I hate to be the bearer of bad news to longtime Disney park fans, but the title is true. If you are a self-proclaimed Disney super fan, there is a decent chance you have either done some of these things before (maybe not all of them), but I would bet at least one.
One of the biggest issues long-time Disney Park goers have is talking to cast members, as if they know more than the cast members do. Yes, if you have been visiting Disney for years, there is a good chance you know more than some newer cast members about certain attractions, procedures, or history. But rules change constantly, policies update, and cast members are the ones currently working there. Unless a cast member is being rude, unsafe, or clearly inappropriate, just listen to what they are telling you. The guests who immediately jump to “Well, I’ve been coming here for 20 years…” are almost never helping the situation. Even if the cast member is technically wrong, arguing rarely fixes anything. Politely move on and, if it truly matters, calmly speak to Guest Relations afterward. Publicly arguing with a cast member is never a good look, even if you think you are right.
Speaking of talking, another thing that drives me crazy is guests carrying on full conversations during rides. I am not talking about quick reactions like “Look at that!” or laughing with your family. I mean the guests who have ridden Pirates of the Caribbean fifty times and treat it like a park bench where they can discuss Lightning Lane plans, lunch reservations, or what they are doing later that night. Not everyone on that boat has your level of familiarity with the attraction. For some guests, this may be their first or only time experiencing it. Constant talking during a ride is not much different than talking through a movie. It distracts from the atmosphere and pulls other people out of the experience.
Another issue is longtime guests being so set in their ways that they do not let newer visitors discover what they personally enjoy. If you are visiting with family or friends who do not come often, stop trying to shape their entire trip around your nostalgia. Saying things like, “Don’t bother with Test Track, it is not as good as the old version,” does not help anyone. Maybe they will love the new version. Maybe it will become one of their favorite attractions. Just because you miss an older version of something does not mean you should immediately shut down someone else’s excitement for it. Let people form their own Disney opinions and memories instead of filtering everything through your own nostalgia.
Then there are the guests who know the parks so well that they become annoyed by anyone moving at a normal pace. Look, people stopping in the middle of a walkway with no awareness of others is frustrating. Everyone agrees on that. But almost equally frustrating are the guests weaving aggressively through crowds, cutting people off, and acting irritated because other families are simply existing in the park at a slower pace. Not everyone has the park layout memorized. Some people are taking in the atmosphere, looking around, or figuring out where they are going. You do not own the walkway just because you know the shortcut to Frontierland.
Ironically, some of the people who love Disney the most can also make the parks less enjoyable for everyone around them. Being experienced should make you more patient, more understanding, and more aware of how to help newer guests enjoy the parks, not less.
