sharing the love not the hate

[JodyLynC]

When we went to WDW over 2 years ago, I had gotten swept up in the negative reviews and comments on the board. At WDW, I walked around with a chip on my shoulder just daring someone to cut a line, bump my seat, or just give me a look. DH and I huddled over our children in lines so they would not get jostled or stepped on or approached in any way.

Do you know what? Not one bad thing happened. Not even one tiny little approach to mild rudeness. The most negative thing we saw on our trip was small groups of people occasionally standing in the middle of the way looking at their maps or snapping pics. And I don't consider that rude. I consider that momentary ignorance due to being confused, overwhelmed, or just so excited.

Let's face it. We deal with rude people in our daily lives: at work, on the road, in the stores. Unfortunately rude people go to WDW for vacation, too. Rather than devote another thread to these rude people and give ourselves a reason to get fired up with negative emotions, let's start a new thread about turning a negative into a positive.

What have you done to defuse a situation or help someone out? What negative experiences have you had that turned out to be a positive? Maybe a line was too long for a ride, but you ended up talking to some great people and getting some good advice. Maybe your kid fell down or had a tantrum and somebody helped you out.

Forget those rude people and negative experiences! Let's see some positive!!

 

[yulilin3]

LOVE this idea. The majority of us go to Disney to de-stress ourselves. You're absolutely right, let's focus on the positiv while we can.
I'm fortunate enough to go to the World often, having an AP and living close by. When I see a tired,stressed out parent starting to lose it with their kids (maybe the line is long and the kids can't wait anymore) I start a conversation with the child, asking all kinds of questions just to get their minds off of the line, the parents are glad not to have to hear another "are we almost there" , and everyone is happy. Also when I see families lost, looking for something on the maps, and no CM's are nearby I usually step up and ask if they need help.
I believe in spreading the love and the knowledge.

 

[Robo]

Its human nature to complain and believe the bad over the good.

Even after years and years of positive Disney experiences, I always get nervous about the parks "deteriorating" after reading some of the posts here.

Some things are not quite as good as they once were, but other things get even better, too.

There will always be problems, but, overall, I still have the best times of my year when I visit Disney.

I have, many times, struck up conversations confused guests and explained how to cope with transportation, dining, event timing and ride locations, FastPasses, and countless other things that can be a convoluted mess for those who just don't know.

 

[disnut8]

This was a few years ago but we were there around Christmas time. This woman and her two kids were walking behind us (well, the kids were dragging behind us) and all three were close to meltdown. I heard the woman tell her daughter that they couldn't see the "show" because their dinner was messed up. It was clear to me that she had missed her dinner time for the Candlelight Processional package and now her kids were upset that they had to miss the show. I had to stop and tell her that she could still see the show. She could just do the stand by. The kids went from pre-meltdown status to happy. And the woman looked so relieved.

I also helped two women a few years ago who had dumped their husbands and kids for a few hours to go to Epcot on their own. Their one goal was to go on Test Track. They said "we'll stand in line no matter how long it takes". I was heading that way myself and invited them to join me in the single riders line. They did and we were off in less than twenty minutes. They were so happy because they still had hours to themselves and could do much more at Epcot without their families.

 

[mickeystoontown]

My family are people people. You know...the kind who will strike up a converation with other guests in line, riding the monorail, waiting for the bus, etc.

I really enjoy it when I am able to pass along information to the "newbies" or the "lost". Many many times, I have directed people in the right direction, given instructions on how to use Fastpass, told them the best way to get to their destination, etc. etc.

Only once in our 13 trips to WDW have I seen any truly "rue" people. There were two families in line at Splash Mountain. Apparently, one mother thought the other family's teenager was cutting in line, screaming started, pushing followed and the next thing we knew punches were being thrown. Disney Security was there in a flash and the two families were taken from the line. I don't know what happened after that point.

 

[Robo]

Only once in our 13 trips to WDW have I seen any truly "rue" people. .

"Street" people?

I can see that.
(You know what they say about the French.)



(Excuse-moi.
Juste un commentaire.)

 

[One Year Pin]

I am very lucky because I get to do this for people every day.

We CMs have a saying. My role is Attractions (or housekeeping, or merchandise, etc...). My JOB is making magic.

 

[DizneeMommy]

We went on our first family trip last June, and I have to say it was the BEST vacation of our lives! The CM's were just great, and I think we were having such a blast that we simply didn't notice any rudeness on the part of other guests. We struck up conversations with CM's wherever we went, and I think that alone made our trip much more enjoyable! You know they must appreciate kind conversation from guests--I'm sure they receive much more than their share of rudeness as well!

 

[DizneeMommy]

Robo, I always enjoy your sense of humor!

 

[stahshee]

I WILL TELL YOU ABOUT A RUDE PERSON AT WDW. ( ONLY 1 TIME IN 6 YEARS)
OK WE ARE ON THE FAIRY. I WAS 6 MNTS PREG AND I WAS HOLDING MY DD 18 MONTHS OLD. DH AND OUR 2 OTHER CHILDREN WERE ALL STANDING WITH ME. I COULD NOT STAND AND I WAS HOLDING MY TODDLER (WHO ONLY WANTED ME)... SO i SAT DOWN ON A PEACE OF A BENCH (MIND YOU HALF OF MY BUTT WAS WAVEING IN THE BREESSE ) AND THIS MAN TOLD ME TO GET OFF HIS BENCH I GOT UP AND MOVED...

 

[JodyLynC]

I WILL TELL YOU ABOUT A RUDE PERSON AT WDW. ( ONLY 1 TIME IN 6 YEARS)
OK WE ARE ON THE FAIRY. I WAS 6 MNTS PREG AND I WAS HOLDING MY DD 18 MONTHS OLD. DH AND OUR 2 OTHER CHILDREN WERE ALL STANDING WITH ME. I COULD NOT STAND AND I WAS HOLDING MY TODDLER (WHO ONLY WANTED ME)... SO i SAT DOWN ON A PEACE OF A BENCH (MIND YOU HALF OF MY BUTT WAS WAVEING IN THE BREESSE ) AND THIS MAN TOLD ME TO GET OFF HIS BENCH I GOT UP AND MOVED...

Negativity not allowed on this thread unless you put a positive spin on it. If after you walked away a bird dirtied on his head then that would be okay to post.

 

[mickeystoontown]

"Street" people?

I can see that.
(You know what they say about the French.)



(Excuse-moi.
Juste un commentaire.)

Oops I had a typo. It was supposed to say "rude"

 

[JodyLynC]

I will go out of my way to point out a child who is using good manners and/or being well behaved. Sometimes I tell the child, sometimes I tell the parent. Sometimes I say loudly to my children, "Wow, those kids next to us are really very mannerly (polite, well-behaved,etc.)" Whichever is appropriate for the situation at hand.

 

[weeluvdisney]

First I want to say Amen to this thread. It gets really old reading all the people bashing, kid bashing, parent bashing threads. Some of them get so ugly. These boards are suppose to be for Disney information for the most part. Not so much of the ugly meaness that goes on.

In the rare occasion I see a meltdown, I either ignore it as to not fluster and upset the parents anymore then they might already be, or if I think it's ok I might do or say something silly to the child to distract them from the tantrum. I never stare, give dirty looks or say anything rude or negative, it's uncalled for. Everyone can have a bad day and no one is perfect. I really mean this in a postive way and I hope it comes across that way!!
One last thing, I have been to Disney 3 times and never encountered much of anything except a magical vacation (other then my own childs meltdown)

 

[yankeepenny]

I noticed on both trips that right away if we were looking at a map in the park near a sign posting, out of no-where we would hear, Hi! can i help you folks at all?
it was really nice.

it was so nice that i wish they would incorporate it at some of the stores where i shop, where finding help is like looking up the word in the dictionary, not seeing a staffer around.

 

[karajeboo]

DH says it's the pixie dust! We've NEVER had a problem or seen some of the ugliness on any of our trips. DD goes with no naps and no attitude when we're there, and DH doesn't mind opening his wallet for ANYTHING (yeah, must be the pixie dust!). However, when we go with DH's whole family this year, I don't know if there's enough pixie dust to infect my SIL - y'all will be posting about her in a couple of months - LOL! Wait, positive spin, positive spin.... SIL has great hair?

Seriously though, this is a great thread, thank you for the positive!

 

[disneymom8589]

I love helping people whenever I can!

 

[Dawn68PA]

Excellent thread! I have never had a problem at the parks. It's the happiest place on Earth for vacations. I can't wait to go back!

 

[Sleeping Becca]

"Street" people?

I can see that.
(You know what they say about the French.)



(Excuse-moi.
Juste un commentaire.)

Tres droll! merci!

Ha! My French is horrible.

Anyhoo, the positives far far far outweigh the negatives. Just a few examples....

I asked a CM if there was a place to purchase candy, while we were waiting for Spectro in Liberty Square. DD (4) was getting impatient and was asking for candy. The CM says no sorry , no candy around here. A few minutes later she was back with a candy bar for my DD and would not accept money!

One night after fantasmic, the MGM now DHS bus stops were mobbed. My mom's knee blew out and could no longer walk. A CM went and got a wheelchair for her, and pushed her all the way to the cab stand and got us a cab.

When we were kids my mom took us to Disney and we stayed at the Poly, my mom fell ill and had to go to the hospital, a CM accompanied her and another promised to look after us. I was 14 at the time, so we really didn't need constant supervision, but the CM called us to check up on us untill my mom got back from the hospital.

On DD's first trip to Disney we arrived at MK just as the 3:00 parade was reaching the end of Main Street. We walked under the train station and walked straight into the parade, it was amazing! DD's first view of MK couldn't have been more special. She was soooo excited, it was very crowded, but we could still see. Some teenage girls were sitting in front and they asked DD if she wanted to sit with them. So due to the kindness of others she got a front row seat.

I can't tell you how many times I have been offered a seat on the late night bus back to the hotel so my DD could sleep.

I really do believe that Disney is the happiest place on earth!

 

[Anne's Family]

It's very rare I have any problems in the parks, probably because I'm just not looking for it.

1. When I overhear someone having a problem, I ask them if I can offer some advice. Makes my hours on the boards worthwhile.

2. Sometimes I carry Disney Trivial Pursuit cards (i tend to find them at our thrift store) and I'll hand out 10 or 20 to a family whose kids look like they might burst from being in line too long.

3. I always smile sympathetically at a mom whose child is having a meltdown just to let her know not everyone thinks she's a failure.

4. If I'm on a ride with another family, I try to point out unusual stuff to them or their kids as we go along, if it doesn't ruin the mood of the attraction... like telling the kid and his mom next to me to take a big sniff at the right time in Soarin'.

It's just fun to spread a little pixie dust of your own sometimes.