Even Though We Love It . . .

Since I am experiencing the post-Disney blues, I thought I would get the crabbies out by citing the pet peeves or things that make you go "grrrr" at Disney, even though we love being there.

1. Stoppers--these are the folks that are in the middle of a high traffic area and decide to stop. Yep, just stop. No warning, no brake light, no beeping sound as a warning like you might find on a large truck, just stopping. This typically happens in groups of 3 or more. OK, maybe one or two people stop too, sometimes, but it is really noticeable in groups of 3 or more. This can also happen at an entrance to an attraction. See #4.
2. Far away picture takers--these are the folks that have yet to learn the zoom settings on their camera so they move as far away as possible to take a photo and therefore either block high traffic areas OR divert walking traffic OR get random people in their photo. Smile!
3. "Huh? ers"--these are people so caught up in Disney magic that they may not be listening. This may or may not be people in your traveling party.
4. I/We can't decide-ers--these are people who either don't know what they are going to do or can't decide. This usually involves a small group huddle around a park map or times guide and can be combined with stopping (see #1). This can also happen at an attraction entrance or any entrance to a queue or when ordering food at a counter service restaurant or snack counter.
5. The flash photo even though I'm not supposed to--er's--these folks will take flash photos even though they have been told and reminded not to. Not only do they risk serious reprimand at the parks, but they are potentially ruining the magic/moments for the rest of us. Imagine being on the Nemo and Friends attraction at EPCOT and the people in the clam mobile ahead of you are flashing away. While I am a proponent of photo taking, there is a time and place. My advice, be in the moment--that photo probably won't turn out anyway.
6. Along the same lines of #5 are the I'm going to use glowing technology anytime--er's. These folks have the art of using glowing technology down to a science whether it is a camcorder or multifunction phone. We were sitting in Mickey's PhilharMagic while the person in front of us must have been texting or tweeting or. . . whatevering. Anyway, the effect of the glowing screen certainly distracted us from the show. Let's save the social media for another time and play with the ones who brought you. While watching Wishes, the fireworks spectacular at the Magic Kingdom, I have seen the sea of people turn into a sea of glowing LCD screens when people attempted to capture the moment on film or video. The fireworks were amazing and so was the scene of people, faces aglow watching the fireworks on little screens. Personally, I want the full affect of watching the fireworks in the night sky. And, do the people taking all that video actually have time to watch it?
7. The either I can't see a line or commit to a line--er's--these folks are often oblivious to lines or queues that can happen without ropes or metal bars. For example, often characters have lines or queues that are not marked with ropes or metal bars. Or bus lines that run beyond the queue can have lines. Food courts can also have unmarked lines. I lumped this with the I can't commit to a line category as I saw this happen in front of me at our resort food court. A lovely couple was trying to decide what to have for breakfast (see #4) as there are different counters for different types of breakfast food. So, the lovely couple meanders ever so close to the end of the line for one of the counters. Still a significant gap exists between them and others in the line. Now at this point, I am right behind the lovely couple still browsing the signs above. I am sensing hesitation, so I ask if they are in the line and receive an affirmative answer. Within seconds, a mom with two youngsters in tow are now in the line in the gap between the lovely couple and the others in line. The woman looks at her man as if to say "do something, these people have just moved in front of us in line." I comment, "that's why it is important to commit to the line." The man responds that he thought he was being polite to leave a gap so that others in the food court had room to maneuver. The mother and youngsters soon realize they have indeed budged into a line and move back. The lovely couple then move closer to the others in line and reduce the gap. Oh, there's another story about not being able to decide (again, see #4) as I overhead the mom trying to get her two youngsters to pick their breakfast food. In this particular food counter, there were 3 adult choices and only 2 children's choices. At this point, I would say it would be OK for mom to decide.

I am going to include those that may deliberately try to circumvent a line into this category with the positive presupposition that they were just oblivious to the line. We saw folks attempt this at various attractions. Let's just say that the husband and I can take up some space in the line and have a "presence" so that the youngsters trying to go around us at Maelstrom, were not successful.

OK, I'm smiling again. Writing about the pet peeves did get the crabbies out as we experience the post-Disney blues. It's back to school and work tomorrow. Hey, I know, I'll play the Four Parks-One World CD and conjure up some happy Disney memories, because as you know, we love it there!