Pet Peeves

Traveling brings out the best and the worst in people, including me. What you may not know about me is that I have A LOT of pet peeves – most of which are witnessed when I travel. Here are just a few things I witnessed.

1) The I’m more important than anyone else mentality.

We always see at least one person who personifies this trait. Years ago, on a trip to Aruba there was a couple who cut every line on the trip, including the customs line. The wife even said, “are we going to cut this line?. You bet your asses we are!”

On this trip, there was a super tall dad who decided to sit in the first row of the kids’ section on the floor at Turtle Talk With Crush, thus blocking the views of a whole bunch of kids. Really? I was hoping Crush would call him out.

This rule also applies to the woman who took up a whole seat for her cooler while others, including a pregnant woman were standing on a bus.

2) The Who’s in Charge Here?

It’s always fun to see family dynamics on vacation. One woman, who clearly had enough, put her husband in charge for the day. With a half-hour, he’d left a child behind at the bus stop (luckily a cast member intervened), and had injured another while the mom looked on saying “daddy’s in charge”.

3) The Where Am I Again?

When I was a little kid, apparently a woman near me on a bus in Canada was shocked to find out that she was no longer in the US (maybe she slept through customs?). According to my parents, I loudly laughed at her.

As an adult, I am more in control of my response, but I still inwardly chuckled when the guy in from of me in line was upset that he didn’t get Universal Studios access with his Walt Disney World park hopper.

Another item in this category is the people who don’t realize they are at Disney World. With kids. Lots of kids. Like the woman who shushed my son in the American Idol Experience when he whispered me a question. Seriously lady?

5) The “whaddaya mean I’ve got to take my shoes off”

Haven’t flown in a while? Time to brush up on those TSA regulations before you hold up the line.

6) Airlines suffering from their own stupid policies

We flew a lovely airline that charges extra if you want advanced seat assignments. Guess what happens when you fly out of Orlando? You guessed it – half the families are separated from each other. A grouchy gate attendant then marched up and down the aisle barking at people to switch seats. If you didn’t, he said they’d fly you to Alaska where you’d have to look at Russia with Sarah Palin. Might be time for a new policy AirTran.