iPads on rides

[bananabean]

I haven’t experienced it as much on rides, but the full brightness iPads held up to record fireworks annoys me so much. There was one time where a woman insisted on doing that, and then playing back the clip she just recorded (at full volume, natch). She did this throughout the whole fireworks show.

According to my friends no one (except me apparently) even re-watches fireworks videos.

 

[cmwade77]

This makes me so mad! On our last two trips, there was a person in our boat taking flash photos on POTC. The ride photo even captured my irritation. I'm in the red dress and you can see the photographer two rows ahead of me!

View attachment 396037

As getting off, I would loudly say something to the CM and ask if they could arrange for you to ride again so you can hopefully get a good photo.

 

[cmwade77]

Now, let's make sure we clear this up, aside from those with special needs, iPads and other tablets do NOT belong in the parks!

 

[SteveH]

Now, let's make sure we clear this up, aside from those with special needs, iPads and other tablets do NOT belong in the parks!

I really don't mind if they are used in the queue area or other places with volume off or headphones, but definitely not on a ride or in a darkened restaurant. If it keeps some screamin' demons occupied while in line that's great. Disney is not the time to try to break their addiction, save that for the car ride home

 

[DisneyOma]

Now, let's make sure we clear this up, aside from those with special needs, iPads and other tablets do NOT belong in the parks!

What special needs requires an iPad? Are you talking about communication devices?

 

[fla4fun]

According to my friends no one (except me apparently) even re-watches fireworks videos.

I watch all the videos I have taken, including fireworks, multiple times. I did two July 4th MK videos, but one was taken from our balcony at CR and the other from our balcony at Poly, so we didn’t disturb anyone. I did a video of Illuminations with the holiday tag last December, but I was in kind of an out of the way location and no one was right behind me. The difference between my videos and a random online video is that my video is my experience.

All of my videos were done with my phone, not my iPad. I would be concerned about dropping my iPad, especially taking video by a lake (Epcot) or on a balcony (hotel). Even though I have a good case for it, actually two cases that nest, I just would be too worried about damage to take it in the parks.

 

[Mamabun]

What special needs requires an iPad? Are you talking about communication devices?

I know of many folks who use ipads: speech boards for communication, magnification devices for certain visual impairments, sensory machines, etc. I worked with one child who had suffered severe trauma and was calmed by speed reading, so his mother routinely lugged around a backpack with his 24 favorite paperbacks - she never knew when or which would be needed. Ebooks means she's just carrying an ipad around now. I don't need to see one recording a show and blocking others' view, but ipads can be very beneficial (and unobtrusive) for a variety of needs.

 

[Skywise]

I haven’t experienced it as much on rides, but the full brightness iPads held up to record fireworks annoys me so much. There was one time where a woman insisted on doing that, and then playing back the clip she just recorded (at full volume, natch). She did this throughout the whole fireworks show.

According to my friends no one (except me apparently) even re-watches fireworks videos.

I... I do...

I got a DSLR with a high powered lens SPECIFICALLY to NOT use a flash. I also take fireworks videos with my DSLR (which I hope has a small enough screen to not bother anyone).

But i can't even see taking an iPad on rides, let alone water ones!

 

[Pamela M]

I... I do...

I got a DSLR with a high powered lens SPECIFICALLY to NOT use a flash. I also take fireworks videos with my DSLR (which I hope has a small enough screen to not bother anyone).

But i can't even see taking an iPad on rides, let alone water ones!

Same here - I got a DSLR for dark light situations. I even turn off the screen and use the eye hole. Sometimes the screen will light up and I think Oh NO did it flash but it was just the screen lighting up - no flash as I had it turned off. The camera takes GREAT night photos.

 

[TheyCallMeStacey]

Now, let's make sure we clear this up, aside from those with special needs,

Thank you for mentioning this!

 

[DisneyOma]

Thank you for mentioning this!

So, you agreed with cmwade77 that only people with special needs should have an iPad with them in the parks? Why is that? I asked him why, but he hasn't responded. I could see the argument that they would need them as a communication device (a student at our school uses one quite well) but why else would they have to have one and others wouldn't? Why limit it to just people with special needs?

 

[dacky041208]

So, you agreed with cmwade77 that only people with special needs should have an iPad with them in the parks? Why is that? I asked him why, but he hasn't responded. I could see the argument that they would need them as a communication device (a student at our school uses one quite well) but why else would they have to have one and others wouldn't? Why limit it to just people with special needs?

I am not sure about a limit, but my initial thought when reading the OP's post was wondering if the child was playing a game or something to calm themselves. People with Autism often use iPads to check out and calm down from all of the sensory overload. Although the ride wasn't the best place, it could have helped avoid a huge meltdown. Ever since our oldest was born (with a condition that causes his bones to break easily), I tend to err on the side of you don't know what others are going through and that kiddo may have avoided a big meltdown by being on that screen.

 

[Dug720]

"OH! I'm so sorry I knocked your iPad into the water, those cannon going off just really scared me and I jumped!"

Or "create" a splash so that it hits the device just right. "So sorry! I guess you missed the sign about "You might get wet on this ride".

 

[DisneyOma]

I am not sure about a limit, but my initial thought when reading the OP's post was wondering if the child was playing a game or something to calm themselves. People with Autism often use iPads to check out and calm down from all of the sensory overload. Although the ride wasn't the best place, it could have helped avoid a huge meltdown. Ever since our oldest was born (with a condition that causes his bones to break easily), I tend to err on the side of you don't know what others are going through and that kiddo may have avoided a big meltdown by being on that screen.

It helps with kids that don't have special needs as well, and not all kids with special needs need to be on an iPad, KWIM? I was just trying to figure out if having special needs made it okay in certain posters' eyes, but not okay if it was other kids? Like you said, who is to judge what is okay and not okay in that manner? And if the using of the iPad took away from the ride (by being loud, bright, etc) does it matter if the user has special needs?

 

[disneyworldsk]

I know of many folks who use ipads: speech boards for communication, magnification devices for certain visual impairments, sensory machines, etc. I worked with one child who had suffered severe trauma and was calmed by speed reading, so his mother routinely lugged around a backpack with his 24 favorite paperbacks - she never knew when or which would be needed. Ebooks means she's just carrying an ipad around now. I don't need to see one recording a show and blocking others' view, but ipads can be very beneficial (and unobtrusive) for a variety of needs.

I agree. I thought Craig's comments were a bit harsh, maybe he was trying to be funny I wasn't sure how to read his tone on the podcast. I try hard not to judge children , I don't know their issues. When you have several children (as I do) you learn a level of understanding. When your children volunteer their time to help children with disabilities (as we do), you learn another level of understanding. And when you have your own child with a disorder (as I do), you kind of get defensive I guess when someone says as an adult they are so angry at a child they want to oops throw their device in the water. Life is better when you try to not judge others and when you have children or work with them you have a more compassionate view of the world around you. And sometimes please remember you can't always ' see' a disability with a child, you can't point at it always and notice it on the outside. Disney is a park for families of all kinds and we all need to have less judgements and compassion for maybe things you don't always see.

 

[jec6613]

Same here - I got a DSLR for dark light situations. I even turn off the screen and use the eye hole. Sometimes the screen will light up and I think Oh NO did it flash but it was just the screen lighting up - no flash as I had it turned off. The camera takes GREAT night photos.

Most of mine don't even have flashes built into the camera, less plastic to break and leak when I'm in the rain.

You should always use the viewfinder unless you have a good reason not to, FYI. Using the screen uses a slow contrast detect focusing system, while the viewfinder has a zippy fast phase detect system that can predict motion as it's happening, so the camera ends up focusing on where the subject will be when the shutter fires, not where they are now. Very cool stuff.

 

[TheyCallMeStacey]

So, you agreed with cmwade77 that only people with special needs should have an iPad with them in the parks? Why is that? I asked him why, but he hasn't responded. I could see the argument that they would need them as a communication device (a student at our school uses one quite well) but why else would they have to have one and others wouldn't? Why limit it to just people with special needs?

I just liked that this different perspective was brought up, that its not always people being inconsiderate, that sometimes there's a genuine need for these devices.

 

[Castiel]

For me, the issue with people not thinking about the others around them extends to talking on rides. Like I get that every once in a while you're going to exclaim at something, or laugh, or point something out to someone in your party, or yell at your friend who's in the fake driver's seat because they've clearly driven you down the wrong path. That's fine, that's not what I'm mad about. What did annoy the heck out of me was the one and only time I had a chance to ride N'avi River Journey on my last trip, someone in the boat with me narrated every single moment of it to their child. "Look! It's an Avatar-Bird! Look at that, that's called an Avatar-Lizard!" I kid you not, they were acting like they were teaching their kid the name of every species on the ride...but since they didn't know any of the names, every single one was "an Avatar-fill-in-the-blank."

As to the original topic, I remember a CM using the loudspeaker system on PotC to tell someone to turn off camera lighting one time I rode it. I think it's one of those things that's against the rules, but whether a CM enforces it depends on whether the CMs on duty have the energy and drive to deal with it.

We were with a guy, his wife and young kid on Na’vi, and the father just complained the whole time to the kid, telling him how BORING THIS RIDE IS and HOW BORED YOU’RE GOING TO BE. YOU'LL FALL ASLEEP. They had fast passes too. Like... come on, dude. Either shut up or don’t go.

 

[MeridaAnn]

Now, let's make sure we clear this up, aside from those with special needs, iPads and other tablets do NOT belong in the parks!

As a solo adult visitor, I almost always bring my iPad with me when I visit to use in long lines. I'm a passholder and local enough for a day visit on weekends, so I come a lot, and I certainly don't want to get trapped just staring at the wall for the entire length of my wait or, even worse, listening to the family behind me arguing about dinner plans or something. I always save a couple digital movies onto my iPad before I head to the park and just plug in my earbuds and then the line goes by in no time while I'm entertained by my movie. I'm not impacting anyone else's experience (I never hold up the line or forget to move ahead or anything like that) and I'm improving my waiting experience a hundred times over (especially avoiding hearing the arguments, as I get very stressed when I witness conflict), so the iPad is absolutely a plus for me. I've ridden Flight of Passage well over a dozen times without ever being able to get a FP for it (since I don't stay on-site) and the best way for me to endure that wait is with a movie to pass the time. I would never use it during an actual ride or show, though - only while I'm still in line.



To the original point of the thread, every time someone turns on a light or uses a flash, I'll just call out a quick "Turn off the light, please!" or "No lights on the rides, please!" and that's nearly always enough to get them to stop. It's still annoying that it happens at all, but I'd rather call them out immediately and hopefully get it to stop than sit there and stew in my annoyance the whole way through the ride and have it ruin the experience. It doesn't have to be mean or confrontational - I try to keep my tone light and even chipper if I can manage it, and that usually gets the light turned off.

 

[yulilin3]

this thread has gone full circle. Closing now