An increase of phones/texting on rides?

[Mendelson]

Just since the last time we went (a few years ago), the prevalence of phones for picture-taking and texting has increased a lot. Have any of you been running into being distubed (primarily from the light of it, I guess I mean) by someone having their phone out during parts of a ride? Just curious how this has spiked since the last time we went, when I don't recall it being an issue. Are there extra announcements aimed at this in loading areas?

[DawsonAR]

A couple of years ago, I was on ToT and a girl talked to her friend on the phone during the whole ride. it was quite distracting.

[medic9016]

It has got really bad. We had a lady sitting behind us on IASW, talking on her phone. She ask can you hear me, several times. I turned around and answered her question. I said yes we can all hear you. My DW was so embarrassed.

[chrisb26]

It is pretty sad that people can't even last the 5 minutes a ride is to refrain from using their phones. I mean they have the entire line where they can talk on their phones and text just be polite and give us our 5 minutes to enjoy the ride with out you talking or lighting up the area with your phone.

But unfortunately people are not always considerate.

[kemps@wdw]

It has got really bad. We had a lady sitting behind us on IASW, talking on her phone. She ask can you hear me, several times. I turned around and answered her question. I said yes we can all hear you. My DW was so embarrassed.

How funny :funny: and an absolutely appropriate response. DW shouldn't be embarrassed...only amused! I totally agree as far as annoying phone coversations on the attractions go, but as the mom of a teenage girl, I know that this is something that simply is! We do have rules about phone calls on rides, but we like having availble contact w/her at all times. Plus she uses the camera on the phone as well, and we have no problem w/this. I must say, in all fairness to the young people, that I see as many "older folk" using their phones on the attractions as the youngsters. Unfortunately, not everyone possesses common courtesy and manners,even @ the "Happiest Place on Earth"...how sad!:(

[LauraF]

It has got really bad. We had a lady sitting behind us on IASW, talking on her phone. She ask can you hear me, several times. I turned around and answered her question. I said yes we can all hear you. My DW was so embarrassed.
Yeah, sounds like something I'd say. :thedolls:

I understand needing to stay in touch with your family or friends, but there is a proper time and place.

[DisneyFr33k]

I saw a group get of Rockin Roller Coaster and they ran up to the televisions with the pictures they post to sell and took a picture of it with their cell phone - right in front of a CM! The CM did nothing.

[Imagineer1981]

People really should have the manners to turn there phones to vibrate in shows and to hang up on attractions. Are you at WDW to talk or to have fun?

[Seasonscraps]

This is EVERYWHERE not just Disney. I don't get it but then I don't want to be "connected" 24/7.

[ThanxForNoticin]

This is EVERYWHERE not just Disney. I don't get it but then I don't want to be "connected" 24/7.

Good observation. I agree 100%. It's just a different time and a different generation. Personally, I don't view the camera part of the phone any differently than a regular camera - it's hard to find any family at the parks without a still or video camera. But the need to talk or text on attractions is beyond me. Also, when in a show or movie, there is no need to have the phone on anything more than vibrate. I'm sure they'll leave a message.....

[Simba's Mom]

Oh, yes-we've really encountered that a lot. And it's so annoying! One time we were on the new Journey Into Imagination (or whatever it's called now) and a guy who was sitting alone on the ride spent the whole ride talking very loudly on his cell phone conducting business. Why did he even go on the ride? He didn't even have anyone who dragged him unwillingly-he went on it alone, then didn't pay any attention. And one time a woman (also alone) sat behind us at the Beauty and the Beast show, pulled out her cell phone and talked to her friends-again, loudly. That is, she did until the person next to me told her to leave if she was going to talk on her cell phone. And lots of cell phone pictures, although I admit I took a picture of the Tree of Life with my cell phone so that it could be my backround whenever I turn on my cell phone.

[tinkerbellybutton]

It has got really bad. We had a lady sitting behind us on IASW, talking on her phone. She ask can you hear me, several times. I turned around and answered her question. I said yes we can all hear you. My DW was so embarrassed.

OK, so that is just too funny! Nice quick thinking on your part! :thumbsup:
Everyone in our family has cell phones and I agree it's nice to have a way to keep in touch in the parks but we have rules and if they are not followed then you don't get to keep your phone while we're there. The biggest thing with our family is, keep it on vibrate and whoever calls will be called back ONLY when we are out of the attraction or off the ride. We don't even take the phones out until we are outside again. The only exception we have to that rule is if there is an actual emergency, in that case whoever has the emergency calls, waits for voicemail, hangs up and then calls right back. If we get 2 calls in a row we know to leave the attraction. None of us have had to do that yet (thank goodness) but we have it in place just in case.

[handmaidenofprincesses]

I just don't get this constant connection obsession. :down: There was a girl on HM last summer who talked on her phone through the whole of the stretching room and then texted through the rest of the ride (she was in the doombuggy in front of mine).:call: It drove me nuts! :rolleyes:Of all the rides in the World, HM is the last one you want ppl adding even a little bit of light to. The reflection of it totally ruined the Mme Leota scene, I was irritated..:mad:

It's certainly not just at Disney though.. it amazes me at school.. girls will sit in class:teach: and text each other from across the room. I just want to say to them "You're paying $38,000 a year to go here, don't you have anything better to do than text each other?!?!?!"

[zebradome17]

I was on ToT once and one guy was on his phone as we were going up to the scene where you see the ghosts in the corridor. As soon as the elevator started moving he said 'gotta go bye!' so fast I couldn't help but laugh. That time it wasn't distracting, it was just funny.:call:

[jwallace378]

In my opinion, when you are going on vacation (especially WDW), you should leave all of your cell phones, laptops, etc...all at home. We all survived for decades without cellphones, PDAs, and laptops. Can't we let them go for a week long vacation? I love leaving the phone at home while in WDW!!

[disneylovinmom]

This is an epidemic everywhere. Remember the good ole days when we did just fine not having cell phones. On another note, be careful on the safari ride at AK. My husband was not on his phone at all, it was in his "holster" thing on his hip and the ride is so bumpy and bouncy that it bounced right out and he had to go back to find it.:blush:

[FenwayGirl]

I lock my cell phone up in the wall safe when I go into the parks. I do not want to be in contact with the outside world. Unfortunately, on my last trip,,,,my 30 year old daughter and my 25 year old son spend way tooo much time texting and talking. I was ready to dump both of the phones in the fountain in EPCOT>

I don't know about anyone else, but I go to Disney to get away...

[Kenny1113]

In my opinion, when you are going on vacation (especially WDW), you should leave all of your cell phones, laptops, etc...all at home. We all survived for decades without cellphones, PDAs, and laptops. Can't we let them go for a week long vacation? I love leaving the phone at home while in WDW!!

This is what I LOVED:cloud9: about being on the DCL. We locked our phones in the safe the entire time! Unfortuately cannot do it for WDW.

[pink]

A couple of years ago, I was on ToT and a girl talked to her friend on the phone during the whole ride. it was quite distracting.

Haha, I can't imagine how that would work. The person on the other end of the call must be deaf by now from all the screaming.


We locked our phones in the safe the entire time! Unfortuately cannot do it for WDW.

We do the same thing.


I just don't get this constant connection obsession. There was a girl on HM last summer who talked on her phone through the whole of the stretching room and then texted through the rest of the ride (she was in the doombuggy in front of mine). It drove me nuts! Of all the rides in the World, HM is the last one you want ppl adding even a little bit of light to. The reflection of it totally ruined the Mme Leota scene, I was irritated..

It's certainly not just at Disney though.. it amazes me at school.. girls will sit in class and text each other from across the room. I just want to say to them "You're paying $38,000 a year to go here, don't you have anything better to do than text each other?!?!?!"

That bugs me to no end. You're rarely in WDW riding some of the greatest rides but you would rather text your friend who you could talk to any old time? That's just wierd to me. Someone also ruined my Madam Leota part for us too. They must have taken 10+ pictures just in that part and ruined the whole effect. :mickey:

[mainemajor]

It has got really bad. We had a lady sitting behind us on IASW, talking on her phone. She ask can you hear me, several times. I turned around and answered her question. I said yes we can all hear you. My DW was so embarrassed.

Sorry for your DW, but I bet everyone else appreciated you.

[Bringonthemouse!]

In my opinion, when you are going on vacation (especially WDW), you should leave all of your cell phones, laptops, etc...all at home. We all survived for decades without cellphones, PDAs, and laptops. Can't we let them go for a week long vacation? I love leaving the phone at home while in WDW!!

:ditto:
Our phones stay at home while we are on vacation. The only people I want to hear from while at WDW are the people in my family who I am vacationing with!! The outside world definately gets left behind.
I agree with the OP, phones/texting are becoming a huge distraction, especially on dark rides.

[rmsongs]

It seems like this is just an extension of the "me, me, me" mentality that is so pervasive these days. Most folks seem to think they're just more important than everyone else. I carry my phone all the time in case of emergencies. On our last trip, in '06, we were on the Backlot Tour when my phone rang. It was my parents telling me that they were at my house to take the dog out for a bit and there was an emergency there. Even though it was obviously a good reason for a phone call, I was mortified. Luckily, we were stopped for some reason and the CM had gotten off the tram to see what the delay was. I would have felt even worse if he was talking at the time.

I've posted in threads about the worsening behavior of people, even at Disney. Unfortunately, it's a sign of the times. People are just oblivious to others. Most of them wouldn't even get it if you asked them to hang up so you could enjoy the ride.

[WeLuvBuzz]

For work purposes DH has to have his phone on at all times. Yes, I wish we could lock it in the room, but unlike the old days where 10 people did a job now there are 3 because of all the technology advances. He does keep it on vibrate and does not answer it during rides. They know he is on vacation and only calls during an emergency. Unfortunately most of his calls are from China so they tend to call between 10pm and 12pm our time.

[Marker]

Yes, I will agree that more and more people, of all ages, are using phones at "interesting" moments. Some of those moments are indeed an inappropriate time. However, a large percentage of those moments are not particularly inappropriate. That fact that we are "annoyed" is perhaps simply because we allow ourselves to be annoyed, or even that we want to be annoyed just so there will be something (else) to complain about.

Just because it's not something we would do, or "I don't get it", doesn't make it wrong or inappropriate. It's just something different.
I'm sure there's plenty of stuff that we all do that other people "just don't get".

My thought... relax, let it go, after all it's vacation. A little tolerance goes a long way.

But I could be wrong.

[Renfairwedding]

Yes, I will agree that more and more people, of all ages, are using phones at "interesting" moments. Some of those moments are indeed an inappropriate time. However, a large percentage of those moments are not particularly inappropriate. That fact that we are "annoyed" is perhaps simply because we allow ourselves to be annoyed, or even that we want to be annoyed just so there will be something (else) to complain about.

Just because it's not something we would do, or "I don't get it", doesn't make it wrong or inappropriate. It's just something different.
I'm sure there's plenty of stuff that we all do that other people "just don't get".

My thought... relax, let it go, after all it's vacation. A little tolerance goes a long way.

But I could be wrong.

Any time in the ride or show is never the right moment. A true emergancy maybe. Need to make a call or text just get up and leave the atraction and return when you can give your attention to the show/ride without disturbing the people around you. Tolerance dose go a long way but so dose consideration on the phone users part.

[Simba's Mom]

For work purposes DH has to have his phone on at all times. Yes, I wish we could lock it in the room, but unlike the old days where 10 people did a job now there are 3 because of all the technology advances. He does keep it on vibrate and does not answer it during rides. They know he is on vacation and only calls during an emergency. Unfortunately most of his calls are from China so they tend to call between 10pm and 12pm our time.

Same with my DH (and he calls China every month!)-he has to have the company phone with him and on always. One time he did get a call while he was in line for EE, but rather than carry on a loud and lengthy conversation, he said he'd call back AFTER the ride, at which time he went to a quiet place, under a tree, away from everyone else.

[Seasonscraps]

Yes, I will agree that more and more people, of all ages, are using phones at "interesting" moments. Some of those moments are indeed an inappropriate time. However, a large percentage of those moments are not particularly inappropriate. That fact that we are "annoyed" is perhaps simply because we allow ourselves to be annoyed, or even that we want to be annoyed just so there will be something (else) to complain about.

Just because it's not something we would do, or "I don't get it", doesn't make it wrong or inappropriate. It's just something different.
I'm sure there's plenty of stuff that we all do that other people "just don't get".

My thought... relax, let it go, after all it's vacation. A little tolerance goes a long way.

But I could be wrong.

I agree with you -- I long ago accepted that fact that some people need/want to be in constant contact with other people 24/7. That we got along fine without cell phones and PDAs is a non-issue. They are here now and they aren't going anywhere.

It used to bug me but got me nowhere since they were still chatting away. :-) I'd love to see more consideration (phones ringing in shows, church, movie theaters, etc) but there's still nothing I can do about what other people do, only how I react to them.

[joonyer]

Since I am a judge I get to enjoy one cell phone-free place on earth, my courtroom. No cell phones allowed inside at all, period, no exceptions.

I can't believe the rudeness (or air-headedness) of many cellphone users. It absolutely amazes me that people bring them into church without silencing the ringer. If I was the pastor I'd start every sermon by telling everyone to get out their phones and turn them off. If you don't know how to turn it off, you should leave it in your car.

Given that people see nothing wrong with bringing them into church, I shouldn't be surprised that they use them in any other situation. Even in public bathroom stalls, amazing. If the cellphone network infrastructure were to crash, even temporarily, I'd guess the world would really go in to panic.
"Oh my god, I can't make/take a call . . What will I do?"

[Tinkerbellaella]

This really bothers me when they are on the ride. When we are in line sometimes it is funny to listen in on their business. The screen light on the dark ride is very annoying. Everything can wait for the 5 minute ride. Even if it was an emergency you can't do anything but wait for the ride to be over.

We carry our cell phones in the park. It is a great way to stay in contact with your party. Especially when you are the one camped out waiting for the parade or fireworks. As long as you understand the right place and the wrong place to use them I see no problem with it. Of course if work calls it gets ignored!

I have noticed more and more people taking pictures on the rides with their cell phone or digital camera. That screen light followed by the flash just ruins the special effects created by the darkness of the ride.

[goofygirl67]

I go to WDW to escape the outside world. My cell phone stays in the room when I go to the park and I will check it every so often if someone left me a message.
My vacation time is for me and not for someone who wants to call me about work or home.