Have you ever had a shock?

[KDawnLily]

My shock was given to me by my own little one this past Feb.'03.
His first time in Disney so of course he is excited. He walks right into Main Street, stops smack in the middle of the road and loudly, VERY loudly explaims "Oh My God! It's Main St. USA".
I looked at my mom who was with us, she's trying not to giggle and I give her the "I wonder where he got that expression" look.
Many people looked at him and my shocked expression smiling.. but I was shocked, to say the least.

 

[momof2intx]

I can't wait to find out what we will see this week.....this thread reminds me that it has been a LONG time since I've been to WDW!!!

 

[travelitis]

Over Easter we saw several girls and women who needed to put on some clothes, but the absolute worst was this pre-teen wearing a tiny, white, string bikini with a low-slung sarong, and I do mean low slung. Her mother and she looked at us several times, but I'm afraid it was because of my son's wild hair (trip to MK barber shop) rather than the look of disgust I was shooting her undressed daughter.

In defense of the 4 yr old giving the finger, I bet he just saw an adult do it and had no idea what he was doing.

KDawnLily, I'm afraid too few people are shocked by that expression which has become so pervasive in our society. It is absolutely forbidden in our home, and it is a shock to hear it, especially from a kid.

I'm so disgusted about all this urination that I naively didn't even suspect was happening. If you see any of it, though, please let a CM know. They have stuff they will sprinkle over it, then they'll wash the area with bleach. I saw them do this with a pile of puke at MGM over Easter and asked a mgr. how they handled bio-messes.

 

[UKAnnie]

Just two words did it for us on a recent trip. We were in Epcot at a pin cart looking for a particular pin. There was an elderly man next to us looking too. Then my DH spotted the pin and pointed to it. Unfortunately the direction of his arm was such that it slightly pointed in front of the man - who responded with an "F.... you" and then walked off. My stomach turned over and I went cold - it was an awful start to our day. I guess it was just that much more unexpected being heard at the 'happiest place on earth'!

Annie.

 

[MELSMICE]

We've witnessed a few things, but here are some recent ones:

Last April while waiting for RnR there was a mom, dad & 2 sons (about 10 & 12). Well, the kids starting acting up & the parents began yelling at them, telling them "how rotten they were & to get out of their faces because they were no good kids". The younger brother then pushed the older one or something & the father smacked the younger one right to the ground. The kid tried to getup & get comfort from his mom (who was in a wheelchair) She pushed him back down & told him "don't come to me for help". I felt so bad for both kids because if that goes on in public I can only imagine what goes on behind closed doors.

On our trip a week ago I witnessed 2 things:

While waiting for family members to get out of Honey I Shrunk the Audience a girl came running out & her father pulled her aside right next to us & she started vomitting (she was about 10 or 11). I did feel bad for the girl & my DH went to tell a CM so they could clean up the mess, but I did have to wonder why she didn't run the other way when exiting because there was a restroom right around the corner (maybe she didn't know it was there).

My other story is about some rude individuals I saw at Trail's End Buffet last week. It was a woman & a man that was in a wheelchair with his leg propped up. I don't know if they were husband/wife, sister/brother or what. The man had a plate & was parked in front of part of the buffet while the woman fixed his plate, which was fine, however, she just kept walking back & forth fixing both plates, completely ignoring the line of people behind her. That wasn't such a big deal, but the man dropped his plate on the ground, said nothing, went & got another plate as the woman continued to block the buffet line waiting for him. They said nothing to a CM (or each other) continued what they were doing & walked away. As they were leaving I (loudly) told a CM that someone had dropped a plate & there was food on the ground & someone could slip & hurt themselves. Then I think (I'm not positive) they may have done the dine & dash thing. I saw her leave the restaurant while he was still eating & then when he was through he wheeled away. I never saw a CM come by with their check or anything.

Some things never cease to amaze me!!

 

[WDWorBUST]

This doesn't hold a candle to my "girl in her panties" story....but the other thing that shocked me our last trip in December 2002 was the number or restroom stalls that I went in that had urine all over the seat - and no it wasn't water from the mega flush (sometimes it was - but there is a big difference between clean water and yellowish urine) I know that public restrooms can be a little scary but either use the toilet seat covers that are provided or carry clorox wipes or some other disenfectant to wipe the seat off with before you use it - don't just squat and pee all over the seat. That made me absolutely crazy - the people that do this are scared to death of germs but it's no big deal to make other people sit in their urine (if they don't happen to see it before they sit down) or clean up after them or go in half the stalls in the bathroom before finding one they can actually use. If you must squat at least clean up the seat after yourself. Sorry....off soapbox now

 

[perdidobay]

Reminder to myself, don't read these kind of threads while eating!

UK Annie, was your DH by any chance pointing, like some people do, with his middle finger? That's the first thing that popped into my head, I'm thinking the old man thought he was getting the finger

 

[kevind65]

we've seen many shocking things over the years. I guess the thing that is starting to shock me the most the past couple of years is disney's indifference in respects to some sort of a dress code or reasonably acceptable attire for a family vacation spot. Now, i'm still a reasonably young man who enjoys an attractive female as much as the next guy; but please; enough with the t-bar and g-string things girls. I don't care if they want to wear this kind of underwear, but, just remember: it's UNDERwear, not outer wear. very few of us want to see it!! I realize that some of these girls come from different cultures where it's acceptable to wear stuff like that in public, but, it should be the responsibility of disney CM's(written company policy) to confront these people and make them dress appropriately or leave. Also, along this same line, on our trip over easter week: While visiting blizzard beach with my two dd's; we spotted a young man wearing a shirt with this: "f*ck milk! got pot?" I was totally PO'd! more so at disney for allowing this character to walk around it's property with that shirt on. that shirt should have never been allowed on disney property! walt would have been doing summersalts!!

Also, on a couple other points from previous posters:
As far as I know, disney does not "discourage" guests from bringing in their own food and drinks. Our family doesn't bring in our own food; but, I have no problem(and I don't think disney does either) with people who do. If this policy has changed, maybe someone else can clarify it for us.
The last point is about people who advocate confronting rude guests: I don't think it's a good idea! These people who do these things are rude and don't care about others already. They may also tend to be more violent as well. Do you really want your children's lasting memory of disneyworld to be your fist-a cuffs with some idiot? I agree that these people need to be confronted; but, bring it to a CM's attention and let disney do the confronting.
sorry so long...

 

[SamSam]

kevind65
WDW has always had a policy not allowing food or drink to be brought into the park. I think they used to enforce it more than they do now, but it is still policy.
There are several reason's for this:
-the extra trash generated from items not even purchased in the parks
-the possiblity that people purchasing their food at WDW vendors will have trouble finding seating because it's taken up by people who didn't even buy there.

Most people who bring in their own food and drink are very conscious about cleaning up after themselves and also about making sure they aren't taking seating from paying customers, but there are always a few who aren't.

I think as light as the crowds have been the last couple of years that it hasn't been a problem, but it could change if travel picks up.

I'm not taking a stand on whether one should bring food in or not, just clarifying the policy.

Have a Disney Day!!
I'm loving these posts, some people are unbelievable!

 

[Gilligan]

As an English lass (ok - middle-aged and losing it, English lass), can I just remark on the comment made a while back where the poster was told 7 year olds with belly rings is common in the UK? I hope not!!!!!!!!! I have a 5 year old DD, and the thought of her or any of her friends sporting belly rings in a couple of years' time is repulsive.

My own story is at AK this easter, with people congregating for the parade, so yes it was crowded. A woman in an ECV with companion was trying to get through (I'm being generous here), but rammed into a little boy, running over his foot. Some others were trying to stop this woman, but she kept trying to go forward. In desperation, the others bodily tried to lift the ECV off the boy's foot, but just got sworn at by the woman and her companion who just hadn't got a clue what she'd done, and thought the others were just being bolshie 'cause she was in an ECV!

 

[loriandmatt]

OH - after reading some of these i remembered one of my own experiences.

in october of 2001 while checking out AKL we were strolling by the pool. it was in the early afternoon, so most folks were at the parks. Just a small group of about 8 who were obviously together.

As we were rounding the pool and heading into the lobby, we passed them. One (grown) man decided he wanted to change and dropped trow right there, bent over to take them off and then bent over again to slip on his regular shorts. Full Moon AND Stars! My then 6 year old son about choked in shock, and then laughed so hard his drink came out his nose.

Well, one of this guys companions noticed our shock and said very loudly (in a very heavy british accent) "Nigel! Put your pants on! This is a bloody family place!"
To this day when DS hears anyone with a british accent he giggles and repeats that cry in his best attempt at the accent: "Nigel! Put your pants on! This is a bloody family place!"

- lori

 

[JoNo]

WOW! SOOOO many crazy stories! I have a few things i'd like to say so here goes:

1: I think the MODS should pin this topic b/c in a weird way it's quite amusing...

2: (b4 i type, any italians please do not get offended) I lived in Italy for a year, and over there Being in the nude and semi-nude is a lot more usual and "casual" (going loosely on the term) than over here in the west. Maybe it's a european thing?

3: The craziest thing I've seen was during mickey's not-so-scary halloween party last year... This kid, about 14-15 wasn't looking too hot & he puked in one of the trick-or-treat bags he had... but to top it off, he took another bag from his mom, poured out his bag, & strted wiping off the candy with a bandanna to clean it up & put it in the new bag....

 

[skoi]

Wow, we must be oblivious or really lucky to have never seen half of this stuff-- besides the rudeness and urine on the seats-- going on. Thank goodness.

But the little kid belly ring thing caught my attention. We noticed a lot of preteens with them last year. However, most of them are fake. There are a few shops/stands where you could buy them along with the tattoos/airbrushing that some of the girls had around the rings.

Oh, and the clothes thing-- the slogans on shirts and the lack of clothes is shocking. I remember when they wouldn't let Punk Rock kids in because they disrupted the family environment back in the early 1980s. Give me a kid with purple hair and a leather jacket over someone practically naked or with vulgar statements/pictures on their clothing any day.

Julie

 

[DramaTech]

First,

kevind65, I worked at Six Flags Over Texas for about two years, and we had a policy that no foul language nor drug related language was to be on any clothing at any time in the park. Most of the time, the guests would be stopped at the front gate and asked to either change clothes or turn their shirts inside-out. You wouldn't believe how many people would turn their shirts inside-out, walk 20 feet inside the gate, and then proceed to turn them back.

I was a supervisor for a year or so out of the two years I was there, and I always "loved" being called to a situation to find an irate guest cursing their heads off at one of my employees. The one good thing about those situations was, in a very calm voice, reminding the guest that they were in a family park and to watch their language. Most would calm down, but I was well known among the employees as the one who wouldn't put up with it. There were several times when, after being warned more than three times in one conversation regarding language (as in "I'll f***ing speak how I want to f***ing speak"), I would simply call security and have them escorted out of the park. Most of the time they were young teenagers, but I tossed some adults, too. My favorite was a father who had totally blown up at a ride operator for not letting his child, who was 6 in. too short, ride. His wife and other older son looked mortified with the way he was acting. He was warned several times and finally I made the call for security. He cursed at me even more, and his family was trying to get him to let it go. Security arrived and I explained the situation. Lo and behold, he started changing his tone and language altogether...trying to fool the security guard and blame me for overreacting. The security guard simply told him he should have acted so politely to me, because I was the one having him thrown out. He went right back to cursing. As he and the guard were walking out, he looked back at his wife and said something about following him. She said, "No way...you can go sit in the car Mr. Potty Mouth, we're going to enjoy our day!"

Sorry it wasn't a Disney shock...but shock nonetheless!

 

[girlfriend]

This happened last year when DM and I were at Downtown Disney going to the buses. A woman was standing up and sobbing and talking to her husband who was sitting on the bench looking at her with a sarcastic grin on his face, and she was saying "you always badmouth me and treat me like s**t in front of the kids". And people were watching this walking by and all the husband would do is sit there with that grin on his face. I felt so bad for that woman. Nice vacation!

 

[mommystieg]

HeyDramaTech--small world...I worked at SFOT for two years, too! Of course, it was probably decades before you worked there. If I tell you when I worked there then you will know I am old...I will tell you that I worked in Rides and I was on the original Judge Roy Scream crew. Sorry this is off the subject but I just wanted to say "hi"

 

[Red-Snapper]

Most shocking, well sad thing really for me was last year at IOA.

Just getting on the boat for the Jurassic park ride when a older couple slid into the row infront of us. They had with them what I assume was their son who was about 25. He was mentally handicapped and reluctant to get in.

A concerned but ackward CM hovered nearby and suggested very quietly that maybe they could do a kid-swop as the son didnt want to ride.

They insisted very aggressively that he would enjoy it once he was on and it was just the thought of the big drop he had seen on the way in.

They continued to try to persuade him to sit - with him getting visably more upset as the attempts went on. By this time the ride was stopped - waiting for the loading of our boat to finish.

The father got out and forced the lad into the seat between them. He was now crying and howling in a very upsetting way.

The CM did nothing to stop this and the boat set off.

As soon as we rounded the bend and the first dinosaur moved the son went into hysterics and tried to remove the lapbar.

The rest of us in the boat were obviously stunned by now not to mention a little anxious that he might react violently to get away.

Obviously all thought of enjoyment of the ride was now over and we sat willing a CM to notice and stop the ride or for it to finish.

The parents made some effort to calm him and the rest of the ride was obviously one furhter shock after another for him.

The climax to the ride went by unnoticed by us as by this time the son was a pitiful, sobbing ball hunched in the front seat.

He literally ran from the boat as it stopped with his father ambling half-heartedly after him.

I think the mother got the message from the looks on our faces as we passed her.

 

[mommystieg]

Ok - that just breaks my heart. Why won't some parents be more sensitive to their children's fear?

 

[MichaelP]

Not so much a shocking moment, but a gross one. While waiting on line for PP's Flight 10 yrs ago, I saw an adult male in front of me stick his finger in his ear & then put it right in his mouth!
At least the guy in Airplane! only smelt it.

 

[UKAnnie]

redsnapper - that story was just awful. I can't believe the insensitivity.

perdidobay - just to say DH definitely wasn't giving the one-finger salute - I think it was just because his arm got too close to the guy and he didn't like it.

Fortunately I think we find many more friendly, kind people at WDW than we do morons.

Ann.