What was the biggest Disney meltdown you've witnessed?

[carmelhp]

I have yet to witness anything catastrophic (thank goodness!) during my trips to Disney, but I'm curious to see what you may have unfortunately witnessed during your visits. It doesn't have to be a child meltdown, adults can throw down some ultimate ones as well!

In December, there was a guy ranting and raving at a small stand next to the lake in Epcot near the American pavillion. Two men, who I assume to be family members, were trying to calm him down as three white shirted Disney personnel were standing flanking the three in the middle. I don't know if the guy was drunk or having a mental break. Next, Disney security officers showed up then Fire-Rescue with a stretcher then finally two OCSO officers showed up. It ended with him being strapped in the stretcher and disappeared somewhere, presumably backstage.

 

[Jake Harkness]

I've only been to Disney twice, so the meltdown I witnessed was my own, although I still fully stand behind it.

I was on a field trip with my high school, and offered to hang back with someone's sister because neither of us were quite feeling the ride everyone else was on. I want to say Test Track? Either way we somehow ended up leaving Epcot (I think? It was so long ago.) by accident at one of the boats that went to the other resorts, and when we tried to go right back in we discovered that her park ticket was back with her brother. So we're standing there trying to call everyone and getting no one, and the park was about to close. (Mind you I was 14 and she was 12. Needless to say there wasn't much we could do outside of following the rules that were given to us.) The CM, who watched us just walk out of the park, refused to let us back in and was trying to tell us to take the boat to a different resort, then hop on the bus to DD, then hop on another bus to get back to ASMR. I really wish I could go back in time and watch this as a by stander because I went OFF on the poor CM. I was panicked that we were going to get lost or in trouble, and pissed at her brother because I generally hated his guts, and I just wanted to get back into the park that he just watched us leave and that would would have needed tickets to get into. SO I'm screaming at the top of my lungs about how we're on a field trip and we can't go to a different resort because we'll get in trouble. Sometime later someone else comes by, who must have been a manager so something, and let us back into the park. We booked it to the other entrance and just barely managed to get onto the same bus with our group. There was no freak out on the bus, but I made sure I told her mom and her brother got in trouble. Worth it.

 

[niffer5150]

last trip we were waiting at a bus stop at POR and the buses were being terribly slow. not a biggie for us but some family was there maybe 4 minutes after us, and the wife kept ranting and raving into her phone at customer service about how they'd been there for 45 minutes and no buses were showing up. she'd call them back every 5 minutes and give them a near hysterical earful. the small boy they had with them collapsed into a puddle onto the ground screaming and sobbing this is the WORST DAY EVER. he was utterly inconsolable, not that anyone tried to console him. mom was still screaming into her phone paying no mind to the kid weeping into the pavement and dad looked somewhere between embarrassed and furious and was standing as far away from the stop as he could. that ended up being the running joke of our trip. parade blocking your path? worst day ever! caught a whiff of horse apples while on main street? worst day ever. lost your spoon into the depths of your dole float? worst day ever! etc. in reality, it was maybe 20 minutes before the bus came.

 

[GatorChris]

After reading a bunch of these, I'm glad to hear that it's not just my kids who go nuts sometimes.

 

[DisneyQuest]

I think my family may have been the subject of someone's meltdown story...

My parents took me to Disneyland for my 9th birthday! Happiest place on earth, right? Perhaps not with a menopausal mother in extreme heat who is not known for her rational or calm demeanour. (But we still love her!)

We were eating lunch in the restaurant in POC, and unknown to me, my parents had arranged for the staff to bring out a cake and sing for me. Except I kept getting up and running to the washroom - why, I can't recall. The 5th or 6th time I returned to the table, my mother stood up and screamed "**** you" at me, and stormed out of the restaurant. My dad was horrified, and the waiters silently placed the cake on the table as I bawled my eyes out.

It was an exceptionally long and quiet 27 hour drive home....

 

[bearcat97]

We were at Disney Springs this past February when my son (8) threw himself on the floor at World of Disney because I asked the CM to send his new toy back to our resort so I wouldn't have to carry it all over creation for the rest of the day. She was very patient with the whole situation, and I was very appreciative, but then I had to run off because the boy got up when I was done signing everything and he RAN out of the store. My husband was with our daughter (also 8) at Starbucks and he saw me flying out of the store and chasing the boy down the street yelling for him to stop and for anyone to grab him because when he gets going, I can't catch him. At all. He got past some wall before I was able to catch him where he proceeded to bite me and kick me. My husband had caught up with us at this point and had to take over because I was in tears. More biting, kicking, and head butting ensued before we managed to get back to the bus stop. We went back to our resort in stony silence. We had planned to go to a park to eat that night, but we decided to see if we could get a reservation at Boma so we wouldn't have to leave the resort again. Thank goodness they had something because I really didn't want to eat at The Mara again (it's fine, but we ate there A LOT because the boy had several meltdowns over the course of the week, so we spent far more time at the resort than I'd planned... at least AKL is a nice place to stay).

In retrospect, I was probably trying too hard because not only was it our first trip to Disney, but it was our first family vacation without other family around to help with the twins (and since the boy has autism and SPD, it's useful to have that extra help). It wasn't terrible, but it was more crowded than I expected for February because our week was bookended by cheerleaders and dance teams. Next time we go, the twins will be a couple of years older and the boy will be better prepared for what awaits.

 

[cosmicmommy]

I don't know if it was an epic meltdown, but I certainly snapped on my cousin. I was 14 and had a lovely "friend" tag along for the journey. On our Animal Kingdom day, it was very much still a half-day park (Aug 1998) so we park-hopped over to MGM to ride Tower of Terror about 20 times... well, in the middle of our joy, I got a nasty surprise and realized I needed to go back to the hotel. I told him we needed to go back, trying to be discreet (thankfully I had a sweatshirt) and he was whining that he didn't want to leave. (We were both 14) I kept telling him there wasn't a choice in the matter (we were told we had to stay together) and he kept mouthing off, so I finally just stopped dead in the middle of Hollywood Blvd, smacked him upside the head and told him matter-of-factly "Shut up you selfish little brat. It will only take a few minutes for me to change my shorts and we can come right back." He has NEVER pushed me like that again since and that was 18 years ago...

 

[NJMomto2]

We had a deranged woman and her family stalk us. We heard this child really sobbing , her mother screaming in her face to shut the 'f' up. We glanced their way and deranged mother noticed and yells at us ' what the F.. Are you looking at, haven't you ever seen a kid cry before' my husband politely said no , it's not your child crying , it's the way you are acting. She counters with ' thats the F..ing way it's done in New Jersey' !!!!! She jumps up with her family , slams the crying kid into her umbrella stroller and the whole family runs at us! They followed us out of Magic Kingdom, onto the monorail, they were seething. This was before reality TV or we would have thought we were caught up in an episode. Poor New Jersey

I am crying I am laughing so hard as I sit here in NJ.

I saw numerous meltdowns last week in WDW and I was surprised as many moms were going off saying they hate this place etc and the dads would say "You are the one that wanted to come here". It was pretty funny and I never felt better about being divorced and a single mom than in those moments. I make my own plans and do what I want when I want

 

[winterwhite]

I lost it on my DH on this last trip two weeks ago.

Some background information:
1. It was 20 degrees hotter that week than the week before. We are from new England, where it had been in the low 60s before we left. At the time of this story, it was 94 degrees outside.

2. I hate being hot and sweaty.

3. My husband cannot plan anything to save his life. Nor can he commit to a plan he made 5 minutes before. We book nothing in advance at Disney, which annoys him because he expects to just be able to get whatever he wants when he decides he wants it, and he does not wait for restaurant tables etc, he will just eat somewhere else. We waste so much time with this behavior basically every day.

4. He is a marathon runner and long distance cyclist so to him walking 10 miles is fun. I disagree.

5. He tends to overreact when he feels guilty for inconveniencing someone with his indecision and start saying things like "I know I'm a terrible person" etc.

So it's around 11:30am. We have just come from Animal Kingdom because husband decided he wanted to see the tigers. We drove because I saw this situation coming. He decides he wants to ride Tower of Terror so we drive to HS, park, and are walking on the path towards the main gates. We are almost to the security line when he says to me "wait, can we take a boat to Epcot from here?"

I say "yes" while trying to sort out my bag because I have to carry his water, sunscreen, hat, etc like a pack mule.

So he says "I want to go to Epcot and get one of those sandwiches in France. Let's go now and leave the car here and come back for it."

I stop rifling through my bag opening pockets, envision the wait at the boat dock, the ride on the loop, getting off at IG, getting searched again, then waiting in line at Les Halles, not being able to find a table inside so sitting outside in 95 degree sun while he eats it, only to have him decide we should just go to test track while we are here.

I lost it.

I don't know verbatim what was said but it escalated to me saying that we never do ANYTHING I would like to do and he can't friggin commit to anything and I was going to call southwest and change my flight and just go home where there is friggin air conditioning. Meanwhile he is saying "I know I'm a terrible person, I'm really sorry, maybe we should just go home."

I forget what we ended up doing but it was not going to Epcot for a sandwich.

 

[disneyseniors]

Love this thread! I remember a meltdown while at Epcot waiting for Turtle Talk. We were in the preshow room and the first ones at the rope to enter. Another family of Mom, Dad, and 2 young children came and waited beside us. There was plenty of room.
Mom started fidgeting around, looking at the crowd behind us, the rope, etc. Then she states very loudly, "What is the use of a fast pass if they don't let you in right away. Why do we have to wait with a fast pass. This is ridiculous!!!" Then she led the way back out of the crowd.
I guess the Princess thought fast pass meant immediate entrance into whatever attraction there was. Guess she didn't realize that we had to wait for the theatre to empty before we got to go in. We went into the theatre within 5 minutes....

 

[Duckiedee]

We were pretty lucky. We didn't really see any. My daughter always gave out Disney Stickers if she saw upset kids and that really seemed to nip tears in the bud for some reason. She had a mini-meltdown in AK our second day of touring, but that was quickly solved with a change in plans to nap at the resort! LOL.

My DH thought it would be a wonderful plan to not wait for me at DTD one time because I was in the store and he was standing in the rain he took my daughter with him. He figured I would just 'figure it out.' I stood an hour in the rain looking for them and waiting for them. I finally called our room from the store. I seriously could have killed him and six-years later it still makes my blood boil. He'll NEVER do that again. I remember screaming at him in our hotel room several times "YOU NEVER LEAVE A MAN BEHIND!" (We're both military... LOL.)

 

[JPDtheJD]

I LOVE THIS THREAD!

 

[damskipi13]

We were pretty lucky. We didn't really see any. My daughter always gave out Disney Stickers if she saw upset kids and that really seemed to nip tears in the bud for some reason. She had a mini-meltdown in AK our second day of touring, but that was quickly solved with a change in plans to nap at the resort! LOL.

My DH thought it would be a wonderful plan to not wait for me at DTD one time because I was in the store and he was standing in the rain he took my daughter with him. He figured I would just 'figure it out.' I stood an hour in the rain looking for them and waiting for them. I finally called our room from the store. I seriously could have killed him and six-years later it still makes my blood boil. He'll NEVER do that again. I remember screaming at him in our hotel room several times "YOU NEVER LEAVE A MAN BEHIND!" (We're both military... LOL.)

Not a Disney meltdown but I am also military and this drives me crazy! I have repeated experiences with military friends when one person got dangerously drunk and the others decided they didn't want to deal with it so they left the person behind. I don't mean they left them at home, I mean literally leaving falling down drunk people in the street (and once in a back alley). They could have drowned in their vomit or been robbed or raped or killed, and people didn't care because "it was his fault he got so drunk." Yeah, that's his fault, but "YOU NEVER LEAVE A MAN BEHIND!" I've had a few meltdowns (screaming fits) as a result of these situations and I don't regret them one single bit.

 

[Ladybugsy]

I'm only on page 4 so far...but I can't be the only one hoping that I don't read a story about my family on this thread.

 

[DisneyGeekyParadise]

We need some more stories!! Keep the meltdown stories a-comin'!

 

[DisneyGeekyParadise]

Just remembered something. It wasn't a meltdown, but it was really shocking and I thought I would share it.
A few weeks ago at hm, I was riding and about when we got to the eyes on the wall part....I knew something was really wrong. I look over to a few cars over from me, and what do I see? Feet. Bare feet. Sticking out of the doom buggy. At first I thought 'maybe it's some special kind of car like the wheelchair ones?' But when I got to the graveyard scene...I was starting to question if that was allowed at all! It was definitely a person who had taken off their shoes and decided to prop them up ON the doom buggy! I was just really shocked by that and it bothered me the whole time.

 

[Kindermouse]

A few years ago in fantasyland in Disneyland I saw a doozy.

We were waiting in line to ride on dumbos flying ride. Beside us was a little boy who was very excited by the flying elephants and clearly wanted a closer look and as such he was climbing all over the fencing to watching the ride. A cast member came by and told his parents he couldn't climb on the rails and, though they didn't seem to speak much English, they got the gist and seemed to tell him to stop climbing. Well he decided that he would just stick his head between the bars then to get a closer look and he wedged his head right on through.

Next thing you know the line is moving up...but the boy is stuck. He panics instantly and he screams and cries. So the dad starts yanking on his head, which makes him scream and cry harder. Now mom is crying as well and the whole thing has become a huge scene. The cast member comes back and deftly pops that kids head out with a well practiced grace and got a rowdy applause from the whole crowd.

The funny thing was the cast member was so non plussed about it that I figured he must have preformed that rescue 100 time before. People, you might know you need to keep your hands and arms inside the ride, but please do keep your heads out of the railing as well.

 

[jhoannam]

My own child cried from the AK EXIT all the way back to Pop Century. It was the biggest tantrum I witnessed. I felt so bad for all those that were on the bus with us.

 

[DisneyGeekyParadise]

A few years ago in fantasyland in Disneyland I saw a doozy.

We were waiting in line to ride on dumbos flying ride. Beside us was a little boy who was very excited by the flying elephants and clearly wanted a closer look and as such he was climbing all over the fencing to watching the ride. A cast member came by and told his parents he couldn't climb on the rails and, though they didn't seem to speak much English, they got the gist and seemed to tell him to stop climbing. Well he decided that he would just stick his head between the bars then to get a closer look and he wedged his head right on through.

Next thing you know the line is moving up...but the boy is stuck. He panics instantly and he screams and cries. So the dad starts yanking on his head, which makes him scream and cry harder. Now mom Otis crying as well and the whole things has become huge scene. The cast member comes back and deftly pops that kids head out with a well practiced grace and got a rowdy applause from the whole crowd.

The funny thing was the cast member was so non plussed about that I figured he must have preformed that rescue 100 time before. People, you might need to keep your hands and arms inside the ride, but please do keep your heads out of the railing.

Heads up- it says Otis instead of is!

 

[Guyton dis lover]

I have seen grown men try to fight. Kids slap the grown ups when they did not get their way. What gets me is the idiots with out manners acting like fools. It is Disney world not a combat zone. I have been to both.