So many rude guests!

[Tiggers82]

She does get to do some magical moments occassionally, and has had wonderful experiences especially with the children. Unfortunately most of her time is now spent behind the registers where she's not allowed to create any magical moments but instead just verbally abused by guests.

 

[tinkerbella16]

There have always been rude guests and they just keep on getting worse with each trip. I really don't get it. I can't help but be aware and courteous of others around me. When I'm in WDW, I am thankful that I am there and try to be happy at all times, meet new people, smile and talk with CM's (they really are wonderful!). I don't at all feel entitled and most of these rude guests just act like they are the only people in the parks. I have never seen anything like it. No one watches where they walk, they run right into you without even saying sorry or excuse me. It takes ALL types and it really is a shame because it will probably never change. That is one negative thing I can say about my trips to Disney- the rude guests getting worse each trip but I don't let them ruin it but it sure does stay with me when I look back on the trip. People are so ignorant!

 

[MzGemini]

We haven't been there in years and are headed back in May and I'm disappointed to hear this is still a problem.

I remember standing in line at the pirates ride in Disney Quest and my son, who was only 6 at the time, was so excited about everything going on around him he kept getting out of line to watch people on the raft ride which is right next the pirate line up. After calling him back to line up for the second time, I explained to him if he got out of line again we would have to go to the back of the line. That's when the woman in front of me turned around and starting yelling at me that my son can do what he wants and that he doesn't have to stay in line if he doesn't want to. I was shocked! It's not like I was yelling at him, talking down to him, or even angry with him. I was just explaining to him how the queue works. The two men she was with kept facing forward in the line & pretended like they didn't know her so I'm thinking she has a habit of telling off people she doesn't know. Got to love Disney though, the cast member working the line walked up to me and said, "Congratulations, you just won Be a Pirate for a Day for a Year of a Million Dreams and you get to go to the front of line." I know that was no coincidence, that was the cast member's way of defusing the awkward situation.

Another time we were on the Animal Kingdom bus and a woman who was chaperoning a cheerleading group spent the whole ride yelling at the bus driver because she wouldn't drop them off at AKL before we went to the park. The bus driver was trying to explain to her that the park was opening in 5 minutes so she needed to go straight to the park but her group could transfer there on a AKL bus once we're there. This woman was not happy about not getting her own way and starting throwing a tantrum, yelling over and over again, "This isn't very magical!". By the end of the ride she was threatening to fight the bus driver. I wish I could've stood up for the driver but I was there alone with my son so I couldn't risk her attacking us. I have to give the bus driver credit though, she kept calm & professional the whole time. When the bus arrived at AK the driver jumped off the bus quickly, I'm sure to signal another driver or cast member and the woman laughed and said, "She's scared of me". What an awful role model for those cheerleaders she was chaperoning and terrifying for the other children who on the bus.

My theory is that Disney has such great customer service that some of their guest are now spoiled. Those little spontaneous things that Disney does to give guest a magical experience are now expected every time by some guest. What those guest don't understand, that if Disney created those magical moments for every person, every time then they wouldn't be so magical...it would just be a common occurrence. I'm sure the appreciative guests outweigh the bad ones but you know the saying, it only takes one bad apple to spoil the bunch....

 

[mousehockey37]

She does get to do some magical moments occassionally, and has had wonderful experiences especially with the children. Unfortunately most of her time is now spent behind the registers where she's not allowed to create any magical moments but instead just verbally abused by guests.

I'd try and see if she can get back out where she can create magic. If she can't, then she needs to see what can be done to help her and her fellow CM's with dealing with this treatment. I know I'm not a fan of how much things cost in Disney, but it's the price of wanting things that are only available there. I don't take it out on CM's. She does need a way to find herself a happy reminder of why she is there and doing what her dream was.

 

[Tiggers82]

We're hoping that after she gets her first year behind her, she'll be able to move to another area of the park. I do talk to her every night and remind her that not all of her interactions that day have been bad, and I can usually get her to laugh about how rediculous some of the situations have been. Thankfully she has really great cast mates and leaders.

 

[Southern Bell]

Funny, we were commenting just the opposite about our holiday trip. (Dec. 23rd - Jan. 1st) We couldn't believe how well behaved all the guests were. I thought for sure that the crowds would bring out the worst in people, but the complete opposite was true. I only witnessed 2 scenarios of people behaving badly. Actually, they were both at the same time. On Christmas Day, 2 different families tried to skip the line for Chip and Dale and cut everyone else. The CM's were wonderful handling it. In fact, the CM's that trip were some of the best I've ever encountered. Maybe there was special holiday pixie dust in the air?

I just think Christmas brings out the best in everyone! Tis the season to be Jolly! Glad you had a joyfull holiday and trip!

 

[perditax]

I'm here this weekend. I have some complaints but strangely I haven't had too many problems with other guests, although it rained all day in MK and I think that kept people a bit toned down. People at the resort (AKL) have been mostly calm and polite, other than a woman who kept complaining about having to wait at Boma when she had a reservation. To be fair, I was annoyed too--now that Disney has instituted a cancelation charge, I don't understand why they can't treat reservations as reservations, like the rest of the world. Even at Jiko, we had to wait 15 minutes even though there were plenty of open tables. (And it still didn't stop us from getting a medium well filet when we'd ordered medium rare, but that's getting off topic.) Anyway, she kept complaining loudly while her husband encouraged her to go confront the CM.

Unfortunately I do think part of the entitlement comes from the internet -- people read about others getting special treatment, and then "special" becomes the new normal/expected. With tens of thousands of visitors a day, not everyone gets to be special. Some people just cannot cope with that math.

And: I'm a grouchy and picky person, cards on the table. But I'm never, ever, ever rude or abusive to service staff/cashiers/Etc. On this trip I have gone out of my way to be nice to and show my gratitude to all the CMs, because I can only imagine what they go through on a regular basis.

 

[mousehockey37]

Unfortunately I do think part of the entitlement comes from the internet -- people read about others getting special treatment, and then "special" becomes the new normal/expected. With tens of thousands of visitors a day, not everyone gets to be special. Some people just cannot cope with that math.

That's just it. People hear the stories or see the pictures and videos. What's not mentioned to these people is to the extent that these neat little things happen. Some people are lucky. Everyone else is just at the luck of the draw for a magical moment. I've had my share of magical things happen and am thankful for that. I go with the expectation that nothing will happen and if something does, then it's truly magical. If not, oh well, I'm still at Disney, and not home at work, lol.

A great way to put this in perspective is to paraphrase Syndrome from the Incredibles... "Once everyone is special, then no one will be."

 

[kendrab1223]

We got our annual passes for Christmas and went for the first time (with the passes) the first week in Jan. My kids wanted to ride the train around the park, so we went and waited to get on it. The CM held the gate open for us, and I said thank you. She perked right up all because of two words. We talked while waiting and she said it was so nice to be out of the holiday season, because everyone was so rude. She said no one said please, thank you, etc., and instead, they yelled, cussed, and even threatened her or other CMs. I am thankful we haven't experienced any crazy yet :/

 

[UpstateMick]

Actually, we just returned from a 10 day trip and all in all most people were great. We saw some wacky people of course doing some crazy/rude things, but most times we had people hold gates for us, say excuse me, ask if we were in line, and other nice gestures. I was surprised because I really expected worse behavior. The only issues we encountered were with this stupid selfie sucks on occasions.

Also, we hand out special thank-you business cards that we had made up to all of the CMs who made our trip special. You would have thought we were handing them 100 dollar bills...they would jump for joy on some occasions, thanking us profusely! One ice cream cart operator recognized us from days before and stopped us and handed us 3 Mickey ice cream bars and said "nice people like you deserve a treat!" One CM actually teared up and hugged us

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

Also, we hand out special thank-you business cards that we had made up to all of the CMs who made our trip special. You would have thought we were handing them 100 dollar bills...they would jump for joy on some occasions, thanking us profusely! One ice cream cart operator recognized us from days before and stopped us and handed us 3 Mickey ice cream bars and said "nice people like you deserve a treat!" One CM actually teared up and hugged us

Customer service, at all levels, is all too often thankless. I really believe that everyone should work in a customer-service based field at some point to better understand how our actions affect others.

I really like the idea of handing out small thank you cards (and letting guest services know when a CM should be commended).

 

[coluk003]

My dd had dreamed for years of working for WDW, her dream finally came true 7 months ago. I have watched over these few months her absolute joy of finally realizing her dream, slowly fading from her eyes. I can't remember the last time she came home and talked about what a great day she had, instead it is how rude the guests were and how many names they had called her that day.

Quoted for truth. I love disney, my dream was like hers. After a year it was gone and they had sucked ever bit of life out of me. I know people like to think its me being me but i know im not the only one this has happened to.

 

[jrt1176]

I think a lot of it has to do with the cost of the vacation and parents trying to do as much as they can in a few days, etc.

Of course, it's no excuse to be rude.

I haven't really had any bad experiences with people. We're very laid-back, so I would just laugh it off, etc. I have seen more than a few meltdowns and I think that, again, is from the pressure to make the vacation great.

But, we have been fortunate enough to visit Disney many times over the years, so we're never in a rush. I did take my niece for her first visit last trip and I planned a Disney trip for the first time ever to make sure we did about everything we could! It was not as laid-back as usual for me, but it was worth it for my niece to experience all she could! I'm planning a second trip with her and just using the same plan as before... I think it will be more easy going.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

My sister gets worked up just thinking about going to MK. She says out of all the parks MK is the worst for rude guest behavior. It's like everyone remembered to take their crazy pills. I have to agree with her. I have witnessed some of the worst of human behaviors while there. My theory is that there are a lot of families trying to cram a two day park into one. It just can't be done on a reasonable timetable.

And of course this is the age of entitlement.

My parents are retired and both work part time there. They catch a lot of abuse but they also get to make a lot of magic. I get to hear all the stories and I get a little indignant that some people would treat my mom and dad the way they do. I've also teared up over some of the magic they've made.

 

[Maleficent Dragon]

I find that there are always a large number of rude guests each time I go. I have to not think about it and just make sure I am being courteous and respectful or I may end up grumpy and I dont want that. Other people's unhappiness isn't worth ruining my vacation. It is too bad when people live self-serving; I dont have to be one of those.

 

[kimieko]

I wouldn't say that I noticed more rude people on my last trip, but there are always rude people or people who get my attention for being rude to others or not following the rules. These are the ones that stand out the most to me

1996 - We had this family that seemed to be on every ride at the same time as us and EVERY time we were in line we would notice that all of a sudden they were in front of us.

2013 - This was by far the worst for me.. My husband and I got on the tram and a very large woman, her husband and their adult son were getting on as well. The woman sat next to me and smashed into me so hard that I yelled in pain and smashed into my husband. She was trying to make room for her husband and son, which there was clearly not enough room. I was coming off of 2 back surgeries and I literally though she ruptured my disk when she hit me with such force. My husband yelled at her and he never says anything.

2014 - Waiting in line for Dumbo with husband, sister and 5yo nephew. We were first in line and my nephew wanted to get the purple Dumbo because it is my sisters favorite color. When they opened the gate he went for the purple and a woman with her daughter ran up next to him and picked her daughter up and put her in it. My nephew stood and looked at her amazed. I told her he was getting in that Dumbo and she just looked at me and then looked straight ahead. I told my nephew not to worry about it, some people are just very rude. Then there was just the smoker in the room next to us at the CBR who didn't think she needed to use the smoking areas and her smoke was coming into our room. It was or last night so I didn't bother saying anything.

 

[flump3k]

This is a shame. The last time I was there was 2009 and have always compared the bad behaviour that I've encountered in Disneyland Paris and the behaviour last time I was at WDW which was polar opposite. It's sad it seems to be going the same way.

 

[kreckl]

I am totally stealing this!

"Also, we hand out special thank-you business cards that we had made up to all of the CMs who made our trip special. You would have thought we were handing them 100 dollar bills..."

We are heading there soon. I have a 12 year old son who is starting to notice negative things in the big, wide world, and I think it would be a great way for him to focus on the good.
On our last trip, I ( unfortunately ) spoke up to a few really rude people. This apparently made quite an impression because he still remembers when Mom said "Seriously?! Could you watch where you're going?" to a rude man with a child on his shoulders who practically shoved us into the water on that little walkway near TSI. He was passing everybody else who was just walking one behind the other calmly- banging into everyone and then he yelled back to us over his shoulder "what don't you shut the **** up and move?"

Breathe....be the change...

 

[>Ash<]

its like anywhere, you get good people and you get the rude people. i don't let it spoil my day,
always smile, be courteous and polite, no need to let it ruin your day.

 

[bocaj1431]

I personally feel the parks have become much more crowded over the years thus increasing people's stress levels and leading to more cases of bad behavior. Does that excuse the bad behavior, definitely not. Are there times when overcrowding has nothing to do with the bad behavior, sure; but, I believe the overcrowding definitely is the reason for the increased behavior.

I was with a friend, her son and mine going to fantasmic. The show had been delayed due to the weather so everyone was tightly packed at the entrance. When they finally let everyone enter, someone accidentally bumped my friend; so, my friend purposely walked by this woman, shoved her, and continued barreling through people to get inside. I could not believe she did that. I was mortified. I apologized to the woman for my friend and she was kind enough to accept my apology. I just can't believe my friend went out of her way to do that. Since then, our friendship has greatly diminished.