Credit: UniversalEvery day, tens of thousands of people visit Central Florida’s incredible theme parks, including Walt Disney World Resort, LEGOLAND, SeaWorld Orlando, and Universal Orlando Resort, just to name a few. While Walt Disney World Resort used to be heads and shoulders above the rest, Universal Orlando Resort is slowly creeping up on the competition, especially with the opening of its third theme park — Epic Universe — which opened this past May.
We don’t know how many people visited Universal Orlando Resort in 2024, but we do know that more than $21 million people visited in 2o23. That number most likely went up in 2024, and certainly went up in 2025 with the opening of the new theme park. Universal is quickly gaining ground as one of the most popular theme park resorts in the area.
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While many of the rides and attractions at Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Epic Universe are geared toward an older crowd, there are plenty of children who love to visit the parks. And when you visit the theme park with kids, it’s important to make sure they behave appropriately and don’t bother other guests.
Unfortunately, some guests think that kids get to let loose while on vacation, and the rules don’t apply. Plenty of us have most likely gotten frustrated seeing kids yelling, running around, and causing total chaos while we are just trying to enjoy our time in the parks.
And sadly, one guest was left absolutely shocked when he encountered one of those kids. However, what shocked him wasn’t the child’s behavior, but the child’s parents.
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Reddit user unsung_requiem recently visited the Universal Orlando Resort, ready to have a great time. The OP (Original Poster) said he walks with a really nice wooden cane, and often gets asked about it. The OP had his cane next to him as he took a picture of his wife. That’s when a child ran up, grabbed his cane, and started playing with it!
What’s more, the parents did nothing about it and actually told OP they shouldn’t be upset about it! Thankfully, a Universal team member witnessed the scene and put the parents in their place.
Parents, please keep your kids “in check,” and to keep their hands to themselves.
At universal today with my wife, and I was taking a picture of her. I use a cane, and I admit it’s a nice wooden cane. A lot of people ask to see it, which I don’t usually mind them showing it. It was next to me, though I didn’t have my hand on it because I was holding the phone up to take the picture.
A kid (I’m guessing 10-12) runs up, grabs my cane, and starts playing with it. When I asked for it back their parent/guardian said “what’s the harm, we’re here for fun! He’s just checking it out” while he was swinging it around.
I’m very grateful to the TM who witnessed it and came over immediately to tell them that they needed to return our property. But he shouldn’t have needed to, it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.
Parents, please tell your kids not to touch other people’s properties.
Can’t believe I have to say this…
byu/unsung_requiem inUniversalOrlando
Related: Entitled Universal Guest Shows Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
Commenters were shocked at the utter audacity of the parents, so the child’s entitled behavior wasn’t all that shocking. Many noted that parents’ behavior has gotten much worse in recent years.
I am a parent of a 3 year old and we just went to universal a couple days ago, and when I tell you I was absolutely appalled at other people’s parenting while we were there. And also just a ton of people in general having zero manners, common courtesy, or common sense, of all ages. Idk what it was about universal but we saw way more shitty behavior there than at the Disney parks, and it really kind of ruined the day
Others shared their own stories of entitled parents raising entitled children.
I was in dia alley [Diagon Alley] a few months ago and an eight year-old boy ran up and threw a bunch of garbage on me and then ran back to his parents and I walked over to them and scolded them both. They also seemed confused as to why I was upset with them.
Related: Universal Guest Rants Against Entitled Single Riders
Many commenters suggested that OP should have been more confrontational with the parents, not by starting a fight, but by telling them their behavior and that of their child was absolutely unacceptable. One even had the funny and petty idea of falling to the ground and yelling at the parents about needing the cane to walk.
Of course, if you find a child or parent behaving in a particularly bad or dangerous way, you can find the nearest Universal Orlando team member and alert them of the issue. They are trained in how to handle guests and remove them from the park if necessary.
Are you shocked by the outrageous behavior exhibited by these entitled parents? What would you have done in this situation? Have you ever seen a case of poor parenting like this while visiting theme parks? Share your thoughts and stories with us in the comments!