Recession? Not in WDW! But the Crowd BEHAVIOR is What was So Bad

[doodleboy]

I guess you are, then. If the person in front of me had gotten out of line to join her friend, they would have joined together at the END of the line, where the line jumper should have gone.

True if she had gotten out of line, they should have both gotten to the end of the line, but she didn't. Maybe it's a Chicago thing, but everyone I know does this, from all different walks of life.

As far as your chair/snowshoveling story - there are two big differences there, but legally you are still in the wrong. One difference is the work you put into shoveling the snow out of the space, which does give you first right to the spot - at least immediately. No one works to get a spot in a Disney line, except for running over other people, smashing small children, etc. Second, the spot is in front of your own home, an understandable reason for you to have some claim on the area. No one owns a spot in a Disney line or owns a Disney attraction except the Disney Corporation. However, legally, street parking is a public area, and anyone could move your chair and take the spot legally. Thinking that you can hold a public parking spot, especially if there is none other available, empty for hours on end is truly an example of "me-neess."

Sometimes unwritten rules exist that everyone just respects, and although I agree that legally someone could move the chair, nobody ever does. You can drive up and down the street for miles and all you see are chairs lined up forever. As long as we are all playing by the same rules it seems to work. I have had to park some distance from a friends house because everyone is saving their spots. Another example is saving space for parades. We have a couple of good sized parades, and it is not uncommon for someone to hold space for others joining them later. I also see this behavior at WDW, maybe all of these cutters and space savers are from my part of the country.

[masondoggy]

My last trip to Cedar point was last spring and I didn't encounter any bad behavior by guests. Actually, I enjoy the rope drop and "mad" run to the first attraction. I've never seen or even HEARD of anyone getting trappled at CP morning rope drop. (and for those who have never been there, running to an attraction is not breaking any rule at CP, according to guest services employee) It thins out the crowd nicely. Somehow CP guests know, that if your slow, you stay to the sides and let the faster people go ahead and clear out.
The next time your at Disney look at who will be at the front of the rope drop, A mom trying to drive two double strollers and 4 other kids on leashes, taking up the entire street. Listen close, she'll be saying "I just spent $3000 on this vacation I deserve to be first in line."
lol

I've been to CP more times than I can count and I don't ever remember any madness in the morning that I've seen described here. I don't even remember people running or anything like that. But the difference could be that park is HUGE (350+ acres I believe) and there are so many rides and attractions that everybody goes in different directions. I've noticed that lines have actually gotten shorter in recent years as they have added more coasters and that really spreads the thrill seekers through the park.

[dixielandings]

Yes Disney should be responsible for doing something. Crowd control comes with the territory whether they like it or not. Unless of course the want the news story with the Headline " Boy Trambled to Death attempting to ride Toy Story Attraction at WDW" Because the longer the wait to control this the worse it will get and the fictional headline above will become a reality.

Couldn't agree more!

The one time we went on Presidents' Weekend was hands-down the most crowded I've ever seen it, not to mention the COLDEST!

People - SOME people - are naturally...well, rude and selfish. The CMs are absolutely responsible for the safety and comfort of every guest! To hear that they were "cheering" on the mob headed to TSM is inexcusable!

And I like TSM, but really? What makes it so ... whatever it is to people? I've never known a new attraction to create this kind of...well, MANIA.

[Maleficent's Dad]

And I like TSM, but really? What makes it so ... whatever it is to people? I've never known a new attraction to create this kind of...well, MANIA.

The only time I've seen this type of craziness is when the subs returned to Disneyland in Anaheim.

[angyl15]

Just a quick note to everyone out there....not everyone from Chicago has the "save my spot" mentality.

[johnO]

Just a quick note to everyone out there....not everyone from Chicago has the "save my spot" mentality.

As a former Chicagoan, I second that.....

[AXOAlum]

My girlfriend is at the MK today and tomorrow, so I'm anxious to hear her report. We've been talking about this thread and the behaviors seen recently. I can only hope that we will be traveling with the most gracious of all Disney guests during our trip in a couple weeks

As for the line saving/cutting - there is a difference, IMO, in letting my 6yo sit and finish his lunch while I go save a place in line (not acceptable to me). BUT - I will say there have been times where we have been in line waiting, and the urge hits for him to go potty NOW. I have stood in line while DH takes him to the potty and brings him back when the line allows (i.e., not trampling over people to get out of line or back in line). I don't think this is wrong, and have seen others do it and graciously understood their dilemma.

I cannot, however, stand rudeness on anyone's part when they are either leaving or trying to catch back up to their party. You can be gracious and say "please excuse me" or "emergency bathroom trip - sorry" while leaving or rejoining a line.

[dumbo_buddy]

As a former Chicagoan, I second that.....

totally agree. i lived in chicago for 4 years and never came across people accepting cutting in line.

likes like saying everyone in the bronx lives in the ghetto (not me!)

[mrsgaribaldi]

We were in the world the week of Feb 8th and the crowds were not bad at all. They also kept us in line before we got to go to Toy Story.

[mjaclyn]

The only time I like to go right when the park opens is off season and I only go to the opening of MK for DD 2 1/2. We walk (not run) straight to Fantasyland and get in line for Dumbo first thing. We spend about an hour and a half in MK and by then we've gone on everything. I try to then sechedule a breakfast at CP and DD will usually nap afterwards so we do some of the more soothing attractions like TTA or COP. I still love Disney but I will never go during peak times. Even during off season we've encountered some very rude guests but this time without the crowd mentality because it's not that crowded. I definitely think Disney should do something about crowd control whether its peak season or not.

[epceddie]

All because of a stupid ride like TSM?

People should grow up. NO ride or attraction is worth that much trouble.

I'd be embarassed to behave like that. It's just a theme park people.

[Goofster]

My last trip to Cedar point was last spring and I didn't encounter any bad behavior by guests. Actually, I enjoy the rope drop and "mad" run to the first attraction. I've never seen or even HEARD of anyone getting trappled at CP morning rope drop. (and for those who have never been there, running to an attraction is not breaking any rule at CP, according to guest services employee) It thins out the crowd nicely. Somehow CP guests know, that if your slow, you stay to the sides and let the faster people go ahead and clear out.
The next time your at Disney look at who will be at the front of the rope drop, A mom trying to drive two double strollers and 4 other kids on leashes, taking up the entire street. Listen close, she'll be saying "I just spent $3000 on this vacation I deserve to be first in line."
lol

I usually go to Cedar Point once a year and the last time we encountered high levels of profanity in the lines, line jumping, smoking in the lines, unsupervised teenagers and highly inappropriate clothing for a "family" park. Granted, you will see this type of behavior more often in lines for their major coasters, but its still there...

[Young@Heart]

I'm sorry you experience such horrible behavior while you were on your vacation.

I know we had some similar experiences last summer, but I guess we've started to accept this as something we'll just have to deal with. We can't even take our kids to the park anymore without kids pushing them and being rude. And parents who either pay no attention to what's going on, or notice and don't care. So, of course, those parents are probably going to act the same way as their kids when in a similar situation.

There just seem to be way too many adults who were never taught manners.

[NewDVCowner]

It's so easy to focus on the negative when really there are a lot of good, non-pushy people at the parks too. Last summer I was at DL with my sister. We had pins on lanyards. This little boy, about three years old, came up to us because he'd found a pin on the ground and was just sure it was one of ours. We gave him an extra backing so he could go trade it for one he'd want with a CM. It was just very refreshing to see a kid trying to do the right thing. It's easy to get caught up with how horrible some people are. I think if we focus on the people that are being generous and are doing the right thing, we'd all be happier. Just my $0.02.

[goofygirl67]

I have always wondered if these rude and obnoxiuos people have ever worked in the service area. I have worked in the grocery business for 23 years and have noticed that alot of the same problems I see from customers at work. There have been many times a CM will apologize to me for the guest before's behavior.
I have more patience regarding these rude people since I see it everyday and by rule am not allowed to do anything about it. These days only the store manager can catch someone shoplifting and no one else.
When it comes to lines, if it's more than 20min or fast pass is not available it's no big deal.( I also live 2 hrs away). The only thing that may get on my nerve is smoking where it is not allowed (I'm allergic to the smoke) or those noisy tour groups/cheerleaders.
I try not to be there during rope drop, I usually stay late at night for EMH and don't make it to the parks till about 10am.
Overall most people do not bother me and I try to show consideration to others, especially CM's since I know what they go through.

[Toad_Passenger]

This isn't another comment about rude behaviors, but about the "Recession?" part of the title.

My parents are currently down and they, too, are finding the parks to be a LOT more crowded than in previous years, for comparable weeks.

It's hard to believe that we're hearing about "streamlining" and "cost-cutting" when it seems the people who go year-after-year are experiencing larger crowds than normal!

[cgriff]

Hi Toad_Passenger.

I sure wish we could find out some specific turnstile data, and data about how full the resorts are right now... It wouldn't surprise me to find out that the number of guests is actually lagging behind previous years figures. (Perhaps only a little, due to attractive vacation offers, or maybe more than a little). The larger crowds at the parks could be occuring by virtue of the cut-backs in park operation hours, essentially forcing everyone to be at the park at the same time.

[Gooftroop5]

We had more problems with the people we were with then the people around us. We were there the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

We sent my DH to get the FP for TSM while the rest of us finished breakfast. He said the cm were watching & if someone jumped a rope they were forced to go back in line & it was a lot farther back then they would've if they stayed in line. He said it was a little hectic but he didn't have any problems.

We didn't learn off a website either to try to get there first thing. We ran into someone while doing laundry & she gave us the heads up. She also said it could get wild so just send one adult with all the tickets. Dh followed the rules & ended up with earlier FP then some of the people that were trying to "bully" their way thru.

Needless to say we not only got initial FP for early in the day they were still available after we got off the ride.

The rest of the week was just fine. No problems with other people. That was our only day & experience with TSM & DHS that trip.

[Rogerwdwfan]

WOW I did not know things could be so crazy with the crowds during Christmas.

[SamG]

Hi Toad_Passenger.

I sure wish we could find out some specific turnstile data, and data about how full the resorts are right now... It wouldn't surprise me to find out that the number of guests is actually lagging behind previous years figures. (Perhaps only a little, due to attractive vacation offers, or maybe more than a little). The larger crowds at the parks could be occuring by virtue of the cut-backs in park operation hours, essentially forcing everyone to be at the park at the same time.

We checked into the Poly on 12/30... the "busiest week of the year, right?" NO problems for ANYTHING at the resort. A CM told me they were about 50% of capacity. The parks however...