Vent re: Dumbo and adult only riders

[mrbghd]

If the OP's logic was right then I as an adult should be upset that there are people pushing strollers with little ones that can't ride any rides at all, they are just taking up valuable space. GET OVER IT. My wife and I pay for our trip like you and your kid so we are entitled to ride what we want. Apparently your kid needs to learn to wait and be patient. There are many things in life that require us to wait and that includes Disney. Adults pay to go to disney to act like kids and remember their childhood.

 

[glitterkittyy]

You know what - they are fake princesses inside a fake castle. She does get Disney for what it really is - and in that her opinion is just as valid as anyone elses. If some people want to bathe in pixie dust and get tears in their eyes seeing the castle - that's really really cool. And there are going to be other people who see a huge and effective marketing machine - but one that their children enjoy. And that is what Disney REALLY is just as much as anything else.

I go to WDW as an adult to wonder at the logistics of the place - and there are a lot of Disney logistics geeks like me. Meeting fake characters in a fake castle isn't all that interesting to me. Autograph books interested my children when they were younger, but I don't see any reason to stand in line. I do understand that some adults want to dine with Cindy or ride Dumbo - and could care less about the tunnels under the MK and wouldn't dream of playing "spot the guy controlling the talking trashcan" - much less my husband's favorite game of "which is the security guy." For them, they do like the "magic" - but Disney is REALLY about a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

Next you'll be telling me that SANTA isn't real!

There is the money making aspect to any theme park. The intent and vision of Walt, though, is what sets WDW apart. I believe in the magic of Walt's legacy. If that makes me look at WDW with rose-colored glasses, so be it. But no one is going to convince me that when I see Mickey, it's not real. It's real to me, and that's all that matters. There's no need for the OP, or anyone else, to try to remove our rose-colored glasses.

 

[mrbghd]

I agree! AND I don't think girls should be allowed on Tom Sawyer's Island, and boys should be allowed to eat at the castle or meet the princessess. I don't think Latin Americans should be allowed to ride el rio del tiempo... come on they slow down the line and they can just see that stuff at home. Heck if you are from the UK don't you dare try to make an ADR for Rose and Crown. Stealing my ADR when you can just get that stuff back home! While I'm at it... if you have two good legs no fair taking the monorail after the park closes. That forces us all to wait longer to get on one. I think you should just walk back to the TTC. And NO kids should be allowed on... Well you get my point

I am standing in my office and applauding you. Very Well Done!!!!!!

 

[Bethy Lou]

You know what - they are fake princesses inside a fake castle. She does get Disney for what it really is - and in that her opinion is just as valid as anyone elses. If some people want to bathe in pixie dust and get tears in their eyes seeing the castle - that's really really cool. And there are going to be other people who see a huge and effective marketing machine - but one that their children enjoy. And that is what Disney REALLY is just as much as anything else.

I go to WDW as an adult to wonder at the logistics of the place - and there are a lot of Disney logistics geeks like me. Meeting fake characters in a fake castle isn't all that interesting to me. Autograph books interested my children when they were younger, but I don't see any reason to stand in line. I do understand that some adults want to dine with Cindy or ride Dumbo - and could care less about the tunnels under the MK and wouldn't dream of playing "spot the guy controlling the talking trashcan" - much less my husband's favorite game of "which is the security guy." For them, they do like the "magic" - but Disney is REALLY about a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

I disagree with you on some of this. My husband and I love the magic of Disney, but we also like the things that you do too. He pointed out the Push guy, and I surprised him with Keys to the Kingdom tour because we love the background behind Disney. I think that as a Disney fan yourself you appreciate a different part of it than some of the others, but you are still a Disney fan. I do not think the OP is a fan of Disney, I think she just sees it as a place to take her kids so they can ride rides and see characters. That does not make Disney different than any other amusement location for her because Disney is not a special place for her it is just another location.

 

[pabsandme]

I disagree with you on some of this. My husband and I love the magic of Disney, but we also like the things that you do too. He pointed out the Push guy, and I surprised him with Keys to the Kingdom tour because we love the background behind Disney. I think that as a Disney fan yourself you appreciate a different part of it than some of the others, but you are still a Disney fan. I do not think the OP is a fan of Disney, I think she just sees it as a place to take her kids so they can ride rides and see characters. That does not make Disney different than any other amusement location for her because Disney is not a special place for her it is just another location.

I agree with you. We love the Disney Magic and we have also done many different tours. Seeing how WDW works is as much the Disney Magic to us as riding Dumbo or seeing a character.

WDW is a theme park. I love the theme and want to avail myself of it. Other parks are amusement parks and I would not think of riding the helicopters (Dumbo ride) at them. If that is all the OP wants is to get the kids on rides, then maybe an amusement park is a better choice.

 

[Magic Mom]

WOW!!! 25 pages debating how old is too old for Dumbo.....

I have an offer to make....if someone else wants to buy my ticket, I will gladly give up my Dumbo seat for the ENTIRE day! How 'bout them apples!?!?!

 

[MNWDWMANIAC]

You know what - they are fake princesses inside a fake castle. She does get Disney for what it really is - and in that her opinion is just as valid as anyone elses. If some people want to bathe in pixie dust and get tears in their eyes seeing the castle - that's really really cool. And there are going to be other people who see a huge and effective marketing machine - but one that their children enjoy. And that is what Disney REALLY is just as much as anything else.

I go to WDW as an adult to wonder at the logistics of the place - and there are a lot of Disney logistics geeks like me. Meeting fake characters in a fake castle isn't all that interesting to me. Autograph books interested my children when they were younger, but I don't see any reason to stand in line. I do understand that some adults want to dine with Cindy or ride Dumbo - and could care less about the tunnels under the MK and wouldn't dream of playing "spot the guy controlling the talking trashcan" - much less my husband's favorite game of "which is the security guy." For them, they do like the "magic" - but Disney is REALLY about a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

I think you should take a moment and read the entire thread to get the context of what was being said in my response to the OP. The point of the response had nothing to do with the castle being real or not being real. There was a much larger point to the discussion that gets missed when you only post my response. The OP stated that Adults without children should not visit character dinners etc. Someone else pointed out that at one point there was an opening at the Castle to eat back in 2002 before there was a princess dinner there. There was comparisons on how alot of the dinners have characters now that didn't before.

The OP took that opportunity to make the comment that the lack of characters back in the day was probably why there was no one eating at the castle back then.

The OP then stated they never understood the point of eating inside a "fake castle".

Hence my response.....Referencing the same comment from the OP that it wasn't ok for the OP when it was a fake castle but fake princesses made it ok for her.

It wasn't about it being fake, real or how she sees Disney compared to others. It was a small example of her twisted logic and answers that clearly have no purpose but to stir people up here. It wasn't an attempt to invalidate her opinion. In fact if you spend a few moments reading the MULTIPLE times I have asked her to clarify her comments you would see that I've tried to show the OP how she is confusing people on what exactly her opinion is. The OP has chosen not to answer those questions.

I like you, enjoy knowing and learning how WDW does what it does. I read books, look for backstage things and spend hours going over satellite pics online. I'm not one to visit the castle when I'm alone. But I'm not one to tell others when and when they should not visit something at WDW. There is something to the WDW that isn't about fake and real but about being DISNEY. Thats what the point is....

You either get Disney or you don't.

By stating adults should not ride Dumbo the OP makes it clear she doesn't get what Walt Disney intended with his world. There is no real way to dispute to that statement unless someone can show the rest of the world that Walt said otherwise.

 

[mandymommy4]

This thread just makes me sad because I had an encounter with a nasty mom on Dumbo. I could not read past the 1st page and was not even going to post but decided to.

My 17 year old cousin is Autistic. He is extremely low functioning and has the mental boundaries of a 6-7 year old. He is very tall, over 6 ft and looks like a foot ball player. You cannot tell by just looking at him there is anything wrong.

I am a local pass holder and he lives in Tampa and since he was 4 we have been taking him to the Magic Kingdom for his b-day.

Last year we got blasted by a woman when we used his medical pass to go to the front of Dumbo. She ranted about how it was a 90 min wait and her kids were waiting in line and that a bunch of adults should be ashamed of themselves skipping a bunch of kids. I tried to ignore her but I decided to let her know that my cousin was a kid stuck in an adult body. She just looked and me and said whatever. I told her that she was blessed to have kids that would grow up and enjoy normal mild stones like getting a license on their 16th birthdays but he is celebrating his 16th at his favorite place. I was so upset by her hatefulness I almost left but my cousin would have gone bazerk. He did get excited and talked to me in his crazy language, and I think that lady felt like a moron after she realized he was special needs.

We are very careful to not abuse the pass we get when we take my cousin. We normally use fast passes as much as possible but on rides like Dumbo that is not an option. We also only use it for him and one or 2 other people, we don't take 10 people up to the front of the line.

I understand what the OP is getting at. But you have to be careful when you say it should only be for kids. Technically my cousin is almost an adult but he is a child metally.

You never know why an adult is on a "childs" ride with out a child. I met a couple on Pooh one year that had buttons on that had their daughters picture and her birth and death dates. We found out she had died a few years earlier and they had just made a trip to WDW before her death. They decide that they would make a trip to Disney every year on her birthday to relive the memories they had of that trip. I would hate for someone to get nasty with them because their child had to wait 30 seconds longer.

Honestly, if you made Dumbo a kids only ride you would still have the same wait times. Seriously, there is not a over abundance of only adults riding it. KWIM?

 

[kaytieeldr]

So CRT is out for adults because of the characters, right? Guess adults don't like the castle at all?? And Akershus, because of the princesses, should be taken off the table as well -- even if I like to Norwegian food?

Don't take this the wrong way, but... ewww! Oh, wait, I know! Akershus should be limited to Guests who enjoy Norwegian food (well, or princesses)! And using that argument, X meal should be restricted to Guests who enjoy that food; so therefore, X attraction should be restricted to - ready for it? - Guests who enjoy that attraction!

Wait a minute..... is this a special ride adults should hang back on or is it just a Midway ride that is nothing special?

It's both. It's two... two... two mints - er, rides - in one!

I don't care if everyone in the whole park rides Dumbo! What bothers me is the attitude of, "Why should I, an adult, have to miss out on ANYTHING at all just for a small kid?!" Well, because that's what adults do.

????????????????????????

how did you score a front of the line pass for dumbo??? lol...and why didnt you just selflessly give it to a child at the back of the line...after

Well, they got the passes from their server at Crystal Palace (that's buried way back somewhere in this thread), but what a SELFLESS, considerate, generous thing it would have been if the OP had given their two remaining FOTL line passes to some small child near the end of the line!!!!

 

[VMK_Mouse]

This thread just makes me sad because I had an encounter with a nasty mom on Dumbo. I could not read past the 1st page and was not even going to post but decided to.

My 17 year old cousin is Autistic. He is extremely low functioning and has the mental boundaries of a 6-7 year old. He is very tall, over 6 ft and looks like a foot ball player. You cannot tell by just looking at him there is anything wrong.

I am a local pass holder and he lives in Tampa and since he was 4 we have been taking him to the Magic Kingdom for his b-day.

Last year we got blasted by a woman when we used his medical pass to go to the front of Dumbo. She ranted about how it was a 90 min wait and her kids were waiting in line and that a bunch of adults should be ashamed of themselves skipping a bunch of kids. I tried to ignore her but I decided to let her know that my cousin was a kid stuck in an adult body. She just looked and me and said whatever. I told her that she was blessed to have kids that would grow up and enjoy normal mild stones like getting a license on their 16th birthdays but he is celebrating his 16th at his favorite place. I was so upset by her hatefulness I almost left but my cousin would have gone bazerk. He did get excited and talked to me in his crazy language, and I think that lady felt like a moron after she realized he was special needs.

We are very careful to not abuse the pass we get when we take my cousin. We normally use fast passes as much as possible but on rides like Dumbo that is not an option. We also only use it for him and one or 2 other people, we don't take 10 people up to the front of the line.

I understand what the OP is getting at. But you have to be careful when you say it should only be for kids. Technically my cousin is almost an adult but he is a child metally.

You never know why an adult is on a "childs" ride with out a child. I met a couple on Pooh one year that had buttons on that had their daughters picture and her birth and death dates. We found out she had died a few years earlier and they had just made a trip to WDW before her death. They decide that they would make a trip to Disney every year on her birthday to relive the memories they had of that trip. I would hate for someone to get nasty with them because their child had to wait 30 seconds longer.

Honestly, if you made Dumbo a kids only ride you would still have the same wait times. Seriously, there is not a over abundance of only adults riding it. KWIM?

This was the best post in all of this thread. You are a wonderful cousin!

 

[Jennasis]

This is a craaaaaazy thread! While I guess I understand where the OP is coming from, there is no age limit on Dumbo, nor should there be. I've actually never ridden it cause no way am I waiting THAT kind of time for a boring ride (IMO of course), but IF I wanted to , you better believe I would.

In this same vein, I had always thought that Goofy's Barnstormer was a kid's ride just because of where it is. I didn't know adults were allowed on. this fall will be our first ride on it. Maybe now I'll hop on Dumbo too.

 

[kaytieeldr]

...

I guess I only really am into Disney because of my child You are entitled you your opinion, but I'm entitled to mine.

I didn't get to go to Disney World until I was 29 (heck, despite what my mom used to claim, I never even went to Canobie Lake Park until last summer!). If I want to ride Dumbo, and choose to wait in a line X minutes long to do it, I will.

Same for characters; same for character meals. Because YOU "don't get" character meals doesn't mean NO adult traveling without children should be allowed to attend one (or twenty).

And I know that character meals are the highlight of their time there and many of them are booked solid. If character meals are the highlight of MY time at Disney, I'm as entitled as a child to dine at one, or all of them.

WDW is great for adults, but without the children wanting to go back year after year, it couldn't exist. It really is first and foremost for children.

Again, I went for the first time at 29. I have my 31st trip coming up in September. I have no children; sometimes I travel with friends, sometimes I meet up with people I know for a meal or a day; most trips, I'm entirely solo. I'm not claiming I come close to supporting/financing Walt Disney World, but I know of no child who pays for a Disney trip, hotel, meal, ticket, or souvenir. Doesn't mean they don't exist - but without ADULTS (the Guests with the money), Disney couldn't exist.

We were there at rope drop, believe me. It still took 4 cycles to get on the ride and I saw plenty of single riders. Big ones Oh. Is that the issue? The size of the solo riders? If they had been 'less big', would your wait have been shorter? And it took four cycles to get on the ride? Fifteen minutes? Twenty? Not the hours implied in your original post?

This isn't about my child, per se. We get to the park at opening and have very little wait. It's about common courtesy and thinking of others. Yes, i'm one of those rare people who think of OTHER people's children, not just mine. And yet, you having to wait four ride cycles to board Dumbo one time, and you later (earlier?) having front of the line passes another time, instigited this thread?

Don't be so sure my opinion doesn't count. Disney reads these boards and even though more people who disagree with me are vocal on this board, don't think I'm the only one who has this opinionIn all the years Dumbo has been open, Disney has not seen the need or point in restricting this attraction to only children, or adults riding with children. Given the response on this thread, it's reasonable to think that they're not going to change that policy.

My dh and I were going to get on it since we had a front of line pass, but I did a sanity check when I looked at all of those eager children waiting and we were, like, "Are we going to take up a Dumbo while these kids are waiting? No way!" Every one of those kids, and families, and solo adults, would have still been able to ride.

 

[KatMark]

Next you'll be telling me that SANTA isn't real!

There is the money making aspect to any theme park. The intent and vision of Walt, though, is what sets WDW apart. I believe in the magic of Walt's legacy. If that makes me look at WDW with rose-colored glasses, so be it. But no one is going to convince me that when I see Mickey, it's not real. It's real to me, and that's all that matters. There's no need for the OP, or anyone else, to try to remove our rose-colored glasses.

Very well said...couldn't agree with you more!

 

[DisDarling]

Dumbo, and every ride, is for everyon'e enjoyment

 

[centurythree]

You know what - they are fake princesses inside a fake castle. She does get Disney for what it really is - and in that her opinion is just as valid as anyone elses. If some people want to bathe in pixie dust and get tears in their eyes seeing the castle - that's really really cool. And there are going to be other people who see a huge and effective marketing machine - but one that their children enjoy. And that is what Disney REALLY is just as much as anything else.

I go to WDW as an adult to wonder at the logistics of the place - and there are a lot of Disney logistics geeks like me. Meeting fake characters in a fake castle isn't all that interesting to me. Autograph books interested my children when they were younger, but I don't see any reason to stand in line. I do understand that some adults want to dine with Cindy or ride Dumbo - and could care less about the tunnels under the MK and wouldn't dream of playing "spot the guy controlling the talking trashcan" - much less my husband's favorite game of "which is the security guy." For them, they do like the "magic" - but Disney is REALLY about a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

You're correct of course, and I'm like that too to an extent. I'm fascinated by how and why the parks and rides function, and some of my favorite WDW moments have been times when the parks have shown their seams, so to speak. The imagineers/writing staff seem to be leaning this way too: the parks have far more self-referential and self-deprecating "scripts" than in the ealier days.

However, I think that what the PP was pointing out was that the post she was referred to, along with the OP's other posts in the aggregate, indicate that her real intent in posting was likely to anger other people and/or play the victim. I don't think she was expecting the magnitude or vociferousness of the response she received, though.

As for structures like Cinderella Castle being less endearing because they are "fake" . . . I'll let people like Baudrillard continue to debate the real and the hyperreal while I continue to enjoy the Disney parks. As Baudrillard said, "The imaginary of Disneyland is neither true nor false, it is a deterrence machine set up in order to rejuvenate the fiction of the real in the [ostensibly "real world"] opposite camp." Beyond that, I shudder to think what OP would do with the representative art forms found in the world's great museums if given the option . . . .

 

[MNWDWMANIAC]

You're correct of course, and I'm like that too to an extent. I'm fascinated by how and why the parks and rides function, and some of my favorite WDW moments have been times when the parks have shown their seams, so to speak. The imagineers/writing staff seem to be leaning this way too: the parks have far more self-referential and self-deprecating "scripts" than in the ealier days.

However, I think that what the PP was pointing out was that the post she was referred to, along with the OP's other posts in the aggregate, indicate that her real intent in posting was likely to anger other people and/or play the victim. I don't think she was expecting the magnitude or vociferousness of the response she received, though.

As for structures like Cinderella Castle being less endearing because they are "fake" . . . I'll let people like Baudrillard continue to debate the real and the hyperreal while I continue to enjoy the Disney parks. As Baudrillard said, "The imaginary of Disneyland is neither true nor false, it is a deterrence machine set up in order to rejuvenate the fiction of the real in the [ostensibly "real world"] opposite camp." Beyond that, I shudder to think what OP would do with the representative art forms found in the world's great museums if given the option . . . .

I would like to say thank you for this post. What a well thought out and perfect response!

 

[Disney8704]

Wow. I can see this thread getting heated VERY quickly. Maybe even more quickly then the tipping threads. I havent read all the posts in this thread but feel I need to say something here.

What was the purpose for Walt Disney to create the Disney parks? So that the parents / adults can have fun to with or without their kids. Disney is for ALL ages! All the rides in WDW is for EVERYONE (except for those couple rides that have a height requirement). All those rides in Fantasyland are classic rides. Whats next? Are you gonna say that all of fantasyland should be kids only? How about the entire MK park? After all, all of MK is fantasy based. It is very wrong for you to say that adults shouldnt ride certain rides if they dont have kids. So what the line is long. Every line in WDW is long. What else is new?

And make it to where people who have kids only can be at character meals? Do you want to get flamed?!!! DH and I LOVE character meals and we plan on doing a bunch of them this August. Why? Because we love to be able to see the characters at meals so we dont have to wait in a long line to see them. Is seeing the characters only a childs thing as well? If you even dare to say yes, then you obviously do NOT get Disney at all and I dont even know why you go to the parks and could even call yourself a DISer.

I have grown up on Disney as Im sure a lot of others have as well. I still love watching all the old animated disney movies. Going to Disney makes me feel like Im 5 again instead of 25. Heck, I even still watch the Disney channel. I love Lilo and Stitch cartoon series, I love Phinas and Pherb. Heck I even watch mickey mouse club house, Handy Manny, etc with my newphew when he comes over. My newphew is getting ready to turn 3 and he loves that I watch it with him.

To hear a DISer to say these negative things is really something else. Its very disapointing.

 

[Sir Ron]

It's 27 pages already Disney8704. LOL I think it is already heated. ha ha

 

[glitterkittyy]

It's 27 pages already Disney8704. LOL I think it is already heated. ha ha

Yeah really lol. But to be honest, it hasn't been *that* bad. I think, overall, we've all been on our best behavior. Well most of us.



Of course there was that butt-dipping-fountain thing there for awhile.

 

[Sir Ron]

Yeah it isn't really bad. The passive/agressive comments are a lot worse than the direct remarks made by some.