The worst part of my WDW experience last week....

[KingLlama]

It wasn't the cast members....for the most part, they were great.
It wasn't the attractions....everything was running smoothly(except for POTC on Saturday night, and the MSEP stalling for a good 15 minutes that same night)
It wasn't the Magic Bands....they worked perfectly
It wasn't FastPass+....I thought it worked pretty well for us, no real complaints there
It wasn't the bus transportation....they ran pretty steadily, even if the lines were a bit long for my liking
It wasn't the food....It was hit-or-miss, but primarily hits

It was the other guests. Not all of them, of course, or even a majority. But the most negative part of our week at WDW was the behavior of some of the other park guests. And this isn't your "massive international tour group"-type story. Didn't see a single one of those all week, actually.

This includes....
-A family who walked beside us all the way out to the bus stop at MK. When they reached the edge of the bus stop canopy, they found an empty wheelchair. At that point, the dad, who had walked with no limp and actually was carrying one of his daughters on his shoulders, sat in the chair and was wheeled to the front of the bus line by his wife, then faked a limp while he hopped onto the bus. We saw the entire thing. And so did someone else on the bus, who saw that same family pull the same maneuver at BTMR earlier in the day.
-Two ladies who threw a tantrum because they weren't allowed to sit in the wheelchair section at the Frozen show at DHS, even though neither of them was in a wheelchair. The CM stood firm and explained that it was for wheelchair parties only, but these two wouldn't stop raising their voices until another CM finally broke down and let them do it.
-More line-cutting(especially at the park entrances) than I can ever recall seeing before.
-More complaining to/about CM's than I can ever recall seeing before.

I'm usually not the "Disney Police", because I'm focused on my own experience and my family's experience. But it was over-the-top noticeable last week. If you fall into one of those categories above, just stop it. Cut it out. It's pathetic. Do things the right way. Especially the wheelchair thing....there are people who LEGITIMATELY need that access. Don't be a scam artist, don't set a bad example for your kids(who, by the way, knew their parents were scamming, and complained about it), and interfere with those who truly need the assistance.

Disney was great. Some of the guests? Not so much. Again, it was the smallest of percentages of guests. But it happened frequently(and blatantly) enough that it stayed with me the whole week.

 

[Mikie]

I was hoping the worst thing was going to say. . . Having to go home!

I'm glad the things disney can control were good for you. It is amazing the sorts of things you enconter in a crowded destination with people from everywhere who have all spent lots of money. . . I am definitely hating the scammers the most because they are raising the next generation of scammers right before our eyes!

 

[jerseygal]

It wasn't the cast members....for the most part, they were great.
It wasn't the attractions....everything was running smoothly(except for POTC on Saturday night, and the MSEP stalling for a good 15 minutes that same night)
It wasn't the Magic Bands....they worked perfectly
It wasn't FastPass+....I thought it worked pretty well for us, no real complaints there
It wasn't the bus transportation....they ran pretty steadily, even if the lines were a bit long for my liking
It wasn't the food....It was hit-or-miss, but primarily hits

It was the other guests. Not all of them, of course, or even a majority. But the most negative part of our week at WDW was the behavior of some of the other park guests. And this isn't your "massive international tour group"-type story. Didn't see a single one of those all week, actually.

This includes....
-A family who walked beside us all the way out to the bus stop at MK. When they reached the edge of the bus stop canopy, they found an empty wheelchair. At that point, the dad, who had walked with no limp and actually was carrying one of his daughters on his shoulders, sat in the chair and was wheeled to the front of the bus line by his wife, then faked a limp while he hopped onto the bus. We saw the entire thing. And so did someone else on the bus, who saw that same family pull the same maneuver at BTMR earlier in the day.
-Two ladies who threw a tantrum because they weren't allowed to sit in the wheelchair section at the Frozen show at DHS, even though neither of them was in a wheelchair. The CM stood firm and explained that it was for wheelchair parties only, but these two wouldn't stop raising their voices until another CM finally broke down and let them do it.
-More line-cutting(especially at the park entrances) than I can ever recall seeing before.
-More complaining to/about CM's than I can ever recall seeing before.

I'm usually not the "Disney Police", because I'm focused on my own experience and my family's experience. But it was over-the-top noticeable last week. If you fall into one of those categories above, just stop it. Cut it out. It's pathetic. Do things the right way. Especially the wheelchair thing....there are people who LEGITIMATELY need that access. Don't be a scam artist, don't set a bad example for your kids(who, by the way, knew their parents were scamming, and complained about it), and interfere with those who truly need the assistance.

Disney was great. Some of the guests? Not so much. Again, it was the smallest of percentages of guests. But it happened frequently(and blatantly) enough that it stayed with me the whole week.

GET up and WALK like the rest of us if you don't need those services as MANY DO! Hey, it may even do your "lazy" self SOME HEALTH BENEFIT!

 

[KingLlama]

No doubt. I ate like a neanderthal last week, and still ended up losing five pounds thanks to all the walking.

That "wheelchair family" was the most bothersome. To be THAT blatant about it, it still makes me angry. I came this close to calling them out when they were in the act. But I decided that it would cast a cloud over their kids' WDW experience. It just wasn't worth it to me.

 

[pigletto]

I am running a fundraiser for my sons school right now and just got back from the office. I had to wait in the office for some orders to come in for about 20 minutes so stood off to the side. It was a non stop line up of parents coming in for this or that. Not a problem, it's Monday morning and I'm sure there are all kinds of things to take care of from the weekend. However one thing I noticed was in those 20 minutes I got a pretty good glimpse of the rampant entitlement that plagues our culture. At least 4 or 5 of the 15 people that came in stomped in with an attitude, treating the secretaries like they were garbage and pitching a fit about any number of things. As far as I could see the issues were "Billy better be able to go on that trip even though we are bringing in our permission form a week and a half late and it's today. Deadlines don't apply to me!" or "What's the meaning of my basketball star daughter not making the school team. Well yes she didn't show up to any of the try outs but they weren't convenient nights for us!!!" It was just a sideshow of the snottiest people who clearly think pitching a fit will get them what they want.

Anyway.. how this relates.. as I stood there I pondered (as I often do) how we try to follow the rules and teach our kids to follow the rules and be polite and productive and take responsibility. And how it might be easier to whine and stomp and complain and get everything we want. But in the end.. integrity means so much more to me.
It's hard not to notice these people at Disney or any other place. But I have to believe that the vast majority of people aren't constantly taking advantage of others. I just have to.

 

[LowesChevy]

KingLlama -thank you-This was my biggest beef with our trip in September (and previous) I just can't believe how rude people can be. I am glad, but also sad that other people realize it because it brings down our total enjoyment.

Things I noticed, guests cutting in line, leaving trash on tables-the floor and in public places, walking backwards, using their cellphones and walking, using their cell phones and bright screens during the shows, standing too close to you in line, bumping into you in line (like can you stand still or maybe realize that you are too close to the person next to you? etc. I know these folks act the same way wherever they go most likely and it is exciting to be on vacation, but how about some common courtesy and sense?!

I give the CMs a hand for dealing with this people on a regular basis and I only deal with it a few times a year

I just wish people would take a deep breath and realize that everyone else is on vacation and they have also spent a lot of their own money too.

 

[Amirah95]

Right on!

 

[mcjaco]

I was there last week as well. I was amazed at the line jumping that was going on....and it wasn't select "group", it was all sorts of people.

Crowds were not good on Monday and Tuesday, which got me flustered, as I was prepared for light crowds. It always seems the heavier the crowds, the worse the human sheep mentality kicks in. So many wanderers, stopping in the middle of midways, or just bad behavior. At least we didn't run into any tour groups from south of the equator!

Overall, we had a good trip. It got better as the week went on. We didn't buy our tickets until we arrived, so we were SOL on FP+. I found the new kiosks terrible to navigate, and slow, when I tried them. And they don't print out your FP times....they actually tell you to take a picture with your phone. Yeah....

We're not big smartphone people either, so out Galaxy SII Skyrockets aren't compatible with the app. We would have been SOL anyway.

 

[saskdw]

walking backwards, using their cellphones and walking, using their cell phones and bright screens during the shows, standing too close to you in line, bumping into you in line (like can you stand still or maybe realize that you are too close to the person next to you? etc. I know these folks act the same way wherever they go most likely and it is exciting to be on vacation, but how about some common courtesy and sense?!

More so than the outright rude people these are the people I notice the most. They are just completely oblivious to what is going on around them, they have no concept of personal space, and no idea how their actions are impacting the people around them.

They aren't intentionally being rude, but they aren't concerned about it either. This is the direction society in general is going these days. It drives me nuts!! I'm always aware of whats going on around me and try to respect other people's space until they give me a reason not to. It's just a lack of common sense in general.

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

We were there last week & DH & I just thought it was us noticing this sort of stuff since we hadn't been in a year. The cms were being treated so badly that I even told the lady cleaning the bathroom thank you & have a great day. I work front line customer service & I know how crappy we are treated at times but people were ridiculous. Especially the guy on a scooter using his cell phone that was oblivious to anyone as he plowed through the after parade crowd. I tried to have a lot of patience but it sure was hard..., even at my Happy Place!!

 

[RustManFan]

my biggest complaint has been the people that literally run over you with their strollers. and how I couldn't even do Fantasyland last trip since there was no walkway....every spot when coming from Liberty Square was full of stroller parking. I know some people need them for their little ones but the age of some kids in them? Mine would have been embarrassed to have a stroller suggested. Some were only a few years away from being teenagers! And I saw them run around so it isn't like they were not capable of walking.

I felt that if older kids got so tired they should be allowed more time to rest and less rushing from place to place....

 

[vfalkner]

Wow - so bummed that you had to see these things. We were there last week also (Nov.8-12) and luckily didn't see any really horrible behavior. There was a lot of the pathway blockers (those that stop with their group of 8 and talk across the whole path) but I feel like that is everywhere and is just something I have learned to deal with and it was a lot more crowded than we expected! But we still had a great trip and found things to be pretty well organized.

Funniest part of our trip was catching the bus home from MK one night. There was quite a line for the bus and it was starting to look full. There was a woman in front of us in line with two sleeping babies in the stroller and the CM wanted to make sure she got on. (We did see two people give up their seats so she and her sister could sit with the sleeping little ones!) So it looked like we were going to have to wait for the next bus. A bummer - but fine. Then the CM hopped on the bus and said "Push in everyone. If you can see the floor, you can squish some more!" It cracked us all up and totally worked. That CM managed to get everyone in line on that bus and it didn't even feel that squished!

 

[njpyro]

I was there the same time, and noticed similar behavior of entitlement. I was waiting in line at town hall and heard nothing but complaints from everyone around me. I needed a new ap card since mine wasn't returned after using it for a discount in a restaurant. Right as I was about to go up to the counter, a woman pushed in from of me from outside and started yelling at the cm because she didn't have fastpasses for Anna and Elsa, and the cm at the turnstile didn't let her kids in anyway, even though they were crying. The cm and several higher ups who came out to address her, basically said the nice disney version of tough luck. I'm glad they didn't cater to her.

 

[boxer]

KingLlama -thank you-This was my biggest beef with our trip in September (and previous) I just can't believe how rude people can be. I am glad, but also sad that other people realize it because it brings down our total enjoyment.

Things I noticed, guests cutting in line, leaving trash on tables-the floor and in public places, walking backwards, using their cellphones and walking, using their cell phones and bright screens during the shows, standing too close to you in line, bumping into you in line (like can you stand still or maybe realize that you are too close to the person next to you? etc. I know these folks act the same way wherever they go most likely and it is exciting to be on vacation, but how about some common courtesy and sense?!

I give the CMs a hand for dealing with this people on a regular basis and I only deal with it a few times a year

I just wish people would take a deep breath and realize that everyone else is on vacation and they have also spent a lot of their own money too.

I forgot to put this in my trip report......I swear that I must have had a magnetic attraction to people just stopping right in front of me---or slowly swerving towards me while walking, and doing the 'slow walk' while reading their phones.

 

[prudence64]

I witnessed a cast member have to get a supervisor to come talk to an upset woman who was upset because they wouldn't let her two small kids - ages 4 and 5 I would guess - ride Dinosaur without an adult.

 

[mummabear]

my biggest complaint has been the people that literally run over you with their strollers. and how I couldn't even do Fantasyland last trip since there was no walkway....every spot when coming from Liberty Square was full of stroller parking. I know some people need them for their little ones but the age of some kids in them? Mine would have been embarrassed to have a stroller suggested. Some were only a few years away from being teenagers! And I saw them run around so it isn't like they were not capable of walking.

I felt that if older kids got so tired they should be allowed more time to rest and less rushing from place to place....

Before kids I would have agreed but now my biggest complaint is the people who use that gap you are leaving between your stroller and the person walking in front of you to cut into or walk through and then get huffy at you when you hit them because you can't actually stop on a dime, or the people who live in their own world and drift side to side across the path making it impossible to go around them despite the fact they are walking so slow that a one legged zombie would leave you on their dust.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

On a hot day in August my wife was taking my son to the restroom, so I decided to grab a seat on the concrete planter next to the Frontierland Shooting Arcade. As I sat down *PLOP*. Someone had thrown what left of their ice cream trash all over the place. Like didn't just toss it, it had to have been deliberate. I had to go buy a new t-shirt so it didn't look like I lacked basic restroom fundamentals for the rest of the day.

For the bad though, I did encounter some really cool acts of kindness. Adults letting stranger kids stand in front of the at parades multiple times, people holding doors for one another, alleviating the stress of standing on an August hot ride line by making small talk and on one case, offering a hand fan. Had I seen something like wheelchair guy, I would have had to say something, but for the most part I saw far more good than bad out of fellow guests.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

It's interesting the way some folks think these days. Saw a story about some poor dude who was pushed off a subway platform in NYC in front of a train. They didn't catch the guy who pushed him but they are looking for him. One of the comments actually blamed the guy who got pushed for standing too close to the platform edge. (Maybe if he had fallen in accidentally, but somebody pushed him in.)

Anywhere you get a large group of people there's going to be a certain number of those with the opposite mentality than you'd expect. More and more these days apparently.

 

[ArwenMarie]

We haven't really run into a lot of this but I think it's because of some stuff we don't do...We generally don't watch the parades (except the 3 p.m. but we just catch it in Frontierland whatever view we can get). We watch the fireworks usually from a resort after dinner. We drive to the parks, so we don't have the issues with the buses. We also walk quite slowly ourselves, so we are probably the people annoying others who are trying to speed walk.

I agree about some of the strollers though. Some of the strollers have gotten so big even since my kids were babies about ten years ago or so. Most people with strollers are courteous and I do feel for them trying to navigate the crowded walkways. But some folks do use them as battering rams to push their way through. That gets me, especially when someone is ramming through my kids.

I also think that there are regional differences. I live in New Jersey and people are generally kind of rude and pushy here as they go about their day whether it's on the roads, the mall, the grocery store, etc. So maybe I don't see the behavior at Disney as anything out of the ordinary LOL.

 

[bumbershoot]

Funniest part of our trip was catching the bus home from MK one night. There was quite a line for the bus and it was starting to look full. There was a woman in front of us in line with two sleeping babies in the stroller and the CM wanted to make sure she got on. (We did see two people give up their seats so she and her sister could sit with the sleeping little ones!) So it looked like we were going to have to wait for the next bus. A bummer - but fine. Then the CM hopped on the bus and said "Push in everyone. If you can see the floor, you can squish some more!" It cracked us all up and totally worked. That CM managed to get everyone in line on that bus and it didn't even feel that squished!

I would have gotten off the bus at that point. Might not have felt that squished, but talk about an unsafe situation! It's a cute saying when in line for Monsters Laugh Floor (Humans, can you see the nice carpet? Step forward so you can't see it!) but on a bus? No.