Have YOU ever had or witnessed a rude incident in the park? Tell me about it!

[TXAKDisneyFan]

My boyfriend and I had just gotten in line to meet the Fairy Godmother, and then another man got the last spot behind us (I don't actually think he was in line though, he seemed to know the CM from somewhere and they were talking). This lady came up with a little girl in the stroller, and in an extremely rude voice asked the CM if they could get in line now. The CM said, no, she was sorry, but that the Fairy Godmother was going to have to leave soon (and the line wasn't even moving, so I didn't think we were gonna get to see her either), and she gave the lady the best times to come back tomorrow. The lady just snapped at the CM, and the little girl in the stroller started to whine about why she couldn't see the character to her mom, and her mom just started to yell that the CM, who she called rude, was not going to let them in line. I would have easily given up my space in line to the little girl if her mother wasn't being so incredibly rude. We ended up leaving the line anyways though, due to impending rain and we were tired and wanted to go take a nap.

It's amazing that some people don't understand that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Treat others with politeness and respect, and they'll generally return the favor. Obviously one shouldn't be nice to others simply to get something out of them, but it doesn't hurt.

This didn't happen at WDW, but one time DH and I waited outside on a dirty sidewalk to buy MLB day-of-game tickets for over 14 hrs. We spent all day talking to, and playing cards with, a couple teenage boys sitting in front of us. Right when we were approaching the ticket booth, they announced that all the tickets were sold out; the boys would get the last two tickets. We were about to leave, when the boys stopped us and insisted we get the tickets instead (they were locals and knew it was our only chance to see a game). I have no doubt that had we ignored them all day, or made a scene when the sold out announcement was made, we would have missed the game. I wish I knew how to contact those boys and thank them properly. I have no problem doing something similar for others (I'd love to make someone's day), as long as they aren't acting rude and entitled like the woman from your story.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I think the worst thing i saw was in the bathroom in the Contemporary outside of CM. A woman and her daughter were just leaving as i entered. I crossed in front of the garbage can and the girl stood with her piece of paper towel waiting till i passed. Her mom pushed her daughter on the shoulder and told her "just throw it on the floor, that's what that lady is supposed to do, clean up after us." While i was washing my hands i turned to the CM & thanked her for doing her part in making my holiday so special and tears trickled down her face "no-one ever talks to me, you have no idea how much this means to me"

True, the job of custodial staff (ANYWHERE) is to keep things clean BUT does that mean you can encourage your child to deliberately make a mess???

Oh my god....that story about the cast member now is going to make me say hi to all the cleaners if I use the rest room - how horrible

 

[larryz]

Earlier that day while in Epcot I observed a father, directly in front of a sign that says do not feed the waterfowl, open up a small package of Cheez-It crackers and give one to each of his sons, encouraging them to, yes, feed the waterfowl. See the picture.View attachment 2281

Ahem. Yes. The sign clearly says, "Do not feed the wild..." (life). This rocket scientist no doubt felt certain that the ducks were either tame or audioanimatronics.

 

[larryz]

I don't agree 100%. If you are sitting on the curb, then you should stay sitting. Or at the very least tell others you will be standing up. The vast majority of people sit on the curb, they don't stand. They may have the right to stand, but it is a bit rude when you know the people behind you are not expecting it.

Well, I've always found, in my many, many trips to Disney parks and establishments, that when Disney wants me to sit, they provide me a nice seat. Rides, I have a seat. Restaurants, I have a seat. Shows, I have a seat.

Conversely, when Disney wants me to stand, they don't give me a seat. Ride queues, no seat. Middle of Main Street USA, no seat. Sidewalks, no seat.

That's how I view it, anyway.

 

[larryz]

I hear that he walked out, had some beers, and re-parked his car facing the wrong direction.

And then he went and fed some ducks, just to show them he could!!!

 

[ttintagel]

Well, I've always found, in my many, many trips to Disney parks and establishments, that when Disney wants me to sit, they provide me a nice seat. Rides, I have a seat. Restaurants, I have a seat. Shows, I have a seat.

Conversely, when Disney wants me to stand, they don't give me a seat. Ride queues, no seat. Middle of Main Street USA, no seat. Sidewalks, no seat.

That's how I view it, anyway.

That argument kind of falls apart, though, if you're sitting on the sidewalk and THEN get up when the parade/fireworks start. You can't have it both ways - if you're going to claim that it's clearly not a place for sitting *during the parade* because there's no seat, that means it's also clearly not a place for sitting *before the parade* for the same reason.

Bottom line is, that it's common courtesy if you're sitting on the pavement but planning on standing up when the show starts, to let people who sit down behind you know what you're planning so they have time to go somewhere else. Same deal if you're standing and you plan on putting your kid on your shoulders. Just because you "have a right" to do something doesn't mean it's "the right thing" to do.

 

[momtosam]

I think the question should be have you ever spent a day without seeing a rude incident!

 

[larryz]

That argument kind of falls apart, though, if you're sitting on the sidewalk and THEN get up when the parade/fireworks start. You can't have it both ways - if you're going to claim that it's clearly not a place for sitting *during the parade* because there's no seat, that means it's also clearly not a place for sitting *before the parade* for the same reason.

You won't find me sitting on the sidewalk -- I've seen what people do on sidewalks, and what clings to their shoes after they leave the restrooms, and I'd rather not sit in it.

 

[DisneyHoover]

I think the rudest experience I've had (which wasn't too bad compared to some of these stories) was at Epcot. My DF and I were at the entrance of the world showcase for Illuminations almost an hour early and walked up to the front of the area. One lady was already standing in that area and said that she was reserving the whole front area for a group of 5th graders (who apparently at that time were wandering the park by themselves with no chaperones). My DF and I just exchanged a look, decided it wasn't worth the fight and moved back a little bit.

I feel I should also share my most magical non-rude moment at Disney as well:

While traveling with my DF, MIL, SIL, & 2 nephews and niece, we had an incredible experience on a Disney bus. We were riding the bus from MK back to our resort after the end of MNSSHP. The kids were pooped and each adult had a child fall asleep in their lap. My younger nephew is non-neurotypical and until he was almost 3 1/2 he would consistently wake up screaming/crying out. So, about midway through our ride back to the resort, my nephew woke up and started crying out loudly; my MIL started singing "This Old Man" to soothe him back to sleep. The people on the bus could have muttered about my nephew's screaming/shot looks at us, but instead the entire bus joined in with my MIL in singing "This Old Man." It was incredible having 20 random strangers join in singing a lullaby together -- my most magical Disney moment of the trip and it wasn't even created by Disney themselves.

 

[Magpie]

I think the rudest experience I've had (which wasn't too bad compared to some of these stories) was at Epcot. My DF and I were at the entrance of the world showcase for Illuminations almost an hour early and walked up to the front of the area. One lady was already standing in that area and said that she was reserving the whole front area for a group of 5th graders (who apparently at that time were wandering the park by themselves with no chaperones). My DF and I just exchanged a look, decided it wasn't worth the fight and moved back a little bit.

I feel I should also share my most magical non-rude moment at Disney as well:

While traveling with my DF, MIL, SIL, & 2 nephews and niece, we had an incredible experience on a Disney bus. We were riding the bus from MK back to our resort after the end of MNSSHP. The kids were pooped and each adult had a child fall asleep in their lap. My younger nephew is non-neurotypical and until he was almost 3 1/2 he would consistently wake up screaming/crying out. So, about midway through our ride back to the resort, my nephew woke up and started crying out loudly; my MIL started singing "This Old Man" to soothe him back to sleep. The people on the bus could have muttered about my nephew's screaming/shot looks at us, but instead the entire bus joined in with my MIL in singing "This Old Man." It was incredible having 20 random strangers join in singing a lullaby together -- my most magical Disney moment of the trip and it wasn't even created by Disney themselves.

What a beautiful story!

Interestingly, my neurotypical(ish) son did the same thing to about the same age - whenever he fell asleep, he'd wake up crying! Sometimes he'd even seem to fall asleep with his eyes open, just staring off into the distance, then startle and cry. I was so glad when he outgrew that!

Fwiw, my son only has a "Learning Disability, Not Otherwise Specified" with an unofficial designation of "Dysgraphic" from one tester and "Dyslexic" from another. So nothing that'd explain the crying when he woke.

 

[ttintagel]

I think there are enough kids - neurotypical and otherwise - experiencing sensory overload, interruption of routine, change of diet, and just plain exhaustion at WDW, that most of us aren't that surprised to see one unexpectedly crying! That's a really lovely story.

 

[Epcotfan64]

See, at first you would think the funniest thing about this is someone from central Florida referring to another part of the country as "Podunk."

Then you realize it is the absolute lack of self awareness that leads to someone suggesting they have the right to threaten violence (or commit violence) against others because "It worked," then shake their head at the sense of entitlement exhibited by other people.

You can't base the decision to smash someone up the side of the head because "it worked." Only the response worked, which was the 5 women reducing their tympanic-membrane damaging screams to more pleasant and less attention-seeking yells. You see, punishment has to be swift for it to be effective. "Podunk" is used to describe a fictitious town, instead of writing "insert town here."

 

[chrissyb2411]

As a non regular (next week will be our third trip in 8 years), here's my take.

People that stop in the middle of traffic flow are not rude. Many are first time visitors, and infrequent visitor like us, who are either a-trying to take it all in or b- trying to figure out which way to go to get where we need to be. Sure, it would be,ideal to pull over to the edge of the crowd and pull out your camera or your map, but then you are the rude person going against the flow. You really can't win. Instead of pushing us or elbowing us just try to understand if you're not a regular the sheer scope of disney can stop you in your tracks, literally.

Pushing a stroller in disney can be a nightmare too. I'm not one to bang or push, and i am overly cautious. But dang, when people are in a rush, and I'm trying to take it all in, and watch my kids reactions, I might bump you. Sorry. I will say sorry, and I do try to be careful, but it's hard. I'm glad we won't have one this year!

My most irritating rudeness was some people with ecv's. There was this one family we happened to be sort of keeping up with (not by choice). They seemed to be going the same way as us, stopping where we stopped etc. they were "hot wheeling" with the ecv, and switching off drivers "I'm tired its my turn, get off" and zoom we have to jump out of the way as the teenager zooms by. It was so frustrating.

 

[ThistleMae]

Based on what I've read here...I'm going to prepare some verbal responses to rude behavior...nice, polite ones...so those around me don't have to feel so uncomfortable when there is an incident. Afterall...we are all there to have a nice time. Maybe this will be something I say...."aren't we all here to have a nice time?" Something to think about...how to send positive energy into the atmosphere when tension is disrupting everyone around.

 

[Lovetherodent]

I had only a couple of trips with strollers, but at the time they were umbrella strollers. You know, the light things that fold up to about the size of an umbrella. I'm always shocked to see what people push around these days. They're huge! Stick a handle of the back of a SmartCar, why doncha, and call it a stroller. Could it be that people ramming into us aren't trying to be rude--they just can't drive those monstrosities?

 

[goherdibg]

We were leaving the park one day ( can't remember which one ) and got to the bus stop. There were a few people in line already and we entered the que. As we were walking through it, 2 boys went under the rope and got ahead of us. Their parents walked through the que and when they got up to us the said "those are our boys" as they pushed past us. I started to say something, but got "the look" from my husband. When we got on the bus there were no seats left and when I looked around of course the 2 boys and their parents all had seats. The proper thing to do for them would have been to have told the boys to come back to them in line, but apparently they had told the boys to go under the rope to get all of them ahead of us. Nice parenting skills. I normally will not get on a full bus, but didn't realize til we were in the door and there were people behind us that there were NO seats to be had. If I could have I would have asked to be left off the bus to wait for another bus to be the first on. If it wasn't for this elitist family we would have had seats.

When the actions of others affect me or my family, that's when I get the most upset. If a 90 year of wants to date a 20 year old, it has ZERO affect on me.....but someone jumping a line in front of me has a direct affect on me (more in some case, less in some).

 

[k5thbeatle]

I think the better question would be who hasn't?

I never really understand the point of these threads like this that come up from time to time. Whenever you have a large group of people together you're always going to see examples of rude behavior. WDW is no exception.

But to play along and answer the OP question, yes I have witnessed this many times. Once while boarding Kali River Rapids two grown men almost came to blows just because one guy didn't like how he put his shoes in the storage bin and the other guy made a rude comment.

 

[FeralCatRogue]

Based on what I've read here...I'm going to prepare some verbal responses to rude behavior...nice, polite ones...so those around me don't have to feel so uncomfortable when there is an incident. Afterall...we are all there to have a nice time. Maybe this will be something I say...."aren't we all here to have a nice time?" Something to think about...how to send positive energy into the atmosphere when tension is disrupting everyone around.

That honestly works the best I've seen with rude situations, it's almost like the polite responses are alien to them. In the end when people are rude though I figure I'm at the park to have fun why should I let them being rude to me ruin my fun.

 

[Magpie]

I never really understand the point of these threads like this that come up from time to time. Whenever you have a large group of people together you're always going to see examples of rude behavior. WDW is no exception.

But to play along and answer the OP question, yes I have witnessed this many times. Once while boarding Kali River Rapids two grown men almost came to blows just because one guy didn't like how he put his shoes in the storage bin and the other guy made a rude comment.

The point of the thread is to engage in some light venting, to share frustrations with other people, and to commiserate. As well to engage in some debate with regards to what is, and isn't, "rude" and what the appropriate response would be when one encounters something one considers rude. In other words, the point of this thread is exactly the same as the point of any thread on any internet board anywhere - conversation!

Personally, I'm finding people's stories in this thread highly entertaining. While none of it is particularly surprising or shocking, most of these are situations I haven't personally encountered, so it's interesting to read. Thanks for sharing yours!

 

[ThistleMae]

Here is my one experience on two trips. A woman walked into the back....the back....of my ecv while I was moving along. So...I'm going along and she walks into the back of my scooter. She seemed to think it was my fault that she wasn't watching where she was going! LOL. I just kept on going right along. I'm sticking with preparing a light hearted, friendly reminder, that we are all there to have fun! And...I do think its okay to express these experiences, perhaps someone who has been rude, may change their behavior next time they visit. We can get stressed over minor things when we are not being mindful. It's a lesson for us all.