Little Disneyland mishap with a friend.

[mich3554]

I wonder what it is about Disney that brings people like this out of the woodwork?

Several years ago, I was at Disneyland with a friend.  We were walking towards an area and there was a toddler running crazy.  Every time I shifted my direction, the child became on a collision course with me.  I guess I changed direction 3-4 times when I realized that I could not predict which way the child was going to run.  So I stepped aside and just stopped to wait for her to pass.

The child still ran full tilt into my legs and landed on her tail and started wailing.  I just shrugged my shoulders, stepped aside and let the parents deal.  Only problem was that they yelled at ME for running into their child....that I should have watched where I was walking!  Considering that I was not moving and had tried to move myself out of her path, I just stared at them and their gall.

I think that I just walked away.....there was no way I was going to engage that sort of crazy!  The friend with me who saw the whole situation just shook her head in amazement.

[Yvaine]

I wonder what it is about Disney that brings people like this out of the woodwork?

It's bigger crowds than most people are used to, and lots of overstimulation, combined with the idea that Disney is Tons! Of! Fun! All! The! Time! and if you're not having a blast every second you're there, something has gone wrong. In reality, it is a lot of fun but it's not utopia as the commercials might have you believe--there are still normal annoyances to deal with, and I think subconsciously some people don't expect that.

[gen xer]

Ugh.  That mother is one of those SS moms who is raising the next generation of SS kids.  It was an accident......no more, no less and to treat it as anything but was hysterical and rude.  Kids fall, they get banged up but so it goes.  I think it is actually a great disservice to teach children that that kind of behaviour is acceptable.

Of course there is nothing wrong with comforting a small child that got hurt - I would do the same - but that indignant mother bear response that unfortunately many mothers seem to feel justified in - totally obnoxious.  I don't know if I would have been able to be especially polite with her if I was treated in such a manner. 

[kherbert05]

I wonder what it is about Disney that brings people like this out of the woodwork?

It's bigger crowds than most people are used to, and lots of overstimulation, combined with the idea that Disney is Tons! Of! Fun! All! The! Time! and if you're not having a blast every second you're there, something has gone wrong. In reality, it is a lot of fun but it's not utopia as the commercials might have you believe--there are still normal annoyances to deal with, and I think subconsciously some people don't expect that.

I think this woman might also be the type that thinks that they shouldn't have to see disabled people in public. (Her Control your friend comment). My Mom used a cane to walk. She was at a fundraiser. There was a multileveled rock patio (Went down to a river). Two boys ran by her. One of them tripped over her cane and they both went sprawling. Their mom screamed at my Mom for being so careless. Thankfully the host or someone in charge of the event was near by and told the family to leave.

Mom was at fault 100%. To bad there was no security near by - because she should have been kicked out for screaming in your friend's face.

[VorFemme]

I'd call her a Rabid Mother Bear - she over-reacted to a normal situation with a toddler getting loose, running, and tripping over something (could have been her own feet at that age - or a gum wrapper).  Being a Mother Bear - she had to protect the child at all costs - being Rabid - she protected her child by biting everything in reach....and probably ended up causing more trauma to the child and the OP & her friend than she would have if she'd asked the little girl "are you hurt?" and "now you know why I say hold onto my hand!"

[mmswm]

Wow.  I'm almost speechless.

Even the most vigilant parents can have a child wiggle away in an environment like Disney. Those things sometimes happen, just like sometimes people run into each other.  Yelling at Rose, however, was unforgivably rude and obnoxious.

[jane7166]

I almost lost my ADULT DH and DD at DW one year when I stopped to look down at my map for a few seconds.  When I looked up, they were gone!  Swallowed up by the crowd.  I was lucky to find them a few minutes later. 

Disney may be the "happiest place on earth" but real life doesn't get suspended there.  You still have to watch your kids like a hawk.  That mom probably was one of those people whose children can do no wrong so your friend must be at fault.   Because if the child was "at fault," the parents are guilty of being bad parents and they can't deal with that.