Just back....some observations and opinions

[katebeth]

Just got back from a wonderful 7 day vacation at Disney. We stayed at the WIlderness Lodge for the 4th time and had a very nice stay...noticed things that bothered me this vacation that have not bothered me in the past


Rudeness of foreigners...Not just to me but to other people...They would push in line (or worse push their kids in lines at character greetings)...Many times acted like the rules did not apply to them. Now I know Americans can be just as rude, we just happened to encounter many rude people from other countries this trip

SMOKERS.....ugh...Flame me if you want, but you have certain spots you can smoke...that does not mean while you are waiting in line for a ride, or as you are running to get in line to see a character and especially not while you are standing right in front of my 1 year old while waiting for a boat to come...Smoking is your perogative...not my babies

I have been reading about rude CM's and I have thought, well I know people have bad days, but let me tell you..we ran into several CM's that just did not seem to enjoy their jobs at all. I think they are few and far between, but when you have so many CM's that are so nice and wonderful, the grumpy ones really stand out!!

I have never heard so many f-words in my life...I felt like I was in an R rated movie...It just is such a part of so many people's vocabulary...It just doesn't seem to fit at Disney

Now this didn't personally bother me, just thought it was interesting...I saw so many women wearing HIGH heel shoes and sandals at the parks. Maybe they are comfortable..I know my feet would be cramping before I got past security..But to each his own

All in all, we had a wonderful trip..temps were great first part of the week...it rained part of Thurs and all of Friday..but we still had fun. Food was wonderful and we can't wait to go back!!!

 

[Feralpeg]

I agree about the language used by folks visiting WDW. It never ceases to amaze me the language parents use around their children. It makes me wonder what the language of these children will be when they grow up. IMHO, as a race, we are really slipping in certain areas.

 

[kbheap]

Sorry that you encountered so many rude people on your trip! It sounds like it was so bad it really stuck out this trip.

As far as the shoes go, I myself will wear sandals that sometimes have a wedge or something like that. I wear heels 7 days a week at home so I am just more comfortable like that. I have tried to do DW in tennis shoes and I end up with hurt feet and blisters. To each there own though.

 

[kaligal]

Glad you had a good time. Sorry you didn't enjoy the smoke, foreigners, swearing and rude CMs.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I agree about the language used by folks visiting WDW. It never ceases to amaze me the language parents use around their children. It makes me wonder what the language of these children will be when they grow up. IMHO, as a race, we are really slipping in certain areas.

I agree also. Language, as a whole, almost anywhere, is like a garbage can today. People use any language, anywhere. I think it is the result of the 'entertainment' business...music, movies, even TV (cable, etc), where it is pervasive, 24/7. People grow up with it being just part of normal conversation.

 

[Cdn Gal]

UGH! Swearing in just ignorant and rude. People need to clue in to the fact that they are surrounded by children. You know- swear at home, not in front of kids! As for the foreigners- where were they from?

 

[katebeth]

I am not sure where the foreigners were from..I know several of them spoke Spanish. And the encounter we had at Starring Rolls in HS I believe they were European

 

[dawnbu40]

We got back last Monday and thought there were an unusual amount of rude international guests. We saw many rude French speaking families and had the same family cut in front of us on 3 different rides I also noticed a lot of young women in heels and couldn't figure out why anyone would want to do that to their feet

 

[bouncy54]

When we went to WDW in 2005, I struck up a conversation with a man from Australia who was downright angry about the smoking rules in the parks. He said that traveling the world was part of his job and that the U.S. was, by far, the most strict on smoking of all the countries he had visited.

I wonder if most of the smokers the OP encountered were from other countries. Most Americans are used to the laws by now.

Also.. I used to be a supervisor in a factory where there were many foreigners from different parts of the world. I rarely had a problem with anyone, but there was a distinct rudeness in the people from one particular part of the world that was common. Not only were they pushy, but were downright belligerent at times. Things got so bad with one particular employee that I had to sit down and speak with her about her attitude. I was surprised to learn that this is the way of her people and she didn't realize she was being rude. I never had another complaint about her from that day forward. I guess communication is the key.

What drives me crazy are those who pretend not to understand English as a way to cover their rudeness. I've seen that a lot.

 

[PatsMom]

I have to agree about the foreign smokers - if you travel outside the US you will find that the rules in this country are much stricter than in many others. I can remember just two years ago being in a Bastille Day crowd in Paris. People were packed in like a post-parade exit at Disney and people were smoking. It was just accepted. I had to stand at the very back of the crowd to listen to the music. So perhaps some of what the OP encountered was due to a lot of foreign tourists.

I do know that the guide maps in other languages mention the designated smoking areas because my daughter is multi-lingual and picks a different language sometimes. There should really be no excuses for smoking in line or anywhere other than a designated area inside the park. But like everything else in life, it happens. Annoys me and my husband since when I smoked I faithfully went to a smoking area, and he still goes to a smoking area!

 

[gisgt]

I agree about smoking in designated areas *inside* of the parks. But the biggest gripe of the OP was in regard to smoking while waiting for a boat, which are outside of the parks. This is perfectly acceptable because there is no prohibition against smoking outside of the parks. So you're right - Smoking is my prerogative, MOVING is yours, in that situation.

 

[Vickilynn42]

Yep, smoking outside designated areas would really upset me. I have asthma so it really flares it up when I'm exposed to it. There are a lot of courteous smokers out there, but not all of them are!! And the language- I mean... come on.. we're in Disney World. It just kind of takes away from the experience doesn't it. I know my kids hear it all the time at school, but when you go to the park, you just want that magical experience- not the "f" word served up in large doses. Glad you had a good time despite these issues. Oh, and I don't know how the women do the high heels, my feet just about fell off with good tennis shoes! Haha

 

[FlightlessDuck]

What's weird here is that I don't think I've ever noticed what shoes somebody else was wearing in WDW.

 

[kaytieeldr]

SMOKERS.....ugh...Flame me if you want, but you have certain spots you can smoke...that does not mean while you are waiting in line for a ride, or as you are running to get in line to see a character and especially not while you are standing right in front of my 1 year old while waiting for a boat to come...Smoking is your perogative...not my babies

Respectfully, though, and common sense aside - if you mean boats OUTside the parks, there is no specific smoking restriction.

I have been reading about rude CM's and I have thought, well I know people have bad days, but let me tell you..we ran into several CM's that just did not seem to enjoy their jobs at all. I think they are few and far between, but when you have so many CM's that are so nice and wonderful, the grumpy ones really stand out!!

Is it right? No. But especially since these were apparently so rare, I guess it depends if you have a 'glass half full' or a 'glass half empty' outlook. With the latter, sure, the few CMs not enjoying their jobs for whatever reason - including, for example, negative interaction from (i.e. being yelled at by) the immediate previous guest) - are going to stand out. With the first point of view, they're more likely to get empathy.

I have never heard so many f-words in my life...I felt like I was in an R rated movie...It just is such a part of so many people's vocabulary...It just doesn't seem to fit at Disney

Reflects more on the degradation of everyday language than on Walt Disney World.

Now this didn't personally bother me, just thought it was interesting...I saw so many women wearing HIGH heel shoes and sandals at the parks. Maybe they are comfortable..I know my feet would be cramping before I got past security..But to each his own

While times have changed - Disney now sells Crocs - several years ago, when I took the Keys to the Kingdom tour, one tidbit we learned was that Walt Disney World sold, for footwear, only womens' sneakers. Why? Because in so many countries, it's 100% NORMAL to wear high heels all the time; then these women get to Walt Disney World and are miserable trying to walk the parks in heels.

 

[budmonster]

SMOKERS.....ugh...Flame me if you want, but you have certain spots you can smoke...that does not mean while you are waiting in line for a ride, or as you are running to get in line to see a character and especially not while you are standing right in front of my 1 year old while waiting for a boat to come...Smoking is your perogative...not my babies

I have to agree with this part, DD and I were there for the last weekend in Feb and come across this a lot. One instance was waiting inline for the tram outside of MK. Older lady and younger man in line smoking, I waved my hand infront of my nose because it was blowing in our face so she takes a long drag turns around and blows it right into my face. It took all I could not to go off on her. Since I had DD with me and other children were around I just switched lines.

I also noticed people walking through the park smoking and CMs not saying anything to them.

 

[#1DopeyFan]

So you're right - Smoking is my prerogative, MOVING is yours, in that situation.

And yet polite smokers wonder how they get a bad rap???

 

[ms_missy66]

I agree about smoking in designated areas *inside* of the parks. But the biggest gripe of the OP was in regard to smoking while waiting for a boat, which are outside of the parks. This is perfectly acceptable because there is no prohibition against smoking outside of the parks. So you're right - Smoking is my prerogative, MOVING is yours, in that situation.

And attitudes like that make the World so very magical. I'm not sure if you were speaking in the first person because you're a smoker and wouldn't think twice about lighting up at the boat launch or if you were speaking hypothetically. I'll assume the latter...but...

You're seriously suggesting, in the specific example of waiting for the boat, that someone exit a line to wait for another half hour to get to a park so someone can smoke in line on top of others? Folks have to know that's horribly rude. What if my desire was to juggle fire batons. I mean it's not specifically prohibited. Yet, being around me could result in others' harm. So it would be perfectly okay for me to stand in line for the boat, tossing my fire? And if folks had concern for their safety, they should move. And if another member of my fire baton tossing family shows up for the next boat line, they should stand aside and wait for another boat to avoid harm. Wouldn't it just be easier for me to say, "You know, we're pretty crowded here. Maybe i'll put my fire batons away as to not post potential harm to all of those around me"?

Smoking is legal. As you've said, it's one's perrogative to do so. Enjoy 40 packs a day for all I care. Folks should just do what they can to not affect others doing something that can cause them harm by smoking in designated areas.

 

[Vickilynn42]

Smoking is legal. As you've said, it's one's perrogative to do so. Enjoy 40 packs a day for all I care. Folks should just do what they can to not affect others doing something that can cause them harm by smoking in designated areas.

Exactly- I don't care how many packs a day a person smokes, but when they don't care that I have an asthma flare up due to the smoke while standing in line somewhere, or that my kids are breathing in their second-hand smoke- now that pushes my buttons.

 

[v_gan]

I have been reading about rude CM's and I have thought, well I know people have bad days, but let me tell you..we ran into several CM's that just did not seem to enjoy their jobs at all. I think they are few and far between, but when you have so many CM's that are so nice and wonderful, the grumpy ones really stand out!!

I'm going to have to agree with this. We just got back from four days at Caribbean Beach. Went to MK and DHS. While there were some really great CMs (mostly chefs and other people working in the restaurants that were really nice and helpful, plus one guy at Guest Relations at DHS), there were a lot of grumpy and/or incompetent CMs working, especially in the Custom House at CBR. Every time we tried to do something in the Custom House, it took at least 30 minutes (after waiting in line). First time was checking in. Second time was adding on our tickets to our KTTW cards. It was ridiculous.

At DHS, there were so many grumpy CMs yelling at everyone in the queue lines - most notably at Rockin' Roller Coaster. I mean, I understand you have to do your job. But you do work at Disney World. You have to be nice to people.

I don't know, we just had a miserable trip. I hope the those CMs get an attitude boost by the time we get back in May.

 

[kaytieeldr]

And attitudes like that make the World so very magical. I'm not sure if you were speaking in the first person because you're a smoker and wouldn't think twice about lighting up at the boat launch or if you were speaking hypothetically. I'll assume the latter...but...

You're seriously suggesting, in the specific example of waiting for the boat, that someone exit a line to wait for another half hour to get to a park so someone can smoke in line on top of others?

I'm a smoker, and I'm not advocating that - BUT, since there's no specific restriction against smoking in this location (other than the late, lamented common sense) I can see why somebody might do it and why, technically, others may not be able to prevent it.

At DHS, there were so many grumpy CMs yelling at everyone in the queue lines - most notably at Rockin' Roller Coaster. I mean, I understand you have to do your job. But you do work at Disney World. You have to be nice to people.

You can only be nice for so long while continuing to be ignored. At some point, when being ince isn't working - nobody's listening and this is affecting everyone's experience approaching the attraction - yeah, apparently yelling is required.