Would this annoy you?

[Ali]

To the OP - is my son your son too? He is afraid of going inside rides and shows because he hasn't been in there before. He typically doesn't scream, but a bit of crying is normal for him. I always have a small flashlight for him that HE controls - if he wants it on, he turns it on. He also knows the rules - shine it at the floor or his lap only. We also had to leave Philharmagic and Tough to be a bug. He will never know if he likes it until he does it, so we do things we feel are appropriate for a 4 year old. Trust your instincts on your own child's ability to handle things.


In my case, If it annoys people so what! My son deserves to have fun at Disney as much as everyone else and if a bit of light helps, so be it.


Alicia

 

[Jabber_Jaws]

In my case, If it annoys people so what! My son deserves to have fun at Disney as much as everyone else and if a bit of light helps, so be it.


Alicia

So in that same note. When some guest starts to scream and yell at you and your kid to turn out the light. So What! They deserve the right to experience the magic as much as anyone else?

 

[Pooh1219]

In my case, If it annoys people so what! My son deserves to have fun at Disney as much as everyone else and if a bit of light helps, so be it.


Alicia[/QUOTE]

Just as long as your son is having fun, that's all that matters. Because, of course, he deserves it. More of that good ole entitlement thinking so pervasive nowadays.

 

[Marseeya]

To the OP - is my son your son too? He is afraid of going inside rides and shows because he hasn't been in there before. He typically doesn't scream, but a bit of crying is normal for him. I always have a small flashlight for him that HE controls - if he wants it on, he turns it on. He also knows the rules - shine it at the floor or his lap only. We also had to leave Philharmagic and Tough to be a bug. He will never know if he likes it until he does it, so we do things we feel are appropriate for a 4 year old. Trust your instincts on your own child's ability to handle things.


In my case, If it annoys people so what! My son deserves to have fun at Disney as much as everyone else and if a bit of light helps, so be it.


Alicia

Um, how is "a bit of crying" fun for him? And he's had to leave two shows?

Sounds like a blast.

 

[judoha]

Oh and sometimes my needs and wants come before his, it's not called being selfish, it's called he can't always have his way, then he will grow up to be one of those adults that thinks they are entiled to everything and I so won't put up with that.

There's a big difference between your WANTS coming before his NEEDS and your needs coming before his wants. If you're putting your own selfish desires to see attractions in front of the fact that your child has some serious fears that you are not addressing, then that's exactly what is wrong.

If your child needs to disrupt the experience of an attraction for dozens of other people in order for you to see it, then that's selfishness on the part of the parent.

Just b/c a child has a fear of the dark or one of the scary pirates freak him out doesn't mean the whole ride if off limits.

You didn't say your child had a fear of the dark. You said your child has a fear of the unknown. Please explain how having flashing lights in the ride for him to annoy others helps with a fear of the unknown.

If your child is that fearful of new experiences, the best thing you can do for him is to get ahold of planning videos and maybe the sing-a-long songs videos and other information about the various attractions so you can prepare him before you even leave home as to what the experiences will be.

There's no need to intentionally traumatize your child simply because you happen to WANT (not need) to go on an attraction.

 

[tmfranlk]

I don't know if we're thinking of the same thing or not, but last month my daughter and I were behind a lady wearing a necklace like this on Big Thunder Mountain - it had "chaser" type lights that flashed around in a circular pattern. This was maybe the most annoying thing ever. It was an excruciating ride with that obnoxious thing flashing right in our eyes - please don't give one of these to your kids to wear on a dark ride. It's *very* visible to those around you and very distracting.

I think POOH&PIGLET was talking about a much less annoying necklace. You can find them in Walgreens from time to time too. They are a chain-type necklace with a plastic charm on the end. When turned on, the charm lights up with an LED light. I had a red lighting Mickey and me DD has a pink lighting Princess one. The light isn't very bright and doesn't blink. I loved mine!

 

[DrTomorrow]

In my case, If it annoys people so what! My son deserves to have fun at Disney as much as everyone else and if a bit of light helps, so be it.
Alicia

Yep, another child raised without any awareness of the consequences of his actions. I guess that those people who drive way too slow and veer all over the road because they're on the cell phone have to come from somewhere

 

[Marseeya]

Yep, another child raised without any awareness of the consequences of his actions. I guess that those people who drive way too slow and veer all over the road because they're on the cell phone have to come from somewhere

Hey, they pay taxes too! They're just as entitled to drive recklessly as anybody else.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

The OP's question is "Would this annoy you?" My answer is, yes, lights of most any sort in a dark ride annoy me terribly. So do screaming children...gets my motherly instincts and my blood pressure way up. Not enjoyable for me, nor would I imagine anyone else on the ride. I would desire that anyone who had a child who was prone to that sort of outburst in those sorts of situations would rethink subjecting the rest of the world to their childrens' training sessions. Yes, the child probably does need to learn how to deal with situations, but sometimes children aren't developmentally ready to take that step without much angst and effort, and a better time to do it could be arranged. To push a child to learn new tasks before they're emotionally ready for them is something akin to throwing a frightened child into the water to teach them to swim...sure, it works sometimes, but couldn't it have been done better?

I'm sure my opinion is not going to change anything the OP already has planned, but since you asked....

 

[madgomez]

I would desire that anyone who had a child who was prone to that sort of outburst in those sorts of situations would rethink subjecting the rest of the world to their childrens' training sessions.

UrsulasShadow, I don't mean to single you out at all- you just put the above much more eloquently than some earlier posters who were headed in the same direction.
The problem with that theory is that no parent necessarily KNOWS that their child will have an "outburst" in a WDW situation. I have been to WDW with four different children on four different occassions - the children ranged in age from 2.5 yo to 12 yo. And one of the children was on three of the trips, another on two of the trips. ALL OF THEM acted very much out of character at WDW at least part of the time, and the ones there more than once acted different on the different trips. My shy child was very bold. My bold child suddenly became frightened. I couldn't predict anything.
WDW is a rather unique experience. If having a small, UNOBTRUSIVE light might avoid a meltdown, I think adults could be understanding. If a parent is suddenly having trouble with a child who seems afraid, sympathy and understanding is a much more productive, and less stress producing reaction for onlookers to have.
Assuming because someone is a parent that they always know how their child will react is simply unrealistic.

I got picked on in another thread when I suggested we should all stop judging each other so much because we never know all the facts. So pick on me again, if you must. But I think we should all stop judging each other, especially where parenting is concerned.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

No, we never do know all the facts, that is true, madgomez. I also did not mean to suggest that all children (or all people, for that matter) are utterly predictable at all times. As I stated, if a child has a known propensity for acting out in a way which will render the experience unpleasant for both the child AND other guests, I suggest that if the reactions of other guests are at all important to the parents (I must assume they are, since the question was asked), then maybe a decision to forego the experience would be wise. A light would certainly disturb many people in a dark ride...this has been stated. A lesser light is a lesser disturbance, to be sure, but a disturbance nonetheless. Like I said earlier, the question was asked, would this annoy? The answer is yes. No judgement of parenting skills implied. Only a suggestion to avoid disturbing others in the course of said parenting exercise.

 

[xmelissax]

I agree with what everyone else has said about lights being completely annoying in dark rides. A glow in the dark bracelet or necklace wouldn't annoy me at all and would help the child feel more comfortable, but a pen light or flash light would piss me off. I have compassion for kids who are scared and of course I don't want them to be, but if to ease their fears means everyone elses experience would be compromised that's not right. Stick with glow in the dark things and it should be fine, they aren't obtrusive to others. Something like a bracelet or necklace that stays attached to them would be better than a glow stick they could swing around etc.

 

[xmelissax]

UrsulasShadow, I don't mean to single you out at all- you just put the above much more eloquently than some earlier posters who were headed in the same direction.
The problem with that theory is that no parent necessarily KNOWS that their child will have an "outburst" in a WDW situation. I have been to WDW with four different children on four different occassions - the children ranged in age from 2.5 yo to 12 yo. And one of the children was on three of the trips, another on two of the trips. ALL OF THEM acted very much out of character at WDW at least part of the time, and the ones there more than once acted different on the different trips. My shy child was very bold. My bold child suddenly became frightened. I couldn't predict anything.
WDW is a rather unique experience. If having a small, UNOBTRUSIVE light might avoid a meltdown, I think adults could be understanding. If a parent is suddenly having trouble with a child who seems afraid, sympathy and understanding is a much more productive, and less stress producing reaction for onlookers to have.
Assuming because someone is a parent that they always know how their child will react is simply unrealistic.

I got picked on in another thread when I suggested we should all stop judging each other so much because we never know all the facts. So pick on me again, if you must. But I think we should all stop judging each other, especially where parenting is concerned.

I totally agree with, and understand what you said about parents not always being able to anticipate how their child will act. If a kid is on the ride and it's started and they get upset, it annoys me but the parent can't really do much at that point. What makes me mad is when a child is freaking out in line and the parent decides to keep going. They may not have known their child would freak out and thats completely fine, but once the child does freak out if he starts disturbing others in line I think the parents should take the child and leave the line. It's just rude not to, and that's the only problem I have in these kind of situations.

 

[jann1033]

i find this kind of funny since disney at one time( might still ) sold the little pins that lit up when you went by something in an attraction. everyone around us seemed to love it and ohhed and ahhed when ours went off and it flashed much more distractingly( is that a real word?) than a little glow in the dark bracelet would.

drat that disney! always ruining the magic with their stinkin pins


personally i don't think i'd ever even notice something small like people here are taking about. i am too busy enjoying the attraction to be gawking at what the kid the row behind me has on their arm or in their hand..they aren't talking about taking airplane runway landing wands with them

 

[jann1033]

I think this is a great idea. We have a small pen light that I was going to give my son but I like this better. He can look down at his shoes and it shouldn't distract anyone. Glad someone asked this question. I didn't want to annoy anyone either.

well maybe it "shouldn't" but if i were a betting woman i'd bet someone would gripe about it sometime on here whether they actually saw it or not.... and i'd be very rich very soon

 

[kilee]

Everyone please remember that I'm hoping the OP was looking for honest answers. The bottom line is it WILL and WILL NOT annoy some. If the OP wants to honestly know then each DISER on either side of the fence has the right to their feelings w/o judging others and being judged.

 

[lark]

If I were to be on a ride with a small child (say 5 or under) who, by using a flashlight or penlight or some other item, was able to enjoy a ride they otherwise would not have enjoyed, then I think I can say for absolute certain that I would not be bothered in the slightest.

Seems I'm in the vast minority on this one, and I respect the opposing view. But my view? It's their world. The rest of us are just living in it.

 

[disneymama73]

A pen light or glow in the dark necklace/bracelet would not bother me in the slightest. If it helps your child feel more comfortable and enjoy the ride, I say go for it. I'm surprised how many people are annoyed by this. It's just a ride. It's not the end of the world.

But to each his own. If you're annoyed, you're annoyed. What can ya do?

 

[Marseeya]

A pen light or glow in the dark necklace/bracelet would not bother me in the slightest. If it helps your child feel more comfortable and enjoy the ride, I say go for it. I'm surprised how many people are annoyed by this. It's just a ride. It's not the end of the world.

But to each his own. If you're annoyed, you're annoyed. What can ya do?

If it's "just a ride" and "not the end of the world," then why even take a child on it if he has the least little fear of the dark? There's always time to enjoy it when they're old enough not to be freaked out by it.

 

[RussH]

OK I read through the whole post and have to add my take from a non parent frequent WDW visitor. Mt favorite MK attraction is POTC have been on it several hundred times and last year I had my 1st encounter with a flashlight kid. Some reason POTC was very busy that day so the boats were loaded to max. I was behind a family with my guess a 3-4 year old who was not happy walking down the ramp. Of course I sat next to them and immediately upon launch he started to freak. The parents were ready with a very small keychain LED style light that they gave him and he calmed down right now. The father who was next to me when handing it over said remember the rules and the child just illuminated the bottom of the boat where he was sitting. Did not bother me at all and after less than a minute turned it off and did not use it again. I think just having it available was all he needed and the rest of the ride was perfect.
To answer the OP please bring a very small LED style light with you on dark rides but have definate rules set down on its use before your trip.

If I had to list annoyinng things on dark rides from worst to least here is my take.
Freaking out children or adults
Flash photography
Flashlights without supervision
Cell phones and excessive talking
Those whirling light up things
Video camera displays
Still camera displays
Glow in the dark necklaces and braclets used as whirling light up things.
Someone besides me rocking the boats out of rythem.

That is my take hope the OP gets this far.