Unfortunate incident at Haunted Mansion

[rbuzzotta]

We were waiting in line last week(Monday) for about 20 minutes. We were still outside and there were 2 lines. We were in the outer line closest to the gate overlooking the water.

As we were gettting closer to the area where we would be going thru the turnstyle a large group of about 20 began to push and shove the line!!! DH and I immediately grabbed our younger DD's and made sure our oldest DD was close. I got an elbow in the rib, DD#1 was pushed by an older woman and that woman just stared me in the eyes and said....."You snooze, you loose" in a saracastic southern voice. The 'ringleader' of this group was yelling to the crowd behind him to "come on and move it". The back of the group was pushing...........

Lo and behold, we got on the ride wtih them.............After we exited the 'stretching room', we were once again in a very pushy situation................The older woman who stated, "you snooze, you loose" then shoved by oldest DD into the wall and Dd did something to her kneee!! When we got on the ride, my whole family was separted (DH had 2 and I was with my oldest DD) about 4 cars away!! It got so conngested they had to stop the moving walkway and ride.

DD was in pain the entire ride and her knee is still bothering her!! I believe the 'shove' maybe made her twist her knee and it is a sprain. If it isn't feeling better today I will take her to have it checked out.

After the ride, DH spoke with a cast member and aske to speak to a manager. WE waited about 15 minutes and she never returned with a manager. We wanted to explain that in over 15 years coming to WDW we have never experienced anything like this!! It was scarey!! Someone could have gotten seriously hurt!! (DD #1 did get hurt and her knee is still bothering her 1 week later!!)

So friends, please be careful of crowd pushers. Hold on to your precious children! Don't let it put a damper on your magical time like it did us...............(we still enjoyed the evening but DD sat in the stroller alot, she did not want to leave the park even though her knee was slightly swollen, CM's were nice to give us ice)

 

[hygienejean]

Wow that is TERRIBLE! It is hard to believe that grown men and women would act in that way! And in Disney World? I don't blame you for being upset.

I would write a letter for sure and complain. Good Luck!

 

[sweet maxine]

I'm really sorry that happened to your family. That you said one of the persons responsible had a southern voice concerns me also. As a person who as always lived my life in the South, I have been taught by my mother and by teachers, Sunday School, church, and relatives to treat people kindly. I think as far as my experience goes, most Southerners are truly hospitable, generous, and kind people who will usually give you the "shirt off their back" if need be. I hope that you do not have to experience any more run-ins with the type of people you were around in the ride. I have been to WDW and experienced line-cutters and those who could use their mouths washed out with soap. It's hard to explain to your children why those kind of things happen. I just tell my children, "Now there's an example of what you should NEVER DO!" I hope your girls are okay. Maybe a little extra TLC will do the trick.

 

[jtjarvis]

I just think rude and ignorant people come in all sizes, sexes and from all parts of the world. I'm a southerner too and you're right Maxine, I think the majority are manners-conscious and laid back (except in Atlanta traffic where I live, LOL). But I've seen rude and aggressive people here, there, everywhere .... that is a shocker at WDW tho.

Boy that is such an upsetting experience and I hope your DD's knee is better. I hope those people got noticed and tossed out elsewhere during the day as I'm sure their behavior didn't change!

 

[seashoreCM]

Was there a CM at the ride boarding area? SHould'a called atten5ion to the incident there, not after the ride. Made a big issue of it there too so the ride could be stopped, andthe miscreants could be identified and ejected from the park.

Much better than bringing your brother in law (your DD's uncle) and given one or more of the miscreants a hard shove in return.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Julma]

We rode the Haunted Mansion on 4/20. Same type of situation. The pushing and shoving was scary. I think there needs to be much more control on this ride. You feel like cattle!!

 

[Eyore4Ever149]

Thank you for posting, we are headed there shortly and thats one of my favorite attractions, I certainly will be sure to watch out, Ill let them pass by me rather than ruin my vacation, such a shame a CM didn't have an opportunity to see this happen, or that a manager was not brought immediately to speak with you.

Give your daughter a hug from all us DISer's who are sorry she got hurt at a place made for kids!!

 

[sweet maxine]

Jtjarvis, you are right about the Atlanta traffic! BTW, AAA routes us through or around Atlanta to go to Orlando, and I wondered how long your drive is from there. Nice to see someone else headed to the Fort! We will be there in 3 weeks. I hope all the pushers and shovers will be somewhere else.

 

[Samirella]

Originally posted by seashoreCM
Was there a CM at the ride boarding area? SHould'a called atten5ion to the incident there, not after the ride. Made a big issue of it there too so the ride could be stopped, andthe miscreants could be identified and ejected from the park.

Much better than bringing your brother in law (your DD's uncle) and given one or more of the miscreants a hard shove in return.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

I agree. There really wasn't much the manager could have done for you once the ride was over and these people were gone. always bring something like this to the attention of the attractions cm loading the ride. That way they can take care of it right away.

 

[Sansaarai]

So how was this Disneys fault?

 

[CamColt]

Holy Cow!
What the heck is wrong with people? I think I would have been just as aggravated that a manager never came. Sure there wasnt much they could have done at that point, but it would have showed they cared and at least given you some satsifaction.
Im sorry you guys had to experience this behavior at such a magical place. Sure hope DD's knee feels better soon. No one should have to have Disney battle scars.

 

[HunnyPots]

"So how was this Disneys fault?"

Well, if they do not provide crowd control so that guests may board a ride safely then they are at fault. If a cm fails to do his or her job, people can and do get hurt. Pretty simple really.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

The HM has a terrible que. It is 10 people wide and then you are funneled into a few lines. We were pushed around a lot. I think they should do something about this. We held on to our children so that they wouldn't get seperated from us by the crowd.

Lori

 

[HaleyB]

I am sorry this happened to your family. It shouldn't be this way, not in or out of WDW. When did people start forgetting to be kind? Where does this me first at any cost attitude come from?
As to how this is Disney's fault, it is their resbonsibility to keep it from happening and to make it right if it does.

 

[BrianMonk]

So how was this Disneys fault?

While not knowing everything about this situation, Disney (in general) is 100% responsible for crowd control. Whether it's waiting for a ride, parking, park entrance, etc...

 

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by CamColt
What the heck is wrong with people? I think I would have been just as aggravated that a manager never came. Sure there wasnt much they could have done at that point, but it would have showed they cared and at least given you some satsifaction.

The OP didn't say a manager NEVER came; they said they waited for 15 min and the CM hadn't come back with a manager yet.

Think about the size of MK and the size of the Liberty Square portion of the park. Think about the crowds and how long it could take someone to get from point A to point B. (The tunnels don't really help you here ... it's just as far either way.) And realize that managers are very mobile -- they're not always exactly where you think they'll be. Even if the CM radio'd the manager and they were on the other side of Liberty Square, it could take them 15 mins just to make it to HM. Because you're walking through a crowded park, wearing a nametag and people keep stopping you and asking you questions. If the manager was dealing with some other guest issue when they were called, or they were in a meeting or something and had to wrap that up before they could get down to the ride, it would obviously take them a bit longer. (Unless it was an emergency -- which it doesn't sound like it was -- in which case they'd drop everything and call for back-up on their way.)

The CM should have managed the expectations of the guest by telling them that it might take some time to get a manager there. But only waiting 15 mins before deciding that no one was ever coming back was a little unreasonable on the guest's part, IMO.

It's a rotten thing to have happen on a Disney vacation, but complaining about it was a good move and I'm sure it was frustrating to have to wait. But I'd bet that the CM returned with a manager less than five minutes after the OP and family left the ride, which was probably frustrating for the manager too.

 

[NMAmy]

I've noticed this recently on a lot of Disney rides...a large group of people are funneled into an area for the pre-show, then the door opens and it's push and shove to get back into a single queue. DD, DH, and I always hold hands and form a chain but I constantly saw kids separated from their parents in the rush to get to the ride. Rock-n-Rollercoaster is a good example of this.

 

[HANDYMOM]

Originally posted by Sansaarai
So how was this Disneys fault?

Now don't get me wrong, I think Disney does a great job in keeping things safe for the most part.

However, because Disney has a reasonable expectation that there will be crowds that will be anxious and could become physical, then they also have the responsibility to staff the wait queues adequately to keep anything physical from happening.

It's been 6 years since we've been so I don't remember where the CM's were placed at the Haunted Mansion but hopefully this was a rare, yet unfortunate, incident.

I hope the sweet girl that was hurt is back to 100% soon!

 

[rbuzzotta]

As the original poster, I want to clarify to Sansaarai that I am not saying it was Disney's fault!!!

I posted to make my friends here on the DIS aware of the lines and shoving and most importantly to protect their precious children from such a mishappening!!!

I have visited Disney way to many times to count and this is honestly the very first time we have experienced anything like this. In the past we have experienced pushing and shoving but absolutely nothing like this one where one of my children (and myself) got hurt!!!

Maybe we should have complained to the CM at the door and DH did say something to the CM loading the cars..........which, may have contributed to the ride stopping (don't know for sure). The CM's were definelty aware of the pushing and shoving onn the moving boarding area otherwise they would not have stopped the ride!!!

We waited 15 minutes and probably would have waited more if DD didn't want to go and get some ice for her knee!! (let me say that DD is very athletic (see picture below) and has a high tolerance for pain and when she was teary eyed and complaining her knee hurt we decided to leave and give her some needed attention!).

As for writing a letter to complain.............that really isn't my style but if it will help to prevent any further injuries than maybe I will do it!

 

[HANDYMOM]

I think you should definately write a letter and forward it to not only the Public Relations dept. but also directly to their legal dept.

I'm sure Disney wants to keep their parks safe for all to enjoy and would take steps to not only protect their patrons but also to prevent any future liability issues for them.

Another way to look at it is, if people who have bad experiences that could be fixed with CM placement don't tell them, how else will they know that the correction is needed?