Amusement Park Employees Reveal The Most Absurd Things They've Seen Visitors Do

There's nothing quite like spending an afternoon at an amusement park. Whether you're heading to the Happiest Place on Earth or you're planning to spend the day at a quaint, under-the-radar, nostalgia-filled theme park like Lake George Expedition Park in New York, it's bound to be a good time. From the fabulous food to the thrilling rides and entertainment, you just know you're signing up to lock in a good handful of memories. What you don't expect is for those memories to involve other park guests acting unhinged.

From the moment we walk through those glittering turnstiles, most of us tend to be on our best behavior and follow the rules. No matter how frustrating navigating long theme park lines gets, or how many kiddos are having meltdowns around us, most folks are willing to give a little grace knowing we're all just there to unwind and spend time with our friends or families. And along those same lines, most guests are more than happy to be a friendly face in a crowd without drawing too much attention to ourselves.

But ask just about any theme park employee, and they'll tell you not everyone gets the memo — there's always someone (or several someones) who stands out as a cautionary tale for the worst reasons. According to Reddit's amusement park worker community, here's a breakdown of the most patently absurd guest behavior they've seen.

Unlike the post-pandemic uptick in airline hysterics, fights and brawls have always been something of an issue at amusement parks. One of the more noteworthy examples took place on opening weekend in 2026 at Six Flags St. Louis when a massive brawl broke out between 100 park guests, most of them juveniles. And even Disney gets its share of fights — like one that Reddit user monorail_pilot (a cast member) reported when a fight broke out on a monorail platform after some roughhousing got out of hand and a tween girl was accidentally clocked.

But it's not just adolescents getting down with the fisticuffs. Many theme park workers report having witnessed some pretty gnarly throwdowns. And occasionally, sharp objects enter the chat. One former lazy river lifeguard on Reddit recalled watching two men around 30 years old arguing in a language that sounded like Polish as they floated the river. The argument continued to escalate as the men rounded their second or third lap until one of them abruptly retrieved a knife from his swimming trunks, popped the other man's tube, and absconded over the park fence never to be seen again.

And as frustrating as these situations may be, it's important to remain sensitive to the fact that some can arise from health crises. Such was the case with the woman who attacked a stranger on Disneyland's Jungle Cruise ride about halfway through the ride, yelling in Korean while kicking and scratching at the poor gentleman, an event shared by a former Jungle Cruise skipper on r/AskReddit. According to the former cast member, they later learned the woman had skipped her psych meds that day so she might "better enjoy the park."

The urge to ceremoniously leave our dearly departed loved ones in a place they felt most at peace is an understandable one. And scattering ashes is actually legal in some places like United States National Parks if you get a permit to do it — however, theme parks are not among those places. Even so, some people just can't help themselves, and theme park workers say that park guests scattering ashes has become a serious problem. It's one that's become particularly prevalent at Walt Disney Parks, where stealthily disposing of human cremains has become so popular there's even secret codes for it (both "Code A" for "ashes" and "HEPA cleanup" have been used).

Taking to Reddit, one overnight cast member begged Disney guests, "Please PLEASE leave your cremated loved ones at home. Stop dumping them in Haunted Mansion." Writing on r/todayilearned, another former cast member who worked in the Haunted Mansion under the Disney College Program (DCP) asserted that this happens about once or twice a month. Like most Disney rides, the spooky ride has plenty of cameras, and those attempting to add a new ghost to the ride are invariably caught. When that happens, the cast member warned, "Grandma's ashes get vacuumed up and thrown in the trash."

If you're dead set on leaving a little piece of Gramps in the ghost house, they urge, just bring a small paper memento and your sweetest smile. Hidden in the ballroom scene, there's a faux book. "If you ask a cast member to put a memento to your loved ones there, they likely will," the former Disney intern advised, adding that the ride is actually full of these hidden treasures thanks to kindly park employees.

For folks who enjoy thrill rides, sharing the adventure with your kids can be a ton of fun. But most parents are more than willing to wait until offspring are old enough to enjoy the experience, not to mention to ride safely. And while it's understandable that parents might find it disappointing that they don't get to ride together, some theme parks now allow parents to take turns riding without having to go back to the end of the line. Even so, one theme park worker actually caught a set of wildly irresponsible parents attempting to smuggle their infant onto a roller coaster.

On the r/AskReddit thread "Employees of Disney, what is the craziest thing you've seen happen in the park?," one Reddit user relayed an experience shared by their brother-in-law, a former cast member in the Disney college program. While working Space Mountain, the brother-in-law claims he was alerted to a sound coming from a black duffle bag in the possession of a couple attempting to board the ride. When the couple refused to open it, the cast member called security, who found the couple's six-month-old baby inside. A cast member at Autopia also reported finding an infant stashed in someone's backpack.

If these sound like a tall tale, other former park employees on Reddit say it's not as far-fetched as you might think. SubReddits are replete with reports from park workers who say they would frequently catch guests leaving babies alone in stroller parking while they go on rides. One former park worker reported having multiple guests enquire if they could place their infants in the seat pouches on a rollercoaster ride or, just as shockingly, "if they can put their baby in the center console on Kali River Rapids."

No matter who we are or where we're from, most of us can agree that Make-a-Wish kids deserve our kindness and compassion ... right? Apparently not, say Reddit's former theme park workers. In fact, there always seem to be some guests who are wildly irked by the fact that there are children who would dare to become seriously ill enough to get special perks at a theme park. And these lovely folks don't mind talking about it right in front of the kids and their families.

If you have any remaining faith in humanity, perusing r/AskReddit's Make-a-Wish kid bullying stories from former park workers is a good way to lose it. Since these kiddos spend their days fighting serious or even terminal illnesses, part of the Make-a-Wish deal means they get to go straight to the front of the line ... something some park guests are having none of. According to a relative of a former park worker, one woman who observed this considerate accomodation happening for a child, complained "so loud about how this little trash kid didn't deserve to cut in lines." When he explained that this was a Make-a-Wish kiddo, the woman demanded to speak with his manager. This horrible story does have a just ending though: The heartless woman ended up being banned from the park. 

Other former theme park workers recounted similar experiences, with several reporting screaming and/or cursing. One employee recalled a park guest who was bold enough to taunt, "I wish my kid was dying so we could skip lines too!" only to suffer instant natural consequences of their actions. The park worker said, "What ensued was one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen." Disgusted, all of the other park guests in the line instantly began booing and shouting down the bully, demanding he leave the park, and, get this, followed him around until he did. "It's like the internet irl," replied another Reddit user.

It's no secret that the cost of theme park food and drinks has continued to climb astronomically, just as everything else has over time. So it makes sense that some park guests would want to bring in their own snacks. Even if they want you to spend money, amusement park rules can be pretty lenient about allowing guests to bring in outside food and drinks these days — especially if it means you'll have more money to spend on top-ranked amusement park restaurants, like Sea World's Sharks Underwater Grill and Bar.

But not every park guest is content bringing in a couple of sandwich bags full of PBJs and orange slices, some former park employees report. Far too often, theme park guests' lunch choices are so unusual they veer into absurd territory. One park employee working a pizza food stall reported a guest requesting to store food in the pizza stall's walk-in cooler while she went on rides. "Instead of ordering an overpriced pizza slice, she pulled out a full frozen salmon." When the employee declined, the woman demanded to speak with a manager "because it was apparently unfair and that we had a lot of space in our walk-in!"

Another park worker reported finding a suspicious abandoned bag that led to a bomb dog getting brought in. The dog reacted to the bag, forcing an evacuation of that section of the park. "Turned out that the backpack was just forgotten, full of carne asada burritos, and Pluto sat down because he thought he was getting a treat," the employee wrote on Reddit.

We've all heard the amusement park clarion call: "Please keep your hands, arms, and legs inside the ride and remain seated at all times." And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know there's probably a very good reason for those warnings issued at the beginning of each ride. Still, that doesn't stop the occasional genius from taking those rules as a mere suggestion despite the potential risk to both life and limb.

Recounting one such time on Reddit, an amusement park worker recalled watching someone jump from a chair swing ride while intoxicated on a substance, landing in the free throw basketball game where park guests compete to win stuffed dragons. "He broke his legs ... and started throwing stuffed dragons out to onlookers shouting, 'FREE RODNEY KING'," the park worker wrote. And it's not just the swing rides that get jumpers. In 2023, just before the closure of Disney's Splash Mountain ride, TikTok user fatimamusic786 recorded someone jumping from the iconic log ride to avoid a panic attack. 

Another perplexing theme park behavior employees can't believe they keep seeing involves hassling the local water bird population. Many theme parks are located near the coasts, which means there tend to be seagulls and waterfowl hanging around. And as some theme park workers note, the proximity to so many humans can lead to very docile animals. Which can be problematic when guests come along who seem to think it's okay to harangue the feathery fowl.

One theme park employee recalled saving a young seagull from a group of juvenile delinquents chasing it around the inside of a store until it began banging its head on a window. Instead of helping the poor fellow, these Children of the Corn simply laughed at its misery. "I yelled at them, picked up the seagull and took it outside, set it down," the employee reported on r/AskReddit. "Poor thing seemed more confused than distressed and wandered away afterwards. A very surreal experience." Another theme park worker reported a more innocent "seabird-napping" after a feathery critter decided to casually alight next to a young child on a bench, who picked it. The bird didn't struggle or try to fly away, causing the child's stunned mother to frantically exclaim, "Put it down, put it down."

And then there's the case of the woman who shouted at a duck after it fell from the sky into her baby buggy. "She then pushes the stroller roughly 6 feet away from her and starts yelling 'Get away from my baby!' as if the duck understands English," the Reddit user concluded.

The logistics and engineering that goes into presenting the ultimate theme park experience can feel miraculous, but that doesn't mean park workers have the power to keep nature at bay. Even so, there's always a guest or two who feels they should be trying just a little harder to make it happen.

Take the theme park guest who felt put out by the audacity of autumn leaves, as recounted by one former park employee on Reddit. They recalled that it was a "super windy fall day and an old man marched up to me and said 'Walt would be spinning in his grave to see all these leaves on the ground! Where do folks complain?'" If it seemed like he could have been joking, the employee was soon disabused of this notion after pointing in the direction of guest services. "I two finger pointed to city hall and off he went," they concluded.

The spouse of a theme park employee told Reddit how another lady complained that it rained after genuinely believing Disney somehow had the power to prevent this. "She thought the park had an invisible dome that prevented rain," the park worker's partner relayed. As absurd as that might sound, multiple anecdotes from park employees indicate that people really do believe in the Disney Rain Dome. "I was frequently asked if we could turn off the rain/activate the weather dome that was over the parks," a former cast member lamented. If only these guests had known about the secret weather window that makes Disneyland vacations brighter.

Another absurd behavior some theme park guests just can't keep themselves from doing is engaging in a little not-so-sneaky linking. Such was the case with the couple who found themselves arrested for indecent exposure after a Ferris wheel hookup at Cedar Point in 2022.

In a thread on r/DisneyParks, several former Disney cast members reported seeing some very adult behavior, especially on dark rides and attractions. But they warn getting frisky on dimly lit rides is far from a private affair now that the park has installed infrared cameras on most attractions — cameras that show every little detail. Recalling a couple of NSFW stories from a former cast member friend who worked at the Haunted Mansion, one Reddit user said groping on the ghost ride is pretty common, especially in the hot summer months when guests climb aboard to catch a break from the summer heat. When it was clear one couple had crossed well over the boundary of polite Disney behavior, the cast member hopped onto the loudspeaker with a very special announcement: "Remember, mortals; all 999 happy haunts can see EVERYTHING in the Mansion."

Anyone who has been to an amusement park during peak tourist times knows just how long the lines can get. But while it's a drag to wait for hours in the heat just to ride a three-minute attraction, some theme park employees say these long lines can lead to guests having accidents — only some of them aren't so accidental. Over at Disney World, lines have become so long that a nauseating and unsanitary trend has started, with some guests doing certain types of, ah, "business" wherever they happen to be, to avoid losing their spot.

And it's not just the guests waiting in line for rides or the fireworks display. One monorail worker reported finding human waste inside the monorail cabin, cynically concluding, "Unfortunately, it just happens sometimes..." And then there's the recurring theme of "Baby Ruths" in the water park. As one Reddit user reported, "Kids poop in the wave pool constantly. All we do is clear it out for 10mins and then let people back in."