Disney is first and foremost about kids...

[GreenCntryGirl]

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.

I didn't know that I was necessarily looking for anything.

Saying this with due respect: I didn't realize so many would want to psycho-analyze my sentiment. If I had said I was looking for deeper meaning, posts telling me to get professional help would have been multiple. Can I not simply voice an opinion?

 

[donaldlovesdaisy]

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.

I will you judge you and any other parent who allows their child to run around restaurant like a mad man or have a major melt down. My kids are no where near perfect but certain behavior is expected of them and in certain places and if their behavior is not what it needs to be and I can't get them under control we remove them from the situation. There is no way I am going to subject other guest in WDW restaurants to my kids bratty and poor behavior choices just because we are WDW.

 

[lynypixie]

Then, it depends on the restaurent. I won't bring my kids to fancy restaurents because I know they have trouble staying in place and keep quiet for a long time, especialy my 2 years old. They wouldn't have fun and we wouldn't have fun, so I don't see the point.

But some WDW restaurents actualy encourage kids to fool around. They do Conga lines and stuff like that. I did read people complaining about kids being loud in Crystal Palace. Did they really expect a quiet sit down dinner? Same thing for the pools. I've read reviews of the pools being too loud because there are too much kids in them. We're talking about Art of Animation here. Where everything is made for large families. Not a 18+ all-inclusive in jamaica!

And will you please stop refering children as brats? It is very mean.

 

[DisneyFive]

DH and I have had other guests say this to our face at DLR - as they pushed their child in front of me as I was in line for various characters. It's rude, IMO.

Hopefully (and I expect) that this is the minority. That seems just as much of a parenting problem as a perception issue.

Dan

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

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.

Do you really think it is the only spot in the whole world that kids feel welcome on vacation? Wow, that is quite a sweeping statement. I'm pretty sure there are tons of great destinations that kids will have a great time, just in the US!

WDW is not just for children, and 99% of adult visitors know it will be full of children and are okay with that.

The problem is when children are allowed to act like heathens.

 

[donaldlovesdaisy]

Then, it depends on the restaurent. I won't bring my kids to fancy restaurents because I know they have trouble staying in place and keep quiet for a long time, especialy my 2 years old. They wouldn't have fun and we wouldn't have fun, so I don't see the point.

But some WDW restaurents actualy encourage kids to fool around. They do Conga lines and stuff like that. I did read people complaining about kids being loud in Crystal Palace. Did they really expect a quiet sit down dinner? Same thing for the pools. I've read reviews of the pools being too loud because there are too much kids in them. We're talking about Art of Animation here. Where everything is made for large families. Not a 18+ all-inclusive in jamaica!

And will you please stop refering children as brats? It is very mean.

What about after the Congo line when it is time to back to your seat yet little Susie is running around still knocking into other guest and their tables? Should her parents not do their job and get their child back under control or other guest wrong for wanting to enjoy their meal without having little Susie crawling under their table? Kids running around really does not bother me it is the family that refuses to remove their child when he/she is having major melt down tantrum that goes on for more then a few minutes . Oh and just for the record I called the parents brats not the kids!

 

[minnie mum]

Well this thread has gone pretty much where I thought it would go.

I have to agree though, that one of my biggest pet peeves at WDW are the parents who like to profess that "Disney is for Kids!!" as they shove their precious snowflakes ahead of you on a parade route, or in a line waiting for whatever. That really frosts my cookies.

I love seeing little ones experiencing everything that the parks have to offer. What I don't love to see, though, are the parents who allow their children to run wild and decide to suspend any kind of parenting while they are on vacation. Not all kids are brats. Far from it. But I've seen too many parents who allow their children to to be brats at WDW. Or maybe they allow this all the time. Dunno. Don't care. Still don't want to see it.

There's no reason for kids of all ages not to happily coexist. And there's no reason for normal social behavioral norms not to be followed.

 

[lynypixie]

When my 2 years old can't stand it anymore, her father or I take her hand and we "stroll" around the restaurent. She doesn't go under tables or anything like that, she just exercices her legs and say hello to people. It's either that or she screams her head off. We rather make her walk.

So, I guess I'm a bad parent because my kid can't stand sit quietly on a chair for 2 hours straight.

 

[minnie mum]

It takes a lot of selfawareness to come to a realization like that. A lot of parents just wouldn't have put a toddler into a situation where they had to endure a 2 hour meal.

 

[starjazz]

She said "frosts my cookies..."! Wooo boy. That is flippin' hilarious. I gotta use that one some time.

 

[donaldlovesdaisy]

When my 2 years old can't stand it anymore, her father or I take her hand and we "stroll" around the restaurent. She doesn't go under tables or anything like that, she just exercices her legs and say hello to people. It's either that or she screams her head off. We rather make her walk.

So, I guess I'm a bad parent because my kid can't stand sit quietly on a chair for 2 hours straight.

Of corse not sitting that long for a kid that age is not likely to happen but you would definitely be a self centered rude parent if you let her scream constantly disturbing others without leaving with her ! I pretty sure no one said a child calmly strolling with her dad around a restaurant is bad thing or unreasonable!

 

[RedHeadedFairy]

Of corse not sitting that long for a kid that age is not likely to happen but you would definitely be a self centered rude parent if you let her scream constantly disturbing others without leaving with her ! I pretty sure no one said a child calmly strolling with her dad around a restaurant is bad thing or unreasonable!

Agreed - there's a huge difference between calming/distracting a child & just excusing their ongoing bad behavior as forgiveable simply because they are children.

The majority of the times I've seen kids act out badly at WDW I've been more appalled at the way the parents handled it than the kids' tantrum itself. I expect children to become overstimulated at WDW, I just also expect their parents to handle it with respect to the other guests & not simply out of concern for pushing the kids to get their money's worth out of the trip. Bad manners on children I can accept to a point - bad manners on parents is not so easy to forgive.

 

[donaldlovesdaisy]

Why does it always have to be that my kid either runs around doing flips or she is going to scream her head off? Why do other guest have to settle for one or the other because the parent can't or won't be bothered to parent?

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Agreed - there's a huge difference between calming/distracting a child & just excusing their ongoing bad behavior as forgiveable simply because they are children.

The majority of the times I've seen kids act out badly at WDW I've been more appalled at the way the parents handled it than the kids' tantrum itself. I expect children to become overstimulated at WDW, I just also expect their parents to handle it with respect to the other guests & not simply out of concern for pushing the kids to get their money's worth out of the trip. Bad manners on children I can accept to a point - bad manners on parents is not so easy to forgive.

I Totally agree.........

 

[Jacquie668]

I feel that most of the time adults are the problem and at a place like Toys'R'Us or Disney it is multiplied. I think there are two issues:

1. Adults who get drunk and cause trouble or are just angry and bitter and then lash out at guests, which is terrible behavior and shouldn't happen anywhere, especially around kids!

2. Adults who use their kids as an excuse to hurt, be rude to, or terrorize other guests and that includes children as well. I mean how many times have I read on here and on other sites/reviews/stories of these so called wonderful parents pushing their kids in front of some other family all in the name of "well this place is for kids so." lol. Yeah that is BRATTY behavior, from ADULTS.

Look WDW and DL is not just for kids; it was never the intention. If it were then 99% of the land would be covered with kid friendly entertainment. It is a healthy mixture of fun for people of all ages, in my opinion. Hello, WDW the only place where kids are welcome? NO WAY. There are sooooooooo many places for kids, which is great, I guess. I hate to say it, but having a place JUST for kids is annoying to me as I feel sometimes the parents, ala adults, are forgotten. I feel for the parents that go to places that are EXCLUSIVELY for kids with cartoons going 24/7.... Parents need time too, they need some down time, or a chance to just turn off the cartoons for a sec, so to me WDW offers this, that mixture, and is for FAMILIES and ADULTS, People of ALL ages. I just feel like the whole "this place is for kids" argument is flawed as it clearly isn't.

As a teen I enjoyed WDW just as I did as a kid and I'll enjoy as an adult just as I did before. I'll do more adult entertainment, obviously, but I'll also enjoy being around kids. WHat I don't enjoy is the badly behaved, adults and kids, but that can happen anywhere.

 

[lynypixie]

It takes a lot of selfawareness to come to a realization like that. A lot of parents just wouldn't have put a toddler into a situation where they had to endure a 2 hour meal.

It's not always possible to leave the small one behind. And I wouldn't want to either.
If you want a child to learn how to behave in public, you have to take it to public places. If they are never put into such a situation, they won't learn. My other two have their moments, but they do know how to behave and they are polite (one of the first lesson I told them. Being polite can get you far! And they it works)

I guess I've been lucky, I've never been in a situation where a kid is annoying to the point of ruining my meal. Usualy, when a parent is stuck with a tantrum, I'm more into a "I understand and I'm happy it's not me this time" mode.

I guess that it might seem worse in WDW, because it's not just 1-2 families, but an ocean of them.

 

[lynypixie]

I feel that most of the time adults are the problem and at a place like Toys'R'Us or Disney it is multiplied. I think there are two issues:

1. Adults who get drunk and cause trouble or are just angry and bitter and then lash out at guests, which is terrible behavior and shouldn't happen anywhere, especially around kids!

I would add the smockers. There is not a lot of things I hate more than people who smoke out of designated areas. They are adults, they know the laws, and yet, to puff their cancer sticks into my or my kids's face.

 

[rebeccaariel]

And I know this is going to be terribly unpopular but I'll say it anyway. I don't understand adults standing in line to see characters. My daughter doesn't know they are college kids in costumes but I do and I really don't have a need to "meet" them or to get an "autograph". Again, I know many here will disagree and that's fine with me. Everyone is free to do as they please. I just don't understand what's so great about it for adults that they will wait in lines to do it. A quick picture at a meal or something as a fun souvenir picture, sure, but standing in lines, I don't get it. Nonetheless, I respect anyone's right to do it and would never expect my child to have preference to see the characters. It does puzzle me though.

I got to go once to WDW as a child, for which I was and am still very thankful, but I didn't get to experience all the things I wanted to experience. I never got to do a lot of the "princessy" things because my older brother planned the whole trip, and did an awesome job for a 10 year old, but he tended to exclude those kinds of activities. Why shouldn't I be able to go back and do those things now that I'm older and can make choices for myself? And if I want to wait in line to meet a character that 8 year old me desperately wanted to but never did, why is that a problem? Why shouldn't my mom and I be able to enjoy a bonding experience and escape our real life problems through the fantasy that Disney provides? At Disney, we suspend our cynicism and remember what it's like to be a kid again. If it's not for you, that's fine, you enjoy Disney your way and I'll enjoy it in mine. But, to me, it seems like a waste of time to be so involved in what other people are doing.

 

[starjazz]

Usualy, when a parent is stuck with a tantrum, I'm more into a "I understand and I'm happy it's not me this time" mode.

I guess that it might seem worse in WDW, because it's not just 1-2 families, but an ocean of them.

Well said.

 

[deanimal]

Why on earth would someone put a pointer at a lovely little girl enjoying a ride and label her "brat"? I would never post a picture of a 50 year old labelled "geezer" or something insulting like that.

As for kids and bad behaviour, maybe we're just lucky, but I've found truly bad behaviour from kids and parents to be quite minimal at Disney when we've been there. Lots of energy and a bit of crazyness here and there, but not a lot of truly horrible behaviour. (maybe we're just lucky). But I kind of go in expecting that.

What would you think of someone who went to Las Vegas or the bars in New Orleans and complained that the behaviour there was offensive and not suitable for families. I'd say, "no duh". I don't approve of the kind of behaviour that goes on there and I think many people take things way to far, but I know what to expect going in. Same with Disney. I don't think its okay for people to let their kids run wild or use the excuse of being on family vacation to be rude and inconsiderate, but with millions of families visiting every year, I expect that most will behave fine and a few will not.

If my husband and I go on a date night, we always go to a local Irish pub for dinner because its the only place in our town where minors aren't allowed in the dining room. I'm sure not paying for a babysitter to risk sitting next to someone else's kids. Same with holidays; if we ever get a chance to go somewhere without our kids, I'll be picking an 18+ resort.

So I still don't get the adults who come to Disney and complain about the kids. It's not like there's no child free options out there. A little tolerance goes a long way towards everyone's enjoyment.