Is Disney Really The Happiest Place On Earth

[Disney Crazy Family]

Of course I klnow it is, but why all the unhappy looks on the faces and the
snapping etc. seen in the parks. Has anyone ever seen unhappy incidents
lets here a few.

I saw a child crying while the mother kept stuffing an apple into the
kids mouth, she wouldnt stop. unbelievable

 

[DznyLvr2005]

I just get PO'd when kids (and I mean almost teenagers) try to cut in line and they look at you and don't care. Otherwise, it's definately the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!

 

[Disney Crazy Family]

How about when the line is a mile long to get on the bus and up comes 1 wheelchair and 12 others join the wheel chair to get on the bus.

Everyone just looks around wondering what the heck is going on

 

[Simba22]

I hate the people who complain the whole time they are there that it's too hot. You're in Florida!

 

[deekaypee]

I think vacations come with a lot of baggage: anxieties about travel, high expectations, awareness of expenditures. Just the fact that it's a change from daily routine--time spent together, schedules, eating patterns--can bring about tension. I don't think it's any surprise that little meltdowns happen on vacation, and the bigger the vacation the more these meltdowns occur. WDW, being such a big vacation in both size and reputation, experiences its fair share. But I'm not sure it gets any more meltdowns than any other place?

Funny side anecdote: DH and I have a little code to describe an impending meltdown. If one of us is feeling tired, cranky, overwhelmed, etc., we just say, "My insulation is feeling a little charred." Or if we notice the other person is acting a little overwhelmed, we may ask, "How's your insulation." It's just a little inside way of conveying our mood to each other without having to have a long, public discussion of our mood or moving into the less-than-useful litany of complaints. And when that insulation hits the charred state, we know it's time to leave: the parks if we're at Disney, a party, the mall, whereever. It makes life easier to have such communication shortcuts, at least for us. And it reminds us that we're in the situation together.

 

[Disneymucks]

If Im not at Disney I am NOT happy!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[PlutosFriend]

Of course I klnow it is, but why all the unhappy looks on the faces and the
snapping etc. seen in the parks. Has anyone ever seen unhappy incidents
lets here a few.

I saw a child crying while the mother kept stuffing an apple into the
kids mouth, she wouldnt stop. unbelievable

Oh geez, you never know what is going on with some parents and their children!
I think WDW is indeed the happiest place on earth
I saw some ugliness this past trip, but it didn't ruin my magic. It was an EMH night at MK. Everyone was waiting for Wishes to start...some were trying to get out of the park. There was a man with a child on his shoulders that got rammed by a stroller. He went down. Thankfully the child did not fall off of his shoulders. The woman with the stroller just looked at him like he was crazy. Didn't even say she was sorry.
But heck that could happen anywhere

 

[Jaybrad]

I just get PO'd when kids (and I mean almost teenagers) try to cut in line and they look at you and don't care. Otherwise, it's definately the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!

I really enjoy the then and now pics...

 

[rgribik]

We are always happy at the world

2 funny ones I saw: This July we were at ASM getting on the bus to AK early one morning and a little boy about 3 was in line crying and crying "please don't make me get on the bus, please don't make me get on the bus" his parents dragged him on and the whole way there he cried. He got off the bus took about 3 steps and dropped his water mister and it broke. The parents just picked everything up and kept marching.

A couple of years ago a family was ahead of us at MK and the little boy said to his Mom," Can we stop having fun yet"? The Mom said that she spent thousands on this vacation and he was going to have to straighten up and have more fun!

 

[mtrak17]

Once in (not-very-long) line for Splash Mountain, there was a family of four in front of us (man, woman, two children). One of the children (app. 7??) was absolutely begging his parents not to make him go on the ride for the entire length of the queue. When he got up to the logs, he started screaming in terror and crying. His father grabbed both of his wrists and looked furious as he lifted him to put him in the log (the child still screaming and trying to twist his arms out of his father's grasp). The CM tried to intervene and told the parents they could switch off, but the father gave the CM a really mean look and said, "We're fine" and off they went...

BTW, the boy did quiet down, but never stopped crying for the whole ride. He looked miserable when the ride ended

I don't have any children, so I'm not judging the parents here (maybe their child was driving them crazy all day), but the entire experience seemed too extreme. This poor boy will probably be "theme park"-scarred for life!

 

[Fitswimmer]

I believe Abraham Lincoln is the author of this quote:"We are about as happy as we make up our minds to be" Apologies if I credited the wrong person, but I think that about sums up the experience.

If you go into the parks with the attitude that you are there to enjoy being there-just being there-not with a ton of expectations of how many times you're going to ride your favorite ride, see your favorite character or watch your kids be overwhelmed with joy at every turn-you'll be fine. I believe that a lot of these meltdown situations come from setting up expectations that are just not realistic. If you go in the summer, it is going to be VERY hot, crowded and will probably rain at least once a day. Bring ponchos, water and think of games to play while waiting in line. Your child may not love every thing about the parks and the vacation-they don't get that you worked 7 days a week and practically mortgaged your life to bring them there. Don't set up expectations about how they will react, it will only make it harder on both of you. Plan out your days, but don't be rigid about them, allow some flexibility because as they say "stuff happens" that you can't control.

I've learned over my visits that the whole World is an experience to be enjoyed, not just the rides and shows. I started having a LOT more fun when I learned that.

 

[mikey13v]

DISNEYLAND has the slogan "The Happiest Place on Earth".
I agree with previous posters about the 'big vacation', and I really do think that with the smaller size of Disneyland that people are more relaxed. It's not so emense. Much less transportation issues, fewer AR's, less planning, and less walking.
So I do believe that Disneyland is the "Happiest Place on Earth", with Walt Disney World coming in a very close second.
Don't get me wrong, I prefer to vacation at WDW, and I have a great time when I'm there. But, I do see A LOT more grumpy faces, and upset children at WDW vs DL. It probably has more to do with the short DL visit (2 to 5 days) vs the long WDW visits (6 to 12 days), sometimes the kids do get too much fun when it lasts that long.