When you go to a place like Disneyland, where tens of thousands of people go every day, you’re bound to have to deal with all sorts of crazy things from different people. You can have wonderful moments when a stranger does something nice for you, but you can also have frustrating moments with tired and angry people. And then there are the gross things you’ll see that you wish you never had to witness.
If you’ve spent any considerable amount of time in a theme park, or just been unlucky, you may have witnessed some pretty awful stuff. A recent Reddit thread is highlighting the grossing thing people have seen at Disneyland specifically, and while there are all sorts of terrible things, I’m noticing three recurring themes.
People Drinking Ride Water
Spending the day at Disneyland can be hot, nd it's even worse for the people in the costumes, even when it isn’t the heart of the summer. So it’s important to keep hydrated...but some people take it to an extreme. Rather than simply refilling a water bottle or buying water, people apparently, intentionally, drink water off of rides. This is awful. As one Redditor described…
This lady just drank the Splash Mountain water and didn't even try to sell it? So the good news is that ride water is likely, fairly clean, compared to other random public places where one might find water. The bad news is that, in order to clean the water, Disneyland treats its ride water with bromine, and drinking that stuff in even moderate amounts can be quite toxic. So please don’t drink the water, even if it seems accessible, even off the rides…
There are plenty of water fountains around people. You cannot possibly be so dehydrated that you can’t wait to use one of them.
Kids Peeing Everywhere
Disneyland is obviously going to be full of kids. Kids have accidents. The fact that a kid might wet themself, while unpleasant for all involved, isn’t necessarily all that terrible. Where it crosses the line into gross is when the parents don’t deal with the problem immediately, as apparently happened with one family who I guess decided they didn’t want to wait in the Space Mountain line twice…
Look, I’m a parent who loves Disneyland and writes about it professionally, and who also has young children. I completely understand the desire to not want to get out of line to deal with your kid's need to use the bathroom, but it absolutely needs to happen people. Some people go to real extremes to prevent accidents while also avoiding getting out of line…
Please reference the previous section and the fact that drinking ride water is a really bad idea. You don’t actually know what other guests have done with it.
Kids Licking Stuff
Much like the kids having accidents thing is normal, though unfortunate, kids also put stuff in their mouths that should not be there. In most cases this isn’t the end of the world, but when kids do this in public places, it can get extra gross. Be careful, there may be a kid licking you without your knowledge at any moment…
I don’t know what it is that compels kids to put weird things in their mouths. I’m sure I did it as a child just like everybody else, but it’s pretty awful to see kids doing it when you know that millions of people have touched the thing the kid is trying to eat. The decor of Splash Mountain is not to be consumed…
I suppose that when Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens, its ride building will be very clean, at least at the beginning. When next time you're visiting Disneyland, just try not to think too hard about all the gross things that have likely happened all around you. And maybe wash your hands if you touch literally anything.