It’s supposed to be a quiet, relaxing ride… A couple of days ago my daughter and I were at Epcot. We were there mostly to enjoy the Flower & Garden Festival, but then we noticed that there was no wait for Living with the Land. We hadn’t ridden since the holiday overlay, so we decided to enjoy a nice, quiet boat ride. That was the plan, anyway.
Living with the Land is now seating every row, with plastic barriers in between. We were seated in a row between two different families. The family in front of us had two kids who were probably about five and seven. They all talked in normal voices the entire time, and the daughter kept getting yelled at for putting her hand outside of the boat.
The family behind us was worse. I’m not sure how many people there were, but they took up several rows. They not only talked, they screamed. “Look at the fishies!” “Daddy, there are bananas! Can we have some bananas for breakfast?” They were so loud that they drowned out the narration.
I am not saying that kids should not enjoy themselves on an educational ride. I am also not saying that they shouldn’t talk. But parents need to encourage kids to use their indoor voices on some rides. While they’re at it, the parents need to use indoor voices as well.
When I ride anything or watch a show, I always try to be respectful of those around me. I know that I’ll be able to ride again if someone spoils it for me, but not everyone can say the same. I know that there could be people on the ride who this is their only chance to experience it. I don’t want to ruin it for them.
There are of course rides where you can make noise. I would never say that someone shouldn’t scream on Tower of Terror, or play along on Jungle Cruise. But singing Let It Go at the top of your lungs on Frozen Ever After is not cool (pun intended). I’ve had that happen more than once, after waiting in line for quite a while. One time we were taking a video and the mother was singing offkey. That’s not what magical memories are made of.
I want people to have the vacation of a lifetime while at Walt Disney World. I’m not trying to ruin anyone’s fun. All I ask is that people be more considerate of others while riding. It could be that the person recording is trying to make memories for a Make a Wish trip or something similar. I would never want to intrude on or ruin a memory like that.