John park hopper
Well-Known Member
And people wonder why children grow up to be bad adults and parents --becoming all to common these days. Never remember this type of behavior at WDW in the 70's and 80's
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Living with the baboons
- Thread starter Squishy
- Start date
DisneyGentlemanV2.0
Well-Known Member
Our memories fade...
... we believe we were better than this.
The truth is that we were fundamentally no different...
... we just had a greater fear of being caught.
... we believe we were better than this.
The truth is that we were fundamentally no different...
... we just had a greater fear of being caught.
Heppenheimer
Well-Known Member
I don't remember this kind of behavior at any amusement park in the 70s-90s. Not even Great Adventure, which seems like it was specifically designed to test their guests' tempers.
This kind of stuff was usually reserved for places like Eagles or Phillies games at the old Veteran's Stadium.
John park hopper
Well-Known Member
Memory is pretty good --googled altercations at WDW none reported prior to 2000.
I believe the main issue now is nearly every living soul is carrying around a full video production studio connected to a worldwide distribution network in their pocket. These things happened before, we just never saw them.
ImperfectPixie
Well-Known Member
Not with nearly the same frequency, though.
That's the thing...do we really know that? Where is the data showing that the "altercations per 100k guests" rate is going up?
Without hard data, we are all just guessing.
ImperfectPixie
Well-Known Member
I'd bet its a pretty safe guess...
1) attendance in the 80s and 90s wasn't anywhere near what it is today
2) recent crowding and long waits create way more frustration than was present 20+ years ago
3) entitlement has gone through the roof since the 80s and 90s
All true, but without hard data, we are just making assumptions. It would not be the first time that assumptions, no matter how logical were incorrect.
Most people would deny that we currently Iive in the safest time in human history, yet the evidence shows it is true.
ImperfectPixie
Well-Known Member
We're not talking about world crime rates. We're talking about bad behavior at Disney theme parks...which have guests with some pretty ridiculous expectations.
Kamikaze
Well-Known Member
There weren't cameras in everyones pocket.
It was an example of what we think is true vs what is true, not an exact parallel to this situation.
Provide evidence that there are more fights per capita at WDW and I will believe it. Until then, I will remain undecided on the subject.
ppete1975
Well-Known Member
im sure it happened, just not everyone was carrying a video recorder with instant access to share with the world
sedati
Well-Known Member
My own experience is that a good chunk of the populace has seen that any perceived "rule of conduct" has been thrown out the window and they can do whatever they please and do so wholly unapologetically. What used to be the odd frustration is now commonplace. Decades in the workplace and I just keep hitting these points where I am literally shocked like a deer in headlights, with nothing in the handbook on how to deal with what I'm up against.
Conversely however, are those who seem to have picked up on this trend and are really going out of their way to be the better person.
The divides are real and they are steadily spreading.
Conversely however, are those who seem to have picked up on this trend and are really going out of their way to be the better person.
The divides are real and they are steadily spreading.
John park hopper
Well-Known Member
I went to WDW often in the 70's and 80's my own experience never saw this behavior. Interested in what others experienced who went in the 70's and 80's
flynnibus
Premium Member
Yet.. News still got reported, people still wrote stuff down, and stories were still told.
You can make the case that it was easier for a company like Disney to control the narrative about this kind of stuff in the past because of the inability for patrons to qualify and support their observations as easily to counter Disney.. but people still told their tales.
And we've had plenty of books (not published by Disney) from people who actually ran the parks - this kind of stuff didn't make the cut unless we are talking major protests like what happened at Disneyland.
TL: DR - there has been plenty of coverage without video - and they don't talk about it either. That suggests it's less common.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
The thing is, I’ve never seen such behaviour at WDW full stop; the only incidents of this type I know of are those that end up being reported on the internet. I tend to agree with those posters who suggest that the past may not have been that much better, if at all. We often romanticise how things used to be, ignoring the fact that certain kinds of behaviour we now regard as unacceptable (smoking indoors, openly ogling women, making mildly racist and homophobic remarks) were once quite commonplace even in polite society.
Heppenheimer
Well-Known Member
Oddly enough, there were plenty of people who recorded nearly every detail of the parks in the days of 8 mm, VCR cameras and Camcorders (my dad was one). Perhaps the biggest difference, though, was that their only platform for sharing the videos was with immediate family (and the occasional friend who would get dragged into watching).
That being said, none of my dad's hours of Disney World home movies ever caught any bad guest behavior like we've seen recently.