Waterpark etiquette ???

[MNWDWMANIAC]

When you say "they don't get paid to make them for Disney" were you talking about the writer for the times, or did you also mean the managers at Disney which I also mentioned... It would seem that "they" would get paid to do exactly that.

I agree that the former doesn't... but the latter would be quite appropriate.

I was referring the to the party you stated got paid to make decisions like these (the writer)

For the record, I sent this thread to the "The Ethicist" at the New York Times Magazine to see what someone who gets paid to makes decisions like these.

Has anyone actually been to a park since this thread opened and asked a manager there? I plan to do so next week when I am there.

I imagine the policies of the park aren't put in place or decided by the manager on duty but merely enforced based on what the directors and boards put out as policy.

 

[cdrn1]

Lounge chairs are for resting...I don't think your towels need to rest for an hour+ while you are off going down slides.

Lockers are for storing...that is where things you don't need during the day go.

Items left on a lounge chair unattended should be considered "lost" and turned in to guest relation's lost & found box.

If someone came up to me and questioned where there stuff was I'd just say that there wasn't anything there when I got there

You think it's wrong to save a chair, but ya got no problem with lying?

How hard is it to put your stuff in a locker? Then when you want to sit, you find an available chair. When you go on a slide, you leave your chair open for others. If everyone did that, there would be plenty of chairs for you to come back to at any given moment. Then you just take your stuff back out of your locker and everyone enjoys their day.

But nope it's all about "mine mine mine" and "staking claims".

You've got to be kidding. Traipsing back and forth to the lockers between every attraction??? If everyone did this it would be a madhouse up by the lockers.

I'm very sorry you are unable to grasp a simple concept. If you are in the pool that is one thing but when you are gone for an extended period of time to a slide (if you read what i wrote again, I clearly stated this) then it is not very hard to put things in a locker when you are at the slides. If paying for a locker is too much of a financial strain for you then perhaps you should re-think visiting Disney altogether. It is only a couple of bucks and makes everyone's day go a lot smoother.

Again, unrealistic notion. Do you actually DO this?

If somebody is in dire straits enough to need to steal a beach towel and a bottle of sunscreen or a PBJ out of my cooler, I guess that's just the way it's going to be. I'm not going to get worked up over it. I'm not going to leave my jewelry lying there on the chair, or my wallet. I just don't see why anybody would WANT to steal the things I would leave on a pool chair.

Exactly. You don't leave the family heirlooms out, but if you lose a 6 dollar bottle of sunscreen and a couple sand toys, no big deal.

Pasted directly from the official WDW website on waterparks:

"Arrive early if you wish to secure a lounge chair."

So there it is. Definition of secure from Merriam Webster: "free from risk of loss". Except that according to all the late-sleepers, you are still at risk of them claiming the chair you secured because you had the foresight to get there early.

It's there in black and white and yet people will still argue it. Common sense people. Get there early, find a spot, don't take more chairs than you need and enjoy your day. Geesh....people make this so complicated!

 

[MNWDWMANIAC]

Bongi22 I would like to say I'm sorry if you were offended.

It's just a discussion board so it's not personal.

I hope you have a great trip in a week and have no issues finding a chair

 

[Shannalee724]

Wow, this is a really long thread!!

I live in Texas where water parks and pools are used a lot of the year and often. We are also considered to be a very considerate and polite state. Anyway, here is how it has always been done here.

When you arrive at the pool, you find your home base. It is usually a single chair or table that holds everyones belongings. It is a place that everyone comes back to for their towel or a drink/snack. If we are at a table, I certainly wouldn't begrudge someone from using the table top to eat or rest. They aren't moving my things and I am not currently occupying the table. Share and share alike.

At water parks, you find your locker and put any valuables in it. Then, go find a home base to put your things down. This is where everyone meets in between rides. For a party of 4 this might be one or two chairs. I have rarely had trouble with people messing with or moving my things. When it has happened, they are def seen as in the wrong. There is always another chair. You just have to walk around and look. That is what I do when I want a chair.

I have never heard anyone think this was wrong and actually thought this thread was interesting to read. I guess different parts of the country have different ettiquite rules??

 

[RabFlmom]

I have never heard anyone think this was wrong and actually thought this thread was interesting to read. I guess different parts of the country have different ettiquite rules??>>>>>>

Actually it is pretty standard policy at all water parks that do not charge you $$ to rent a chair after you already paid for admission . If you get their first you can choose your chairs for the day and leave things on them.

One thing I have not seen on this thread mentioned is if you see a party that seems to be using some of their chairs and have a few others they are storing stuff on, why not just ask them if you could share a couple chairs that no one is using at the moment because you can't find any available chairs anywhere else. I bet most people, including me would just say" Here let me take my stuff off these chairs and you are welcome to them." The worst they could say is "no, we were here first so we could get chairs" Chances are someone near that has empty chairs just might offer you some of theirs.

Just had a weird thought. LOL All you fellow Chicago area posters. Someone removing your stuff from your chairs at a water park and sitting there would be like someone removing the chairs you put out on the street to mark the parking place you scooped out of the snow in the morning on your way to work. Everyone knows not to park there because you will be returning to your spot. <g> Rarely does anyone park there either. It is considered common courtesy Sort of the same principle at the water parks.

 

[IloveDisney77]

I'm completely floored by this conversation/ongoing dialogue. What started out as a simple question has turned HEATED. One has to love the forums! So, with that said, I'm about to get on my soapbox. IMHO, Disney is a place where the early bird gets the worm. If you want to ride on rides with minimal wait, you get there early. If you want to eat at a restaurant but don't have an ADR, you get there early to try and get a seat. If you go to a parade and want a good view, you get there early to stake out your spot for the family. That same is said for any show or fireworks display.

Getting there early and staking out your spot is what one does at Disney. When I go to Disney, I expect it to be busy and understand that if I go late to anything such as a parade, fireworks, show, waterpark, I may not have the best seat, view, location. That is just the way it is.

I DON'T expect people to move, sit-down, get out of my way simply because I was "johnny-come-lately". The sense of entitlement that some people obviously feel is quite disheartening. At the end of the day, we are paying for access to the parks and rides; and not to a specific chair, seat, bench. Could and Should we all use better judgment, consideration and kindness to others; Yes Absolutely. We all should take into account, do we really NEED 4 chairs for 4 people when 1 or 2 would do...that is common courtesy that all should practice. Many of us have said that over time, the people vacationing at Disney have become ruder...I hadn't noticed it but reading this chain, I'm coming to believe it...

 

[skier_pete]

I have never heard anyone think this was wrong and actually thought this thread was interesting to read. I guess different parts of the country have different ettiquite rules??

I think the consensus on this thread is that it is standard ettiquette everywhere...though a few seem to be arguing against it. Your description seems very apt to me...certainly in the Northeast that is the way most people behave.

The one exception is you say "there are always chairs"...I've been to several water parks, most notably the local six flags - which has a water park area that get SOOOO crowded that by mid-day, the chairs are all occupied...you are lucky to get one chair to share amongst your family. We also have indoor water parks that have more limited seating, though the one time we went to one this past March we had no problems...I think we staked 3 seats for a party of 7, and almost always had 1 or 2 people in the seats.

SkierPete

 

[blueeyesrnc]

Last year I went to DW for 10 days. Researched water parks for best place to set up camp, and all kinds of other advice. Never once did I read a post that said it was NOT ok to save a chair, set up camp, etc, until reading this thread. Frankly, I'm shocked. It would never occur to me to move someone's things, so that I may have a place to sit. If I didn't get to the water park on time to secure a chair, than that is on me. I have no right to make my lack of planning, someone elses problem. I truely believe this to be very rude behavior. I'm glad to see most people agree.

 

[Bongi22]

LOL... Relax a little.. this isn't Disney and we're not on vacation . Perhaps you don't like being talked down to any more then I don't like my questions and points being missed or twisted. The question wasn't in a setting of progression. It was a question of yes or no, will Lexie lie or not based on a statement made by Lexie to Lexie.

If YOU come along an take the chair that Lexie planned to take during the course of her being spiteful and returning that in itself would actually be funny. Because then Lexie has done nothing more then waste her time and would return to find you sitting there. But at that point it doesn't matter to me because clearly you wouldn't have done anything wrong.

The same would be true if a CM came along moved some stuff and you followed to again sit down. You wouldn't have been in the wrong.

To answer you specifically and the version of the question you answered, no you would have done nothing wrong. But my question was not posed in a progressive manner as you claim. I wanted to know how someone can claim to be behaving proper while flat out lying. The question was direct and specific.

Personally my family and I don't reserve chairs nor do we touch others things. In fact we try avoid both sides of the situation by finding empty seats when they are available when we need them. We don't expect anything though. We understand that just because people believe things are proper in one case or rude in a another it's all based on personal perception.

It's totally left to the eyes of the beholder.





Speaking of holier than thou mode have you actually read your response to me above? So you DO believe two wrongs make a right .

I did want to make sure to say thank you for judging or at least "imagining" me though. All after a single post you imagine you know how I would react to someone sitting in my "reserved chair"... except you missed one small detail....... I don't reserve chairs nor have I ever. .

Ok fair enough... I apologize for reacting the way I did and coming up with the way I figured you would react ( based on that one post ).

I'm in the same camp as you regarding the not saving seats and not moving other peoples stuff. So the only thing we seem to really disagree with is whether there is a progression or not. No, You didn't INTEND for there to be a progression.. I understand that. But I also knew the reality of it all and you could almost be assured that while Lexie was bringing the stuff to the lost and found, someone would be sitting in that chair before she even got there... that was my point. It is a progression.. maybe not directly in your post, but I've always been a person that looks at what the next step is ( or consequence ) in every action or situation... There is always a progression, always.

Ps... I think by the smiley you understand that the "right" I was talking about isn't a wrong or right but right as Thomas Jefferson would have spoken of.

"To unequal privileges among members of the same society the spirit of our nation is, with one accord, adverse." --Thomas Jefferson to Hugh White, 1801. ME 10:258

I personally think he was talking about the situation of lounge chairs in a resort... He was quite the forward thinking man.

 

[Bongi22]

I imagine the policies of the park aren't put in place or decided by the manager on duty but merely enforced based on what the directors and boards put out as policy.

We are most likely both partially correct.

Board members and directors do not generally create day to day policy. Managers, and by that I mean Park Manager or operations manager at the 2nd or 3rd level would be instituting rules such as these...

I work for Verizon... a similarly sized enterprise as Disney and we have 8 levels of management. Decisions on a matter similar to this would be taken care of at a directors level ( 3rd tier management ) it would be 5 more levels before it got to our President and Board member... Disney is quite similar...

But I will agree that a first level manager isn't making policy... but at the same time he has the ability to interpret and act upon his understanding of whatever policy is in effect.

To our knowledge, there is no direct policy on this... so a first level managers opinion is about as good as it needs to be in this case.

 

[Bongi22]

So there it is. Definition of secure from Merriam Webster: "free from risk of loss". Except that according to all the late-sleepers, you are still at risk of them claiming the chair you secured because you had the foresight to get there early.

Good usage of M-W...

But when you go a little deeper... look at the word Loss... it is defined as "2 a: the act of losing possession".

Then when you define "possession" it is "1 a: the act of having or taking into control b: control or occupancy of property without regard to ownership"

As we are NOT talking about someone sitting in the seat while you are there... we can easily rule out occupancy of property... so the question lies in whether you believe that a bottle of sunscreen and a towel effectively is actually "control" of the chair...

I don't believe it does... when you consider it's meaning, as your reference of choice M-W states it as "2 a: to exercise restraining or directing influence over : regulate b: to have power over : "

A towel and some small personal items in no way constitutes "restraining or directing influence" nor is it having "power over".

It would seem as though once you leave the chairs immediate area you no longer have control over it... hence you can suffer no loss. At least as defined by Merriam-Webster.

 

[Bongi22]

Bongi22 I would like to say I'm sorry if you were offended.

It's just a discussion board so it's not personal.

I hope you have a great trip in a week and have no issues finding a chair

From what it looks like, I may be in need of a raincoat and a pontoon boat more than a chair.

Thanks... I never take anything personally on a message board... and I hope I offer my apologies if I offended you or anyone else on here.

I just love a good debate when I see one... With no talk of politics or religion here.. Lounge chairs become a spirited issue.

 

[Bullseye]

In three days Star Wars Weekends begin and if any of you move Darth Vader's towels from his lounge chair.....you will feel a choking sensation and I mean it!

 

[luvpooh]

just got an email from Disney Insider and the title of it was 'what you don't know about the Disney water parks...' and my first thought was, 'apparently you can't use a lounge chair for the whole day!!'

Seriously though, they say in the article, '... With tip boards at the front the Parks, it's easy to find what you want ... including a vacant deck chair where you can take a breather and enjoy the beachy atmosphere. '

they also say 'At both Parks, you need your sunscreen, a swimsuit, and a sense of fun.'

 

[Disneyadore]

Wow. This is a long thread.

I just wanted to mention that when I was at the CR pool this week, there were many chairs with towels on them (no people of course). The chair I was next to had towels (some wet/and a neat stack of dry ones) and a nearly full pink drink underneath it. I was there about 20 minutes when a CM came by and started to pick up the towels, so I told him that there was a drink underneath and I didn't know if the person was coming back. He said, "this drink has been here awhile" and took it and threw it away. And for the record, when I left 2 1/2 hours later, the person had still not come back. If there had been no seats available I would have been really irritated that I had nowhere to sit because someone else was too rude to pick up their mess. Sadly, I noticed that there were many chairs with towels that no one claimed by the time I left the area. I was glad that the CM did the right thing and cleared off those areas.

The same thing happened last week at the GF.

Lots of people put towels on the chairs early in the morning and than go to the parks.I noticed this a few times when I went for an early swim.
After a while a CM removed the towels from the chairs.

When I left the pool I noticed a message board saying:

At the pools they obviously have rules for chair hoarders and enforce them to.

 

[Lexie]

I love it when people leave a cooler just lying around at a water park. I always help myself to free drinks. Thank you to anyone brings the "public" cooler to the water parks!

 

[MNWDWMANIAC]

I love it when people leave a cooler just lying around at a water park. I always help myself to free drinks. Thank you to anyone brings the "public" cooler to the water parks!

I love it when people drink the drinks that I leave laying around . You think that's lemonade?

 

[Bullseye]

Uh Oh!! Lexie and MNWDWMANIAC are both out tonight This should be good !

 

[MNWDWMANIAC]

Uh Oh!! Lexie and MNWDWMANIAC are both out tonight This should be good !

LOL.. I'm being good....I think this thread has run it's course...... but then again

 

[La2kw]

Question for debate. When your in the waterpark with your family of five three children under twelve and everyone wants to go on a ride or on the lazy river. Does this leave your chairs and loungers open to be taken or your area where you set up to be taken over? Here was our situation. We were at BB for a few hours and we set up in the kids area with all are belongings. Decided to all do a family ride and do a trip around the lazy river. We did take turns in the morning going with the children on different rides and had one of us at the base with all our belongings. All are towels,clothing and food was on or by the area we were set up. When we came back there was two adults laying on loungers and removed our articles to the side next to garbage, but left one chair vacant. We were confused and asked them why they took over. The replied " you cant leave your stuff and walk away and the chairs do not belong to you or have your name on them". We explained what we did and we were gone for about 45 minutes. The park was packed and there were no chairs left. The one lady flipped me off. Let me say I started to lose it. I sat in the vacant chair turned and faced them and the kids sat next to them and we opened the cooler and ate our lunch we brought and continued to invade the space. The children did not why we could not sit back in the chairs where we were. My wife wanted to leave the park. My youngest has Autism and of course needed extra attention with eating ect... After about a half hour they got up and said we were ignorant in not so many kind words and could see why because of our youngest. I am leaving the exact quotes they said because I do not want them repeated on the forums. Sorry for this being so long. What would you of done or think is common sense.

They are ignorant fools and you were in the right. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do about people like that.