Disney Pet Peeve -- Looking Out For Number One!

Welcome to those of you joining me from MY DREAMS OF DISNEY and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the 4th stop on our Magical Blogorail!

This month the Teal Loop is blogging about our DISNEY PET PEEVES which, at first, appears as though it would be an incredibly easy subject to embrace.  After all, it’s darn near impossible to spend a week or more vacationing anywhere – even at a Disney resort -- without experiencing some sort of irritation or annoyance, right?

I recently spent ten days at Walt Disney World with my son and yes, I did experience a few things that perturbed me. So – where to do I begin? Shall I start with the family entering the MuppetVision 3D theater who plopped themselves down in the center of the row, forcing us to step over them? Or perhaps the woman who situated herself front row, center, to watch the Castle forecourt show and continued to stand after the show started, despite the fact that she blocked the view of dozens of people were sitting on the ground behind her? (As you can surmise, I was one of them!)

Both of these situations annoyed me at the time but upon reflection can I say that either truly qualifies as a “pet peeve?”

I’m not sure.

A ‘pet peeve’ is something which particularly irritates someone, usually, a specific action or behavior…which is not terribly important in the long term, but for some reason is perceived as extremely irritating. ~ wiseGEEK.com ~

I seem to stumble upon the part that refers to the behavior as not terribly important in the long run. Treating others with consideration is always terribly important! But I suppose if I had to choose I would say that the first example – the center row squatters – gives me more cause to be peevish and I’ll tell you why:

The lady who blocked everyone’s view (and photos) at the Castle Show could be seen as being inconsiderate – but she could simply have been clueless. Perhaps she was so distracted by Mickey and Minnie and Co. that she wasn’t aware there were people still sitting behind her. Perhaps she assumed everyone else would stand up once the show began. Or perhaps she just didn’t care; I really couldn’t say. But since there’s no way to get inside her head, I have to give her the benefit of the doubt.

The center row squatters, on the other hand, cannot be given the same benefit. Every show at Disney is accompanied by standard pre-show announcements: No eating, drinking, smoking or flash photography. Please move all the way down to the end of the row. Please do not stop in the center, it causes a safety hazard when others have to step over you.

There. Now there’s no doubt. If you didn’t realize on your own that your behavior was not only inconsiderate but unsafe, Disney has now told you so in plain English (and sometimes in Spanish as well!)

Is it terribly important in the long run if a family stops in the center of the row? One could argue that it isn’t, really. But I will argue that it is. These parents are setting an example for their children:  The rules don’t apply to me. Just look out for Number One; screw everyone else! That’s not only irritating, it’s just plain wrong.

“A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference.”

~ Winnie the Pooh ~

Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is CAPTURING MAGICAL MEMORIES.

*Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:


1^st Stop ~ The World of Deej

2^nd Stop ~  YourFirstVisit.Net

3^rd Stop ~ My Dreams of Disney

4^th Stop ~ The Many Adventures of a Disney-Lovin’ Spectrum Mom

Final Stop ~ Capturing Magical Memories