Put Down Your Phones!

[kaytieeldr]

Quite frankly, standing in line is BORING. Yes, you can talk, but really, after nine days of being in a resort room together, eating three meals a day together, standing in lines together - I don't think it's the end of the world if people play on their phones while waiting in line for a ride. We are a no phones at the table family, but anything to make waiting in line more interesting is fine by me.

Life doesn't have to be exciting every second of every waking minute. Despite this thread, there are plenty of people touring WDW without electronic communication devices glued to their respective hands. Those people wait in the same, generally moving, often themed or otherwise entertaining lines.

 

[TDS533]

LOL, the only time I use my phone in the parks is to find my husband who has wandered off or is not at the designated meeting location. I'm so bad about not checking my emails that I get home and have like 500+ that I didn't read!

 

[stargazertechie]

When you're with someone 24/7 for a vacation, you tend to run out of things to say to each other.

I'll fully admit that while we're queued up, I'll be on facebook, twitter, instagram, my work email, or *gasp* even here on the DIS. Yes, the lines are themed, but when it's 95 degrees out and you're in a 20 minute line... well, there's only so much to look at. It killed me, I posted while I was on my trip about a situation in the parks that surprised me, and people came out of the woodworks to bash me for posting whilst on my vacation. It was 11:30 at night. I was on the boat back to my resort. My family had already gone back... but shame on me for not enjoying the scenic boat ride in the dark.

My DH and I both have ADHD, and one of the main reasons we enjoy our vacations because it means a drug holiday for us we either don't take our meds, or we only take a half dose to give our bodies a break. If we didn't have something to occupy us in line... well, I'd feel bad for anyone in front of or behind us.

 

[mom2rtk]

Well, according to Tom Staggs, we all want to be interacting with our mobile devices more in the parks. Enter Fastpass Plus and the MDE app. There's no looking back. You will soon need to carry a smartphone or wait in line at kiosks to book fastpasses. And who wants to stand in line behind a group of 10 trying to decide not only which ride to book but what time.

 

[purpledisneyprncess]

I have an Iphone where I will take pics of the kids on our trip, or use my notepad on there so it looks like I'm texting, but I'm writing some things on my notepad app... Definitely not using it much of the trip at all. I agree to relish in the moments of the trip and not be on an Ipad, Iphone, etc etc.... BUT, that's ME. I'd hate it if I was being observed, looked down upon or judged by another parent.... why watch others and then post about it on a forum? I don't mean to be so harsh to the OP, but you don't know the reasons why people are on their phones or what not..... just enjoy the time with your family and don't worry about what others are doing unless they are directly effecting you.

 

[OThopeful35]

Sadly this is the new reality. Just like the pp's mentioned, WDW is aware of this and plans on capitalizing on it, others will follow. Personally, I dont always believe technology makes things better, and I do think what you posted is an example of that. I remember last year during a vacation at the shore we went out to eat and noticed that almost every table was filled with families and everyone was sitting there playing on or staring at some electronic device. We actually felt out of place because we werent. Its not limited to vacation destinations either, its the same at all the local restaurants too. Its is kind of sad.

What kills me is I see people walking across streets and they do not look up from their phones.

 

[angierae]

Life doesn't have to be exciting every second of every waking minute. Despite this thread, there are plenty of people touring WDW without electronic communication devices glued to their respective hands. Those people wait in the same, generally moving, often themed or otherwise entertaining lines.

I'm glad they're entertained. In a slow moving line, if I've looked at everything around me, I'm going to fuss with my phone. I'm not enjoying my vacation any more or less than anyone else, I am enjoying it exactly as *I* want to enjoy *my* vacation.

When you're with someone 24/7 for a vacation, you tend to run out of things to say to each other.

I'll fully admit that while we're queued up, I'll be on facebook, twitter, instagram, my work email, or *gasp* even here on the DIS. Yes, the lines are themed, but when it's 95 degrees out and you're in a 20 minute line... well, there's only so much to look at. It killed me, I posted while I was on my trip about a situation in the parks that surprised me, and people came out of the woodworks to bash me for posting whilst on my vacation. It was 11:30 at night. I was on the boat back to my resort. My family had already gone back... but shame on me for not enjoying the scenic boat ride in the dark.

My DH and I both have ADHD, and one of the main reasons we enjoy our vacations because it means a drug holiday for us we either don't take our meds, or we only take a half dose to give our bodies a break. If we didn't have something to occupy us in line... well, I'd feel bad for anyone in front of or behind us.

Exactly.

 

[labattblue]

What kills me is I see people walking across streets and they do not look up from their phones.

...actually it won't kill you, it will kill them!

 

[palmtreegirl]

I agree with this. We do stay off phones during vacations but do get on occasionally when we're out and about around our city but we are very involved parents. I'm a sty at home mom who gave up a lot to devote my life to DS and am homeschooling him. DH is a great dad who spends nearly every moment outside of work with DS.

We are the type of parents who never vacation without him. We rarely use a babysitter (in fact this past friday was our first time using a babysitter for our 5 year old) or grandparents so we can go out without our son. We are pretty much there 100 percent of the time. So I feel no guilt when I get on my phone for a few minutes ever couple of hours during the day.

We have a lot in common.

 

[andyman8]

FWIW, I was walking in Tomorrowland during Fourth of July and saw a boy (maybe late tweens or early teens) watching some movie or TV show on his phone with his earphones in and everything completely absorbed in the movie. Interesting was my initial thought.

Anyways, my mentality is if people want to be on their phones during vacation, let them. As long as it's not hurting anyone else (i.e. bumping into someone), why not?

 

[stargazertechie]

What kills me is I see people walking across streets and they do not look up from their phones.

Driving home from work the other day there was a girl who was rollerblading through an intersection. And texting.

Faceplanted in the middle of the crosswalk in the busiest street in my town.

 

[CuteAsMinnie]

My adult daughter and I just returned from our annual WDW trip and we both were disturbed by what we observed....whether on the bus, at dinner or standing on line waiting to go on an attraction we saw parents more involved with their cell phones, ipads, whatever than their kids. We noticed parents telling kids to be quiet so they could read their emails or check something online. As a parent and educator I was so saddened to see this over and over again. While there were parents interacting with their children and having a great time, there was an overwhelming number completely "checked out." I always thought vacation was a chance to spend time with your kids without all the outside pressures of everyday life. The other disturbing thing was the kids that had a device put in front of them so they can play games or watch videos during dinner. Sadly, we noticed many tables where there were parents and children and absolutely no conversation.
This seems to be something that's getting worse every year. What's the point of a family vacation where the family doesn't interact with each other? Maybe it's time for the parents to put away their electronics and start reconnecting with their families and pay attention to their children, not their phones. Disney really is a magical place, but the magic needs to start by acutally paying attention.

I didn't read any of the other posts. Just this first one.

I will say BRAVO!!!!

 

[waynesgirl]

I love my phone, don't get me wrong. But I do think it is a little unfair to say "mind your business" where cellphones are concerned. In darkness and close quarters, a person on a phone or brightly lit object makes it everyone's business. Restaurant... could care less. Line on dark...not cool.

 

[momofboyz3]

I came back last month- I must be in my own little bubble because I didn't notice what anyone else was doing. I used my iPhone as my camera & had my ADRs on it. At night when my kids were asleep I would check in with Dis and FB.
~ I had dinner w/a close friend who was checking his cellphone every 2cnd, I was getting annoyed but I know he is a doctor. Finally he told me he has a patient waiting for a transplant. Nobody knows anyone's situation. The mom in WDW w/her phone in her hand can have an elderly parent that she checks in with. The dad can own a business & needs constant contact. The child can have an issue where they need that a distraction. Or simply someone is excited to be in disney and wants all their friends and family on FB to see little Mike fighting Darth Vader.
Sure, we are all entitled to our opinions but really whats the big deal?

 

[BigAlsGal]

Darn kids and their new fangled rock and roll music!!! (Shakes fist) Back in my day..........

 

[mefordis]

Darn kids and their new fangled rock and roll music!!! (Shakes fist) Back in my day..........

I know your post is in jest but even that made sense that old people might be bothered by younger generation's music because they had to hear it. OP is complaining that people who she doesn't even KNOW are using their handhelds and aren't talking to one another enough! WHAT?!? And how does that even affect your vacation in the slightest?!?!

to say the least.

 

[BigAlsGal]

Change the last scene of carousel of progress to the whole family texting in silence for 5 minutes. Lol!

 

[mom of princessx2]

Way to many people taking this personal. This could go right up there with refillable mugs, pool hopping and tipping!

 

[mom of princessx2]

Change the last scene of carousel of progress to the whole family texting in silence for 5 minutes. Lol!

That's funny!

 

[scrapquitler]

Wow, the op could be describing my family. My DH doesn't have the luxury of a non working vacation. He will use his cell phone and conduct business while we go here and there. However, he doesn't spend the entire time on the phone. He might say to the kids, "hey, I have some work I'm going to do in line at the next ride." My kids don't mind and they do get a lot of attention from him on vacation. Also, my family plays Catan on the iphone, and if someone only watches for a few moments at a time he/she might think we are all on the phone not interacting.

This is the case with my husband, too. He owns a sole proprietor type business, and he can't actually go on vacation without being at least somewhat accessible to clients via email and phone (and yes, unfortunately he sometimes needs to go back to the room to get online to fix problems with the computer system). So if you see him in the phone in line or responding to his emails while we are sitting at lunch, rest assured that my kids and I are THRILLED that he is able to take the few minutes to do that because it means that we get to have him on vacation with us at all this time. Without him doing that, either I would be alone in the park with the kids with him at home or in the room or we wouldn't be on a trip at all. This is why it's none of anybody's business...you don't know that he doesn't have a 'normal ' job where he can actually be away from work, and none of us are complaining About it...we are happy that we have him for a lot more time than we usually do (he works 12-14 hour days most of the time).