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Credit: DisneyAs much as the Disney parks like Disneyland and the Walt Disney World Resort try to keep the illusions and immersion alive, that’s becoming more and more difficult to due during an age of growing social media outlets. Despite Disney enforcing more restrictions on filming and streaming on park property, many inconsiderate guests still find ways around it.
Even the most dedicated Disney park-hoppers can agree that there is a certain type of Disney guest that gets a little too trigger-happy with their cell phones and tablets trying to record on-ride experiences either for family or YouTube views. There’s nothing wrong with posting to social media, but recent reports from fans prove that it is still a growing problem.
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The Walt Disney Company has even made efforts to ban streaming and excessive filming in parks like Tokyo Disney Resort and Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. However, it might be time for the American parks to take the same steps.
Selfies and Streamers Drain Disney World Magic
It seems like guest behavior at the Disney parks grows more and more obnoxious with each passing report, but frequent device usage is certainly getting in the way of many guests’ experiences. A recent post on r/WaltDisneyWorld had multiple guests complaining about how so many phones and tablets are breaking up the Disney magic.
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Asking a loaded question like “How bad is it with people on phones on rides?” is just begging for a tidal wave of comments, but the responses did bring up some realistic replies.
Of course, there are the obvious complaints. u/H8TheDrake shares how much the problem seems to be growing when they write,
“It’s gotten worse with the rise of the “influencer” and YouTubers. Not sure if I notice it more cause im looking for it or it really has increased but alot of people have their phones out…”
Further down, u/BadaBingSecurity writes how the entitled guests aren’t limited to just the rides. The user adds,
“I’ve never experience a problem on any rides but… The idiots who are on Main Street of the MK for the fireworks trying to shoot pics and vids with the flash on… They are so dense…they have no idea the flash on a phone does nothing at those distances. The only thing it does is irritates all the guests nearby. I’d like to grab their phone and toss it into the moat.”
However, u/stormy8675 makes a more important observation, stating that the frequent filming and streaming on Disney rides isn’t just rude, its dangerous. The user writes,
“It’s awful. I hate being behind people on roller coasters with them in their hands. I am afraid they will fly out of their hands.”
The user has every right to have this concern, because Guests have reported several accidents involving projectile cell-phones before. After all, those mesh baskets and lockers exist for a reason.
Guests recording and streaming from rides and rollercoasters is unfortunately nothing new, but neither is getting hit in the face with a flying piece of tech mid-ride. Many users shared how frequent this is aboard rides like Space Mountain, and it’s definitely not the place for anyone to be filming anything.
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According to many guests, the iconic Magic Kingdom coaster is a notorious black hole for lost cellphones, even with the bags at the riders’ feet. u/Zelladuh shares their experience with,
“I put my phone in the little net (I want to say it had Velcro but I honestly can’t remember) and halfway through the ride I felt it hit my leg and land on the ground by my foot. I managed to step on it to keep it there luckily.”
And u/dmshoe adds a similar experience on Big Thunder Mountain when they write,
“My phone took an extra trip around Thunder Mountain after it fell out of my pocket during the ride (or maybe during unload). Noticed that my phone was missing just after we offloaded and the train was leaving the station. Talked with a castmember and they let me wait nearby until the train came back around. Was still in the footwell of the traincar, and I was so relieved that it survived.”
At the end of the day, it might just be a case of play-stupid-games-win-stupid-prizes, but Disney will have to take notice sooner or later. All it takes is one iPad to the face and a sizable lawsuit to make things happen.
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Honestly, it’s surprising that some poor streamer hasn’t published footage of what happens when their device goes flying out of their hands at the apex of a coaster’s drop point.
Do you think personal tech is disrupting the Disney magic? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!