Park etiquette

[momofboyz3]

Hi all!!!! In 19 days we are heading to WDW for our 1st trip. I have asked you all many questions as well as begged for advice. Everyone has been AMAZING! I'm reading here about parades & ques for rides, bus shuttles etc! In Boston when you take the trains and busses you have to be pretty tough or sometimes you just won't get on. So my skin is pretty thick.. I'm sure WDW is not like that. Here on the trains if someone talks to you or bumps you, you better watch your purse. It seems like an odd thread, but I'm curious do people wait in lines orderly? Are people friendly? You can say we have lived in a bubble since we never have gone anywhere really. It's me twin 13yr old boys and ds9. We r going Memorial Day week. It's gonna be nuts, but I have no idea what to expect!

 

[JRawkSteady]

I understand you! I'm from NY, we are the same way!

In WDW, 9 times out of 10, when getting on the resort buses, people will not move down to make room for the people waiting, even if you ask politely...believe me, I've tried. So you may end up waiting triple the time you normally would to get on a bus...

Once you get to WDW, you will know there is no reason to worry about it when/if people bump into you! Granted, you will still check (we're used to it), but it is just not that environment. Obviously, you don't want to let your guard down completely, but you'll just feel it when you get there.

While there are some people who are just miserable/rude, the majority are not. When I went shopping at Publix (a supermarket chain in Florida) I accidentally bumped into a lady in the aisle... I was expecting to get yelled at, so I immediately apologized...but what I got was a big smile and a "There's nothing to be sorry about, hon." I love WDW.

 

[karenklo]

I have never really had an issue at WDW! The buses may get crowded, but we have always found that everyone is just happy to be at Disney! The lines are orderly, unless you run into teenagers or foreigners who try to push thru the line pretending to be meeting up with someone up ahead. (That has only happened three times and a CM caught the teenagers!) I do keep track of my stuff, but when we had a stroller nothing was ever taken from it when it was left outside a ride. The only pushing I have ever seen was at Rope drops and those few people who feel they must be the first person on a certain ride! I hope you enjoy your trip!!

 

[PrincessMe]

You are going to have an awesome, amazing trip!

For the most part, people at WDW are very friendly and very orderly in the lines. There are LOTS of people and most of them are in an unfamiliar location so it can be a bit chaotic. Expect to occasionally get bumped or stuck behind someone reading a map in the middle of the sidewalk. But a friendly "excuse me" usually goes far.

The CMs usually do a great job of crowd management. You shouldn't need the thick skin of the big city rush hour commuter.

Enjoy the rest of your countdown. You are almost there!!!! Jealous.

 

[froggygal1301]

Yelled at for bumping into someone?? Goodness, I must be from another world. We don't deal with much public transportation here either. I'm from Louisiana.

 

[JRawkSteady]

Yelled at for bumping into someone?? Goodness, I must be from another world. We don't deal with much public transportation here either. I'm from Louisiana.

I know, I love New York so much, but people get reeeally stressed out and tend to take it out on anyone who even slightly annoys them.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I grew up using the Philadelphia transportation system, and used it every day to get to my high school.

The first time I went to Disney I was all ready to get all South Philly Millie on anyone who was rude on the Disney buses, but it never happened. Yeah, people would crowd the buses and I'd have to push my way in, but everyone was usually pleasant and ready to let me get by. Boy, was I surprised, but I soon got used to it as part of the magic.

 

[jmclester]

And don't be surprised if, on a packed bus at the end of a park day, a young (or old!) gentleman stands up and offers you his seat. Chivalry is not dead at WDW!

 

[ttintagel]

I'm a regular public transportation user at home, and my impression is that 99% of the other guests at WDW are total newbs at it. The majority of them don't know to move to the back of the bus to make room for people getting on, they don't listen to the drivers, they don't wait for people get off the bus before they get on, they're impatient while wheelchair are being loaded, etc.

That said, once everybody;s loaded and going, it's great fun and everyone is friendly. I think it's just stressful for a lot of people to be in a new situation and not know what to do.

 

[FortForever]

I have never really had an issue at WDW! The buses may get crowded, but we have always found that everyone is just happy to be at Disney!

My experience has been the same.

The bus lines are roped off and you wind your way through it just like a ride queue. It's not like a mob of people just standing there in the vicinity of the bus stop. It's very orderly and rudeness is the exception, not the rule.

 

[WDWNext]

WDW is indeed awesome, its amazing how pay-it-forward works.
In 8 days I have seen enough chivalry on the WDW buses, that would take me 2 years to see that anywhere else. The bottomline is that people are happy or are trying to be happy at WDW....
I stayed at POR where you do not wait in a line for the buses, but just hangout under a covered roof in some random formation. I can assure you that the first person at the stop almost always never gets first into the bus, but everyone was accommodating for the most part.
OP.... You will stand out if you show your natural instinct
I am from NY and its the same for me.

 

[carlabellaxox]

Disney is very different from Boston. People are usually happy to be at Disney, you will get the occasional screaming child/ angry parents, but that is to be expected. The people on the buses don't always move for you. They will, however, talk to you which is not the case Boston unless they are looking for trouble. Unlike the T, you don't have to hold on to your belongings for dear life on a Disney bus, although I still find myself doing so (force of habit ).

 

[momofboyz3]

Thanks for the quick replies! I was afraid my thread would be laughed at! I love Boston, but as I'm sitting in the train some guy just swore at an older lady for bumping into him!!!!!! Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!:

 

[gwmort]

We find a little empathy goes a long way.

By the end of the day everyone is cranky, overheated, exhausted, etc... We find if you treat others like you would want them to treat you in that situation everything goes much smoother and friendlier.

If we don't catch that bus, another one will be along. If we were lucky to get a seat and an exhausted mom comes on we get up, etc...

 

[TTA Rider Matt]

I know where you're coming from, I work in the Bronx, but yes, as everyone else is saying, WDW and mass transit in major cities aren't even in the same ballpark. I personally always make sure my seat is available for, in order, an elderly person, child, or woman. You see a lot of this on WDW transportation. It gets hectic, especially leaving the park to go back to your resort at night, but it's just part of the experience. You'll be fine, you'll have a great time.

 

[bookgirl]

I've been a few times now and it really does seem no worse or better than anywhere else. No matter where you go some people are just rude. I think WDW may offer more opportunity for people to act up but I don't think it is worse per say.

 

[hotty toddy]

Yall will be fine. I've found that guest from out of country can at times show rude behavior and the occasional teenager. To be expected in this day and time I guess. Busses can be packed, the first 5 or 6 trips we always used Mickeys buss system and I can count on one hand the times I sat on a bus. I can not sit while a lady with a baby or youngun stands and there's no way I could sit while an elderly person stood in front of me on a buss , just not raised like that. I like to think Its a little of our southern hospitality Rubin off. Ha
Have a wonderful trip we'll be there that week also. And yes I'm ready for my Mickey Fix been two years .
Trip # 10 Caint WAIT

 

[DisneyMim]

I'm from Boston too so I know what you mean!! LOL!! Honestly don't worry. We've been going to WDW forever and have not had too many problems with people. Yes you will get the occasional rude person who will push in front of you but for the most part people are happy. We always rent a car because we don't like waiting for transportation and just like having our own means of transportation. We are used to Boston and NY, but OH MY Paris was even worse!! Very rude people on the Metro. We just laughed and said to each other that it made Boston seem calm and serene! So you see it's all relative. Some places are worse and some are better. Disney is better so no worries!! Have a wonderful trip and...

Enjoy The Magic!!

 

[WDW in Pearls]

Disney buses are so different from the cities in the northeast that I feel awkward calling it "public transportation", considering what I normally associate that with.

The only annoyance I encounter is kids acting up and kicking the seat and/or your ankles while mommy texts away to her buddies about what an attentive mom she is...LOL

 

[WDWNext]

I'm from Boston too so I know what you mean!! LOL!! Honestly don't worry. We've been going to WDW forever and have not had too many problems with people. Yes you will get the occasional rude person who will push in front of you but for the most part people are happy. We always rent a car because we don't like waiting for transportation and just like having our own means of transportation. We are used to Boston and NY, but OH MY Paris was even worse!! Very rude people on the Metro. We just laughed and said to each other that it made Boston seem calm and serene! So you see it's all relative. Some places are worse and some are better. Disney is better so no worries!! Have a wonderful trip and...

Enjoy The Magic!!

LOL.... wow what a coincidence that the guys pushing their kids in front of us were french tourists (they did not seem very happy btw).... nothing against them and don't want to generalize, but nevertheless, its a coincidence for sure