Parental Superiority at Disney Parks...

[bamillerpa]

We were at AK last week and were trying to leave the park during the parade. We found ourselves stuck with nowhere to go as did a lot of people behind us. We were probably about the 5th row of people back from the front viewing line. I took out my camera and decided to get a few shots of the stuff I could actually see while my husband and daughter stood along side of me waiting for the parade to end since there was no other option. My daughter couldn't see much of anything but she didn't complain or try to move to the front. A few minutes after we got there this lady with two very large children probably between the ages of 10-12 pushed her way through the crowd and shoved her two kids in the very front of the line. I couldn't believe it! She had to be a few lines of people behind us and the parade was probably about 3/4 of the way done. At least she didn't insist on room for herself too. She ended up standing fairly near to us and I'm sure she overheard my daughter's observation about how rude that was. I'm glad my daughter understood that and didn't expect people to move for her. I just can't believe the nerve of some people! She was obviously just trying to leave the park like we were and didn't have any interest in the parade until she was stuck waiting for it to end. Those poor people that had been waiting in standing there for the majority of the parade just to have her two kids shoved in front of them! I don't care if you are traveling with or without children, I've done it both ways, you should be polite and not feel entitled!!

 

[dopeylover]

Seeing the below Tweet posted elsewhere on the internet this morning reminds me of several unpleasant run-ins with parents at WDW. The most prominent in my mind involve parents showing up at the last minute before a parade and trying to shove their child in front of me (having no children of my own and despite my having gotten there sometimes two hours in advance) because Disney Parks are "for the children". I can't be the only one who gets annoyed at being shoved into a backseat status because I choose to visit the parks as an adult with no offspring.

I don't doubt for a SECOND there are parents out there with that mentality. I think it goes FAR above a with children/without children debate into just plain ignorant people. There are ignorant people everywhere who feel that their shopping/dining/vacation experience is more important than everyone elses. It kills me especially when grocery shopping, and there are certain people who are the only ones who 1. just got out of work, 2. haven't planned dinner yet, 3. have kids with them, and 4. their meals and time are the only things that are important. Nothing drives me crazier!

It's just a self centered attitude that is so pervasive nowadays. Everyone is entitled, everyone is more important than the last person. Disney is for everyone, not just children, I agree. Parents should not expect that just because they arrive 5 minutes before a parade starts they should push into the front b/c their kids need to see it. But instead of getting irritated, unless they are REALLY ignorant people, I have just made a little room for the children to see the parade. It's vacation, I'm not there to teach adults how to behave. The kids can't help that their parents are entitled and selfish, although unfortunately they will probably become that over time.

 

[sxeensweet]

I don't doubt for a SECOND there are parents out there with that mentality. I think it goes FAR above a with children/without children debate into just plain ignorant people. There are ignorant people everywhere who feel that their shopping/dining/vacation experience is more important than everyone elses. It kills me especially when grocery shopping, and there are certain people who are the only ones who 1. just got out of work, 2. haven't planned dinner yet, 3. have kids with them, and 4. their meals and time are the only things that are important. Nothing drives me crazier!

It's just a self centered attitude that is so pervasive nowadays. Everyone is entitled, everyone is more important than the last person. Disney is for everyone, not just children, I agree. Parents should not expect that just because they arrive 5 minutes before a parade starts they should push into the front b/c their kids need to see it. But instead of getting irritated, unless they are REALLY ignorant people, I have just made a little room for the children to see the parade. It's vacation, I'm not there to teach adults how to behave. The kids can't help that their parents are entitled and selfish, although unfortunately they will probably become that over time.

Very Good point!! And Yes I always make room too. Wish there wasn't people like that but that's everywhere like you said this day and age. Lol. Sad but true!!

 

[Little Mermaid]

I will never ever forget being about 19 and going to MK with my parents and adult cousins. My mom agreed to ride the carousel with me; everyone else sat out. The park was not crowded, and the line was short. We both grabbed outside horses and climbed up. As we got seated, a mother and her daughter (about 6-7 years) walked up to my mother and told her that she was "ruining their vacation" because my mom was "too old" for an outside horse--even though there were other outside horses available. This woman actually called my mom "the b-word" when she refused to give up her horse. We were both so shocked. I've never seen any adult act that way at WDW over such a small thing.

I agree with all those who have said that a little politeness goes a long way. Even though I'm a grown-up who loves to go to WDW without kids, I also think that it's fun to see other people's children enjoying the things that I grew up enjoying too. As an adult visiting WDW, I certainly don't want to "ruin" anyone's experience; but I refuse to have my experience ruined by someone else's behavior either.

 

[KappleB2]

I think I related the Donald story in another thread but I will post it here. I was in line at the character spot in Epcot with my cousins. We were asked by a cast member if we wanted to meet some characters so we said 'sure.' When we walked in, there were NO LINES, it was awesome. Minnie, Chip & Dale, Max, and Donald were all there. I really wasn't feeling getting my picture taken for some reason but when we got to Donald I got a little excited and got in line with my autograph book and camera. I waited patiently for my turn and when it came, a little kid behind me cut me off and ran up to Donald. I looked at my cousin and we made a face, mine was more of a smile, I thought 'it's ok, the kid's excited, I'll be next.' But I wasn't next because as soon as I was about to walk up, another kid cut in front of me. I thought, "am I not in line?" I was and said, ok, next time. Another kid goes up. Now I was a little annoyed though I tried not to show it but come on! 3 times? Are the parents really that ignorant to think that because I am 25 that their child can cut me off? Anyway, Donald must have saw this because as soon as he was done with the child, he walked up to me, grabbed my hand and pulled me over to him. he then proceeded to give me kisses, sign my book "Donald #1" and made me feel really special. I thanked him, told him he was awesome, and we went on our way. Look, I know people are in a rush but there is really no reason to be rude and the kids, though I don't blame them, need to be taught how to act properly during situations like that.

YES!!! I am 25 and LOVE me some characters.This past September I was in line for Sleeping Beauty at Epcot talking to a grandmother behind me. When it was my turn, she sent those little crazies up in front of me! We had both been waiting the same amount of time and she was TALKING TO ME! It's not like she didn't know I was there! If I had a kid it would have been soooo different. The photopass CM was wonderful and sent those kids a packin' (just back in line) and made sure I got my time and several cute pictures!

Disney is for adults too!! More adult only trips so those rude parents don't know what to do!!!

 

[GoofGoof]

I will never ever forget being about 19 and going to MK with my parents and adult cousins. My mom agreed to ride the carousel with me; everyone else sat out. The park was not crowded, and the line was short. We both grabbed outside horses and climbed up. As we got seated, a mother and her daughter (about 6-7 years) walked up to my mother and told her that she was "ruining their vacation" because my mom was "too old" for an outside horse--even though there were other outside horses available. This woman actually called my mom "the b-word" when she refused to give up her horse. We were both so shocked. I've never seen any adult act that way at WDW over such a small thing.

I agree with all those who have said that a little politeness goes a long way. Even though I'm a grown-up who loves to go to WDW without kids, I also think that it's fun to see other people's children enjoying the things that I grew up enjoying too. As an adult visiting WDW, I certainly don't want to "ruin" anyone's experience; but I refuse to have my experience ruined by someone else's behavior either.

That is the definition of crazy. Maybe I am thinking of it wrong, but don't you want young kids on inside horses? If they fall off they land on the platform still instead of falling all the way off to the ground.

 

[GoofGoof]

YES!!! I am 25 and LOVE me some characters.This past September I was in line for Sleeping Beauty at Epcot talking to a grandmother behind me. When it was my turn, she sent those little crazies up in front of me! We had both been waiting the same amount of time and she was TALKING TO ME! It's not like she didn't know I was there! If I had a kid it would have been soooo different. The photopass CM was wonderful and sent those kids a packin' (just back in line) and made sure I got my time and several cute pictures!

Disney is for adults too!! More adult only trips so those rude parents don't know what to do!!!

Sadly, the same things happen when you have kids. This happened at another park, but similar story. We were waiting for a ride and were first in line. It was a kids ride so we were not going on with them. This kid came up from behind and pushed past my boys (2.5 and 5). He got in front of them and my 5 year old kinda just yielded to him since he has manors and the kid was probably 7 or 8 so much bigger but my 2.5 year old really doesn't know better yet and has no fear so he grabbed the kid and pulled him back. The kid then pushed him down. At this point my wife stepped in and helped him up and told the kid that my son was in line first. Finally, the mom stepped in and said to my wife something like "he didn't mean anything by that, he is just excited to get on the ride". She never once told him not to cut in line or push people or pick on a 2 year old. No apology from her or from the kid. Sure enough when the guy opened the gates the kid pushed past again and got on first. The mother was again nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, there is no test or requirements to be a parent. I just feel bad for the kid in that case growing up with a parent like that.

 

[Jessnwonderland]

I find this funny because it was probably about me and my hubby. Tuesday night I was smacked across the back of the legs by a 2 year old that was in the middle of destroying the bottom row of pins at the pin trading station in front of Mousegears. After hearing the child's father laugh about the incident I turned to look at him and said "Really?" The dad replied " hey it's Disneyworld. What are ya gonna do?" I replied with" How about not letting your child tear the place apart, clean up his mess, and apologize to me for being hit instead of laughing about it" and we walked away before it got ugly. We do not have kids and I am all for people having kids but they are no more entitled to anything at WDW than I am. We ran into this problem quite a bit this visit along with parents who were very short tempered, very violent and loud with their kids.

Seeing the below Tweet posted elsewhere on the internet this morning reminds me of several unpleasant run-ins with parents at WDW. The most prominent in my mind involve parents showing up at the last minute before a parade and trying to shove their child in front of me (having no children of my own and despite my having gotten there sometimes two hours in advance) because Disney Parks are "for the children". I can't be the only one who gets annoyed at being shoved into a backseat status because I choose to visit the parks as an adult with no offspring.

 

[Jessnwonderland]

Here's the killer with situations like this for me... if my son tries to get in front of someone I tell him not to. I make sure that the person hears me so they know I was not encouraging the behavior and I apologize directly to them. Y'know what usually happens next? 9 times out of 10, the person he got in front of usually then invites him to stand in front of them. In other words, a little politeness goes a long way. If you push your kid in front of someone else to get a better view, don't be surprised when they are unhappy and react accordingly. If you're polite and apologize when it happens beyond your control, you may just be pleasantly surprised with a nice person who has no problem sharing their personal space so a little one can see the action.

 

[yankspy]

I find this funny because it was probably about me and my hubby. Tuesday night I was smacked across the back of the legs by a 2 year old that was in the middle of destroying the bottom row of pins at the pin trading station in front of Mousegears. After hearing the child's father laugh about the incident I turned to look at him and said "Really?" The dad replied " hey it's Disneyworld. What are ya gonna do?" I replied with" How about not letting your child tear the place apart, clean up his mess, and apologize to me for being hit instead of laughing about it" and we walked away before it got ugly. We do not have kids and I am all for people having kids but they are no more entitled to anything at WDW than I am. We ran into this problem quite a bit this visit along with parents who were very short tempered, very violent and loud with their kids.

The Dad should have apologized and cleaned up the mess.

Kids are fast though and will sometimes grab or knock over something before you can get to them. As far as people being loud with their kids, sometimes that is the only way they will listen.

 

[R W B]

Ive never been to wdw with young kids, my last 4 trips have been just my g/f and I and I've had this happen to me a few times and I'm not one to bite my tounge no matter what the situation is. If I think the kid looks old enough to understand, in a nice voice I'll tell them something like "excuse me, we were here first". Nothing makes parents more mad then someone else "correcting" their kids but I couldn't care less. I've told parents stuff too. At the same time, I've had parents ask if we could let their kid get a good spot for a parade, fireworks or whatever and ive never had a problem and always allowed it. The way I see it is that my money spends the same as anyone else's at WDW.

 

[bubbles1812]

I just grab the little monsters, fling them through the air away from me right back at mom and dad...and then sometimes I have to run from the Disney cops Just kidding. I love kids. Anyways...

If parents/kids ask politely, I have absolutely no problems letting kids stand/sit in front of me. I do have a problem with people shoving their way in, especially if they aren't just trying to shove Bobbie and Susie in but also the whole damn honking stroller. (My parents always folded up the strollers and just had us sit/stand along the curve during parades in an attempt to be more considerate of others and allow more room for people...I wish everyone would extend that courtesy.) But if someone shoves in front of me/is rude, I have absolutely no problems addressing the parents. I get that MK especially can be a big stress on people but there isn't a reason to be rude to others.

 

[GoofGoof]

I just grab the little monsters, fling them through the air away from me right back at mom and dad...and then sometimes I have to run from the Disney cops Just kidding. I love kids. Anyways...

You will have a harder time getting away with the new wrist bands. Big brother can track you anywhere in the park

 

[Tomi-Rocket]

So many parents just let their kids go like everyplace in the world like it's their own personal, giant playground. We have never allowed that. Anyway, don't you just want to say to those with rotten, little brats, "Good luck with them when they're older."

 

[Goofyernmost]

The Dad should have apologized and cleaned up the mess.

Kids are fast though and will sometimes grab or knock over something before you can get to them. As far as people being loud with their kids, sometimes that is the only way they will listen.

From experience a loud voice will go a long way in avoiding a smack on the butt. I don't recall ever spanking my kids but one loud bellow from Dad would usually stop them in their tracks. Of course, as I said earlier, we usually set the guidelines previous to getting there and explained the consequences of crossing those lines. Neither my wife or I ever made idol threats and none of them involved violence. But they did know that we would indeed carry them out. I always get a kick out of parents that say that they are going to leave Disney World and go home if they act up one more time. Kids aren't stupid, they know they came here probably in a plane, their parents spent a lot of money and the odds that they would just pack up everything and head home was pretty slim. However, a trip back to the hotel with no pool or TV privileges was doable and they knew it.

 

[janoimagine]

I can't believe that nobody has made the connection that this tweet was from the actor/comedian John Ross Bowie.

 

[Spikerdink]

Finally, the mom stepped in and said to my wife something like "he didn't mean anything by that, he is just excited to get on the ride". She never once told him not to cut in line or push people or pick on a 2 year old. No apology from her or from the kid.

It wasn't in the parks, but at our hotel that I am semi-guilty of this. I have posted before about my friend who takes his autistic son to Disney once a year. Well, one of the things that his son Jack loves is the slide going into the pool. It wasn't always like this. We would take him to the top, wait our turn and then Jack would run back down the stairs. He would want to try again, and we would walk to the top, and when it came his turn, Jack ran down the stairs. Sometimes he got into the water before jumping ship. After a while, we got tired of walking up and down the stairs, so we would watch Jack as we waiting in the pool for him to come down. Once, he got in the water and the kid behind him thought he would be helpful and gave Jack a push....and Jack found out how much fun the slides could be! And then he wanted to ride it over and over. We went with him, and showed him how to wait in line for his turn and would follow him down. But sometimes he would run right past us, cut the kids and before we could stop him he would be going down the slide. We always apologized and explained that he really didn't know better. Usually Jack will wait his turn, but sometimes he doesn't....so if you have ever been at a hotel pool and an adorable red headed boy cut in front of you and your kids....I am sorry - we do try to teach Jack at every opportunity....but autism is a daily challenge and sometimes we didn't see him cut the line.

 

[GoofGoof]

It wasn't in the parks, but at our hotel that I am semi-guilty of this. I have posted before about my friend who takes his autistic son to Disney once a year. Well, one of the things that his son Jack loves is the slide going into the pool. It wasn't always like this. We would take him to the top, wait our turn and then Jack would run back down the stairs. He would want to try again, and we would walk to the top, and when it came his turn, Jack ran down the stairs. Sometimes he got into the water before jumping ship. After a while, we got tired of walking up and down the stairs, so we would watch Jack as we waiting in the pool for him to come down. Once, he got in the water and the kid behind him thought he would be helpful and gave Jack a push....and Jack found out how much fun the slides could be! And then he wanted to ride it over and over. We went with him, and showed him how to wait in line for his turn and would follow him down. But sometimes he would run right past us, cut the kids and before we could stop him he would be going down the slide. We always apologized and explained that he really didn't know better. Usually Jack will wait his turn, but sometimes he doesn't....so if you have ever been at a hotel pool and an adorable red headed boy cut in front of you and your kids....I am sorry - we do try to teach Jack at every opportunity....but autism is a daily challenge and sometimes we didn't see him cut the line.

I am pretty sure this kid was not autistic. Of course you never really know for sure. One of my best friend's sons is autistic and my wife is a social worker who worked at a special needs alternative school for kids with Asperger's Syndrome which is basically a high functioning form of autism. I did think that maybe there was something wrong with him when he first pushed past the boys, but the way he was acting and the way the mom communicated with him leads me to believe he was just a child with an ignorant mother. Again, you never know.

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

The last time my niece was in WDW she was 8 and the only child along with 5 adults. We all found a spot for the parade and the other 4 adults stood about 6 feet back from the curb with their backs to a wall because they are tall and have seen the parade before. My niece had never seen the parade so I went with her to the curb. Since I am fairly tall (5'9") I stood with my back against a light pole and my niece stood beside me.

A family with 4 kids stood behind us for a second then started nudging forward. I actually pulled my niece right next to me and told her to make room for the 2 little ones who looked to be about 5 or 6 years old. Well, all 4 kids, including two much taller than my niece (probably about 12-14 years old) came right in front of her and stood completely blocking her view. Then they started having a popcorn fight, spinning those light up ropes which kept hitting my niece in the head, shoving each other into us and being general heathens.

My exact words to the kids were, "Hey guys, can you just move down a tiny bit so we can see the parade?" Then the parents pretty much ripped me a new one. They told me the parade is for kids and why was I standing there taking up room and no they are NOT moving down and they have as much right to be there as anyone and why was I not moving so they had room to stand next to their kids or picking up my niece if she wants to see that bad.

I had both Mom and Dad firing shots off at me for a full minute before I said (in a very quiet voice so it was creepy but just between the 3 of us). "This is my niece. This is her first time seeing this parade. If your kids don't move I am going to end up violating my parole again which will not end up well for either of us"

They left

 

[yankspy]

From experience a loud voice will go a long way in avoiding a smack on the butt. I don't recall ever spanking my kids but one loud bellow from Dad would usually stop them in their tracks. Of course, as I said earlier, we usually set the guidelines previous to getting there and explained the consequences of crossing those lines. Neither my wife or I ever made idol threats and none of them involved violence. But they did know that we would indeed carry them out. I always get a kick out of parents that say that they are going to leave Disney World and go home if they act up one more time. Kids aren't stupid, they know they came here probably in a plane, their parents spent a lot of money and the odds that they would just pack up everything and head home was pretty slim. However, a trip back to the hotel with no pool or TV privileges was doable and they knew it.

I hate to admit this but once my Son was acting up in the MK and I thought about threatening to go back to the room. Before I said it I thought to myself, "But I do not want to go back to the room". So instead I threatened to take away his new Bubblegun that he had gotten that day. Thankfully, that worked.