Disney Parkgoers Shared Some Of The Grossest Things They’ve Seen At Disneyland, And There Are Some Common Themes

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…

Splash mountain broke down, and my log was just about to go up the final hill. We were there for probably about 20-25 minutes and the woman infront of me took an empty water bottle and filled it up with splash mountain water and proceeded to drink the whole bottle

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… 

Once saw a woman fill her water bottle up at the Stanley fountain in Cars Land and then chug it. I gasped and my stomach immediately tightened up.

 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… 

Kid pissed his pants. Pee all over the floor, wet pants the works. Parents still allow the kid to ride space mountain. Piss pants and all everyone around us including ourselves were mortified

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… 

The people in front of us in line for It's a Small World held their toddler up, striped her down, sat her on the railing, and let her pee into the water the boats all float on. Then, to top it off, the mom used Kleenex from Nana's purse to wipe the kid's butt and then threw that in the water, too.

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… 

my sister. she must’ve been around 7 or so. it was raining, we were in line for Nemo, and she was licking the rain off a stranger’s poncho, unbeknownst to him

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… 

Just kids putting line dividers in their mouths. I saw a kid also lick the rocks and decor in the splash mountain line. Another was chewing the rope at Indy while watching people walk by. I guess that’s one way to try and build a strong immune system.

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.

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.