Disneyland Crowding Issues Reportedly Caused Aggressive, Violent Guest Behavior

Over the summer, it seemed as though the Disney parks were nearly empty compared to their typical state. However, with the holiday season, it seems as though both Disneyland and Walt Disney World are busier than ever, with reports of long wait times and heavy crowds.

Despite the apparent lack of guests over the summer, the last year seems to have brought about an increase in guest complaints on social media platforms about guest behavior, cast member attitudes, and the overall declining Disney vacation experience since 2020. We’ve covered reports of fights both inside and outside the parks, groups of over 50 people reportedly line-jumping, rude cast members, and even guests relieving themselves in the middle of various attraction queues.

In addition, we’ve covered several complaints and stories about guests being hit by other guests’ strollers or wheelchairs, and that’s exactly what’s happened once again to a user on Reddit. u/nomoredolls took to the Disneyland subreddit to share their experience.

Last week, a member of my party was hit by someone on a mobility scooter inside the park. The parks are crowded and everyone’s just doing their best to coexist but the scooter driver was aggressive and yelled at us for being in his way. The force of the hit knocked my friend to the ground. Thankfully, no one was injured but this didn’t feel like a simple accident as the scooter driver was following our party closely and as we tried to move forward to make room, he sped up.

I’m not here to debate whether this guy needs a mobility aid – that’s not my place. Lots of people use scooters for a variety of reasons, none of which are any of my business. What concerns me is the aggression. I don’t believe a CM saw this but should we have called attention to it? No one was hurt and we were just trying to leave the park so we didn’t raise a fuss.

Anyone else experience this?

Hit by a mobility scooter in the park
byu/nomoredolls inDisneyland

They point out that their concern is the amount of aggression the other guest showed towards their group. Over one hundred comments were added to the post of people sharing similar experiences or encouraging others to report these situations to security or another cast member at Disneyland, including several who claim they themselves use wheelchairs in the parks.

“Full disclosure: I use a scooter in the parks. Ummm… yeah. You 110% should have reported them,” said u/LatterDayDuranie. “As a disabled person who needs to use my power wheelchair in the parks- I don’t know why that guy was so aggro but you definitely should’ve reported him,” replied u/CocklesTurnip. “You should’ve reported it and possibly have let Disney nurses check your friend over so if she was more hurt than it seemed at first you could let Disney know later- especially if he hurt another person and security was able to catch up to him. It’d at least possibly get him banned from scooter rentals if not the park.”

Others stated the apparent increase in aggression is keeping them away from the parks. “The aggressiveness of people is why I just lost interest in going. Literally people running to jump in front of us to get in line. Shoving us, kicking us,” said u/RunsUpTheSlide. “I went one more time after that and have no desire to go back soon. Please do say something so people will get the hint that they can’t behave this way without consequences.”

However, as u/areallycleverid pointed out, “There is such high stress in the parks that it is actually amazing there aren’t more fights. From the moment you get to the parking garage there are people being aggressive getting in, to the dash to the tram, to the dash to the gate, to the people snaking in front of you in the line, to large groups “excuse me, excuse me” meeting up to the one person in line, to the -paaacked- walkways, to the groups of people coming to a -dead stop- in the middle of the packed walkways, to the constant people cutting off your path, to the people laying out large blankets in the middle of Main Street to claim a huge square of space for fireworks, to the long lines and closed rides… on and on.”

It’s an unfortunate situation for everyone. The increasing crowds at the parks makes it more difficult for everyone to maneuver with enough space. Then the combination of heat, a long day, exhaustion, and more kick in, and creates a potentially tense situation that can lead to an experience like this. Always be aware of your surroundings at Disney and if you encounter something like this, be sure to let security or a cast member know what happened.

Have you ever had anything like this happen to you at a Disney park like Disneyland or Walt Disney World? Let us know in the comments below!

Please note that the story described in this article is based on a personal experience. Each Disney guest experience is unique, and no two are alike. The situation described in this article is not representative of a typical Disney experience and any opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily representative of Inside the Magic.