What not to do at Disney?

[LuluLovesDisney]

As a parent I've always resisted the urge to hold my kids off when they say they have to go to the bathroom, even if it seems really inconvenient at the time. There was a poster a page or so back telling of a father who caused his daughter to pee herself on Main Street because he ignored her begging him to go to the bathroom, and then got mad at her. When my kids say they're hungry, thirsty, or have to use the washroom, even if I might like to say.. "not right now, wait a little while" I always think about what it would be like to have to meet such a basic need, and be at the mercy of an authority figure who doesn't care because it's not them that has the need. As an adult nobody tells me I can't go to the bathroom when I say I have to go, nor do I ask permission to get a drink if I'm thirsty, so when my kids say they need to go... I respect the need and find somewhere immediately.

Really true and I'm not even a parent.

 

[MODisneyfan]

DON'T walk infront of a an Electric cart and just stop.. My parents use them at the parks and there are always people that do that.. It drives me crazy cause my mom got yelled at cause this lady did it and my mom couldn't get stopped in time and hit her leg.. I became a little un-disney about that one..

Don't let your children run infront of people. PLEASE. I saw a older lady fall down and really get hurt because a child ran infront of her and she triped of him. So please walk and don't run..

Also be ready for long lines. When I took my nephew to WDW, I would play little games like I spy to keep him entertained and when that didn't work I had my ipod with some of his favorite Disney songs and when that didn't work I had a couple of episodes of Mickey Mouse Club House loaded into my Ipod so no matter what he was entertained and not swinging on the bars or ropes along the way ...

 

[tigger51276]

Also be ready for long lines. When I took my nephew to WDW, I would play little games like I spy to keep him entertained and when that didn't work I had my ipod with some of his favorite Disney songs and when that didn't work I had a couple of episodes of Mickey Mouse Club House loaded into my Ipod so no matter what he was entertained and not swinging on the bars or ropes along the way ...

I must say one of my biggest pet peeves at Disney while waiting in lines are kids who are hanging all over the bars and swinging the ropes. It is really irritating to constantly be getting hit with ropes when it's hot and your tired (or even when your not hot or tired) or your small kid is getting wacked in the face with the rope. I don't get why parents are okay with this. Even before I had kids, I would take my little cousins to WDW and even though I wasn't a parent I knew that it's not polite to allow kids to swing the ropes and use the bars as climbing apparatus. Did my little cousins want to do it, YES, did I let them NO, did it cause them to throw fits occasionally YES and you know what we would leave the line and not go on that ride that day.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

It drives me nuts when kids swing around in line. I get the kids are excited, I get that its a long line, but letting them swing and climb is not teaching a child patience. I hate waiting in line, I'm excited and I think the line is long too, I even had ADHD but its not acceptable for me to pull that kind of thing. 5 years olds, ok I'll tolerate a little bit, 7 year olds, they should be able to deal with it, 10+, knock it off. On the same note, a kid bumps into me in line while swinging around, I'd probably let it go, but when your child's behavior starts negatively effecting the rest of the people around you, that's not right.

 

[simba20]

As a parent I've always resisted the urge to hold my kids off when they say they have to go to the bathroom, even if it seems really inconvenient at the time. There was a poster a page or so back telling of a father who caused his daughter to pee herself on Main Street because he ignored her begging him to go to the bathroom, and then got mad at her. When my kids say they're hungry, thirsty, or have to use the washroom, even if I might like to say.. "not right now, wait a little while" I always think about what it would be like to have to meet such a basic need, and be at the mercy of an authority figure who doesn't care because it's not them that has the need. As an adult nobody tells me I can't go to the bathroom when I say I have to go, nor do I ask permission to get a drink if I'm thirsty, so when my kids say they need to go... I respect the need and find somewhere immediately.

When I worked at Barnes and Noble, I was shelving books one day, when I was back near kids, when I heard a little voice say "Mommy, I have to go to the bathroom." The mother replied "Not now, Mommy is looking." The bathrooms, were right near the childrne's section. This went on a few more times, until I was called to the registers for backup.

I neded up staying on registers, longer than expected, and awhile later I hear this female voice SCREECHING at her child, to what closely constituted verbal abuse. Turns out the little boy (aged 3 or 4) ened up wetting his pants, and then the mother was outraged at him for doing so. She walked up to the front to stand in line and pay for her purchases, all while, berating him for wetting his pants. I'll never forget that while she stood there, she got down on his level and kept repeating "Now look me in the eye. LOOK ME IN THE EYE AND TELL ME YOUR SORRY" to which he said in the tiniest of voices "I'm sorry Mommy."

I didn't have a child then, but the instance just shook me. My asst manager was young with a small child, and she overheard what was going on and questioned whether or not to call the police, but what could we do.

From that I NEVER question my child when she says she has to go and espically at Disney I am proactive in takign her to the bathroom before we get in a long line for an attraction, and we always stop once we are through the entrance. And I never tell me child to "look me in the eye." I may say "Look or listen to Mommy," but I am never as insistant and forceful as that mother was. Anytime I start to say look at me, I think of that mom, and just give my daughter the info I need to tell her.

 

[SteamboatWillie28]

I must say one of my biggest pet peeves at Disney while waiting in lines are kids who are hanging all over the bars and swinging the ropes. It is really irritating to constantly be getting hit with ropes when it's hot and your tired (or even when your not hot or tired) or your small kid is getting wacked in the face with the rope. I don't get why parents are okay with this. Even before I had kids, I would take my little cousins to WDW and even though I wasn't a parent I knew that it's not polite to allow kids to swing the ropes and use the bars as climbing apparatus. Did my little cousins want to do it, YES, did I let them NO, did it cause them to throw fits occasionally YES and you know what we would leave the line and not go on that ride that day.

I have to admit that when I was younger I was guilty of doing this. However, i like to believe that I wasn't doing it enough to hit people with it (except my brother). But now I see why my parents didn't want me doing that, it's very annoying, so on behalf of all the kids that have ever done that I apologize.

 

[DisneyMomm]

When I worked at Barnes and Noble, I was shelving books one day, when I was back near kids, when I heard a little voice say "Mommy, I have to go to the bathroom." The mother replied "Not now, Mommy is looking." The bathrooms, were right near the childrne's section. This went on a few more times, until I was called to the registers for backup.

I neded up staying on registers, longer than expected, and awhile later I hear this female voice SCREECHING at her child, to what closely constituted verbal abuse. Turns out the little boy (aged 3 or 4) ened up wetting his pants, and then the mother was outraged at him for doing so. She walked up to the front to stand in line and pay for her purchases, all while, berating him for wetting his pants. I'll never forget that while she stood there, she got down on his level and kept repeating "Now look me in the eye. LOOK ME IN THE EYE AND TELL ME YOUR SORRY" to which he said in the tiniest of voices "I'm sorry Mommy."

I didn't have a child then, but the instance just shook me. My asst manager was young with a small child, and she overheard what was going on and questioned whether or not to call the police, but what could we do.

From that I NEVER question my child when she says she has to go and espically at Disney I am proactive in takign her to the bathroom before we get in a long line for an attraction, and we always stop once we are through the entrance. And I never tell me child to "look me in the eye." I may say "Look or listen to Mommy," but I am never as insistant and forceful as that mother was. Anytime I start to say look at me, I think of that mom, and just give my daughter the info I need to tell her.

Isn't it funny how these things affect us, and stick with us for the rest of our lives. We're being trained to be parents (and how not to be parents) before we're even thinking about having kids. I had 2 instances in my life, once when I was 4 at a daycare, and once when I was about 10 on an hour long ride home with other family members. I had to go so badly and was told I should be able to hold it. Both times I remember having to go so badly I stayed hunched in a ball thinking of nothing else but being able to get to a washroom. Neither of these times were at the hand of my parents (they were very good about that kind of thing), but it has stayed with me into my parenting. I think a woman like the one your talking about, and all the other parents like that are just unable to be empathetic, and instead are extremely self centered and only worried about what they want to do. The fact that they have the nerve to then get mad at the kid is just beyond me. It's pretty much as you said... Child abuse to a certain extent. It may not be physical abuse, but that sure is emotional and verbal abuse. If I made the mistake of keeping telling my little boy he could hold it untill I was good and ready to tend to his needs, I would be appologizing to him that I didn't realize how badly he had to go. Some people just don't deserve the privilage of being the caretaker of another little life.

 

[left_arm]

Definitely not the thread I expected! I figured it would be "don't do x, y, or z because I did it and you can learn from my mistake!" Instead it turned into a gripe session about what others do and how everyone else can please you. But, since one can only be responsible for themselves and those in one's party, make sure you are on your best behavior and respectful of other. If everyone did this, we'd have a lot less to complain about.

 

[livndisney]

I must say one of my biggest pet peeves at Disney while waiting in lines are kids who are hanging all over the bars and swinging the ropes. It is really irritating to constantly be getting hit with ropes when it's hot and your tired (or even when your not hot or tired) or your small kid is getting wacked in the face with the rope. I don't get why parents are okay with this. Even before I had kids, I would take my little cousins to WDW and even though I wasn't a parent I knew that it's not polite to allow kids to swing the ropes and use the bars as climbing apparatus. Did my little cousins want to do it, YES, did I let them NO, did it cause them to throw fits occasionally YES and you know what we would leave the line and not go on that ride that day.

I will never understand why a parent would think climbing the bars is ok. We just had an issue at TSM where the "parent" behind me thought it was "cute" to let his child climb the bars and hit me. When I tured around to see what had hit me the "parent" looked at his son and weakly said "stop". The kid did it again, but this time lost his balance and hit the ground. The parent helped him climb up again so he could take a picture!

 

[logik44]

Please men, do not wear European bathing suits at the water parks. Especially if you are over 40. I still have nightmares.

 

[mywdwdoggie]

what not to do at disney world.

1.Don't go into the wrong line last year people started going ahead of people in line saying they have fastpasses I then stoped them and told them this wasn't the fast pass line.
2. Don't just think you can go ahead of me since you are at a delux resort that dosn't give you the right to go ahead of me and my family yea this happed too. we had to get a cast member and the family then left the park.

 

[irishsharon]

My amazing and well behaved children are in bed so I have had some time to read most of what has been said...ok you got me but they are sleeping for nowWhat I would like to suggest is that everyone take a moment and remember something hurtful someone said to you and how it made you feel,do we want to inflict that same pain to others?There are always going to be rude,loud, ignorant,indiscreet,selfish people in this world sad but true.However there are people that will give you a seat on the bus,unused fastpasses,free room upgrades and most importantly a kindI will never forget a plan ride I had with my 3 year old son (who has ADHD ,I did not know it at the time) We where first on line to board the plane and once on I headed straight to the very back so that if there where extra seats people would choose to be further away from a toddler.The flight was less than two hours I had planned ahead with some new toys favorite snacks to make things go smoothly.I thought they were until a woman heading to the bathroom stopped and said I should really do something about keeping my child quiet!I was so shocked because he was being so good, no crying ,whining or tanturms.I still remember crying(Iwas 7 months pregnant at the time)but with the bad comes the nice people other people stopped and said kind things to my son and I but it was the flight attendent that really made me she went on the loud speaker and said for being such a good boy that my son was getting the best passenger award on the flight So my point is just remember what you learned in kindergarden, be nice to others, share,no biteing, name calling,or PUSHING..and if you don't have anything nice to say don't say it!!!!

 

[ChristaDeVil]

We started taking my DD to Disney at an early age and would use a stroller. She just turned 5 when we went last year and told her there would be no stroller anymore because she was plenty big enough to walk. She had absolutely no problems the entire trip and loved the independence. One day at MK, there was a kid heading our direction that was probably 12 or 13 in a stroller being pushed by his mother. The kid was not small by any means As he is about to pass, my DD exclaims rather loudly, "What! A big kid in a stroller, he should be walking!" Even she knew he was too old to be sitting in a stroller. My face turned so red, but I couldn't stop laughing either.

What an awesome kid!

 

[ratlenhum]

What an awesome kid!

Yeah, awesome, unless the kid she was laughing at, and being encouraged to laugh at has some sort of medical condition or is a special needs child. My son would be more comfortable in a stroller than a wheel chair so that's what we get him. Would you encourage a child to point and laugh at someone in a wheel chair? Unless you know why that kid is in a stroller, don't point and laugh. And since it's none of your business...don't point and laugh.

Here's something not to do at Disney, do not encourage your children to use bad manners and point and laugh at people who are different than you in any way. Mind your business and enjoy your trip.

 

[maxiesmom]

Yeah, awesome, unless the kid she was laughing at, and being encouraged to laugh at has some sort of medical condition or is a special needs child. My son would be more comfortable in a stroller than a wheel chair so that's what we get him. Would you encourage a child to point and laugh at someone in a wheel chair? Unless you know why that kid is in a stroller, don't point and laugh. And since it's none of your business...don't point and laugh.

Here's something not to do at Disney, do not encourage your children to use bad manners and point and laugh at people who are different than you in any way. Mind your business and enjoy your trip.

 

[Madisonsmom45]

My daughter is 8 and we will be taking a stroller...We've always taken one..
You wouldn't believe the amount of comments of "isn't she a little old for a stroller?" Yep, she is...We use to to carry our stuff and our daughter. Adult legs give out. After 6 days of parks legs get tired. WE go to be happy and have fun.
It's only a stroller...I would like to have one sometimes And so would the question askers...Hee hee.
Bonnie

 

[irishsharon]

Yeah, awesome, unless the kid she was laughing at, and being encouraged to laugh at has some sort of medical condition or is a special needs child. My son would be more comfortable in a stroller than a wheel chair so that's what we get him. Would you encourage a child to point and laugh at someone in a wheel chair? Unless you know why that kid is in a stroller, don't point and laugh. And since it's none of your business...don't point and laugh.

Here's something not to do at Disney, do not encourage your children to use bad manners and point and laugh at people who are different than you in any way. Mind your business and enjoy your trip.

To teach manners you have to know what they are! When my little guy was four months old he was in a cast that started under his armpits and went all the way down to the tips of his toes(he was born with two dislocated hips)The amount of people pointing and stareing was terrible I even heard someone say to their friend do you think she dropped him Sending a little your way and to let you know that some parents try to teach by example

 

[tinkandonaldfans]

don't let your 4 year old pee in a drinks cup while waiting for fantasmic and then just put the cup down by your feet where it could be knocked over the people in front!

i mean there are toilets nearby, they were in a big group who could have saved their seats and there was like 15 minutes before it started!

We had to move out of worry of getting a golden shower!

 

[DizneeNutt]

You will be part of WDW's 40th anniversary? I still haven't read or heard about any special events for 2011! Where can I find out what's planned?

 

[ratlenhum]

To teach manners you have to know what they are! When my little guy was four months old he was in a cast that started under his armpits and went all the way down to the tips of his toes(he was born with two dislocated hips)The amount of people pointing and stareing was terrible I even heard someone say to their friend do you think she dropped him Sending a little your way and to let you know that some parents try to teach by example

That's terrible!!! My first thought would have been hip or spine issues if I saw a child like that. I hate when people make comments like that.

One time we were at a local game farm. They have a tiger show there. The tigers are rescue tigers. Some have been abused, or were injured and can no longer live in the wild. This group takes them in, cares for them, teaches the simple tricks and uses their show to educate people about wild life (not keeping a wild animal as a pet etc). These tigers tried hard and it was not your average exciting tiger show.

The woman behind started cracking up when this one tiger failed to complete his trick for the 3rd or 4th time. She said "This is pathetic. What is this? Special ed for tigers?" I wanted to belt her!