Waterpark etiquette ???

[Mikailova]

I definitely think the way this was handled was very poor. Foul language and rude gestures are not Disney at all. However, I personally feel you shouldn't leave your things unattended for long periods of time, or use them to save a spot for yourself. I know it's Disney, but I would be afraid someone would steal my stuff. While Disney does not seem to have an "official" policy on leaving belongings behind to save chairs at the water parks. The website does recommend getting a locker for the day to keep your belongings in while you ride attractions. It can be very frustrating to be looking for a table to sit and eat or a chair to lounge in when your ready for a break and they're all taken by people's stuff and no one comes back to use the location for over 30 min. In the water parks things are a little different, because CMs know people leave their stuff unattended for long periods of time, but in the theme parks an unattended bag, left for more than 30 min. is considered a security risk, security is called to come and search the bag and then it's taken to lost and found. It's one of the sad facts of our post 9/11 society.

 

[MidgeD79]

So when we go to any water park , is someone expected to stay with our stuff at all times?

 

[disbridemimi]

Yes,or put it in a locker.

 

[Finally08]

So when we go to any water park , is someone expected to stay with our stuff at all times?

Well, sure. Why does "having stuff" = reserving a chair to babysit it?

We have a local waterpark. I pay $5 and rent a locker to put my stuff in. Our shoes that we wear around the park, we kick off wherever out of the way that we need to. Otherwise if we have something we're carrying around (sunglasses, a camera, whatever), someone is always either holding on to it, or it is sat somewhere out of people's way. Not in a chair or at a table that people might need to sit at.

I am really surprised at some comments here...people are so quick to slam people for every little thing yet many think being in a waterpark entitles you to owning a chair for the day whether you're using it or not?

 

[torsie24]

I'm sorry you had to go through that.

I'm a bit worried about the whole water park thing, so I think we are just going to go for a couple of hours to each, do what we want and then head back to our resort pool.

I'd feel a bit edgy leaving my towel and stuff out on a chair anyway.

But I certainly wouldn't move somebody else's stuff.

 

[bumbershoot]

And you can't compare a water park to a cruise ship. People who go to water park are there for the water park. People on the cruise have so many other things to do that they might not ever go back to their seat.

I think the person was saying just that. That reserving a chair at a pool on a ship isn't OK unless you are there in the area, but since the point of a water park is to go swim and do the lazy river etc etc, then it's different. Actually it's the same, isn't it? Being at a cruiseship pool or being in a pool on land, if you're actually there, using the pool, it's just as fine IMO as if you're at a waterpark, using the waterpark areas.

But if you're off at a casino or eating or anywhere OTHER than the pool, on a cruiseship or land, then it's NOT OK to leave your stuff like that. If the OP had claimed spots then gone off to Epcot, that wouldn't be OK. But they were there, with an expectation of being back soon, and from what I've seen of the lazy river at the waterpark in my area, that timing is about right.


Now...we've had things go missing while at Disneyland, so I don't leave our stuff unattended (OK so I leave the stroller but I take stuff OUT of the stroller!). Therefore, I wouldn't have left all our stuff out for even 5 minutes (that's about how long it took for DS's brand new lightsaber to go missing), and we would rent a locker while we were all off doing something.

But that's just me, and what I would do is NOT what I believe the theory to be.

I think the other people were in the wrong here.

On the other hand...for all they knew, you *had* gone off to Epcot.

 

[1hero2princesses]

The disney parks do not have chairs you can pay for. Therefore I think you should arrive early and put your stuff with a chair. That is part of arriving early. I have 3 small kids. My husband was gone with our two older kids for a very long time and accidently had our locker key. I needed to get a bag to change the babies diaper. I took the baby (she was 18 months so no she could not hold the chairs by herself!) and went in search of him leaving our stuff on the chairs. I was probably gone 25 minutes on my hunt! So therefore I should have come back and had my chair gone and my stuff on the garbage? That is just crazy. My daughters are redheads and although we wear sunscreen and rash guards it is important for us to have shade (which is again why we get there early). So by some of your standards we all would have stood there the rest of the day, in the sun? I would say 90% of the people held chairs. What if the baby and I had to go to the bathroom? Do you seriously believe those people stood there for 10 minutes staring at those particular chairs waiting to see if someone came back? Right. They liked that location, they walked up to those chairs and moved those peoples things. Not appropriate in my mind. If we have arrived late I would totally have expected not to get a seat.

 

[JoanneNC]

Well I do believe in the early bird catches the worm
If I got there at opening and found exactly where I wanted to sit and relax for the day- well then yes I find it rude for someone to come along hours later and expect chairs waiting for them.

I did use a locker for my valuable items and left towels and cheap play toys of the kids. How is going to have food which could take upwards of 30-45 mins any different then going on a family ride? I should be able to leave my stuff and go have lunch with the expectation that my area won't be invaded.

Why should I pack up - head to lunch and be left with no chairs after I took the time to get their in the morning?

I think it was rude to move someone's stuff
I think that IF someone was tired and wanted to watch their kids the in play area and felt the need to move stuff - ok, BUT when that family returned they should have returned their area to them.
I also think it was extremely rude to speak the things that the OP referred to and they deserved to have their day ruined for their sense of entitlement.

 

[phillygirl88]

Are you kidding me? Of course those people should never have removed your stuff. Everyone knows that the water parks can be crowded. That's why people are warned to get there when they open. I am not a big fan of water parks but my family likes to go. We have a son who doesn't do some of the slides that my daughter and husband do so most of the time I stay with him and let him do his thing. If we decided that we wanted to do a slide or lazy river as a family once during the day I would go and not think twice about it and expect our things to be there when we return. If someone had the audacity to remove our things and place them on the ground I would have done the exact same thing. I might have even taken it a step further and reported it to a CM. Not that they would be able to do much about rude people. If those people were in the same boat and they had been sitting there and someone removed their items you can bet they would have made bigger fuss CdnDad and his family made. To me what is really shocking is that there were children involved. I would have been absolutely mortified to see that people would behave in such a manner in front of children. Isn't Disney truly about the children. It's shocking how many ignorant people there are in this world.

 

[rngrblu9]

i have never been to a water park so i can't really say it's expected that u "reserve" chairs for your family but i do feel it's totally rude to expect that u can reserve any public spot. use it when u need it & move on regardless of the circumstances. on the other hand...don't touch my stuff!!!

 

[elleherself]

The disney parks do not have chairs you can pay for. Therefore I think you should arrive early and put your stuff with a chair. That is part of arriving early. I have 3 small kids. My husband was gone with our two older kids for a very long time and accidently had our locker key. I needed to get a bag to change the babies diaper. I took the baby (she was 18 months so no she could not hold the chairs by herself!) and went in search of him leaving our stuff on the chairs. I was probably gone 25 minutes on my hunt! So therefore I should have come back and had my chair gone and my stuff on the garbage? That is just crazy. My daughters are redheads and although we wear sunscreen and rash guards it is important for us to have shade (which is again why we get there early). So by some of your standards we all would have stood there the rest of the day, in the sun? I would say 90% of the people held chairs. What if the baby and I had to go to the bathroom? Do you seriously believe those people stood there for 10 minutes staring at those particular chairs waiting to see if someone came back? Right. They liked that location, they walked up to those chairs and moved those peoples things. Not appropriate in my mind. If we have arrived late I would totally have expected not to get a seat.

I'm not saying you cannot leave your stuff on a chair. On slow days at certain water parks, I have done it myself. But on a very busy day, you should not expect to leave your belongings for more than a few minutes unattended. Again, just like at the Magic Kingdom or any other theme park, you are expected to be responsible for your own belongings the entire day. Just because you leave some extra clothes and a poncho on a bench somewhere, does not mean that it has been "reserved" for you, and doesn't mean that it won't be moved.

On such a busy day at a water park, expect that your things will be moved.

Also, I think this particular guest set a horrible example for his children. Even if you believed the other people were in the wrong, to get your kids in on the act, and have them pull their chairs around the other guests and try to "annoy" them away! To me, this is the most horrifying admission of their entitled post. What a lesson for those children. Mentioning that the youngest has autism is certainly no excuse. Imagine the impression these people received of these parents and these children. Remember that it was a busy crowded day, there were no other seats available, and they hadn't taken one chair for their families things, but at least three.

I would have also moved their things and I would have invited them to get security if they had a problem with it.

To me what is really shocking is that there were children involved. I would have been absolutely mortified to see that people would behave in such a manner in front of children. Isn't Disney truly about the children. It's shocking how many ignorant people there are in this world.

I agree with this part of your sentiment completely, but instead I would refer it to the behavior of CdnDad. What lesson has he taught his children about getting along in the world with other people, and how to handle conflicts? It is no wonder to me the state the world is in, with people being raised to feel entitled to certain privileges and special treatment that in fact they have never been promised.

 

[MidgeD79]

We will be going to both of the WDW water parks several times during our 13 day stay. I plan on getting there at opening and "reserving" our 2/3 seats for the 5 of us (using towels, cooler, etc). I have no intention of guarding those seats for the entire time that we are there. I am a single parent and will be taking the youngest member of our party to play in the water. I will not send the other children to watch him and I will not leave one of the other kids to "guard" our spot. I have been to the WDW waterparks several times and have never had a problem with someone taking our stuff or our chairs. If I were to ask a cm at the waterpark if it was ok to do what I plan, I am postive the answer would be a resounding YES.

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

I think what they did is wrong. But it is hot and crowded so it's bound that people get frustrated. We get there early and we usually take up one chair for two of us. We don't sit for long except to take a break so there is no reason that an adult and a child can't occupy one lounge chair.
I would have to say that there is nothing wrong with leaving your stuff on a chair. I do think that Disney should not put the small chairs right in fron tof the loungers. That is usually when people spread out ont he lounger and put their bags on the small chairs. Then there that is wrong to do that.
If i had to go to the bathroom I wouldn't lug all my stuff to go. I could use a locker, but i wouldn't stuff a wet towel in the locker. That is nasty.
Unfortunately things like this do happen.

 

[DisneyBrideToni]

First, I think it's pretty messed up those people moved your stuff. Also, I don't see anything wrong with keeping stuff at a seat. There are rides/slides to go on. What are you supposed to do? Put your things in a locker every time you want to go on something?? I can see if you left stuff on the chairs all day and never went back but for a half an hour or an hour I see nothing wrong with it.

 

[SHammett]

I have left towels and personal belongings on chairs to reserve them as well. BUT I have also been very frustrated during water park visits as I walked past hundreds of unoccupied chairs that were "reserved". Once, I moved a pair of shoes over so I could take a 10 minute break while watching my toddler in a nearby kiddie section. A minute or two after sitting down, a young boy approached me and very rudely announced that I was in his chair. I politely went to sit on the concrete beside the play area so he could claim his chair. However, the boy ran off to join his family who were moving on to something else. His Father witnessed the whole thing and I hoped the boy got a talking to.

 

[1stWDW]

Looks like Disney may have to invent a FP system for waterpark chairs?

When I was a lifeguard in my younger days we had a policy that helped out on crowded days: Only adults (18 and over) could use the chairs. So now that I am older w/kids and go to a public pool I let the kids share my chair or they get a lovely towel spread out on the ground.

If you get there early and eventually would like to lounge on a chair (to eat or rest) it makes sense that you would reserve a chair because you know that once it gets crowded you will not be able to find an empty chair. Since everyone "reserves" a chair using their towels and stuff, it makes sense to do it too. I know this is frustrating for the people who come later - this happened to me in Las Vegas at a casino pool. But it didn't even cross my mind to move someone's stuff. That is just rude. Especially like many have said before, waterparks are made for going on slides and enjoying the water. If you are coming to sit on a chair the whole time, save yourself some money and hang out at the resort pool.

 

[DisneyBrideToni]

When I was a lifeguard in my younger days we had a policy that helped out on crowded days: Only adults (18 and over) could use the chairs. So now that I am older w/kids and go to a public pool I let the kids share my chair or they get a lovely towel spread out on the ground.

That is a great idea actually.

 

[ilovebassets]

personally, i feel that lockers exist for towels and personal belongings which is why we always rent one and don't leave our stuff out unattended. If I walked by the same claimed chairs over and over and over and never saw anyone come by, I probably would not hesitate to move their things over. that said, there is never any excuse for rudeness on anyone's part. i would never flick someone off or create a scene regardless of which side i was on.

 

[mouseforcemom]

personally, i feel that lockers exist for towels and personal belongings which is why we always rent one and don't leave our stuff out unattended. If I walked by the same claimed chairs over and over and over and never saw anyone come by, I probably would not hesitate to move their things over. that said, there is never any excuse for rudeness on anyone's part. i would never flick someone off or create a scene regardless of which side i was on.

ITA with this point. I have been those people who have been frustrated looking for a place to sit only to see rows and rows of chairs "claimed" by a towel that a person never seems to come back for until they are ready to leave. But, I am also the type of person that if someone was sitting in "my" chair I would apologize for leaving my stuff all splayed out.

Use the lockers, they are there for just that purpose. Plus, I guess I may be paranoid but I would worry about anyone (even at Disney) getting into our things.

 

[CdnDad]

To first reply to "elleherself" I was not trying to use the kids or put them in the middle, especially my youngest!! We never use her as an excuse or her special needs to our advantage. I would trade everything in the world for her. So do not judge, I posted this to see what others thought and not start by insulting us. We only had two loungers for the five us to begin with. We still had personal items next to the loungers which they did not move. We did not pull up chairs all around them and I never used any foul language or expressed any anger, but only making a stand which I felt after being verbally assaulted. Same as you are, regarding this situation. Your parade example is a different situation. You expect families to spend a lot more for private cabanas or get all your belongings into many lockers? So when you walk in and see a chair with a cooler on it and you like the spot, you would take it off and sit down?WOW, what example are you showing your children if you even have any. You can not expect every time you get up to pack everything up and put it into a locker. Like another has posted an unforseen situation can happen and you have to leave. I was not trying to be obnoxious or get my children to be that way. I was just standing up for our family on how we were being treated and people should not be bullied with foul language. I agree on leaving valuables to be stolen and we did have one locker for those items or have left the area for the whole day. We came early to have a fun and enjoy the waterpark. Maybe we should have walked away and been the better person. Sometimes setting an example of making a stand could also be the right thing as well. It is all on how we look at things is the glass half full or half empty?