Annoying parents who put their kids on shoulders

[Scooter]

My wife LOVES parades.
That's why we show up an hour and a half early to get a good viewing area.

You'ld be surprised how many people try and push and shove us out of the way and scold us for not giving up our spots "For the children."

I'm a big guy so I usually stand my ground until the parade gets really close, then I let 1 or 2 kids to move into my space and I move back.
My wife, however won't budge for anyone!:lol:

I have a Love/hate relationship with Disney parades...on one hand I hate the rude people who think they can just walk up at the last moment and push their way into a good viewing spot.
On the other hand I have met and made friends with some really wonderful people from all over the world standing and waiting for the parades.

 

[MouseMadness]

My wife LOVES parades.
That's why we show up an hour and a half early to get a good viewing area.

You'ld be surprised how many people try and push and shove us out of the way and scold us for not giving up our spots "For the children."

I'm a big guy so I usually stand my ground until the parade gets really close, then I let 1 or 2 kids to move into my space and I move back.
My wife, however won't budge for anyone!:lol:

I have a Love/hate relationship with Disney parades...on one hand I hate the rude people who think they can just walk up at the last moment and push their way into a good viewing spot.
On the other hand I have met and made friends with some really wonderful people from all over the world standing and waiting for the parades.

Aww, that's very sweet of you :wave:

 

[Aprilnjosh]

i thought i would start this thread to find out how many people get annoyed when people put their kids on their shoulders.

i was busy filming wishes and picked out a great spot, as soon as it started all these kids just appeared out of nowhere and my view was totally blocked.

anyone else have this problem???

i by the way never got on my parents shoulders because we always found a great spot to watch that was out of other peoples view.

Stand behind a railing on mainstreet or something. Kids have to be able to see too. Adults are too tall for kids to see wishes or any other outdoor show-less fantasmic. Chill man.:kiss:

 

[vmkaddict]

1st let me say....I think the kids come 1st. Here is what happened to me.
This was 4 years ago at Epcot, my twin girls were 5 at the time. Illuminations was to start in maybe 30 minutes, we walked up to an open area up against the railing, all of a sudden this 70-something woman starts screaming from behind us, saying you can't stand there, you're blocking my view. She was on a bench about 30 feet away:veryconfu . I proceeded to ask her if she owned Disney or had paid rent for this 30' x 30' of space in front of her, she said no, but she was there 1st and so entitled. Her friends became embarrassed and tried to calm her and let the little girls see the show, I told her she should be ashamed of how she was acting like a 2 year old,:brick: but she continued to rant, I just stood my ground, before you knew it there were 20 or 30 people moving in the area to see the show. She finally left. I just couldnt believe a grown woman would act this way. ok My rant is over, proceed.:wave:

 

[Scooter]

1st let me say....I think the kids come 1st.

So...since my kids are grown, and my wife and I go to Disney World every year without our kids I shouldn't be able to watch the parades anymore and must give up the spot I've been standing in/saving for the last hour and a half when kids come along 30 minutes before the parade starts?

I don't THINK soooooooooooo!:lol:

 

[vmkaddict]

the point is.....she thought she "owned" her spot and the 30' around her.
I don't think sooooooooo:wave:

 

[MyNameisStitch]

I'm a tall person so this has never really been an issue for me, but I do remember and my mom actually has a picture of me on my Dad's shoulders at Disneyland in 1993. I was 9 years old.

I know that it can make it difficult to see the parade or other shows. I would hope that the parents didn't intend to block your view. But I feel like its just something natural that parents do for their kids.

Unfortunately, people don't read sites like these or buy the books that tell you tips for seeing the shows. When 3 pm arrives at the MK they show up for the parade and can't find a spot. I'm a former cast member at the Disney-MGM Studios and I worked along the parade route everyday. And just like clockwork, hundreds of kids are popped up on their parents shoulders. I have to admit, I got teary eyed almost daily seeing the kids like that because its truly beautiful how bright their little faces light up during the parade.

Now, I don't want to be flamed for this as this seems to be the unpopular side in this thread. But, I very much look forward to having kids and taking them to that magical place out in Orlando. And I can't wait to put my little boy or girl on my shoulders to watch the parade because I can guarantee when I look up and see their little smiling face, you'll have one dad with tears streaming down his face.

 

[wedway71]

Now I am going to have the Inspector Gadget song in my head.

Oh great-Thanks Pearl now I have the song in MY HEAD:brick:

 

[lisbetgabrielle]

ok, I was at MK one night to see Spectro and Wishes. The CM brought me from the handicapped parade viewing area to a spot where I was on the line for a crosswalk that would be closed during the fireworks. Unfortunately guests decided that they were going to stand in the crosswalk and they didn't care whether of not they were blocking people. Other people decided they wanted to leave and started crawling over me in a wheelchair and a baby in a stroller that was next to me. I was telling them to stop they were stepping on me and my wheelchair and no one cared one bit.
All I saw was people's butts and feet coming at my body. And I was stuck there with no way to move without literally ramming and running over people's feet. In retrospect I wish I had. Self defense.
Oh btw many kids are taller than I am by 2nd or 3rd grade. I can almost guarantee I will have at least one first grader in my class this fall as tall as I or taller. I'm only 4'8", so if I refuse to allow your kid in front of me it is for good reason.

 

[lisbetgabrielle]

1st let me say....I think the kids come 1st. Here is what happened to me.
This was 4 years ago at Epcot, my twin girls were 5 at the time. Illuminations was to start in maybe 30 minutes, we walked up to an open area up against the railing, all of a sudden this 70-something woman starts screaming from behind us, saying you can't stand there, you're blocking my view. She was on a bench about 30 feet away:veryconfu . I proceeded to ask her if she owned Disney or had paid rent for this 30' x 30' of space in front of her, she said no, but she was there 1st and so entitled. Her friends became embarrassed and tried to calm her and let the little girls see the show, I told her she should be ashamed of how she was acting like a 2 year old,:brick: but she continued to rant, I just stood my ground, before you knew it there were 20 or 30 people moving in the area to see the show. She finally left. I just couldnt believe a grown woman would act this way. ok My rant is over, proceed.:wave:

If you are not physically occupying the spot then it isn't yours. Woman was on the bench. That was her spot. She was occupying it. She was not occupying the spot by the fence. So sad, too bad.

 

[trr313]

Well as soon as I saw the title I knew this thread would end up being at least 5 pages. I put my children on my shoulders because it's usually due to someone to tall blocking their view, or my arms are way to tired to hold them on my hip anymore. Sorry you'll just have to deal with it.

 

[curtmicki]

I agree with the original post

Too many people are rude a WDW. They will walk right in front like this there personal spot. In my opinion rude people at WDW make the experience a lot less enjoyable and after reading this thread I have been there with a lot of you. I pay the same as you to get in and your experience is not any more important then mine or my children.

 

[tecowdw]

Well, at least when the kids are on their parents' shoulder, they aren't giving me flat tires behind me! I hate that the second most. Screaming people (kids or adults) are my pet peeve.
:fork:

The morale of this thread:
You can't always control what others do. The basic things to remember here is TOLERANCE and PATIENCE. You need them in order to enjoy your WDW visit. Get those within your control and you will have a magical time.
:sohappy:

And to those who say WDW is just for kids...shame on you!! People that don't care about others enjoying WDW are in that group and are the ones to likely be rude. If you enjoy WDW, you are likely to be considerate of others around you so they can enjoy the place too.
:hammer:

Truth be known ~ rudeness and overall inconsideration of others is a growing trend in American society these days.

The title of the original post says it all. When do parents who carry kids on their shoulders become annoying? Most parents do it, and safety issue aside (at a recent visit i saw a young infant slide out of her Disney stroller and the parents, not noticing, ran her over. So safety issues apply to many other ways to transport kids) it is generally not a problem as you walk through the park, or in some case, waiting in lines. So where is it annoying? (Remember in each case it is the parent who should be held at fault.)

1) When the kid is eating something that has the ability to drip, splash or crumble onto somebody passing or standing by.
2) When the kid obstructs the parents view by wiggling or with their hands, causing the parent to bump into others.
3) During an event when the kid can obstruct the view of said event for others. Instead, hold the child on your hip, where you can now enjoy the experience with you kid and talk to them.
4) On any transportation vehicle (bus, monorail, ferry) that has the likelyhood of being crowded. I have been kicked in the head too many times.
5) When the kid has a toy or souvenir that has the ability to impact others.

It is easy to be a bad parent and raise rude kids. But it does them no good. If you want to watch Fireworks or Parade, get to a spot early and save a place. If you come in at the last minute, stand in the back (against a wall for support) and place your kid up high to see it. As the parent, you must guage how the actions of you and your child are effecting others around you, and act accordingly. This is not only the polite thing to do, but the desent thing to do.

One last thing: Don't be afraid to talk to people around you: "Would anybody mind if I put my kid on my shoulders?" This happened recently in our earshot. Somebody said "Yes, I'd mind!" So we invited the child to sit at the curb with us (we waited about an hour for the parade) and had a great time helping her make a Magical Memory.

 

[Tramp]

After returning from a 3 week tour of the WORLD, I found a lot of things annoyed me, the least of which were kids on their parent's shoulders.

A noticeable increase in the number of smokers who ignore the designated smoking area rules, perfectly healthy people who use wheelchairs to cut the line, the proliferation of ECVs and the abuses associated with it, people who talk thru the preshow with no consideration for people who might be there for the first time, turn off your damn cell phones while in the shows...idiots, parents who finish their meals and let their kids annoy others who may have just started theirs, annoying tour groups with more than 20 chanting kids, on and on and on.

Yep, I'm getting to be an old fart and things that never bothered me before really stress me out lately but a kid on his Dad's shoulders still doesn't annoy me...maybe some day it will. :wave:

 

[MissDiznee66]

How about the annoying parents who think they own one complete end of the pool? Me and a friend were swimming in the pool at AKL and a mom was sitting in a chair while her 2 dd's were in the pool, right in front of her. Well, she was actually trying to stare holes through me and my friend for coming down the "their" end! We just turned our backs to her and continued, no one was harming or even paying attention to her kids! :fork: