Have you ever had a shock?

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

anyone else have anything that made you laugh, made you cry, made you want to rush back home and add to this thread???

 

[jennyl772003]

Here's one from March...

We were at MK, waiting for the SSR resort bus. This particular bus stop is the stop nearest the park.

As we are waiting, we see a HUGE motor coach coming down the "driveway" to the bus stops. A CM goes running to the coach to let them know that they should not be driving there. The road is narrow, so the coach continues along to the turnaround (cul du sac kinda thing) And now we have a problem, the coach is too tall to fit under the monorail tracks.

In order to get his coach turned around, he is going to have to pull forward, crank the wheel, go back, crank the wheel, etc. Oh, did I mention he was towning a trailer?

So, 20 minutes later he is still going at it. The buses aren't able to pick up the row of stops, because the coach is blocking the way, so we continue to wait.

He finally manages to get the beast turned around, and gives a great big honk and off he goes.

I can only imagine how embaressed he must have been, and the ribbing his wife was likely giving him, oy vey!

"I told you the sign said WDW buses only! Maybe you will listen to me next time!"

 

[SpectroMagic*o*]

Jenny, that was a great story, I totally pictured it in my head! My shock at the bus stop at MK was last October when me and my sis went. It was just a random Monday in October ( No Halloween Party or anything) and when the park closed, we went to go catch a bus back to Pop Century and we didnt even get past the docks for the Ferry's before we were stuck in people traffic all the way to the bus stop. It was just a sea of a million people, if you can picture that, from the ferry docks to the bus stop- by far the craziest (and possible scariest) thing I've ever seen. We waited an hour on line and had only gotten about half way to the bus stop before we gave up and took the long way home. We took a monorail to the TTC thinking we could get a bus to our hotel from there...we couldnt...so we got back on the monorail, took it to the Polynesian where we could then get a bus to Downtown Disney, and then from DTD, we were able to get a bus back to Pop Century, and believe it or not, it was quicker than having to wait on that bus line!

 

[jann1033]

I can only imagine how embaressed he must have been, and the ribbing his wife was likely giving him, oy vey!

"I told you the sign said WDW buses only! Maybe you will listen to me next time!"

must have been one of those very few times a man said he didn't need to get directions what a way to start your vacation

 

[ElleBelle]

I posted this the other day on another thread... it's from our trip two weeks ago....

This just happened to us last week while we were in the Magic Kingdom. Picture this... beautiful day, park was busy but manageable, DH and I were walking towards the teacups from Tomorrowland just outside of Cosmic Ray's. We were happy and thoroughly enjoying ourselves. I mentioned something to DH about having to find a MAC (debit)... he misunderstood and thought I had said that I needed to find a MAP. DH asked me if I was feeling alright and if he should take my temperature (since we both know the MK like the back of our hands)... and both of us burst into laughter when I explained to him what I had really said.

Well.... while both of us are giggling like little kids a woman who looked to be a little rough around the edges (and VERY tall) walks by and yells directly at me... "What the F*** are you laughing at, B****!!!!!" I'm sure you can all fill in the blanks. At first I was completely dumbfounded and had no idea what had happened- but DH grabbed me by the arm and started in trot away from the area towards the closest CM. DH told the CM what had happened- and really, nothing was done- I'm not sure that there was anything to do anyway. I was really shaken and basically the rest of my day was spent looking around to make sure we didn't see or get near her again. Not sure why she was having such a bad day or why she was looking to start a fight in the happiest place on earth . DH being the jokester that he is now tells everyone about how his wife was almost pounded by "the amazon woman" in a Disney park

 

[plummer925]

I posted this the other day on another thread... it's from our trip two weeks ago....

This just happened to us last week while we were in the Magic Kingdom. Picture this... beautiful day, park was busy but manageable, DH and I were walking towards the teacups from Tomorrowland just outside of Cosmic Ray's. We were happy and thoroughly enjoying ourselves. I mentioned something to DH about having to find a MAC (debit)... he misunderstood and thought I had said that I needed to find a MAP. DH asked me if I was feeling alright and if he should take my temperature (since we both know the MK like the back of our hands)... and both of us burst into laughter when I explained to him what I had really said.

Well.... while both of us are giggling like little kids a woman who looked to be a little rough around the edges (and VERY tall) walks by and yells directly at me... "What the F*** are you laughing at, B****!!!!!" I'm sure you can all fill in the blanks. At first I was completely dumbfounded and had no idea what had happened- but DH grabbed me by the arm and started in trot away from the area towards the closest CM. DH told the CM what had happened- and really, nothing was done- I'm not sure that there was anything to do anyway. I was really shaken and basically the rest of my day was spent looking around to make sure we didn't see or get near her again. Not sure why she was having such a bad day or why she was looking to start a fight in the happiest place on earth . DH being the jokester that he is now tells everyone about how his wife was almost pounded by "the amazon woman" in a Disney park

Eek! I'm so sorry you had to deal with that!!

 

[rejobako]

Wow. This thread is funny and depressing at the same time. Not to bring up a sore subject but I don't think that discussing parenting techniques is off-topic for this thread --- seems most of the "shocking" Disney moments are the result of what seems to be questionable parenting in the first place.

A couple of comments. Although some of the public urination stories are definitely over the top, it bears noting that in many countries around the world, it's still commonplace. That being said, when I go abroad I try to adopt a "when in Rome" attitude, and I try to make note of American habits that might offend my hosts and refrain from doing them. Unfortunately, it seems too many people have no regard for whether their actions are offensive to others.

As for risque clothing, I consider myself a fairly liberal guy; I've done a lot of travelling and my wife and I have been at many beaches, spas, and other venues where nudity or toplessness is commonplace. I'm not an ogler, and frankly, so long as it's done respectfully and without lecherousness, I don't take offense when another man looks admiringly at my wife. She's pretty darn good looking and I can hardly blame them. All of that being said, I do think "there's a time and a place". Disney is a family destination for the entire world, and I think that all vacationers have a responsibility to be respectful of everyone else. That means that the Brazilian bombshell or college co-ed might consider wearing a bathing suit with a regular bikini bottom instead of a thong while poolside at the resort. Not because there's anything wrong with a culture or personal style that that allows women to flaunt their "assets", but because there are others who also like to vacation at Disney who wouldn't care for the distraction. On the other hand, those who, for religious or cultural reasons, are more modest with respect to clothing, might want to consider tolerating a bit more exposed skin than they're used to seeing without huffing and puffing in indignance. Our differences are what make us interesting, but only through tolerance and compromise are we going to get through a week at Disney without driving ourselves crazy judging everyone else by our own personal standards.

Back to the "disciplining kids" issue. A day at a Disney park with kids presents an internal irony -- you are in an extraordinary situation with your children where, if you miscalculate your children's stamina, you are likely to be hot, tired, and cranky and facing your own hot, tired, cranky kids in a setting where it's almost impossible to find a place to discipline them privately without a bunch of other hot, tired, cranky parents watching and judging the way you handle it. That's why, in my opinion, so many of these "shocking" stories have to do with "parents gone bad". We all have our bad days. We don't strike our children -- that's just a decision we made that isn't for everyone -- but I confess I've said things to them that I've regretted as soon as the words left my lips, just because I've been pushed to the limit. You make the mistake, you deal with it as best you can with them, and you move on. There are better parents than me, there are worse --- but I submit that I think we're all capable of reverting to infantile behavior at some point.

Anyway, forgive the longwinded remarks. It's just that this thread has really spurred me to think about a lot of things, some funny, some sad. But I suppose I should add my own "shocking moment" to the list. I've seen a few things at Disney I wished I hadn't, but I think I'll keep it light:


On grad night back in high school, we took a chaperoned bus where the parents/teachers did the best they could to thwart efforts to smuggle on contraband flasks of rum, etc. But they did not count on the scheming minds of me and my friends. We took what appeared to be an innocent bag of navel oranges on with us, which had actually been surreptitiously injected with vodka with a hypodermic syringe. By the time we got off the bus, we were a bit loopy. As soon as we got in the MK we headed straight for Space Mountain, and on the way there we were intercepted by Tweedledum and Tweedledee. I can't tell them apart, but one of them was standing behind my friend Jeff, who happened to be a starting tight-end on the school football team -- about 6-6, 250 pounds, big and imposing. When you got to know him, though, he was just a big good-hearted lunk. So here he is, silly and loopy, and Tweedledee (or the other one ) decides to start messing with him by standing behind him and mimicking everything he does. Jeff figured it out and started to try to best the character by racing around leaping over benches and jumping over guardrails, etc. I don't know who was in that suit, and I'm sure it was against Disney policy, but whoever it was exhibited the most amazing display of physical dexterity I ever saw, keeping up with Jeff in that big honking hot suit and doing exactly everything Jeff did. At some point Jeff actually got flustered and fell down on the ground laughing and panting, and Tweedledum ('dee, whatever) puts his foot on Jeff's chest and strikes the victorious he-man pose. People use the term "rolling on the floor laughing" very loosely. Believe me, the dozen or so of us who watching this episode were doing it literally. That was one of the funniest and most surreal things I have ever witnessed,

 

[Mme. Leota]

I've been lucky enough not to see anything really terrible. . . but last April I walked into the ladies room (I think the one to the right of Space Mountain) and a lady had a tiny infant on the changing table giving him/her a breathing treatment of some sort. (Medium sized machine, tiny little mask covering nose and mouth) Now I don't have kids yet myself, but planing a trip with an infant seems like a pretty difficult prospect to start with, much less one in respiratory distress of some kind. It seems like the pollen count alone would be horrible in April in Florida, not to mention hot days and very cool nights, and the chance for all those germs, and the smokers not following policy. . . .

 

[MELSMICE]

I've been lucky enough not to see anything really terrible. . . but last April I walked into the ladies room (I think the one to the right of Space Mountain) and a lady had a tiny infant on the changing table giving him/her a breathing treatment of some sort. (Medium sized machine, tiny little mask covering nose and mouth) Now I don't have kids yet myself, but planing a trip with an infant seems like a pretty difficult prospect to start with, much less one in respiratory distress of some kind. It seems like the pollen count alone would be horrible in April in Florida, not to mention hot days and very cool nights, and the chance for all those germs, and the smokers not following policy. . . .

My nephew has Cystic Fibrosis & must having breathing treatments (therapy) 2X daily. They found out when he was 3 weeks old so he's been having therapy since then. Not saying that the baby had CF, but there obviously was some medical condition involved.

My sister & her DH try to keep their lives & their son's as normal as possible, so this may be the case with these parents also.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

On grad night back in high school, we took a chaperoned bus where the parents/teachers did the best they could to thwart efforts to smuggle on contraband flasks of rum, etc. But they did not count on the scheming minds of me and my friends. We took what appeared to be an innocent bag of navel oranges on with us, which had actually been surreptitiously injected with vodka with a hypodermic syringe. By the time we got off the bus, we were a bit loopy. As soon as we got in the MK we headed straight for Space Mountain, and on the way there we were intercepted by Tweedledum and Tweedledee. I can't tell them apart, but one of them was standing behind my friend Jeff, who happened to be a starting tight-end on the school football team -- about 6-6, 250 pounds, big and imposing. When you got to know him, though, he was just a big good-hearted lunk. So here he is, silly and loopy, and Tweedledee (or the other one ) decides to start messing with him by standing behind him and mimicking everything he does. Jeff figured it out and started to try to best the character by racing around leaping over benches and jumping over guardrails, etc. I don't know who was in that suit, and I'm sure it was against Disney policy, but whoever it was exhibited the most amazing display of physical dexterity I ever saw, keeping up with Jeff in that big honking hot suit and doing exactly everything Jeff did. At some point Jeff actually got flustered and fell down on the ground laughing and panting, and Tweedledum ('dee, whatever) puts his foot on Jeff's chest and strikes the victorious he-man pose. People use the term "rolling on the floor laughing" very loosely. Believe me, the dozen or so of us who watching this episode were doing it literally. That was one of the funniest and most surreal things I have ever witnessed, and that includes a week in Amsterdam .

Oh, man, that is a great story! How much you wanna bet it was a girl in that Tweedle-whoever suit?

 

[disneyfunlove]

I think I need a ticker saying

I've been reading this thread for

1 month, 3 wks, 4 days, 15hrs

After reading all (and yes I read all but page 19 which wouldn't load for me) my moment seems more disturbing, to me.

Leaving MK one evening after a rainstorm, I see two kids (maybe 4&5) playing in "water" puddles on Main Street. I use the term "water" loosely. I thought it was nasty back then when I saw it, but now I think it's downright gross. And they weren't just splashing around, jumping from here to there. They were laying down and rolling in the water!

 

[FutureMrsC]

Leaving MK one evening after a rainstorm, I see two kids (maybe 4&5) playing in "water" puddles on Main Street. I use the term "water" loosely. I thought it was nasty back then when I saw it, but now I think it's downright gross. And they weren't just splashing around, jumping from here to there. They were laying down and rolling in the water!

Eww... well... I guess kids will always be kids. I can picture many of my students doing something like that. I can only hope that the "water" wasn't ingested.

 

[Todd&Copper]

I remember once in the late 1980's (possibly 1990), when my family and I were at EPCOT, there was a restaurant in future world that would have character shows where Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto were dressed in space suits. I think it was a CS restaurant with a large state. Anyway, my family and I were having a good time - I can't recall if there was an actual stage show, or if the characters just wandered around to the tables to fool around and take pictures. We noticed a couple of young teenage girls and their grandmother (we think) sitting at the next table. After the show ended, both of the teenagers pulled out packs of cigarettes and lit up. They looked like they were around 13 or 14, and my pop was so shocked that he actually suggested we leave before he said something [and the man HATED the FL heat but sufered through it as best he could for us kids]. They were not foreign; we had heard them talking with each other after the show and they had no accent. It was just so weird to see (1) teens smoking (2) with their grandma right there with them. As a teen myself at the time, seeing that really blew my mind.

 

[NC State]

Last year we had an early Donald's Breakfast. We arrived early at AK and were at the gates before they open. So we stopped behind a car to wait for the gates to open.

We saw the CMs, they would come and go to place the money trays into the booths. They stopped by our window to let us know when they would open to let us go and park.

Well, a car came speeding up and stop behind us and started blowing his horn. We turned and smile and waved, well I guess that made him mad, he came up and started acting like a "jerk" and that's when we told him that they couldn't open the gates until a certain time. Well, he then goes find a CM and chews the CM out (his seating time was later than ours). I just couldn't believe how he was acting.

Well, when it came time that they could open the gate, he speed by us with a nasty look on their faces. Well, his tag was "NJ", I wanted to give him a nice southern wave and my middle finger, but I didn't.

 

[scoolover]

Nope! never seen any oddities.

 

[NC State]

Bump! I love hearing these stories.

 

[NC State]

One more bump!

 

[jann1033]

Last year we had an early Donald's Breakfast. We arrived early at AK and were at the gates before they open. So we stopped behind a car to wait for the gates to open.

We saw the CMs, they would come and go to place the money trays into the booths. They stopped by our window to let us know when they would open to let us go and park.

Well, a car came speeding up and stop behind us and started blowing his horn. We turned and smile and waved, well I guess that made him mad, he came up and started acting like a "jerk" and that's when we told him that they couldn't open the gates until a certain time. Well, he then goes find a CM and chews the CM out (his seating time was later than ours). I just couldn't believe how he was acting.

Well, when it came time that they could open the gate, he speed by us with a nasty look on their faces. Well, his tag was "NJ", I wanted to give him a nice southern wave and my middle finger, but I didn't.

can you imagine how nice he was by days end

 

[richard_andmel]

Our shocking moment was a few years ago when we were sitting and waiting on the curb for the Stars & Motorcars Parade. DH & I were sitting very near the end of the parade just after it turn the corner and then goes into the backlot area. A fairly well dressed english woman with a 4 year old child & a stroller came up next to us and parked the stroller beside us and asked if it was ok to leave the stroler there while she ran across the street to the other corner and got her pictures from the shop. We said it was fine. She strolls off with the child still in hand and then we look over and notice she has left a sleeping 1 year old child in the stroller. She was gone for about 5 minutes paying for and picking up her pictures. I can tell you neither one of us took our eyes off that child in the stroller... What on earth she was thinking I cannot imagine.

Mel

 

[KimR]

DH saw a 12-year-old boy walking around World Showcase drinking a Fiesta Margarita. And just a short while after that he was in line to get our Margaritas and the man ahead of him tried to order some for his kids and seem surprised when the CM explained they were alcoholic drinks. There is a huge sign on the front of the stand that says 'Margaritas'! Do people actually not know what a Margarita is?