Your worst moment at a Disney park?

[Rebecky]

And I think I was really stressed about the trip and trying to make sure they were all happy. My family (parents and siblings) took a trip to WDW back in the early 90's, and I'm the only one who had ever been back since then. So this trip for my niece and nephews was their first and possibly the only one they'll have the chance to go on until they are grown themselves, and I thought making it perfect was all on my shoulders.

I totaly understand this. My family (mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, brother and 2 nephews 10 & 7) and 2 friends all did our first ever Florida trip. I planned the whole trip and did all the research. I did my best to plan a variety of activities that the kids and adults would like. We did MK, Universal Studios and Kennedy Space Center. MK went ok, but we had on the wrong footwear and ended up with blisters galore. I bought flip flops to wear at supper time just to get through!

The real melt-down happend 2 days latter at Kennedy Space Center. My 2 friends had decided they were not going to join us at my cousin's (lives on Merritt Island) for supper and my dad laid into me that we didn't have enough room for the family in our car (we did) and that he had packed steaks in the cooler for them (I told him to give them to my cousin to eat later). Seemed ok, but I did get upset a little at my dad for griping to me. THEN my sister who had basically done nothing but showed up for the trip told me that I was ruining the whole trip for everyone! That did it for me, I broke into tears. When we got to my cousins, I took the car keys and drove up the road alone to a Target to compose myself. Called my BFF and unloaded on her, went into Target bought visine for my red eyes and went back to my cousins. I sat and stewed all night. The next day I stayed away from everyone (it was our last day there and a free day). My sister never did appoligize and I've had to get over it, but I've never had a worse time. I'm NEVER taking the whole family with me again!

 

[rn448698]

This was my worst moment, and it only involved the first 5 minutes of Hallowishes. We're pretty fortunate to have little drama when at WDW.

Some background. My partner is extremely calm and laid back, almost to the point of wondering if he has a care in the world. Sometimes, though, he gets very direct (in a calm way) with complete strangers. I'm guessing that it is from his background from when he was a 7th grade teacher.

Last October (T, 10/26), we went to MNSSHP. We showed up to Main Steet about 10 minutes beforehand and found a perfect spot by Casey's in the middle of the street. We made sure we didn't cut in front of anyone or stand directly in front of people (we're tall, so we try to be considerate). To be honest, we were confused that such a good spot was available, but we didn't question it. And no, there weren't any Photopass people that we were blocking.

As the fireworks start, we start hearing screaming. We look to our right and there's a family of four (mom, dad, son (maybe 12), and daughter (maybe 11)). The daughter is screaming bloody murder about how she is tired and wants to go back to the hotel. And I mean, screaming!

The mom's reaction was to put her hand over the girl's mouth. And the daughter kept screaming. The dad looked mortified but said nothing.

At this point, the son started screaming bloody murder about how he is tired and wants to go back to the hotel. And I mean, screaming!

The mom's reaction was to take her other hand and put it over the son's mouth. And the son kept screaming. Again, the dad looked mortified but said nothing.

So, you can hear the screaming through the mom's hands and she says that they are staying for the fireworks because she wants to watch them (wristband-less, nonetheless).

Kids are screaming, people are looking, and they are ruining the show.

So... my partner (Mr. Calm) walks ten feet over to them and says sternly to them, "It's time for you to go home. Now."

And guess what, the mom looked embarassed, the kids stopped screaming, and they walked down Main Street to the exit. And Mr. Calm was boiling, which I've only seen maybe one time before this (over the course of 5 years).

So, the worst moment was missing the first 5 minutes of the fireworks. The best moment was seeing a guest tell another guest to leave.

 

[sheila <3 WDW]

We've only been twice. Last September and earlier this month.

The September trip was great! DD age 3 is a runner and ran away from us a few times and had a few meltdowns, but she did better than we expected.

This past trip was not as fun. I was 30 weeks pregnant. DD was still in her running phase. I wanted to buy a leash before the trip, but DH was against the idea. I wish I would have. She ran from us several times and I couldn't chase her. It wasn't fun, but that wasn't the worst part. Our first (half) day we went to DHS, it was fine. Second day Epcot and my feet were killing me and I was so tired. We went to the pool that morning, then to the park, and by 5 pm I had to go back to the hotel. We didn't even make it halfway around the WS. I was very disappointed, but I couldn't take it. We skipped our dinner reservation and chilled in the room for a while. Walked around the Boardwalk and ate at Big River Grilling Works. It actually turned out kind of nice and relaxing. DH won a stuffed animal for DD on one of the games and someone else won 3 stuffed animals and gave the medium one to DD.

Our third day was AK. DD who was potty trained and had been since she turned 3 in August became terrified of the auto-flush toilets. She would say she had to potty, we would take her, she would freak out screaming and crying. I tried to force her to sit on it several times and I was almost in tears myself. I'm sure others in the bathroom were wondering what was going on. She didn't go potty for 7 hours!!! Finally I said that's enough and we went to the Baby Care Center (love those!) and bought her pull ups. So the rest of the trip we would check the bathrooms and if we couldn't find one with manual flushes we would just put her in a pull up. I wish I would have just gotten the pull ups when it first happened. Even thinking about how scared she was and me getting so frustrated and mad makes me want to cry. We still ended up having a lot of fun that day even with the bathroom incidents. It just kind of put a damper on our memories of the trip.

Our last day was MK and it was fabulous! The bathrooms at CRT (where we had breakfast) did have manual flushes so DD actually did go there. She had no issues with the hotel bathroom either. Anyway, MK day started out rough, DH forgot to set the alarm and we overslept. Wanted to wake up at 6:30 and woke up at 7:30. Had 8:05 reservation at BBB and 9:15 at CRT. We got ready as fast as we could and then had to wait probably 15-20 minutes for an MK bus (one pulled away as we were walking to the bus stop - figures). Made it to the park and got in and had some photo pass pictures done in front of the castle. DH went to go ride Space Mountain and I took DD to BBB to ask if we would be charged since we missed the appointment. They said we didn't miss it and could get it done now. By this time it was about 8:45. I told them we had CRT at 9:15 and they told us to come back afterward. We ate (wonderful meal even though we had to wait because Jasmine missed our table and they had to send her back out). Then we went to BBB. DH ran and got FP's for a ride for us and I stayed with DD. She loved it. The rest of the day went pretty great.

DD had a few more bad moments running away and threw several fits.

I love MK absolutely my favorite place. From now on we are starting and ending the trip there. I think the first 2 days were rough because our last trip we started and ended at MK and MK just sets mood and the Disney magic for us.

Overall, I wish I could go back and redo our Epcot and AK days. I'm trying to focus on the positive memories and if you look at our pictures you would never know we had a less than wonderful experience. DD loved all the characters and looks so happy in the pictures.

I want to go back and redo our trip, but we probably won't until next year or the year after. DH has agreed to March 2013, but I am trying to talk him into spring or fall 2012. We'll see.

Not the worst experience on the board, but I feel horrible mommy guilt for making DD suffer through her fear of the toilets. We've been home two weeks and she's still scared of auto-flush toilets. I've taken to carrying pull ups in my purse just in case we need them. Poor kid.

 

[lilwhiterabbit]

DD who was potty trained and had been since she turned 3 in August became terrified of the auto-flush toilets.

This happened to my son as well. He was a good bit older than your DD (nine) but he is also autistic and the auto-flush toilets terrified him. He would jump back from them and shriek whenever they flushed, then run out of the stall, and if they triggered when he was walking into the stall he'd then refuse to go near them. Like your DD, he also started holding it as much has he possibly could to avoid having to interact with them, but he would fidget so we knew he had to go. Whenever we'd go into a restroom for weeks after the trip he'd nervously ask if the toilets were going to "flush on their own."

 

[ShhhQ]

Not the worst experience on the board, but I feel horrible mommy guilt for making DD suffer through her fear of the toilets. We've been home two weeks and she's still scared of auto-flush toilets. I've taken to carrying pull ups in my purse just in case we need them. Poor kid.

I don't have any kids, so not how sure this advice is.. but I have heard many people talk about covering the auto-flush sensor so they don't flush until you are ready for them to. I would think carrying a roll of tape would be simpiler than pull ups?

 

[Mama Mouse]

Sorry, but the engineer in me just has to suggest that if it ever happens again, stop into one of the stores and buy the top half of an appropriately sized bikini. And advise your DH or DBF to carry a Leatherman to be able to adjust the wiring when it goes haywire like that...

I have the same worst moment every time I visit WDW -- seeing the "Walt Disney World" over-the-highway sign in my rear view mirrors as I leave.

now please excuse me as I go back to post two and continue reading this thread...

Every time that's ever happened to me, I've been able to find a way to make a small nick in the fabric where the wire is and just slide it out. It's not a perfect solution but it keeps you from being stabbed until you can get a new bra.

 

[kirasaurus]

Recently, my mom and I were getting off of Spaceship Earth, and a cast member (young man) said to us "can you guys stay seated? security is on their way, you guys broke a couple of rules while on the ride." and it turns out he was "just kidding"
WHAT? WHY on Earth would any CM threaten a guest with security when they did absolutely wrong, even if you were "just kidding"? My mom and I never break the rules and would be heartbroken if we did something wrong by Disney. Thanks for making me anxious, flustered, and angry after my last ride of the trip, man
Mostly just to vent, but I've never experienced any CM kind of behavior like this. Bored and ready to go home, yes, but not so blatantly inappropriate and downright rude.

 

[dacky041208]

Our third day was AK. DD who was potty trained and had been since she turned 3 in August became terrified of the auto-flush toilets. She would say she had to potty, we would take her, she would freak out screaming and crying. I tried to force her to sit on it several times and I was almost in tears myself. I'm sure others in the bathroom were wondering what was going on. She didn't go potty for 7 hours!!! Finally I said that's enough and we went to the Baby Care Center (love those!) and bought her pull ups. So the rest of the trip we would check the bathrooms and if we couldn't find one with manual flushes we would just put her in a pull up. I wish I would have just gotten the pull ups when it first happened. Even thinking about how scared she was and me getting so frustrated and mad makes me want to cry. We still ended up having a lot of fun that day even with the bathroom incidents. It just kind of put a damper on our memories of the trip.

Our last day was MK and it was fabulous! The bathrooms at CRT (where we had breakfast) did have manual flushes so DD actually did go there. She had no issues with the hotel bathroom either. Anyway, MK day started out rough, DH forgot to set the alarm and we overslept. Wanted to wake up at 6:30 and woke up at 7:30. Had 8:05 reservation at BBB and 9:15 at CRT. We got ready as fast as we could and then had to wait probably 15-20 minutes for an MK bus (one pulled away as we were walking to the bus stop - figures). Made it to the park and got in and had some photo pass pictures done in front of the castle. DH went to go ride Space Mountain and I took DD to BBB to ask if we would be charged since we missed the appointment. They said we didn't miss it and could get it done now. By this time it was about 8:45. I told them we had CRT at 9:15 and they told us to come back afterward. We ate (wonderful meal even though we had to wait because Jasmine missed our table and they had to send her back out). Then we went to BBB. DH ran and got FP's for a ride for us and I stayed with DD. She loved it. The rest of the day went pretty great.

I'm not a mom but work with children. Post its are a blessing for this fear! Pop one over the sensor before your DD sits down and there shouldn't be a problem! Just be sure to pull it off on your way out of the stall.

 

[sesame_123]

I don't have any kids, so not how sure this advice is.. but I have heard many people talk about covering the auto-flush sensor so they don't flush until you are ready for them to. I would think carrying a roll of tape would be simpiler than pull ups?

Post it notes work great for this! My dd (4) does not the toilet to flush itself and after a couple times of me standing awkwardly to cover the sensor I heard about the post it notes. WORKS GREAT!!

 

[The Rovang Gang]

My husband, mother, 2 of my 3 kids and I got on the crowded elevator to go down at the Contemporary, but somehow my 3 year-old didn't. It was aMAZing to watch my 6'4", 300 lb. husband make it up the "down" escalator in 3 strides to get her. (I fell in love with him all over again.)

Luckily, she did exactly as we discussed
1. Stay in one place
2. Find a CM.

She was a little teary and still brings it up today...like if I won't buy her something at the store, "Remember that time you left me off the elevator at Disney??"

 

[j&d+2princesses]

My worst moment at Disney was when my 4 year old went missing.

It was our first day at the parks that trip and we went straight to see the princesses. After seeing them we exited the room. DH was holding the 2 year old and I was putting away the camera. My 4 year old suddently took off down the hallway and into the store. I ran after her but the store was really busy I couldn't keep up with her. And then she was nowhere to be found. We alerted the CM at the front of the princess line. I went to check outside while DH keep looking around the store. After 20 minutes another cast member comes in holding my DD's hand. DD had left the building and was standing in the line to meet Mickey (we had gone earlier that year and after seeing the princesses we went to see Mickey so she must of remembered that). When the CM finally noticed her in line and that she wasn't with anybody else he asked her, "Where are your parents." Her reply, "I think they are still shopping in the store. I couldn't wait to see Mickey." After being reunited the CM took us straight to see Mickey and Minnie.

This was the most horrible 20 minutes ever, but the story is kinda cute when I think about it.

 

[sheila <3 WDW]

I'm not a mom but work with children. Post its are a blessing for this fear! Pop one over the sensor before your DD sits down and there shouldn't be a problem! Just be sure to pull it off on your way out of the stall.

Yeah, since we've been home I have tried the post it's (just once so far when we went to the mall) which I have heard helps, too. I have been carrying those in my purse, also, I just forgot to mention that. It doesn't matter to DD. She sees the sensor and she freaks and won't go near the toilet. I'm going to keep trying. I know she will get over it eventually. She's usually pretty tough and not much scares her.

 

[bellebookworm9]

I have several, though most of them are my mother's!

February 2007
Back story: we were traveling with my high school music department to perform. My mom was a chaperone and had my room and another room of girls we didn't know.
1)After 3 days of the other room being complete and total brats (I'm a pretty chill person but by the end of that third day I was asking to leave them at Epcot), my mom threatened to the band director that if he didn't get those girls out from under her care she was going to MCO that night to get a flight home. Thankfully he listened and she didn't have to deal with them for the rest of the trip.
2)We spent a morning at AK, and after Everest I felt very sick-mostly my head hurt and felt stuffy. We traveled to MK for the afternoon and I took some medicine and felt a little better. Well, that night I felt awful again and just had a breakdown on Main Street, bawling and asking for mom. My BFF and I went to the cinema to wait and we were able to return to the hotel early, but man that was no fun! Plus my ears plugged up on the flight home and literally did not pop for over a week.

May 2010
1)Mom got really, really bad blisters on her feet by day 6. We were at Epcot. I ended up pushing her in a wheelchair for half the day (but we did get to take advantage of the wheelchair area for IllumiNations!). When we got back to the hotel she drained them and said it hurt so bad she was nauseous.
2)Day 9, we spent the late morning/early afternoon at DHS. We left for our afternoon break because Mom wasn't feeling well. She came down with a stomach bug. I went back to DHS for Fantasmic by myself that night. She also missed breakfast at Boma and the afternoon at Typhoon Lagoon the next day. She was fine for the last day though!
3)Day 8. We return to MK around 4 in the afternoon. I have 2 FPs for Space Mountain, so I decide to go ride while Mom shops on Main Street. We agree to meet by Space Mountain in half an hour. I ride Space, and it's so jerky that I only ride once. I go to look for her. She's not out there. I walk up and down Main Street 3-4 times, meanwhile they are canceling the "Move It, Shake It" party due to impending weather.
I try calling her. It's going to voicemail. Now I'm freaking out, because she has both low blood sugar and severe allergic reactions that can come out of nowhere (we aren't entirely sure what she's allergic to and she's been tested for everything under the sun). I decide to get dinner at Cosmic Ray's because the thunderstorm is right on top of us. I wait it out.
I take the other half of the chicken dinner and walk to first aid. They don't have any lost moms, but direct me next door to baby care where they can get into the computer system to see if she's been looking for me. The girl at baby care looked at me like I have three heads. Her English wasn't very good, and she couldn't figure out the computer system and then couldn't get her radio to work either. I finally got through to Mom via cell phone.
She's been waiting in Tomorrowland. First she was on a bench outside the SM gift shop, then she was in the shop when it started raining. Apparently we missed each other. She couldn't reach me via phone because she wasn't dialing our home area code, so she was getting an out of service Florida number. We never did figure out why my calls weren't going through to her phone. That was one of the most harrowing hours of my life though!

 

[beeplaysbass]

Most recent trip to Disney, in May 2010, we had a meltdown. Not of any kids, but of my 58-year-old father. He's diabetic, so we packed some of his favorite sugary snacks to tide him over between meals, but he still got fed up. We had a miscommunication with my family in thinking that getting out of MK at night would be easier if we took the monorail to the TTC and then a bus to our resort from there. We come to find out that there AREN'T any buses to resorts from the TTC (we've never had to use it before). So we attempted to get back on the monorail to the MK, but everything was still packed. My hypoglycemic father was having NONE of this. He literally complained like a 5-year-old child. Luckily, mom had the Twizzlers, and with a few of those shoved down his throat (no, not literally, but at that point I was about ready to!) he was fine. We got back to the resort a bit late, but wiser! We know what not to do again!

 

[Vickilynn42]

On the morning of Day 2 of a 7-day trip to DW, we received a call that my Father-in-law was dying. We gave away our fast passes for Toy Story Mania about 10:00 a.m., and headed straight back to our hotel to pack to fly back home. Having to leave the park in the midst of the joy of a long-awaited vacation to head back to something so painful was our worst moment in the Parks.

 

[waldiddy]

Having to leave the park in the midst of the joy of a long-awaited vacation to head back to something so painful was our worst moment in the Parks.

Something similar happened to us last year. We were in the parks for a few days for the marathon. On our planned '2nd to last day', we got a call that my wife's grandfather had just died, right after we left the Hall of Pres.

So, we had to get home, which meant cutting our trip short a day. We've had several incidents with sickness or kids getting overtired and embarrassing, but that moment was probably the worst.

Another thing about that trip ... the weather was really really cold and the crowds were so thin. The parks just didn't have as much of a fun atmosphere to them as they do with a crowd. The whole experience felt a lot more subdued.

By the way, all these posts describing family conflict with big groups makes me nervous. We're visiting with extended family in a few weeks .. a group of 11. Hopefully we'll survive the hot weather and June crowds without too many breakdowns.

 

[phinz]

By the way, all these posts describing family conflict with big groups makes me nervous. We're visiting with extended family in a few weeks .. a group of 11. Hopefully we'll survive the hot weather and June crowds without too many breakdowns.

This is the reason we don't vacation with my wife's family when they do their May beach vacation every year. It's supposed to be a week of relaxation and winds up being a week of spoiled rotten brats (25 and 30 years old at that), pouting 58-year-olds and a generally stressful trip. My wife and I prefer to travel by ourselves, all alone, away from the rest of the family.

 

[TisBit]

Ours was during a christmas party. We had planned and plotted and thought we had it all figured out. The party started and the crowds were just massive and I quickly realized we weren't going to get nearly anything done that we had wanted/planned.

At one point we were caught in the swell of park exiters right after the party started and were being "pushed" by the ropes/CM's/crowds towards the exit. We decided the best option was to duck under the rope in the hub to get towards the other part of the park....we already had our wristbands, etc....well a Nazi CM decided he need to yell at us for coming under the rope. Now, those that have been to the parties know that the hub is not off limits and there were already tons of people in the section we were going to waiting for the parade. Well, unfortunately I was already upset about the party/costs/etc and this CM got to me when he yelled at my wife. In not the nicest tone I pointed out we had wristbands were permitted to leave be there, but he didn't take kindly to that. It went downhill pretty fast with us yelling at each other and making a general scene. As we were walking off he said something to the effect that he would call security, which prompted me to turn around and go back to him and let him know that was fine by me. Really, not one of my best moments. I am in law enforcement and try to keep a cooler head, but I was definitely at my breaking point that night. Needless to say, I will never pay extra for a party again. It ended up with an "ok" night, but nothing that we really really enjoyed.

My second worst moment was a failed Ohana dinner, which resulted in us missing wished on the only night there wasn't a MNSSHP (seriously, these parties kill me...). It was a really bad experience and kinda turned me off to Ohana's for a bit, but honestly that ended up being one of the best nights. After our dinner was finally over, we headed to MK just because we missed it, I believe they were already closed, but hadn't cleared out the park, we made it up to the hub and just sat there for a bit, until Security came through from clearing the lands, they never asked us to leave, but we started to head down mainstreet. I ended up talking to a CM in the town square for a bit and we saw the Castles "kiss goodnight" from there. The CM was great talked for a while with us. We got great pictures of an empty mainstreet and we were the very last people to leave MK that night! So, while it was a bad dinner, it ended up being one of the most memorable nights!

 

[dragonfly57005]

My 4 yr old vomiting at the character breakfast at the Polynesian. Then having diarrhea.

It was our last day so we had already checked our bags to the airport.

Good thing we had a little one along so we used the diapers on the 4 yr old for the airplane ride home.

 

[jnfr2424]

My aunt having an aneuryrism on the Mad Tea Cups. I was 9 years old at the time and now I am 40 and I refuse to get on that ride!