My own "shocking" story took place at the Biergarten in Germany at Epcot. My partner, friends and I were enjoying the environment until the show ended. It seemed that every single child in the joint decided that the staging area was a playground. That's now what surprised me in the slightest. In fact, the kids were acting fairly goofy and having fun that it added to our own fun.
One child in particular, who was by far one of the oldest (she looked to be about 10 or 11) took it upon herself to use the entrance to the stage as her own. Unfortunately for me, I happened to be seated right there. She wouldn't just slip past my chair and the chair behind me. She muscled her way in, slamming our chairs to get by. Not once, not twice but over and over and over again.
At first I put it off to her excitement and ignored it. I just figured she was a little girl and was running on Disney excitement. But when she kept it up, and made me spill my beer on myself, then my food onto my lap, I tried to put a stop to it. I quietly told her to please not shove or push, but to simply slide by, and I used the nicest "grown up" smile I could muster.
What did she do? She screamed out "NO!" And SHOVED my chair as hard as she could. And it wasn't to get by this time. She just shoved and then shoved again with this look of utter fury.
I should mention that there was about a foot space between my chair and the chair behind me to get by.
That did it. I asked her where her parents were and she immediately tapped the man right behind me and said in a lound, whiny voice, "Daddy, this man is yelling at me and won't let me play."
I was not only stunned that her father was in the chair behind me and never said anything to begin with, but I was simply floored by his reaction. He stood up over me and started to berate me LOUDLY that his daughter had every right to do whatever she wanted because this was Disney World and it was for children. He tried to intimidate me by his size and loud voice!!! Are you kidding me?!
So of course, being a guy, I stood up. I happened to stand about a half a foot taller than him!! LOL! All I did was stare at him, look over to a waiter and flag him down. Still standing, I asked the waiter to please get the manager which he did immediately. Meanwhile, the entire time, the guy was ranting and raving. His wife got into the picture, yelling at my partner and I, foul language and all.
The manager apparently saw them and heard them, rushed over and tried to defuse the situation. I was quiet as a mouse and with a smile, asked him to either get the couple to be quiet so we could enjoy our dinner, or make them leave. Then I sat down and continued with my dinner.
Then the two started screaming at the manager that this was a family establishment and that their children could do what they pleased. When it was clear they weren't going to listen to the manager, he apparently called for security and made the entire family pack up and get out.
As they were escorted out, still screaming and cursing, with the little girl trailing behind them (I kid you not) kicking chairs and pushing the seat backs as she walked. Several tables broke into light applause and murmurs of agreement.
Shocking? Perhaps not. But boy did I feel enraged at so many things. The snotty little girl, the couple's beligerent attitude, their sense of entitlement, their language in what is truly a family establishment, the total lack of respect and disregard for other patrons.
But it didn't ruin my day or my trip. We had a great time!