Worst Cringeworthy Behaviors to Avoid at Disney World

Some of my favorite commercials are Dr. Rick’s PSAs for un-becoming your parents, which came along at just the right time in my life that his cautionary tales hit a little too close to home. This post is designed to help you combat cringey “Parentamorphosis” behaviors at Walt Disney World.

Part of the reason that the Dr. Rick commercials resonate is because we’ve all been there. Maybe it was at Applebee’s when your uncle said one too many unfunny one-liners that servers hear on a daily basis. Or at that same meal when your aunt asked twenty questions and requested a substitution on everything. Perhaps it was at Home Depot, when your dad started offering unsolicited (but accurate!) advice to the employees. Worse yet, maybe you’ve been there because you, like me, have caught yourself doing one of these things.

“Parentamorphosis” can happen to anyone, and honestly, it’s unfair to attribute bad behavior, cheesy interactions, awkward experiences, or a general lack of self-awareness to getting older. If we’re being honest, I just really like the Dr. Rick ads and wanted to use them as the conceit for this post. In reality, we’re all human and everyone makes mistakes. Some of the things on this list are spoken from firsthand experience–and not the observational kind. I’ve done plenty of cringeworthy things (just ask Sarah!), and I fear the day that Megatron becomes a blogger and writes such a list specifically about me.

With that in mind, I want to emphasize that this is a just-for-fun “top” 10 list of obnoxious behavior, but it shouldn’t be taken too seriously. We’ve all done (and do!) cringey things. Nobody is perfect. Not you and certainly not me. As noted above, I’ve done some of these things, and still have one bad habit listed here that I haven’t completely broken. You never know what’s going to bother someone else. Such is the nature of visiting theme parks packed with people! 

Beyond that, it’s worth recognizing that this post is being written by a blogger and aimed at an audience of Disney Adults. In the eyes of many of you, I am the ultimate cringe-master. I take photos of my food, go around documenting the parks, etc. In the eyes of the general public, we are all the cringiest as adult enjoyers of Disney theme parks.

But that’s precisely why this topic is so important. If we’re already cringey by our very nature, we should do everything within our power to combat these bad behaviors at Walt Disney World. Here goes…

Day Planning at the Parking Booth

One of my worthless superpowers (in which I take an odd amount of pride) is quickly scanning the crowd in front of me at the turnstiles and knowing who the ‘red flag’ guests are most likely to be. I can tell who is most likely to have ticket troubles, ask questions, or just generally cause delays.

Unfortunately, this superpower only applies to the turnstiles (and mostly when the stakes are low and time is not of the essence). When it comes to the parking lot toll booths, I’m notoriously bad about picking the best lane. It always seems like the shortest one takes the longest, and changing lanes is counterproductive.

So I beg of you, please do not plan out your day, strike up excessive conversation, or ask questions unrelated to parking or entering the park (as the case may be) at the parking lot toll booth or turnstiles. This isn’t to say you need to be no-nonsense and transactional–pleasantries with Cast Members are always nice–but you should have efficiency front of mind. There are plenty of chances to have questions answered later, without slowing the flow of traffic.

Removing Shoes in Public

For the longest time, part of the ‘rules spiel’ at the DVC Imagination Lounge included a friendly reminder to not remove your shoes. At first, this struck me as an odd thing to say. Who on earth would think taking your shoes off in a theme park is acceptable behavior?!

Then I saw guests taking their shoes off. Many members, in fact. So many that I wondered if I had maybe misheard the reminder and was the odd man out by not removing my shoes. Nope. Some members were just taking “welcome home” a little too literally.

It seems like this “trend” has died down a bit, and I don’t even think this is included as part of the spiel anymore. Either way, please don’t take off your shoes in a theme park. And if you’re sitting behind me on an airplane, don’t take off your shoes off there. And definitely don’t also take your socks off and put them onto my armrests, either. (Ask me why I’m writing this!)

Pretending Garbage Cans Don’t Exist

It seems like a decent amount of cringey behavior is an extension of ‘entitlement culture,’ or the practical reality that Walt Disney World vacations cost a lot of money, so guests feel like they deserve to be catered to as a result. Of course, the issue with this is that someone needs to do the catering, which means that it comes at the expense of the guest experience as a whole.

One example of this is leaving garbage around–on counter service restaurant tables, in queues, pool seating areas, the list goes on and on. Even just throwing trash on the ground with the expectation that there are personal Cast Member butlers trailing every high-spending guest to pick up after them. I actually used to know someone who had this mentality: “This cost $X, they can afford to pay someone to clean up.”

Most guests understand that this isn’t how any of this works. We’ve had to wait for a dirty table to be cleaned at a restaurant (or have had to throw away trash from someone else), as Cast Members have busted their butts fighting a losing battle against the growing garbage.

Yes, in a perfect world Disney Parks would be spotless with debris picked up the moment that it hit the ground, like allegedly happened in the “good ole days.” But one of the reasons the parks might’ve been cleaner is that guests felt less entitlement and more personal responsibility, picked up after themselves, and there was more of a social stigma about bad behavior.

Not Pretending Other Balconies Don’t Exist

Hotel room balconies are right next to one another, often separated with thin walls or privacy dividers. They’re called that for a reason. If someone else is on an adjacent balcony at the same time as you, pretend they aren’t there. Be as quiet as possible, as if you’re in a fine dining establishment or library.

If you do happen to make eye contact with your neighbors, as can happen from time to time, proper etiquette is a respectful head nod. That’s it. Then carry on with your own business as if they’re not there. Balcony time is decompression and relaxation time.

While we’re at it, fellas, don’t strike up a conversation with the dude next to you at the urinal. For that matter, don’t stand next to someone at the urinal unless the bathroom is busy. During a normal day, every other urinal is ornamental. The in-between-ers are not actually meant to be used unless demand dictates.

Being Weird with Princesses

We’ve been friends with a few former “friends of princesses,” and the war stories they tell…oh boy!

Honestly, this is one of those things about which we know way too much. It has colored our own interactions with face characters, wanting to steer as far clear of those cringey interactions as possible. It’s made us unnecessarily and overly self-conscious, even though we know our conversations and movements around face characters are far from problematic.

Mingling with the royalty “in character” is one thing. That’s perfectly fine. But none of your interactions should come within a mile of being flirtatious. If you find yourself wondering, “should I say this thing that’s maybe weird?” The answer is no. Err on the side of caution and just be normal. Don’t say anything that you wouldn’t to a 20 year old female college student.

Treating Public Space Like Private Space

This is an outgrowth of the “removing shoes in public” entry, but it’s a bit different. Another frequent one we see is people doing video calls without headphones, listening to music without headphones, watching videos without headphones, etc. Lots of stuff involving a lack of headphones.

Suffice to say, if you’re ever in a public space where someone who is not part of your party can hear your device, wear headphones. Personally, I’d take it a step further and say it’s a bit odd to use certain devices or play certain content in some spaces at Walt Disney World, but it’s normalized to the point that I’d stop short of calling that cringey. Still, there’s a time and place for Fortnite, and while dining at Citricos is not that place–not even if it’s the Disneyland Game Rush. Being on-theme doesn’t make it appropriate.

We’ve also seen a lack of clothing as people crashing on couches in common areas after coming from the pool, still dripping wet. Just in general, have a sense of decorum when in public–matching the mood and vibe of the non-public place you’re occupying. Don’t monopolize space that isn’t yours, and be respectful of others.

Wait Staff Awkwardness

Conversing with Cast Members can be an enjoyable experience, for both you and them. And there are few Cast Members with whom you’ll have the same extended encounters as wait staff at table service restaurants. So a bit of friendly banter can be pleasant all around.

But you’ve also gotta understand that they are tipped positions, and that ‘relationship’ informs your interactions. “Joking” about their tip is awkward and uncomfortable, and doesn’t lead anywhere good. They will laugh at what you say, sure. But they will not think what you said was funny.

For that matter, avoid “joking” about any transactional element of the relationship. “Guess that means it’s free” or variants thereof is a line they hear all the time. There are so many great ways to converse with your server without going there. 

Yelling for Your Family’s Attention

Confession time: I come from a long line of yellers. Not only that, but I’ve been guilty of this one not once or twice, but too many times. In my defense (hopefully?), I do have self-awareness and am embarassed every time I’ve made this mistake…but have continued to make it. Far less than in the past, but it still happens on rare occasion.

How it plays out is that Sarah and I get separated in the park, but I can see her walking a bit ahead of me. I could text message her, call her on the phone, or turn on the afterburners to close the gap. But Sarah is shockingly speedy, so that last one doesn’t work. And she often doesn’t see messages in the moment, and I hate using the phone.

So I say her name. She doesn’t hear, so I say it a little louder. Still no dice, so louder still. Third time’s the charm, but it also turns the head of 1-2 other guests. And that’s the cringey part. The threshold for loudness being bad behavior is when it attracts the attention of anyone else who is not in your party. Learn from my mistakes there; hopefully I’ll do the same.

Audibly or Visibly Disciplining Children

Bad behavior needs to be corrected and it’s important that parents are able to address issues and resolve tantrums. I’m not advocating for (or against) gentle parenting or any particular style or technique. This is really a different thing altogether. It’s basically parental meltdowns masquerading as discipline.

There are only two entries on this list that actually make me feel uneasy, and this is one of them. Whenever I witness irate parents emotionally disciplining their kids by yelling at them (or worse), I have a sinking feeling in my stomach. It would be sad anywhere, but you can just see the look in the child’s eyes and tell that what should be a core memory is now tainted.

Lashing out at children–especially on a trip for them–is never okay, and we’re not defending those who do it. But no one should be judged by their worst moment, and we’d like to think that this can happen even to good people who succumb to the stress. The amount of pressure to have the perfect Walt Disney World trip is absolutely immense, and it’s easy to see how even the most level-headed parent can crack under that from time to time.

I also know this probably is not what underlies some of these situations with parents screaming at their kids to “discipline” them in the parks, but thinking this makes me feel a little less sick to my stomach. I also know I’m preaching to the choir here, but don’t let the stress or things not going according to plan get to you. You’re much better off with the memories of having a laugh at things not going smoothly than you will with the scars of screaming at your kids.

Preoccupied Parents

Here’s another one we’ve been seeing more lately, which is parents who are preoccupied and ignore their kids as a result. Just the other day, we were eating dinner at a counter service restaurant next to an adult in her late 20s or early 30s, and a boy who was probably kindergarten age.

The kid was chatty, and seemed excited to be telling the adult about every little thing during his day at Disney. The entire time, the adult was scrolling TikTok, giving only superficial responses and barely engaging. The entire time. Eventually, the little boy came over and started sweetly interacting with our daughter (she loves talking to “big kids”). Not once did the adult look up at us. Giving the benefit of the doubt, maybe this was an “over it” older sister or nanny as opposed to a parent, but regardless, we felt badly for the boy.

This is an extreme example of a trend that has become more prevalent. Less insidious examples would be playing the Lightning Lane refresh game just a bit too much, being fixated on work email, or scrolling social media. At a time when it seems like we’re all just a bit too addicted to our devices, it’s worth reminding ourselves why we visit the parks in the first place–to spend time with family and friends, not virtual strangers or our screens.

Attention-Seeking Clothing

The introduction started as a way to avoid becoming your parents, so why am I starting to feel like a curmudgeonly old man yelling at a cloud?! Well actually, in this case I don’t mean dressing provocatively by showing a bit too much skin or whatever.

Rather, I’m talking about clothing with a provocative statement. One that contains political messaging, endorsing a movement or denouncing another. Maybe I’m the odd one here, because I’ve never worn a political shirt, had a bumper stick, or even put up a yard sign (what rational voter changes their mind on the basis of any of that?!), but all of this stuff just strikes me as oddly antagonistic. As if the person wearing it is eager for confrontation or disagreement. More charitably, maybe it’s a way to connect with like-minded fans in a theme park? I don’t know–like I said, I don’t see the appeal.

I’d take this a step further and say all of the shirts complaining about Disney are equally cringey. Why broadcast that you don’t want to be at the place that you are, in fact, visiting? Why bemoan the high costs of said visit by spending even more money on a poorly-designed t-shirt? Congratulations, you just let the world know that you’re bad with money. You played yourself.

Being Rude to Cast Members

We’ve been down this road before imploring people to praise Cast Members and explaining how they are true saints and the stewards of Walt Disney’s legacy. Even with the increasingly common complaints about poor guest service, my reflexive reaction is that it’s because Cast Members have been beaten down and had their spirits crushed over the last few years. That the dynamic would improve if guests were better-behaved.

The cringiest guest behavior is being mean or rude to Cast Members. Many Americans feel that high prices buy them a certain level of entitlement or that “the customer is always right” includes the ‘right’ to be rude. Those notions are utter hogwash. Courtesy is a two-way street, and if you don’t give it, you should not expect to receive it.

There’s also the practical reality that rudeness is actively counterproductive. It may feel cathartic to vent at a Cast Member for some policy decision or rule or whatever that you don’t like, but chances are, they had absolutely nothing to do with the decision (and might even quietly agree with you). So be kind. If not for kindness’s own sake, remember that (selfishly!) you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

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Your Thoughts

Which behavior do you find cringiest at Walt Disney World? Agree or disagree with the entries on our list? Feel free to vent in the comments. You won’t change anything about how other guests behave at Walt Disney World, but at least it’s therapeutic! Hearing your feedback is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!