Have you ever had a shock?

[Catie'sMama]

Just back and here are my "shocking" moments:

At Epcot: A mother and father changing the baby's (1 year old) diaper outside of Imagination-Figment. Hello! There is a bathroom right inside!

At Magic Kingdom: Obviously pregnant lady gets out of wheelchair and onto Splash Mountain.

At MGM: Bottle (BIG bottle) of Jack in the women's bathroom...at 10 in the morning! DH said, "So that's where the Disney Magic comes from!"

 

[OhMari]

I shocked or mortified 2 boys from Florida. I also was mortified.

My son had a motocross Race in London Kentucky before the 4th of July. It was so hot, 100 degrees with 100% humidity. During the day, you didn't do to much except watch races and sit in the trailer with the air conditioning blaring.

Anyway, at nite everyone walked the tracks and the campground. I was with my dd-15 and we walked down the mountain (which is called a hallow in KY) and used the flush toilets they had.

Traveling long distances in cars don't always agree with my stomache and sometimes I just cannot go. We proceded with our walk and we stopped at the bathrooms. Well my dd went and then waited. While she waited for me, she met up again with 2 17 yr old boys that raced and they were from Orlando FL. SHe said they were talking about WDW and Universal. Well low and behold after 20 minutes I finally walked out and I couldn't even look at my dd or the boys, I was so mortified. One of the boys said to my dd, "isn't that your mom" my dd thought it was quite funny, she laughed it off, but she said she could tell the boys were embarrased to know I was in the bathroom that long.

And to top it off, I couldn't even go.

God forbid we are all human and have to go to the bathroom once in awhile or not! My dd told me not to worry, she thought it was funny.

 

[Amyg]

I envy you having a large family. I was an only child and was lonely, I guess I still am. I will never know what having siblings will be like. My only question for those of you with big familys, is how do you save to go? We are a family of four, and it was hard. ALOT of overtime, and scrimping on extra stuff. I would appreciate any saving advise. I see people who go once or more a year, and I can't figure out how they do it?? I would love to hear everyones secrets!

I have 5 siblings and we never went on any trips at all when we were growing up. My younger brother was the only kid that went on a trip with my parents because he was too young (6) at the time for the oldest (17) to take care of. He got to go to DL!

On the other hand, I never felt that I was missing out because we had so many other things we loved to do and my parents did take us to a lot of other events in town!

 

[Joanna71985]

My only question for those of you with big familys, is how do you save to go? We are a family of four, and it was hard. ALOT of overtime, and scrimping on extra stuff. I would appreciate any saving advise. I see people who go once or more a year, and I can't figure out how they do it?? I would love to hear everyones secrets!

Well, unfortunately we're not able to go every year now that there are so many of us. Now it is every few years or so. The last time we all went down as a family was in 2003. But the last time the majority of my family went down was in 2-05 to visit me on my CP (2 of my sisters couldn't go). For the record, my family is: DM , DD , DS (24) , me (20) , DS(19) , DS(17) , DB(14) , DS(11) , DB(8) , and DB(5) . Whew! Also Ddog Lacey- . Thats everyone! Hey Dad, time for a trip to Disney!

 

[kellyanne731]

My fiance's 1 of 5 and he never went on any big vacations either. It was just too expensive. His first vacation was when I took him to Disney in 2003.

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

I just got back from WDW a week ago. I didn't see too many shocking things. Mostly just the amount of women who wear next to nothing. And also I learned about a lot of womens underwear choices (or lack thereof).

The first thing that shocked me was pretty bad. Me and DBF just got out of BTMRR. Right when you get outside was a little girl maybe 3 in a stroller. She was all alone, asleep in the stroller. I had walked maybe 5 feet away to find my sunglasses since I was blind without them and a father comes walking up way. He is telling his son that mom put the little girl in the shade. I cannot believe that someone would just leave their kid like that for someone else to pick up later. I was in utter shock. Being from NY prepares you for some things but this was crazy. If DBF wasn't there I would have given that father a piece of my mind.

The other thing that shocked me was the amount of adults with little kids getting drunk at like 11am in 100 degree heat. I don't mean having one beer, i mean getting a few refills of that huge one from Germany. It makes no sense to me. But there was a lot of this going on. This also led to a lot of cursing and a lot of kids just running off on their own. Things like that just really annoy me.

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

Finally, I read ALL the posts! It took me days, but I did it! Now I have a few of my own to share (ranked according to shock factor).

3.) I too noticed many people dressed poorly (clothes too short, too tight, etc.) Last year we were in line for BTMRR and there's a girl (about 10 or 11) wearing a VERY short skirt, tight shirt, and a thong! She was sitting on the railing and would pull her skirt down to expose more of her thong. There were several boys (and men probably too) staring. Her parents didn't seem to care!

2.) This April DH, FIL, and I were in line for Splash. A man and three kids were in front of us (ranging in age from 8-11). They proceeded to run into us, jump on our feet, and climb the railings (not just sitting, but swinging back and forth). Then the dad shows them the birdhouses that are hanging and they try to pull them down!!! We mad several comments about not running into us and to please try to control his kids, but nothing happened. Finally, the dad said if they ran into us one more time then he was going to leave them and ride by himself. That did nothing to stop them and we still were run into by them. (I know that kids can be hyper standing in lines, but this was no excuse. We took my little brother, 6 at the time, to MK and he in NO WAY acted like this.)

(Not at WDW)
1.) We went to DC to see the 75 Mickeys that were on display. It was the last weekend of the Cherry Blossom and was REALLY crowded. The first things we noticed was that parents would let kids climb all over the Mickeys! Some even sat on a hat Mickey was wearing (kids were then several feet off the ground). These were works of art and I couldn't believe the disrespect people had. The other and most shocking thing of all: While DH and I were taking pictures a small girl (not over 2) started following us and getting in each picture. The mom sat on a bench and just let the girl wander around. I asked the mom if she thought it was a good idea to let the child wander around and she just looked at me. So DH and I continued on with the girl still following us. We then saw the mom had moved and was arguing with a man. The man kepting asking where the girl was, and the mom just motioned ver there." The man started yelling to go get the child, but both just sat there. Eventually, the little girl went back over to the parents, but neither one cared enough to go get her!!!

 

[Maleficent13]

At MGM: Bottle (BIG bottle) of Jack in the women's bathroom...at 10 in the morning! DH said, "So that's where the Disney Magic comes from!"

 

[DisneyFreq]

Actually it doesn't shock me that a pregnant woman got on splash mountain.....b/c I rode it when I was six mos pregnant with DD.

I read the warning sign VERY carefully and I don't remember it prohibiting pregnant women from riding (possibly it said something about pregnancies with complications). I follow the signs word for word and regardless of what the sign said, I would NOT have ridden in my ninth month or if I were not in perfect health. The fact that the woman was in a wheelchair makes me wonder if she was having complications.

Of course, all this was 10 years ago so the warnings may be different. I remember sitting out Kilimanjaro safaris when I was five mos. preg with DS....which sort of sucked b/c AK had just opened and I'd never been on it..oh well...I had a really good pastry and relaxed in the Tusker house till DH and DD got done.

 

[Tony Toon]

I had a really good pastry and relaxed in the Tusker house till DH and DD got done.

Sounds good to me! at any time .....

 

[MommyPoppins]

I envy you having a large family. I was an only child and was lonely, I guess I still am. I will never know what having siblings will be like. My only question for those of you with big familys, is how do you save to go? We are a family of four, and it was hard. ALOT of overtime, and scrimping on extra stuff. I would appreciate any saving advise. I see people who go once or more a year, and I can't figure out how they do it?? I would love to hear everyones secrets!

We have 4 children and the way that we save to go is LOTS of overtime! Plus living IN Florida helps to save a TON of money. We go during the cheapest times of the year and wait for a good deal, or stay off site. Going in September seems to almost be the perfect time because its so slow Disney always offers amazing deals. Plus instead of going for one long trip we have always done several long weekend trips instead. But now we aren't going for a full year and are going to save for a long trip.

 

[MommyPoppins]

oops. double post

 

[MommyPoppins]

People kept asking us "Are they all yours?" and that was when we only had five.
I really wanted to reply "No, I make a habit of bringing other peoples toddlers to WDW." But I just smile and nod. Sheesh.

We did get a waitress and Mickey Mouse doing the "we're not worthy" bow at Donald's breakfastasauras b/c the waitress was amazed that I had "birthed all them babies!" LOL

Oh, and one couple said "Five?!?" And then looked at each other and their one kid and said "well, why not five?" (which is kind of shocking...) Always wonder if they had any more.
(When you take 5 kids out in public you plead with them "PLEASE be a good example for big families everywhere, and not the poster children for limiting family size! LOL )

LOL! I totally agree! We do the same thing. We have four now, but because they are all 5 and under we get SO many looks and comments. On our last trip I even noticed KIDS stopping and counting. And since we have all boys EVERYONE asks me if we'll try again for a girl. Now I just tell them, "No, we are going to try again for another baby and then we are going to have another because we want at least 6." People just don't know what to do. We get so many comments about being brave to take them all out...but to us it's just normal. We look at familys with 2 kids and the kids are running around screaming because they want their way and we just laugh. All of ours are sitting in the strollers quietly and the 5 year old just stands next to us never walking away. It's not in the numbers but in how you raise them and how well they follow the rules.

 

[chrismb22]

What a thread. I am new to these forums and I love them! I read every single thing in this thread and found it disgusting, entertaining and disheartening all at the same time. I must say that I have never seen a quarter of these things at WDW but I sure know what to look for on my next trip!

Anyway, I have a few shockers of my own .. though very pleasant ones.

#1

Took my DSIL and 2 nieces (age 8 and 1.5) to the character breakfast at 1900 Park. I knew it was going to be a late night so I had booked the last seating for breakfast. The 8 year old was excited to be dressed in her Minnie Mouse dress and looking forward to some character interaction. We were hoping to see Minnie but had been told that she is seldom at this breakfast.

When we got to the restaurant was nearly empty and only a few characters were about (Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, Mad Hatter, Pooh and Tigger)but my 8 yr old niece was perfectly happy because Mary Poppins learned her name and spent 20 minutes chatting with her. As we were heading for the buffet, Mary Poppins excused herself and siad she needed to call a friend.

I didn't really think anything of it at the time, except that it seemed a bit peculiar for a CM to allow "real life" to intrude like that but we shrugged it off. Anyway, about 20 minutes later Mary returns to our table and tells the 8 year old that someone was asking for her in the lobby of the restaurant. We all got up and followed Mary Poppins out and saw ......... Minnie Mouse! My niece gave a squeal of pure joy and hugged Minnie. We then had about 15 minutes (alone!) with these two wonderful CM to take pictures and make a lifetimes worth of Magical Memories. Needless to say, Miine Mouse was the "friend" that Mary Poppins had called.

That was pure magic.

#2

On a previous trip in 2004, I had decided to watch my (then) 1 year old niece while DB, SIL, DNiece and 2 young cousins had run off to try to catch the last ride on Space Mountain. I was happily shopping in Sir Mickeys, baby was in her carriage asleep and the carriage hood was pulled completely up so that she was warm and it was dark for her.

I had a bit of a wait as I was buying embroidered Mickey ears as a surprise for my family and needed to wait for each one to have the name sewn on. A friendly CM working in the store was making conversation with me and asked "How old is the baby?"

I pulled the hood down to let her get a look at the little princess inside when just at that moment, the baby vomited all over herself. I am not squeamish, but I knew immediately that my niece was probably getting really sick. This was not a normal spit up. (She wasn't, turned out her dad, my clueless brother, had given her some meat from a turkey leg when she was just learning to eat real food).

Anyway, I panicked because it was cold outside and we had already changed her into her LAST outfit, the others were wet and dirty from a full day of activities. There was no way the poor baby could sit in the clothes she had on until we got back to the villa though. The manager ran and got me an entire roll of paper towels and I calmly, but urgently, asked "Where can I buy some warm baby clothes?"

She directed me across the way to Tinkerbelles store and I ran. Yes, with the carriage in tow

I quickly glanced around and saw an outfit that had a pink jacket top and pants with fur on the collar, sleeves and cuffs as well as being embroidered with "Princess" on it. It was very cute, and perfect to change her into once she was cleaned up. I was searching for the baby's size when the CM from Sir Mickey's appeared next to me and helped me look. Together we found a size that would fit her and we walked to the register. There was a longish line and I noticed the CM from Sir Mickeys talking to a CM in Tink's shop and I hoped they were going to take me to a different register so I could buy the outfit and get the baby changed.

Then, they shocked me.

The CM from Sir Mickey's was a manger and she took me aside with the CM from Tinks and said, (direct quote, I'll never forget it) "We are so sorry that this happened to the little one in the Happiest Place on Earth, please accept this outfit as our gift and I hope she is feeling better."

I was so stunned. Standing there, worried about the baby, credit card ou, hoping to pay soon ... and the CM's make me and my dear niece a gift.

That was the most magical thing that happened. The baby looked like a doll in the outfit, and she made a full recovery from the turkey upset stomach!


I guess its no wonder I don't see any of the craziness. Disney has me seeing the world through the eyes of a child.

You just made me cry! (In a good way though!!

 

[WendyMichaelJohn]

Something to think about before letting any of these stories make you uneasy about your trip:

Imagine the thread was, "Have you ever had a shock at the mall?" Or change that sentence to read any location in the US. Mall, library, park, Sea World, child's school, beach, grocery store, etc.

There would, of course, be plenty of answers and stories. Bad behavior happens everywhere.

Now imagine spending 7 days straight at the mall, from before opening to just after closing every night. Imagine it was at its most crowded (day after Thanksgiving, week before Christmas, etc.) You would most certainly see some things that were outside of the bounds of your own behavior code. Add to that situation high heat, and then imagine that you paid $3000 to have your entire family at the mall. Throw in 15 minute waits to get inside each store. You see what I'm getting at...

When I first started reading this thread I was so nervous about our trip being spoiled by shocking or bad behavior, namely because my DH is one to step in (particularly if it involves a child getting smacked, infants with severe sunburns, large masses of teens pushing and shoving toddlers, etc.)

Then I stopped and thought about how weird things happen everywhere, we just happen to not stay at those places for an entire week.

So keep your chin up if these thoughts get you down! And I just love the story about the baby vomiting (well, not the part where the baby vomited) and the kindness of the CM's involved.

happy trips to everyone!

Shel (Just call me Pollyanna. )

 

[Missy1961]

Just got back yesterday. Great trip, nothing terribly shocking. I did notice a few smokers walking around Epcot with a lit cigerette, rather than in a smoking area. I didn't notice that at the Magic Kingdom.

 

[krismom]

Bumping....

 

[BluOrchid2]

The most shocking and disgusting thing I saw on our trip last week was at the resort's food court at about 6:30 in the morning. This guy came in to get coffee in nothing but flipflops, flannel lounging pants, and NO SHIRT. GAG. Men should ALWAYS wear shirts in food places!!!

 

[d4est]

Bumpity boo

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

well, here's my shocker for today!

Not at Disney, actually in my town- My father did me a favor and drove me on an errand and while he was slowly going around the lot, a little kid darted out from between 2 parked cars *running* in front of him!

My dad stopped. The mother of this kid- (in skin tight hip hugger jeans, and a too small tube top and heels) about my age actually (mid twenties) starts cursing a blue streak at my father, saying he's too old to drive, etc. I mean *vulgar* language- right in front of her little (like 5?) year old kid! I was like "I'm sorry, you should be watching your child better. He could get hurt."

She walks over to my window and says completely seriously "Would you like to step out of the car and say that?"

I told her that was immature and no I don't do that. Then her kid starts cursing at us, too. I simply said "Wonderful mother, wonderful child" and rolled up my window and she walked away cursing to herself as the kid flips us off and is still cursing.

There are so many things I wish I would have said (like if you would actually try to start a physical fight, what are you teaching your kid?), but truly none of them would have made a difference. She'll probably always be like that, and the kid will probably treat her the same way. As John Lennon said "Instant Karma's gonna get ya!" I know I need to forget about it, but sometimes stuff like that is hard to shake off.