Dear Parents ...

[Disneyguy85]

what I am saying is that in spite of the fact that we all release our inner child when in a Disney Park doesn't mean that we should put our own child like desires ahead of an actual child.

The thing is, that is really not as big an issue as you are making it out to be.

Most of the time, childless adults and teenagers who are willing to wait in a character line are not trying to put their own desires ahead of a child, they are just waiting their turn to meet the character, same as every other person in the line.

Character lines are open to everybody. :)

To suggest that childless adult and teens should not meet characters (in other words, not wait in the same line as everybody, including children) is discriminatory.

I'm not trying to upset anyone, I'm just giving my thoughts on the matter.

[mapo]

I am tired of people acting superior or having more entitlement than myself when I visit the park cause they are a child or have a child.

I have waited patiently an hour or two before a parade and then had a SG Mom push her children in front of me. Then she and hubby push in front of me to join them. One ass actually said "Well it is really all just for the kids isn't it?" as he did just that.

I paid my admission, I waited my turn, and thus I am entitled to my spot on Main Street! Period. (Oh and yeah, I even paid to get in to be treated this way on numerous occasions.)

I have been pushed by children in queue by parents who either refuse or cannot control their offspring. One day, while in the Peter Pan queue, I actually let the family go ahead of me when we got to a turn. I politely said "go ahead". The Mom declines, but I insist. I even said "the kids are so excited! They should go first!" Yeah, I wanted them off my ass and out of my personal space, but I did it politely. You know that Mom got pissed and shot me dirty looks the rest of the queue!??!

Personally, I have thought that we need an adults only day once a month for each park. We do not need alcohol in Magic Kingdom. Just a night free of freaking strollers!

It could be like the old E ticket nights. You paid an additional $20 on your one day admission and you got an additional 4 hours in the park. Only requirement is that you have a regular park ticket for that day, you paid your $20 E ticket, and you must be 18+ for MK; 21+ for all other parks. PERIOD. That covers the underage drinking problem at the 'wet' parks.

Yeah, I think that we would have better attendance than the hard ticket parties even on say a Monday or Tuesday! If you do it on one of the early closing nights, we could easily stay open those 4 hours. Oh and still get a new revenue stream and new clientelle.

WDW needs to start catering a bit better to those of us without children and/or single travelers. We no longer have a night life (do not get me started on PI closing or Boardwalk offerrings) at WDW. We emphasize children more and more in our offerings. We need to return to the philosphy of multiple types of offerings for our diverse guest population.

• Per capita a child less adult (single or 'group') spends much more than families.
• AND we could capitalize on the Gay Days week by having Disney sponsored special events through out that week.
• AND Bike Week have a special event night.
• AND Mardi Gras have an actual adult Mardi Gras event.
• and MORE.

These events would not be racy or non-Disney but rather Disney content that can be enjoyed by our adult only population.

Now if we can just get someone to think beyond plushes, princess and pirate merchandise we just might find something that adults would like to purchase that is unique and only available at that WDW park!

MAPO

[lovethemouse]

I am tired of people acting superior or having more entitlement than myself when I visit the park cause they are a child or have a child.

I do not think that I have any more entitlement then anyone else because I now travel with small children, for many years I traveled as a single traveler or when we were first married my DH and I traveled together to WDW.

I have always, then and now, been accomodating to others. Keep in mind, it works both ways, I have had adults push me and my kids out of the way after I have waited patiently.

I do not allow my children to push in line, yes, from time to time they get a bit over zealous, they are kids after all but I am not opposed to taking them out of a line when they can't handle it.

The bottom line is that Disney isn't about me, I fell in love with it as a child and I feel like a child every time I am there. But, I am an adult and I have been there dozens of times and God willing will go dozens more. When I see a family in the parks, especially one who is obviously a first timer I do my best to be a good guest, helpful, courteous, etc. When I see people in wheelchairs or EVC's I always let them get in front of me.

It is kind of like the topic that started this thread, most of us agree that it is disgusting to not allow the MAW children to slip in a line or be brought in from the back, but the people in line have all waited patiently have they not? What is the difference between making way for a child to see a parade, you can always tell the parent to stand back, they can still see their child or making room for a handi capped person?

I would like to see more guests on better behavior, I think too many guests have a sense of entitlement, I paid, I waited, blah blah. It is about a magical experience and everyone can make magic for each other! Nothing wrong with paying it forward with a little sprinkling of pixie dust on an unsuspecting SG :)

[MyLittleAngels]

Per capita a child less adult (single or 'group') spends much more than families.

I'm curious about how you've come up with this. My husband and I visited Disney for many years, both before and after having kids. I spent far more on our vacations post- children than pre-. I still attended the same meals (only now there are 5 of us to pay for, instead of two - some sitdown meals, some counter service). I still bought souveniers (only now, again, it's 5 people worth of souvs, not 2). I stayed in the same hotel (for the most part - we had just hit having two upgrade to accomodate the 5th when we moved to Winter Garden - we actually were planning a trip to the Poly when we decided to move instead). So really, I would have been spending more on the hotel because I would have needed a room for 5, instead of 4, since my youngest was 3.

I know the amount of money I used to plan for a trip was nearly tripled when we added 3 kids to the mix (obviously, that went up gradually with each new addition).

I feel your pain about wanting a place or space for adults. The people who don't watch their kids, or teach their kids the worst things pain me just as much as they do you. I don't allow my kids to be out of line ever, and they know what sort of behavior is allowed in a park, and they behave. Of course, not everyone is as hellbent as I am about not raising little hoodlums. Yes, I am the person who speaks my mind when someone tries to step in front of my kids when we've waited ages for something. Yes, I am the person who runs the teens out of the Mission: Space play area when they try to invade.

However, I am not against kids. I like kids. Often, I dislike parents, but find they won't interfere when I correct their kids. I think we all need to remember that Walt Disney built Disneyland to have a place to go with his two daughters. I think we should keep that in mind when discussions of adult time take place - would Walt have wanted it that way?

For the record, I am an adult who likes to see characters. I used to book characters meals or wait my turn in line to see the chars I wanted to see. I now do the same for my kids, booking a meal or waiting patiently. I tend to stand back and let them have all the fun, but I still hop into a picture or two. :) I also make sure my kids thank the character before we move on - they do it because it's polite, I do it because I want the character inside to know we appreciate all that they do. :)

[lady ulrike]

I am tired of people acting superior or having more entitlement than myself when I visit the park cause they are a child or have a child.

I have waited patiently an hour or two before a parade and then had a SG Mom push her children in front of me. Then she and hubby push in front of me to join them. One ass actually said "Well it is really all just for the kids isn't it?" as he did just that.

I have had this happen many times as well, in fact my ex is 6'3" and for many SGs this seems to mean that it's okay for their children to use him as a jungle gym. Mind you, he is sitting down in the front row for parade viewing and children can easily see over him while sitting. Also, this is front row parade viewing that we got by getting to the spot early. The parade viewing is first come, first served. Then we have people showing up later that push their kids in front of us and/or allow their children to use him as a jungle gym. I never let them, they could've gotten there early and gotten a front row spot as well. I have a 2 and a half year old now and I still get there early for a front row spot. Most of the time I am with someone so we can let her wander a bit when she gets restless, but I have waited an hour + for the parade alone with my 2 year old. I know it can be tough, but if I want her to get a front row spot, then I need to get there early and depending on how crowded it is, that can be very early. I would never presume to show up right before the parade starts and shove her forward just because she's a kid. The parks are for everyone to enjoy and everyone has the same opportunity to see and do each and every thing in the park.

It is kind of like the topic that started this thread, most of us agree that it is disgusting to not allow the MAW children to slip in a line or be brought in from the back, but the people in line have all waited patiently have they not? What is the difference between making way for a child to see a parade, you can always tell the parent to stand back, they can still see their child or making room for a handi capped person?

I have allowed children to sit in front of us, both before and after I had a child. But there's a huge difference between someone in the front row offering for a child to sit in front of them and for the parents to shove them in front. I never offer immediately. I wait to see what the family is like. If they immediately reveal themselves as SGs (and we all know it doesn't take long for an SG to reveal himself) then I will not offer cause I don't want bratty children sitting in front of me for the parade, especially if they are so badly behaved that they are likely to not stay in the parade viewing area which may impact my enjoyment of the parade if it means a CM has to repeatedly come by to tell them to get back into the parade viewing area.

To sum up (I feel like I'm writing an essay for school) the parks are for everyone whether they have kids or not. Everyone has the same opportunities to experience every aspect of the parks (age and height limits for some things an obvious exception) just because an SG has kids and I do not (well, I do now, but just play along) that does not give them special access to any aspect of the park, except for areas that are just for kids, like some of the play areas.

[felinefan]

As I recall, Walt wanted a place where children of all ages as well as adults could enjoy. He was waiting for his daughters to finish their merry-go-round ride at a local park, and he was sitting on a bench nearby. He began to think how unfair in a way it was that entertainment at that time was for children only or adults only, not both. Disneyland was created to correct that problem.

You might want to tell an SG that, when they pull that "Walt wanted it that way for kids" garbage. Don't know how much of an impact it'll have, but it might make them stop and think. Or at least shut them up. Yeah, I know, SGs thinking is pretty farfetched, but I can dream, can't I? :twisted:

[Shorty82]

As I recall, Walt wanted a place where children of all ages as well as adults could enjoy. He was waiting for his daughters to finish their merry-go-round ride at a local park, and he was sitting on a bench nearby. He began to think how unfair in a way it was that entertainment at that time was for children only or adults only, not both. Disneyland was created to correct that problem.

You might want to tell an SG that, when they pull that "Walt wanted it that way for kids" garbage. Don't know how much of an impact it'll have, but it might make them stop and think. Or at least shut them up. Yeah, I know, SGs thinking is pretty farfetched, but I can dream, can't I? :twisted:

"We believed in our idea - a family park where parents and children could have fun - together."—Walt Disney

[MyLittleAngels]

Thanks for the quote, Shorty. It's always nice to hear words "from the horse's mouth".

[DisneyMom]

You know, sometimes it is actually a GOOD thing to teach kids that waiting in line-patiently-will yield a reward(Mickey!)
That you may get to do SOME fun things this trip, but may have to wait for another day for others.....
That being on your best behavior may get you noticed and even a prize (Pixie Dust Pins come to mind, I bet the CMs here have many other cool things they've given or done for kids)
That if you only share(having to sit in a crowd patiently, for example)you will see A GIANT DRAGON! PETER PAN FIGHTING CAPTAIN HOOK!PRINCESSES! :)
There is nothing cruel about teaching kids these things- and that when they grow up, they can come to Disneyland WHENEVER THEY WANT! :D:
MAW kids, obviously, shouldn't have to worry about these lessons, they have other things to be concerned with :(

[BRWombat]

Maturity is way overrated anyway. :D: