Put your child on your lap.....

[Jillpie]

To the OP, Yes, yes and YES!!! Couldn't agree more with you. We brought up our three young boys to ALWAYS get up off the seat and offer it to any elderly person, or pregnant etc. they just naturally did this, and still do! It drives me NUTS when parents allow their young kids to take up 3 seats when they can be on their laps, right there with you OP.

 

[Hannathy]

Well said.

I am a woman. If we want equal treatment we need to treat equally and not assume men should cater to us because we are the 'weaker sex'.

Right there with you! I always say that on these threads.

And I don't teach my son to give up a seat for a "woman" I teach both my kids to offer a seat if someone who didn't have a choice needs it more due to age or physical problem (but I will say this is also tempered by did they the person make the choice? if they did I don't jump up)

I think it is horrible and extremely rude what you did to that man. If she needed a seat so darn bad you should have waited for the next bus. If I was that guy I wouldn't have gotten up. and as someone else said why him, there was only 1 seat on the bus, everyone else was standing? And why did she need a seat so badly? I would thing with a 7 month old she was relatively young and healthy, so physically able to stand.

The buses are just like any ride or show in Disney. You wait in line and get a seat on the ride or show and if you want you can stand in the back after all the seats are taken, your choice but it doesn't give you the right to walk up to the front row of seats and demand they give you their seat. SRO means standing.

 

[AshleyD1983]

But doesn't the person who "needs" a seat yet gets on a SRO bus also have a "ME, ME, ME attitude"? Since they seem to expect someone to get up for them? Where does the personal responsibility come in?

When it comes to the buses, my thoughts are:

1) Don't judge those who stay in their seats as you know nothing about them.

2) Take personal responsibility if you "need" a seat and wait for the next bus or have your own transportation (car or cab for example).

Amen! I share the same thoughts.

 

[Mariep26]

I agree it is hard to look at someone and determine on sight alone if they need a seat. On our last trip my husband was 6 months post op from gastric bypass surgery. Although he was mostly healed, he still wasn't comfortable with the kids in his lap with the bouncing and jostling of the bus. We sat next to each other and I has both kids on my lap and the kid closest to my husband would kind of sit on his leg. That was the best we could manage but to anyone looking at us, they would not have known that he needed to be sitting without a kid in his lap. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, it takes far too much energy to sit around judging others.

 

[LisaS]

If you really need (or just want) a seat on the bus, consider doing what we do: wait for the next bus. I would rather stand in a line out in the open than on a crowded bus. Usually the wait is quite short. There have even been times when the next bus pulled in as the prior one pulled away so the extra time we stood in line was shorter than the time we would have been standing on the bus.

 

[Alesia]

I don't thnk that waiting for the next bus really is an option for those who truly have issues standing. It seems like sitting on any bench at a bus stop will almost certainly guarantee that you will be last on the bus. So those most likely to need a seat are least likely to be first on the bus. --Suzanne

In all honesty, If someone really cannot stand long enough to wait for the next bus, they should probably rent a car or take taxis. The WDW bus system works fine for most people, but it isn't going to work for everyone.

I agree that it's nice to give your seat to someone else, but it isn't a requirement. Getting on a bus and then expecting someone to give you their seat is incredibly rude.

 

[cruisingkat]

Just a few thoughts.

I don't thnk that waiting for the next bus really is an option for those who truly have issues standing. It seems like sitting on any bench at a bus stop will almost certainly guarantee that you will be last on the bus. So those most likely to need a seat are least likely to be first on the bus. --Suzanne

DH has heel spurs and has to wear a boot when walking. Even so, after walking around Disney, he is in pain.
We avoid that problem of his sitting on a bench and ending up last by having me stand in line while he sits on a bench. When the bus pulls up, if it looks like I would get a seat, he walks up to the boarding area. If not, I wait for the next bus while he sits and waits on the bench. If leaving a park at closing, we slowly walk to the buses, stopping inside the park to sit and rest. We don't leave the park until the crowd has left and there is just a trickle of people leaving. Usually by that time, there is very few people at the bus stop.

 

[maxiesmom]

DH has heel spurs and has to wear a boot when walking. Even so, after walking around Disney, he is in pain.
We avoid that problem of his sitting on a bench and ending up last by having me stand in line while he sits on a bench. When the bus pulls up, if it looks like I would get a seat, he walks up to the boarding area. If not, I wait for the next bus while he sits and waits on the bench. If leaving a park at closing, we slowly walk to the buses, stopping inside the park to sit and rest. We don't leave the park until the crowd has left and there is just a trickle of people leaving. Usually by that time, there is very few people at the bus stop.

I'm surprised you haven't run into any ugliness doing that! I understand why you do, but I can easily see someone getting upset about your husband cutting in line. Not sure I would recommend doing this on a regular basis.

 

[LadyBeBop]

DH has heel spurs and has to wear a boot when walking. Even so, after walking around Disney, he is in pain.
We avoid that problem of his sitting on a bench and ending up last by having me stand in line while he sits on a bench. When the bus pulls up, if it looks like I would get a seat, he walks up to the boarding area. If not, I wait for the next bus while he sits and waits on the bench. If leaving a park at closing, we slowly walk to the buses, stopping inside the park to sit and rest. We don't leave the park until the crowd has left and there is just a trickle of people leaving. Usually by that time, there is very few people at the bus stop.

Thought of that as an option. However, is there a risk of you waiting until the very last bus comes, and your husband would still have to stand?

 

[sympatico]

I'm surprised you haven't run into any ugliness doing that! I understand why you do, but I can easily see someone getting upset about your husband cutting in line. Not sure I would recommend doing this on a regular basis.

I don't think she meant that he would cut in line but that she would give the seat that she gets to him when he finally gets on the bus.

 

[goofy4tink]

It always amazes me to see how many differing thoughts and opinions there are on this issue. In this country, it is common to expect a man or teen to get up and offer you a seat on a bus. In other countries, it's not always the norm. It's pretty much every man (or woman or child) for himself.
I do know that I have been offered seats more often than not, and only once or twice have I taken the offer. And those offers have been made by elderly gentlemen and teenaged boys!!! Never a teen girl. Although my dd has gotten up and given her seat to an older woman.
But I also know that things aren't always what they seem to be. Believe me, my dh looks very healthy. But prior to his knee surgery, you wouldn't want him standing, on that moving bus, anywhere near you!!! He was a very unstable object!!! But, still, he would stand if he had to, and there were a few times he got up and gave his seat to a woman. But, he wasn't always able to do that...and I'm sure that people thought he was a lout!!!

Basically? No one is owed a seat any more than anyone else. It's pretty much first come, first served. If you really need that seat, then don't feel awful about staying seated in it. But, as someone else said...don't put your bags on the seat next to you, or your folded up stroller. That's just not cool.
If you feel you can't take a chance on getting a seat, then perhaps it's best to wait for the next bus. If it's that busy, it won't take long for the next bus to come along.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

I agree with OP. To me it shows the selfishness of many of today's young parents that their child is so special, the world revolves around them, and there is no need to teach manners or consider anyone else.
Sadly they probably were not taught manners by their parents either.
I think if these people thought of the golden rule of treating others how they want to be treated, they would hope someone would put a child on their lap so they would not have to wait 15 or 20 minutes for another bus.

 

[maxiesmom]

I don't think she meant that he would cut in line but that she would give the seat that she gets to him when he finally gets on the bus.

Oh, ok. That makes sense!

I was remember the one time I got heat stroke at WDW and had to leave the park. The rest of my family were first in line for the bus, but I thought I was going to need to use the bushes so I hung back. When the bus pulled up I joined them in line. And boy did I get the evil eye, even though it was the middle of the day and hardly anyone was getting on the bus!

 

[maxiesmom]

I agree with OP. To me it shows the selfishness of many of today's young parents that their child is so special, the world revolves around them, and there is no need to teach manners or consider anyone else.
Sadly they probably were not taught manners by their parents either.
I think if these people thought of the golden rule of treating others how they want to be treated, they would hope someone would put a child on their lap so they would not have to wait 15 or 20 minutes for another bus.

I don't know. To me, that kind of perverts the golden rule. If you are treating others as you wish to be treated, and then in turn glare at them and give them a hard time when they don't behave in a way you think is appropriate.....

You never know if that family already let one bus leave without them so that their kids could each have a seat. You don't know if that mom or dad is in pain and couldn't stand to have their child sit on them right then. I don't think being so quick to judge others shows good manners either.

 

[Suellen]

People van glare at us they want....I can't physically hold the weight of my child on my lap for a bus ride (not safely anyway), we always wait for a bus that we can sit on, I have a bone disease you can't physically see (yet).

So go right ahead and passively aggressively glare at and assume I am selfish. If I realize it I'll ask if there is something I can help you with.

I personally think it incredeibly rude to assume someone is being selfish.

I don't think it is safe for anyone to stand on the bus - I've done it a few times and now we choose to wait. So really glare away.

 

[dburg30]

I don't thnk that waiting for the next bus really is an option for those who truly have issues standing. It seems like sitting on any bench at a bus stop will almost certainly guarantee that you will be last on the bus. So those most likely to need a seat are least likely to be first on the bus. --Suzanne

If they truly have an issue standing, they should have a wheelchair.. If they truly have an issue standing, how did they get to the bus stop? How did they make it thru a day at WDW where you do a LOT of standing? Again, there are MANY other options to make it better for someone who needs it.


And I'll chime in, NORMALLY I actually stand REALLY close to the rear door and can darn near fall asleep standing if the bus is really full and keeps me from falling over.. Plus when we take my mom, I have a wheelchair to contend with, so I fold it and hold it and stand with it. It makes for a fast escape when I get to the resort lol.. BUT, if I'm tired and I stand in line for the bus, and there is a seat open, I'm taking it.. I dont care if there are 15 preg women, 7 old ladies, and 4 kids that are tired getting on the bus and I take the last seat. This isnt a city bus system where you HAVE to be to your Dr. appt and the next bus will make you late, or you have to get this bus to make it to work on time.. This is a place where they send buses constantly at closing time and move a buttload of people in a short period of time. If you want a seat, YOU CAN WAIT..

This has nothing to do with being good, so please stop playing that card...You've been at WDW, so you havent just been in one spot trying to get somewhere.. You've been touring and walking, and standing probably most of the day.. Dont all the sudden play they "I have to have a seat" card.

 

[LisaS]

I think if these people thought of the golden rule of treating others how they want to be treated, they would hope someone would put a child on their lap so they would not have to wait 15 or 20 minutes for another bus.

But people wait much longer to get on the rides in the parks. Why is waiting an hour to get on Soain' just part of going to WDW but having to wait another 15 minutes for the next bus completely unacceptable? I don't have kids but I can imagine that after a full day in a park, parents are exhausted. Expecting them to pull their child onto their lap on the ride back to the resort so someone else can be comfortable doesn't seem fair when everyone has the option to get a seat by waiting a bit longer for the next bus.

This isn't a city bus system where you HAVE to be to your Dr. appt and the next bus will make you late, or you have to get this bus to make it to work on time.. This is a place where they send buses constantly at closing time

This is how I look at it too. If I'm taking a bus to work I will stand if I have to because I need to be on that bus, especially since the one I used to take came once an hour! That isn't the case here. Buses keep coming until everyone has been taken back to their resort. Sometimes the next bus pulls in just a few minutes later, sometimes it takes a bit longer. If waiting an additional 15 minutes to guarantee a seat is too much to bear, there are taxis waiting to take people back to their resort immediately.

 

[disneyfan2kids]

At WDW now and a huge pet peeve of mine is with all the people who have their older infant/toddler taking up a seat on a packed bus! To me, it is just so rude to have so many people standing when you can easily put your child on your lap! It is seriously driving me bat sh%* crazy! My son is 2 (almost 3) and I would never allow him to take up a seat while others are standing!!! Am I crazy for letting this bother me??

I WHOLE-HEARTEDLY agree with you!!!

That being said...after years on these boards watching these threads (and the comments that AMAZE me) it quickly became apparent to me that "good manners" aren't nearly as prevalent as one would think.

 

[goofy4tink]

These type of threads always amaze me. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, of course. But, in all reality..no one knows what anyone else's situation is. So, if you feel you have to have a seat, then go for it. And for those of you that feel the need to glare at others who aren't behaving as you think they should, perhaps you need to realize that you have no idea of what their situation could be. Much better to assume that the seated person is in worse shape than you are. That is sooooo much better than wasting time worrying about not having that seat.
I just can't be bothered worrying about why someone else is seated while I stand...and I'm 63, so can be considered 'older'. I don't expect teens and men to jump up and give me their seat...they do, but I don't sit down. I am perfectly able to stand. If I wasn't able to stand, then I would either wait for the next bus, or I would take a cab. I refuse to depend on someone else to make me comfortable.

 

[Fort Bordeaux]

I didn't read all the posts. However, my ds is 4 and autistic he "wants" his own seat. We will wait for another bus if it means he has to stand. He has been like this since he was 1, so you never know the situation