Inspired by removing children from theater/restaurants thread....

[paigevz]

how about at a Disney attraction, show or line?

I know one poster talked about leaving Animal Kingdom and returning later after her daughter had had a nap, but what about having waited in line, child throws a fit in the show or towards the end of the line?

Would you leave then?

Though I have had the apparently "extreme" reaction to leave a grocery cart (mainly because I wouldn't have been able to check out with large DS acting that way), I would be much less likely to leave a line for an attraction that I had waited for.

I am thinking of Turtle Talk with Crush. We waited a LONG time for that, longer than for anything else on our trip. When we got in, there was a young boy there, about 6ish, who was making noises. Now, if you sat near him, it was obvious he had some sort of disability and the noises seemed to be his reaction mainly to when people laughed loudly or the turtle rushed the screen. But, for those who didn't sit near him, I could hear whispers and turning to see where the noises were coming from. At one point, the mother did gather him up and move closer to the back, but she had another child in with the group on the floor. For the record, none of the children seemed bothered at all. As we were leaving, I heard 3 different people say that he should have been taken out, and one complained to the CM in the theater.

In this case, he was a special child, but how are we to know that ANY child acting up at ANY time is not reacting to a disability? How are those parents supposed to live their lives and give experiences to their other children? Would you have expected him to be taken out?

Beyond my example, if you waited a long time for an attraction, would you leave with your child if he threw a fit or made noise towards the end of the line for it or during the show?

I would during the show, most likely, but after several attempts to quiet him and try to stay, but not if we were towards the end of the line.

 

[Marseeya]

For me, it depends on what they were doing. I've always been one to follow through with my threats, so I'm careful to only threaten what I'm willing to follow through on.

If one of the kids had been misbehaving in a line to the point of disturbing other people around us, you BET I would have removed them, and it sure wouldn't have been a picnic for them afterwards.

Regarding children with disabilities, what you described wouldn't be so bad. But if a child with disabilities is being so disruptive as to ruin the experience for everyone else, then they should be removed as well. It's not that I feel that they're to blame or anything -- in fact, I don't feel that "normal" kids are really to blame either, but they still need to be removed from situations like that, both for their own good and for the consideration of everyone around them.

 

[Miss Inga Depointe]

I guess I'd have to know what you mean by "throwing a fit". If people can't hear the show or the kid is just really angry screaming and flayling around in line, then, yeah, sorry, they should go.

I can handle a little squirming and complaining.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

As a parent you know your child and their limits including if they have a disability.

We have done naughty corner at Disney before--but we've not had an infraction big enough to leave an attraction.

They are appreciative of the things they get to do and if we are doing something special they tend to be better behaved b/c they understand mommy and daddy have veto power and can remove them at anytime. It is all about the consideration of others as well as I do not like to be embarrassed when my kids are being bad.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

If it's an attraction or show, I would treat it like any other place. If it's a line, I would give more leeway since it's not exactly runing the experience for anyone else--they are not there for the line, but for the show or ride.

A child with a special need is a little different and I would hope that people would have extra patience for that. My teenage son has Tourette's Syndrome and even though none of his tics were really loud, I'm sure that they could be annoying to others. It wasn't something that he could help, though. If it were something a child was doing, even if it couldn't be helped, that was making it impossible for those around them to hear, that's a different situation and that child should be brought out whenever possible (can't though, when there's only one parent and more than one child) or at least where they are less likely to disturb people. I would sure cut someone some slack, however! I would want to be as inclusive as possible in a situation like that!

 

[mrsltg]

As a parent you know your child and their limits including if they have a disability.

We have done naughty corner at Disney before--but we've not had an infraction big enough to leave an attraction.

They are appreciative of the things they get to do and if we are doing something special they tend to be better behaved b/c they understand mommy and daddy have veto power and can remove them at anytime. It is all about the consideration of others as well as I do not like to be embarrassed when my kids are being bad.

Where is "naughty corner" at Disney? Dh would be interested as we're taking an adults only trip...

Seiously, yes, I took my baby out of a couple of places in January. She had had enough and no one, including me, wanted to be near her. Older dd had one stern talking to at the World of Disney store coupled with a trip to the ladies room. After that we've never had another problem.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

My first priority in these situations is to my child. I have left the grocery store (and a cart full of groceries) because my child acted up and I wanted him to get the message that his behavior was unexectable. I have also left restaurants with a crying infant because it was clear that he was overstimulated and tired and needed to be in a different place. On the other hand, my DS as an infant had a breathing problem that made him sound like an air raid siren at times. At one point someone suggested that I take him outside the building because his noise was interrupting a church service (we were already out in the foyer of the church). It 95 degrees outside, and I didn't feel safe waiting outside in the heat with a baby with respiratory issues, so I simply stayed apologized for distracting others and stayed put.

I guess it comes down to this -- If my child was acting up in a way that I thought was within his control, regardless of whether or not it was related to a disability, and I thought that leaving would send the right "message" (e.g. he's not acting up because he wants to leave!) I'd go.

On theother hand, if my child is acting disruptive for reasons beyond his control, regardless of whether it's disability related or not, (e.g he's having a seizure, he's been stung by a bee and is crying hard, he has sensory processing issues and is overstimulated and melting down, or he's developmentally not ready to understand his behavior's impact on others -- whether because he's too young or because of a disability) then I would probably think first about what's best for my child -- can I safely move him, would he feel punished by us leaving, etc . . . If I felt that the level of disruption to others was so great that I needed to leave I'd talk to a CM, explain the situation, and see if we could get in to the next show, or get a fastpass for later.

In this case it sounds like the child's behavior wasn't intentional, wasn't too disruptive, and he and his sibling would have felt punished by having to leave and either skip the show or wait in a long line again. I think that by doing what she could to minimize the noise (e.g. taking him on her lap and moving back) but staying the mom made a great choice.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I wouldn't expect the disabled child to be taken out. If it is "ok" for everybody else to laugh loudly at the turtle on the screen, then it is "ok" for him to react in a way that is normal for him. Sounds like that tend to stick out in those shows because they are not sounds that most of us are used to hearing. It is my experience that these kids really aren't louder than the other kids, they are just different.

And yeah, his presence might alter the experience for me a little but I guess that just doesn't bother me very much. I'll take the happiness of knowing he and his family get to go to Disney just like all the other families as compensation for that minor inconvenience.

I've removed my kids on occassion. When they were small enough that waiting was a problem, we very seldom got into any line that was more than 10 to 15 minutes. I guess that's why we never go during the summer.

 

[paigevz]

Okay, I agree with all of you on when to remove kids and when not to, and didn't see the little boy in my example as a problem, either. Slightly distracting, and Crush did mention that "someone out there is speaking dolphin" and paused a couple of other times, but it didn't seem to bother the kids.

I think emotions were high in the adults in that crowd anyway, as it was a hot day, very crowded at Epcot, and SUCH a long line. I know I took the kids to the restroom at one point, and when I got back the queue had been moved by a CM, making it harder to get back to DH. We had, of course, come back to the point where we'd left to get back in at what I felt was the best place without bothering too many people. I didn't know the queue had moved, and a lady said to us "Just where do you think you're going?" I said, "Back to my husband" and just then saw him on the other side and waved. She looked over and said "Then why don't you go around?" I said, "Okay, if it's going to bother you that much for me to step in front of you, I will". Going around the queue meant going back to the front entrance of the living seas before you could make the turn under the stairs to get to the other side. So, anyway, that's sort of the feeling in the people there that day.

 

[va32h]

I did take my 2 year old out of Turtle Talk With Crush because she was being disruptive. Talking too loud, constantly getting up from her seat and moving around. I was concerned that she would run to the other side of the theater, and then we'd really make a spectacle of ourselves, with me chasing after her.

On a ride, there isn't much you can do. That same two year old threw a tantrum while we were driving along on Autopia. I didn't have much choice there - I had to just do my best to calm her and keep her from jumping out of the car until we finished the ride. (which was absolutely her last ride of the day, btw).

If I were at a show, and could leave without causing even more of a disturbance, I absolutely would.

In a line, it would depend on how badly the child was behaving. Laying down, refusing to move, pestering other people in line, screaming, repeatedly pulling on the ropes or stanchions, yes I would leave the line. Run of the mill whining and occasional crying, no.

I do realize this will be an unpopular opinion, but I do think that even if a child has special needs, if their behavior significantly, negatively affects the people around them, then the child should be removed. I'm not talking about noise - WDW is a noisy place by nature. But I have a friend whose son is autistic, and will start hitting people, and himself, at random when he becomes upset. My friend does not expect people to just be okay with being hit, she removes her son when he has become overstimulated.

 

[juligrl]

I did remove DD (then 2) from Bug's Life at AK when she started to freak. Best solution obviously would be to just avoid the whole meltdown situation in the frst place (I know, yeah right). We went in January when there were no hour long lines so it wouldn't have been as traumatic for us to exit line with screaming child.

It's a judgememt call I make at the moment.

 

[cardaway]

Noises is one thing, tantrum or screaming is quite another no matter what the reason.

How hard is it to undertand? If the child is keeping other people from enjoying the attraction take them out. No matter what the reason it's about being respectful to the others in the area who paid to be there.

 

[CheshireVal]

I remember when I was a child, my little brother (just a baby at the time) started SCREAMING during Universe of Energy. There's absolutely no way to get out of that thing once the theater starts moving around. I remember being absolutely mortified, but my mom was probably even more so!!!

 

[disneymom3]

Well, we made the very bad parenting mistake of taking DD on The Great Movie Ride when she was three. Oh yeah, the people on that ride with us hated our guts! I really think they all should have gotten a free fast pass (or extra, rather) for having to deal with us. As soon as the guy with the gun came out she started screaming hysterically and did not stop the ENTIRE ride. But like the poster above, we were stuck and couldn't quietly leave. I have taken DS out during the "water water everywhere" as we call it preshow to the living seas because the volcano freaked him out and he started to scream.