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.
