Has Anyone ever had an embarrassing moment with a child in WDW?

[kerry34]

I am not sure If this subject has come up before I started posting here, but I was wondering if any parents out there have ever had a moment in the world that was just " a little less than magical" with a little one?

In 2002 I took my kids to WDW. This was my 2 1/2 yr old twin girls first visit. This was a family trip with my aunts and cousins, as well as my mom, so there were quite a few of us there. My aunt happened to be with one of my twins and decided to take her into The Great Movie Ride in MGM. Now if she happened to have my daughter that was with me at the time there would not have been any problem, but she had my other daughter who is afraid of her own shadow. My aunt had no idea of the Alien segment of the ride as well as the bank robbery. My aunt came off of the ride with a look of horror on her face and my daughter screaming bloody murder. She happens to have a scream that could be used in a horror movie too. Apparently she screamed so loud that they actually stopped the ride and escorted her off. The people sitting in front of her made quite a few rude comments about bringing small children on the ride. She felt awful. Needless to say, when my other little girl saw her sister come off that ride screaming, she went nuts. She started screaming and crying hysterically, which that of course only made the other one scream even louder. OMG!! I wanted to crawl under a rock. I got so many dirty looks from people I wanted to cry. I felt like the worlds worst parent. My next trip you can bet that we will be going nowhere near that ride with my twins. Of course we now all laugh about it when we chat about that trip!!

 

[swilshire]

When DS16 was a toddler, there was a walking tour at MGM where you went above several studios and they gave a brief speech about each. DS (in Dad's arms) was not amused and made a fair amount of noise. Another guest made rude remarks, but there was no way to escape.

My husband still mentions this from time to time. I think that was also the trip he vowed never to go back to WDW with any kid who couldn't stand in line on his or her own two feet.

Sheila

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

I got so many dirty looks from people I wanted to cry.

Another guest made rude remarks, but there was no way to escape.

What's wrong with these people. They must not like kids!

My embarrassing moment: Last year at WDW, when my two DDs were ages 3 & 1, I would have to lay down on their bed to get them to calm down enough to fall asleep. I ended up falling asleep also. Next morning at the Boardwalk bus stop, DD (age 3) announces to all those waiting, "My Dad sleeps with me in my bed!" DW had a good laugh.

 

[sarahsmom73]

DD had a temper tantrum at MGM one morning at opening because I wouldn't taker her ina store (She was 2 1/2) So here we are out in front of the Sorcerer's Hat and she is in her stroller screaming and crying! I was fine until I heard a lady say that "if your child does that she is not mature enough to come!" I was so MAD! Needless to say the tantrum stopped and she didn't have another!!! The nerve....

 

[lisadam]

DS - now 5 has been to the world three times - at 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 years

the first time - I completely misjudged his "tiredness" level not once but twice! both times he had one of those catastrophic meltdowns where he was thrashing all over - I know this child and knew that if I just held him tight and murmered soothing things to him that he would eventually tire and pass right out - and he did - but the looks I got were amazing - not to mention the comments about my mothering abilities (ok... I goofed - he was having a good time and I missed my cues....) or that he needed a good beating.

the second time was on this most recent trip - on the bus from Wilderness Lodge to Epcot - the bus made a stop at the Ft. Wilderness Campgrounds and more people got on - so I told Jake to hop on my lap to make room for someone to sit down... he looked at me and did the "why - I was here first?" so I gave him the speech about giving seats up to people older or who may need it more (it was his first time on public transportation - so the situation never came up) and he said no - so I scooped him up and he fought me - the people around me were a mix of understanding - and not so understanding but I was mortified!

ooof - I'm usually so proud of his manners, its always the situations where he isn't doing his usual routine and things go haywire

I rarely watch another child's meltdown without feeling bad for the parent AND the child - sure I guess there are times where it is the parent who has simply never tried to teach the child manners - but its often just the excitement and tiredness that has made everyone a little off while they're on vacation

 

[Kae]

In the Little Mermaid Show DS4 left on my head. The day before we took to It's tough to be a Bug when hopper came he freaked so we call it the moment that almost ruined our trip. He questioned everthing we did from that moment on. The day before he did every thing at MK but Space Mtn, Snow White & Alien Encounter. Go figure.

Kae

 

[laceemouse]

Once we were on the monorail with our 3 oldest kids (before #4 arrived) My DDs were 4 and 6 and my DS was just past two and barely talking. We stopped at the Poly and several passengers boarded our car. This larger woman got on and my son smiled real big and said "that lady is really fat!" I could have died, I don't think DH heard it but the lady sure did. She said "well, aren't you sweet" in a snide sarcastic way. I gave him the "that's not very nice" talk in a whisper and just sat there mortified. I felt sorry for her but he was so little I think he just thought he was stating the facts. I just hope she didn't think we taught him that, I'm not exactly skinny myself and I have a brother who is very obese so we are constsantly giving our kids the "what's on the outside is not important" speech. He was just too little to realize he was hurting someone's feelings.

 

[Lollipop Mom]

Both of my kids have given us some less than proud parenting moments. I'll preface this by saying that they are both VERY good kids with good manners. You almost never have to remind either of them to say please or thank you etc.

On our last trip my 2 year old apparantly forgot to pack his table manners. We eat out at least once a week, usually 2 or 3 times so he is no stranger to dining out. I guess it was just the excitement of being at WDW and knowing he could be out doing other things but he just did not do well in sit down restaurants at all that week. His birthday is in late March and his brother's in June. We went the last week in April/first in May so we picked a day and celebrated each of their birthdays. His celebration was at Crystal Palace since he adores Pooh. We ended up leaving before Pooh even came to our table because he was actually THROWING food. We had seen Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore but were still waiting for Pooh. DH and I decided we were not willing to subject everyone else in the restaurant to him fussing and fighting us so we left. As soon as we were back outside he was a little angel again. I figured out later in our trip that if I put lollipops in our bag I could give them each one when they finished their food and it kept them happy (and quiet) long enough to let DH and finish eating in peace.

During our trip with my parents between Christmas and New Years my then 3½ year old provided my mother with an embarassing moment. He was with her while DH and my father were riding Space Mountain and I was changing my then 21 month old's diaper. She was having another discussion with him about what he should do if he got seperate from us (look for a CM with a nametag etc.). He decided it would be good to tell her what I had told him to do if someone other than one of us tried to take him somewhere. She was sitting on a bench with him standing in front of her and she was holding his hands when he starts screaming "THIS IS NOT MY MOMMY! THIS IS NOT MY MOMMY! NO NO NO!" She got quite a bit of attention from other guests and a CM came over to ask if all was OK. Fortunately I was coming out of the bathroom when I heard him and was able to rush out there (with heart pounding not knowing it was just a demonstration for Grammy) and was able to explain to the CM that no, this wasn't his Mommy but it was his Grammy and all was OK. He was quite confused about why Grammy was not so thrilled with his little demonstration. We had to explain several times that he did very well but that we only yell things like that if we are in trouble.

 

[cheshirecat74sc]

When we went to WDW for the first time w/the kids in 1999, my younger son was 4 years old at the time. At a point of exhaustion, he had a meltdown at Donald's Boat! He assumed that we had packed a pair of shorts for him because he got really wet on the boat...he assumed wrong! He was crying and throwing a fit because his shorts were soaked. We had done no research before the trip, so I didn't even know about Donald's Boat.
Oh well, I laugh about it now!

Sharon

 

[Carrie Ellis]

This was not a Disney trip but does deal with people not tolerating kids!

I was taking my 4 kids (6,6,2,2 at the time) on a flight to TX by myself. I brought 2 carseats and of course we were seated in middle of the plane. As I was seating everyone a older couple in front of us asked for a stewardist and requested to be moved. She looked at me and said "I am sorry. We just are not tolerant of children"

I so much wanted to say "we are not tolerant of grumpy old people" but didn't. I guess at least she was honest but we had not caused any problems! Plus my kids were quiet and well behaved the entire trip!

 

[Ibelieveinfairies]

On an extended family trip one May we were waiting to gain entrance to Indiana Jones when my DD (then almost 4) started fighting with her sister over the misty fan I broke down and bought to counter the heat. I, responsible parent, decided that I would control the fan to nip the argument in the bud. My 4yo DD then proceeds to begin to throw a fit. In our house...if you start a fit, you are removed from the fun. I told my DH that she and I would wait outside for the rest of the crew. I also don't believe in second chances (my kids know what kind of behavior we expect from them and we say what we mean and mean what we say).
Well, when she heard that she wouldn't be seeing the show, DD begins to kick and scream and hit and had the most evil looking fit I have ever seen...I swear it was like she was possessed! I proceeded to carry her kicking and screaming out of the line and down to a bench. Boy! the looks I got!
If we were at home, I would have sent her to her room to chill out, but here we were in MGM...I put her in the double stroller and the whole time she is slapping me and screaming at me. I really thought there would be some WDW patrol coming to whisk us off..."Excuse me, ma'am, but you are being detained by the Happiness Patrol!" I turned her stroller around so she couldn't see me (as close to a time out as I could get at that moment) and was beat red with embarrassment as she bucked and snorted and screamed and cried...I can only imagine what the other people must have thought!
She eventually calmed herself down so that we could talk about the hitting and kicking in anger and why she wasn't seeing the show.
Much to my dismay, we got home the next day and she woke up the day after with goo coming out of her ears...she had had an ear infection all along (no fever, no complaint of pain...just an evil fit!)

 

[nuts4wdw]

My most embarrassing is more for my mother. We, my dh, myself, ds 1, ds 3, and my mother were in to watch playhouse disney. Well, my ds 3 is adhd and can't handle waiting at all, and we were waiting for the show to start. He decided he had had enough and started to throw a great toddler fit. So my mom took him outside to let him blow off some steam. He starts screaming "I want daddy, I want daddy. . . " After that several cast members came over asking if everything was alright and eyeing my mom. She explained the situation, but they all stayed right there with her and watched till the show was over and he was reunited with daddy. It was embarrassing, but made me feel better that the cast members were so observant of a possible "abduction". We still laugh about "I want daddy".

 

[erinch]

1. When my DS was 3, we flew down to Disney, a 45 minute flight. He had both severe asthma and life-threatening food allergies to milk, eggs and nuts. He was on a nebulizer, in the days before battery pack ones, and on the flight he thought he needed a breathing treatment. He didn't, but the anxiety stuck the whole week--every single meal we sat down to, he took one bite and thought he "couldn't breathe." We had to haul the heavy nebulizer everywhere, stop the meal, and find a plug to do a treatment. Trying to explain to restaurant staffs what was going on was unreal.

2. When my DD was 18 months, we were back again, on a very hot day by those interactive fountains in epcot. I went to the ladies room, and came back to discover that DH and DS were paying no attention, and there she was, prancing butt-naked through the "jumping water."

3. But all time most embarrassing was when DD was a very tall and brave age 5. She just made the cut off for the Rockin' Roller coaster and we rode it 3 times. She loved it. We were back a couple of days later, and went through a huge argument about whether they would let her go. (she was right on the line). Finally, after she told them about her previous rides they let her thru the first check. We get to the second check, right as we are getting on, and she started to howl and scream as only a Princess of the Universe can. We were getting major dirty looks from parents and CMs alike for trying to take such a little girl on. What they didn't know was that her helpful brother (now age 13) had told her that where he was planning to ride (at the back of the train) "pulled more G's" than were I was requiring her to ride (in the middle, with me, because DH will only ride in the middle of a train).

 

[FayeW]

nuts4wdw,

I am stunned that anybody could diagnose ADHD in a child as young as 3!!

I have a child who was diagnosed at age 6, yet low and behold, most of her behaviour issues have stemmed from a sleeping disorder. The symptoms of ADHD and sleep deprivation are almost indistinguishable. She takes medication to sleep at night ( clonodine) and since she started that 1.5 years ago, the change has been dramatic. She takes less than HALF the dose of ritalin that she could take for her body weight, the same dose she has been on for 3 years.

I always say there is a reason why they call it the "terrible 2's", Not because it happens at 2 years of age, but because it lasts for 2 years. I would seriously be questioning that diagnosis for your child. This is clearly only my opinion, but I think that any "professional" who would attempt to diagnose a child of that age is a QUACK! ( I am not critizing your parenting in any way, just giving you the opinion of a parent of a child who had some serious behaviour issues. Allergies can also cause inappropriate behaviour, and we noticed that our daughter's problems were much worse in the fall and winter, when the house was closed up, not as much fresh air etc. We bought a new house with an air exchanger, and she switched to a brand new school. We aren't sure what was the secret to her success, maybe a combination of all of the changes, but now, at nearly 10, she is like a different child altogether. Just my two cents.)

 

[TupperMom7]

On our way to our resort on the monorail my son (just turned 5) didn't want to sit on my lap, he wanted his father to give up his seat. We were all exhausted and almost couldn't stand up, so we let him have his fit over not getting his way. Of course the other couple on the monorail (who curiously did not have any children with them) were shooting daggers at me as if to say "why don't you beat that child!".... well the man got his because when the monorail stopped he was in such a hurry to get off he tripped over my son! Ha, ha, ha.

 

[sarahsmom73]

Hey TupperMom! Do you happen to be form Tupper Lake?!! I'm from Saranac Lake!

 

[TupperMom7]

Hello fellow New Yorker. No, not that far upstate LOL. I sell Tupperware - thus the name TupperMom.

 

[Mom2R&D]

I had to separate my 37YO DH and my 6YO DS at AK in June. They were arguing loudly and the episode was deteriorating quickly.

 

[blowinbubbles]

Originally posted by Carrie Ellis
This was not a Disney trip but does deal with people not tolerating kids!

I was taking my 4 kids (6,6,2,2 at the time) on a flight to TX by myself. I brought 2 carseats and of course we were seated in middle of the plane. As I was seating everyone a older couple in front of us asked for a stewardist and requested to be moved. She looked at me and said "I am sorry. We just are not tolerant of children"

I so much wanted to say "we are not tolerant of grumpy old people" but didn't. I guess at least she was honest but we had not caused any problems! Plus my kids were quiet and well behaved the entire trip!

OMG, LOL, I wish you *had* said it! That would've been priceless!

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

My almost 5 year old son has anxiety in new situations- especially when he doesn't know what to expect.

We had to drag him kicking and screaming on Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, and the Teacups at MK the morning of our first visit.

He is scared until he ACTUALLY gets on them and then he is fine. The afternoon was much more pleasant! He calmed down and wasn't afraid anymore.

Our next visit to MK should be much better for ALL of us!