Annoyed by Phone Addicted Park Goers

[Tempty]

Woman standing in front of us watching the castle Halloween show almost got smacked while we were there .-.
She had her flash on, taking a video above her head, of the show
This of course blocked the view for SEVERAL people, including my vertically-challenged self (I'm 5'0") and it irritated several more
Woman next to her got in her face and told her to "put down the (...) phone RIGHT NOW"
Offender sheepishly put her phone away
People who have zero consideration for others around them are so.. ugh.

 

[PDettorre]

Now, I hate people who are constantly distracted on their phones to begin with (text messages, facebook notifications, and instagram stories will still be there later...no need to check every 5 minutes), but what really gets me is parents who allow their kids to play on their phones while in rides/lines just to keep them quiet. So often, I see kids in rides playing minecraft or whatever games they play on their phone, not paying any attention to the ride. I feel like it has become easier for some parents at this point to just give the kids a phone to occupy them so they dont have to listen to them. I went with my whole family last year (15 of us total, 10 or which were children ranging from 2-13, none of which were mine) and the entire time, the kids all just wanted to be on their phones, including the 2 year old. We would be watching the fireworks while they were snapchatting friends or playing games or watching youtube videos. They were texting friends while on rides, playing games while walking through the park. Drive me INSANE! Why pay that much money to take your family to the park when they have no interest in being there! And it is so disrespectful to the people putting on the shows, the other park goers who are interested in the rides, ect. Kids and adults both are horrible with this now! Don't get me wrong, I use my phone to check the app, make new fastpass selections, check ride times, etc, BUT every time I take my phone out, I step aside from the crowd to a spot where I wont be in the way, check the app, and then once i am done i continue on my way.

 

[wilbret]

I'm as guilty as anyone of using my phone to pass the time during waits. It's a tool, use it.
That being said, people that walk without looking are my biggest gripe. They can be on their phone, or not. Look where you are freaking going! How about peeking behind you before stopping or turning abruptly?

But the funniest site to me, is when there is a magical spectacle in front of you.. and instead of watching it with your eyes, you watch it thru your freaking phone. I am guilty of taking pictures. Yep. And video. But you know what? I am aware my vids and pics are no better than anything I can google in 2 seconds. I focus on taking pics of my family, and trying to watch the parade and fireworks with my eyes. If you want a video...there are literally thousands on Youtube! Yours won't be any different! /end rant

 

[ww52]

people that walk without looking are my biggest gripe. They can be on their phone, or not. Look where you are freaking going! How about peeking behind you before stopping or turning abruptly?

No doubt - and yet I know I was potentially guilty of that several times this past trip. But that was trying to get another FastPass - or checking for somewhere to eat - or reading a description of an attraction we hadn't considered but had a short time or FP available. You know - stuff that Disney has made both more convenient and yet more annoying at the same time.

Still - I looked up every few seconds. And a couple times I finally had to say "let's stop a couple minuted while I get this worked out"

 

[MIGrandma]

I never understood why people take photos of meals. That annoys me with my friends and family who do that.

You probably take photos that I wouldn’t understand why either, and that’s okay because you don’t have to understand why I and many other people enjoy taking food pictures. I was nervous about taking them back on our first Disney Cruise in 2001, as I thought people might think it’s weird. But then I thought, why should I care? I will never see them again, it doesn’t matter what they think about it.

I don’t use flash so I really don’t know why it would bother anyone and I love adding the food photos to my photo albums. Love to see them and remember each enjoyable meal.

Now if I’m having something common, like a burger and fries I don’t feel the need to take a photo of that, but if it’s something special, or beautiful plating, etc. then yes, I’m going to take a photo of it.

 

[skyblue17]

But the funniest site to me, is when there is a magical spectacle in front of you.. and instead of watching it with your eyes, you watch it thru your freaking phone. I am guilty of taking pictures. Yep. And video. But you know what? I am aware my vids and pics are no better than anything I can google in 2 seconds. I focus on taking pics of my family, and trying to watch the parade and fireworks with my eyes. If you want a video...there are literally thousands on Youtube! Yours won't be any different! /end rant

Yesss! I can't get over how many people take bad photos of dark shows. Your fireworks pictures are probably pretty bad! Your Fantasmic pictures are also probably pretty bad! And while you take your time trying to get a photo good enough to share, you're probably blocking someone else's view or forcing them to watch the show through your screen. This drives me crazy everywhere, especially at concerts and sporting events. You took the time, effort and money to EXPERIENCE this, not badly document it! I always wonder if people actually go home and look at their footage and watch it over, without realizing they never truly experienced the moment.

 

[GPC0321]

Woman standing in front of us watching the castle Halloween show almost got smacked while we were there .-.
She had her flash on, taking a video above her head, of the show
This of course blocked the view for SEVERAL people, including my vertically-challenged self (I'm 5'0") and it irritated several more
Woman next to her got in her face and told her to "put down the (...) phone RIGHT NOW"
Offender sheepishly put her phone away
People who have zero consideration for others around them are so.. ugh.

Ugh, indeed. I hate the obsession we as a species have with videoing every freaking moment of something. Which is hypocritical of me, because I love watching WDW videos on Youtube, but I always hope that the videos I'm watching were done with utmost courtesy to the people around the person shooting the footage, LOL.

Seriously, I'm lucky if I remember to take any pictures. Plus, I don't want to drain my phone's battery. I need it for two things! FastPasses and checking the radar. Other than that, the phone stays put away when I'm visiting the Mouse.

 

[wiihoo888]

Completely admit it...I am watching my phone a lot while I am in the parks. The reason? Pokemon Go. Disney is like a Poke-paradise for geeks like me. Just gives me something to do when waiting and there’s nothing else to do.

 

[bellecee]

Completely admit it...I am watching my phone a lot while I am in the parks. The reason? Pokemon Go. Disney is like a Poke-paradise for geeks like me. Just gives me something to do when waiting and there’s nothing else to do.

Ohh noo! I did not want to hear that haha! Now my fiance will be constantly on his phone while walking around the parks. Oh well, at least while he's stopping every so often to get a rare pokemon or to battle I can just do some shopping

 

[k5thbeatle]

Just got back from a lengthy stay at WDW and the biggest annoyance wasn't the long lines or hefty prices.....it was phone addicted park goers. Now, I realize that Disney has set it up that you can use your Dis App for practically everything. In fact, it was a huge help, worked great and I didn't have to keep a paper plan with me at all times. BUT that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about people who answer phone calls in the middle of rides and shows. People who scroll facebook in the middle of the haunted mansion and other dark rides. People who are looking down at their phone while they walk and run into you. On every Disney pack list it says to pack an extra external battery. Even with using the Disney app a ton my phone never got down less than 50% days end. I heard on the news that Americans check their phone every 12 min and I believe it now. In fact, I said to my husband, that I'm totally convinced that Disney can get away with so many long wait times now because people have a boredom machine in their pocket that they can pull out whenever in line. Does anybody else have any good phone stories from the park?

It's pretty much our society at large. Especially scary, start noticing how many people are looking at their phones while driving!

 

[motherof5]

I saw a kid on their tablet during a show. That's something they could have done at home and were missing a great experience. My kids who love technology aren't allowed to bring anything but their phone to Disney and that's in case we lose each other. I on the other hand used my phone alot. Order food, make fast passes, check wait times. It was extremely helpful but I felt like I was on it more than usually but had no choice in order to get the best experiences.

 

[DisLiss]

If it weren't for WDW making their apps so much a part of a visit, we wouldn't even use phones in the park. As it is, for our family of 4, we only bring 2 phones, so we can split up and each group will still have a phone. And neither of those 2 phones belong to me because I don't even own a smartphone. Any time I use one, they aggravate me, so I'm happier without one.

 

[fla4fun]

But the funniest site to me, is when there is a magical spectacle in front of you.. and instead of watching it with your eyes, you watch it thru your freaking phone. I am guilty of taking pictures. Yep. And video. But you know what? I am aware my vids and pics are no better than anything I can google in 2 seconds. I focus on taking pics of my family, and trying to watch the parade and fireworks with my eyes. If you want a video...there are literally thousands on Youtube! Yours won't be any different! /end rant

When I went to DHS for my last visit to GMR and Epcot for my last visit to UoE (both on the same day), I made the conscious decision not to try to photograph or video either one. I wanted to be in the moment and I wanted to remember the experience of riding them for the last time. I knew there were plenty of videos of either attraction that I could watch if I wanted to relive the attractions later, but the experience of making those last rides would only happen once.

I usually keep my phone completely off unless I specifically need to use it for something. I have a Mophie case, but I don't really need it very often because my battery lasts fine.

The phone habit that bugs me is when a family/group is sitting in a restaurant, and instead of interacting with each other, they are all on their phones and totally silent. I can understand a solo person being on their phone during a meal, or if a group was talking and one person had their phone out looking up things they were talking about. But these families/groups are totally ignoring their travel companions, which just seems very rude to me. Some of them haven't spoken a word during the meal other than to order their food. I would think if they were looking for FP or something, they would at least be discussing what they were booking, or looking for, or what was available, instead of total silence.

 

[maxiesmom]

The phone habit that bugs me is when a family/group is sitting in a restaurant, and instead of interacting with each other, they are all on their phones and totally silent. I can understand a solo person being on their phone during a meal, or if a group was talking and one person had their phone out looking up things they were talking about. But these families/groups are totally ignoring their travel companions, which just seems very rude to me. Some of them haven't spoken a word during the meal other than to order their food. I would think if they were looking for FP or something, they would at least be discussing what they were booking, or looking for, or what was available, instead of total silence.

Or maybe after being with their family all day they need a little me time, even if it is just a break with their phone. As much as I love the people I travel to the parks with, I need a little space of my own, even if it is just escaping into my head for a bit.

I don't get worrying about what another family is doing at a restaurant. As long as they are not throwing food, being excessively noisy, or rolling around on the floor, who cares?

 

[skyblue17]

Or maybe after being with their family all day they need a little me time, even if it is just a break with their phone. As much as I love the people I travel to the parks with, I need a little space of my own, even if it is just escaping into my head for a bit.

I don't get worrying about what another family is doing at a restaurant. As long as they are not throwing food, being excessively noisy, or rolling around on the floor, who cares?

Yeah, this doesn't bother me as much as it does outside of vacation destinations. The simple fact is that a lot of people spend more time with their travel companions (whether it be family or friends) on vacation than they ordinarily do. For someone like me, who lives alone and needs to slip into an introvert bubble every now and then, it's also simply more time with people in general! I truly enjoyed the week I spent with two of my best friends at WDW but we spent almost all of it together, and the occasional opportunity we had to sit down and relax, we sometimes also used as an opportunity to check in with our phones and opt out for a few minutes. Trust me, recharging introvert batteries is important!

 

[fla4fun]

Or maybe after being with their family all day they need a little me time, even if it is just a break with their phone. As much as I love the people I travel to the parks with, I need a little space of my own, even if it is just escaping into my head for a bit.

I don't get worrying about what another family is doing at a restaurant. As long as they are not throwing food, being excessively noisy, or rolling around on the floor, who cares?

I guess our travel group doesn’t get tired of each other’s company, because while we may take a moment to check email or something like that in a restaurant, we don’t spend the whole meal ignoring each other. It’s just a phenomenon I find unusual and if I were to be dining with someone who did nothing but stare at their phone, I personally would be offended. But everyone is different and has different things that annoy them when it comes to cell phones.