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Credit: Inside the MagicA Disneyland Resort guest is under fire after abandoning their disabled mother on the sidewalk so they could go on rides.
Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park might make up The Happiest Place on Earth, but they can be overwhelming for guests with young children or disabilities. The Disney parks require thousands of steps daily, crowds are intense, and many attractions can worsen health conditions.
Redditor u/PrettyUsagi, 38, visited Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park with her mother, 74. The Disney Park guest’s mother always loved Disneyland Resort vacations but has struggled with sciatica, leg pain, myasthenia, and other health issues as she’s gotten older. The Redditor did most of the trip planning and insisted that her mother was set for the visit after recent medical treatments and help from a cane.
During their Disneyland Resort trip, the guest expressed frustration that her mother wouldn’t rope drop or stay at the theme parks late. She argued that because her mother still works full time, she should’ve been able to handle a Disney Park vacation:
“I am a huge disneyland enthusiast and wind up booking most of the trip including ordering the tickets, hotels etc and she just pays her half. I ask her opinion and she tells me if she doesn’t want to do something but rarely contributes other ideas with the exception of i want to ride the riverboat ride. Off and on during these trips weve had arguments mostly around the fact that i want to stay late or get going early. We never get to rope drop even though she regularly gets up for her job early at home because she claims she’s on vacation and shouldn’t have to get up early. 🙄 Usually these arguments are resolved within a few hours but this trip she has carried it out 3 out of the 4 days so far. My mom has some ongoing health issues but still has been working full time and it seems like she is nice to her students and colleagues. However, I feel like she has taken them out on me during the trip, lashing out.”
However, things came to a head when the guest’s mother fell on Main Street, U.S.A. She tripped over a curb and immediately bruised. The guest helped her up and asked if she wanted to seek medical treatment, but her mother said she just wanted to look at souvenirs and head back to the hotel. Her daughter wasn’t happy with that answer.
“I assumed she was just a little sore after the fall since she refused to sit,” the guest wrote. “… We’d had a ‘bad’ Disney day and in 9 hours had only ridden 2 rides, kept missing out on things due to delays. I wanted to stay and ride a few rides since she seemed okay. I even went to get her a cookie and she was irate after I called my [boyfriend] and he suggested give her options: she could head back on hotel shuttle and I could meet her back at the hotel in a couple hours, she could stay while I ride rides and sit in the starbucks on Main Street or go with me. She was irate at this suggestion saying angrily i’ll find a place to sit and you can come find me and went storming off.”
The woman’s boyfriend “validated” her, “saying [she] shouldn’t feel guilty.” She left to ride other attractions and left her mother on Main Street, U.S.A. After they back up, she described her mother as “hostile.”
The next day, the two had a laid-back, non-theme park day. However, the guest’s mother confided that she felt overbooked.
“My mom said cruel things like she hasn’t enjoyed the trip in years because of ‘how I make it,'” she recalled. “And several other negative comments. Now I’ve been crying and feeling bad and I want to enjoy my vacation because I work hard and I paid for it. I don’t feel I deserve this.”
Disney Parks fans overwhelmingly slammed the guest for abandoning her mom after a fall.
“Your elderly mother fell and you were concerned about getting on more rides at Disneyland?” u/toobigtorig2024 asked. “Is this satire?”
“I’m appalled reading this,” u/dannemora_dream replied.
The guest said she would leave Disneyland Resort if her mom had a medical emergency but didn’t think her mother’s fall was that serious: “I could and would leave the parks early if she is having a health emergency. She’s been in the hospital multiple times over the years and I visited her everyday.”
Still, Disney Parks fans argued that the guest’s expectations for her mom were unrealistic.
“This is honestly cruel, my mother who is younger and has health issues I would never drag her along with me,” said u/PieAmbitious1546. “I’d be going at her pace and she would be sitting in a motor chair thing. She is not walking 30,000 steps for 12 hours that is not fun at 60+ that is a nightmare.”
“This is supposed to be a mother-daughter experience,” u/wotan823 agreed. “Part of that is doing what she is capable of and sitting back with her when she is not capable, even if it means missing out on rides and whatever else. Trust me, it’s not fun to be 74 years old in physical pain and ditched by a daughter who’s like ‘ayooo imma be back after a couple rides.’ Like … what? Where you going?”
Did this guest handle their family conflict appropriately? Share your opinion with Inside the Magic in the comments.