Please Put Your Arms Down, There are Kids Behind You

xoSonya

First Disney Trip Ever May 2018!
Joined
Jan 6, 2018
Just wanted to give newbie parents to Disney World (like I was) a heads up. A don't- make-this-mistake-like-I-did warning.

I'm back home from Disney downloading photos from Memory Maker / Photo Pass. Aside from the slight inconvenience of sifting thru Jedi Training images to find my kids and deleting the others, I've discovered something that sifting won't fix.

My six and eight year olds are blocked in the images on 7DMT ,ToT and slightly on Splash Mountain because people have their arms raised high during the snapping of the ride photo.

Ugh, I was so disappointed. Unfortunately, my family is not one of those families that goes to Disney multiple times, allowing the moment to be captured on another trip. That moment, although paid for, is forever missed.

Naturally, no one can dictate the behavior of others in the park, but parents, if actually seeing your child in the photo that you spent a lot of money getting is important to you, ask to be seated in the front. I wish I had been made aware. You live and learn.

Yes, I do realize that some people have their arms up, not realizing a photo is being taken. But for the people who frequent the parks, could you please take into account that there might be a child behind you whose parents want a picture of their child on the ride. Thanks. I'm not writing to ruffle any feathers, so please don't take it as such. I just don't want other parents to be disappointed. I want them to make an informed choice for their family, if ride photos are an important part of their Disney experience.

I still had a great time in Disney!
 
Upon inspection of the ride photo, would the salesclerk (with the help of other CMs) get you back on the ride immediately to retry the photo?

(You would have to pay for the photo first.)
 
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My six and eight year olds are blocked in the images on 7DMT ,ToT and slightly on Splash Mountain because people have their arms raised high during the snapping of the ride photo...

Yes, I do realize that some people have their arms up, not realizing a photo is being taken. But for the people who frequent the parks, could you please take into account that there might be a child behind you whose parents want a picture of their child on the ride. Thanks.
Give me a break. Are photos so important now that they come before the actual experience that is being photographed? A big part of roller coaster riding for many people is putting hands up during the ride. Don't tell people not to do that in order to get your children's perfect ride photo. Ride photos are supposed to be candid, and therefore, they will be imperfect. If you've got to have a clear view of the kids in every ride pic, you'll need to ask the CMs to let them to wait for the front row every time. That seems silly to me, but that is your only solution, not telling other people to not fully enjoy & experience the coasters. They all paid for their Disney vacations, too.
 
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Oh boy I’m guilty of this OP! I Always have my arms up... love the experience of it on All coaster type rides. I’ve seen many people with specific actions ( like acting Asleep and/bored) as they know Exactly when pix is taken. I thought it was sooo funny and creative.
I can understand your frustration and think it’s nice that you alerted others as to ur experience and help others make that choice to wait for first row.
Despite ur pix debacle, glad you enjoyed ur visit and hope the kids had fun too
 
Give me a break. Are photos so important now that they come before the actual experience that is being photographed? A big part of roller coaster riding for many people is putting hands up during the ride. Don't tell people not to do that in order to get your children's perfect ride photo. Ride photos are supposed to be candid, and therefore, they will be imperfect. If you've got to have a clear view of the kids in every ride pic, you'll need to ask the CMs to let them to wait for the front row every time. That seems silly to me, but that is your only solution, not telling other people to not fully enjoy & experience the coasters. They all paid for their Disney vacations, too.

I totally agree with this.

OP, no sympathy. I can't even fathom someone telling others how they *should* enjoy a ride so other people's kids photos don't get messed up. Please. It's not all about you.

The part of your post where you suggest that parents with little kids may want to wait for the front row is fine. Good advice. The rest? Completely unnecessary.
 
Give me a break. Are photos so important now that they come before the actual experience that is being photographed? A big part of roller coaster riding for many people is putting hands up during the ride. Don't tell people not to do that in order to get your children's perfect ride photo. Ride photos are supposed to be candid, and therefore, they will be imperfect. If you've got to have a clear view of the kids in every ride pic, you'll need to ask the CMs to let them to wait for the front row every time. That seems silly to me, but that is your only solution, not telling other people to not fully enjoy & experience the coasters. They all paid for their Disney vacations, too.

Why was your response so hostile? I made it clear that my post wasn't to tell others what to do on the ride, but to make other parents aware what could happen if ride photos are important to them. I know your hostile response has more to do with you than me, so no big deal. Have a magical day.
 
I totally agree with this.

OP, no sympathy. I can't even fathom someone telling others how they *should* enjoy a ride so other people's kids photos don't get messed up. Please. It's not all about you.

The part of your post where you suggest that parents with little kids may want to wait for the front row is fine. Good advice. The rest? Completely unnecessary.


I made it clear that no one should tell other people how to enjoy the ride. Sheesh. I provided a strategy for other parents. My title may have come across that way, that's why I tried to clarify in my post that I wasn't telling others how to enjoy the ride. Maybe if I edit the title, people won't be so hostile.
 


I made it clear that no one should tell other people how to enjoy the ride. Sheesh. I provided a strategy for other parents. My title may have come across that way, that's why I tried to clarify in my post that I wasn't telling others how to enjoy the ride. Maybe if I edit the title, people won't be so hostile.

Just to clarify, it's not only the title. Your original post says: "But for the people who frequent the parks, could you please take into account that there might be a child behind you whose parents want a picture of their child on the ride." I think what everyone is saying is no, we should not have to take into account other guests' ride photos when enjoying a ride in a very very common and expected way. I do agree with you to change the title, though. I understand you did not mean to offend, but it does come across as very rude and entitled, whether that was your intent or no.

Hope you were still able to enjoy your memory maker from all the great photo pass photographers around the parks. The magic shots are fun, and we always find them to be much better quality (and much easier to see our kids' faces, hands up or no) than the on-ride photos.
 
But for the people who frequent the parks, could you please take into account that there might be a child behind you whose parents want a picture of their child on the ride.

I made it clear that no one should tell other people how to enjoy the ride. Sheesh. I provided a strategy for other parents. My title may have come across that way, that's why I tried to clarify in my post that I wasn't telling others how to enjoy the ride. Maybe if I edit the title, people won't be so hostile.

I think people may find your two statements contradictory. On one hand, you say you can’t tell people what to do, but then ask people who go to the parks to be more considerate of parents who want a photo of their kids on a ride.

I am not entering the debate here. Just wanted to point out the inconsistency I noticed.
 
I made it clear that no one should tell other people how to enjoy the ride. Sheesh. I provided a strategy for other parents. My title may have come across that way, that's why I tried to clarify in my post that I wasn't telling others how to enjoy the ride. Maybe if I edit the title, people won't be so hostile.

But you kind of Are telling people how to enjoy the ride...

But for the people who frequent the parks, could you please take into account that there might be a child behind you whose parents want a picture of their child on the ride. Thanks.

We have photos with my 8 year old's face hidden on SDMT because someone was tall in front of her. We also have a photo of people making crazy faces and dabbing with their arms up on Expedition Everest in front of us. Whatever. They had fun and so did we.

The "moment" is not the photo, but the actual experience of riding the ride. That's what you keep in your memories.
 
In all fairness, you DO ask if people could take into account that there is a child behind them. This implies they should keep their arms down if the people behind them are shorter than they are.

Arm raisers also pay to go to the parks, but I do see your point. We all have things that bother us on vacation. My pet peeve is people who use strollers as weapons. Ouch! DH gets annoyed at people who congregate in large groups and block exits and entances. We have made a game of it, and laugh it off and just enjoy Disney.
 
Why was your response so hostile? I made it clear that my post wasn't to tell others what to do on the ride, but to make other parents aware what could happen if ride photos are important to them. I know your hostile response has more to do with you than me, so no big deal. Have a magical day.

I made it clear that no one should tell other people how to enjoy the ride. Sheesh. I provided a strategy for other parents. My title may have come across that way, that's why I tried to clarify in my post that I wasn't telling others how to enjoy the ride. Maybe if I edit the title, people won't be so hostile.

You're not going to get any sympathy here. We all pay our admission to get in, and as long as we're not breaking any rules, we'll enjoy the rides how we wish. As other posters said, the title of the thread is loaded as well as your "advice" for seasoned guests.

You want people who camped out for fireworks and parades to give up their spots too because you couldn't get there early enough with your kids?

Get over it and move on. This is a good example too of how memory maker can partly be a bust.
 
Simple solution is to ask the ride operators if you may wait for the front row.

People have been putting their hands up on rides since the first real roller coasters opened in the 1880's, and probably before that with the switchback railways! I'm sorry if you weren't aware of this phenomenon prior to your first Disney trip, but it's hard for me to believe you've never been on a coaster prior to this trip, or failing that, that you've never even seen a roller coaster on a tv show or in a movie.
 
We all pay our admission to get in, and as long as we're not breaking any rules, we'll enjoy the rides how we wish.

Except that you're not supposed to have any part of your body outside the ride vehicle.
IMG_20180701_023457.jpg

There's a sign like this at every ride, it's posted in each park's guide, and there's usually a safety message that says the same thing that's broadcast before you ride. Raising hands on roller coasters has been popular for ages, but it doesn't mean it's technically allowed. It's kind of like the rule about no flash photography on rides- it's posted, but people still do it.
 
That photo shows people standing up with their hands OUTSIDE the car, not above their head. If people had their hands outside the car like that, OP would have been able to see her kids, lol. Disney park rules and regulations don't prohibit raising your arms above your head on rides. This thread is pretty funny.
 
That photo shows people standing up with their hands OUTSIDE the car, not above their head. If people had their hands outside the car like that, OP would have been able to see her kids, lol. Disney park rules and regulations don't prohibit raising your arms above your head on rides. This thread is pretty funny.

The adult is standing, but one of his arms is definitely raised in the air above his head and not off the side of the ride vehicle. You may not get in trouble for doing it, but raising your hands in the air over your head is NOT keeping your hands inside the ride vehicle, which is the rule. Last time we went, they wouldn't let BTM or SM leave the loading zone until people put their hands down.
 
Upon inspection of the ride photo, would the salesclerk (with the help of other CMs) get you back on the ride immediately to retry the photo?

I would hope not - seems like a great way to get an extra ride without standing in line/using an FP.

That photo shows people standing up with their hands OUTSIDE the car, not above their head. If people had their hands outside the car like that, OP would have been able to see her kids, lol. Disney park rules and regulations don't prohibit raising your arms above your head on rides. This thread is pretty funny.

If that sign really meant that you couldn't put your hands up because they'd be "outside the vehicle", the adult in that picture needs to remove his/her head, because it is also above the line of the vehicle (even when seated).
 
Upon inspection of the ride photo, would the salesclerk (with the help of other CMs) get you back on the ride immediately to retry the photo?

(You would have to pay for the photo first.)

Uhh. no. Can you even imagine?! "You can only see half of Johnny's face on Buzz Lightyear because the gun was blocking him. I'm offended! We need to ride again to get another picture!" or "People were posing on Splash Mountain and I couldn't see my daughter's arm! We need to ride again for a better photo!"
LOL no.
 
For people looking for geniune info about this, I want to add that the ride vehicle or adults sitting with arms down can also block your child. In one ride of 7DMT my husband blocked my son just seated normally. I think for most vehicles, the front row & kid entering last is the only way to guarantee you'll see your kid in photos especially if they are shorter (my kids were in the low 40 inches this last trip). I'd ask the ride attendant upfront if the photo is important which way you should sit.

In our pics from our last trip, one or both kids were blocked on the following: Test Track (kid seated in the back row, middle, and was blocked by headrest of front seat); Frozen Ever After (both kids in the middle of back row, blocked by seated adults with arms down); Pirates (back row far side, blocked by seated adults with arms down); 7DMT Mine Train (kid on back passenger side of train, blocked by headrest on front driver side, and another ride kid blocked by husband seated with arms down). My daughter also ducked on Splash and you can't even tell she was there.
 

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