Heartless Guest at Disney World Wishes Her Child Had Terminal Illness So She Could "Skip the Lines" | Disney Dining (2024)

The Walt Disney World Resort in Central Florida and Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, have been revered as the Most Magical Place on Earth and the Happiest Place on Earth, respectively, for decades. But for all the magic and happiness that can be found across the resorts, there are still guests who arrive with bad attitudes, a negative mindset, and, occasionally, an axe to grind.

Disney World Guests Behaving Badly

Over the years, guests at Disney World have made the headlines for displaying extremely un-magical behavior, for acting out in anger toward cast members and other guests, and for venturing into various bodies of water on Disney’s property.

Many adults would likely classify this kind of behavior as inappropriate, immature, dangerous, obnoxious, awful, andchildish, but Disney World fans, especially those who follow parks-related news and stories online, can tell you that there are so many instances of poorly behaving adults in the parks that an entire website could easily be devoted to only reporting about such scenarios.

But for all the terrible behaviors that have been displayed at Disney World’s theme parks in recent years–and some of them have been truly awful–a verbal altercation at EPCOT that was recounted on Reddit could easily win the title of “The Worst EVER Guest Behavior in Disney World’s History.”

The Absolute Worst Guest Behavior . . . Ever

Some might imagine that the worst Disney World guest behavior would involve stealing from merchandise locations in the parks, verbally or physically assaulting a cast member, or instigating and/or participating in a fight in the parks.

While all of those are, indeed, examples of bad guest behaviors, the actions of a mother in the queue for EPCOT’s Frozen Ever After attraction somehow seem even worse as her actions were not only obnoxious, disruptive, and hateful, but they were hurtful to a family of complete strangers, as well as to her own family.

In response to a post online that asked users to comment about the worst behavior they have witnessed at Disney World, one user responded with an account of what they witnessed while waiting in line to experience EPCOT’sFrozen-themed attraction located in the Norway pavilion at World Showcase.

The user posted the following:

The worst guest behavior ever was a mom at Frozen. A Make-A-Wish family was brought to the front of the line as per usual. And this one mom exclaims with all of the attitude: ‘Wow, I wish my kid was dying so I could skip lines too.’

Wishing That On Your Own Child (or Anyone Else)?

The scenario must have been hurtful, enraging, and/or heartbreaking, depending on each guest in the queue. The female guest actuallysaid aloud that she wished her child was dying so she could skip the lines (not so that “we” could skip the lines, by the way).

One can’t help but think about the child who was there with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and what he or she must have been experiencing.

And what about the woman’s child (or children) who were likely standing in the queue alongside her? You’d likely be hard-pressed to find anyone who would take issue with the actions of the woman’s husband, who left her behind while the cast member escorted her to the exit.

And while we’d like to believe that this awful and insensitive behavior was an isolated event, it is not, as another Redditor shared in the thread about the altercation at EPCOT.

Not An Isolated Event, Sadly

Many replies followed, each one delivered with an air of disgust for the woman’s nauseating behavior. One user replied to the account of the woman’s behavior, saying, “This is when an entire crowd booing you is 100% acceptable,” while another user posted, commenting, “This is absolutely despicable.”

Another Redditor, however, who is a former Disney World cast member, replied to the story of the woman’s awful behavior with a story of his own that involved an egregiously apathetic guest and a different family visiting the parks as part of a wish granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, all of whom were waiting in the queue for a chance to see Merida at Magic Kingdom.

“I had a very similar lady when I was a CP working with Merida,” he said in his comment, after which he was asked by other users to share the story.

I had to cut the line off and I let a Make-A-Wish family in after that as the last family before a break. This woman had a go at me and said ‘Why do they get to go in and we don’t?’ Bearing in mind, she wasn’t even the next group in line, she was a few families back. Also, the Make A Wish family had a child in a serious-looking wheelchair.

The former cast member continued, explaining that he responded to the woman, saying, “Ma’am, she’s part of the Make-A-Wish foundation,” but that didn’t change the woman’s mind. As such, she only responded to the cast member with, “So what?”

By this point, other families in line for the attraction were understandably looking over at the woman, and according to the cast member, they were doing so with a look of disgust on their faces. The cast member, exhibiting incredible patience and calm, attempted to explain the situation further to the woman with the hope that she would understand the situation.

“Ma’am,” he said, “she has a child with a serious illness or cancer.”

But the woman’s mindset remained unchanged. She responded with apathy, saying, “I don’t care; she shouldn’t be able to skip the line.” It’s at that point that the cast member admits he had to walk away “for [his] own sanity.”

Disney World Takes a Stand Against Hateful, Bad Behavior

In 2022, Disney World made it clear that the powers-that-be are not oblivious to the increase in the number of fights, verbal altercations, and other bad behavior taking place in the Central Florida Disney theme parks.

In response, Disney posted a new warning on its official website that was intended for anyone planning to visit the Central Florida parks. It was listed under the “Know Before You Go” section on the Disney World website under the heading ofCourtesy, something that clearly wasn’t extended by either guest mentioned in the stories shared on Reddit.

The warning was delivered with boldness and phrases that included “you must,” making it clear that Disney World has a serious interest in ensuring that guests don’t destroy any part of the magic for others. It read as follows:

Be the magic you want to see in the world. You must always remember to treat others with respect, kindness, and compassion. Those who can’t live up to this simple wish may be asked to leave Walt Disney World Resort.

The posting online made it abundantly clear that Disney World, too, has had its fill of hateful and un-magical behavior exhibited by guests in the parks.

While the resort isn’t able to–and shouldn’t have to–monitor the behaviors of every guest who walks through the turnstiles at the four theme parks, those of us who do know how to conduct ourselves in the parks are thankful for Disney’s attempts to curb some of those awful behaviors, especially behaviors that take away from the enjoyment of others in the parks.