Pet peeves I saw today at Magic Kingdom

[TDC Nala]

Guilty. I use the cell phone to track my friends down. I also used it once so my friend who was snowed in up in Rhode Island could listen to a street performance at MGM (didn't talk, just held it).

I don't have kids, and usually visiting on my own, so I'm not guilty of the taking time away from the family thing, but maybe just seeing someone with a cell phone in a vacation resort is annoying to some.

 

[Kick Save]

I have a great "Stop in the middle of the crowd" story...

While exiting Lion King last summer, my ds(6) decided to stop in the middle of the road to adjust his shoes or shirt or something. I leaned down, took his arm, and in a normal tone said, "Come on, pal, we don't want to stop in the middle of all these people." He obliged.

But what I didn't really notice was a dad, a grandpa, and their son/grandson doing something stopped in the middle of the throng of people leaving Lion King. Grandpa overheard me, shot me a glare and shouted, "EXCUUUUUUSE US!" A nice, calm, "Um, I was talking to my son," backed him down pretty quickly, but didn't stop me from laughing pretty hard afterwards. Guilty concious, sir?

Cell phones are pretty much a fact of life any more, I can say in my last few trips to WDW I don't even notice them.

The stroller battering ram thing is great...pushed a stroller a number of times, never used it as a battering ram. HOWEVER! I was trying to get through a crowd once, and the crowd wasn't cooperating, so we s...l...o...w...l...y made our way through it with our stroller only to have people shoving us and stepping ON the strollers to get past us. It was amazing...and those people who stepped on my son's leg in their rush are probably on a message board somewhere complaining about strollers being used as battering rams..

 

[Feralpeg]

I don't normally do the negative threads, but I must admit that I do have one pet peeve. I hate those heelies things. I have been run into and almost knocked down so many times at DTD by kids on those things. It is just too crowded for them. Their parents just seem oblivious. I had a kid hit me recently hard enough that he knocked the drink I was carrying out of my hand. Fortunately, it was a bottle and had a lid. He just looked at me and went back to his parents. They saw the whole thing. The mom just looked at me like she was daring me to start something and they walked on. Not a single "sorry" or "excuse me". I was a bit miffed to say the least!

 

[wdwfamilyinIL]

I have noticed several comments about smokers, and I too would like to add my family to that list. Why can't they stay in their area, if I wanted to expose myself and my family to it...I would smoke! Not to mention that the smoke does cause my son's allergies to really act up, its our vacation I would really like him to have a chance to have fun too.
My family is one of those families who sends up members to order food, sorry for any inconvenice. We have always found it easier for a couple of people to go get the food, while the kids stay at a table. Not to mention that we are normally at least in a group of 7 or more people, its hard to find a seat just like that. Also since I am the one usually getting the food, I can't usually see the menu until I am up to order. It's a pain being short!!
We too use our cell's to keep in touch with each other, that way a tired kid can go back for a nap, and I can still get in touch with dh if I need too.
Not to mention if something happened at home, I would want to know vacation or not!
I will also say sorry for being a family that takes a few minutes at the character interactions. This was a whole new idea for my children, and while I don't physically push them up, I would like them to go. Sometimes it takes just a couple of minutes. I would never force them, but my kids don't always make up their minds on a dime.
With that being said, this is a family destination and every family has a different set of rules and morals. We want to make the best of it for our children, and we really do try to make them mind. I understand that this cost everyone a couple pennies and they want to enjoy their time too.

 

[goofyernmost]

Grown-ups not offering their seats on the bus to tired kids.

You have got to be kidding me. Their legs and feet are a lot better shape than my bad knees, hip and sore feet. Plus I'm tired too! If you threw a toy out there you would see just how much reserve energy they still have. I will give up my seat for a woman holding a small child, or a person even more elderly than I am but not just to tired looking kids. I got them beat!

 

[Caylin]

I plead guilty to using my cell phone to track down friends. However, I don't usually use my cell phone inside attractions, which I've seen lately. It kind of surprised me too. Who is their carrier that they can get service in attractions. I do object to people with ipods or headphones on that have their music turned up too loud. I was in the stretch room at the HM and this teenager had his walkman up so loud that I could hear his music. He was politely asked by a CM to turn it down and obliged. Now, if you've paid to come into the parks and ride the rides, wouldn't you want to fully experience that ride, sound and all? Just my two cents. . .

 

[TinkGirl]

LOL - I just had a good thought after seeing the title of another post - all these rude people should be sent to Disney Jail!

and be forced to ride Small World 30 times in a row. Seriously, it drives me crazy when a family stops in the middle of a theater (Philharmagic, etc.) even though the CM is saying (repeatedly and in Spanish)to move all the way down to the end of the row. Also, when we were at MGM in January there was a South American tour group who would see one member of their group in the front of the line, then they would all push by us to join their "party." They were adults, too. They were at almost every attraction we visited.

 

[fanofdisney]

As much as I hate negative posts about WDW, I feel I have to chip in my 2 cents too. My pet peeves i saw in WDW last year were:

Grown-ups not offering their seats on the bus to tired kids.

Oh, yes! We were on the bus and a lady holding a baby got on, and NO ONE nearby offered to get up, and there were lots of young men (like 20s). We were in the back of the bus, and my dh got up and walked over to tell her to take his seat. They didn't speak English, but her and her husband nodded and smiled at us. My goodness.

What I don't like: please don't stare at my family when my child is having a meltdown. It happens. Your kids do it too, so please don't act like you've never seen it.

 

[Karnak]

Sorry but here is another. The group of people at least five walking toward you holding hands like a brick wall. What are they thinking. How about single file or maybe two side by side but 5 c'mon now!!!Then you walk and break up thier wall, because there is no where for you to go, and they give you the dirty look.

I think I've found the perfect answer to the above complaint. When a group of people (or for that matter one person), is heading straight towards me and it looks like they are not going to veer off, I simply stop dead in my tracks, usually looking around as though I don't see them coming. This forces them to either stop, or go around me.

Works for me.

Enjoy.

 

[disnygoof]

I think I've found the perfect answer to the above complaint. When a group of people (or for that matter one person), is heading straight towards me and it looks like they are not going to veer off, I simply stop dead in my tracks, usually looking around as though I don't see them coming. This forces them to either stop, or go around me.

Haha, I do the same thing! It's fun to find tricks to make rude people's plans at rudeness fail!!

 

[Marseeya]

What I don't like: please don't stare at my family when my child is having a meltdown. It happens. Your kids do it too, so please don't act like you've never seen it.

When my kids had meltdowns (very very rare), I took them away from the situation. I wasn't about to let them be disruptive in public.

 

[disneytraveler]

Or worse....they let their 4 year old KID make the decision on what he's eating (I am sure it some kind of self esteem building exercise)...."Bobby, what do you want, a hot dog or a grilled cheese? Remember you didn't like the hot dog you got yesterday. Maybe you should get some carrot sticks instead of fries today. They have root beer, milk, lemonade. I don't think you should have any more caffeine. Fruit would be a nice change for dessert"

OMIGOD - just order the food for the kid and get going!!!! He's not going to eat any of it anyway!

Lol
Steve

 

[PantherFanStan]

I will never understand why people will get on a packed, bus with sleepy children, then get angry when they aren't offered a seat.

At the end of the day we're all tired. If you must sit, why not wait for the next bus or hop in a cab?

I've seen plenty of people step to the side and wait for the next bus, rather than stand.

Amen!

 

[tinker&belle]

The "battering ram" stroller thing is one of the most annoying. This is my first extended trip to DW (one day trip before) and DH went once in college and this was the thing he dislikes most about the whole place-the bruises he got from people using their strollers to push their way through a crowd (he said many times the children were not even in them, they were about five years old and the stroller was being used as a shopping cart.) I know that this is a sensitive topic, but the stroller situation can get scary sometimes!

 

[PantherFanStan]

Here's the protocol I follow with regard to cell phone users in the park...or anywhere else:
1) If the user is talking in a place where talking is not appropriate, I complain to a CM or other authority.
2) If the user is talking uncomfortably loud or is "disoriented" by his own call, I complain to the user.
3) If neither #1 or #2 apply, I mind my own business.

 

[Crazy4mandms]

Doesn't anyone show or teach their kids to be respectful?

Yes! Many of us do!!! .

 

[Talking Hands]

I also love the ones who walk right in front of the wheelchair I am pushing straight ahead and they get hit and look at me. I usually tell them "your the idiot that walked in front of it". It kinda makes my day, because the metal legs are very solid and it must hurt. They might not try that one again.

Love it. I have had people literally play chicken with my wheelchairl. Guess what? If you get hit don't glare and me or cuss at me when you get hit. You will get so sad, too bad from me.

 

[Sylvester McBean]

we use cell phones to keep track of our daughter and friends inside the parks. but the people who can't control their volume when talking on them drives me insane. "GUESS WHERE WE ARE?!! DISNEYWORLD!!! IT"S 80 DEGREES RIGHT NOW!!!" yes you are, but everyone else in the whole queue doesn't care. my other peeve is the foreign tour groups who try to force their way through a line if they someone from their group farther up in the queue. they understand the word NO! , trust me.

 

[Philly81]

I agree with just about all the pet peeves I've read except I admit I never thought anyone was being rude to send "Dad" into the counter service line while mom and the little ones sit down if there is a table available. The cs lines are sooo crowded anyway - I don't think it would be better if the whole family waited in line. I think the problem is in the fact that the seating areas at most cs places is too limited which is why we try to avoid peak times.

 

[Talking Hands]

I could hear most of their conversations. Two Dads were saying things like, "Look, I'm in Florida right now so tell that SOB I will come see him as soon as I get back on Monday."

The phone thing has really gotten out of hand. Multiple times I saw one oblivious phone talker/walker almost bump into another phone talker/walker. I really love when they get all animated in their conversations while walking into people.

I can't count the number of times I have been texted or called when at WDW to set up a ride for one of my deaf members. I inform that I will be gone that weekend and they need to contact the van driver but they want me to do it. Geez the van driver is deaf too. Text him or call his TTY! I'd turn it off except that's how DH and communicate in the parks. Text not voice and I don't drive and text at the same time.