Parents - PLEASE be reasonable!

[jazzyjess]

Just got back from a week at POP Century. I will post some info re: dining and hotel on the trip reports board, but thought I would stop here first because this is fresh on my mind!!!!

PLEASE NO FLAMES

My biggest impression with families at WDW (and I have a son, aged 5) is that the parents are there for themselves and NOT the children. What I mean is, I met so many families with EXHAUSTED kids that were foul, screeming brats. When I asked them (politely) what they had been doing, I got the same general responses: up at 6am, quick breakfast in the room, dressed and out the door to get to X park for Early Magic Hours, or Character Breakfast; then agenda to do ALL the rides in the parks, eat quick meals so as not to miss specific shows, go ALL DAY in the heat, humidity, noise, and stimulation, eat dinner in a nice restaurant (with a child / children who have not napped or had any of their "own" time), go back to the park for more stimulation, sugared snacks, and noise, as well as heat, watch fireworks that are on much later than these kids' normal bedtimes, then stand in large crowds waiting for busses to take them back to the hotel, where some parents then let them swim at 11pm or feed them yet another high-calorie, low nutritional meal, and ALL THE TIME WONDER - WHY IS MY KID SO ILL-MANNERED?!!! WHY ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE GIVING ME / MY FAMILY DIRTY LOOKS?

I was so sick of screaming kids by the end of this week I was looking forward to leaving WDW.

Parents - PLEASE - do what we did. Get to the park early. Heck, my son wakes up at 7am which leaves plenty of time to get there for the opening. Go on some rides. But mid-day, when the heat and noise is taking it's toll, GO BACK TO YOUR HOTEL TO HAVE A SWIM AND NAP!!!!

You are spending so much money to be there, and so is everyone else, why wreck it by having your kids so upset? Trust me - it's not fun for the kids if all they want to do is have some down time while you are insisting on dressing the little princesses up (villains would be the appropriate attire in my opinion for the parents!) just so you, as a parent, can relive some mis-translated memory of your own childhood.

We saw 4 parks in 6 days. Went on many rides more than once. Fireworks ONE night (son had a 2 hour nap - had not napped for past 2 years but in the heat it was a welcome thing!) and we had a great time. CM's commented at restaurants how well-behaved.

Just some food for thought.

 

[jckdisneybound]

We had the same observations and we follow the same plan as you do and we have an amazing time.

 

[wide awake]

I have a feeling many of these parents haven't been w/ their children for a week or two at a time since the child was a month old...therefore they have no idea how to read the signs of exhaustion. I'm sorry, a family vacation means mom and dad are going to miss some things...if your child is up early it cannot stay up after 9 pm to see fireworks...if your child still needs a 2 hour afternoon nap then it needs the nap...WDW or no WDW...most children need some goof-off, unstimulated time...if that means sitting in the room while they watch "Jungle Book" for the 200th time...accept it, and know that dinner will be much more pleasant. Your child doesn't realize how much each minute costs...all they understand is that they're exhausted, overstimulated, and that mom and dad are being unreasonable. DH and I saw this on the repo cruise...parents bound and determined that their children were going to sit through dinner every night...when you could tell from the conversation that dinner time was never observed at home, these kids were picked up at daycare, driven through McDs, and home to bed...talk about some cranky kids, and down right nasty parents !!!

 

[newtowdw1]

I am politely asking, not flaming. ITA with OP. We did exactly as s/he did. Our children were wonderful. DS4's only meltdowns were about wearing a hat in hot and sunny weather.

My question for wide awake, however, stands. What does this have to do with WOHM/F and SAHM/F? We are extremely aware of our kids limits, eat the majority of our meals together, but both WOH.

Please clarify your stance. Do you feel that all parents who work are selfish? Unsacrificing? Just asking.

 

[MamaLema]

GO BACK TO YOUR HOTEL TO HAVE A SWIM AND NAP!!

No flames from me but I have to disagree. This doesn't work for everyone. If you are staying off-site during off-season (like us) that is just not going to work. When my kids are tired, we find a shady spot and eat some ice cream,and have a long rest until they're ready to continue.

My kids are 2, 6, and 8 and they've never had tantrums and such at WDW but I agree with your main point.

 

[Bella]

This is exactly what we did... not only for our 20 month old daughter, but for US! We were exhausted by 1pm! lol


We got to the Parks when they opened and stayed til about 12-1pm. Then we went back to the hotel to relax and then go in the pool. We would go back to the Park just before our dinners (around 4-5pm) and stayed til 9pm. It worked out perfectly for us!

 

[dis-happy]

Shoot, even my 16 year old dd gets surly when we commando all day long.

Had to laugh about something though. The last day we were leaving, my dh took our older two kids to MGM (they wanted to buy something at the Star Wars store). Well, a HUGE thunder and rain storm came along and they were stranded inside for quite awhile. It delayed them leaving 2 hours. I had the youngest with me at WL (we had planned to swim, til the rain came and closed the pool). Since we checked out already, we sat in the lobby and watched cartoons for ages. My ds was such a happy camper! I think that's all he wanted to do all week long..

 

[MrsPete]

I have a feeling many of these parents haven't been w/ their children for a week or two at a time since the child was a month old...therefore they have no idea how to read the signs of exhaustion. I'm sorry, a family vacation means mom and dad are going to miss some things..

I think parents KNOW that their children are becoming exhausted, but somehow they think that children can -- like adults -- push themselves in a rational manner because they're at WDW. Kids don't know (or care) that the tickets are expensive.

I think dehydration is important too. Last summer my 8 year old and I had just one day at Busche Gardens together (DH was at a conference and big sis was at summer camp). We both agreed to try to do "everything", but it was one of the hottest days of the summer and around 10 AM she was ready to go home. I promised her we could -- after we got some water and rested. Once she downed a cup of ice water and sat in the shade for 20 minutes, SHE chose the next ride. We stayed until almost closing time; in the meantime we each drank 10 cups of ice water (and visited the restroom once -- it was seriously hot that day).

 

[mjh8955]

We read the signs for our kids too and most of our trips have been in the heat. Even the one last October was plenty warm. Lots of water and just getting them out of the sun every so often really helps. Every few attractions end up being inside where the blast of cold air and getting off our feet refreshes us. We are usually there early, simply because we can do more without waiting in lines then. This next trip is the first week of November and we hope to see Sptectormagic and the MK parades for the first time. We usually leave the parks right after dinner. This will require some new planning I guess.

 

[cstraub]

I have somehow managed to miss seeing these misbehaving children and frazzled parents. Maybe I was too busy watching my own children having a wonderful time?

One other thing I have never seen is someone giving someone else dirty looks. As for myself when I see a child melting down I always give the family a friendly smile to let them know I understand.

It can't be the happiest place on earth unless you want it to be!

 

[skoba-nelson]

Two things I remember from our Sept. 04 trip was relaxing on the porch near LTT in the rocking chairs while our DS napped for 2 hours in his stroller. We had a great time people watching (and listening-many a debate over LTT's menu).

At AK we found a bench in front of a shop under a ceiling fan and camped out while he napped again. This time I went to the Asia noodle take-out for DW and got myself FTBBQ and we ate our lunch right there on the bench, blocked from the path/walkway by bushes and seemingly alone. Just us and the chipmunks.

Our DS can nap anywhere. In stroller, while on shoulder, wagon or even while the Navy's Blue Angels are flying overhead at the local airshow.

BTW, that day at MK he got in 2 naps. The second coming later in the day when TTA got stuck for us while we were in SM. They turned on the lights inside SM for a while, but shut them back off. We were there for about 30-40 minutes befor being led out.

 

[jazzyjess]

"I have somehow managed to miss seeing these misbehaving children and frazzled parents. Maybe I was too busy watching my own children having a wonderful time? "


Have you been on any busses back to hotels, or in any table service restaurants? Because it is here that I am referring to the miserable children.

It never failed, when trying to have a nice meal (and I am NOT against children - I have one of my own!!!!) but we would always have at least one screamer nearby. And the parents seemed oblivious!

Then at the hotels at night, the screaming, whining, crying kids who were obviously exhausted and up past their bed times.

All I am suggesting is that parents be aware of the needs of young kids and not try to go "commando" through the park and expect their kids to be happy about it, or expect to take them to a restaurant and ruin the meals of all the other families who have had the decency to look after their kids properly.

 

[!@#$%]

As usual, my opinions are controversial and "mine". I disagree, AND agree. My children will NOT take naps. Weve tried since they were born, they just dont do it. My theory is to do exactly what you complained about, only with MANY exceptions. We take it EASY! Relay. Enjoy the little things. Stop and SIT DOWN to watch a side show like the story teller in Japan at Epcot. Walk slower, try to walk LESS and do MORE. No running across the park to see a certain show at a certain time. Shoot, we dont watch the parades PERIOD. We skip the crowded parades, and ride rides instead. Of course we do the fireworks, but my children live by our schedule at home, and were all like vampires! We sleep late (till 8-8:15AM) and our children are in bed by usually midnight. We homeschool. Hey, bad habits die hard. So the fireworks isnt a problem. Take it easy, sit and relax and make USE of those benches and shady spots.
( Didnt you people learn anything from the lazy "parkbench" guy on the planning video? sheesh )
When Illuminations or Wishes is over, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ambiance till the crowds are all gone and bus lines are empty, THEN exit the park. Then FORGET the extra early magic hour! Sleep till 7AM or 8AM then hit the park again. Heres a tip: on the day of the extra magic hour that particular park fills up more than normal. Why fight all those people? Go to another park where the crowds are much less. You'll actually get to ride MORE over the course of the day, with more fun, and less crowds. Plus you got your nights sleep.
Some shows are cool and relaxing. (little mermaid, Philharmagic, honey I shrunk... tough to be a bug, etc). Watch them TWICE! If you stumble across a dead ride, ride it as many times as they let you without getting off. My daughter and I actually caught a short nap on Spaceship Earth on the last trip. Its still one of my favorite rides. We rode it 3 times in a row without getting off.

LISTEN TO YOUR CHILDREN! After 7 trips in 2 years, we decided it just works smoother if the children help in the spontaniousity (is that a word?). Let THEM decide what to do sometimes. Let THEM pick the restaurant. If they want to sit down on the park bench, SIT AS A FAMILY and ENJOY it! Dont fake it or act like its killing you. In a few minutes they'll be happier, and you will too. If they want to ride a silly ride, let them. You might get a lifelong memory from some funny thing that happened there. Your there to be with your family, so be WITH THEM! You will have more fun and enjoy your vacation if you cherish every moment, and take your time and ENJOY the magic, not commando it.
I have been to the world MANY times. My last trip was BY FAR the best trip ever. It was also the ONLY trip where we practiced everything i just preached. When you run yourself ragged trying to see EVERYTHING, you kill your vacation.

 

[!@#$%]

cstraub... My son has Aspergers Syndrome, PDD, and Oppositional Defiance Disorder. Hes high functioning autistic. A friend of mine had a son with the same exact problem. The child (9-10 yrs old) is institutionized and the father commited suicide. Its NOT easy, but if you think dirty looks dont exist, try taking a special needs child to the parks for a day. You'll see VERY fast that there are a LOT of people who ASSUME that the child is being a "brat" when he's being exactly what he is 24/7... normal. Its the only way he/she knows to express themselves. This isnt being harsh or mean, no flames. All friendlyness intended, but dirty looks are a part of our trip. When my son hits me with his fist (hard I may add) because he didnt get an ice cream bar that they were sold out of, or a particular flavor of some drink, or MORE RELEVANT to autistic children... when he dont get a drink RIGHT NOW, I get dirty looks. People dont "CARE" to understand, and often, the dirty looks CONTINUE after you make a nice loud comment like "Stop being so autistic".
Its the people like you who smile when you see a meltdown that help us along, so Id like to say "THANKS!" for that one. We need more people who try that. Try too (everyone out there) to help the children out who have commando parents. Its not the childrens fault, but a friendly act might help the whole family.

 

[MrGrumpy222]

I was in the mall yesterday with my 8 year old dd and 13 year old ds and I watched a couple of kids have meltdowns in the food court. That is what some kids do. I really feel for these parents. That behavior doesn't magically stop just because you're in the Magic Kingdom. Every time my wife and I plan our trips to WDW we always say will will not commando the parks but always do and every time I have to drag the kids back to the hotel. I have to say that my kids don't have meltdowns tho, they have my attitude. We get tired and we start to droop and get real quiet. Not everyone is like that tho. I don't like to fault people for trying to do the right thing by taking their kids to WDW. My parents couldn't afford it and I suspect a good deal of parents there can't either but do it for their kids. I go to WDW expecting to see screaming kids, both in fun and some in meltdowns. I go to a Jet game I expect to see fellow screaming Jet Fans, I go to MK and I expect to see fellow screaming Disney Nuts. JMHO

 

[barkley]

i clearly remember as a kid, a teenager and an adult with kids (on trips to disneyland) always taking a mid afternoon break in the movie theatre in fantasy land that showed the old reels of mickey mouse cartoons on a continous loop. it was the only place in the park that was both air conditioned and allowed you to stay (seated) as long as you wanted

all of our vacation plans are built around taking breaks, and taking it easy (nothing is worse than coming home from a vacation needing a vacation to recover from it). we have an upcoming vacation that will include 5 days dedicated to wdw-the only thing i have "set in stone" is a few dining reservations (2 of which are at the rose and crown so we can watch illuminations from a table where the kids can eat and color)-the rest of the time we will "wing it". i anticipate that we will not get to any of the parks before 11 or 12 each day because we like to sleep in (and the kids sleep in longer on these trips because of all of the extra walking and activity), i also anticipate there will be days when we decide to just spend a couple of hours at the park and then head back to the pool or the room- no big deal: it's our vacation and we do what we can to enjoy it.

i understand that wdw costs a pretty penny, and people want to experience as much of it as possible in a limited amount of time but i believe you need to take into consideration your children's as well as your own physical, mental and emotional limitations in planning your stay (in our family my son gets exhausted/wired alternatly from all the sensory input, my daughter and hubby can go "comando" and then crash hard to sleep that nite, me...i have to take an anti-anxiety pill just to get into the park, take several rest breaks-i call them "people watching time" -and then it takes a couple of hours once we get back to the hotel just to wind down enuf to fall asleep). we also are not used to the heat/hummidity and the time change (west to east coast)-so we have to plan for that as well.

we will still have our melt downs (mom included) despite the "best laid plans"-but we will do our best to keep them to a minimum.

 

[LadyBears]

As usual, my opinions are controversial and "mine". I disagree, AND agree. My children will NOT take naps. Weve tried since they were born, they just dont do it. My theory is to do exactly what you complained about, only with MANY exceptions. We take it EASY! Relay. Enjoy the little things. Stop and SIT DOWN to watch a side show like the story teller in Japan at Epcot. Walk slower, try to walk LESS and do MORE. No running across the park to see a certain show at a certain time. Shoot, we dont watch the parades PERIOD. We skip the crowded parades, and ride rides instead. Of course we do the fireworks, but my children live by our schedule at home, and were all like vampires! We sleep late (till 8-8:15AM) and our children are in bed by usually midnight. We homeschool. Hey, bad habits die hard. So the fireworks isnt a problem. Take it easy, sit and relax and make USE of those benches and shady spots.
( Didnt you people learn anything from the lazy "parkbench" guy on the planning video? sheesh )
When Illuminations or Wishes is over, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ambiance till the crowds are all gone and bus lines are empty, THEN exit the park. Then FORGET the extra early magic hour! Sleep till 7AM or 8AM then hit the park again. Heres a tip: on the day of the extra magic hour that particular park fills up more than normal. Why fight all those people? Go to another park where the crowds are much less. You'll actually get to ride MORE over the course of the day, with more fun, and less crowds. Plus you got your nights sleep.
Some shows are cool and relaxing. (little mermaid, Philharmagic, honey I shrunk... tough to be a bug, etc). Watch them TWICE! If you stumble across a dead ride, ride it as many times as they let you without getting off. My daughter and I actually caught a short nap on Spaceship Earth on the last trip. Its still one of my favorite rides. We rode it 3 times in a row without getting off.

LISTEN TO YOUR CHILDREN! After 7 trips in 2 years, we decided it just works smoother if the children help in the spontaniousity (is that a word?). Let THEM decide what to do sometimes. Let THEM pick the restaurant. If they want to sit down on the park bench, SIT AS A FAMILY and ENJOY it! Dont fake it or act like its killing you. In a few minutes they'll be happier, and you will too. If they want to ride a silly ride, let them. You might get a lifelong memory from some funny thing that happened there. Your there to be with your family, so be WITH THEM! You will have more fun and enjoy your vacation if you cherish every moment, and take your time and ENJOY the magic, not commando it.
I have been to the world MANY times. My last trip was BY FAR the best trip ever. It was also the ONLY trip where we practiced everything i just preached. When you run yourself ragged trying to see EVERYTHING, you kill your vacation.

I agree 100%!!
When we went, I made a point to do things & see things MYSELF through the eyes of my DD5. For downtime, instead of going back to ASMo, we took ferry boat trips around in circles, rode the monorail around, rode the TTA & of course, the train. To "adults" they are modes of transportation from one place to another - to a "child" they are rides. My DD still says the Monorail is one of her favorite rides! At Epcot - we took the time to stop for her & my DH to try to catch those little lizard things, The Epcot CM's even came over to try to help them. (The little lizards won - they were uncatchable, LOL!) For the most part, we let her take her time at the kidstations too. Did we do LONG days - yes, sometimes, but at her pace. What did this do for me? Out of all the times I have been, that last time was my most favorite & memorable. I never realized how much I missed seeing before!!!!! We only looked at our watches when we had to (I had a few character meals planned for her birthday). Other than that - we just went with the flow. There were very few things we didn't see. Even then - the only reason we didn't get to see/do them was because of Hurricane Francis!

 

[!@#$%]

haha. we tried catching the lil lizards too. There were some walking around the train set village in epcot, it looked like they were the little residents!

off the subject: We just got a new 55 gallon aquarium setup. COOL! I like it! We have a red terror, and plan to go today and try to get a green terror, black terror, Jack Dempsey, and maybe an Oscar. I wish you could get the really serious aggressive fish around here like Wolfheads and such.
If anyone out there needs an aquarium that lives near Piedmont Triad NC, I now have 2 for sale. A second 55 gallon and a 29 gallon.

 

[cstraub]

"I have somehow managed to miss seeing these misbehaving children and frazzled parents. Maybe I was too busy watching my own children having a wonderful time? "


Have you been on any busses back to hotels, or in any table service restaurants? Because it is here that I am referring to the miserable children.

It never failed, when trying to have a nice meal (and I am NOT against children - I have one of my own!!!!) but we would always have at least one screamer nearby. And the parents seemed oblivious!

Then at the hotels at night, the screaming, whining, crying kids who were obviously exhausted and up past their bed times.

All I am suggesting is that parents be aware of the needs of young kids and not try to go "commando" through the park and expect their kids to be happy about it, or expect to take them to a restaurant and ruin the meals of all the other families who have had the decency to look after their kids properly.

Really, I can't recall seeing even one. I know my own children have cried from time to time but I really cannot recall seeing one screaming child. Maybe I just have Disney block!

 

[cstraub]

cstraub... My son has Aspergers Syndrome, PDD, and Oppositional Defiance Disorder. Hes high functioning autistic. A friend of mine had a son with the same exact problem. The child (9-10 yrs old) is institutionized and the father commited suicide. Its NOT easy, but if you think dirty looks dont exist, try taking a special needs child to the parks for a day. You'll see VERY fast that there are a LOT of people who ASSUME that the child is being a "brat" when he's being exactly what he is 24/7... normal. Its the only way he/she knows to express themselves. This isnt being harsh or mean, no flames. All friendlyness intended, but dirty looks are a part of our trip. When my son hits me with his fist (hard I may add) because he didnt get an ice cream bar that they were sold out of, or a particular flavor of some drink, or MORE RELEVANT to autistic children... when he dont get a drink RIGHT NOW, I get dirty looks. People dont "CARE" to understand, and often, the dirty looks CONTINUE after you make a nice loud comment like "Stop being so autistic".
Its the people like you who smile when you see a meltdown that help us along, so Id like to say "THANKS!" for that one. We need more people who try that. Try too (everyone out there) to help the children out who have commando parents. Its not the childrens fault, but a friendly act might help the whole family.

Your post gave me goosebumps. My DD5 had a skull fracture in May 2005. This was one of our hardest summers ever. Her behavior went from great to awful after the injury. She was very unmanagable throughout the summer and because it was an injury you could not see I had to explain it all summer. We had some hitting and aggresion issues- completely out of my control and there was nothing I could do. I knew it was due to the injury so it was hard to discipline as well. Knowing it was somewhat out of her control. We are all doing great now and things are back to "normal".

It drives me nuts when people don't understand that "bad behavior" is not always bad parenting. That's why I smile.

It must be so hard to control your anger when people give you dirty looks. I'm so sorry you have experienced that.

Maybe you'll see me sometime at WDW. I'll be the one in green smiling!

Ps. We will be travelling with my best friend and her family this Nov to WDW. Her son has Aspergers Autism along with horrible OCD. Hopefully we won't get any dirty looks.