Stupid Guest Tricks

I typically say something along the lines of, "Some children will find it scary, it depends on the individual child." If the child is scared and the parents are forcing them I will tell the child, "It's just a ride, nothing can hurt you. Do you see that mine cart? That is a magical mine cart and as long as you stay inside of it you will be safe. If you get scared, just close your eyes and it will be over before you know it."

That is as close to saying no as I will come. Do not force your children to go on rides that are scary to them, they will forever associate that ride with fear and it will be a bad experience for all around. This is true with characters too. I have a friend who was forced to see Jafar when he was younger and afraid and to this day will go nowhere near Jafar because of the strong fear association. It's also unsafe for all involved. A child who panics can try to get out of the car, and even though they are seated with an adult on the outside, it's still a huge risk and they can end up hurting themselves or somebody else in their panic. With a character, the children will hit, kick, punch the character in an attempt to get away, all while mom and dad are holding the child right next to the character's head and making the photographer wait to get the picture til Jr. stops crying. The minute the character goes to the opposite side of the adult, the parents move them and get mad even though we are trying to calm the child and not get beaten up. I have come away from many such encounters very sore.

I wish we CMs were better about enforcing the rule that children must be calm to ride. There have been many guests I should have told no to but didn't have the guts. Nothing good comes out of forcing your child to do something that they are clearly terrified of.

EeyoresButterfly wrote:Nothing good comes out of forcing your child to do something that they are clearly terrified of.

I still get cold sweats every time I see spinach.

Haha. I should have clarified that for the themepark environment. Did you know that studies have shown that it takes a child between 15-20 tries of a new food to like it? So if you have a picky eater, the best thing you can do is just keep "encouraging" them to try it.

hobie16 wrote:I still get cold sweats every time I see spinach.

?????

I thought you were a Sailor????

hehehehe

Popeye??

It really upsets me when guests force their kids to go up to the characters, when clearly they want nothing to do with them. I wish they could see that they are scared.

joanna71985 wrote:It really upsets me when guests force their kids to go up to the characters, when clearly they want nothing to do with them. I wish they could see that they are scared.

That was so me. I only trusted Belle. All other characters were strangers with funny outfits.