Incident with large ball at Epcot

[ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

Lighten up people. So your kid's eye was red and tearing for a while, if that's the worst thing that happens to them that's pretty good. Kids get bumps and bruises all the time, that's part of growing up. Do you want compensation for all of them?

This was an accident. The problem here isn't that the CM threw the ball at your DS, the problem was with the supervisor who talked to you. The CM that threw the ball was doing his/her job, while the supervisor was not.

Yeah WE can lighten up and just brush it off. But just wait for the day that a CM sends the ball to a face of someone with a short fuse and decides to take it upon himself to do something about it. If/when that happens, it can turn ugly...obviously the last thing a person would do at Disney is get aggressive, but what's really stopping him from snapping and doing something to the CM? Is this what has to happen for them to learn not to throw these things to peoples faces?

When this happened to me the stand was to my left, I barely looked at it while we were walking by, the guy just threw it at me without warning and possibly knowing I wasn't aware of him. If I were looking straight at him and he threw it at me, then yeah thats fine. If he would have thrown the ball and hit my fiancee in the face, there will definitely be a problem. Not between me and the supervisor but with the guy who threw it. Im sorry that this sounds irrational but if I have no interest in the ball to begin with then dont try to begin some sort of interaction that could make me upset.

It's easy to dismiss it until it happens to you.

 

[Lorelai]

It won't be long until the first case of "Big Inflatable Ball Rage" breaks out in that Epcot corridor. Some day, a dad is going to roll one of those CMs right into Mouse Gear and probably be dragged out of the park yelling "but it was the big inflatable ball that made me do it!".

 

[ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

=



well, unless you're this guy

 

[Musky]

As far as the giant inflatible bouncing balls, the CMs have been bouncing them at guests at EPCOT since the park opened. Typically, the CMs only throw them after they make eye contact (no pun intended) with the guests. For those who have not seen the kiosks, the ball, typically the same size and a little bit heavier than a beach ball, is tossed slowly underhanded or bounced, not fast pitched. Hope your son has made a full recovery![/QUOTE]

Maybe we're talking about two different things here, but the balls I have seen were certainly not the size of a beach ball. They were at least 3 feet in diameter. When the OP said "one of those large balls" that is what I pictured. If that is what hit her DS, I can understand why she is upset - those things are too big to be throwing at anyone, regardless of how much the balls weigh. But perhaps there is a smaller ball that I never noticed (never really paid that much attention) - but that still doesn't make it right to throw it at a 3 yo child. How many 3 year olds have the coordination to catch a ball that's suddenly thrown at them?

Becky

 

[Harambe]

Hmmm...made of plastic/poylester, full of air, no beneficial use, if inflated, a real pain for Mom and Dad to carry around, destined to be popped/thrown into the closet when finally taken home, never to be used again...what kid wouldn't love that?!!?

LOL! I always wondered what these people would do if you just caught the ball and kept right on walkin'. They are, after all, giving you the ball right? I mean, throwing it to you and everything! LOL!

 

[OzFan]

Same thing happened to my nephew in May. We were walking to Soarin and this CM tosses a ball at my nephew's face. He has really good reflexes and stepped back and kicked the ball! It went all the way out of the covered area. I was laughing but my sister in law was mad at him. She made him apologize to the CM. Those guys annoy me! He is my god-son and my sick humor rubs off on him! We were both snickering about it while waiting for Soarin!

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Maybe we're talking about two different things here, but the balls I have seen were certainly not the size of a beach ball. They were at least 3 feet in diameter.

Nope, we're talking about the same balls. They have a beachball size that they bounce which is about 2-3' in diameter, and they have the giant 5' ball. I assumed it was the beachball size, because the 5 footer if bounced into a little kid, even though it hardly weights anything, might knock them down, but could not hit them directly in the eye. It's too big to make serious, painful, direct contact.

 

[kpm76]

I HATE those ball....they drive me crazy and we don't have kids yet! They are especially annoying when the crowds are heavy and there is barely enough room for people to walk yet the balls are still bouncing.....sorry for your trouble but glad to know your DS is ok

 

[aaronlisar]

It won't be long until the first case of "Big Inflatable Ball Rage" breaks out in that Epcot corridor. Some day, a dad is going to roll one of those CMs right into Mouse Gear and probably be dragged out of the park yelling "but it was the big inflatable ball that made me do it!".

I would definitely be that dad if I see someone deliberately throw a ball at my 2yr old's face. I'm not a violent person at all but you mess with my boy and I'll wreak havoc on you.

 

[cruisin'Mike]

Obviously, playing with the balls will make a sale much more likely. However, I agree that these people (who are outside vendors and not CM's) should only toss the balls to people who are aware of them. To toss it at a 3 yr old in a stroller is not appropriate, especially if he is not even looking at him or expecting it. But I agree, that the bigger issue is the way the supervisor handled the situation. Or should I say how he didn't handle the situation.

 

[pasgt21]

We just returned last week... While in EPCOT at the SAME place they did the same thing to my 9 year old and I grabbed the ball and kept it ... and walked away with it and eventually passed it off to another Cm who loked at me like I had 2 heads... what he did with it I have no idea.. Seems the Ball tosser is not allowed to leave that area .. Im a supervisor at my Job and the the supervisor there shold have at least Documented what happened and offered to review the practice...

 

[MrsKreamer]

Just to let yall know, I think those are independent contractors, not CMs. Not that they shouldn't have acted differently or anything, bu Disney doesn't train them. Just like the hair wrap people and the pearl in an oyster shops. They wear disney name badges but they aren't Cms.

When we went to Epcot in Feb I did notice how rude the ball people were. IMO the manager acted horribly for Disney.

 

[javaj]

I'm the OP, and to clarify, it was the large ball around 3 feet in diameter. I wasn't hoping for compensation, but I was looking for some "OMG I'm so sorry, is your son okay" type of comments.

When this happened, DH was getting fast passes for Test Track, and I am so glad he wasn't with me because he definitely would have been more upset at that CM/contractor.

Thanks for the support and letting me vent!

 

[lovethattink]

Our son has a severe latex allergy. For some reason, they always seem to throw those balls to him. Inside the covering is an inflated latex balloon. He knows not to catch it, but it is still annoying.

 

[Poohs Pal]

I agree with harambe. I'd just grab the ball and keep walking. Of course I'd say thanks before walking on. Susan

 

[DeirdreTours]

This would annoy me! I think I would politely tell the CM that they should stop immediately. If my three year old was hurt enough to cry over it and had redness to her face I would complain loudly and yes! I would expect a cm to find a way to make her feel compensated. For a three year old, one mickey bar should do it.......

 

[Baloo]

I suggest anytime you have a problem in a park go to Guest Relations and report it! If not at the time of the incident as you leave the park.

We also like to report "good things" that happen too at GR.

I know they do listen there!

 

[marcbelt]

I'm gonna agree with Gator on this one. The rude supervisor was the problem here. The people throwing the balls are doing their job---they are throwing the balls around as they are told.

My question would be, where's the most effective place to file a complaint?

 

[luvthatdisney]

Thanks for the heads up guys! We will be going next month and we are taking my ds (15) and his friend (14). I will be on the look out for these balls so I can keep the boys in check. If someone shoots a ball towards them - they will get all hyped up and sometimes can get a little crazy! I dont want anyone (meaning CM or whoever is selling the balls) to get hurt due to the boys antics. Just keeping them with us as much as possible (to keep them out of trouble) is very hard - cant imagine what will happen when someone tries to "play" with them!!! Teenage boys - a mothers nightmare (sometimes ).

 

[Disneyrsh]

Add me to the growing list of people who HATE those dang balls. As a grownup who is *very* sensitive about my eyes being hurt, I dodged one last year thown in an underhanded scoop to me as I was hustling, by myself, over to TT to get FP's. I saw the ball flying at me (EPCOT was nearly empty that early in the morning) and punched it with my hand and it went flying down the corridor.

I looked at the guy standing there smiling at me and yelled "What is WRONG with you?" as I kept on going. My husband wanted to know what took me so long to get back around to him and I explained I didn't want to go by the ball guy again.

Has anyone ever BOUGHT one of those balls? They get rid of the living statues, keep the ball jerks. Go figure!