Tips on being courteous at WDW

[canwegosoon]

My biggest pet peeve is people not getting up to give an older person, woman, children seats on the bus when it is crowded. When my DDs were little, they sat on someone's lap and still do if it's crowded (and they are not "small" girls!), DH still won't sit on the bus. I am amazed with every trip that "gentlemen" continue to sit when women with small kids have to stand. I'm only 5' tall so if I'm not near one of those bars it is a pretty dicey ride for me. My arm is stretched all the way and I almost ended up on someone's lap on the last trip . . . I was tired and not focusing on holding on for dear life. By the way, I did apologize to the "gentleman" who I almost fell on!

Ok I am a traditionalist(I stay home...) but also fairly modern and feel that men do not have to be the only ones getting up for the elderly or those with infant/young children(but someone should). I have to happily report after just returning from WDW for a week at Christmas, I did not see one older person(man or woman) or parent with child/infant standing at any time(unless by choice). I saw an older gentelman(although I am sure he still thinks he's 40) hop right up for a woman with a child. I saw a woman tapping a gentelman(figured it was her DH or SO) to stand for an older couple...the woman sat , but the older man did not. I almost had to take on an elderly woman who did not want me to give up my seat...(it was Christmas and her birthday and she was at least 80)...she was so cute squishing over saying there was room for me to sit( I was laughing...not on my best day would my backside fit in a 5 inch spot , but she was so cute...and she really appericated it, and her DH is holding the strap near me-and you could tell he was happy she was sitting). Hey when I am 80 I expect all those 40 somethings or younger to get up for me!!! I just pray that these last two generations grab a clue- nothing like the generation we are loosing now...but that's a whole nother thread!!!

 

[canwegosoon]

I completely agree, and I think that's the reason why I have such a bad taste in my mouth concerning strollers. In my hundreds (no kidding) trips to Magic Kingdom, I've become so bitter towards these parents who think their children and their stroller can run over anyone like they're more important. That's why I've come to the mentality of "no strollers" because so many people complain about them and the people who use them. Now if everyone was a little more polite in their stroller usage, maybe I wouldn't have such an attitude towards them. And its a sad thing that most parents act like that, and the polite parents are in the minority.

I did have to say something to some woman who was running with an empty stroller at MK...WHY ...and almost ran me and my kids over. So not necessary-life is not a crisis.

 

[elwise1966]

how about if everyone picks up after them selfs .... i know everyone one should but the trash some ppl leave behind is unreal.. how about the old saying GIVE A HOOT DON"T POLUTE

Wow! This is my biggest pet peeve. People who don't pick up after themselves. I mean come on...how much effort does it take to throw away that Big Gulp since you walk by a trash can every 20 feet or so.

And I swear, if I see somebody leaving a dirty diaper, I'm going to pick it up and shove it in their pocket. That's just nasty!

 

[hcnguitar]

Because over here, on the other side of the story, while my family and I, (DW, and 2 DD, 6 and 11 at the time) were on our 1st DV.

We were exiting thru the tunstiles of MK and an old woman in one of the said mobile scooters, RAN OVER my 11 year olds ankle!!!!

It was an accident, but the woman didnt even apoligize, and my daughter who is a tough kid, really really tried to hold back her tears buy she just couldnt.
I was SO angry!!

As we stopped to check out her wounds, the woman and her escort just walked/scooted by, w/o even a glance to see this little crying tween's condition!!

I wanted so badly to just let that woman have it verbally, but I kept myself in check, as this WAS our dream vacation (I did my best the whole trip not to ruin that!!) And, really, what are you going to do to an older disabled woman?!?!

I wished upon her a dead scooter battery, checked out my DD's leg, which was fine, and went on our way toward the monorail.

So, dont take it personally next time we 'jet' by you, were just trying not to get ran over!!!

 

[TMB1203]

Ok I am a traditionalist(I stay home...) but also fairly modern and feel that men do not have to be the only ones getting up for the elderly or those with infant/young children(but someone should).

I agree! I was at WDW while I was pregnant and "most" of the time somebody would give up their seat for me. When my DS was 1 and 2 we were there and people would give up their seat to let me sit with him.

My DH and My DS always give up their seat if there is an elderly, pregnant or person with small child standing.

I have also been on buses where nobody else but my DH and DS would budge for an elderly, pregnant or person with small child.

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Peeve #1

Parents who abandon their rental strollers in the tunnels under the station when exiting MK at park closing. I'm in a wheelchair and it's impossible to get around them when the tunnels are packed solid with people trying to leave.

Peeve #2

Parents teaching their children to be criminals.

Last trip I am staying concierge at Grand Floridian. The elevator I was using is used by everyone to get from the lobby level to the monorail level, but you need a room key to go higher. I get in, put in my room key, and non-concierge guests (mother, father & 6 year old child) get in behind me.

They don't get out at monorail level but ride up to the concierge lobby with me. Father follows me out of the elevator, grabs two bananas from a fruit bowl and jumps back into the elevator. As the doors close I hear his wife telling him off for not getting three!

Now a couple of bananas is neither here nor there, but what message were the parents giving to their child?

Andrew

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

This one may be just us but one thing that gets us every time are when the people who are hot and sweaty go into the shops and try on one hat after another with no intention of buying any of them. They pose for pictures in them then just put them back on the rack. We just find it quite disgusting and won't buy any hats at WDW for that reason alone.

Another little thing that bugs us is when parents just refuse to clue in to the fact that their kid is tired and does not want to stay at the park any longer, regardless of how much the park tickets cost. Probably the best example of this we can think of was at MNSSHP last year when one woman was almost sprinting to a trick or treat spot at about 11:30 pm carrying 5 overstuffed bags of candy in one hand while dragging her child with her other and yelling at the child for not being able to keep up when this child (about 3 yrs old) was so tired he couldn't even keep his eyes open.

Sticking with the parent-child theme for a moment, it's already been mentioned but it's too true to leave out, when parents think that because they're on vacation at Disney their children are entitled to do whatever they want. We were both shocked when we were sitting in the AK Lodge lobby last year waiting for our 9:30 dinner reservations at Boma and the lobby was full of kids running around and screaming at the top of their lungs with no parents to be found anywhere. A newsflash for mom and dad - you're the only ones who think little Johnny is cute when he does this.

We also have to agree with the flash photos on dark rides. Last fall when riding the HM we were stuck in the doombuggy behind some genius who thought he'd shoot flash pictures throughout the entire ride.

The people with strollers, wheelchairs, and scooters have mentioned people stopping right in front of them as a problem. They're not alone. It's not difficult to move over to the side of the pathway if you want to read a map or have a group discussion of where to go next. More than a few times we've bumped into someone who has just stopped in their tracks in the middle of a pathway (and yes we apologize when that happens) or have stopped in time but gotten bumped from behind by someone else who couldn't.

When you're on a ride is not the best time to loudly carry on a conversation with your party. The other people who are trying to enjoy the ride really don't care where you want to eat dinner that night.

When you're crammed into a relatively small area with thousands of other vacationers it's inevitable that someone will do something that irritates you, be it by accident or simply not caring. When this happens just let it go. Last fall we were in the AK parking lot when a family with a disabled member (but no handicapped parking permit) explained the situation to the CM who was directing the vehicles where to park. Naturally he let them park on the end of the row closest to the trams while the rest of the vehicles coming in at that time were parking about in the middle of the row. This one couple got so upset with this they yelled at the CM and ordered him to have that vehicle towed because it didn't have a handicapped permit. The whole time we were waiting for the tram, throughout the whole ride to the park gates, and while waiting in the security line to have our bag checked this couple were ranting non-stop about Disney not making the people move their vehicle. I'm sure these people didn't understand the situation and thought these people were just parking on the end so they didn't have to walk that extra 45 seconds to the tram but they just couldn't let it go. I have to admit it was kinda fun to listen to them stewing about it on the tram ride.

These are a few of the things that we notice while we're at WDW but we don't let them ruin our trip. We just let it go at the time then vent when a thread like this gives us the opportunity. Thanks to the OP for giving us a chance to vent...we feel cleansed.

 

[zzyzx409]

T

The people with strollers, wheelchairs, and scooters have mentioned people stopping right in front of them as a problem. They're not alone. It's not difficult to move over to the side of the pathway if you want to read a map or have a group discussion of where to go next. More than a few times we've bumped into someone who has just stopped in their tracks in the middle of a pathway (and yes we apologize when that happens) or have stopped in time but gotten bumped from behind by someone else who couldn't.

Every time I see threadls like this, even way, way back to the days when RADP was still active, the same topics came up.

People with strollers who appeared to be careless, and people with strollers who got run over by others (both sides of the story).

Flash Photography,

Cell Phones,

Smoking (my pet peeve, bad allergies and astmha,),

People just stopping, stepping out in front, whatever, well, that's going to happen, I just don't see anyway around it, when you get 50,000 people in the same place (summer attendence in each park) everybody is not going to always know where they are going. That used to bug me a lot, because it frightened me a lot, because I was always afraid I would run into someone and hurt them, so I try to leave a little extra room (which sometimes works for a short time).

Then there's wheelchairs and ECV's, I've seen both sides of the story, and then I had to start using one and it became a little more personal. Back in 2003 was the first time I had to use one. Then it was part time at WDW, then in 2004, still part time, but a little less part and a lot more time. Then in late 2005 I finally had to buy my own for use around my home areas, malls, Disneyland, zoos, etc. (not in the house, yet). Now I have two scooters, one largeer one for all day use at Malls, Disneyland, zoos, etc, and a smaller travel scooter for use in airports.

Anyway, I've seen a lot, maybe most of it, I hope there is not much more with scooters and such. Anyway, back in 2003 I wrote an essay about scooter use at WDW and updated it in 2004, and it is still pretty much the same as of my last trip in Dec. 2006. If you want to read it, it might help some scooter users understand more and some non-scooter users understand more about using a scooter at WDW. The URL is:

http://www.anaheimtoorlando.com/scooter.html

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

Later,

Andy

 

[quiltymom]

Smile! And do the Golden Rule thing - treat others as you wish to be treated.

Also, I have made a pledge not to let someone else's stupidity or anger ruin my day, which I have learned first-hand.

Last trip, after exiting the Lion King show at Ak, I stopped to take a photo of the Mickey and Pals statues fishing at the creek. After taking the photo, I took one small step backwards and I was knocked over by a very large, angry woman on an ECV, who immediately started yelling at me that I should look where I was going and that I should always give the right of way to anyone disabled, etc. etc. AND she managed to incite many others in the crowd to side with her, needless to say that I was on the ground, crying over my injured ankle she so carelessly hit. No apology from her, no asking if I was hurt - just anger at me for not putting her first. So, I screamed at her with all my might, which did nothing but make the angry lady more angry and spiteful, until DH told me to drop it and to seek medical help if I needed it. Luckily I was able to walk after about 10 minutes, but I had a limp the rest of the day. I had to choose to forgive and forget - even though the woman was long gone, otherwise I would've ruined the rest of the day for myself.

I've realized the hard way the life is full of "road rage", even though you may not be on the road. It's the unfortunate that the "I'm most important" mentality exsists in the world today with no thought of giving of yourself to others, and if you point the infraction out to the person in question, you will only get flamed.

But I have realized that a little kindness and courtesy goes a long way, and that accidents do happen.
-I always open doors for people with or without strollers, whether they deserve it or not, because this is the way my parents raised me. Plus, I always appreciated the kindness of strangers when I needed help.
-I will say "excuse me" to those who bump into me, rather than a negative "watch where you're going!" The response is usually positive than negative.
-Say please and thank you - with a smile - for everything.
-If someone is doing something incredibly rude, like cell phone, smoking, swearing, I'll nicely ask them to please refrain until later. Again, I usually receive a positive response. If not, ask a cast member to intervene.

I'll always remember a situation at a McDonald's. I was in the play area with my kids & a mom from our preschool entered with her kids, a tray of food, and a baby in a stroller. A milkshake dropped onto the infant, covering her, and all the mom could do is yell at her boys for being so stuipd as to bump her. I jumped up to wash off the baby, and the mom just waited for me to finish, then walked off without even a thank you. After that she even purposly turned her back on me at the school - and not of imbarassment, either. That part completely amazed me. Chalk it up to an, "oh, well."

Enough of my sermon. It's all in your attitude. A little bit of honey goes a long way... I figure I'm at WDW to have fun, even though there are a few bumps along the way.

 

[disneymomof6]

I can say that I honestly read everyones post on this thread and found it all quite interesting.....

1. Maybe instead of saying that kids in strollers or "leashes" dont belong there maybe it is easier and more accurate to say that adults who cant control their behavior either with or without kids dont belong there.... is it the kids in the strollers that are the problem or the crazy adults pushing them into people rudely that dont belong there? AS a mom I cant say that I have never bumped into someone BUT I am not a nut with a stroller using my kids as leverage to get through a crowd as some people see it..... Just remember where the blame lies... with the pusher not the innocent child in the stroller.

2. GOSH DARN IT....when im sitting there taking the time away from having fun in the parks just so I can have a good spot at the parades or fireworks.... dont come strolling through 10 minutes before hand and stand in front of me..... and parents.... dont stand behind me and send your kids through the crowd to stand in front of me un chaperoned as I dont want to watch your naughty kids fighting and goofying off while im standing there with my kids trying to have a relaxing time.... if you dont want them by you during the parades/shows... chances are other people dont want them by them either....

3. When the CM's warn you to stop feeding the seaguls food.... STOP FEEDING THEM!!! I will never understand why people think it is so neat to feed these flying rats and bring them in around everyone intentionally.... do your research on these birds and what they get themselves into before you lure them in around my table where I am eating....

4. If you dont want your kids asking for a ton of things in the stores... dont go in there... nothing I hate more is seeing a child hurt, crying or upset when they are unable to get something as a souvenior.... if your child is crying because you have already spent $500 on them for toys and what not and they are crying and your screaming at them that you arent spending another dime... that is entirely YOUR FAULT dont scream at them.... make sure your kids know what to expect before hand and dont tease and taunt them by taking them to look at things if you dont have the $$ to buy anything....
As a mom I always am very careful to choose my battles so to speak.... if I know its going to be an issue or potential issue... I dont let it come up.

As far as parents that put their kids on leashes.... I have 6 children and I have had 1 child where that was the only option I felt I had for him... he was a runner and I had some rude people act like i was abusing him by using it... BUT I am and was a parent trying to protect my child and keep them from being gone.... if you dont like it.... too bad.... if you have a 1 yr old thats learning to walk and you think its cute (which it is cute but not at disney) to let them walk in the crowds.... expect that they will get knocked over. Just see ahead of time that its an issue and prevent it by keeping them in stroller and let them walk at the resorts....

 

[udsweetpea]

I can say that I honestly read everyones post on this thread and found it all quite interesting.....

1. Maybe instead of saying that kids in strollers or "leashes" dont belong there maybe it is easier and more accurate to say that adults who cant control their behavior either with or without kids dont belong there.... is it the kids in the strollers that are the problem or the crazy adults pushing them into people rudely that dont belong there? AS a mom I cant say that I have never bumped into someone BUT I am not a nut with a stroller using my kids as leverage to get through a crowd as some people see it..... Just remember where the blame lies... with the pusher not the innocent child in the stroller.

You're absolutely right. It is the parents who don't know how to control the behavior of their children and the parents who have absolutely no regard for others.

As for the leashes- the only time I've seen the leashes is when the parents pick their kids up using the leashes, so their limp little bodies are dangling in the air. I've seen it more times than I'd like to remember.

 

[C.Ann]

As for the leashes- the only time I've seen the leashes is when the parents pick their kids up using the leashes, so their limp little bodies are dangling in the air. I've seen it more times than I'd like to remember.

-------------------------------

Oh please.. I'm 57 yrs. old and I have seen plenty of kids on leashes in my lifetime - at Disney and elsewhere - and I have NEVER seen a parent pick their child up using the leash "so their limp little bodies are dangling in the air.." Sorry - but that statement is downright laughable!

 

[udsweetpea]

-------------------------------

Oh please.. I'm 57 yrs. old and I have seen plenty of kids on leashes in my lifetime - at Disney and elsewhere - and I have NEVER seen a parent pick their child up using the leash "so their limp little bodies are dangling in the air.." Sorry - but that statement is downright laughable!

Believe what you want... but I've seen it MANY times when I worked at Disney. You might find it laughable, but its not funny when you see it.

 

[C.Ann]

Believe what you want... but I've seen it MANY times when I worked at Disney. You might find it laughable, but its not funny when you see it.

-----------------------------------------------

Once a day? Twice a day? Ten times a day?

"Limp little bodies dangling in the air by a leash" is child abuse.. How many times did you report it?

 

[C.Ann]

Every time I see threadls like this, even way, way back to the days when RADP was still active, the same topics came up.

People with strollers who appeared to be careless, and people with strollers who got run over by others (both sides of the story).

Flash Photography,

Cell Phones,

Smoking (my pet peeve, bad allergies and astmha,),

People just stopping, stepping out in front, whatever, well, that's going to happen, I just don't see anyway around it, when you get 50,000 people in the same place (summer attendence in each park) everybody is not going to always know where they are going. That used to bug me a lot, because it frightened me a lot, because I was always afraid I would run into someone and hurt them, so I try to leave a little extra room (which sometimes works for a short time).

Then there's wheelchairs and ECV's, I've seen both sides of the story, and then I had to start using one and it became a little more personal. Back in 2003 was the first time I had to use one. Then it was part time at WDW, then in 2004, still part time, but a little less part and a lot more time. Then in late 2005 I finally had to buy my own for use around my home areas, malls, Disneyland, zoos, etc. (not in the house, yet). Now I have two scooters, one largeer one for all day use at Malls, Disneyland, zoos, etc, and a smaller travel scooter for use in airports.

Anyway, I've seen a lot, maybe most of it, I hope there is not much more with scooters and such. Anyway, back in 2003 I wrote an essay about scooter use at WDW and updated it in 2004, and it is still pretty much the same as of my last trip in Dec. 2006. If you want to read it, it might help some scooter users understand more and some non-scooter users understand more about using a scooter at WDW. The URL is:

http://www.anaheimtoorlando.com/scooter.html

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

Later,

Andy

----------------------------------

I read your essay and found it very informative.. Thanks for sharing..

I can see somewhere down the road where my sis may need one of those scooters so I know where you're coming from.. But I saw an incident in Dec. where a man in one of those motorized scooters hit a little girl and trapped her leg under the scooter.. She didn't step out in front of him - nor did she stop suddenly.. It was in Epcot and the man was looking out across the lake - rather than in front of him where he was driving.. I saw several incidents like this during our trip where the drivers were looking elsewhere and literally seconds before the accident I witnessed I mentioned to my son-in-law that sooner or later someone was going to get injured.. No sooner got the words out of my mouth when we heard this blood curdling scream..

I guess we all have to be more careful - those walking around and those using the scooters.. It's really no different than driving a car - the driver of the "car" has to keep their eyes on the "road" at all times.. If the driver would like to stop to look at something (and this goes for the walker as well), move over to the side and stop - out of the mainstream of traffic..

No one should be excluded from enjoying WDW - but no one should have to run the risk of being injured by incidents that can be avoided..

 

[udsweetpea]

-----------------------------------------------

Once a day? Twice a day? Ten times a day?

"Limp little bodies dangling in the air by a leash" is child abuse.. How many times did you report it?

Never reported it. And yes, I know its child abuse.

 

[dkostel]

One night my 70yo parents, my 12yo niece and I went to Pecos Bills for a snack and to watch Spectro from the patio. We got a seat by the wall that no one could stand in front of so it was a great view. My niece moved her seat next to mine, away from the table to see. There was a party of about 6 who were sitting at a table across an isle from the wall. They cleared their throats repeatedly and gave my niece dirty looks (which she had to point out too me). The thing was she was at least 4 feet to the side of them, not directly in front. I think they wanted a 180 degree view or something. We all scooted over a little and they seemed happy. It was a good 15 minutes prior to the parade and they rudely chased out 2 other parties trying to watch the parade before they scooted their chairs next to the wall and complained right up until parade time. I would never get directly in front of someone waiting for the parade, but honestly all they needed to do was scoot up to the wall. Instead they spent 15+ minutes complaining that people didn't respect their imaginary 10 foot radius parade bubble. It would have been like someone standing 5 feet behind the rope on Main St and then expecting people not to fill in that space.

 

[ang]

.

2. GOSH DARN IT....when im sitting there taking the time away from having fun in the parks just so I can have a good spot at the parades or fireworks.... dont come strolling through 10 minutes before hand and stand in front of me..... and parents.... dont stand behind me and send your kids through the crowd to stand in front of me un chaperoned as I dont want to watch your naughty kids fighting and goofying off while im standing there with my kids trying to have a relaxing time.... if you dont want them by you during the parades/shows... chances are other people dont want them by them either.


Totally. That is my pet peeve.

My family get a kick watching this. Can always count on this to happen.
YOu have a group of people trying to squeeze in where they dont fit and pushing everyone else out of the way to watch the parade. Or a group of people split up and slowly move forward little by little to the front to see the parade.

I don't like to be squeeze out of the way or slowly this person is passing by to get the front of me or my children. If you want to see the parade arrive early to get your spot.

We are all on vacation. Put a smile on your face and be happy.

 

[OhioFamily]

I will never understand why people think it is so neat to feed these flying rats and bring them in around everyone intentionally.... do your research on these birds and what they get themselves into before you lure them in around my table where I am eating....

I agree!! I always call seguls flying rats and they really creep me out!

 

[CinderellaBride12]

I have picked up several Park Peeves on my trips...

*One of them that really got me was this girl pushed into me then turned around gave me a screw you look and started walking towards me like she was going to try and beat me up. Seriously, you hit me come on now.

*Another thing that gets me is the people that think the rules don't apply. Good example...Our trip last April a group of teens pushed thru people during Spectro and jumped the rails then would not move. They stayed ignoring several people asking them to move...I finally got fed up and walked away to call Security. Working there really helps you pick up on those phone numbers.

*Seagulls...Not controlled but big peeve of mine. What's worse is when a CM stands there and watches them take your food or poop on someone and they just laugh and dont offer help. I saw a lady that was older have half her hot dog taken out by a seagull and she stared to cry and the CM nearby just stared smirking.

*Linecutters are the Worst! Not to mention people who ruin the ride by talking loudly/screaming/or singing obnoxiously during a ride. We couldn't tape Splash last time because some teenage boy was singing horribly and the two girls were laughing.

*Smokers REALLY bug me. I live with my parents and both smoke but when I go to WDW I expect to be away from it and especially shouldn't have to deal with it in the lines.

*People who step in front of you during a parade/firework show and just stands there like you don't exist.

My list can go on and on but I think I will save everyone from having to listen to it. Just keep in mind the park is for more then just you and you should use your manners. Sure we all lose sight of that sometimes and just want to smack those that make it much worse but try to be considerate. When I have accidentally bumped someone I turn and say sorry half the time they don't even look but at least I try.