Have you ever had a Magical Meltdown at WDW?

[kaysmommie]

I had a Magical Meltdown at Epcot. One of my DD's feet were hurting so I told DH I had to take care of her feet and would he take our other DD's and wait by the entrance of Figment until we were done. I pointed directly to it and he said ok like he was actually going to wait . 10 minutes later I go to Figment and where is DH? Exactly. I walk through the building where Figment is located. No DH. I wait outside by the baby's abandoned stroller which lets me know he is not far. He doesn't show up. I go into HISTA building which is next to figment and Innoventions. No DH. I wait again in the blistering sun with our other DD who is a little upset by now no DH. I called him and called him. His phone was off. about 40 minutes which is about a month in WDW time, he comes strolling out of HISTA with the girls. I was way past my boiling point by then because we never split up when we can all enjoy something together especially not on the 3-d attractions which we all love. It is a tradition for us to do those at each park. He was being really impatient and a jerk. My other twin DD told me that she tried to talk him out of it but he dragged her off in a huff.

I snapped! I broke down and cried (I tried not to) in front of every one who was around thus embarrassing us all. I said how could you have gone without us. We've been out here for at least 40 minutes while your'e off enjoying yourself because you didn't have the patience to wait. He apologized and apologized. I repaid him by changing our dinner plans from Teppanyaki which he was really looking forward to, to Marrakesh which I was very interested in trying and he was very uninterested in trying. He didn't eat a lick! He just sat there and sulked but he enjoyed the bellydancer which I suppose possibly saved our marriage or at least the trip.

We kissed and made up that day and on our last day we did come back to Epcot to do HISTA together as a family

Please share your Magical Meltdown at WDW.

I sure can sympathize with you as my DH sure has a listening problem too. He either never listen to a word I say or prtends no to hear me. I would annoyed too.

 

[ChrisAlli]

I really like this thread so I want to see if anyone has anything else to add.

It's good to laugh at yourself later!!!

 

[Fredd's Girl]

Our family each has one every trip! We tried planning them, but that really just killed the surprise of who and when they would happen.

I think all of ours come from pushing ourselves. Usually, it's when we need a break and haven't had one for several days. Once I have mine though, I'm all better and bounce back like a pro!

 

[ladysoleil]

*raises hand*

Been there, done that.

I took DH to WDW for our second wedding anniversary. It was his first trip. I planned it to the hilt. Excel spreadsheet, guidemap, lists, ADRs, the whole nine yards.

We had an anniversary dinner planned at California Grill, right in time for Wishes. Everything was going to be perfect, dammit, or I was going to kill him and anyone else who got in the way.

We had a full day planned so I had the bright idea to pack a small bag with a nicer dinner outfit for each of us and check it in a locker. I wanted as much time in the parks as possible so we could do everything and didn't want to waste all that time going back to the hotel to change. I figured we'd clean up and then go to dinner.

DH gets changed first and comes out looking quite dapper. Mmm. Deelicious. He hands me the bag that's supposed to have my toiletries, makeup, dressy sandals and a clean pretty sundress to go to dinner in.

Except...it doesn't. He packed the bag while I was in the shower, and somehow remembered to pack all his stuff...but none of mine, but told me that he did. Well, okay. He did manage to remember to throw my deodorant and lipstick in there. My hero.

I don't remember exactly what I said, but I stormed out of the restroom obviously looking like I wanted to throttle him. I know he said, "What's wrong" and I replied, "You, you big jerk" and the conversation went quite downhill from there...

Oh. My.Gosh. I wanted to *kill* him. I also realized that if they really decided to enforce the dress code, they weren't going to let me in. (I know now that they really don't), but basically, he walked in there looking like a superstar and I walked in there looking like something he picked up out of a Dumpster. I was so embarrassed and pi**ed off it wasn't even funny.

I did let him off the hook, but I admit that I needed the help of some really expensive cocktails before I calmed down enough to let him off that hook.

And from now on, I've noticed that whenever I ask him did he bring something I asked him to, he drops everything to check!

 

[mammoth_fan]

And somewhere I read it was a good idea to take a friend if you were taking a teenager.

Oh my gosh, you're brave. I have a hard time having one of my DD's friends stay the weekend, let alone spend a whole week with them.

 

[MickeyAnne]

Let me pre-empt this by saying DBF and I RARELY ever fight.

I am a Disney fanatic who is desperately trying to show my DBF the magic of "the world". So last year (2005), I planned a land and sea vacation for us as sort of a college graduation gift to myself. We went and had a great time. DBF was impressed with Disney but felt that he didn't need to go back for a few years. I on the other hand, having only spent three days in Disney, I left the trip longing for more. We went in May and by August, I was aching to go back. So I started talking about possibly going back in November/December because I have always wanted to see Disney all decorated for Christmas. He was hesitant - very hesitant - but I just pushed on, convinced that he would find the same love for Disney that I have. Well, we headed back to Orlando the day after Thanksgiving. We both had colds but we were happy to be going away together - DBF did make it clear that he was only going for me though. Well, after coughing through nights and not sleeping well for two days, on day three, we were at MVMCP (the whole reason that I wanted to go to WDW for the holidays in the first place) and we went into Cosmic Ray's to get some cookies and hot cocoa. We got our treats and decided to head into Tomorrow Land - here's where it gets hairy - I wanted to go out the front door because I wanted to go through the front gate of the land to take a picture and DBF wanted to take the side door which had the shorter route. Well - he flipped out and saying that he doesn't know why he even talks because I just do what I want any way and yadda, yadda, yadda - insinuating again that he does not want to be there. At first I was in shock and then I got mad that he picked such a silly fight about a stupid DOOR! So we marched seperately into Tomorrow land where we found a bench to fight on! We tried to keep it discreet but when people are arguing, the world knows. I fought to hold back tears but I was so mad that he picked that particular night to tick me off! We kinda shook it off and continued with the night but we were both wrealing and the night really was not as nice as it could have been.

Thinking about it, we were both just being stupid and we laugh about our "door fight" all the time now. But at the time it surely was a "Magical Meltdown"

 

[my4kids]

2 1/2 meltdowns for our trip - I had the first one - the first half hour we were in the MK. Here is the background to it.....I had always always wanted to go to WDW. I had never been my whole life (40 years of dreamin)- all my friends had...I used to watch Magical World of Disney every Sunday night in front of my families Black and White TV - and it all seemed like the most wonderful thing this side of heaven. Fastforward to having small kids and now all of my friends are taking their families all the time, and we just can't fit it in our budget. Now I want it even more for my kids sake,and each year that passes I'm watching my oldest grow bigger and then he 10 years old and doesn't believe in the toothfairy anymore and I'm afraid by the time I get there he won't have any magic left in him. Ok - so now things are getting a little better financially for me and DH. Not a whole lot better (like Disney every year good) but a little better (like we can fit it in the budget maybe every 5 years good) I talk DH into letting me plan a vacation (WHOOOOHOOOO!!!!!!!!) My lifetime of wishin for this is about to happen! I go into extreme planning mode, since this will be our first trip and probably our last until DS is an older teenager. I'm going to make it awesome! - I find the DIS and start obsessing over every detail of vacation. The trip finally comes! We fly in and get to our rooms about 4pm. We are all tired. And even though I had anticipated we would be, I'm not staying in the hotel room when Cinderella's castle and the fireworks are so close yet so far. Everyone is tired but excited, so we go over to MK. We are starving and since we had never been there before we were kind of rambling along lost looking for food. Finally eat (I think it was PECO BILL"S which didn't go over with anyone that well) and everyone is a tiny bit grumbly which of course is making me crazy because I'm in dream mode and don't want to be woken up. So then we still have a little bit of time before fireworks and DH and I want to head to Splash Mountain. Everyone is on board except DS10 who wants to go to Space mountain. and so here we are heading to Splash mountain we've been at MK for only 1/2 hr. and DS10 (who can be whiney anyway - and it drives me nuts) is whining full force and saying "NOOO- I don't want to - frontierland is STUPID!) He's saying this because some dumb brat in his class must have told him this - so he thinks it's gospel) (Did I mention I also had PMS at the time?) OK I know he was tired and I should have (and normally would have) realized he just needed a break. But I just blew!!!! I'm thinking "Oh my Gosh! - If I had this opportunity when I was your age!!!!!" and "I just spent months planning this and you're doing this?!" and of course " I'm spending thousands and you're gonna ruin it- and not appreciate it?!!" Looking back I know I was being manic. I grabbed him by the arm and pushed him over to the side of the (crowded)walkway and let into him. Yes, I was the one you all look at and shake your heads at.
We got over it and made up and I apoligized and my son apoligized and my DH calmed us all down. The rest of the evening and vacation was magical.

Except for DS5's meltdown in EPCOT because we had just walked the whole world and there was no food he liked so he hit the pavement in Mexico screaming "I'm so HUNGRY!" at the top of his lungs! DH ran and got him some sugary desert thing at the CS place there and his blood sugar level went back up and he returned to being human.

And then as I was leaving I had a little fuss with a CM checking out - over a charge on our bill that I did not recognize. (She was a very unprofessional little silly thing and not helpful at all) but that is a whole nother story for a different thread.

Anyway - if you ever see a parent behaving the way I did, just say a prayer for them to have more patience and realize that their background and situation may be way different than yours, and until you've walked several miles in their shoes, you just can't judge.

 

[Ready to go in Ok]

April 2002. Me, 2DD's, DM, and DSis went to the "world". Every day, everyone would be ready except for DSis, who had to smoke several cigarettes before she began getting ready. We would grab breakfast, then go smoke. Catch the bus to TTC, smoke again. Go to the park, smoke, go to the bathroom, get something to drink. Go experience 1 attraction, smoke, go to the bathroom, check to see if a refill is needed on the drink. Repeat. Every day for a week!

By the 3rd day, I lost it. We were luckily at the room, and I was so mad that I ended up staying at the room while everyone else hit the parks. I just needed as much space between me and smokey/drinker/bathroom goer as I could get. We are in WDW, and I can tell you every smoking location and bathroom area, but I haven't gotten to ride HM????? I did laundry, relaxed in the room, and managed not to kill her for the duration of the trip.......but NEVER again!

 

[Iggipolka]

You all have no idea how much I appreciate this thread! I was feeling so bad that the wife and I had a major meltdown on our trip last month. Well, actually, she had the meltdown and I had to deal with it.

Her hat got eaten on the Spaceship Earth ride at Epcot. Ya know the "slow moving ride"? Well, the ride was so slow that it stopped and the wife leaned over and put her tired head on my shoulder. Well, that caused her un-secured hat to fall off the back of her head and onto the tracks of the ride behind us.

She was upset that she lost her hat and we told the CM at the front of the ride what happened as well as a CM at Guest Relations. They told us to check back at the end of the day and maybe her hat would have been found. Well, it hadn't. So, they sent us to Lost and Found by the TTC.

We went there a couple days later and the wife completely lost it at the minimum wage earning, very young CM at Lost and Found. I was so embarassed.

The hat thing continued for several days and even got the manager of Epcot involved! Her hat was never found (probably destroyed by the ride) and her volitility about this issue was really extreme. She had even been given a free hat by an Epcot CM, but that didn't calm her down at all.

Finally, after a long crying jag at the TTC, combined with yelling at me over something really insiginificant, she got out of that mood, but damn..that certainly colored our entire vacation.

 

[KimRaye]

Our family each has one every trip! We tried planning them, but that really just killed the surprise of who and when they would happen.

I LOVE this thread!

We're ALL human! Imagine that!

 

[Fredd's Girl]

This thread is great. I thought our family was the only family that had the Disney meltdowns. We accepted that we had them, but always wondered how other families didn't. So glad to know we're not alone. Thank you everyone for sharing your stories!!

 

[weeluvdisney]

My DH had a melt down on our first trip in MK. We had been there all day and were trying to figure out where to sit and wait for spectromagic. I can't tell the story because I really don't know what set him off but he stormed off and left me and the two kids there, I was like "SEE YA" he came back and later apologized and admitted he was scared to death that he left us by ourselves and we are over 1000 miles away from home (it was all of 5 minutes that he was gone) anyways.......what I really want to say, and I mean this in the nicest way is that meltdowns wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for all the people staring at you and giving you dirty looks........that look like, "I would never act that way" lol!!!

 

[singingpixie]

My meltdown occured our first full day, at MGM. We were there at opening, and DBF and I headed toward ToT. I was going to stop at RnRC to grab fastpasses, and DBF was going to wait at the entrance of the tower so we could go right on. Or so I thought. He thought I meant I would join him in line (I know that's frowned upon as far as ettiquite goes, and also that it's difficult the way the lines are formed... he didn't realize this. When I got back to the ToT entrance DBF was no where to be found. I figured he might have gone to the bathroom so I waited for 10 mins, still no sign. At this point I figured he must have gotten in line, but I didn't want to risk missing him by moving, so I stayed put. I hadn't charged my cell phone the night before, so it was dead and I ended up asking strangers to borrow theirs but they all looked at me like I was nuts, so finally I just sat back down and tried to stay calm, figuring that he'd either come back or finish the ride and come out the exit. All the while, DBF was waiting through the line all the way through the front, waiting for me and getting mad that I was taking so long. When he got to the lobby he came back to get me, and proceeded to get really upset that I'd made him wait so long, and I lost it. between being relieved to see him and upset that he was so angry with me and didn't realise how worried I'd been, I started crying right there on the sidewalk... he proceeded to start leaving the park before i finally calmed down enough to convince him to try again... that whole morning though was pretty tense. I learned from that 1) to always charge cell phones and 2) to be really specific and not assume that DBF knew what I knew about the parks. We also stopped getting there so early because DBF really benefitted from an extra hour or so of sleep. Needless to say, the trip got MUCH better

 

[wallyb]

I feel kind of guilty ...but this is the best thread!
As the WDW planner for my family I usualy get all the grief.
Some how reading these stories made me feel better.

 

[Sweedee]

what I really want to say, and I mean this in the nicest way is that meltdowns wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for all the people staring at you and giving you dirty looks........that look like, "I would never act that way" lol!!!

You know...those are the ones that will be the next to have one! The only time I give people dirty looks is for spanking their kids in public at the World ...but that's a whole 'nother post!!!

 

[gwcollins71]

MY meltdown came on my first trip to the World in July of 2000. Hubby (then bf) and I went to Donald's Breakfastasaurus at AK. The waitress squirted the fake Ketchup bottle into my face blowing air in my face. I had a panic attack and completely freaked out. ( I was attacked earlier that year on my way to work and having something shoved in my face startling me brought it on.) My hubby was horrified and I felt so bad for the poor waitress. The manager came over and tried to help and I was crying hysterically like a baby.

Talk about a major meltdown.

 

[pandora174]

This is my meltdown at the most magical place ! It was Dec of 2003 & I planned & planned the most Magical, wonderful Disney trip ever ! It was celerating our DS's 1rst b-day. He was our miracle baby (long story) & I planned an 8 night split stay between Poly & BWI ! Imagine that at Christmas time too ! This was THE vacation for us. Anyway, everything is fine & wonderful for 2 days. DS is an angel, we eat at all the fancy restaurants I wanted to try, I shop to my heart's content, I get every picture taken by the Disney photogs, the decorations are beautiful, the weather is cold & crisp. Perfect trip so far, right ? Think again. We go eat at Norway for the lunch buffet. We both tried everything. My DH feaked when I made him eat the venison & didn't tell him what he was trying first but it was funny. Well we get back to the hotel & DH tells he doesn't feel good & his stomach really is upset & he says that it must of been the venison at Norway. I tell him he's crazy, that I ate it too & I'm fine. He really did get sick all that night. Gues how I reacted ? I totally FREAKED I was convinced that he was purposely ruining our most magical vacation ! Why was he sabotaging it ? He wasn't that sick, we were at Disney ! He was not allowed to be sick. So I took DS in a huff to Epcot by myself the next morning & left the poor man in the room with a bottle of Mylanta, clutching his stomach ! Somewhere in Epcot I ragained my sanity & headed back to the hotel & apologized profusely. Thankfully DH was feeling slightly better & we went to the parks later the next morning. I have no idea what got into me. I was totally possesed by this Disney obsessed freak. My DH still reminds me of how kind & loving I was on that trip when he was sick as a dog. I still apologize & say "I know, I know" but we can laugh about it but geez

 

[mommystieg]

Although I have not had any major magical breakdowns (yet ) there are a few lapses that come to mind:
June 2002 -- long awaited first trip ever to the World. We had been getting up early and going full speed ahead all day with 2 kids (DD#1 who was 9 at the time and DD#2 who was a little over 2). We had just finished with Spectromagic and were waiting for Fantasy in the Sky when both kids started complaining about having headaches and wanting to leave---you all know the drill. At this point I repeated one of those famous "shocking" quotes - something to the effect of "this is how your kids show appreciation for getting to visit Disney World by whining about headaches, etc" -- the worst part is I caught it all on tape Looking back, I felt awful and as soon as I figure out how to edit that tape, I am going to get rid of that section.

June 2004 -- Grand Gathering with DH's extended family (13 of us in all and two on the way). Our third trip, everyone else's first. We did a few activities together but for the most part everyone was on their own. We did schedule the Magical Fireworks Voyage and had all planned to meet at "the big hat" in MGM to head over to the Contemporary. Of course, not everyone is there on time and when I asked where they were someone said they were waiting in line for an autograph. I freaked a little and said that we didn't have time for autographs since we had somewhere we had to be. The sad thing was, it didn't really matter since our cruise was cancelled because of lightening.

Last one, I promise -- June 2005 -- we were only on day #3 of our trip and had a 1:30 PS/ADR at Alfredo's in Epcot. On our way over, our usually cheerful DD#2 had a MAJOR meltdown. I was mortified. Typically when this happens, I usually take her away from all the activity to calm her down. Has anyone ever tried to find a restroom in World Showcase while dragging a screaming, tantrum-throwing demon behind them? Then I started crying and was ready to pack it up and head back to Texas. Somehow DH managed to save the day and get us all calmed back down.

 

[MommaluvsDis]

I posted about my blackout melt down earlier. I just wanted to say two things:

Husbands, you don't stand a chance with us! Just say yes and smile!

And kids, we're goin' without you next time if you don't start falling down and kissing our feet with gratitude for dragging you with us.

 

[Willow25]

I planned a trip for myself and my best friend to WDW. It was my second trip and her first. I was flying in from Australia and we met in Florida in September. We are both originally from Oregon so needless to say neither one of us is used to hot or humid weather. We snapped at each other the entire 10 days. My best friend who is not a Disney Freak like I am just wanted to lounge at the pool and order room service. We were on the free dining plan and paid for 10 day park hopper tickets. My frustrations were mounting and I was getting close to explode. Finally after my DBF refused to go to another show (Fantasmic) I snapped I started yelling in the middle of MGM and stated that for the rest of the holiday I was going to do what I wanted and she could either come with me or do something else on her own. I refused to pay that kind of money and not enjoy what I had paid for. We went to fantasmic that evening. The next morning I got up early for emh at MGM and she stayed in bed ordered room service. By the afternoon we were fine but it really taught me not to go to WDW with people who do not feel the same way that I do. It will just never work!!!!

I am glad that I am not the only crazy person yelling in the middle of the park.