Just back/park observations...

[TenderDonkey]

We just got back from an 8 day stay and I thought I would share some of my observations. I will break them down by four main areas: hotel, food, parks, people.

Hotel – We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge and it was great. The room looked like it was recently spruced up. Everything worked, housekeeping did their job, and every CM we met was pleasant. Now I must say we are pretty straightforward people, meaning we go to the park and come back to the hotel. We didn’t use the concierge, didn’t have any room requests, etc… With two small kids it was a good choice for us and we would definitely stay at the WL again.

Food – We liked it. Is it overpriced – yes. But, we actually had some good meals. One of the stand outs was Via Napoli. I was a little worried about using the dining plan as we tend to eat on the healthy side. However, we were able to sub salad for fries and fruit for cakes/cookies without an issue everytime.

Parks – After all the negative talk on the boards I was really looking for the cut backs and to be honest I didn’t see any. No overflowing trash, no crumbling buildings, everything looked clean. We actually didn’t mind the fantasy land construction as they have little signs depicting what will be added and what it will look like. I really didn’t think a construction wall ruined the “magic” of an elephant flying around in a circle for 90 seconds. Also my kids didn’t care so neither did I.

People – This was our big issue, and if there is a magic killer it my friends is you and I. Our mantra throughout the week was “how do these people exist in the real world?” So where do I start?

ECVs – If you need them so be it. BUT take a few practice laps before you head into a pack of people. It seemed like people were either full speed petal to the medal or barely idling along. Walking along main street was an adventure. My wife made the comment that it looked like the space ship scene out of WALL-E.

Main Street Barber Shop – Thanks to info from this board we called and made a reservation for the 1st haircut package. When we got there the place was packed. To back-up we made a reservation for three kids (1st haircut and two nephews). We check-in and the barber lets us know we will be next. Well a lady sitting inside has the largest adult meltdown I have ever seen. She ranted how you cannot make a reservation and how she has been coming to Disney for years. She was absolutely ridiculous. Then she refused to move to let us take pictures. It was so bad that security had to come and escort her out of the shop. Literally 5 minutes later all three kids were done.

MNSSHP – Again with the crazy people. We sat the kids down around 8ish for the 8:30 parade. My wife hands each kid one of those peanut butter crackers as a snack. Out of nowhere a lady comes running over and states that they cannot have PB crackers as her children have a PB allergy. As she points to her kids she was about 30 feet away. I was literally stunned as she did not say please or would you mind, it was you cannot eat those crackers. So we promptly tell her where to go and she storms off. Two minutes later her husband comes over. Now as an aside I am 6’5 and my brother is 6’6. This poor guy was all of 5’6 and that was being generous. We explain that his wife was really rude and if it is such a big deal he can buy all three kids some popcorn as we are not spending money and we do not want them to have ice cream. He seems like a reasonable guy, agrees and off he goes. Two minutes later he is back after his wife said she didn’t want to spend the money. By this time the crackers are gone and the kids are just sitting there with their light stick things. I calmly explain that the crackers were gone five minutes ago and I’m done with this conversation. He then turns to my wife and holds up his finger. Now there are two things you don’t do. You don’t ever touch my children and you don’t ever disrespect my wife. I admit I lost my cool with this guy and had to be restrained by my brother. I was embarrassed for myself that some a** made me lose my cool over crackers. A CM had to come over and the people sitting next to us explained the situation. The CM was very nice, asked me if I was calm now, gave the kids some stickers, and went back to his spot. The parade was actually pretty cool by the way.

So to wrap it up, we had a great vacation minus the people. And to be honest I really don’t want to go back because I really don’t feel like fighting someone over haircuts and crackers. But I did learn some good tips from these boards so thanks DIS.

 

[DisneyNDecember]

Wow, that cracker story is UNREAL !!!
If her child has a food allergy, then she should have just moved to another location & not felt the need to ask your children to put away their snack.

I mean geez, they sale PB&J sandwiches in almost all the counter service locations at Disneyworld.

 

[addiln]

glad to hear you enjoyed most of your stay. it seems like it only takes a few idoits to turn a good time into something bad. I agree with you about the ECV's and it seems like more and more people are using them. it can be kind of annoying when people are either bumping into you with them or barely moving on them.

 

[grimley1968]

As a parent of a severely peanut-allergic 7 YO girl, I would NEVER approach someone else about what they feed their children in a public outdoor space, 30 feet away from us. Even though my DD is allergic, I eat peanuts and peanut butter-y stuff all the time near her. It does not affect her as long as she is not ingesting it. Those parents were WAY out of line. That DH sounds like a real coward.

The barber shop story is also pretty incredible, but I've seen that kind of thing in WDW before, quite often.

We'll be at WL in a couple of weeks, so it's good to read that WL still has its "magic."

Overall, I agree in that it is normally other guests that ruin the magic far more than WDW or individual CM's ever could.

 

[dmoore718]

OMG!!! What is wrong with people..........seriously??? If your kid has a peanut allergy, you deal with it appropriately....you can't expect all of Disney World to be peanut FREE because of you!!!!!!!! I am so sorry that 2 CRAZED people ruined your magic!! I'm glad you were able to enjoy the trip anyway. GEEZ, sometimes, when this crap happens to me, I'm convinced I'm being Punked!

 

[dqpowell]

As a parent of a severely peanut-allergic 7 YO girl, I would NEVER approach someone else about what they feed their children in a public outdoor space, 30 feet away from us. Even though my DD is allergic, I eat peanuts and peanut butter-y stuff all the time near her. It does not affect her as long as she is not ingesting it.

There are two kinds of peanut allergies -- ingestion (when the child has to consume peanuts or peanut by-products to have a reaction) and contact (when the child needs only to come into contact with peanuts or peanut by-products to have a reaction). Contact allergies are the most severe, and sensitivity varies from person to person. It is possible in really severe cases for somebody to inhale a few microscopic crumbs or to touch a doorknob that somebody with peanut oil on their hands previously touched and have a life-threatening reaction.

That said, anybody with an allergy that severe should have an epi-pen with them at all times. And 30 feet away seems reasonably safe to me, though I'm no expert.

David

 

[TenderDonkey]

I wouldn't say our trip was ruined. It was just odd, really really odd. I do think the heat plays a big part of it. It was hot, like walk outside and sweat hot. And for the most part we are the kind of people that just do our own thing. The sad part was that these were grown adults having meltdowns. Most of the kids I saw we happy and having a great time.

 

[mefordis]

I LOVED your update and LOVE the way you handled the cracker complainers! I am so glad you let the kids eat them. 30 feet away-- come ON! Last time I checked there is no rule against peanut butter in the MK. They sell PB fudge in the bakery there.

Was that barber shop lady waiting to be pixie dusted? What was she there for? Just curious.

We just got back from an 8 day stay and I thought I would share some of my observations. I will break them down by four main areas: hotel, food, parks, people.

Hotel – We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge and it was great. The room looked like it was recently spruced up. Everything worked, housekeeping did their job, and every CM we met was pleasant. Now I must say we are pretty straightforward people, meaning we go to the park and come back to the hotel. We didn’t use the concierge, didn’t have any room requests, etc… With two small kids it was a good choice for us and we would definitely stay at the WL again.

Food – We liked it. Is it overpriced – yes. But, we actually had some good meals. One of the stand outs was Via Napoli. I was a little worried about using the dining plan as we tend to eat on the healthy side. However, we were able to sub salad for fries and fruit for cakes/cookies without an issue everytime.

Parks – After all the negative talk on the boards I was really looking for the cut backs and to be honest I didn’t see any. No overflowing trash, no crumbling buildings, everything looked clean. We actually didn’t mind the fantasy land construction as they have little signs depicting what will be added and what it will look like. I really didn’t think a construction wall ruined the “magic” of an elephant flying around in a circle for 90 seconds. Also my kids didn’t care so neither did I.

People – This was our big issue, and if there is a magic killer it my friends is you and I. Our mantra throughout the week was “how do these people exist in the real world?” So where do I start?

ECVs – If you need them so be it. BUT take a few practice laps before you head into a pack of people. It seemed like people were either full speed petal to the medal or barely idling along. Walking along main street was an adventure. My wife made the comment that it looked like the space ship scene out of WALL-E.

Main Street Barber Shop – Thanks to info from this board we called and made a reservation for the 1st haircut package. When we got there the place was packed. To back-up we made a reservation for three kids (1st haircut and two nephews). We check-in and the barber lets us know we will be next. Well a lady sitting inside has the largest adult meltdown I have ever seen. She ranted how you cannot make a reservation and how she has been coming to Disney for years. She was absolutely ridiculous. Then she refused to move to let us take pictures. It was so bad that security had to come and escort her out of the shop. Literally 5 minutes later all three kids were done.

MNSSHP – Again with the crazy people. We sat the kids down around 8ish for the 8:30 parade. My wife hands each kid one of those peanut butter crackers as a snack. Out of nowhere a lady comes running over and states that they cannot have PB crackers as her children have a PB allergy. As she points to her kids she was about 30 feet away. I was literally stunned as she did not say please or would you mind, it was you cannot eat those crackers. So we promptly tell her where to go and she storms off. Two minutes later her husband comes over. Now as an aside I am 6’5 and my brother is 6’6. This poor guy was all of 5’6 and that was being generous. We explain that his wife was really rude and if it is such a big deal he can buy all three kids some popcorn as we are not spending money and we do not want them to have ice cream. He seems like a reasonable guy, agrees and off he goes. Two minutes later he is back after his wife said she didn’t want to spend the money. By this time the crackers are gone and the kids are just sitting there with their light stick things. I calmly explain that the crackers were gone five minutes ago and I’m done with this conversation. He then turns to my wife and holds up his finger. Now there are two things you don’t do. You don’t ever touch my children and you don’t ever disrespect my wife. I admit I lost my cool with this guy and had to be restrained by my brother. I was embarrassed for myself that some a** made me lose my cool over crackers. A CM had to come over and the people sitting next to us explained the situation. The CM was very nice, asked me if I was calm now, gave the kids some stickers, and went back to his spot. The parade was actually pretty cool by the way.

So to wrap it up, we had a great vacation minus the people. And to be honest I really don’t want to go back because I really don’t feel like fighting someone over haircuts and crackers. But I did learn some good tips from these boards so thanks DIS.

 

[Skadar2]

ECVs – If you need them so be it. BUT take a few practice laps before you head into a pack of people. It seemed like people were either full speed petal to the medal or barely idling along. Walking along main street was an adventure. My wife made the comment that it looked like the space ship scene out of WALL-E.

We visited the parks in 2008 and I made the exact same observation. The over-use of these vehicles in the parks is an embarrassment to our species.

 

[cgsouthern]

Its amazing how many people now days have no respect for others. OP did the right thing and i commend you. I don't think i could show that much restraint if someone pointed there finger at me, my wife, or son.

 

[DisGirl23]

The unfortunate cracker incident was bizarre! What kind of crazy vision did that mother have that she could spot a peanut butter cracker from 30 ft away? It could've easily have been a cheese cracker. It must've been a stressful trip for her having to be the peanut police. I'm not saying it isn't a serious allergy but, 30 ft away seems pretty safe to me.
My only thing with the EVCs is that there seems to be more and more people using them lately. On our trip last year, I saw more of them than in ALL my trips combined. If they need them, they need them. I'm not going to judge you. Just please don't ram into my ankles or stop abruptly in front of me.
Glad you had a great trip otherwise!

 

[eliza61]

Glad you had a great trip. WL is one of my favorite resorts also.

As for John Q. Public. I worked in customer service for years, nothing people say or do surprises me any more.

 

[TenderDonkey]

As a parent, I can feel for people trying to protect your kids. And we are pretty normal people. If she would have asked nicely we would have gotten the kids something else. In all honesty we gave them the snacks to shut them up so they wouldn’t bother us and others around us.

 

[LMO429]

I know little about peanut allergies that being said if I was the parent of a child who had such severe allergies and knew I was going to be in an massive public place. I would 1. have an epi pen on me at all times and 2. make every effort possible to make sure my children were safe even if that meant I had to lose my spot for a parade. 3.. I would have contacted guest services when I entered the park told the CMs about my child's situation..I am sure they would have accomodated that family with the peanut allergies so they wouldnt have to make a scene to other guests enjoying their day.

 

[grimley1968]

There are two kinds of peanut allergies -- ingestion (when the child has to consume peanuts or peanut by-products to have a reaction) and contact (when the child needs only to come into contact with peanuts or peanut by-products to have a reaction). Contact allergies are the most severe, and sensitivity varies from person to person. It is possible in really severe cases for somebody to inhale a few microscopic crumbs or to touch a doorknob that somebody with peanut oil on their hands previously touched and have a life-threatening reaction.

That said, anybody with an allergy that severe should have an epi-pen with them at all times. And 30 feet away seems reasonably safe to me, though I'm no expert.

David

Actually, my DD does have contact allergy. But she only has severe symptoms if she ingests large amounts of dust or an actual peanut. We carry an epi-pen everywhere we go. We are pretty much experts at this point, but fortunately have never had to use our epi-pen. There's really not a separation between "types" of peanut allergy, just in degree of severity. There are people who are more severely allergic than my DD, who need only come in contact with dust to show symptoms, but that dust is still being ingested nasally or orally through the air. My DD would show symptoms if she was exposed to enough dust that way, but that situation would be incredibly rare. That's why we only noticed the allergic reaction at first when she ate an actual peanut as a baby. People who show symptoms at the first hint of peanut dust are certainly more severely allergic than DD and most peanut-allergic people, but it's still the same type of reaction. Believe me, we've been through multiple trips to the ER, blue lips, hives, severe vomiting, etc., even though it has (so far) taken accidental ingestion of peanuts or PB products for this to happen. As adults, this can go away, but more often it just becomes more severe (as in showing symptoms at trace amounts of dust in a room).

But 30 feet away outside is more than reasonable, and it is our responsibility to keep our DD away from peanuts, not the other way around. Peanuts are all over the place, especially at a public place where peanut products are sold through concession windows. Those parents who confronted OP were still way out of line.

 

[MyKidsDad3]

How crowded were the parks and rides ? We are planning on going to WDW next year at this time.

 

[minandmick]

to the OP: Thanks for the report. People are just crazy sometimes. How do they survive in the real world? They don't. People around them (like their family) pick up the pieces constantly. I know, I have a family full of them (that I now live 6 hours away from!).

I hope that those kinds of people don't keep you away forever. Maybe going during a cooler and less crowded time will become an option for you in the future.

Oh, and for sticking up for your wife. I can't believe that man had the nerve to do that to her!

 

[beansmom]

personally, i feel sorry (up to a point) for the little fellow that had to go home with the peanut harpy. Well, i did til he shot yer wife the bird...lucky he didn't go home in a cast up to the wrist.

It WAS, however, a perfect opportunity to tell you children (LOUDLY if it was me) that RUDE people are everywhere and are wonderful examples of how NOT to behave --in public or in private.

 

[chrisn]

WOW!

I think you handled the situation extremely well. Peanuts and peanut particles are in many, many foods, and her reaction to your children's crackers was tacky and completely out of line.

I wonder if she tried to patrol everyone eating a peanut butter sandwhich or cookie or sundae etc. that day.

There are some freaks walking around that's for sure. People watching is an attraction in and of itself.

FWIW, my kids would of continued to eat the crackers.

 

[Ashton7]

We visited the parks in 2008 and I made the exact same observation. The over-use of these vehicles in the parks is an embarrassment to our species.

Er, what? The fact that people who would otherwise not be able to enjoy the parks can now do so is somehow an "embarrassment to our species"? I would think it is more a testament to the fact that we (well, apparently some of us) care enough about handicapped/disabled people to provide them with the means to enjoy themselves just like the more fortunate.