what was the best WDW guest meltdown you've observed

[bristol's mom]

$1000 in three days at Disney for meals and shopping?? LOL Done.

You beat me to it but $1,000 for 3 days is nothing at Disney.

 

[POLY LOVER]

$1000 in three days at Disney for meals and shopping?? LOL Done.

These represent three of our actual days we have spent at WDW during one of our trips...
Day one
Breakfast at Chef Mickey's x3 people = $111
Lunch at Casey's Corner x3 people = $38
Dinner at LTT x3 people = $114
Shopping ($ per person) = $120

Day two
Breakfast at Donald's Safari (AK) x3 people = $100
Lunch at Flame Tree BBQ x3 people = $51
Dinner at Rainforest Cafe x3 people = $113
Shopping ($ per person) = $120

Day three
Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table x3 people = $180
Lunch at SciFi Dine In x3 people = $108
Dinner at 50's Prime Time x3 people = $69
Shopping ($ per person) = $120

Total: $1,724

Where was this genius while this out of control spending was going on without his knowledge? Was he not there ?

 

[LAKid53]

while having lunch in tomorrow land (where sunny eclipse is. forgot the name of the place), we sat on the balcony & witnessed a family totally melt down.
the daughter in the group (mid 30's) actually went off on her parents about how they do everything they want to do, & not what she wants to do.
it went back & forth for about what seemed a long 2-3 minutes before they all got up & left. a meal & a show.

That's when I would have told my 30s something daughter that SHE would be paying for the trip....

 

[LAKid53]

While not all that epic, it was a scene my family references all the time.

Let me set the scene....We are near the E:E fast pass machines, sitting down and partaking in some of the local cuisine. We see a typical family. Mom, dad and 2 kids under 10. The thing that catches our attention is mom has a clipboard full of papers. It is quite obvious that mom is the general in this army of 4.

One of the little soldiers, lets call him Private Billy, asks to go to the bathroom.

General mom replies quite sternly "It is not in the schedule."

Private dad points out that there is a bathroom right over over here that Private Billy can use.

General mom again repeats the order in a much sterner tone "I said it is not in the schedule!!"

Private dad points out that this is their vacation as well and Private Billy should be allowed an unscheduled bathroom stop.

General mom looses it. She throws the clipboard in the air screams something to the effect of 'I quit!!!!" and storms off.

Newly promoted General dad directs Private Billy to the nearby bathroom. When Private Billy emerges from the bathroom, General dad, absolutely sick with his new found power, looks at his 2 remaining soldiers and asks "You guys want ice cream?"

If I was Private Dad, my next stop would be to a marriage counselor because that would have been the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back....

 

[LAKid53]

I thought of another one. I was enjoying a nice dinner in the Brown Derby when I saw a disturbance at a nearby table. Seems teenage daughter was upset about something, stood up and slugged her mother really hard in the arm, and started to exit. Dad tried to intervene, and he was punched in the arm too. He then just stood aside and let her flounce out. A few minutes later Dad went outside to find her. She had apparently calmed down, and came back in, sat down, and finished the meal. Dad and Mom were so casual about all of this that I could only surmise that teenage daughter did this a lot. What a fun family. . .

Oh, just because you are a teenager doesn't mean you're too old for a swat on the behind. Which is what I would have gotten if I dared to hit my mother. Hit my dad and I'd need some major dental work...

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

I've been following this thread since page 1 and somehow this incident didn't come to mind until now...

In 2009, DH and I were on our very first trip together when we were dating. We stayed at the Poly with a 30% off deal for 9 nights, loving every second of uninterrupted time together. Everything went swimmingly-until one fateful day at DHS.

We were walking up to Tower of Terror, one of our faves, and we notice a family near us where their maybe 12 year old son feels very concerned about going on the ride. "Does it REALLY drop, or does Disney just make you feel like you're dropping?" he says. Mom responds "Hon. I've been on this before. Disney uses their technology magic to make you feel like you're falling but you're not". She turns and chuckles to who I assume was husband/dad and they share a laugh, knowing it drops for real.

Fast forward to us in the library and the they are with us. Kid still afraid and family still stringing him along. They stay close in the boiler room, kid continuing to question what he knows cannot be true. Then we board the ride and what do you know, our friends are behind us! I turn to DH and we just had to laugh in fear of him soon finding out the truth. The ride begins and he moans in fear, parents laughing. It's dark and he starts freaking more. And then we dropped! For the rest of the entire ride, he obviously finds out IT IS CERTAINLY REAL and he is literally screaming and crying at the top of his lungs "WERE ALL GONNA DIIIIIIIIIE!" over and over.

As we disembark, his parents are laughing hysterically and he is half laughing too and half crying at this point, slapping them playfully saying he hates them.

Wow!

 

[LAKid53]

Ok, this one is kinda scary. It started raining heavily at one of the parks... I forgot which one. My friend and I went inside a restroom, and as we were washing our hands, we saw a dad and his son, age 6 or 7, come in. The dad had a very thick New York accent and was angry because the kid splashed his leg with water from a puddle or something. At first we just thought, "Oh whatever, parents get mad about stupid crap all the time," but then we saw the dad lunge at the boy with a raised fist. My heart sank as I saw the boy jump back into the corner in fear. My friend and I immediately started to run toward the boy to try and protect him as I was thinking to myself, "Oh my god, I'm going to get into a fight at Disney World," but then the dad just stopped mid punch and stormed out of the restroom with the boy quietly following 20 feet behind. I turned to my friend and we were just in complete shock.

That's when I would have called 911 and stuck to that dad like glue until the cops showed up. Because that's probably not the first time he threatened/hit his son.

 

[Matt_Black]

Has anyone ever seen a guest throwing a meltdown over character meet and greets? I could imagine the Hatter and Alice's reactions to a random guests having a fit over something.

Here's one that affected me personally. Christmas week 2012- My mother, sister, and I are at DAK. My sister sees that Santa Goofy and Reindeer Pluto are out and wants to get a picture. However, we also want to see the Finding Nemo show, particularly my mother. As the show is going to be starting shortly, we head that way.

After the show, we return to the Dinoland area, and my sister starts pitching a fit. "They're GONE! And it's all your fault mom!" We point out that Goofy and Pluto are probably having a quick break, as there's still a line. "I don't want to wait in that long line! Ugh! Mom, I can't believe you! Whenever it's something Matt & I want to do, you're always lagging behind, but with Nemo you were all running to the entrance." To be fair, while not running, I did notice that Mom miraculously pulled out a sizeable lead, no small feat because with my long legs and walking gait, I tend to be the one ahead of the three of us (a co-worker once said I walk like an ER doctor). But anyway, sister was ranting that now she would NEVER get to see Santa Goofy & Reindeer Pluto. She's in her mid-20s, by the way. There were some other rants, too, but that one was quite noticeable. She got a little karmic payback at the end of the trip, but that's a story I've already told numerous times.

 

[Goofyernmost]

$1000 in three days at Disney for meals and shopping?? LOL Done.

These represent three of our actual days we have spent at WDW during one of our trips...
Day one
Breakfast at Chef Mickey's x3 people = $111
Lunch at Casey's Corner x3 people = $38
Dinner at LTT x3 people = $114
Shopping ($ per person) = $120

Day two
Breakfast at Donald's Safari (AK) x3 people = $100
Lunch at Flame Tree BBQ x3 people = $51
Dinner at Rainforest Cafe x3 people = $113
Shopping ($ per person) = $120

Day three
Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table x3 people = $180
Lunch at SciFi Dine In x3 people = $108
Dinner at 50's Prime Time x3 people = $69
Shopping ($ per person) = $120

Total: $1,724

Honestly, and not being judgmental, but, staying offsite, I spend about the following. I'll break it down to 3 people.

Breakfast Buffet in any # of places on 192 = $9.00 (1) $27.00 (3)
Lunch in the parks (QS) = $15.00 (1) $45.00 (3)
Dinner offsite for meal and break = $30.00 (1) $90.00 (3)
Daily charge for hotel = $70.00 (1) $70.00 (3)

Total per day = $144.00

Total spent on purchases for a week = $50.00 (1) $150.00 (3)

And I get to see the same stuff in the parks as everyone else. If someone can afford to throwaway spend that much money just to say that they "did it onsite", well, I cannot relate, but, I certainly don't think it is wrong to do, just something that I would never do.

Spoiler

I have no desire to spend huge amounts of money for mediocre food especially if it comes with college kids in foam head wandering around. There is nothing that I have seen onsite in the line of food that I cannot get easily, without reservations and about an 8th of the cost offsite. Souvenirs of Disney I can get at Walmart or Target for a 3rd of the price. The are all stamped with the Disney label, just like onsite.

 

[LAKid53]

I'm with you. I was thinking if we only spent 1K in 3 days I would be a happy man. Some of those meals at the restaurants we eat at can run $300 per sit down twice daily.

I spent nearly $1000 just shopping in one day during our most recent trip. But those two Michael Kors watches I bought my daughter and me are sure pretty.

 

[NonnaT]

That's when I would have called 911 and stuck to that dad like glue until the cops showed up. Because that's probably not the first time he threatened/hit his son.

This may sound naive, but when at WDW how does someone handle obvious abuse? I honestly have yet to see any, but a few of the PP have written about some true abusive situations. So do you.let a CM know, or do you call 9-1-1 and glue yourself to that family until help arrives?

 

[LAKid53]

This may sound naive, but when at WDW how does someone handle obvious abuse? I honestly have yet to see any, but a few of the PP have written about some true abusive situations. So do you.let a CM know, or do you call 9-1-1 and glue yourself to that family until help arrives?

For me, if I see ANYONE threatening to hit or hitting a child, it's a call to 911 and I will hang around or follow that individual until law enforcement shows up in order to provide a statement and ensure they arrest the individual. If I think the child is going to be seriously injured, I would step in, while screaming for the cops. I may be a 60s something woman, but hit a child in my presence and that mother bear instinct will rear its head. At my age, I can still bite, scratch, slap and pull hair. Warning to guys, we girls fight dirty....

 

[Punky]

I spent nearly $1000 just shopping in one day during our most recent trip. But those two Michael Kors watches I bought my daughter and me are sure pretty.

Would you like to adopt an almost 28 year old?

 

[englanddg]

For me, if I see ANYONE threatening to hit or hitting a child, it's a call to 911 and I will hang around or follow that individual until law enforcement shows up in order to provide a statement and ensure they arrest the individual. If I think the child is going to be seriously injured, I would step in, while screaming for the cops. I may be a 60s something woman, but hit a child in my presence and that mother bear instinct will rear its head. At my age, I can still bite, scratch, slap and pull hair. Warning to guys, we girls fight dirty....

So, you never spanked your kids or used a "do we need to have a trip to the restroom" threatening tone when they were younger?

Frankly, there is a very firm line between abuse and discipline. And, it is not your job to police the world.

 

[LAKid53]

I've been following this thread since page 1 and somehow this incident didn't come to mind until now...

In 2009, DH and I were on our very first trip together when we were dating. We stayed at the Poly with a 30% off deal for 9 nights, loving every second of uninterrupted time together. Everything went swimmingly-until one fateful day at DHS.

We were walking up to Tower of Terror, one of our faves, and we notice a family near us where their maybe 12 year old son feels very concerned about going on the ride. "Does it REALLY drop, or does Disney just make you feel like you're dropping?" he says. Mom responds "Hon. I've been on this before. Disney uses their technology magic to make you feel like you're falling but you're not". She turns and chuckles to who I assume was husband/dad and they share a laugh, knowing it drops for real.

Fast forward to us in the library and the they are with us. Kid still afraid and family still stringing him along. They stay close in the boiler room, kid continuing to question what he knows cannot be true. Then we board the ride and what do you know, our friends are behind us! I turn to DH and we just had to laugh in fear of him soon finding out the truth. The ride begins and he moans in fear, parents laughing. It's dark and he starts freaking more. And then we dropped! For the rest of the entire ride, he obviously finds out IT IS CERTAINLY REAL and he is literally screaming and crying at the top of his lungs "WERE ALL GONNA DIIIIIIIIIE!" over and over.

As we disembark, his parents are laughing hysterically and he is half laughing too and half crying at this point, slapping them playfully saying he hates them.

Wow!

Those parents are so not getting parent of the year award. What jerks.

 

[LAKid53]

So, you never spanked your kids or used a "do we need to have a trip to the restroom" threatening tone when they were younger?

Frankly, there is a very firm line between abuse and discipline. And, it is not your job to police the world.

.

I'm sorry, but I must disagree with you. The incident the poster witnessed was clearly child abuse and needed to be stopped/reported. THAT is the behavior I'm referring to, not a parent swatting a disobedient child once on the behind.

 

[NonnaT]

So, you never spanked your kids or used a "do we need to have a trip to the restroom" threatening tone when they were younger?

Frankly, there is a very firm line between abuse and discipline. And, it is not your job to police the world.

I wasn't asking about discipline choices. I was actually asking about true abusive situations. ie: if the guy in the restrooms fist (not hand) had actually connected... Obvious stuff. I've never been a witness to it at WDW, just asking...

 

[Matt_Black]

Between the closed fist, the very minor offense (if you can even call it that), and the look of fear on the young boy described, I'd say YES, this was an attempt at abuse and not discipline.

 

[LAKid53]

Would you like to adopt an almost 28 year old?

You know, you can't take it with you.....

Since my 28 year old daughter will be getting married next year, I wanted to spoil her one last time. Until I have grandkids to spoil.

 

[englanddg]

.

I'm sorry, but I must disagree with you. The incident the poster witnessed was clearly child abuse and needed to be stopped/reported. THAT is the behavior I'm referring to, not a parent swatting a disobedient child once on the behind.

My misunderstanding then.

It's what I get for not reading the full context first before opening my big mouth.

Sorry about that.