When you’re at the “happiest place on earth” aka Walt Disney World, it’s somewhere that should allow you to forget your troubles, be carefree, and be friendly with all of those people around you. Unfortunately, many people seem to forget that and end up bring their surliness into the parks and pushing it out toward everyone else.
Now, there are ways to make people miserable at Walt Disney World, and obviously, those reasons are tongue-in-cheek “don’t do them.”
On the other hand, there are things that you may do at Walt Disney World that are polite, normal, routine, or even instructed that could end up truly aggravating others around you. Yes, there are the guests that are simply determined to be in a bad mood and these are the five polite things that will bother a great number of people in the Disney Parks.
1.) Walk to the open side of the quick-service cash register
A lot of people don’t realize this, and they probably won’t remember it either. Most quick-service cash registers in Walt Disney World have two sides. Cast Members alternate back and forth between the left and rights sides, but they are not required to advise you both sides are open. Makes sense considering they have to ring up all guests, no matter where they stand.
The dirty looks you will get when walking up to an empty side while 14 people stand in line on the other, and the CM helps you next…well, they’re phenomenal.
2.) Fill in all the available space in a queue line
Most of the time, this request will come from Cast Members who see guests standing in single-file lines while the queue line is actually a big open space. You can take it upon yourself to walk past those in single-file and fill in “all available space,” but be prepared for cold stares and even those that will attempt to block your path.
3.) Saying “excuse me” or “pardon me” when someone comes to a dead stop in front of you
Time and time again, we here at Doctor Disney have spoken of not stopping in the middle of a walkway. It’s going to happen though, and some will just never learn that stepping out of the way before stopping will prevent busted ankles, knocking someone down, and causing a traffic jam.
Should someone still stop in front of you, be prepared to get eye-daggers shot at you for using your manners and saying “excuse me” or “pardon me.” Kindly asking them for right of passage is obviously the most horrific thing you could ever do.
4.) Offering advice or directions
When walking around Walt Disney World, you’re bound to see other guests looking confused or holding a map out in front of them. You may even overhear them wondering what one restaurant serves and if it is worth the money. If you’re a Disney-aficionado or simply want to perform a “Good Samaritan” deed, then it is urged that you do so.
Just don’t always expect gratitude. Some people will be gracious for your help, but there are many guests that will look at you as if you’re Maleficent in dragon form and how dare you direct them to the Country Bear Jamboree since they thought it was in Tomorrowland.
5.) Moving all the way down to the end of a row
Cast Members are going to instruct you to move to the end of a row in all theaters. Some days, they may just tell you to move three-fourths of the way down. Still, there will always be those that stop dead center, have a seat, and act as if all is fantastic on that magical day. Knowing that there are 57 people coming in the row behind you, you realize that you need to step over the row-stoppers and keep moving down.
Be careful about jostling them or getting too close or perish the thought…stepping on their feet. They will stare you down, get angry with you, and possibly even curse you because you need to be more observant as to where they are sitting, but shouldn’t be sitting.
LOL ~ Great post! We’ve experienced every single one of these!
I have too, although I have sweetly said to those who sit in the middle, you need to move to the end. The cast members will not let you stay there. Oh the daggers I have received, especially when the CM says it right after I do. LOL
Yep. We had an aggressive man tell us off because we somehow ended up in front of him during the queue changes at Test Track in Epcot. After trying to explain to him that we didn’t intentionally try to “cut” in front of him and that we actually couldn’t memorize who was in what order before going into the area, he still would not move ahead of us to get with his daughter even though we offered multiple times. He then proceeded to cause a scene at the loading area because he had joined the single person line and his daughter wanted to ride with him. Many tears later, on her part, we were off on our Test Track and never saw him again. Thank goodness. I’ve been to Disney 14 times with my 14 year old, and I just try not to sweat the small stuff.
I find a humorous way to tell someone who calls WDW “the happiest place on earth” that “the happiest place on earth” is Disneyland. WDW is “the most magical place on earth”.