Funny Things that Cdns say/do at Disney that make Americans go 'huh?'

The east coast Donair, the main difference is the fries that are in there. From Quebec you get to dip you fries in Mayo, yum, i mix mayo with ketchup and dip. And when living in the west we called the 2-4 a flat of beer. Took just a weekend to get used to that. Plus getting offsales. Beer to go home with after the bar closed. Ahh youth days.
The joke that circulates every spring around here about Victoria Day weekend

In your 20's it's the May 2-4 weekend
in your 40's it's the May 2 x 4 weekend so you can build a nice deck to drink the much nicer brews!
 
Not sure if i mentioned this earlier or not but it does fall in line with a few comments I've had recently while wandering around with my 150 regalia (haven't had the nerve to wear my button from EPCOT yet, maybe tomorrow). We've noticed more visitors due to the value of our dollar and several have mentioned they think it's odd that I'm proudly displaying my buttons early?!?!

ANYWHO, we were in Disney a few weeks after the soldier was shot on Parliament Hill till the day before Remembrance Day and we chose to wear our poppies everyday, fastened to our shirts with the CDN flag in the middle. It sparked many conversations that usually started with "why are you wearing a rose?" Once i said what it was and why we were wearing them almost every single person was aware of the shooting and expressed sympathy. There were also many conversations i had to walk away from once they escalated into the "it wouldn't happen if more people had guns to stop him" They also couldn't understand why we observe November 11th -- didn't grasp the significance of honouring fallen soldiers and the end of a war.

We wished we had brought more poppies with us though because all of the CMs in the Canada Pavilion wanted one!
 


Not sure why they wouldn't. Nov 11 is Veteran's Day in the US. Different name, same date, same ideal. :confused3

Really. I was told by several posters on here that Veteran's Day is not considered a solemn day of remembrance in the USA but as a day for thanking currently serving members. Memorial Day was for remembrance of past wars.
Do you do services and wear poppies on both days? Or what is the difference? We only have the one day - Nov 11.
 
Really. I was told by several posters on here that Veteran's Day is not considered a solemn day of remembrance in the USA but as a day for thanking currently serving members. Memorial Day was for remembrance of past wars.
Do you do services and wear poppies on both days? Or what is the difference? We only have the one day - Nov 11.
YUP, this! We honour both past and current serving on Remembrance Day .. we don't have Memorial Day. We were actually quite surprised to learn they thank those serving on a day that marks the end of a war and honour those who died in that war on a different day. I learned this past November that the first poppies were worn in New York days before the armistice agreement was even signed because a woman had read & been touched by the Poem In Flanders Fields -- John McCrae was born in Guelph (my hometown!) and this info was released while getting the museum ready for the 150th.
<stepping down from my history lesson>

There does tend to be a bit of confusion with some of my American friends because Memorial Day falls around the same time as Victoria Day giving way to some years having a long weekend for both countries.
 
Really. I was told by several posters on here that Veteran's Day is not considered a solemn day of remembrance in the USA but as a day for thanking currently serving members. Memorial Day was for remembrance of past wars.
Do you do services and wear poppies on both days? Or what is the difference? We only have the one day - Nov 11.
Not sure I see the difference. I live in Ottawa, and the most important part of the ceremonies here is thanking and honoring the veterans of past wars. More so the Korean and Afghanistan vets now as the ranks of WWII veterans is greatly diminished. We honour both the dead and living, but the living are the ones we look to to educate us. Yes, we only have one day here in Canada to do both, where the Americans actually have two. We are often in the US for Veterans/Remembrance Day, and I have bought "poppies" (quite different from our Canadian poppies) in respect to the sacrifices of our allies in the US. Any day that honors our war dead or war survivors is good. And good on our neighbors to the south for actually having more days to this cause than we do in the North.
 


When people are disgusted that I mix ketchup and mayo together. Or when they don't understand my French Canadian accent so sometimes I throw french words like "genre" and "ah bon"

Also when I go to the France pavillion every CM looks at me weird for my Québec accent and they act so surprised

We live in Ottawa and are fluently bilingual. My family is French, Scottish, and Italian so I know a little Italian too. When we speak English, French gets thrown in and when we speak French, the English slips out. At home it's considered very normal, but down south we get funny looks like we are suddenly speaking in tongues. It makes me laugh a little when we perfectly pronounce words on a French or Italian menu and the servers applaude us like we've accomplished some incredible feat.
 
The Americans are always intrigued by our money -- even more so now that the bills are plasticy and have the see-thru strip. We carried around a loonie or toonie last trip to show anyone who seemed interested (side note -- too much CDN coinage sets off the metal detectors but theirs didn't :P)

To add to the confusion there is CDN Tire money -- if you didn't see this week's flyer or didn't pay any attention to the front of it you might have missed the fact that they produced a limited edition 10 cent *bill* -- no purchase necessary, 1 per customer. We expected them to be gone by today but they still had scads at every cash! Look and feel much like the 50's
IMG_3361.JPG
 
Not sure I see the difference. I live in Ottawa, and the most important part of the ceremonies here is thanking and honoring the veterans of past wars. More so the Korean and Afghanistan vets now as the ranks of WWII veterans is greatly diminished. We honour both the dead and living, but the living are the ones we look to to educate us. Yes, we only have one day here in Canada to do both, where the Americans actually have two. We are often in the US for Veterans/Remembrance Day, and I have bought "poppies" (quite different from our Canadian poppies) in respect to the sacrifices of our allies in the US. Any day that honors our war dead or war survivors is good. And good on our neighbors to the south for actually having more days to this cause than we do in the North.
All of our remembrance day ceremonies mirror those of the UK and other commonwealth countries. We take it as a point to not to just remember those that died or those that still live but to make a point that it dose't happen again. We also take two minutes of silence at 11 as that was the time that the armistice that ended World War 1 took place. Our Remembrance day ceremonies are also somewhat religious alos as we have a chaplain , priest or some other religious leader conduct a prayer during the act of remembrance.
 
My dad is pretty funny when we go to Disneyland. For some reason he has a shirt that says "Captain Canada" on it with a big Maple Leaf. He packs it only when we go to Disneyland as he for some reason always gets people or characters to stop and talk to him or ask him about being Canadian and his newfie accent.
 
Popping in to thank you all for this enjoyable thread. :) I had to go on a business trip to Grand Forks, North Dakota, and took advantage to visit Winnipeg after the work week. Two of my coworkers joined me, and the bonus was that we were able to be in Canada to help celebrate Canada Day for your 150th celebration!! We first went to the Royal Canadian Mint and bought some commemorative coins, including your Loonie that debuted on Saturday and also including your glow in the dark Toonie! There were so many people there to get the coins. We also went to the Grand Forks area, and spent a good part of the day there. On Sunday, we went to Assiniboine Park and Zoo. I loved the polar bear exhibit, and learned a bit about Churchill, so had to Google it when I got home. I learned something about Canada, and now I want to learn more about your beautiful country. I've been to Victoria & Steveston, BC, and now Winnipeg, Manitoba. There is so much more to see, and it's not so far out of my realm of possibility that I had thought before.

Thanks to this thread I knew what a Caesar was, and drank one. It was good! I already knew about washroom, because we use it here, but also say bathroom and restroom, lol, depending on our mood I guess. We also had poutine a couple of times, but by the end of Saturday were looking for salads, lol. We also didn't realize how late it was because it gets dark by 8pm in Los Angeles, and around 10:30 or so in Grand Forks & Winnipeg.

So, here are some of my own responses to your posts. ;)


Washroom. They don't tend to use that word. I have asked where the washroom is an got odd looks. I was in a store in Disney Springs last year and ask a young guy where the nearest washroom was and he didn't know what I meant. I try to remember to use bathroom but it's such a habit.

Snow days. Winnipeg doesn't get them. The last one was 20 years ago. Rural areas do but not Winnipeg due to our terrain, snow plows, etc.
We had supper in Japan at Epcot and shared a table with a nice family from the East Coast. She asked how many snow days we had yet and was flabbergasted that we don't get them.
Loved your city. We stayed at a Best Western Plus off of Pembina Hwy (near Pony Corral), and our last breakfast was at Stellas on the rooftop - really enjoyed it.

Ask for vinegar for fries .... forget where i am and asked for pop... ask for ice tea and make that stupid "aaak no sugar" face. I'm sure there's more but those 3 happen often!

What they say that drives hubby batty??? "Where you AT?"
What they say that drives me batty?? They list every single place they have EVER lived (from birth) if you ask where they're from.
We had fish & chips, and my coworker had never had vinegar on her fries before. She loved them and after that had to have vinegar on her fries. ha ha Every time someone asked where we were from one of my coworkers said she was from Texas, but lived in Grand Forks, ND. Everytime she said that I thought of this thread.

Go into a bar and ask for a Ceasar! Don't know what they are.
I had one at a restaurant at The Forks in Winnipeg because of your post. It was so good! We have had shrimp cocktails using Clamato sauce, but never in a Bloody Mary. I really liked it.

Also - this is a Maritimer thing that even confuses people in the ROC - but we tend to refer to any plastic shopping bag as a 'Sobeys bag' - this I have caused confusion with down south by slip of the tongue
I saw a Sobeys store and was so excited to see what you were talking about :lmao:

Not any one saying, but I know that I have cracked a few Americans up with a "eh" and "aboot," which I never actually thought I said. It turns out my Canadian 'accent' and mannerisms become more pronounced when I am tired, so while chatting with my husband in ride lines at night I have cracked up a few Americans.....they usually turn around and say something like, 'soooooo, you are Canadian??" :D
We got such a kick out of "aboot" and "eh" and "soooorrreee." It was so darned cute! My coworker kept telling people she liked their accents, and I was thinking that to them WE were the ones with the accents. They have that Norwegian accent in Grand Forks, too. It was hard not to smile when people were talking to me just because I liked it so much.

Don't ask for utensils in a restaurant. They have no clue what you are talking about.
In Los Angeles we almost always say utensils. I only say silverware when the utensils are made out of silver. (um, never in my house, lol)

Through the years I've stumped Americans with words like pissed meaning drunk. Bunnyhug meaning hoodie. Grid meaning dirt road.
A lot of others as well but those are the ones I remember getting funny responses to.
The one American term that bugs me is "standing on line" I always feel like saying no you are not you are standing in line. You yourself are making the line therefore you are in the line. There is no line on the ground for you to stand on. ( I have no clue why that one bugs me lol)
Standing "on line" drives me crazy, too.

We had the "washroom" problem too...not good when your kid has their legs crossed in a panic! Got an even weirder look when I said "bathroom" then finally resorted to "the room where you keep your toilet!" (Did I mention the kid was getting desperate?)

The phrase that sets my teeth on edge, and it may be regional as well, is "on accident" instead of what I say, "by accident".

Also my friend that lives in Florida, though is from Ohio, claims only Canadians say "backyard" but I'm sure that can't be true!
Person must have been dense not to understand 'washroom' - that is so odd to me. And I do occasionally say 'on accident' instead of 'by accident.' I use them both interchangeable, and never thought about it until now. Also, we say backyard, too. What do they call the fenced in area behind their houses?

Asking for ketchup chips. I still remember the strange look I got at a 'bodega' in NYC when asking for ketchup chips.
I'm bummed that I didn't get any ketchup chips to bring home. I saw them in the zoo cafe, but didn't think to stop at Sobeys to get some Canadian goodies.

OMG that is hilarious! Why do Americans think they US won WW1 and WW11 single handedly?
Some of us are ignorant, sad to say. (Not all are, though.)

I asked my American friends (who work at Disney) while we were eating at EPCOT if they needed any serviettes. They had no idea what that meant. Also tried explaining milk in bags to them.
Yeah, milk in bags is pretty foreign to Americans. Now I really wish I had gone in to Sobeys to show that to my coworkers.

We also say 'decks' and more and more American's say 'Lanai,' which is basically the same thing except in Hawaiian.
We say decks in California, too. Lanai to me is tropical, so maybe Hawaii, and Florida, if they call them that there... maybe because they're screened in?

Nope, the true Canadians are easy to spot at the beach. We are the half-dozen people frolicking in the waves at Siesta Key while the locals walk the beach with their parkas on.... :)
Yup, so true. I can spot the Canadians in February because they are the ones frolicking in the ocean when I have warm clothes on. ha ha

Really. I was told by several posters on here that Veteran's Day is not considered a solemn day of remembrance in the USA but as a day for thanking currently serving members. Memorial Day was for remembrance of past wars. Do you do services and wear poppies on both days? Or what is the difference? We only have the one day - Nov 11.
We have three days to honor our military. We have Armed Forces day, celebrated the third Saturday of May, for those currently serving in the military, and I think the least known of these holidays (I would say most Americans don't even know) - formed to inform the American public about the different branches of the military; Memorial Day, celebrated on the last Monday in May, for those who died in service. It began after the civil war for Union soldiers, and after WWI was extended to encompass all men and women who died in service. Veteran's Day is celebrated on 11 November for all those who have served. "On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 an armistice between Germany and the Allied nations came into effect. On November 11, 1919, Armistice Day was commemorated for the first time." Even though this day is for those who previously served, Americans tend to thank all veterans and currently enlisted men and women on this day. Side note ~ I often go to Disneyland on Veterans Day to honor them during Flag Retreat. If you ever get the option to go I recommend it.

Thanks again for an entertaining, enlightening, and enjoyable thread. :)
 
Side note ~ I often go to Disneyland on Veterans Day to honor them during Flag Retreat. If you ever get the option to go I recommend it.
I actually find the idea of the flag retreat being a big ceremony interesting as in Canada the Canadian flag is flown 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The only exception is for a Canadian Vessel at sea or in a foreign port. Even our Embassies fly the flag 24 hours a day. I know the US has rule about the flag pole being lit to do that.
If anyone would like to do some further reading about the rues for flying the Canadian flag you can look it up here: http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1444133232522

Yeah, milk in bags is pretty foreign to Americans. Now I really wish I had gone in to Sobeys to show that to my coworkers.
Mil in bags is a localized thing to only a few provinces so you may not see it in all of them.
 
Ok, so who else got slightly nervous when they saw that their post had been quoted by @WebmasterMaryJo??? It felt like i had been called to the principle's office "OH crap, what did i say???"

06a072415c18771c864e53fa3bc679b4.jpg



eta (Mary Jo)
--- Oops, sorry... I don't know how to get around that :blush:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I actually find the idea of the flag retreat being a big ceremony interesting as in Canada the Canadian flag is flown 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The only exception is for a Canadian Vessel at sea or in a foreign port. Even our Embassies fly the flag 24 hours a day. I know the US has rule about the flag pole being lit to do that.
If anyone would like to do some further reading about the rues for flying the Canadian flag you can look it up here: http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1444133232522


Mil in bags is a localized thing to only a few provinces so you may not see it in all of them.

We recently sailed to the USA and the marina we stayed at flew not only the American flag but also the Canadian, UK and the Washington State flag. They had a wonderful flag retreat ceremony each night and they played each of the country's anthems.

The only hiccup happened our second day when I looked at the flags after breakfast and saw this:

IMG_4786.JPG
 
We recently sailed to the USA and the marina we stayed at flew not only the American flag but also the Canadian, UK and the Washington State flag. They had a wonderful flag retreat ceremony each night and they played each of the country's anthems.

The only hiccup happened our second day when I looked at the flags after breakfast and saw this:

View attachment 249121
O My :P hopefully the country wasnt in distress for long. :P **Canadian Here**
 
Popping in to thank you all for this enjoyable thread. :) I had to go on a business trip to Grand Forks, North Dakota, and took advantage to visit Winnipeg after the work week. Two of my coworkers joined me, and the bonus was that we were able to be in Canada to help celebrate Canada Day for your 150th celebration!! We first went to the Royal Canadian Mint and bought some commemorative coins, including your Loonie that debuted on Saturday and also including your glow in the dark Toonie! There were so many people there to get the coins. We also went to the Grand Forks area, and spent a good part of the day there. On Sunday, we went to Assiniboine Park and Zoo. I loved the polar bear exhibit, and learned a bit about Churchill, so had to Google it when I got home. I learned something about Canada, and now I want to learn more about your beautiful country. I've been to Victoria & Steveston, BC, and now Winnipeg, Manitoba. There is so much more to see, and it's not so far out of my realm of possibility that I had thought before.

Thanks to this thread I knew what a Caesar was, and drank one. It was good! I already knew about washroom, because we use it here, but also say bathroom and restroom, lol, depending on our mood I guess. We also had poutine a couple of times, but by the end of Saturday were looking for salads, lol. We also didn't realize how late it was because it gets dark by 8pm in Los Angeles, and around 10:30 or so in Grand Forks & Winnipeg.

So, here are some of my own responses to your posts. ;)



Loved your city. We stayed at a Best Western Plus off of Pembina Hwy (near Pony Corral), and our last breakfast was at Stellas on the rooftop - really enjoyed it.


We had fish & chips, and my coworker had never had vinegar on her fries before. She loved them and after that had to have vinegar on her fries. ha ha Every time someone asked where we were from one of my coworkers said she was from Texas, but lived in Grand Forks, ND. Everytime she said that I thought of this thread.


I had one at a restaurant at The Forks in Winnipeg because of your post. It was so good! We have had shrimp cocktails using Clamato sauce, but never in a Bloody Mary. I really liked it.


I saw a Sobeys store and was so excited to see what you were talking about :lmao:


We got such a kick out of "aboot" and "eh" and "soooorrreee." It was so darned cute! My coworker kept telling people she liked their accents, and I was thinking that to them WE were the ones with the accents. They have that Norwegian accent in Grand Forks, too. It was hard not to smile when people were talking to me just because I liked it so much.


In Los Angeles we almost always say utensils. I only say silverware when the utensils are made out of silver. (um, never in my house, lol)


Standing "on line" drives me crazy, too.


Person must have been dense not to understand 'washroom' - that is so odd to me. And I do occasionally say 'on accident' instead of 'by accident.' I use them both interchangeable, and never thought about it until now. Also, we say backyard, too. What do they call the fenced in area behind their houses?


I'm bummed that I didn't get any ketchup chips to bring home. I saw them in the zoo cafe, but didn't think to stop at Sobeys to get some Canadian goodies.


Some of us are ignorant, sad to say. (Not all are, though.)


Yeah, milk in bags is pretty foreign to Americans. Now I really wish I had gone in to Sobeys to show that to my coworkers.


We say decks in California, too. Lanai to me is tropical, so maybe Hawaii, and Florida, if they call them that there... maybe because they're screened in?


Yup, so true. I can spot the Canadians in February because they are the ones frolicking in the ocean when I have warm clothes on. ha ha


We have three days to honor our military. We have Armed Forces day, celebrated the third Saturday of May, for those currently serving in the military, and I think the least known of these holidays (I would say most Americans don't even know) - formed to inform the American public about the different branches of the military; Memorial Day, celebrated on the last Monday in May, for those who died in service. It began after the civil war for Union soldiers, and after WWI was extended to encompass all men and women who died in service. Veteran's Day is celebrated on 11 November for all those who have served. "On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 an armistice between Germany and the Allied nations came into effect. On November 11, 1919, Armistice Day was commemorated for the first time." Even though this day is for those who previously served, Americans tend to thank all veterans and currently enlisted men and women on this day. Side note ~ I often go to Disneyland on Veterans Day to honor them during Flag Retreat. If you ever get the option to go I recommend it.

Thanks again for an entertaining, enlightening, and enjoyable thread. :)


Bagged Milk, I have found (Moved East to West to North of Canada) is an Ontario thing :P
 
We have public school boards and Catholic school boards in Ontario and you designate which you want your school taxes to be paid to. We have JK and SK (junior kindergarten age 4 and senior kindergarten age 5) and senior public is grades 7 & 8. At one time you most likely would go to a separate school for senior public but in the recent decade or less schools have been reverting to JK - 8.
We had JK - 8, then 9-12 in Ontario. Also I have found at least out west / north, the Catholic and Public school were funded by the same monies. At least when I was in Michigan, Catholic school was always considered private school, and thus tuition was not paid for by the state, but by parents.
 
Bagged milk is Ontario only.

No public Catholic school in Manitoba. I'm glad. Wouldn't want to pay for that with taxpayers dollars.
 
No public Catholic school in Manitoba. I'm glad. Wouldn't want to pay for that with taxpayers dollars.
There are people with those thoughts in Ontario too. the main problem with it is that it's laid out in the BNA Act (British North America Act) which forms the basis of our constitution and was written in 1867. The part about funding for Catholic school in Ontario remains unchanged since then, The other part of our constitution is the Canada act from 1982 when we officially became a separate nation from the British Empire. The final part of the Act wasn't signed into law until the fall of 1982 os July 1st 1983 was actually the first Canada Day as before that it was referred to as dominion Day.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top