Have you ever had a Magical Meltdown at WDW?

[KimRaye]

Wow, my sympathies for sure!

Is there any way for YOU to talk with the kids - w/o Mom? Show them the planning video, talk up the trip, ask them what they'd like to do?

Maybe it'll get them excited, and less into misbehaving?

Hope it all works out!

 

[FINFAN]

A meltdown can happen anywhere, anytime...not just WDW....I guess I am just sure to have a picture of it and DH will be sure to point out how much that particular melt down co$t if I had one at WDW.



Pam

 

[Bay in TN]

This thread makes me feel so much better. Thank you for starting it! And thanks to everyone who has posted their own Disney meltdown!!!

Our last family trip -- Nov., 2003 -- all I wanted to do was watch Mickey's PhilharMagic as much as possible. I *love* that show. It's the bomb. Unfortunately, when we arrived, I was sick with a really nasty upper respiratory infection. I had gone to my doctor three days earlier, and he had loaded me up with oodles of drugs -- antibiotics, an inhaler, fabulous cough syrups -- you name it, I had the drugs to knock a killer cough on its rear.

What I didn't realize was -- with such an infection, I was really too sick to be in WDW. We made it through three days of WDW, during which time I slowed everyone down because I kept having to sit on a bench, coughing. On the third day, we went shopping with Aunt Debbie, who's a CM, and she got us the fabulous holiday CM discount on our shopping. I bought a Tinker Bell watch that I adored, and got it at an amazing price. The next morning, I realized, "oh, this watch is too big; I need to get a link removed from the watchband."

So I thought, we're going to the MK; I'll get the link removed at the watch shop and go on to watch Mickey's PhilharMagic four or five times before the crowds get too big.

OK -- at this point the story gets too convoluted to re-tell entirely. We were staying at the WL, which had nothing but boat service to the MK at that time, and it was the slowest dang boat I've ever ridden. The MK watch shop girl said she couldn't resize my watch. I said, "OK, can I exchange it?" No, I needed the receipt. Back to the WL for the receipt, then back to the MK, but because I bought it with a CM discount, I would need the CM with me to exchange it. I had to go back to the Contemporary to see if the shop from which I had purchased it could re-size it or exchange it -- NO. I had to go back to the MK. I don't know how many slow boat trips I took, how much coughing I indulged in, or how mad I got before I found myself back in the MK -- trying to find my scattered family.

My whole *day* was wrecked. My entire family's day was wrecked. I told DH I just wanted to go back to the room and cry, and they should go on and tour whichever park they wanted. The lines at Mickey's PhilharMagic were long by that time, so I had wrecked *my* plans, but that didn't mean I needed to wreck *their* plans. I was bawling by the time we got back to the WL and *begging* DH to just go and do whatever we were supposed to do that day. He wouldn't hear of it, because I was running a fever and crying like an idiot. The kids went swimming; he watched NCAA football in the bar at the WL, and I bawled myself stupid in the room for several hours.

We had a really good night that night, because we took a Wishes fireworks cruise with some friends who lived in Orlando. It totally saved the whole trip. It was incredibly fun and magical. But -- after all this time, I still feel guilty about having wrecked an entire *day* of our last family trip. I get to go to WDW more often than the other folks in my family, and I usually have more fun than they do. Y'know? I just feel like a big, stupid heel for messing up a day of the trip -- over a *watch*.

(I did eventually find a CM who had worked in a jewelry store and was willing to remove a link from my watchband. But ... wow. What an ordeal! and it was entirely my fault!)

--Bay

 

[bluejasmine]

It seems that alot of the meltdowns are family related..lol March 05 I took some family with me who have never been and for 9 months I explained everything, planned everything only to get there and have their kids scared of everything, and they complained about the prices of everything including the counter service places. I was so dissapointed that I didnt even try to go to any TS places only to have them "accidently" seperate from us and go have a $120 dinner at RFC at DTD! My DH who was sick of Cs and craving a steak was fuming when he found out!
I am a little worried about our Aug trip, my DH brother and new wife, stepchild and mother will be coming with us and it will be their first trip. I am just trying to prepare myself so no meltdowns will happen.

 

[mamaprincess]

Thanks so much everyone for sharing your stories. It can be hard to admit that we aren't always perfectly behaved and super patient. We're human and our children are human. We fall apart sometimes, especially in the heat and humidity of florida and especially when we are trying maybe a little to hard to give our loved-ones the best time they can possibly have.

We go often to WDW and I don't ever anticipate a trip without some form of a meltdown. But at least they're magical because we are fortunate enough to be in the place that we love most in the world. We could be having a meltdown somewhere really lame and unremarkable.

 

[ronandannette]

These are so funny! Isn't it nice to know you're not the only one ????

I guess maybe I AM THE ONLY ONE! I've been enjoying this thread (and the one about Disney shocks) so much that I tried to get something similar up and going on another board (one about cruise travel). I've had tons of views but NOT ONE reply. Nice to know that if any of you want a kinder, gentler vacation you can try cruising (apparently as long as I'm not aboard )!

Keep the entertaining (and cautionary!) tales coming, DISsers!

Annette

 

[DisneyChristmas]

One time when I was checking out another guest's pin collection at the EPCOT pin station, I man just to the side of me started yelling loudly at a woman and trying to pick up the child who was next to her. It was scary. Out of nowhere another man with a walkie-talkie on his belt (plain clothes cast member?) stepped in between the loud guy and the child. He said something that I couldn't hear and he and the yelling man began moving toward Innoventions.

So, for the rest of us - if our melt downs don't cause incognito cast members to break it up - well, we must be OK.

 

[NotUrsula]

I love my family & truly want this to be a magical time for everyone & I do not want to cancel. I understand that this vacation will be much different than any vacation I take with my husband. I am making every effort to be flexible, understanding, and helpful, but for weeks I get no support, no input, no suggestions & 3 weeks from the trip I get the "They don't deserve it" phone call. What gives???

This one is easy; I have the same sister. What you are missing is that, for people who never have the money to travel, the realities of travel planning are total mysteries. They have never put down deposits, never purchased non-refundable airline tickets ... all that. It NEVER occurs to them that cancellations are very expensive; they think that 'cancel' equals 'save money'.
My sister is forever telling me that I need to come and visit because some other relative is coming to visit her from overseas and I need to see that person, so I buy tickets, and then I discover that the other relative was considering visiting, and isn't coming after all, so I should cancel. I end up eating the price of the airfare (though mostly I use SWA, so it's a credit.) This has happened at least 4 times, and I *still* can't make her understand that you do not get refunds on ordinary airline tickets. It's so far out of the realm of her experience that I may as well be speaking Chinese.

You need to sit down with your sister and explain that the money is already gone (even if all of it really isn't). If she's proud about money she will get twitchy, but you have to make her understand that you consider this a commitment on her part, and that you expect her to honor it, so she is going to have to find something else to threaten her misbehaving kids with.

 

[raspberrysharpei]

Thx NotUrsula, I guess you can learn so much about people (life) if you have the ablity to learn from others experiences.

Having said that, I will take your advice, I have avoided phone calls for two days & I'm sure I have been annoying with all this Disney excitement.

I'm sure we'll experience a meltdown. I expect we will have our moment of embarrasment & we will survive. I do promise to show support to any fellow DISers dealing with a meltdown during our trip, sometimes just a smile and show of understanding goes such a long way....

 

[vellamint]

It is so true about how you behave at home is the way you behave on vacation!!! Unfortunately these are my kids and I love them and their father and we are going on a family vacation once a year whether we like each other or not!! LOL

Seriously, our last Disney vacation was Disneyland....we had started the trip in San Diego (5 Days) and in my mind we were FINALLY getting to the REAL vacation - DISNEYLAND!!!

Go to our hotel...sorry, no check-ins before 3:00 (the room was being cleaned at that moment - noon - but sorry not allowed in until 3). Off to DTD to kill time....LEGO store, Build-a-Bear, sheesh its hot. Back to the hotel to check-in and drop the luggage. Okay now we must eat right, how about that place right down the block! Good idea...who wants to walk into Disneyland for the first time and have to sit down and EAT for crying out loud - lets get it done before we go in!!

Must have been the slowest service on God's Green Earth (at least that's how it seemed and I do know the kids were getting antsy). I was sitting there thinking...I cant believe we are right outside Disneyland and have been since noon and now it is like 7:00 and WE ARE NOT INSIDE YET!!

Okay finally get there......my heart, my heart we are really here......

and then the kids start fighting with each other......and YES they do this at home....why did I think (even knowing what a disney-crazed mother they have) that they would lay off ON OUR VERY FIRST NIGHT!! Here is hubby, sneakily telling them "look at Mom" with tears in her eyes (thinking I am so happy when I am really so upset with them)...here is me saying to myself "I am never going on vacation with these people again".

It was just great....crying in Disneyland!!! Luckily it went uphill from there and I did not lose it and start screaming (oh - wait - maybe I did the next day with one of the girls who .... oh nevermind lol).

But we will continue to go and hopefully split up here and there now and then so all the personalities will be happy when we are together....

(Did I mention the 14 year old and one of the 11 year olds cant be in the same room together for more than 10 minutes without fighting?)

(Did I mention that I have spent 2 years Ebaying, taking surveys, using specific credit cards for cash back, etc in order to pay for this trip in its entirety?)

I must be crazy or really, really, love my family dontcha think?

AND DONT let this cute picture of them here FOOL you!! LOL​

 

[Goobergal99]

Last year we decided to take DH's sister with us . Now a little background if you will, rewind back oh.... 10 years ago with me so you all understand .

DH and I have been 2gether since I was a freshman in HS (he was a junior) the first time he took me to meet his dad his sister lit up because her and DH were super close and she was the only girl and now her big bro had a girlfriend she could hang with(He's the oldest and she is the youngest of 5,then 4 as his mom and her new hubby had a bit of a pre menopause suprise about 5 years back ) So anyway we became very close, especially after DD was born since she always wanted to be with her lil neice.

So anyway fast farward about 3 years ago, DSIL starts getting new friends (she was in highschool after all) and in addition starts haning out with my DBIL and his girlfriend and slowly her vists begin to dwindle. So no big deal right..... So fast farward again to when DH and I became engaged in September of 2004 (In disney right before Hurricane Frances came and washed away our labor day weekend ) I asked her to be a bridesmaid and so we started spending a lil more time together. So I get this bright idea that since DSIL had never been to Disney, why didn't we take her with us on our "family moon" after the wedding.

So DH said it sounded ok with him, DD was thrilled and so the planning began.... I decided to make it a suprise so I called my MIL and asked if it would be ok and she said "yea, she will be thrilled.... yada yada yada" So DH and I go out and start shopping for christmas presents and we get everybody really nice expensive gifts and I buy her a dream dictionary.

So Christmas eve comes and we go to my inlaws and give everyone their gifts and lastly hand her the dream dictionary and she looks up at me and DH and then at everyone else and king of shrugs. So then I say oh wait a minute, I have a card for you, So I hand her the card and inside I have written; "So you thought all I would give you was a book, guess what YOU ARE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD" So it registers with her and then she jumps up and down and I am thinking all is good.....

So then comes the day before the trip, I called over to MIL's to see what time she would be dropping DSIL off and my MIL tells me that she is getting kind of scared of flying (which would be fine is she hadn't flown half way around the world with her step mom the year before ) So I choked it up to nerves and let it go.

Well as soon as we get to Disney she is complaining, she thinks everything is boring, she doesn't want to eat anything (mind you we are on free dining) she hates this and that, she wished she didn't come and she is on her cell phone calling my DBIL and his GF the whole time and complaining that she misses her mom (um... you are 17 like cut the cord already ) and she tells me how much she just loves her brothers GF and (to which I want to scream, "well then let them take you on vacation for free" So finally around day four of misery DD has a mini meltdown about wanting to do something or other and I am arguing with her in the room when my SIL screams "all you do is whine (um she is 6 and you are how old??) and you are ruining this whole vacation for everyone"

Well at this point my disney hubby (who was like taking a lil kid the first time we went, giddy about everything and has not wanted to go anywhere else since) has had enough of grinning and bearing it and he freaks out! "Don't you dare yell at her. this is her vacation as much as it is yours and you are being an expletive..... and we never should have taken you and if you didn't want to come you should have stayed the hell home"

So at this point hubby is mad, I am crying and DD is crying and DSIL storms out cell phone in hand and hubby heads down to the food court to refill his mug. So I get DD all calmed down and DH comes back and apologizes to me for everything and I say no it's my fault for inviting her and then we hug and decide that we will never again take another person on our vacations again.

So she basically sulked the whole time and we really tried to make the best of it. Then this year comes around and we decide that we just have to go again to make up for last years really crappy trip. So DH, I and DD are going back to have a magical trip without interference (mom and her soon to be hubby will be there at the same time and we are getting together twice however, she is a disney person and her new hubby is going for the first time (he is 59) and he is like a lil kid watching the DVD with my DH and the whole bit LOL....

So there goes my familes Disney meltdown.....

 

[Hixski]

I can't remember any one time that my DH and I have had a Magical meltdown. That is because we usually have one every time we vacation. (Both hot tempers, both Scorpios, go figure). We usually meltdown for about 5 minutes and then we are both fine. A good friend of ours says "At least you get it out of your system. You don't sit and stew". Obviously he has seen more than one. So if any of you see a mid 40's couple in September with their hands around each other throats. Please do not call security, we wiil be done in 5 minutes.

And to anyone that does not understand my sense of humor. I am kidding, we will only be yelling not choking.

 

[ronandannette]

I guess maybe I AM THE ONLY ONE! I've been enjoying this thread (and the one about Disney shocks) so much that I tried to get something similar up and going on another board (one about cruise travel). I've had tons of views but NOT ONE reply.
Annette

I still can't believe none of those people will come out and play...If any of you here post on cruisecritic PLEASE come over to Floataway Lounge and show them how it's done...

Annette