15 October 2010 by Debra Peterson - Disney Travel Examiner
In a surprising example of road rage that occurs before the vehicle takes to the road, a guest physically attacks Walt Disney World bus driver, while nearby guests call for security and eventually intervene.
The Oct. 12 incident was partially captured on video in the middle and then uploaded to YouTube (available at left). The video shows the two in a physical confrontation in which it appears the bus driver is defending himself from the guest. The guest’s hands can be seen around the driver’s neck, and it looks as if the driver’s actions are defensive in nature. One guest, possibly a family friend, stepped in between the two men.
A man and his wife with her baby were waiting for the bus. There wasn't enough room on the bus so the bus driver told them he would call another one. The man was enraged and threw the baby at the bus driver. The woman got her baby and moved back away from them.
The audio portion of what was captured suggests the guest’s reaction was based, in part, in the perception that he and his family were unfairly prevented from boarding. He can be heard telling another Disney Cast Member, possibly security, that the driver let others cut in line and blocked the family from entering, claiming, "He let everyone passing through get in first before us."
Although the video shows the bus driver trying to explain, the guest repeated interrupts him, at one point saying "We have a baby, you know. We're supposed to get the priorities."
Regardless, the guest’s physical attack is unwarranted and, from what evidence is provided by the video, unprovoked. The Walt Disney World bus driver appears to make several attempts to explain and defuse the situation, as do several passengers and the aforementioned Cast Member.
According to an Orlando Sentinel update on the incident, the bus driver has been placed on paid leave pending Disney’s investigation of the incident. According to Disney security, neither party plans to press charges.
Counter to Disney’s essentially "no-comment" position on the incident, Disney fans on the internet have wasted no time defending the Walt Disney World bus driver and condemning the guest’s behavior. Both the video – viewed more than 15,000 times on annakinluv’s YouTube channel alone – and news of the attack have been circulating among Disney discussion boards, social media sites and Twitter as an evidence of appalling guest behavior.
Although an extreme reaction, the incident suggests some of the tensions that crop of at Walt Disney World. In particular, it reveals the not-so-latent hostility that some guests exhibit when using the Walt Disney World bus transportation as well as a backlash against Disney guests who others view as having an overdeveloped sense of privilege.
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