Disney Park Etiquette: Just Be Cool

This article has been sitting in the back of my brain for a while. I started writing about Disney Park etiquette after our April vacation, but I quickly closed the editor. I didn’t want to come off as the old guy yelling at a cloud. But here I am now, yelling at that cloud. Will this post change behaviors? Probably not. And most Disney guests don’t need to change. But for those who do the things listed below? Yeah, we need to talk.

Before anyone accuses me of lacking perspective, I know this list is filled with trivial stuff. But families pay serious money to visit Disney Parks. So in the moment, these things do matter. Alright, enough preamble. Let’s get to the Disney etiquette no-no’s.

Being disrespectful to Cast Members

Cast Members are the number one reason you’ll have a great Disney vacation. Yeah, the rides, shows, characters, and food are awesome, but none of those things are possible without CMs. So when things aren’t going perfectly, let’s be respectful. And if you want to show your appreciation, submit some Cast Member compliments in the MDE app or pick up a “Be nice to Cast Members” tee from Main Street Magic.

Disregarding personal space

“Please move forward and fill in all of the available space.”

Every Disney Cast Member

This one flies in the face of everything Cast Members tell us to do. Yes, you should follow their instructions, but maybe not so literally. If you’re touching other people, you’re doing it wrong. On a recent trip, a group kept bumping into me while playing Heads Up! in the Smugglers Run queue. After the third time, I politely asked them for some room. They apologized. Everyone was cool, and we were soon stealing coaxium.

The strangest personal space encounter we’ve had was on the Monorail. A young father tried to do pull-ups using the handrails. He couldn’t quite get there, but his legs were swinging around with the effort. If that wasn’t enough, he tried to play fight with his wife, who wanted no part of it. That didn’t stop him from lunging at her repeatedly. The comfort level in that Monorail compartment was a zero. Don’t be that guy.

Cutting in line

Have you ever had a group of people squeeze past you, saying, “Excuse us, our friend is up there”? Yeah, that’s cutting and it’s not cool. But those people are banking on the rest of us not saying anything because, well, they have friends up there!

Some people are less subtle. A group of teens simply walked past us while we were waiting to board Mickey’s Fun Wheel (now the Pixar Pal-A-Round). One of the kids looked at me and realized he needed to make better life choices. I said nothing, but on the next switchback, I retook our spot. Crisis averted.

Being entitled

“My husband just ran back to the room for something. He’ll be back in a minute.”

A very important woman to a Disney bus driver

Don’t be this person. Her husband forgot something in their Wilderness Lodge room, and she thought nothing of the rest of us having to wait for him. Luckily, our bus driver was up for the challenge. She was standing on the curb as the bus pulled away.

On another trip, we were standing in line for water at Pecos Bill. Another very important person ignored the line and asked the Cast Member for water. When she saw us waiting, she repeated, “I just need water.” I said, “Me, too.”

Using bad language

I’m no prude, but I also don’t think it’s a good idea to use bad language while visiting a Disney park. The worst I’ve heard came from an unlikely source. A young father, arguing with his wife while carrying his newborn baby, let some F-bombs fly. I quickly said, “Hey, there are kids everywhere.” He apologized, but his wife wasn’t having it. “Now you’re upsetting everyone else, too!”

I often wonder about that couple. It’s been 15 years. Do you think they’re still enjoying Disney vacations together?

Sitting while others stand

I’m not going to judge anyone for sitting down when others don’t have a seat. But if you are able to stand, please consider doing that while riding Disney transportation. My son and I jump up whenever there are older guests, children, or women without seats. Most are very appreciative, but some turn us down. I don’t mind when they do, especially after a 20K-steps day.

Not throwing trash away

Have you seen those recent social media videos that show random trash in Disney parks? For some reason, most of the outrage has been directed at Cast Members for not picking it up fast enough (I’m sure they did shortly after the filming ended). But what about the guests who didn’t take care of their own business? Let’s not make our problem someone else’s problem.

This is where I share my apple-on-the-bus story. That one still bothers me.

Smoking

I’m not going to pretend to know how hard it is for smokers to get through a day in a smoke-free Disney park. I’m sure it’s awful. But that doesn’t mean they can light up, either. I see it all the time, but I rarely say anything. I did when I saw a guy almost burn a kid with his cigarette as the Illuminations crowd moved toward the exits. And I said something when a guy blew smoke in my face on Sunset Boulevard. Neither appreciated my opinions. Weird.

Using a flash or turning on a bright phone on dark rides

I say this with love, but no matter how good a camera phone photographer you are, your dark ride photos are going to be terrible. Even worse, your phone’s bright lights will ruin the vibe for everyone in your ride vehicle, including yourself. Enjoy being in the moment rather than taking photos you’ll never look at again. Trust me on this one.

Making noise in hotel hallways

We only whisper in hotel hallways. I learned this behavior as a kid. Whenever I’d get a little too loud in public, my father would tell me, “Nobody wants to hear what you have to say.” He was joking (I think), but the lesson stuck with me. Disney hotels are filled with people on different schedules. Rooms have napping babies, late risers, or early sleepers. Saving our conversations for when we’re in our rooms is better for everyone. This rule also applies to cruise ships.

Walking while distracted

Navigating the parks is getting more difficult thanks to distracted walkers. Usually, these people have their heads buried in their phones, booking their next Lightning Lane or ordering some fries. Disney’s MDE app has contributed to this problem.

But phones aren’t the only issue. Some people are so involved in their conversations or looking around that they fail to realize they’ve stopped in a major thoroughfare. Or they’ll do a sudden 180 and slam into the person following them. It’s not a major problem for me, but it does wear thin by the end of our vacations.

So that’s it for my Disney etiquette lesson. For now. I hope I didn’t yell at that cloud too much.