Parade Crashers & Line Cutters

[Kriii]

The last time I went to WDW was the first time I encountered real rudeness and, though the overall trip was great, it did leave a bit of a bad taste in my mouth . My dd and I were in line for the bus at ASM one morning for quite awhile and could overhear the quartet in front of us wondering when the rest of their party would join them as the rest of the group was still eating in the food court. The line ended up getting quite long. At the minute the bus was pulling in, a group of about 12 (no exaggeration) others joined in pushing dd back so far it didn't look like we could fit on the bus. I am not the type to voice my displeasure but I did in a calm but firm tone. I pretty much got ripped apart and told "that was how we do things at Disney - you must not have been here before." (it was my 3rd trip). Unfortunately, I ran into the same group a few days later - all but one were sitting in the shade next to the building while the rest of us waited in line and when the bus came they again ran to push their way in line leaving others forced to stand up on the bus. I really don't mind someone leaving line to go to bathroom or even one in a party holding the place for 1 or 2 others if the others are obviously in the condition that it would be best to let them rest on a bench until the line moves but this was ridiculous! In general, I saw more rudeness on that trip than the first two combined. Men and able bodied teens did not offer bus seats to women w/small children or the elderly ( my 12 y/o dd would do this w/o being asked for pete's sake!). A lady absolutely screamed at a CM in the Peter Pan line b/c those of us w/fast passes were boarding more quickly. The very worst thing I saw though was a woman who was seated on Splash Mt and who was handed an infant just as the ride was pushing off - a CM tried to stop the little log thing but wasn't able to. I couldn't believe how dangerous that could be! I am hoping things will be calmer this summer when we return.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

I have only run into this when we sat on Main street for a parade before kids. It wasn't even us getting in the fight, but people next to us. Since then we sit on the benches across from LTT and park our strollers right at the rope. Haven't had a problem yet.

 

[Loco4Disney]

Thank you I guess you have experienced a less than fun parade moment too. Just wanted to say I never made a comment about the lady's weight, just said she a bigger lady. which to me meant taller, larger framed lady. I would not make fun of someones weight as I had to kids and am far from perfect.

FAT is EXACTLY what you called her. Don't try to belittle my comments by lying. Anybody can read your post and see that you are lying anyway. And, you didn't tell her to move her butt, hence the a** in your original quote!! Which IS against board policy in the first place. You must feel it is a curse word yourself, if you knew better than not to type it. Don't you ever call me a liar!!! If you and your bitter sisters don't like what I am posting, then hit the ignore and move on. I can post whatever I want whether you like it or not!!!

 

[NotUrsula]

re: Parade issues

I've said it before and I will say it again: Disney falls down on the job badly when it comes to parade mgmt. Anyone would think that they would have learned by now and corrected the problems, but somehow they don't seem to care. The problems that spectators encounter at parades are seldom the "fault" of guest rudeness; they are largely WDW's fault for not designing and managing the parades properly.

The biggest single problem is float and unit design. The pathways at WDW are not streets, and are not wide enough to have good sightlines for ground-level details. Floats for these parades should be built with all detail and all riders a minimum of 5 feet off the ground, so that spectators must look UP to see them. No "just for looks" walking units should be included, because they cannot be easily seen when the spectators are standing.

The second problem is that Disney allows spectators to take up advance positions directly against the barriers and to watch the parades from a seated position. The barriers should be placed a few feet in from the sidewalks and CM's should continually patrol the clearance space until about 15 minutes before the parade rolls, allowing no one to take up a barrier position until that time. Once standing is allowed, no one other than the disabled may be allowed to sit anywhere within about 10 feet of a barrier (the disabled should have reserved areas for seated viewing) -- which includes no children in strollers (because strollers and/or chairs lining a parade route are a serious hazard if the area must be quickly evacuated -- if you have ever seen a float go up in flames you will know why.) If no one can sit, then no one can block the view of a seated spectator. Yes, your feet will get tired from standing and your arms will get tired from holding small kids, but that is the price for getting a prime view.

 

[cancer_survivor_06]

Looks like we have a Parade Crasher and Line Cutter!

O.k., I'm done with this topic.

Don't you ever call me a liar!!!

OOOOH! and a LIAR!!!!!!!!

 

[cancer_survivor_06]

re: Parade issues

I've said it before and I will say it again: Disney falls down on the job badly when it comes to parade mgmt. Anyone would think that they would have learned by now and corrected the problems, but somehow they don't seem to care. The problems that spectators encounter at parades are seldom the "fault" of guest rudeness; they are largely WDW's fault for not designing and managing the parades properly.

The biggest single problem is float and unit design. The pathways at WDW are not streets, and are not wide enough to have good sightlines for ground-level details. Floats for these parades should be built with all detail and all riders a minimum of 5 feet off the ground, so that spectators must look UP to see them. No "just for looks" walking units should be included, because they cannot be easily seen when the spectators are standing.

The second problem is that Disney allows spectators to take up advance positions directly against the barriers and to watch the parades from a seated position. The barriers should be placed a few feet in from the sidewalks and CM's should continually patrol the clearance space until about 15 minutes before the parade rolls, allowing no one to take up a barrier position until that time. Once standing is allowed, no one other than the disabled may be allowed to sit anywhere within about 10 feet of a barrier (the disabled should have reserved areas for seated viewing) -- which includes no children in strollers (because strollers and/or chairs lining a parade route are a serious hazard if the area must be quickly evacuated -- if you have ever seen a float go up in flames you will know why.) If no one can sit, then no one can block the view of a seated spectator. Yes, your feet will get tired from standing and your arms will get tired from holding small kids, but that is the price for getting a prime view.

Differently abled guest do have reserved seating in all of the parks for the parades just let a CM know that you need this.

Parades anywhere in the world are first come first server as is most everything in disney and anywhere else. I do however feel that disney could allow more room for the parade watchers since they block off a large portion to the sidewalks as well for people who are leaving.

 

[MrsKreamer]

Thank you I guess you have experienced a less than fun parade moment too. Just wanted to say I never made a comment about the lady's weight, just said she a bigger lady. which to me meant taller, larger framed lady. I would not make fun of someones weight as I had to kids and am far from perfect.

Your welcome, I completely understand!

 

[nicolemomof4cuties]

When we went to WDW with our 5 children in November we encountered alot of rudeness during the evening parades also. Since we have a large family with small children so we are willing to wait an hour for the evening parades and fireworks and during our 11 day stay we had our children sat on once, stepped on 2 or 3 times with no apology and food spilled on them with no apology once( all -and no I am not making this up by people who did not speak English). We had people try to squish us in, sit in front of us on the street, and stand in-between our bodies straddling us with our legs at one point. That is way beyond my comfort level ya know? I really just could not believe the rudeness of people. By the third day of it I started to speak up and say, "Hey. we have been waiting here for quite a while and you are invading our personal space or you are sitting on my 2 year old you idiot or I would rather NOT have your privates over my head for the next HOUR. Please back up alot. Yeah..... but our kids love the fireworks and the Spectromagic so we can't miss it. So I had to endure, God help me and my phobia of touching strangers.BLECCHHHHHH! So sister I am believing you! We also met nice people that were great that we chatted with that played with our children while we waited so the wait wasn't alwais terrible. But there was things that happened during our trip that wasn't at all polite or nice so I truly understand how you feel.

Nicole
Mom of 4 cuties
Keitaaron 7
Xeyana 6
Chloe 5
Colin 3

 

[Aristomommy]

"Hey. we have been waiting here for quite a while and you are invading our personal space or you are sitting on my 2 year old you idiot or I would rather NOT have your privates over my head for the next HOUR.

I'm sorry, but this is about the funniest thing I have read in a while

I think I got really good visual image in my head, as this has happened to us before. This is the reason I love going to Ohana and seeing the fireworks there: I have my own seat, no one crowding me and definitely no privates over my head

 

[NotUrsula]

Parades anywhere in the world are first come first server as is most everything in disney and anywhere else.

It isn't about who gets there first, it is about safety. Main St. USA isn't Colorado Blvd in Pasadena -- when you have buildings right up against the route you should keep chairs/strollers and seated people away from the barriers. If a fire breaks out (and float engines have been known to overheat and catch fire; I've seen it happen several times), fleeing spectators will trip over the chairs, strollers, and seated people as they try to get away from the danger zone. Look at any major parade held in an older city -- there won't be anyone sitting right against a barrier. Note this photo from St. Patrick's Day in NYC: http://www.so-money.net/blog/bpics/Set76_01.jpg, and this one from Mardi Gras in New Orleans: http://www.nola.com/tpstore/photostore/402571.html

If WDW kept seated spectators back from the barriers no one seated would be stepped on or squashed by latecomers, because no one (other than those in the disabled areas) would be seated in "prime viewing space", they would be standing. Of course, the seated spectators wouldn't be able to see much if the floats were still built low to the ground, but that's the price one pays for choosing to remain seated at ground level during a parade. If you stand you get a nice view, and if you sit you don't.

 

[dsjmeadors]

I cannot stand bathroom people. They see you waiting in line, and just walk right on past you. One person even cut my 6 year old dd off as she was going into the stall.

 

[DawnM]

Totally agreeing with you! It is tantamount to the infamous, "I hate to tell you, but....." or, "I am not a racist, but....." I want to scream at these kinds of comments.....fact is, you LOVE telling me, that is why you are telling me and Yes, you are one of the biggest racists I have ever encountered!"

Ok, that's all.....just in full agreement here....anything with a "but" is not whatever the first part of that comment was.

Dawn

I've always said that an apology that has a "but" or "if you had/had not" in it is NOT an apology.

Sorry you had to deal with all that and I'm glad the baby wasn't seriously hurt from it.

Here's to kind friendly people on all our future trips!

 

[minniebeth]

I've experienced all the scenarios of waiting-for-the-parade rudeness you could possibly imagine until this past trip...a new incident I would have never thought of! We were at MGM waiting for the parade to start...the crowds of people lined up behind us quite far back...
all of a sudden, there were two children who wriggled their way up to the front, by themselves. My guess is that they were brother and sister, probably about 7 and 8 years old. They pushed their way to the front and some people politely told them that what they were doing was rude...they backed up slightly. Since there were adults in front of them, they were wriggling to try to see. (The parade had started.) They then started fighting with each other for a view. They started REALLY fighting...I mean grabbing hair, kicking, punching, scratching... the boy punched the girl right in the face several times...she started crying and at this point some of the adults around them noticed and broke it up, risking the continued punches of the boy. Finally the kids broke it up and ran away...WOW was all I could say....when you think you've seen it all....don't you think their parents were wondering where they were????

 

[maxiesmom]

re: Parade issues

I've said it before and I will say it again: Disney falls down on the job badly when it comes to parade mgmt. Anyone would think that they would have learned by now and corrected the problems, but somehow they don't seem to care. The problems that spectators encounter at parades are seldom the "fault" of guest rudeness; they are largely WDW's fault for not designing and managing the parades properly.
.

I totally disagree. It is not Disney's fault that people are rude and self-centered. Anyone with eyes in their head can see people are sitting on the curb. It shouldn't require too many brains to realize they are there, and not step on them. This happens because some people simply don't care what they do, as long as they get what they want. Blaming Disney is giving these people a free pass to be rude and obnoxious.

 

[NotUrsula]

But people should NOT be sitting on the curb -- it isn't safe to sit on the curb while a parade is rolling, and WDW should be making those people stand up for safety reasons.

I'm a parade veteran from way back; since childhood I've marched or ridden in hundreds of parades in major cities. Not only is there a possibility of danger coming from the floats and units, but crowds focused on what they are watching are unstable and likely to surge forward in excitement. The fact is that sitting on the ground right behind the barrier is an unsafe position.

Many people here will consider this a flame, but here's the truth: if I see someone sitting on the curb or the ground directly next to the parade barrier, I think that that person is foolish and just ASKING to be stepped on, and while I'll do my best to avoid stepping on them, I won't feel terribly sorry for them when it happens, as it almost inevitably will.

 

[cancer_survivor_06]

But people should NOT be sitting on the curb -- it isn't safe to sit on the curb while a parade is rolling, and WDW should be making those people stand up for safety reasons.

I'm a parade veteran from way back; since childhood I've marched or ridden in hundreds of parades in major cities. Not only is there a possibility of danger coming from the floats and units, but crowds focused on what they are watching are unstable and likely to surge forward in excitement. The fact is that sitting on the ground right behind the barrier is an unsafe position.

Many people here will consider this a flame, but here's the truth: if I see someone sitting on the curb or the ground directly next to the parade barrier, I think that that person is foolish and just ASKING to be stepped on, and while I'll do my best to avoid stepping on them, I won't feel terribly sorry for them when it happens, as it almost inevitably will.

This situation you are talking about may very well happen most places in fact the photo you posted of the parade in NOLA is truly a bad example that is a double decker float with people throwing things off of them so yes that is alot more dangerous and if you choose to sit at that parade in the middle fo the the city like that you are crazy and that parade doesn't have baracades up so you can literally walk up to the float. At the same time during these parades there are other streets for people exiting to use rather than trample most people. But these people show at 4 in the morning or camp out for the spots they want. Just as these cities do and will not tell a parade goer that you can't sit on the sidewalk disney is not.
In stead they can offer more than one parade a day or maybe offer a more spread out route to offer less congestion but that likely will not happen. I biggest complaint is that people before the shows and parades are just rude how can some one think that it is okay to sit on someone or think that these kids are in a stroller so i will sit in front of them and for my own personal expierence when the people who walked up saw that everyone was seated and the walked up to the front for wishes out complaint was not that we were there first but they were standing directly in front of the castle and people who were sitting there for 30+mins and when asked just to sit down they refused. As for the safety of the parade disney is aware of that hence the reason they do not want you in the street it is the required amount of space that they need for safety issues. I am not flamming you I agree disney can somewhat help the situation but they probably don't get enough complaints for it to be an issue.

 

[kaysmommie]

FAT is EXACTLY what you called her. Don't try to belittle my comments by lying. Anybody can read your post and see that you are lying anyway. And, you didn't tell her to move her butt, hence the a** in your original quote!! Which IS against board policy in the first place. You must feel it is a curse word yourself, if you knew better than not to type it. Don't you ever call me a liar!!! If you and your bitter sisters don't like what I am posting, then hit the ignore and move on. I can post whatever I want whether you like it or not!!!

I did not say fat and your the one calling me a liar! Are you able to read your own post? You are the most rude undisney like person ever. I certainly don't lie, I always tell the cold hard truth. The truth is you should get a life! Maybe you should do everyone a favor and stay home.

 

[kaysmommie]

Looks like we have a Parade Crasher and Line Cutter!





OOOOH! and a LIAR!!!!!!!!

Thanks for making me laugh! She is not worth my time.

 

[NotUrsula]

... the photo you posted of the parade in NOLA is truly a bad example that is a double decker float with people throwing things off of them so yes that is alot more dangerous and if you choose to sit at that parade in the middle of the city like that you are crazy and that parade doesn't have baracades up so you can literally walk up to the float.

No, that parade DOES have barricades up; steel locking barricades that are 4 feet high, and are positioned a minimum of 6 feet out from the widest float. The crowd would knock down anything less. It appears as though there are none because the people at the barriers are leaning over them and reaching.
(Which, again, is foolish. When I marched we had orders to NOT step aside to avoid spectators who did that, but to hit them with our instruments if necessary, because if we broke formation we lost points in the judged competition.)

Also the float is not a "double decker" in the sense that there are any riders on street level; the float does have an interior lower level that is used for storage and for the toilet facilities, but any riders are above the heads of the crowd, precisely because the crowd is standing, so ground-level detail would not be visible. (Onboard toilet facilities are necessary in NOLA parades because they are several miles long and take hours to roll.) However, it is being pulled by a tractor, not driven. WDW's floats are driven by their riders, who sometimes must drive blind, relying on a spotter to tell them if they veer off course. Spotter-guided floats are very dangerous and require a very wide barrier clearance, as the death of a CM demonstrated a few years ago when he slipped and ended up crushed beneath one.

Just as these cities do and will not tell a parade goer that you can't sit on the sidewalk disney is not.

On the contrary, those cities can and do tell spectators that they cannot sit in the area directly behind the barriers -- in fact they use police officers on motorcycles and on horseback to enforce the rule. If you want to sit on the sidewalk, yes, you can, but you'll be quite some distance back from the barriers there -- normally at least about 20 feet back, and plenty of people will be standing between you and the barriers.

I'm trying to be polite here, but I stand by my point. A parade is a parade, and universal safety precautions apply. If you insist on sitting on a curb that is directly behind the barrier, you will eventually be stepped on, because you are doing something dangerous. It's analogous to a child who persists in pulling a dog's tail -- sooner or later the child will be bitten.

FTR, I don't "crash" WDW parades, because I don't bother watching them. The poor crowd management causes me to prefer to keep myself and my children as far away from them as I can be.

 

[Sparkled]

I did not say fat and your the one calling me a liar! Are you able to read your own post? You are the most rude undisney like person ever. I certainly don't lie, I always tell the cold hard truth. The truth is you should get a life! Maybe you should do everyone a favor and stay home.

Well said. But If she stayed home she would be stuck annoying the rest of us! And she called you a liar and you never called her a liar. I think she is completely undisneylike and a liar! She should look at all her posts and reread your original post. Then maybe a spark will go off in her brain and she will understand.