How to handle crazies?

[Pirate Jeff]

We were in Disney last week and had an awesome time. Most of the people that you meet are great, but we ran into a bizarre family. How would you handle this?

We arrived at Blizzard Beach at rope drop. We found a nice cabana in the Ski Patrol area,then we set up camp. The park was not full at all. In fact, there were empty cabanas all around us. The five of us put our towels on five chairs and put our lunch items on a table. Then we went off for some fun!

When we got back an hour later, a lady was sitting at our picnic table and her husband and daughter were moving chairs into our cabana. I politely said "Do you realize that we have already set up our things in this area?" At first she ignored me, then she said, "Are you talking to me?"

She was an odd one. She told me that this was public place and anyone could be there. True, but there were plenty of available spots. I politely suggested that she move to a different space. Then she and her husband started yelling at me that I should move. At this point I told them that I was going to get a manager to help with the situation. Unfortuately, a manager never came. While I was gone my teenage daughter tried to reason with them, but they yelled at her, too.

What would you have done?

Well let me preface my response with this, Pooh: that you are a better person than I as I would not have reacted so well. In fact, I may have been escorted from the park with possibly a free ride to the hoosegow.

I have read some of the responses and agree with some. I absolutely disagree with the idea of taking your personal stuff and putting it in a "locker" or the implication, that for some reason, you are not entitled to have a seat reserved for your time in the park. Which if I may remind some, you paid for. Let me try to write this with as little sarcasm possible for those whom taken issue with your disappointing situation. The concept of spending time at a water park, or any Disney Park, means that you want to absorb yourself in the "magic". At the water park, you enter the park with your swim suits and towels, lotions and beach bags. Your purpose, is to swim, get some rays, relax, swim, get some rays, have fun, etc. You DIDN'T come to the water park, to spend the entire time watching your stuff while everyone else swims, simply because some rude "individual" thinks he/she can push you around.

I am not sure how I would respond exactly, that would depend on my mood and the way the rude people acted towards me when I asked why they took my seat. Some things come to mind however:

- Gathering up my stuff, moving it uncomfortably close to the cabana with my party, and face the chairs directly at the rude people whom took "my" seats. We would then talk to each other about how terrible it is that some people have no manners at all. Then follow it up by staring at the rude people.

- Taking their things off the table, putting ours back on and putting our seats around the table as they were.

- If I had kids, I would respectfully express my feelings towards the rude people, possibly even instructing my children as how not to act using the rude people as an example of bad behavior. Again, "respectfully".

Problem with most of this is, that it cannot really be resolved without a confrontation. If the rude people did what they did to begin with, they knew at some point, the owners of the items would return and they knew they would have to act rudely to keep the seats that they feel somehow, more entitled to than your family. It's a sad thing.

Fortunately, most people are not jerks like these rude people. And don't believe some of the folks giving you grief on this thread, I would wager a Disney vacation that they would not act as they suggest you should act in this situation. And honestly, I've been to the parks many many times and have very few bad experiences with people doing things like this and we've never had anything taken. I won't even tell you how crazy the idea of taking your towel and putting it in a locker is. I think some folks simply write things without thinking them through.

As a diehard Disney fan and patron, allow me to apologize for the rude behavior of a very few and for any grief you've taken by telling us all about it. Then again, as I stated at the start, you're a better person than I. I would not have acted as well as you did.

 

[sailbill]

The park manager should have been all over the situation, maybe it has become too common to warrant their attention?

 

[Suellen]

Nope... okay re-read the first post again. Nothing about moving their stuff NOR taking their seats... just moving chairs into the cabana.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Gee, Disney has places for people to park their strollers while they go on an attraction and that line may be 60-90 minutes long. No one is entitled to take that stroller just because it isn't "occupied". Same with the chairs at the water parks. You park your stuff on a chair wherever you choose (except those locations specifically marked as for dining guests only), visit the attraction of your choice and return to your stuff. There isn't any need for th CM to "move the stuff around" like they do the strollers, because there is plenty of space.

And if you get there late, you get a space further away from the prime locations.

 

[Pirate Jeff]

Nope... okay re-read the first post again. Nothing about moving their stuff NOR taking their seats... just moving chairs into the cabana.

It's still rude though, either way.

 

[Pirate Jeff]

Gee, Disney has places for people to park their strollers while they go on an attraction and that line may be 60-90 minutes long. No one is entitled to take that stroller just because it isn't "occupied". Same with the chairs at the water parks. You park your stuff on a chair wherever you choose (except those locations specifically marked as for dining guests only), visit the attraction of your choice and return to your stuff. There isn't any need for th CM to "move the stuff around" like they do the strollers, because there is plenty of space.

And if you get there late, you get a space further away from the prime locations.

Exceptionally correct!!

 

[Suellen]

Well it is slightly different than the strollers as most are someones personal property while the chair is not something you own.

I should (again) mention that we have not been to BB for many, many years and I am unfamiliar with what the cabanas look like. Are they like a 10 x 10 area?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Well it is slightly different than the strollers as most are someones personal property while the chair is not something you own.

I should (again) mention that we have not been to BB for many, many years and I am unfamiliar with what the cabanas look like. Are they like a 10 x 10 area?

They are different sizes. Some have a picnic table, others just chairs. Some are just umbrellas, some are large covered areas.

 

[3smithboys]

A somewhat similar situation happened to us while we were at Atlantis in the Bahamas while on a cruise. We got to Atlantis very early and staked out a place to put our stuff. We locked our valuables in a locker (which was very far away) and put our towels and bags on 3 chairs under an umbrella. (we are a family of 5) We went off to have fun and came back a little while later... we found another family sitting on the chairs that our stuff was on...and our things were all piled on a chair that was not covered under the umbrella.

When we went over and asked why our things were moved, they of course said that our stuff was like that when they got there...

So, I sat on the one chair right next to them with my 3 kids... Of course as kids do, one of them said loudly - "why are those people sitting where we had our stuff?" So I said, "Well, it's too bad that some people are not respectful of other people's things..." We sat there for a little while longer and then the father started to feel uncomfortable, and he cleared off one of the chairs and offered it to us.... then another.... within 15 minutes or so he had the family packed up and they left.

 

[TheZenMaster]

Anyone else getting images of Elaine's armoire getting stolen by the two bullies on the street while Kramer is supposed to be protected it?

 

[GoofysBro92]

I had a similar thing happen at a local water park/amusment park but they went even further. There were 6 of us and we put our towels(you bring your own not like Disney) and bags on 6 chairs and went on a couple slides. When we came back to our chairs and there were 3 teenagers sitting on 3 of them with there dirty shoes and clothes on our towels/bags.

I saw them as I was walking up which got me mad when I saw the shoes and clothes on our stuff I got even more mad but something set me off. The three boys decided our towels were there for them to use. I grabbed our towels away from them and they started to yell at me which wasn't a good move, then there shoes/clothes that they put on our bags/towels went on the ground. One of the boys mother's came walking up then and he started to complain to her I threw his stuff on the ground. She looked at me and back at him and told him to pick it up. I never said a word to her she just said sorry and they walked off.

 

[4Robins]

Um, then prepare for your stuff to be moved/taken.

That is complete and total BS!!!. If you put your "stuff" down on a chair, or lounge or table, then all of those are YOURS until you leave. Heaven help anyone who walks up and moves my things. This is the crazy part. The OP said they put their items on chairs and a table, so until they remove their things, no one else has the right to move a single thing. You pay admission to the water park and part of that is the space you occupy while you are there. It is the same thing as going to a Major League Baseball game, paying $75 per seat, then going and standing in a bathroom line for close to an hour, you mean to tell me that when you come back and someone is in your seat, they have the RIGHT to be in your seat???? Total Silly-ness. If its obvious someone has their stuff on a chair or a table, go look somewhere else!!!. OMG< now im actually hoping this happens to me when im there in OCT so I can handle it the correct way!!!!!

 

[Suellen]

Again... I would like to point out that the OP never mentioned that their stuff was MOVED.

Maybe he/she could clear that up. Was your stuff moved or did they just use the table and drag in their own chairs?

 

[catne]

this thread reminds me of the "chair hogs" threads on cruise ship boards...except on there it's apparently considered a major sin on cruise ships to go put your towels/stuff on pool-area deck chairs you're not using to save them for hours. Those threads go on for hundreds of posts with the consensus being (on the cruise boards) that it's royally rude to hog chairs you're not actually sitting in while you're off doing something else. I personally would never move anyone's stuff...but I guess some cruise ship personnel will periodically move stuff off unoccupied chairs if they observe no one actually using the chair for awhile.

Find it interesting that folks here think it's OK to do that exact thing - staking out chairs with their towels/shoes, etc...except here it's saving a seat and there it's hogging a seat

Not sure where I stand (teehee) on this one...can see both sides.

 

[reiella]

Not sure where I stand (teehee) on this one...can see both sides.

And that really is the important thing, if you can see both sides, even if you don't agree, you're a lot more likely to have a peaceful resolution occur .

 

[Pirate Jeff]

And that really is the important thing, if you can see both sides, even if you don't agree, you're a lot more likely to have a peaceful resolution occur .

Yes, but there is also the matter of personal dignity to consider. If someone takes your seat completely by accident, I would agree with you and I would probably be inclined to "let it go". When individuals disregard your personal things, it is almost "personal".

I'm saying that, simply because I try every day to respect the people around me and I expect, just a fraction of that in return.

On a cruise ship, I've seen people put their stuff on deck chairs, then disappear into the casino only to return hours later. My last cruise, I saw a woman hold a dozen chairs around two tables and put a single item on each. The deck was packed. A man and his wife came up to my wife and I and asked if he could "share our table". Of course, I obliged. Really nice fellow. Shortly, a woman approached him and I assume it was his mother. There were no available chairs on the deck, save for the two tables. Finally, a woman showed up and the fellow asked the woman if she was using the chairs. She immediately became defensive and crass and said of course she was!! The fellow with us said: "there's no saving seats". And she said she didn't really care about all that... But the man took his wife, and his mother and sat down in a few seats on the second table. The woman protested, then gave up and moved the rest of her stuff to the single table. My wife and I sat where we were, had a few drinks and an hour and a half later, went to our suite. Oh, her group never showed up. The woman took her things and left just before we did.

This is opposite what this discussion is about but why I can understand your point.

Going to BB however is different. People spend the day at the park, not a week or two. They don't have a stateroom to go to and they need no beach bag. BB, is where you spend the day. Your things are in your car or locker until you pick them up. You wake up early, sacrificing your rest time, to enjoy your trip. It's just like the people whom sit around the promenade at Epcot for hours in the sun, so they can have a unobstructed view of the greatest fireworks show in the world. They have sacrificed their time, for that purpose. Same goes for the folks whom go to the park at rope drop, to get the best seats. I would never do that, but I completely respect the folks that do!

Having a comfortable place to relax at the beach, is part of what you paid for. No, it's not "your" seats, they are most definately, Disney's seats. Considering everything, it is perfectly acceptable to hold beach chairs/cabanas when you are at the parks.

If nothing else, for no other reason than simple respect for other paying guests whom also have the privledge of having a good time!

Just my humble opinion....

 

[Deb & Bill]

this thread reminds me of the "chair hogs" threads on cruise ship boards...except on there it's apparently considered a major sin on cruise ships to go put your towels/stuff on pool-area deck chairs you're not using to save them for hours. Those threads go on for hundreds of posts with the consensus being (on the cruise boards) that it's royally rude to hog chairs you're not actually sitting in while you're off doing something else. I personally would never move anyone's stuff...but I guess some cruise ship personnel will periodically move stuff off unoccupied chairs if they observe no one actually using the chair for awhile.

Find it interesting that folks here think it's OK to do that exact thing - staking out chairs with their towels/shoes, etc...except here it's saving a seat and there it's hogging a seat

Not sure where I stand (teehee) on this one...can see both sides.

Nope, different animal. It would be the same if the people went into the pool and someone took their towel off the chair and took over the chair while the cruise guest was in the pool. If they aren't using the pool at all, they can't save a chair. At the water parks, people are enjoying the attractions where the chair is located.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

this thread reminds me of the "chair hogs" threads on cruise ship boards...except on there it's apparently considered a major sin on cruise ships to go put your towels/stuff on pool-area deck chairs you're not using to save them for hours. Those threads go on for hundreds of posts with the consensus being (on the cruise boards) that it's royally rude to hog chairs you're not actually sitting in while you're off doing something else. I personally would never move anyone's stuff...but I guess some cruise ship personnel will periodically move stuff off unoccupied chairs if they observe no one actually using the chair for awhile.

Find it interesting that folks here think it's OK to do that exact thing - staking out chairs with their towels/shoes, etc...except here it's saving a seat and there it's hogging a seat

Not sure where I stand (teehee) on this one...can see both sides.

I totally agree about the chair hogs on cruise ships.
There are 3 differences here to note:
1)On a cruise ship, there are not enough chairs for each passenger to get one, so they must be shared among everyone on sea days. At the waterparks there are enough for all guests, but some are in prime spots, such as close to the main pool, in the shade, near the kiddie area, etc. The people who get there the first hour might grab them and those who get there later feel they deserve them. If they took what was available instead of invading someone else's spot, everyone would have a spot. It's kind of like the parking lot outside the park--the early arrivals get close or shady spots, and the latecomers get what's left.
2) On a cruise ship, the chair hogs are not in the area--they are at lunch, trivia, the cabin sleeping, etc. At the waterparks, they are in the area--they just did not come to sit in the chair all day.
3)Cruise ships post in the dailies and around the deck the policy against chair saving and the consequence that they will remove items. Note it is the crew's job and not a passenger who wants that chair to move things.
Disney does not have a stated policy that you must be in your chair or someone else is free to invade. I am sure the cm's do not want to deal with fights over someone taking another's chair and will not ever make this a policy.

 

[Lizzybee]

Without making a judgement for or against chair saving, when a family chooses to occupy the area another family has placed their belongings in when there are other available places is a family that doesn't react normally in social sitautions. Since you can expect odd behavior there is no point to believing that asking them to leave, even if you are super polite, is going to accomplish anything positive. I have seen people fist fight over ridiculous things like parking spaces and if you ask them days later if it was worth it, 9 times out of 10 they think fighting was stupid. In any given situation the ONLY person's bevahior you can control in any situation is your own.

 

[MonkeyDishwasher]

In Vegas, there were signs indicating that if a Chair had a towel on it, but nobody went to it for over half an hour, their chair was then open territory. They had employees checking on this as well, removing towels of unnoccupied chairs that hadn't been used in a while.

Putting your things there does nothing unless someone is there to be with them as well. Were the towels expected to shout "Hey! We're saving these!!" ? On the flip, as it were a pretty light day, I don't understand why they felt the need to be in those specific chairs either.

It's just a weird situation all around.