Seven Dwarfs Loading - Bizarre Things

[KyleAfterAWhile]

I know these lines get long and they need to move people along, etc. I get all of that, but I think Disney needs to rethink sitting people with strangers. I can see altercations and lawsuits coming out of this with just the right person. Does this kind of stuff happen frequently or did we just get "those people"?

Last time I was in Disney was right after this was built. The family went back to the hotel and I stayed for the rest of the party. I was in line for the ride and told them it was just me. I was sat with a kid about 5 years old who was scared out of his mind. I was trying to talk to him so he would not be so scared and his parents went ballistic because I am a stranger. I totally understood that. I apologized and told them I was just trying to help him not be scared. When the ride was over, we got off and right after you exit, his dad got about 6 inches from my face, dropped a 4 letter word several times and told me to find my own children to coddle.

My sister was in Disney last week (so rude, she went solo for 3 days) and had two awkward experiences on this ride. Both times while loading, she was placed on with a child she did not know.

First ride, child is about 7 - 9. Child kept turning around to see his parents in the row behind him and at some point, the child managed to hit his face on something. His mouth started bleeding. My sister had no idea what happened. She said it was after going through the mine, close to the end. Child starts crying. She looks over to ask him if he is okay and the parents from behind start yelling at my sister, "what did you do to him?" When the ride was over the mom was glaring at my sister and my sister told her she did not do anything to the boy, but he kept trying to turn around and he hurt himself. The mother was threatening to cause my sister bodily harm (whip her bottom, so to speak) and said she was going to call the cops on her. My sister asked her if she needed to use her phone. LOL Anyhow, the father pulled the mother away and that was the end of that.

Second ride, child between 10 - 12. My sister said she was talkative, lots of energy. She said the girl seemed real sweet, but after the last ordeal, she was hugging her side of the ride and not talking to her much. She said when they got off, a woman the girl called "aunt XXXX" got in my sister's face and asked her if she had something against xxxxxx people (listing an ethnicity/classification). My sister told her 'not at all' and asked the lady not to take it personal. My sister tried to explain about her experience earlier in the day and the woman was calling her some names. My sister just said, "I am sorry if I have offended you somehow, that was not my intent. Have a magical day" and she turned and walked away. This lady started following her around for about 10 minutes. My sister finally turned and looked at the woman and said, "can I help you with something?" and the other guest told her she was going to whip her (backside) and she was just trying to find the right place. My sister told her to "begone" or she will have security involved so they can escort her out of the park for harassment. The other guest got about 3 inches from my sister and said, "you better watch your back" and she walked away. A CM saw that one and asked my sister what was going on. She told the CM and said security was called in that situation, but my sister did not stick around to find out what happened. She had a ride to catch.

 

[LSUmiss]

While I have never had these type of experiences, I always found it strange that this ride could make you ride with strangers in such close quarters. To me they should have a single ride line & then if you're in that line, you know the risk you're taking. I also find it strange that parents would put their young children alone with a stranger & ride together vs one parent riding with the child!

 

[ucfknight]

I also find it strange that parents would put their young children alone with a stranger & ride together vs one parent riding with the child!

Yes. Very strange indeed. I don't think I've ever seen such a thing as a 5 year old riding in a row alone with parents sitting separately. And I go to Disney World on average 4 or 5 days per month. This poster claims it happened 3 times in 3 rides (between 2 people) and all 3 led to altercations?

 

[Lesley Wake]

That is just weird-I've never heard stories about those sorts of things.

I ride single rider a lot (albeit at Disneyland) and often have great experiences. Most of the time we just nod at each other and don't interact for the rest of the ride. But sometimes, when appropriate, I'll give tips (i.e. a single guy who did standby for Screamin, I told him where the Single Rider line was and what other rides had it; another family on Racers, I told them to make sure to go on at night; and on Splash Mtn, I took a photo of the rest of the log from my view at the back, so everyone could get in the shot).

 

[StraightToDumbo]

Remember, however, that a lot of kids want to ride alone. My 8 year-old son loves riding "on his own". Of course in this situation it could be that the parents didn't realize they would put someone else in the car with them.

I think the two situations experienced are extreme situations. Don't be scared to be a single rider, 99.9% of the time it'll go fine. The other .1%? Just chalk it up as a bad experience and go directly to Space Mountain to feel better (and ride alone).

 

[bdcp]

DH doesn't ride roller coasters due to vertigo issues so I go alone. I use single rider when I can like on RNRC but have never had an issue. I've always sat with another adult. I can be pretty friendly and can and will talk to almost anyone, but a lot of the time the other person doesn't want to even make small talk but I don't take it personally. I wouldn't want to be seated with someone's child. Too many parents who react like the story above. I've seen it in several situations, including one where someone was trying to keep a child from getting hurt, but no good deed goes unpunished.

 

[avic77]

I could see all three situations happening. And I think I would refuse to be seated by a child I did not know. A parent should sit with a child if they are not obviously 14+ (the age your allowed to enter a park alone). The other parent can sit with a stranger.

 

[avic77]

Now that said. I had a 12 yr old a 7 yr old and a 5 yr old and only 2 adults at one point. 12 yr old usually sat with 5 yr old and 7 yr old got mom or dad. the other parent went solo

 

[bryanb]

I worked at Disneyland for four years on attractions and have never witnessed anything like this. I'm really sorry to hear about such awful experiences between your sister's two rides and your ride. Now as an adult, I also have no interest in being seated with someone's child and these stories validate such fears. But I've had no issues yet and would like to think they're still rare. Hopefully, its just really bad luck and not a sign of the times!

 

[CarrieR]

How odd. I've ridden the ride about a billion times - typically in odd-numbered groups - and never has an issue. I'm sorry it's been so dramatic for your family!

 

[china mom]

I could see all three situations happening. And I think I would refuse to be seated by a child I did not know. A parent should sit with a child if they are not obviously 14+ (the age your allowed to enter a park alone). The other parent can sit with a stranger.

Agreed with one small exception. They can ride alone at age 7 and I'm sure as heck not riding some of those rides.

 

[stinkpickle]

Do any of your family members have the ironic nickname "Lucky"?

 

[Simba's Mom]

I wonder if this is some new policy by Disney? I've been on at least a dozen solo trips, so many rides, and yet I've never been seated with a stranger. I've always had the entire ride vehicle to myself. Frankly, on some rides, with long lines, I've gotten some very dirty looks from other guests that I "wasted" a spot. But, hey, that's how I was directed. I figured then that it was Disney's policy to do that because it was safer for the lone female guest (yes, I know-any guest, male or female). Imagine if they gave the second seat to someone else, and then I screamed that "that person tried to...." He said/she said. Not a smart move, I think, if they've changed their policy-I think it was better before.

 

[subtchr]

I agree with the others -- your family's experiences are very atypical.

I worked at an amusement park all through high school and college, and we always paired up solo riders. Our goal was to meet capacity every hour. It was never a big deal.

At WDW, I am usually touring on my own in the parks, while my groups are off having fun. I often end up sitting with others on 7DMT and Expedition Everest (where I use the single rider line). I enjoy chatting with guests who are receptive to it, both adults and kids. Maybe it's because I'm an innocuous looking grandmother, but I've never had an issue, and in fact often have parents thank me for riding with their kids.

It wasn't a ride, but when I was having a snack at the outside tables at Satu'li in AK one evening a couple weeks ago (pineapple lumpia -- SOOOO good!), a woman pushing a stroller with a sleeping 6 year-old, came to me and asked if they could share my table. I said of course they could, and she asked if she could leave the sleeping one and her older daughter, age 12, while she went to get food. The girl and I had a lovely conversation about their trip while we waited. I didn't think anything of it, and obviously neither did the mother! They were visiting from England, so we talked about where she lived, and what she had done on the trip up to that point. It was a lovely interaction.

 

[melanielll]

Mine Train puts strangers together all of the time. That's why the lines are numbered 1 and 2. Groups consisting of odd numbers of people go in the 1 line. Evens go in the 2 line. My husband often gets put with strangers - he is the odd one when there are just 3 of us.

He was seated with a child we didn't know on Mine Train last year. She cried the entire ride - which I know is short - but still. It's not good parenting to put your kid in that situation. If your kids outnumber the adults, pass on that ride.

 

[fbarker]

I worked at Disneyland for four years on attractions and have never witnessed anything like this. I'm really sorry to hear about such awful experiences between your sister's two rides and your ride. Now as an adult, I also have no interest in being seated with someone's child and these stories validate such fears. But I've had no issues yet and would like to think they're still rare. Hopefully, its just really bad luck and not a sign of the times!

I am so glad to see your post. As I read the OP i found it very strange but maybe something like this could happen once but three times. I don't want to doubt that this all happened but the odds seem to be really against it. I agree i hope this is just bad luck, if it really happened, and not a sign of the times.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I know these lines get long and they need to move people along, etc. I get all of that, but I think Disney needs to rethink sitting people with strangers. I can see altercations and lawsuits coming out of this with just the right person. Does this kind of stuff happen frequently or did we just get "those people"?

Last time I was in Disney was right after this was built. The family went back to the hotel and I stayed for the rest of the party. I was in line for the ride and told them it was just me. I was sat with a kid about 5 years old who was scared out of his mind. I was trying to talk to him so he would not be so scared and his parents went ballistic because I am a stranger. I totally understood that. I apologized and told them I was just trying to help him not be scared. When the ride was over, we got off and right after you exit, his dad got about 6 inches from my face, dropped a 4 letter word several times and told me to find my own children to coddle.

My sister was in Disney last week (so rude, she went solo for 3 days) and had two awkward experiences on this ride. Both times while loading, she was placed on with a child she did not know.

First ride, child is about 7 - 9. Child kept turning around to see his parents in the row behind him and at some point, the child managed to hit his face on something. His mouth started bleeding. My sister had no idea what happened. She said it was after going through the mine, close to the end. Child starts crying. She looks over to ask him if he is okay and the parents from behind start yelling at my sister, "what did you do to him?" When the ride was over the mom was glaring at my sister and my sister told her she did not do anything to the boy, but he kept trying to turn around and he hurt himself. The mother was threatening to cause my sister bodily harm (whip her bottom, so to speak) and said she was going to call the cops on her. My sister asked her if she needed to use her phone. LOL Anyhow, the father pulled the mother away and that was the end of that.

Second ride, child between 10 - 12. My sister said she was talkative, lots of energy. She said the girl seemed real sweet, but after the last ordeal, she was hugging her side of the ride and not talking to her much. She said when they got off, a woman the girl called "aunt XXXX" got in my sister's face and asked her if she had something against xxxxxx people (listing an ethnicity/classification). My sister told her 'not at all' and asked the lady not to take it personal. My sister tried to explain about her experience earlier in the day and the woman was calling her some names. My sister just said, "I am sorry if I have offended you somehow, that was not my intent. Have a magical day" and she turned and walked away. This lady started following her around for about 10 minutes. My sister finally turned and looked at the woman and said, "can I help you with something?" and the other guest told her she was going to whip her (backside) and she was just trying to find the right place. My sister told her to "begone" or she will have security involved so they can escort her out of the park for harassment. The other guest got about 3 inches from my sister and said, "you better watch your back" and she walked away. A CM saw that one and asked my sister what was going on. She told the CM and said security was called in that situation, but my sister did not stick around to find out what happened. She had a ride to catch.

Holy cow! I am glad to be able to say that nothing like this has ever happened to us in WDW. How awful.

Why exactly would parents place their young child next to another adult, btw??

We travel as a group of 4 or 5, and some rides only 3 of us ride (ToT!). We just came back from our 20th trip. It feels a tad awkward sometimes, but we've never had anyone lose it on us! Hopefully this is really uncommon and you have unfortunately just had a string of bad luck.

 

[smallworldnh]

Yes. Very strange indeed. I don't think I've ever seen such a thing as a 5 year old riding in a row alone with parents sitting separately. And I go to Disney World on average 4 or 5 days per month. This poster claims it happened 3 times in 3 rides (between 2 people) and all 3 led to altercations?

Exactly, if that were me - I would sit with my child while my companion or whatever sat alone. That's awful how OP was treated. People are just so awful these days.

 

[Bob Dolewhip]

My dad was seated with an unknown kid on the mine train too and I thought it was weird. Nothing crazy happened like your situation, but I wondered why they would arrange it this way. I feel like it invites problems because people cannot behave properly in public.

 

[wdwlver]

It was 3 of us a couple weeks ago and twice one of us rode alone but third time they put some guy next to my son. Wasn't a big deal as my son is 19 but definitley could be weird if it were a young kid.