Dude, get up

[bavaria]

But why should Kaytie have to explain herself? or anyone else? I know for a fact that at least two posters on this thread have physical issues which may prevent them from standing, yet to look at them many would consider them able bodied youngish people.

Nobody should feel pressured into giving out personal information about themselves, either on a message board or in person. Yet so often they do, because they feel that they have to defend what is perceived to be 'bad' or 'ill mannered' behaviour

AGAIN, if you have xray vision and are able to make snap medical diagnoses, I beg you to donate your gifts to the greater good of mankind

 

[Hannathy]

What bothers me about the OP was that she was complaining about only the men not getting up, What about the healthy women? Shouldn't manners be sexless?

I always thought the term "standing room only" was self explanatory before I came to these boards. Disney states everyone will get taken to their resort so if you want a seat wait for the next bus if you get on a standing room only bus stand. You are the only one who can make that decision, unless you want Disney to start demanding everyone be seated, I my self would rather have the choice if I want to get back quicker or if I would rather sit. If I got on with a baby and there were no seats I'd get back off and park myself on the curb till the next bus. It's not manners it is common sense on the part of the standee.

 

[MommyBoo!]

You have a 31-year-old daughter?

It's common courtesy to offer your seat to someone holding a small child or who appears to need to sit down, whether you're a male or a female. It's not just the "dudes" that ought to give up their seats. On the other hand, I've been on a bus plenty of times when small kids were sitting on seats when they could easily sit on a parent's lap - thus freeing up one more seat for someone else.

I've done this, pulled one of my kids onto my lap so someone could sit down. One time, it was for a young woman who was visiting from Japan. My daughter had a lot of Tink pins on her lanyard and we had a nice conversation with the woman. When she got up, she gave my dd a Tink pin from Tokyo Disney. And she wouldn't take another in trade; she said it was a gift for my daughter because she was so nice and gave up her seat for her.

Edited to add: Now that we have three kids and the youngest was in a stroller the last two trips, we drive instead of take the buses. We find it to be quicker, the little one is more relaxed in her car seat, the stroller gets folded up and tossed into the trunk, we don't have to hold onto whatever bags we have, etc, etc....

 

[kydisneyfans]

This thread is the reason why we drive to each of the parks-regardless of what is said, it is much quicker and I can set in my own air conditioned vehicle relaxing for the trip back to the resort.

We have had enough bus experiences of trying to hold a sleeping child in one hand, a diaper bag in another hand, stroller in the 3rd hand, and using my 4th hand to hold onto a pole while standing under someone else's smelly armpit after 12 hours of touring a park. Sorry folks, that isn't an enjoyable vacation to me.

Don't blame us for taking up seats on the bus, we don't use them anymore.

 

[Sabrina90744]

Just got back from 6 great nights at WDW. Everything was great....just have one issue. Had to vent here.
One morning, I took the 3 kiddies to AK by myself. The bus was full so we had to stand. I was holding an 11 month old baby, and had my 7 and 11 y/o daughters w/me. There were 9 or 10 full-grown, healthy-appearing men on the bus, sitting in seats. Not a one offered a seat. Duuuuuude. (picture Crush the turtle shaking his head) I don't know. Just thought it was very uncool. I was on several other busrides tho, where people did get up and offer their seats to others who needed it more. So I guess chivalry is not completely dead yet.

It isnt that uncool, instead of struggling and getting all upset I just wait for the next bus at least I know I am guaranteed a seat.

 

[livndisney]

I don't expect anyone to offer up their seat on the bus. I did however expect the family I was on the bus with this weekend to COVER UP! Teenage son had a huge hole in his shorts (you can guess where )and sat with his legs open and mom "popped" out of her top several times and did not even "fix it" when a member of her party pointed it out. After it happened a second time, it was time for my DD to close her eyes and take a nap(as they were seated directly across from us)

 

[the Fidge]

You just can't buy class!

 

[LisaNJ25]

Hint - we've waited for the next bus (allowing other's behind us to board) so that I could sit; balance problems; usually don't have to wait more than 15 min. in the am...safety 1st

.

Same here... If we knew we had to stand we waited for the next bus. I just got back and we did that multiple times on this trip.

 

[CleveRocks]

My behavior:
As a healthy 40 year old male, I've never kept my seat when a bus became standing-room only ... I've always offered up my seat to someone else whom I thought would need it more than I (not just at WDW, but in my years using public transportation in Philadelphia, NYC and Cleveland). I believe in common courtesy -- I practice it and I teach it to my young kids, and there's no better way to teach our kids something than to model it for them.

My beliefs:
If you don't want to stand on a bus, don't get on a standing-room only bus! How dare you expect others to sacrifice themselves for you!!! To me, a very strong sense of entitlement is the rudest thing of all.

My experience:
After "Wishes" at Magic Kingdom. Tired parents. Exhausted and whiny kids. Long line for the POFQ bus. After waiting for a long time, it seems we might just make it onto the third bus to come along. I pay attention to the boarding, and as we snake into the first row at the bus stop I can see that it's already SRO on the bus. My wife and I instantly agree that if we can't sit then we'll wait for the next bus. When we got to be first in line, we stood aside and let others behind us board the bus. At least 10 more people got on. We waited maybe 10-15 minutes for the next bus. We were the first ones on the next bus, and we went directly to the very back of the bus, and we sat with one kid on each parent's lap. Less convenient for us than getting our exhausted kids (and our own tired selves) back to our room a lot sooner, but we chose to inconvenience ourselves rather than inconvenience others. Isn't this the highest form of common courtesy???

In my opinion, it would have been unsafe for my kids to stand rather than sit. As a responsible parent, I refuse to risk my kids' safety on whether or not strangers will be willing to do me a favor. I think risking my kids' safety would be akin to child abuse/child endangerment. If we got on that bus and there was an accident and all the people standing were injured, who deserves the blame ... the uncourteous people who didn't get up for my kids, or me, the dumb parent who loaded my kids onto an SRO bus and hoped for the best?

 

[karinbelle]

Is the "give the seat to the lady/child" a Southern thing? I'm from the South and a liberal (yeah- I sometimes get into trouble here) - but I feel that if you are a gentleman you should give up your seat to an elderly person, a child, a tired mother, etc.

Maybe those with different outlooks come from a different background?

This does not make them bad, but we have a hard time understanding their position or attitude because it is different from how we were brought up.

Then again, Florida is in the South, y'all.

LOL

 

[BigTigger]

This is one of those tough ones. Manners (as preached in 1950's TV shows) says you should give up your seat to the elderly, infirm, or mother with young child. Notice I didn't say "dude" or "dudette" should give up their seat as any able bodied person should consider standing if possible to give a seat to someone in need on a crowded bus or train.

One issue with Disney is the bus loads from the front and if you have a seat near the back and offer to give it up - how can the mother who's in the front of a packed bus get back to the seat through the often unyielding crowd? I asked an older lady if she'd like to sit one time and she gave me an icy stare and said she never would sit over the rear wheels - too rough a ride. I got up for someone to sit on the NYC subway last week and some 20 something sat down in a flash. Best intentions don't always work as planned.

 

[inkkognito]

Why does this thread bring me a sense of deja vu?

Ah, yes, something about the families who run on a Southwest flight at the last minute, then expect people who made sure to get an A pass and stood in line in order to be able to select their seats to move just because they are a family and should have the right to sit next to each other, others be darned (and I ain't talking little kids...I've seen it with parents and teens)

(And when I had a leg injury that would have made it nearly impossible to balance on a moving bus, I always waited until the next bus...and even got yelled at by the driver for doing so. If I have a special need for a seat, that is no one's responsibility but my own. Not saying I would never either a) give up my bus seat; or b) change seats on a plane to help someone; as I have done both. But that is my choice...what I don't like is the entitlement attitude I have witnessed in others which too often seems to take the place of personal responsibility.)

 

[Aisling]

If I see that someone needs a seat more than I do, I always get up. So do my kids and my DH. It makes for a kinder world.

 

[TDC Nala]

I think I am just going to sit on the bus and get up for someone else when I feel I should.

Maybe that's not the same situation as when someone else feels I should, but I don't really care.

 

[Kies99]

Directly relating back to the OP's situation, I'm a guy and here's what I would have done.

A) If it was just me in a seat, I would've got up and let her sit down.
B) If it were me and my 4yo or 6yo on my lap (Awake), I would've got up and offered to let some of the kids share the seat with my kid.
C) If my 4yo or 6yo were sleeping on me, I would not have gotten up.
D) If I was in the back of the bus in a seat by myself and she was at the front and the bus was packed and it wouldn't be easy to get back to my seat, I wouldn't have moved either.

 

[Mermaid_Ariel]

If you are concerned for the safety and comfort of your children and yourself, it's your responsibility as a parent to make certain that they always have proper seats and safety restraints in a moving vehicle. Any time you get on a WDW bus you run the risk of not getting a seat, which means that you are gambling with your kids' safety. I would never take an infant to WDW without renting a car and bringing a carseat.

Slightly off-topic, I took public transportation everyday to college. 2 different buses, crammed to the brim with students and people who lived in the area. I mostly stood because I didn't want to take away a seat from the elderly or someone trying to carry a child. Those are just my personal manners.

However, what irritated me to no end, was countless Mothers bringing infants onto these crammed buses, lugging strollers, diaper bags, and sometimes their other young children. I'm sorry if this offends anyone, and I 100% agree with the poster I quoted - but if you can't afford your own vehicle to safely transport your children . . Well, you know what I'm getting at.

This would occur in the peak of NJ winter, where I had a scraf wrapped tightly around my face, earmuffs and a hat. And here you have a parent standing outside in the freezing cold, with an infant bundled in their arms, dragging them onto a bus. I always said a prayer for people who did that..

As far as WDW transportation is concerned - If I had the responsibility of a child, that I would most certainly wait for the next shuttle (although, if they were very young I'd rent a car..) to guarentee my family a seat.

To each their own, and I respect all of your opinions.

 

[Disneyhappy]

Slightly off-topic, I took public transportation everyday to college. 2 different buses, crammed to the brim with students and people who lived in the area. I mostly stood because I didn't want to take away a seat from the elderly or someone trying to carry a child. Those are just my personal manners.

However, what irritated me to no end, was countless Mothers bringing infants onto these crammed buses, lugging strollers, diaper bags, and sometimes their other young children. I'm sorry if this offends anyone, and I 100% agree with the poster I quoted - but if you can't afford your own vehicle to safely transport your children . . Well, you know what I'm getting at.

This would occur in the peak of NJ winter, where I had a scraf wrapped tightly around my face, earmuffs and a hat. And here you have a parent standing outside in the freezing cold, with an infant bundled in their arms, dragging them onto a bus. I always said a prayer for people who did that..

As far as WDW transportation is concerned - If I had the responsibility of a child, that I would most certainly wait for the next shuttle (although, if they were very young I'd rent a car..) to guarentee my family a seat.

To each their own, and I respect all of your opinions.

Off Topic -I'm not sure you understand how many people in this country depend soley on public transportation. I remember reading that almost 50% of people who live in major cities do not own a car and rely on public transporation. How mom supposed to get her sick infant to the doctor on a cold winter day? I have been fortunate and lived a charmed life. However, working in a social services job in my early years, I grew an appreciation of just how charmed a life I lead.

 

[Mermaid_Ariel]

Off Topic -I'm not sure you understand how many people in this country depend soley on public transportation. I remember reading that almost 50% of people who live in major cities do not own a car and rely on public transporation. How mom supposed to get her sick infant to the doctor on a cold winter day? I have been fortunate and lived a charmed life. However, working in a social services job in my early years, I grew an appreciation of just how charmed a life I lead.

I do understand that. There's also the option of calling a cab to bring a sick infant to the doctor. I just can't imagine bringing a little infant who's barely a few weeks old outside in the freezing cold to wait for a bus for 15+ minutes.

 

[marivaid]

At WDW we avoid SRO buses as much as possible. But if we are sitting in a SRO bus, and I see someone who could use a seat then I get up & give mine.
Simply because I was taught that it's the right thing to do.

It doesn't mean,however,that I don't think things like... I did not tell this lady to come to WDW when she's 8 months pregnant.
(Just an example)

The bottom line for me is that whether I'm responsible for her being in that bus or not, I don't want her to fall when it moves.

 

[Disneyhappy]

I do understand that. There's also the option of calling a cab to bring a sick infant to the doctor. I just can't imagine bringing a little infant who's barely a few weeks old outside in the freezing cold to wait for a bus for 15+ minutes.

I'm sure the people who can afford to call cabs do. Unfortunately, many people in the city, due to their income level, are forced to take a sick infant on a bus when it is freezing outside. Many do not have cash in their pockets, but only food stamps and possibly bus passes provided by welfare/public assistance. I truly understand the point you were trying to make. I am only trying to convey that for the indigent, the only option, other than walking in the cold winter, is public transportation, for whatever their need may be - to go to the doctor, drop the kids off at a babysitter so the mom can go to work, etc.

As to the topic at hand, it seems that most people do feel it is courteous to give up their seat under certain circumstances but do no believe that it should be the expectation of someone standing to be offered a seat. I am glad chivalry is not dead!