norybell
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2009
- Messages
- 1,306
Sung to the tune of The Siamese Cat Song:
Yes even Disneys got meanies
Yes even Disneys got some meanies
They lurk there in the shadows waiting to annoy
If you let them they will suck away your joy
Oh Disney meanies hear my pleas
Dont visit Disney pretty please
We all know how it feels to have a crabby day
Dont take it out on me, please just go away
***
Its only taken about ten months or so, but weve finally reached the story of the mean, mean man: the only truly bad thing that happened to me on my entire trip (well, truly bad on a WDW-vacation scale, not on a world-hunger scale or anything)! It had such a huge impact on my morning that Im going to make it an update in of itself. I apologize that there are no photos in this segment, but I think youll understand why well get back to pictures in the next one, I promise!
I woke up bright and early7 AMfor my last morning at Disney. I was feeling a little less of that oh-no-I-have-to-leave-Disney-today melancholy than I usually do at the end of a WDW stay, which I think is one advantage of a solo trip: Id had such an extraordinary time, but I was also looking forward to getting home so I could tell DH (then still BF, of course) all about it and play with the dog and stuff. Plus, I had been pushing myself pretty hard over the past few days, with lots of early mornings and late nights, so I was tired out. But I was still excited for my morning, especially so because I was finally going to experience the ride Id heard so much about here on the DIS: Toy Story Mania!
I grabbed breakfast from the YC concierge lounge, packed, and took my luggage downstairs to leave with bell services. Of course, all this took longer than it should have, so I left for DHS a bit later than Id planned, around 8:40 or so. Meaning I booked it to DHS along the walking path. Booked it the way only a speed-walking New Yorker can. Actually, it was kind of ridiculous how fast I was walkingit was shaping up to be hot that day, so I was sweaty and tired and out of breath, and really, how much would it matter if I missed rope drop by five minutes? But I was a bit nervous about the TSM dash, and once I get started on a super-fast walk, its hard for me to slow down (the opposite of the type of inertia I usually experience, which prevents me from getting up off the couch). So I made it to DHS by 8:50 (the whole walk took me only ten minutes), and by then I was excited to just stand still and rest for a few minutes.
Now, before I tell you what happened next (what I think of as The Incident), I need to say something in my own defense: I had spent the past four days being as nice, and as friendly, and as helpful, as I think was humanly possible. It wasnt difficult, because I was so happy most of the time! I tried my best to make peoples trips better in the second or minute of their interaction with me, even if they were never going to notice. Hey, I was aloneI didnt have anything better to do! And goodness knows, if anything makes you super-sensitive about doing anything that might even slightly annoy or offend anyone, its reading the DIS! So I did everything in my power: I held open doors, offered up my bus seats, took pictures for groups, never stepped in the path of an oncoming stroller or ECV or camera, smiled and stepped aside when people cut in front of me in line, moved out of central walkways before pausing, etc. etc. For me, this trip was all about the good attitude, good Karma, good vibes, and all that mushy stuff.
So go figure: the one moment I decide to be just normal-conscientious, instead of uber-conscientious, it comes back to bite me in the ***.
I still maintain I did nothing wrong. But Ill leave that for you to judge.
OK. So heres what happened. I was approaching the bag check area. Id slowed down a bit, but I was still walking very fastmaybe a Mach 8, compared to my earlier Mach 10. I was heading toward a bag check with a small line when a security guard went to a new table, thus opening up a new line. So, of course, I changed direction and headed for the new, empty line. Still walking fast.
At the same moment, a large woman started leading her group (I forget how many people exactly, but I think around six) to the same empty line, from the opposite direction. They were closer to it than I was, but they were moving slowly. The woman and I were on course to reach the security guard at exactly the same time.
I had three options, and a split second to decide between them. I could:
1. speed up half a pace and get in front of the group
2. slow down significantly and allow all six of them to get in line ahead of me
3. do nothing, and run smack into the lady
Obviously, #3 wasnt really an option. Now, the super-nice thing for me to do would have been to let them go ahead. But I was hot, and sweaty, and anxious to get into the park and stand still for a few minutes, in preparation for the race to TSM.
So I sped up, and got to the security guard a half-step ahead of the woman.
Now, I wasnt proud of myself for this. But I didnt think Id done anything wrong, either. Someone had to slow down or speed upthe laws of physics demanded it. And the argument could be made that her group shouldve slowed down for me, since I was only one person and they were six. The only real reason it shouldve been me was that I was aware of the situation, and they were oblivious. But in that moment, I was tired and hot and sweaty and sick of being more conscientious than everyone around me! I turned to her and gave her what I hoped was an apologetic smile, but I didnt actually apologize for cutting her off (slightly!), because I didnt think the situation warranted it. She didnt really acknowledge me at all; maybe she looked a little surprised. To her, it probably seemed like I came out of nowhere, because she hadnt been paying attention.
Anyway. No big deal, right? The security guard checked my bag (extremely thoroughly and slowly), and I headed onward through a turnstile. I wasnt thinking about the woman anymore, because at that point, it truly didnt seem like a thing.
I was about ten paces into the park, pausing for a second to soak it all in, when I heard an angry man shouting:
Hey, you! Thats right, you! You know what you did!
Now, I heard him, but I didnt really register it. I took another step or two, then heard him yelling again:
Sure, walk away, you jerk!
I stopped short. I have no idea how I knew he was talking to me, but somehow I did. And for some insane reason, I turned around and walked back to him.
Me: Excuse me, are you talking to me?
Him: Sure, go ahead, pretend you dont know what you did! You know what you did!
And he went on ranting at me. It took me a while to figure out what he was talking about, until it finally came out: he was yelling at me for cutting off that woman (I assumed he was part of her group). And he was yelling. Like, really, really yelling. Screaming, practically. His face was all red; it was easy to imagine steam coming out of his ears. We were right on the inside of the turnstiles; people were staring at us. Ive blocked a lot of the specifics of his language from my memory, but I do know he called me a terrible person. I felt like I had been slapped in the face.
It was truly bizarre. And oh, I so wanted to say something back! Im not typically a confrontational person, and Im not sure what I wouldve said, but I really wanted to defend myself. Because this was ridiculous. Even if I had done something wrong, there was no way it deserved this level of admonishment. I certainly hadnt stolen his park tickets or kidnapped his children or anything! But if you happened to walk by us during this altercation, you surely would have thought Id done something really, really bad.
Only one thing stopped me from escalating the situation: his daughter. This poor little girl. She was probably around six, blonde, adorable, and clutching his hand. Her expression was panicked. You could tell she had seen her daddy mad before, and it was making her very, very nervous. It was enough to break your heart.
So I looked at her. I took a deep breath. Then I looked him straight in the eye and said, Im so sorry, sir, I really didnt mean to do anything wrong, and I truly apologize if it caused any problems for anybody! To make up for it, would your daughter like one of my Mickey pins?
Then I looked back down at the little girl, and smiled, and saw a little bit of hope in her eyes.
In retrospect, Im so proud of myself for handling the situation this way. The man was clearly thrown off course by my offer: he wanted a fight, and I wasnt giving him one. He literally started spluttering. He kept going on about how awful I was, but a bit more quietly, and it was obvious he was having trouble justifying it anymore. After all, Id already apologized and done something unnecessarily nicewhat else could I do? I could practically hear him internally weighing his desire to keep on ranting versus getting a free eight-dollar pin for his daughter. He didnt know what to do. If I hadnt been on the verge of tears, I might have laughed at him.
Finally he said, No, we dont need your pin. His daughter looked crestfallen.
And heres the kicker. He said, If you really want to make up for it, you should go apologize to that poor woman you cut off back there. And he motioned back toward the entrance.
The woman and her party were just coming through the turnstiles; that security guard must have taken forever with their bags. And I realized: The angry man wasnt even with her group! He was just some random man, so full of bile he screamed at me for five minutes over something that had nothing to do with him!
I looked back at him, flabbergasted. I was starting to wonder if this man was actually a little nuts.
So I said, All right, then. I hope you have a wonderful day!
And I turned my back on him and walked away.
Coming Soon: I Recover from the Trauma. Maybe.
Yes even Disneys got meanies
Yes even Disneys got some meanies
They lurk there in the shadows waiting to annoy
If you let them they will suck away your joy
Oh Disney meanies hear my pleas
Dont visit Disney pretty please
We all know how it feels to have a crabby day
Dont take it out on me, please just go away
***
Its only taken about ten months or so, but weve finally reached the story of the mean, mean man: the only truly bad thing that happened to me on my entire trip (well, truly bad on a WDW-vacation scale, not on a world-hunger scale or anything)! It had such a huge impact on my morning that Im going to make it an update in of itself. I apologize that there are no photos in this segment, but I think youll understand why well get back to pictures in the next one, I promise!
I woke up bright and early7 AMfor my last morning at Disney. I was feeling a little less of that oh-no-I-have-to-leave-Disney-today melancholy than I usually do at the end of a WDW stay, which I think is one advantage of a solo trip: Id had such an extraordinary time, but I was also looking forward to getting home so I could tell DH (then still BF, of course) all about it and play with the dog and stuff. Plus, I had been pushing myself pretty hard over the past few days, with lots of early mornings and late nights, so I was tired out. But I was still excited for my morning, especially so because I was finally going to experience the ride Id heard so much about here on the DIS: Toy Story Mania!
I grabbed breakfast from the YC concierge lounge, packed, and took my luggage downstairs to leave with bell services. Of course, all this took longer than it should have, so I left for DHS a bit later than Id planned, around 8:40 or so. Meaning I booked it to DHS along the walking path. Booked it the way only a speed-walking New Yorker can. Actually, it was kind of ridiculous how fast I was walkingit was shaping up to be hot that day, so I was sweaty and tired and out of breath, and really, how much would it matter if I missed rope drop by five minutes? But I was a bit nervous about the TSM dash, and once I get started on a super-fast walk, its hard for me to slow down (the opposite of the type of inertia I usually experience, which prevents me from getting up off the couch). So I made it to DHS by 8:50 (the whole walk took me only ten minutes), and by then I was excited to just stand still and rest for a few minutes.
Now, before I tell you what happened next (what I think of as The Incident), I need to say something in my own defense: I had spent the past four days being as nice, and as friendly, and as helpful, as I think was humanly possible. It wasnt difficult, because I was so happy most of the time! I tried my best to make peoples trips better in the second or minute of their interaction with me, even if they were never going to notice. Hey, I was aloneI didnt have anything better to do! And goodness knows, if anything makes you super-sensitive about doing anything that might even slightly annoy or offend anyone, its reading the DIS! So I did everything in my power: I held open doors, offered up my bus seats, took pictures for groups, never stepped in the path of an oncoming stroller or ECV or camera, smiled and stepped aside when people cut in front of me in line, moved out of central walkways before pausing, etc. etc. For me, this trip was all about the good attitude, good Karma, good vibes, and all that mushy stuff.
So go figure: the one moment I decide to be just normal-conscientious, instead of uber-conscientious, it comes back to bite me in the ***.
I still maintain I did nothing wrong. But Ill leave that for you to judge.
OK. So heres what happened. I was approaching the bag check area. Id slowed down a bit, but I was still walking very fastmaybe a Mach 8, compared to my earlier Mach 10. I was heading toward a bag check with a small line when a security guard went to a new table, thus opening up a new line. So, of course, I changed direction and headed for the new, empty line. Still walking fast.
At the same moment, a large woman started leading her group (I forget how many people exactly, but I think around six) to the same empty line, from the opposite direction. They were closer to it than I was, but they were moving slowly. The woman and I were on course to reach the security guard at exactly the same time.
I had three options, and a split second to decide between them. I could:
1. speed up half a pace and get in front of the group
2. slow down significantly and allow all six of them to get in line ahead of me
3. do nothing, and run smack into the lady
Obviously, #3 wasnt really an option. Now, the super-nice thing for me to do would have been to let them go ahead. But I was hot, and sweaty, and anxious to get into the park and stand still for a few minutes, in preparation for the race to TSM.
So I sped up, and got to the security guard a half-step ahead of the woman.
Now, I wasnt proud of myself for this. But I didnt think Id done anything wrong, either. Someone had to slow down or speed upthe laws of physics demanded it. And the argument could be made that her group shouldve slowed down for me, since I was only one person and they were six. The only real reason it shouldve been me was that I was aware of the situation, and they were oblivious. But in that moment, I was tired and hot and sweaty and sick of being more conscientious than everyone around me! I turned to her and gave her what I hoped was an apologetic smile, but I didnt actually apologize for cutting her off (slightly!), because I didnt think the situation warranted it. She didnt really acknowledge me at all; maybe she looked a little surprised. To her, it probably seemed like I came out of nowhere, because she hadnt been paying attention.
Anyway. No big deal, right? The security guard checked my bag (extremely thoroughly and slowly), and I headed onward through a turnstile. I wasnt thinking about the woman anymore, because at that point, it truly didnt seem like a thing.
I was about ten paces into the park, pausing for a second to soak it all in, when I heard an angry man shouting:
Hey, you! Thats right, you! You know what you did!
Now, I heard him, but I didnt really register it. I took another step or two, then heard him yelling again:
Sure, walk away, you jerk!
I stopped short. I have no idea how I knew he was talking to me, but somehow I did. And for some insane reason, I turned around and walked back to him.
Me: Excuse me, are you talking to me?
Him: Sure, go ahead, pretend you dont know what you did! You know what you did!
And he went on ranting at me. It took me a while to figure out what he was talking about, until it finally came out: he was yelling at me for cutting off that woman (I assumed he was part of her group). And he was yelling. Like, really, really yelling. Screaming, practically. His face was all red; it was easy to imagine steam coming out of his ears. We were right on the inside of the turnstiles; people were staring at us. Ive blocked a lot of the specifics of his language from my memory, but I do know he called me a terrible person. I felt like I had been slapped in the face.
It was truly bizarre. And oh, I so wanted to say something back! Im not typically a confrontational person, and Im not sure what I wouldve said, but I really wanted to defend myself. Because this was ridiculous. Even if I had done something wrong, there was no way it deserved this level of admonishment. I certainly hadnt stolen his park tickets or kidnapped his children or anything! But if you happened to walk by us during this altercation, you surely would have thought Id done something really, really bad.
Only one thing stopped me from escalating the situation: his daughter. This poor little girl. She was probably around six, blonde, adorable, and clutching his hand. Her expression was panicked. You could tell she had seen her daddy mad before, and it was making her very, very nervous. It was enough to break your heart.
So I looked at her. I took a deep breath. Then I looked him straight in the eye and said, Im so sorry, sir, I really didnt mean to do anything wrong, and I truly apologize if it caused any problems for anybody! To make up for it, would your daughter like one of my Mickey pins?
Then I looked back down at the little girl, and smiled, and saw a little bit of hope in her eyes.
In retrospect, Im so proud of myself for handling the situation this way. The man was clearly thrown off course by my offer: he wanted a fight, and I wasnt giving him one. He literally started spluttering. He kept going on about how awful I was, but a bit more quietly, and it was obvious he was having trouble justifying it anymore. After all, Id already apologized and done something unnecessarily nicewhat else could I do? I could practically hear him internally weighing his desire to keep on ranting versus getting a free eight-dollar pin for his daughter. He didnt know what to do. If I hadnt been on the verge of tears, I might have laughed at him.
Finally he said, No, we dont need your pin. His daughter looked crestfallen.
And heres the kicker. He said, If you really want to make up for it, you should go apologize to that poor woman you cut off back there. And he motioned back toward the entrance.
The woman and her party were just coming through the turnstiles; that security guard must have taken forever with their bags. And I realized: The angry man wasnt even with her group! He was just some random man, so full of bile he screamed at me for five minutes over something that had nothing to do with him!
I looked back at him, flabbergasted. I was starting to wonder if this man was actually a little nuts.
So I said, All right, then. I hope you have a wonderful day!
And I turned my back on him and walked away.
Coming Soon: I Recover from the Trauma. Maybe.
! Wow, that would've been difficult to deal with with, especially alone. What a nice human being he was, spouting angrily while his poor little girl stands watching.
I'm not confrontational either so I can understand your exasperation with this guy. You definitely showed restraint, class and generosity with your reaction. With people like that, crazy enough to actually stalk after you shouting, well, it's best not to antagonize them. To be screaming like a lunatic while your little girl is standing there, ridiculous. You set a better example for her with your calm response. Ugh, I don't understand these people, is life that horrible for you that you have to scream at total strangers?
You are one classy lady, and I really hope your day got better. 
And he wasn't part of the group!!! I would have yelled the loudest "DUH" of my whole life.
But with a cape.
I can completely understand your mentality though. If you were with someone, you could just laugh it off and poke fun at him at his expense! But to endure it alone? No thanks. So it just plain stinks that he was less than magical! I'd have been worried about running into him again too if I were alone. What an idiot he was.
But how will I get my hucifer TR fix???
