what was the best WDW guest meltdown you've observed

[Goofyernmost]

My main concern was where I would stay. The night before Floyd was the last night of my Disney reservation. I was scheduled to fly home the next day. If my flight didn't get out I would have been stranded at the airport... every hotel in Orlando was totally booked. As it was, my flight was the last one out before they closed MCO. Too close for comfort!

Wouldn't some of the "totally booked" hotels be for guests that couldn't get to Orlando because of the storm. Wouldn't those rooms be available. As well as not being about to get out, there is an equal amount that are unable to get in.

 

[RoadTrip]

Wouldn't some of the "totally booked" hotels be for guests that couldn't get to Orlando because of the storm. Wouldn't those rooms be available. As well as not being about to get out, there is an equal amount that are unable to get in.

Wasn't just usual tourism... many rooms taken by those evacuating coastal areas. Even at WDW, all people were removed from Fort Wilderness Campground and relocated to other rooms on-site.

 

[Winter]

Absolutely! If the parents gave in, then that would've sent a message to the kid saying, "Ok...if I carry on....then I get what I want."

And then we'd have Dudley Dursley's sister in Disney........ It woudn't be good.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Wasn't just usual tourism... many rooms taken by those evacuating coastal areas. Even at WDW, all people were removed from Fort Wilderness Campground and relocated to other rooms on-site.

Yea, I didn't think about that. I'm sure they'd find someplace for you though. Might not be a 5 star but, it would be shelter.

 

[LAKid53]

Ok, hideous Aunt story here. Me. I have been taking my son and my nieces and nephews to Disneyland for 20yrs. All ages, even my dearest monster nephew Scotty(now 27) who could test the patience of Job and never once in all of those visits(including the one with just me and 4 kids under 10 for 4 days) had I ever had to raise my voice or be one of "those" parents(you know the ones) until May 2013. We took my nephews and my son to Disneyland. My husband and I wanted to treat our nephews because my sister(who lived close to them and saw them all the time) raved about what good boys they were and how they had so little(my brother is a single parent since the youngest was 6mo old, their mom is an addict, lots of family drama). So we took our son(who was 15 at the time), and our two nephews(13 and 9 I believe) on a no expense spared trip. Flights out of Oakland(they had never been on a plane or even more than an hour from their home), Grand Californian, $50 each, 4nights, goodie bags and tshirts for the trip. You name it, we did it. The trouble started the day we arrived. The older one tried stealing from the gift shop in the GC(even with his $50 gift card that he knew he had), he then tried stealing his little brother's gift card, then my son's and that was just the beginning. I did not know he was a bully until we turned around and the youngest was not with us. Backtracking we found him sitting in the middle of the road in CA Adv. and crying because his brother had hit him. I called my brother and essentially asked him Wed, Thurs, Fri????? and his reply was "Yeah, they don't get along, Gage does that a lot" Great, something I could have been told prior to a $6300 trip. This continued with him bullying my son who although he is older, he is smaller than Satan Spawn, and eventually we found we could not take our eyes off him at any time. We even had dinner at Carthay Circle(expensive!) and he tried tripping the waiter! I took him back to the room and explained that if he pulled one more stunt, I would put him on a plane back to his dad without a second thought. Finally we decided enough was enough when our son told us that he had been being hit by Gage whenever we weren't looking. We called, paid a small fortune to change our flights and went to the airport. We are sitting in the airport and my husband hears an announcement about our flight so he went to check. He comes back and says "the flight is delayed and we will be flying out at 10:30p(instead of 8:30 as planned) and Gage jumped in my face and yelled "HA!!!!" at which point my hand flew out and slapped him so hard he fell on his butt before I even realized I had done it! I honestly have never slapped a child in my 44yrs and did not realize it until I saw him holding his cheek. He was quiet the rest of the time. We got home at 10:30pm(we managed to find an earlier flight but our luggage didn't LOL) and my older son bundled them in the car and drove them the two hours to my brother's house. After my brother forced him to apologize(and it was forced, he said "That's my apology, take it or leave it") I told my brother not to bother me any longer. Then our son said "Mom, tell Uncle not to be mad at Gage, we are home and I don't want him to be in any more triouble" My big hearted boy! So I tell my brother and suddenly he assumes all is well and says "They had a great time and I was wondering if you had any more presents for them?" Yeah, my brother is clueless too and I said "No, and there will be no presents forthcoming from us for either of them ever again" To this day, I still refuse to be around them and my brother still thinks they are angels.

So yeah, I was the bad auntie, who slapped a heathen nephew in public. The funny thing is, the attendant in the airport who saw it, actually smiled and winked at my husband and I because she had seen him acting like a heathen while we waited. I was also hoping TSA was going to tase him when he tried to run through security(he is old enough to understand the rules, knew what was expected at the airport and still tried to shove the TSA agent when she asked him to slow down and walk back through because he had alerted due to suddenly having a pocket knife that we had no idea where he got it). And no, he does not have any mental issues, other than being a heathen, a bully and a future felon I am sure. LOL

Stories like yours makes me wonder if it is possible to divorce siblings.....and other blood relatives.

You are more patient that I would be. After the first attempted theft, Satan's Spawn would have been on the first plane back to his dad, solo. After I had a looong conversation with my brother regarding his son. 13 is old enough to know how to behave. And you son certainly was the example of behavior he should emulate. I would have had a hard time holding my tongue when your brother asked about additional presents. Sad for the two boys that your brother is clueless about their problems.

 

[Epcot-Rules]

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.

As a husband, I found who Michael Kors was this past Christmas. I wish I had never met him, he's expensive!!

 

[Epcot-Rules]

I get what you are saying, but we save up to go to Disney with a set amount of money. I figure everything in and even have a certain amount set aside for emergencies. Us spending $120 a day is not indicative of us being wealthy or wasteful by any means. It is a set amount that my wife and I have worked very hard to save up for each trip. We go to Disney with the idea that this money is going to be spent on souvenirs.

I'm with you. Some people spend their money in Vegas, some spend on a cruise, some spend on a visit to Europe. I choose to spend in Disney. I can afford to drop $1,000 a day so whats the big deal? I work very hard for my money and when I go on vacation, I like to enjoy my Vacation.

 

[cabihler]

been to WDW 107 times over 38 years and one of the best involved this idiot father wearing a bosox baseball cap pushing his 2 kids in his own stroller and me. we were over between Casey's and Crystal Palace watching a show with a lot of people. after the show everyone starts to leave the area in all directions. me and this idiot father and others turned to thw right heading towards Casey's to get to main street. everyone is walking as fast as they can with frequent stops & slow downs to get to their next desired location, for most of us it was Main Street. well this idiot father wanted no part of slowing down. he hit me & others in the back of our ankles several times trying to push through us. finally we are past the piano at Casey's and now after about the 5th or 6th time he has hit me I turned to him and tell him to slow down and stop hitting people with his stroller to which he replies "walk faster" I stand in front of the stroller stopping him from moving forward and say to him "you are an for using your kids as a ram hurting people and look at the effect it is having on your kids". his reply consisted of curses and he calls me out to fight pushing out his chest to which i move from the stroller towards him and he tries to push pass and I physically push him back causing him to lose his balance and step back several feet. several CMs now approach us and tell us to separate and move away. He grabs his stroller's handle and curses all of us and runs his kids in the stroller to the street where he hits the curb with great force causing the ffront of the stroller to tip forward propelling his 2 small children out of the stroller and flying out several feet into the street hitting into people walking up main street towards the castle. The CMs call over security who detain the man who is screaming at his kids who are no more than 3 or 4 in appearance to get back in the stroller. then he tries to get physical with the security guys who several restrain him and lead him away behind the first aid area while several others pickup his children and take them towards the same general direction. After chatting with the 2 CMs & a coupld of security people for a few minutes I leave the park. The next day I see those same CMs and asked them what eventually happened and they said they heard that security called the police, child services & contacted the guy's wife and had the man arrested with charges pressed against him for assault on the security guys and the kids put into the protection of child services pending the mother's petition to get the kids back.

 

[DisneyManOne]

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.

Karmic payback? Let me guess...that story involving Alice at 1900 Park Fare?

 

[brb1006]

Karmic payback? Let me guess...that story involving Alice at 1900 Park Fare?

What's the Alice story anyway?

 

[DisneyManOne]

What's the Alice story anyway?

I quote...

My family is doing breakfast at 1900 Park Faire. Mom is up at the buffet, and Alice comes by our table and talks with my sister and me. Sis gets her pic, and then Alice comes over to me. She begins to suggest a pose for the picture.

Alice: You look like you do a good deal of thinking and read a good many books, so...
Sis (interrupting): Yeah, he's a nerd.
Alice (to my sister): Well, THAT is a terribly rude thing to say! I myself do a great deal of thinking and have read many books, and I'd never refer to myself as a nerd! (to me) She's quite mad, isn't she? She'd best not pop off like that to the Queen of Hearts, or she's likely to lose her head!

I didn't say anything, but once Alice left... "Oh, snap, you got scolded by Alice!"

 

[reptar77]

We saw a family scream and cry that their vacation was ruined because there was a crane in their castle picture.

 

[Winter]

been to WDW 107 times over 38 years and one of the best involved this idiot father wearing a bosox baseball cap pushing his 2 kids in his own stroller and me. we were over between Casey's and Crystal Palace watching a show with a lot of people. after the show everyone starts to leave the area in all directions. me and this idiot father and others turned to thw right heading towards Casey's to get to main street. everyone is walking as fast as they can with frequent stops & slow downs to get to their next desired location, for most of us it was Main Street. well this idiot father wanted no part of slowing down. he hit me & others in the back of our ankles several times trying to push through us. finally we are past the piano at Casey's and now after about the 5th or 6th time he has hit me I turned to him and tell him to slow down and stop hitting people with his stroller to which he replies "walk faster" I stand in front of the stroller stopping him from moving forward and say to him "you are an ******* for using your kids as a ram hurting people and look at the effect it is having on your kids". his reply consisted of curses and he calls me out to fight pushing out his chest to which i move from the stroller towards him and he tries to push pass and I physically push him back causing him to lose his balance and step back several feet. several CMs now approach us and tell us to separate and move away. He grabs his stroller's handle and curses all of us and runs his kids in the stroller to the street where he hits the curb with great force causing the ffront of the stroller to tip forward propelling his 2 small children out of the stroller and flying out several feet into the street hitting into people walking up main street towards the castle. The CMs call over security who detain the man who is screaming at his kids who are no more than 3 or 4 in appearance to get back in the stroller. then he tries to get physical with the security guys who several restrain him and lead him away behind the first aid area while several others pickup his children and take them towards the same general direction. After chatting with the 2 CMs & a coupld of security people for a few minutes I leave the park. The next day I see those same CMs and asked them what eventually happened and they said they heard that security called the police, child services & contacted the guy's wife and had the man arrested with charges pressed against him for assault on the security guys and the kids put into the protection of child services pending the mother's petition to get the kids back.

This was the best and funniest one yet on here until the kids coudn't go to their mother.

 

[graphite1326]

been to WDW 107 times over 38 years and one of the best involved this idiot father wearing a bosox baseball cap pushing his 2 kids in his own stroller and me. we were over between Casey's and Crystal Palace watching a show with a lot of people. after the show everyone starts to leave the area in all directions. me and this idiot father and others turned to thw right heading towards Casey's to get to main street. everyone is walking as fast as they can with frequent stops & slow downs to get to their next desired location, for most of us it was Main Street. well this idiot father wanted no part of slowing down. he hit me & others in the back of our ankles several times trying to push through us. finally we are past the piano at Casey's and now after about the 5th or 6th time he has hit me I turned to him and tell him to slow down and stop hitting people with his stroller to which he replies "walk faster" I stand in front of the stroller stopping him from moving forward and say to him "you are an ******* for using your kids as a ram hurting people and look at the effect it is having on your kids". his reply consisted of curses and he calls me out to fight pushing out his chest to which i move from the stroller towards him and he tries to push pass and I physically push him back causing him to lose his balance and step back several feet. several CMs now approach us and tell us to separate and move away. He grabs his stroller's handle and curses all of us and runs his kids in the stroller to the street where he hits the curb with great force causing the ffront of the stroller to tip forward propelling his 2 small children out of the stroller and flying out several feet into the street hitting into people walking up main street towards the castle. The CMs call over security who detain the man who is screaming at his kids who are no more than 3 or 4 in appearance to get back in the stroller. then he tries to get physical with the security guys who several restrain him and lead him away behind the first aid area while several others pickup his children and take them towards the same general direction. After chatting with the 2 CMs & a coupld of security people for a few minutes I leave the park. The next day I see those same CMs and asked them what eventually happened and they said they heard that security called the police, child services & contacted the guy's wife and had the man arrested with charges pressed against him for assault on the security guys and the kids put into the protection of child services pending the mother's petition to get the kids back.

The bosox hat was all you had to say.

 

[POLY LOVER]

been to WDW 107 times over 38 years and one of the best involved this idiot father wearing a bosox baseball cap pushing his 2 kids in his own stroller and me. we were over between Casey's and Crystal Palace watching a show with a lot of people. after the show everyone starts to leave the area in all directions. me and this idiot father and others turned to thw right heading towards Casey's to get to main street. everyone is walking as fast as they can with frequent stops & slow downs to get to their next desired location, for most of us it was Main Street. well this idiot father wanted no part of slowing down. he hit me & others in the back of our ankles several times trying to push through us. finally we are past the piano at Casey's and now after about the 5th or 6th time he has hit me I turned to him and tell him to slow down and stop hitting people with his stroller to which he replies "walk faster" I stand in front of the stroller stopping him from moving forward and say to him "you are an ******* for using your kids as a ram hurting people and look at the effect it is having on your kids". his reply consisted of curses and he calls me out to fight pushing out his chest to which i move from the stroller towards him and he tries to push pass and I physically push him back causing him to lose his balance and step back several feet. several CMs now approach us and tell us to separate and move away. He grabs his stroller's handle and curses all of us and runs his kids in the stroller to the street where he hits the curb with great force causing the ffront of the stroller to tip forward propelling his 2 small children out of the stroller and flying out several feet into the street hitting into people walking up main street towards the castle. The CMs call over security who detain the man who is screaming at his kids who are no more than 3 or 4 in appearance to get back in the stroller. then he tries to get physical with the security guys who several restrain him and lead him away behind the first aid area while several others pickup his children and take them towards the same general direction. After chatting with the 2 CMs & a coupld of security people for a few minutes I leave the park. The next day I see those same CMs and asked them what eventually happened and they said they heard that security called the police, child services & contacted the guy's wife and had the man arrested with charges pressed against him for assault on the security guys and the kids put into the protection of child services pending the mother's petition to get the kids back.

I never understand the mad rush out the door, where the heck are you going that you have to rush to it? Some people everything is a competition that they must win.
YEA I'M THE FIRST ONE TO MY CAR! I WIN

 

[danyoung56]

This wasn't exactly a meltdown, but it did involve a large, exiting crowd. I was in the central hub of the MK, enjoying the nightly show of Wishes. The crowd was HUGE, and it was taking time to get people moving. Behind me was a young Asian couple who were pushing their way through the crowd. Some folks let them squeeze by, but I wasn't going to have any of it. When the young man tried to pass me I turned and said "There's no room - just hang on a minute!" He smiled, ducked his head, and backed off. But only for a few seconds, after which he tried it again. Of course I said (still trying to be nice) "There's still no more room - we'll all get moving in a minute." Again he smiled, ducked his head, and backed off. By the third time he tried it I'd had it and yelled "THERE'S NO WHERE TO GO - NOW BACK OFF!" I don't know if he understood the words or just the tone, but he didn't try it again. I had other guests within earshot patting me on the back for standing up to rude behavior. Fun night!

 

[Kat326]

Our family has been to WDW many times, but never experienced a meltdown until our trip back in 2013. We had spent the day at DHS and the 4 of us (Parents, BF, and myself) had dinner reservations at 50's Prime Time. When we were seated, our section had two other families: one from Texas, and one from Alabama. Things started off really well: Our server, "Cousin Jennifer," was ADORABLE, and my dad ended up chatting a while with the Texas family because they were from the same area as he grew up. Things took a turn after that.

The Alabama family consisted of 4: The parents, and two daughters: one about 8, the other 13/14. Their food arrives, and the mom is not happy. She's picking at the food, complaining about how there's 'too much butter', and after a couple minutes of angry mumbling, she says "I've had it" and just up and leaves. The dad loses it. He starts going off on the 13 yr old daughter, cry and ranting about how the mom is always on drugs and that's why he's leaving her, that "d**** this is supposed to be a NICE VACATION" and how she needs to drink her iced tea because "the Bible says its a vegetable and you don't want to upset Jesus". This poor girl during the whole schpeil keeps trying to run away, but he's grabbing he arms and yelling "SIT BACK DOWN" (her sister, however, is eating her potatoes in the corner like nothing is happening). And then suddenly, after 10-15 minuted of madness, Cousin Jennifer comes back and it's like nothing had happened and the three remaining members of Alabama are laughing and smiling and having a nice meal.

It's a very awkward moment my family & I won't forget... except my dad. Who was in the restroom the whole time and missed the drama!

 

[POLY LOVER]

Our family has been to WDW many times, but never experienced a meltdown until our trip back in 2013. We had spent the day at DHS and the 4 of us (Parents, BF, and myself) had dinner reservations at 50's Prime Time. When we were seated, our section had two other families: one from Texas, and one from Alabama. Things started off really well: Our server, "Cousin Jennifer," was ADORABLE, and my dad ended up chatting a while with the Texas family because they were from the same area as he grew up. Things took a turn after that.

The Alabama family consisted of 4: The parents, and two daughters: one about 8, the other 13/14. Their food arrives, and the mom is not happy. She's picking at the food, complaining about how there's 'too much butter', and after a couple minutes of angry mumbling, she says "I've had it" and just up and leaves. The dad loses it. He starts going off on the 13 yr old daughter, cry and ranting about how the mom is always on drugs and that's why he's leaving her, that "d**** this is supposed to be a NICE VACATION" and how she needs to drink her iced tea because "the Bible says its a vegetable and you don't want to upset Jesus". This poor girl during the whole schpeil keeps trying to run away, but he's grabbing he arms and yelling "SIT BACK DOWN" (her sister, however, is eating her potatoes in the corner like nothing is happening). And then suddenly, after 10-15 minuted of madness, Cousin Jennifer comes back and it's like nothing had happened and the three remaining members of Alabama are laughing and smiling and having a nice meal.

It's a very awkward moment my family & I won't forget... except my dad. Who was in the restroom the whole time and missed the drama!

I LOVE THE PRIME TIME CAFE!!!! I hope it survives the expansion.

 

[DashRendar]

We (wife, daughter 8, daughter 7, and I) were in Epcot at Rose and Crown about 45min before Illuminations this past 8/6. We were looking for a place to eat our Fish and Chips in the outside eating area behind the beer cart (left side facing R&C). The al fresco dining to the right of R&C was closed off for a refurb. I found a table but only three chairs. A very lovely UK family (8+ of various age) who had taken over the nearest corner of the seating area lent us the needed 4th chair. (It must have been a UK holiday because almost all guests that week seemed to have an English accent. We made many "line friends" from the UK that week.) The outside seating area of R&C was packed with people waiting to watch the fireworks. After I was seated in our borrowed chair (I had been standing for more than 5min), I noticed the family to my right (mom, dad, mid-teenage son, early teenage daughter) were non-UK because they were speaking loud enough to hear their north-east American accent. The father starts on his rant.
Dad: "I don't give a f*** what you want! We paid thousands to come here, so by God, we are going to watch these f***ing fireworks."
Teenage daughter stands up and flees the scene to unknown parts...
Teenage son clicking away on iPod touch or iPhone, like nothing is happening...
Mom (clearly upset and frustrated): "Calm down...it's no big deal."
15 second pause (which feels like an eternity)
Dad (growing redder with anger or heat by the minute): "How do you expect this to work? We can't keep going like this. You're unhappy. He's unhappy (pointing to boy who has yet to look up and stop clicking on his device). She runs off! This isn't working!"
Silence. Clearly the UK family, my family, and most others in the area are discretely tuned into the dramatics...
Mom (very calmly): "You're damn right I'm unhappy. Too long to put up with any more of this bulls**t."
Dad (leaning back in his chair): "Well then I guess we know what we need to do when we get back home!"
Teenage son still hasn't looked up...
Me (wrapping our remaining fish and chips in two empty baskets and wrapping with napkins): "C'mon girls! Let's go see if we can see the fireworks from the pool!" (We were staying at the Yacht Club)
My girls: "Yay!"
My wife gives an approving nod...
A very large Brit with a heavy London accent who was new to the scene comes up to me and asks if we are leaving and can he have the table.
Me: "Yes, we're leaving"
Large Brit: "Thank God for that."
Me: "You don't know the half of it, brother."
Large Brit: ???

 

[mf1972]

been to WDW 107 times over 38 years and one of the best involved this idiot father wearing a bosox baseball cap pushing his 2 kids in his own stroller and me. we were over between Casey's and Crystal Palace watching a show with a lot of people. after the show everyone starts to leave the area in all directions. me and this idiot father and others turned to thw right heading towards Casey's to get to main street. everyone is walking as fast as they can with frequent stops & slow downs to get to their next desired location, for most of us it was Main Street. well this idiot father wanted no part of slowing down. he hit me & others in the back of our ankles several times trying to push through us. finally we are past the piano at Casey's and now after about the 5th or 6th time he has hit me I turned to him and tell him to slow down and stop hitting people with his stroller to which he replies "walk faster" I stand in front of the stroller stopping him from moving forward and say to him "you are an ******* for using your kids as a ram hurting people and look at the effect it is having on your kids". his reply consisted of curses and he calls me out to fight pushing out his chest to which i move from the stroller towards him and he tries to push pass and I physically push him back causing him to lose his balance and step back several feet. several CMs now approach us and tell us to separate and move away. He grabs his stroller's handle and curses all of us and runs his kids in the stroller to the street where he hits the curb with great force causing the ffront of the stroller to tip forward propelling his 2 small children out of the stroller and flying out several feet into the street hitting into people walking up main street towards the castle. The CMs call over security who detain the man who is screaming at his kids who are no more than 3 or 4 in appearance to get back in the stroller. then he tries to get physical with the security guys who several restrain him and lead him away behind the first aid area while several others pickup his children and take them towards the same general direction. After chatting with the 2 CMs & a coupld of security people for a few minutes I leave the park. The next day I see those same CMs and asked them what eventually happened and they said they heard that security called the police, child services & contacted the guy's wife and had the man arrested with charges pressed against him for assault on the security guys and the kids put into the protection of child services pending the mother's petition to get the kids back.

karma