Walt Disney World is the happiest place on earth. It is only called that because it is entirely true. There are 4 theme parks and millions of visitors each year. It is an amazing destination full of awe and wonder. But that doesn’t mean it is all magic all the time. There are certainly times when things get stressful and families snap at each other.

Setting the Stage

We were at Magic Kingdom on Saturday in early October of 2006. We were there all day and we had tickets to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party. The temperature was above average for the time of the year. It was very, very crowded. It was early afternoon and we had Fast Passes (remember those) for Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. The standby wait time wasn’t too bad. It was probably about 40 minutes. As we entered the Fast Pass return queue, we noticed the standby line seemed pretty long. It also looked to be moving pretty slow. Even the line we were in was moving slower than it should have been. So it was a little annoying. At least for us it was a little annoying. It was apparently much more annoying for people in the stand by line who probably ended up waiting over an hour and a good 20 minutes over the posted wait time. We would soon find out it was about to push one woman over her breaking point.

Just Why

After almost 10 minutes to get through the Fast Pass return queue, we made it to the ride entrance. The attendant was a college aged girl. She stopped a woman and her children who were next in the standby line to allow more Fast Pass holders through. The woman then erupted on the attendant. She just started screaming at her that she had been waiting too long, the Fast Pass system is unfair and she should not have been stopped. I mean the woman was really screaming at her. The poor attendant was just trying to get her to calm down while another attendant was calling for help, I suppose. As I walked by this woman I told her to stop yelling at the attendant, as she is only doing her best and should not be the target of her rage. The woman only paused briefly to look at me as my wife quickly ushered me away.

The morale of this short story is to always remember Walt Disney World is a magical place and we must all do our part to keep it that way.