Some people have a very strange perception about major theme parks like Disneyland. They seem to think that because the space is designed to be family-friendly that nothing dangerous or un-family-friendly could happen.
But with so many people in attendance, large rides, and places kids aren’t supposed to go, bad things can still happen, pointed out the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITAH) subReddit.
Redditor throwaway10012024 had been looking forward to a fun trip to Disneyland not just with her husband and son, but also with her best friend and best friend’s family.
But when her best friend left her son unattended, the Original Poster (OP) didn’t think she could trust her friend with her son anymore.
She asked the sub:
“AITAH for being livid my friend of 20 years left my seven-year-old son unattended at Disneyland?”
The OP couldn’t shake the shock of what her best friend had done.
“I (36 Female) have been friends with my best friend for 20ish years. Up until recently, I trusted her more than anyone else. We even had a rule, no sleepovers unless it was grandparents or Kelly’s house.”
“Needless to say, I am shocked at this turn of events.”
The OP and her family recently went on a trip with her best friend’s family.
“My husband (39 Male), my son, Calvin (7 Male), and I are headed back from a family vacation to Disneyland. We went on this vacation with one of my best friends of 20 years, her partner, Ryan, and her daughter, Brooke (10 Female).”
“Before we went on the trip, Kelly suggested that on one of the nights, we would take her daughter so she and her partner could have a date night, and then the other night, they would take our son, so we could do the same.”
“The first day and night went okay. There were hiccups, as all vacations have, but seemed to end fine.”
“They delivered Brooke to our hotel from theirs, we took the kids to dinner, and we ended the night by watching the fireworks from the roof of their hotel. It was actually really fun.”
But the trip quickly went downhill on the second day.
“Issues really started on the second day. I am very ‘Type A’ and often plan things to a ‘T,’ especially at Disney. You really have to plan to ensure you get to do everything you want to.”
“Prior to our trip, Kelly communicated with me that she really wanted to ride one specific ride, ‘Indiana Jones.’ Also, during the trip, we were told Brooke hates most rides, anything that goes fast, is too high, or is too jerky. This had made things difficult, but I tried really hard to try to find things we all could do.”
“In the morning, I had set up a virtual queue for ‘The Haunted Mansion.’ After we did that, which everyone seemed to enjoy, I asked about the ‘Indiana Jones’ ride.”
“I asked Ryan if he minded sitting out with Brooke.”
“Kelly then snapped at me, saying, ‘I don’t want to go by myself!’ This was despite the fact that the rest of us were going. Needless to say, I didn’t try to coordinate much more after that.”
But things went worse during the OP’s night out than she could have expected.
“Later, my husband, Aaron, walked Calvin to their hotel. We went on our date and everything went fantastic.”
“The next morning, we met them for breakfast before heading home. When Calvin and I were discussing the previous night, I asked what rides they went on.”
“He told me they went on ‘Indiana Jones,’ but he couldn’t remember what the ride was, so he didn’t go on it.”
“Surprised, I asked, ‘Well, who went on the ride?'”
“He told me Kelly and Ryan. I asked, ‘So what did you and Brooke do?'”
“He said they stayed in the giftshop, and Kelly told him and Brooke to ‘send funny texts if they got scared.'”
“I saw red.”
“I confronted her, and she said they had Ryan’s phone to be in constant contact. To me, this isn’t enough, considering if something happened, it’s not like they were close enough to intervene.”
“Am I wrong for not trusting my best friend enough for the rest of the trip to leave her in my son’s company?”
“AITAH?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You’re the A**hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
Some were furious at the irresponsible nature of the OP’s friend and friend’s husband.
“NTA. Two adults abandoned their kid and yours so that the adults could ride rides by themselves at Freakin’ Disney. Your friend is a triple-decker selfish crap sandwich with onions, sauerkraut, and a thick slathering of a**hole sauce.” – Solid-Feature-7678
“NTA. They were not close enough to watch your seven-year-old. I’d get rid of the friend ASAP. That’s no friend.” – rainbowglowstixx
“NTA.”
“Your friend was already sending out red flags that she was a self-centered douchebag.”
“At least, nothing bad happened to Calvin and you learned never to allow your friend anywhere near him again.” – BlueGreen_1956
“NTA. That is so negligent, and anything could have happened to them, either both or one of them.”
“That would be the last time I trusted her with him anywhere and I would never let her watch him.” – Adventurous-travel1
“I’m surprised Disneyland didn’t kick the parents out. Here is what it says on their website:”
“‘Guests under age 14 must be accompanied by a Guest age 14 or older to enter a Theme Park. To board an attraction, children under age 7 must be accompanied by a person age 14 years or older.'”
“‘All persons under age 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian between the hours of 10:00 PM and 5:00 AM at the Downtown Disney District.'”
“‘If a child becomes separated from their parents at Disneyland, a Cast Member will escort them to the nearest Baby Care Center and Lost Children facility. If the child is found in the Downtown Disney District, they will be taken to the Disneyland Hotel or the Baby Care Center and Lost Children facility.'” – Ok_Blackberry_284
Others agreed and said this would be friendship-ending behavior.
“NTA. ‘Livid’ is a NICE word for how I would be feeling in your position.”
“Leaving them alone was not okay. Leaving someone else’s child alone is even worse, in my opinion.”
“Was Brooke supposed to be ‘looking after’ your seven-year-old son? What if he had to go to the bathroom? What if he had run off? What if she got bored of him and left him?”
“Just a word of warning: talking about it isn’t going to change how she parents her kid and her likelihood of doing dangerous things will increase as the kid gets older, like being left at home for long periods of time/weekends, being able to drink/go to parties, etc.”
“If you enjoy her company, maybe just make distance between family time and adult time with her. A lot of people lose friends when they have kids; the differences in values can sometimes be too much.” – AmazingReserve9089
“NTA, and they could have done pass-through if the kids didn’t want to go. They just wanted to ride together so if they took the chance, the kids would be okay. They put a ride ahead of everyone’s children’s safety, as well as the future of their friendship.” – Poppy_Banks
“NTA. That is friendship ending. Full stop.” – Stop_icant
“FURIOUS. I mean, I’d be LIVID.”
“Your child could have been kidnapped and murdered because they wanted to go on a freaking RIDE.”
“Your child could have been in someone’s basement right now for sale because of her negligence.”
“They are not teens, they are TEN and SEVEN.”
“I don’t care if anyone thinks I’m overreacting, the gravity of what could have happened to YOUR child compared to the benefit of going on a stupid ride is insane.”
“I would seriously have a hard time looking at her as a friend, or even as a human being, again. And I won’t lie and say that child protective services didn’t cross my mind…”
“NTA.” – DesperateToNotDream
“NTA. I’d be p**sed too. Been there, done that at Disney, and lines are ridiculously long, so the kids were unattended for who knows how long.”
“Things like this are why I’ll never do another group trip.”
“Did so, to Disney, and it was terrible. They wanted our group to stay together so we couldn’t just go ride what we wanted. They’d complain and not want to get in line for anything due to the wait time, yet spent hours just walking around… So for a 200-dollar ticket, we rode three rides total.”
“We could have done a lot more if we’d split up and did our own thing. I swore then, never again. I can’t imagine if I had to add safety issues and betrayal like this into the mix!” – Strange_Jackfruit_89
The subReddit was appalled when they learned of what happened to the OP’s son and friend. While everything turned out okay, it was hard to imagine a friendship living through this level of betrayal, where enjoyment on a ride and “not having to go alone” were valued over two children’s safety.