I think, as much as kids free are anoyed that people tell them it's for kids, I'm fustrated when I ear them complaining about kids being loud in WDW.

I don't care how over stimulated a child is they should not be running around restaurants like a pack of poorly trained animals! Parents who allow this are self centered entitled brats and are acting worse then their kids. I don't blame the kids they are kids they are going to get away with whatever they can but the adults they are with and their poor parenting skills!

 

[hvanes]

I don't care how over stimulated a child is they should not be running around restaurants like a pack of poorly trained animals! Parents who allow this are self centered entitled brats and are acting worse then their kids. I don't blame the kids they are kids they are going to get away with whatever they can but the adults they are with and their poor parenting skills!

Agreed, but that's totally different than referring to a little girl in a Cinderella dress a "some brat".

 

[RedHeadedFairy]

I didn't get to visit Disney as a child, it's something my parents could never afford.........

........We have also been to plenty of other places, done other holidays but my favourite is Disney for the carefree childlike feeling it gives you. We certainly don't have a problem with the all the kids there, it'd be a bit daft going to a place like that and not having kids there.

DH & I feel exactly this way - neither of our families could afford trips to Disney until we were teens & then they were quick 1 or 2-day trips squeezed in around other things. This was in the time well before the birth of AK & HS... Epcot was still a shiny new penny that we weren't sure what to make of, lol.

As young adults who now lived in FL we happily made up for lost time as passholders & visited frequently for many years before DD was born. I was nearly chomping at the bit waiting for her to be old enough to really enjoy the parks & we have had an INSANE amount of fun getting her introduced to our favorites, experiencing new things together & seeing the park through her perspective as a young child.

We foster the sense of magic in her life, along with her academic & social type of achievements, & better than any of us, she gets FULLY immersed in WDW when we are there. It's a beautiful experience but we still can't wait to take our next adults-only trip as well. When DH & I are there together alone we can focus on the things we want to do that can be difficult when she's with us. (shows at HOB, finer dining, later evenings, etc.)

We've vacationed in a lot of different places over the 20 years we've known each other, but we both know we'll always return to WDW every few years because it makes us feel young & carefree all over again, every time.

 

[TDC Nala]

Because it isn't true. Can't leave out the "of any age" disclaimer.

I'm guessing there are relatively few Disney guests who have a general problem with children. What they mostly complain about is kids whose parents allow them to misbehave, or parents who believe they are entitled to something over and above someone else who doesn't have kids with them. And those numbers seem to be rising.

I do, however, wonder about those who wish to treat the destination as an adult destination. It's not.

Sure it is...if you want it to be. and after an hour or so in La Cava del Tequila (which is inside a Disney Park) you bet we're tipsy.

I don't pose with characters either. Well until we saw Captain Jack Sparrow at the International Gateway with no line.

 

[lugnut33]

I think I understand my place in the Magic Kingdom. It really is all about the kids if you ask me. I go out of my way to make sure I don't sit in front of a child in any attraction. I will offer up my spot if it helps a kid see an attraction better. I constantly offer up a smile to all kids and if I see one crying I'll try to get them to stop by making a funny face or talking to them. I get so happy seeing young children with that look of utter fascination on their face.

For me, the MK would be a lot less special if there were no children in it.

 

[starjazz]

I'll tell you what kind of parents I despise? I despise judgemental parents who think their kids are the bee's knees all the time, and if they happen to witness another kid doing anything short of sitting quietly with Mummy and Papa, then they must have bad parents.

 

[mousermerf]

This is the awful advertisement that actually appeared on this thread when I was reading the comment.. I had to pull it out to show you all just how absurd it is:

 

[princessSunshine]

I grew up watching the Wonderful World of Disney, my favourite books as a kid were the mail ordered Disney ones, Cinderella is my favourite movie, every year I looked forward to Mickey's Christmas Carol on t.v. - as I grew, the magic of Disney grew with me and not out of me. Finally, 15 years ago I got my dream of going to Disney World for my honeymoon and agree it's not just for kids, but when we went back for our 10th anniversary, we took our boys, not just for them, but us too - we had kids not so we'd "grow up" and be adults, but so we wouldn't have to grow up! (I love playing laser tag in the house, running around our campsite playing hide-and-seek....)

Disney allows me not to grow up! I could see myself, in years to come, not taking any kids with me and enjoying it just the same or even more.

psst...I have stood in line by myself to get my picture with Mulan and didn't feel weird at all (second favourite character, girl power) and don't think it's odd if any adult without children want to stand in line for characters (we're serious enough in our "adult" lives, live and have fun)

 

[mm1971]

This sentiment annoys me.

Add "of any age" at the end and it doesn't annoy me.

Agreed.

Of course I am trying to understand 1) why it annoys you and 2) there are so many activities and aspect of Disney for adults what is the big deal? Just not sure what you looking for in this statement.

 

[mousermerf]

Agreed.

Of course I am trying to understand 1) why it annoys you and 2) there are so many activities and aspect of Disney for adults what is the big deal? Just not sure what you looking for in this statement.

It's been explained but to reiterate.. many adults use that statement to justify why their children are being brats or that to tell other adults that they should not enjoy themselves so that their kids can enjoy a ride/show/parade/etc..