Credit: DisneyThe Walt Disney World Resort is one of the most magical places on the planet. It’s a place where Guests of all ages can come together and be a part of their favorite animated movies, embark on exciting adventures, and ride some of the most thrilling attractions in the theme park industry. Unfortunately, the Disney Parks also a hotbed of child abuse and neglect at the hands of belligerent parents.
It goes without saying that kids and families are the primary audiences for the Disney brand, but that can come with Game of Thrones levels of drama, especially where parents are concerned. Parents have proven to be a consistent conflict at Disney before, but the reports of outright child abuse and endangerment are absolutely shocking.
Parents are the Problem
Inside the Magic has covered this subject before, and the accounts witnessed by both Guests and Cast Members are more than unsettling to say the least. What might be even further disturbing is some of the reactions seen by other Guests and visitors in the comments.
Related: Disney Guest Vows to Never Return After “Appalling” Guest Behavior
Can kids be rowdy and obnoxious at the Parks? Absolutely, there’s no getting away from it. However, no one deserves to be outright assaulted as some of the testimonies report. What has us up on our hackles is the number of comments actually defending these actions.
Abuse at the Disney Parks
The subject of disciplinary actions towards children is a hot button subject for many, but there’s a line between discipline and permanent psychological damage. A recent report of a Guest witnessing a young girl “writhing in pain” after being knocked to the floor by her parent started a vocal debate in the comments.
“Donna” begins the discussion by stating,
” Couple of snacks on the butt is not child abuse… I’ve been to parks where a screaming brat throwing a temper tantrum can ruin your whole experience. The longer you let it go, the worse it will get.”
Naturally, this was the spark that lit a fire in the discussion, and other commenters were quick to take sides. Some, like “Shawn,” are quick to counter by reiterating and rephrasing the events witnessed by the Guest by writing,
“Let me take my child into the bathroom and beat the crap out of them instead of finding out what the real problem is. What an awesome mother I am.”
And “Debi” goes on the defensive side by adding,
“A screaming brat is a screaming brat. My children and my grandchildren all know what is acceptable and what is not acceptable… Today’s children and some adults think the world owes them everything and guess what you are not entitled. you have to earn it not just be given it.
What About the Kids?
There are many comments who are so quick to defend the actions of parents “disciplining” their kids at Disney like the ones seen above, but there are just as many on the side of kids just behaving like kids. Where commenters like Debi and Donna aren’t ones to spare the rod, “Neuronurse” shares the consistently bad behavior seen more from parents than their children.
The user writes,
“In the last 2-3yrs we’ve seen more and more instances of parents, typically mums, loosing it. This year we saw two instances where security got involved. One was a mum who pushed her maybe 14yr old boy to the ground and was screaming obscenities and slur words at him…”
And
“The second was a Mum that lost it with her 12-18 MONTH old, yes you read that right, she had her on a leash.. and the kid kept trying to get further ahead… and at first the mother pulled the leash a bit and the kid came back but after a minute or so the mother reefed on the leash so hard the baby fell backwards and hit her head off the pavement… and the mum… was pulling the leash … in turn pulling the kid across the hot pavement and the kid was screeching bloody murder…”
On a related post, “Beth” adds what many are likely thinking. These outbursts unfortunately aren’t limited to the Disney Parks alone, and it’s only a fraction of what’s really going on.
She writes,
“These parents are just as abusive at home if not more so. Parents are legally allowed to yell at and even hit their kids “within reason” (who’s reason?) under the guise of ‘good parenting’…”
Related: Disney Guests Trapped, Left in Darkness During Attraction Incident
A trip to the Disney Park should be an unforgettable experience, not a length of terror these children will likely want to repress. Child protection programs exist for a reason, and some of these unfortunate stances shared by Disney Guests are massive part of the problem.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this article are not from Inside the Magic and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ITM as a whole.
Do you think these Guests and parents are out of line? Tell us what you think in the comments below!