Theme Park Courtesy, Is There Any??

Hey everyone. Those who know me know that I'm a Disney freak. No, I'm not the guy who can tell you how many lamp posts there are on Main Street or how many feet from Pirates to Space Mountain, not my style. I'm a fan of the Disney parks and what they have done for me. What I don't understand is why guests trash our beautiful parks and act like animals. Is is the heat? Is it the cost? Is it the full moon? Let me explain...
Last night my wife and I head over to EPCOT for some dinner and fireworks. Typical weekend for us. (Insert Sarcastic Remark From Tocpe Here) We haven't gotten out of our car before we experience the night's first act of stupidity. I pull in to a parking spot, around Journey 5, quick walk into the park. A guy pulls in next to me, but decides to park parallel with me instead of pulling forward. No problem, I'm not in any hurry. I wait as he and his 30 kids and family members pile out of their mini van. Do they get out of the way to let us out of our car? Nope. They decide to take care of business right there. Still no biggie. I've been to the parks a million times, still plenty of time on the old clock, not a problem. The proceed to empty out over 4 bags of mcdonalds wrappers and trash all around their car. Where in the *questionable metaphor* do you live that allows this kind of behavior? It's disgusting. Do you literally live in trash so you aren't comfortable with the cleanliness of your surroundings? This was a family affair too. It wasn't dad sneaking trash out of the back, it was like some cult ritual. Even grandma got in on the action.

My wife and I decide to leave and get into the park. Desperate for a nice meal and a good view of Illuminations, especially after what we had just witnessed. So we are walking from Future World to World Showcase when we come across a man so drunk that he is screaming at the top of his lungs every foul word imaginable. He was creative with his coupling of the words, but still - THIS IS DISNEY MAN. SAVE THAT TALK FOR IOA.. Just kidding. So I go to the nearest cast member and ask them to call security, I mean come on, there are little kids and very distraught parents all around the guy.

We decide to head over to Japan for some shopping and a nice meal. Before we get there, we are blocked by a family who decides to take up the entire width of the walkway at World Showcase. This was literally a slow moving blockade. To add insult to injury, they are chain smoking like it was a contest. A petite Cast Member reminds them that this is a non smoking park and you can only smoke in designated areas. The woman responded, "Wea re out doors and in public, there's nothing you can do about it. Perfectly legal." And laughed at the cast member. I can only hope she called security on the lovely family. Why is it that people feel they can smoke at will in the parks? You can't claim ignorance of the policy, they beat you over the head with it. Ride the monorail? It says no smoking in the speil. Ride the tram or the boats? The operators tell you no smoking. Read a park map? Heh. Again no smoking. Come on people. What's worse is that you see cigarette butts in the World Showcase Lagoon, and in the planters & fountains. Please. Pathetic. No courtesy.

Finally it's time for Illuminations. My wife and I camped out in Italy for about an hour prior to the show. We had a great spot, nothing in front of me but a railing. 2 minutes prior to show time and a group of people literally try and push between me and the railing. During the show a woman behind me was trying to yell over the fireworks on her cellphone, attempting to direct her party to her location. Meanwhile, during the whole show, the same three people are trying to push through me to get to the railing.

This brings me to my question, where is this behavior acceptable? I could go on for days listing how rude people have become at the parks. What are we teaching our kids? I shutter to think what people will act like in 20 years. Please people, if you see someone trashing our park, do something. Tell someone. This is our park and it's not some local fair. This is the 'Vacation Kingdom of the World', let's keep it that way. Is there any theme park courtesy? Not much. But it's not too late to change.

I'm off my soapbox now...

Come talk about this at Themed Attractions.