WWYD: Screaming kid on the other side of the wall of your hotel room

[yaya74]

I understand Disney is a place where you would encounter young children. I have two myself. I understand kids behave like kids. But what would you do if the family staying in the room next to you has a young child who would scream from the top of his/her lung for 20 minutes in the morning at 6am and in the evening at 11pm? I, unfortunately, encountered a family like that during our recent trip and had to endure it for 2 mornings and nights. The kid would just SCREAM and repeatedly say "I don't want to!" "No!" and cried. For 20 minutes nonstop. The parents were talking but not asking the kid to stop crying and screaming. The wall was paper-thin. It was 11pm and my family was in bed trying to sleep. All conversations from the other side of the wall were loud and clear.

I didn't do anything nor say anything to the family next door. I just waited and prayed for the kid to stop crying. I didn't bring earplugs but wish that I did. DH was cursing and was adding one more thing to his list of why he does not enjoy going to Disney.

What would you do?

 

[cjsmom5]

After about 15 minutes I would have probably called the front desk and asked if there was anything they could do. In cases like that we have asked to be moved the next day if they are still staying there - you can tell the hotel - if they are still going to be there tomorrow - can we please change rooms. No one ever knows what is happening behind closed doors - kid sick, just unhappy, different parenting styles, etc. so I hesitate to talk to the family myself. Security can walk up that way and probably hear at the door. They should be able to handle it.

 

[yaya74]

After about 15 minutes I would have probably called the front desk and asked if there was anything they could do. In cases like that we have asked to be moved the next day if they are still staying there - you can tell the hotel - if they are still going to be there tomorrow - can we please change rooms. No one ever knows what is happening behind closed doors - kid sick, just unhappy, different parenting styles, etc. so I hesitate to talk to the family myself. Security can walk up that way and probably hear at the door. They should be able to handle it.

Thank you for sharing. I didn't know that I could ask the front desk for help. I am taking notes...

 

[Gary Stocker]

I understand Disney is a place where you would encounter young children. I have two myself. I understand kids behave like kids. But what would you do if the family staying in the room next to you has a young child who would scream from the top of his/her lung for 20 minutes in the morning at 6am and in the evening at 11pm? I, unfortunately, encountered a family like that during our recent trip and had to endure it for 2 mornings and nights. The kid would just SCREAM and repeatedly say "I don't want to!" "No!" and cried. For 20 minutes nonstop. The parents were talking but not asking the kid to stop crying and screaming. The wall was paper-thin. It was 11pm and my family was in bed trying to sleep. All conversations from the other side of the wall were loud and clear.

I didn't do anything nor say anything to the family next door. I just waited and prayed for the kid to stop crying. I didn't bring earplugs but wish that I did. DH was cursing and was adding one more thing to his list of why he does not enjoy going to Disney.

What would you do?

If it was March 2020 at the Poly sorry about that. .my kid was possessed being overtired most nights.
I guess all you can do is empathize with the parents as I am sure they are also wanting some sleep. It is definitely, in my eyes, the nature of the Disney beast.

 

[Gary Stocker]

I guess you could request a new room as well. Thr resorts aren't at capacity.

 

[yaya74]

If it was March 2020 at the Poly sorry about that. .my kid was possessed being overtired most nights.
I guess all you can do is empathize with the parents as I am sure they are also wanting some sleep. It is definitely, in my eyes, the nature of the Disney beast.

No it was not you. My trip was last week at YC.
I am sorry for what you went through.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

I would have nicely explained the situation to the front desk and ask if I could be moved to a different room.

 

[starry_solo]

Calling the front desk gets you to a call center.

I would use the audio recorder on my cell phone, record the screaming for a minute or so, then walk downstairs to the front desk and play it for them

 

[♥ Mandi ♥]

If it was March 2020 at the Poly sorry about that. .my kid was possessed being overtired most nights.
I guess all you can do is empathize with the parents as I am sure they are also wanting some sleep. It is definitely, in my eyes, the nature of the Disney beast.

Yup! I was going to say, if this happened to me I’d just be happy that their kid’s screams might drown out my own kid’s, who’d probably inevitably be doing the same thing LOL.
But in all seriousness, we bring our Amazon Echo (Alexa) with us to Disney and play white noise which helps drown out any ambient noise. It really helps!

 

[yaya74]

Calling the front desk gets you to a call center.

I would use the audio recorder on my cell phone, record the screaming for a minute or so, then walk downstairs to the front desk and play it for them

Adding more notes to my notepad..... Thank you!

 

[cjsmom5]

Thank you for sharing. I didn't know that I could ask the front desk for help. I am taking notes...

When we have done so, we typically call and say we are having a hard time sleeping due to the noise coming from next door, is it possible to move to another room tomorrow if they will still be checked in. I have traveled to WDW since 1998 with a child - every six months until he is now 23 and prefers to go elsewhere for vacation (LOL). I understand how tough it could be. That said, after a certain period of time ... guess I am not as forgiving. But I do understand. That said, as the person renting the hotel, I still should be able to get to sleep after a certain hour -- circumstances would definitely be the most contributing factor for me.

 

[Gary Stocker]

Melatonin gummies are the best invention since the Dole Whip...you want your kid to sleep short of concussion? Sleep gummies

 

[JoelB]

We've had the shrieking child neighbors before, but it was luckily only for a couple of days and not during any times that we were trying to sleep.

We've also had the "constantly loud talking and laughing ladies" neighbors, the "hour-long 3 AM phone call using his outdoor voice" neighbor, and the "I'm pretty sure I know what they're doing right now, but for some reason it sounds like they're building a shed" neighbors. I've lost out on at least some sleep more trips than not because of it, but you gotta weigh the (hopefully short-lived) annoyance against the inconvenience of moving, since that's most likely the remedy that will be offered.

Also, if you have a connecting door, put a towel down under it. It won't work any miracles (most resorts seem to have no soundproofing whatsoever), but it's better than nothing.

And honestly, the 4 AM jet-powered toilet flushes tend to wake me up more than anything -- when I'm not the one causing the disturbance, that is.

 

[cjsmom5]

We've had the shrieking child neighbors before, but it was luckily only for a couple of days and not during any times that we were trying to sleep.

We've also had the "constantly loud talking and laughing ladies" neighbors, the "hour-long 3 AM phone call using his outdoor voice" neighbor, and the "I'm pretty sure I know what they're doing right now, but for some reason it sounds like they're building a shed" neighbors. I've lost out on at least some sleep more trips than not because of it, but you gotta weigh the (hopefully short-lived) annoyance against the inconvenience of moving, since that's most likely the remedy that will be offered.

Also, if you have a connecting door, put a towel down under it. It won't work any miracles (most resorts seem to have no soundproofing whatsoever), but it's better than nothing.

And honestly, the 4 AM jet-powered toilet flushes tend to wake me up more than anything -- when I'm not the one causing the disturbance, that is.

Yes ... I always put a towel at any door in my room. It does help cut down on noise.

 

[yaya74]

Also, if you have a connecting door, put a towel down under it. It won't work any miracles (most resorts seem to have no soundproofing whatsoever), but it's better than nothing.

And honestly, the 4 AM jet-powered toilet flushes tend to wake me up more than anything -- when I'm not the one causing the disturbance, that is.

Yes my room had a connecting door to the room with the screaming kid. Hopefully I won't need to do the towel trick next time but I will remember that.

 

[DVCjj]

Unacceptable. Had children. Never would have allowed my children at ANY age to disrupt someone else. Would have literally taken the kid/baby, whatever… outside no matter what time it was til they calmed down.

if I was in the next room and had to hear someone else’s screaming kid, I would grab a robe and go down to the front desk and ask for a different room. In a calm, pleading way.

When adult daughter and I were about to walk into our just assigned 2 bedroom BLT room last year, a multi family room situation was standing in the hall outside our door with 2 separate ‘screaming at the top of their lungs’ kids. I went down to the lobby and asked to please be moved anywhere on any floor. (We were on 15). We were moved to another room floor 12 immediately. We had not stepped one foot in the room. We thanked them profusely.

Not saying it would always be the case but DEFINITELY worth asking.

 

[Best Aunt]

We've also had the "constantly loud talking and laughing ladies" neighbors

I've knocked on the door for that one and begged them to be quiet because I wasn't feeling well and needed to sleep. (Not at Disney.)

 

[JFDIS]

So.. last year at YC this happened to me. My friends came with and were embarrassed by the pool when their one year old had a tantrum. Well, good God Almighty the heavens unleashed on us on day two of our trip. My two year old reached her breaking point before I saw it coming. The sky’s blackened and demons possessed my child. I literally had her over my back walking 20 miles back to our room. She was screaming as if she were kidnapped. I became alarmed that no one questioned me as I drug her back to our room. I still don’t know how no one called security on us. I literally wanted to cry in our room knowing how much money our neighbors spent and having my child screaming next to them.

 

[DisLiss]

Would have literally taken the kid/baby, whatever… outside no matter what time it was til they calmed down.

That's my go-to answer at a restaurant, but in a hotel room, I'm not sure I would have opted for that, figuring that by moving a screaming child throughout a hotel past many other doors, I'd just be waking up a whole bunch of additional guests.

It's a tough situation for parents and I feel undeservedly lucky to have never encountered it with my own when they were little. (Although I did have a toddler pitch an absolute fit during a speech at an event once, and that's one time when carrying them out seemed to make even more of an issue due to our distance from any exterior door at the venue.) I really feel for people who find out the hard way that their children are at a phase in their young lives when a change in routine or sleeping situation results in a very loudly upset child.

 

[MikeOhio]

I’ve been in that situation and asked to be moved. For the price of a Disney resort there is no reason to let another family disturb you that much.