Not our finest moment as a family..whats yours lol

[PersonalizedMouse]

On our first trip to Disney, we made the rookie mistake of not giving the kids enough of a break. Well somewhere around Morocco and way past lunchtime, pretty much everyone had a meltdown. Kids fighting and crying, dad saying "is this what I spent 5 thousand dollars on" and me saying "omg what did we do" Luckily, we came upon the Tangier Cafe where we sat down, had lunch and regrouped. From that point on we learned to pace ourselves. We still refer to it as not our finest moment as a family We can laugh about it now lol What was your moment?

 

[pjpoppins]

Happened to us are first trip. We underestimated break time. I think we failed to realize how much sensory fatigue there is. Yes it's hot and there is a lot of walking but I think your brain just needs a break now and then. That's part of the reason I love the dining plan with table service meals.

 

[pjpoppins]

Ok I'm 2 sips into my coffee..........."our" first trip. Sorry

 

[doitforlove]

My family, while older, still had a meltdown last september. On our last day mom didn't want to pack the laptop we brought and said everyone must take turns carrying it. Of course we picked this day to do WS at Epcot and it was HOT!! Needless to say everyone was pretty grumpy about holding a heavy, unnecessary laptop. Why she wouldn't put it in a locker I'll never know.

 

[twinplets]

We came 3 years ago with three 5 year olds and two 7 1/2 year olds. Had a perfect time and kept everyone with no stroller.

This year, they are now three 8 year olds and two 10 1/2 year olds. I thought we had this made this trip. Yet we managed to lose one of the 10 1/2 year olds yesterday in the crowds at MK. We were eating funnel cakes during the rain. We got up and took the back path behind Cinderella's Castle over to Tomorrowland. At the end, we had lost him in the crowd. We didn't panic. He is almost 11 and a smart kid. We backtracked thinking we would find him, but he was nowhere on the path. He was smart and told a cast member he lost us and they took him to Baby Care.

One of the many calamities of our day yesterday. I am sad to say I had no fun with my kids yesterday. We are sleeping in and regrouping today.

 

[Fire14]

I'd have to say mine was the year I took my Niece age 4 or 5 to WDW for a week. WE had an ungodly early flight like 5:35a and of course K was excited to see Cindy and friends so trying to get her settled night prior was chore and than having to get up at like 2am. So we get to WDW and decide to go to AK. Things are going ok, seeing sites and all the sudden K starts asking when she can go swimming after 10th time of me telling her later, DH lost it right in middle of AK and starts SCREAMING I didn't spend 5000 for you to swim all the time!! So I start crying, DH is stil screaming and K is crying and scared because Uncle is carrying on. WE leave park to go back to resort with DH screaming entire way out about how everyone is gonna take a nap etc etc.
WE get back to resort, get to rm and K is crying to me she doesn't wanna take a nap, I'm about at wringing a neck stage so I tell her just sit on her bed watch TV, be quiet and don't bother me as I lock my self in Bathroom, and DH passes out on our bed.
After I calmed down I took her exploring around resort with her new camera and we took some cute pictures, while MR grumpy napped. Rest of trip went much better. I honestly think it was just pure Exhaustion, the Heat and a young child all wrapped into one.

K is now 12 and still talks about her trip to "have honey with Pooh" and eat in Cindy's castle.

 

[ahem]

So far (knock-on-wood) I have not experienced a meltdown at any park.
I have witnessed MANY meltdowns in my time.
I grew up an hour from DLand and kept my distance from Fantasy Land some days.

 

[CarolAnnB]

The first day of all our trips is usually a fiasco due to early flights, lack of sleep, etc. So bad that this year we are talking about making t-shirts for myself and DDs that say "It's not vacation til somebody's crying" and one for DH that says "It's not vacation til I make somebody cry". Last trip DD got a henna tattoo at Morocco the first day (8:30am flight was changed to 6:00am so we ended up having to get up at 3:30am) and bumped and smudged it 3minutes after leaving the stand. Which turned into a DH tirade about no respect and not taking care of anything blah blah blah until tears were flowing in the world showcase. This year we are taking an 11:45am flight and just going to DTD the first day. Hopefully that will work out better!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Our family seems to have a melt down in Epcot, every year. We call it our "Epcot Day". Oh, and usually, it's my fault for being cranky.

Although we avoided an Epcot Day this past year.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

The first day of all our trips is usually a fiasco due to early flights, lack of sleep, etc. So bad that this year we are talking about making t-shirts for myself and DDs that say "It's not vacation til somebody's crying" and one for DH that says "It's not vacation til I make somebody cry". Last trip DD got a henna tattoo at Morocco the first day (8:30am flight was changed to 6:00am so we ended up having to get up at 3:30am) and bumped and smudged it 3minutes after leaving the stand. Which turned into a DH tirade about no respect and not taking care of anything blah blah blah until tears were flowing in the world showcase. This year we are taking an 11:45am flight and just going to DTD the first day. Hopefully that will work out better!

That sounds so familiar...my DD now almost 12 has cried on the first day so many that this year we are doing a slightly later flight as well! It's such a long and trying day....

 

[Luvscrappin]

We seem to have some kind of a melt down almost every year. Usually its because my husband likes to go at a commando pace and they rest of us are exhausted trying to keep up. Last time I really emphasized that we need to enjoy ourselves and not be in such a hurry to get to the next attraction. I worked a little better. This year I think I will let him run ahead to get fast passes etc if he wants to, but not drag everyone along. Almost every melt down is because of exhaustion. ( One was because of an attempt to "drink around the world" ...which I would never recommend anyone doing)

 

[jenfromjersey]

I had a meltdown last month
My feet had blistered really badly, so then I was walking funny which made the soles of my feet hurt so bad that it felt like I was being stabbed with every step I took. We were supposed to go from MK directly to DHS and when I found out I would first have to get to the TTC to get a bus to DHS I gave up on life. Thankfully my boyfriend just let me sit and we opted to take the bus back to POFQ for a rest.

He is a keeper I said if he could deal with my melting down in Disney, he can deal with anything I throw at him!

 

[Jenngoofys]

LOL Mine was not a family Moment as much as it wasnt my finest moment

My husband and daughter dont do "scary" rides. But our rule as a family is you have to try everything at least one time before you can say you dont like it and not have to do it again.

So last August they had agreed to ride Rocking Roller Coaster for the first time. They would sit together and I would sit with my daughters friend who wanted to ride. I was thrilled. So we walk over to the RRC and Guess what, its closed no clue when it will be back up. They laugh and joke they dodged that bullet. Im disapointed, but decide to go get a snack and decide what to do. While we sit eating our cupcakes my daughter and husband decide to go to the Star Wars gift shop and then we'd leave. So they head off and then I see a large crowd heading by towards RRC I call my husband and he continues on to the shop instead of returning to go on the RRC. By the time he gets to the RRC the line is 90 min!! They were like oh well, I lost it!! I was like "If youre not going to ride rides whats the point of going to another park at this point we might as well just go back to the hotel and do nothing since thats what youre going to do in the park!!!" So we all went back to the hotel for about 2 hours where I took a nap and they all just sat there LOL once I woke up we went to EPCOT, where they decided to ride Mission space for the first time (guess it was that or die), and guess what? They loved it and we went on again. We still have not ridden the RRC together but this year no excuses!!! if they dont like it fine but at least try it once before you write it off.

 

[ChocoKat]

Worst moment?
On our second trip I was determined to try some rides recommended on the DIS and a bunch of other things I hadn't gotten a chance to do before, I was on mission mode, from rope drop till closing, all parks, every day. My DH wasn't having a good time, we were on our second day, his wisdom teeth were aching (we eventually got them pulled out since they were really a pain), he hadn't slept well in days, it was hot, he was just grumpy and had no patience left.

When I told him I wanted to try riding Soarin', he just stopped cold on his tracks and started a tirade about how he didn't want to, how he didn't care if I had made plans, how he just was tired and annoyed (at what? He never told me ) and how he was just generally angry.

He had been just fine before, so it sorta came out of left field. He is normally a sweetie and we had been having fun (or so I thought), he surprised me so much with his outburst I actually started to feel like crying. I didn't want to make a scene, so I tried to woman up and apologized to him to calm him down and just walked him away (while he kept on his angry monologue about how hot it was, how he was tired of eating -yes, eating- and tired of walking around in circles... -it was Epcot! It is a big circle! LOL) to a more empty and cooler area. I sat him down, got him a soda, ice water and a small meal and he stewed for about half an hour before he broke down and apologized saying he was just in pain, tired and generally burnt out.

Ever since that time we slow down, take breaks and now I make him do half the planning so he doesn't feel like he doesn't have a say. I felt terrible for pushing him so far, never again!

 

[Tltorrez]

I have to admit it was me that had the biggest melt down on our last big trip. It was our last day - our "vote" day - and we had decided on Epcot. We were just strolling around in World Showcase, mostly letting DS play Kim Possible. But the plan was to hop the monorail and go to California Grill for dinner. We booked it because we figured ending the trip with Wishes would be just perfect. So at some point, DH (who had fallen in love with Epcot) decided we should just stay in Epcot and watch Illuminations again. I kind of freaked out and started arguing. And it wasn't until I burst into tears that everyone sort of realized I was just totally overwrought. DS had serious insomnia issues on that trip. He was managing ok, but I was dealing less well with the lack of sleep. At that point it wasn't even that I wanted to trek over to the Contemporary, it was just the thought of changing the plan that pushed me over the edge. I can't imagine what I must've looked like. After that someone stuck a drink into my hand and we agreed that I just wouldn't be responsible for any more decisions.

 

[zeferjen]

Ack. Our first trip we made a similar mistake except it was the adults having the meltdown. DH and I got into a big argument in MK. Thankfully the kids were too young to really understand what was happening and I was able to distract them with some bubbles while the adults worked it out. To this day, it is probably one of our top 5 worst arguments of all time.

 

[dgr1973]

The first trip seems to be a theme around here, well I will add mine too. Our first trip as a family was in May 2008 when my girls were 10 and 8. It was very hot and we were going like crazy trying to do everything. Well we went to Seaworld one day and my wonderful DH is determined to see the dolphin show right after the Shamu show. Anyone who has been to Seaworld know they are on opposite sides of the park. Anyways he's about 10 feet in front of us those whole time and keeps looking back with a face like "why cant they keep up" - he is 6 feet tall and I am 5 feet tall so of course he can walk faster! I was mad but let it go until the next day at Animal Kingdom he did the same thing running from Festival of the Lion King to Finding Nemo! Well I had it and started screaming at him while we were walking that if he didn't slow down and stop giving me dirty looks then he can go by himself! We looked like idiots yelling at eachother while my poor daughters looked like they were ready to pass out! We have been back a couple times since and he doesn't do that anymore.

 

[capegirl]

I have to admit it was me that had the biggest melt down on our last big trip. It was our last day - our "vote" day - and we had decided on Epcot. We were just strolling around in World Showcase, mostly letting DS play Kim Possible. But the plan was to hop the monorail and go to California Grill for dinner. We booked it because we figured ending the trip with Wishes would be just perfect. So at some point, DH (who had fallen in love with Epcot) decided we should just stay in Epcot and watch Illuminations again. I kind of freaked out and started arguing. And it wasn't until I burst into tears that everyone sort of realized I was just totally overwrought. DS had serious insomnia issues on that trip. He was managing ok, but I was dealing less well with the lack of sleep. At that point it wasn't even that I wanted to trek over to the Contemporary, it was just the thought of changing the plan that pushed me over the edge. I can't imagine what I must've looked like. After that someone stuck a drink into my hand and we agreed that I just wouldn't be responsible for any more decisions.

I can definitely relate to this. I am the designated family day planner, and it is a BIG responsibility. I've discovered that if I do not 'take the lead', the alternative is far worse....the family is dazed and confused; leading to time wasting arguments over attractions, and food, etc. In the process of trying to create the perfect vacation for your family, you can get burned.

 

[java]

I was the one that melted down. I shut down. I got tired of complaining and said I give up. We don't have to follow my plan we can sleep in and do whatever you guys want tomorrow. I threw a little quiet fit.

Well tomorrow rolled around, they wanted to go to MK. I kept my mouth shut and followed along. When we couldn't walk onto any rides as it was now noon, and they couldn't find a spot to eat because all the tables were taken......
Let's just say I have no more complaining.

 

[luvmy2babies]

Ours was spread out over a period of days. On our first trip, my son, then 10 months old puked on me on the bus to MK on our first full day. He’d had a lot more milk than usual (acted like he was starving) so I thought he’d just had too much and couldn’t hold it. I used every wipe I’d brought with me to wipe up our area on the bus. I was a mess, but not as bad as it could have been because he was in an Ergo carrier. Dd just got a little on her jeans. Did we stay on the bus and go back to the resort so I could get cleaned up? Of course not. We went on into MK, where I purchased a new shirt, cleaned up more and changed clothes.

Ds was fine the rest of the day, so I thought he’d just had too much milk. The next day we had breakfast at Chef Mickey’s and everyone was fine, but not even a few minutes after entering MK, I suddenly felt unbelievably tired. Even the photopass photographer who took our picture on the way to Toontown commented on it. We toured Mickey and Minnie’s houses, then I sat on a bench with ds while dd played in the play area. Eventually, in addition to feeling tired, I started to feel sick. Moments later, I was outside the play area tossing my cookies for all the world to see. I was at a trashcan, holding ds in one arm like a football, but it was just one of those with a swinging door and not nearly large enough, so I might as well have been throwing up on the ground. I rinsed the trash can off with my bottle of water. No one really batted an eye, so I figured out then that puking at Disney World must be a common occurrence. I sat nearly motionless for one more hour while dd played in Donald’s boat. Then we headed back to the room, where I puked two more times and showered 3 times and bathed the children twice hoping it stopped at me in case it was a virus and not something I ate.

Turned out to be for naught. Dd was puking two nights later.

I learned my lesson. It might have taken a couple of hours for us to get back to MK, had we returned to the resort, but it cost us way more over the next few days. We lost more park time plus two ADRs I had to cancel. I won’t be making that mistake again.