Stupid Guest Tricks

Goofyernmost wrote:I don't disagree with what you are saying...what I am saying is THIS IS NOT A PERFECT WORLD. This stuff happens in theme parks. It always has and it always will. It is an inevitable event of humans.

Why let yourself get all tied in a knot over it. Just be aware, make the adjustments and go on with life. One will have way fewer ulcers that way. I still maintain that every single one of us, whether we remember it or not, is guilty of doing just this thing. I can almost guarantee it. I will almost guarantee that the vast majority of those that do it now are not aware of what is happening around them. So they will not recognize any responsibility anyway. Just kind of remember that, in all likelihood, people have had to swerve around you at some point in time and do the same thing for them. It shouldn't bother you anymore that knowing that other people are breathing in the same air space as you.

Amen, I think one of the biggest keys to having successful park visits is to be flexible and not let people get you worked up over things.

DonutGoddess wrote:Amen, I think one of the biggest keys to having successful park visits is to be flexible and not let people get you worked up over things.

But, but, but... I've traveled 300,000 miles to get here and am spending five trillion dollars, and all of these disruptions are ruining my little darling's vacation!!!

Goofyernmost wrote:I suppose it could be called lack of courtesy...but that makes it all seem pretty deliberate.

I get really wound when I think people are being deliberately rude, but hubby does this sort of thing all the time because he is sheer oblivious. So I tend to assume others doing it are just as out of it as he is. But I've also noticed that, yep, I will very occasionally do the same kinds of things myself. Not stop dead on a busy sidewalk, as a rule, but a lot of the other things he does, just not nearly so often or easily. But because I'm so attuned to making sure he doesn't do it (particularly because he'll often try to tie me into it, by pointing out whatever interested him or just catching me so I don't walk away on him), I've started noticing the rare times I do it.

Zazu wrote: Very few people are aware of this phenomenon, and even fewer are aware that it happens in foot traffic much the same way it does for cars.

Just finished Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do, which has modified my driving habits slightly (discovered two places locally where I can usually position myself to avoid all red lights if the traffic is average rush hour). I was intrigued when one chapter discussed how Disney had worked out a bunch of stuff to improve park traffic that road designers now use to improve vehicle traffic. The "E-ticket" system was one early method of dealing with crowds; the FastPass system is the newer, more efficient version.

/ :hijack:

I remember watching some investigative journalism show when I was younger that did a piece on traffic. They went out and had three cars drive in each lane of a highway, each going exactly the speed limit, right next to each other so nobody could pass them, to see what would happen. A massive traffic jam happened. That has always fascinated me, how you could be nearly stopped, and then, all of a sudden, everything is clear.

I'm just glad nobody wants me to go to MK from Dec 20 - Jan 5, leaving Main Street after the fireworks and then getting transportation to the car is more than I can bare right now. If my friends try to get me to go to Epcot for New Years, I might as well kill myself to avoid it

I have a related pet peeve--I'm walking down the sidewalk on the street, and somebody comes up behind on a bike. Now, granted there are those who have the courtesy to say "Excuse me" and/or ring a thumb bell, etc.. But then there are the ones who don't make any effort to warn you, and just about run you over in the bargain. Even worse are the bozos who are riding towards you, and they practically run you over instead of moving to the side! I've even had people walking who won't move to the side if they're walkyou, they seem to insist on trying to run into you! What is with that? :mad:

Another thing that bugs me is people who get to a train station, and ask when's the next train to L.A., when it's painfully obvious--if they had looked at the posted schedule--that all northbound trains going to L.A. are in the morning, or afternoon/evening. They do not run every hour! People are so surprised when I tell them that; come on, peeps, do you have any idea how expensive it is to operate a train? It's just not economical to run them every hour! A little trip planning would save them a lot of grief! Train schedules are not that difficult to read! You start at the top and read down! Find your station, which way you're going, and the times are right there! Of course it's going to take an hour to go by train to L.A. from Santa Ana or Orange--do you know how far away it is? It's also an hour if the freeway is clear and you're driving! The only way to get to L.A. from the O.C. in less than an hour is go to John Wayne Airport and fly! Yeesh! Some people seem to overdose on stupid pills!

felinefan wrote:I have a related pet peeve--I'm walking down the sidewalk on the street, and somebody comes up behind on a bike. Now, granted there are those who have the courtesy to say "Excuse me" and/or ring a thumb bell, etc.. But then there are the ones who don't make any effort to warn you, and just about run you over in the bargain. Even worse are the bozos who are riding towards you, and they practically run you over instead of moving to the side! I've even had people walking who won't move to the side if they're walkyou, they seem to insist on trying to run into you! What is with that? :mad:

Bikes belong on the street, not the sidewalk. In many places it is actually illegal for bikes to be ridden on sidewalks and where it is not the law often requires riders to pass pedestrians safely. According to this blog (chosen as it is CA, where you're at) it is legal to ride on sidewalks in the City of LA and West Hollywood (though the latter has some caveats) and is illegal in LA County, Santa Monica and Inglewood.

Whenever I ride my bike in pedestrian areas I am very careful and always call out when approaching a pedestrian from the rear. I most often ride on a bike/hiking trail which sees a lot of bicyclists and pedestrians (including a LOT of students going to and from area schools). When I pass someone I most often call out as I'm approaching "Passing on your left!" or something similar so they not only know that I'm passing but on what side. I also keep my speed down when there are a lot of pedestrians around. My bike can go decently fast but I save the speed for lower traffic areas.

In Japan it's expected that bikes will be on the sidewalk.... I saw a thing where they gave a pedestrian a thumb bell, and watched the automatic bike-clearing instinct of the other pedestrians, even in office hallways, and on escalators...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_MphtzCOEc

8^P

Shorty82 wrote:Bikes belong on the street, not the sidewalk. In many places it is actually illegal for bikes to be ridden on sidewalks and where it is not the law often requires riders to pass pedestrians safely. According to this blog (chosen as it is CA, where you're at) it is legal to ride on sidewalks in the City of LA and West Hollywood (though the latter has some caveats) and is illegal in LA County, Santa Monica and Inglewood.

Whenever I ride my bike in pedestrian areas I am very careful and always call out when approaching a pedestrian from the rear. I most often ride on a bike/hiking trail which sees a lot of bicyclists and pedestrians (including a LOT of students going to and from area schools). When I pass someone I most often call out as I'm approaching "Passing on your left!" or something similar so they not only know that I'm passing but on what side. I also keep my speed down when there are a lot of pedestrians around. My bike can go decently fast but I save the speed for lower traffic areas.

I believe in Florida it's the law that you make an audible noise, whether it be a bell or whatever, before you pass a pedestrian on a bicycle.

DonutGoddess wrote:... before you pass a pedestrian on a bicycle.

If you pass a pedestrian on a bicycle then the pedestrian is no longer a pedestrian because he's on a bicycle. ;)