Anti- Autism Suit Against Disney Update

Santa Raccoon 77

Santa Raccoon 77

Thank you sir. You were an inspiration.
I would be interested to hear the views (good or bad) from forum members that have used both the old and new system and how they feel about this lawsuit .
 
eliza61nyc

eliza61nyc

Well-Known Member
So I don't have a child with severe autism , my oldest is an aspergers child. The problem I have is the expectation that Disney OWES anyone a vacation devoid of "meltdowns".
I also never thought that my kid is supposed to be able to do everything. Again I don't have the challenges facing parenting an autistic child. Disney maybe one of those things that are left off the table
 
The Mom

The Mom

Moderator
Premium Member
Original Poster
eliza61nyc said:
Wait, they are suing because people with autism have to wait in line? Am I correct
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Yes, in some instances. There are apparently many children/adults who fixate on a particular ride, want to ride multiple times in a row, and have had meltdowns when not allowed/enabled to do so. The article in my local paper stated that they wanted a wait time of 15 minutes or less for any ride, including those that have a routine FP+ wait of 30+ minutes.

The argument has been made that the ADA affords them the right to equal experience/enjoyment as a guest without any disability, but guaranteed front of the line access on every ride, or multiple times on the same ride, would give them an experience superior to that of the average guest. And that since the ADA does not allow any question beyond what is your disability? (Autism) and what accommodation do you need? (I can't wait in lines) the service might be abused by those who could wait, but prefer to not to do so. And Disney may be opening themselves up to lawsuits when the number of people requesting the service makes it impossible to provide the service to all of those with Autism requesting it during a busy time, or make it impossible for non-disbaled guests to utilize a service they have been promised, ie, a shorter wait time.
 
KBLovedDisney

KBLovedDisney

Well-Known Member
eliza61nyc said:
Wait, they are suing because people with autism have to wait in line? Am I correct
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From what I read, they are suing Disney because they claim Disney is being discriminate towards people with autism. However, reading in to this article more, I get the feeling these parents that have children with special needs are possibly using their children's disabilities towards their advantage for getting in front of lines.

Edit: But I could be very wrong on this I know. This is just my opinion because I see this happening a lot more lately (not just Disney) where people will do something that low to get their way.

There must be another term for this somewhere, something like munchausen by proxy, but not dealing with sickness
 
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The Mom

The Mom

Moderator
Premium Member
Original Poster
KBLovesDisney said:
From what I read, they are suing Disney because they claim Disney is being discriminate towards people with autism. However, reading in to this article more, I get the feeling these parents that have children with special needs are possibly using their children's disabilities towards their advantage for getting in front of lines.

There must be another term for this somewhere, something like munchausen by proxy, but not dealing with sickness
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They may just have found a way to keep their child happy - even though it might not be fair to other guests. I can see both sides of this issue.

You are the parent of a special needs child who rarely has a "good" day but has finally found something that he/she enjoys and keeps him/her from having a meltdown, and the whole family can enjoy it with him/her.

You are the parent of a typical 5 year old who watches the same child ( and family) pass you multiple times while you have been waiting over an hour to ride, and your child starts to have a meltdown.
 
KBLovedDisney

KBLovedDisney

Well-Known Member
The Mom said:
They may just have found a way to keep their child happy - even though it might not be fair to other guests. I can see both sides of this issue.

You are the parent of a special needs child who rarely has a "good" day but has finally found something that he/she enjoys and keeps him/her from having a meltdown, and the whole family can enjoy it with him/her.

You are the parent of a typical 5 year old who watches the same child ( and family) pass you multiple times while you have been waiting over an hour to ride, and your child starts to have a meltdown.
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Very true. There are always several sides to the story.
 
R

Rumrunner

Well-Known Member
The Mom said:
Yes, in some instances. There are apparently many children/adults who fixate on a particular ride, want to ride multiple times in a row, and have had meltdowns when not allowed/enabled to do so. The article in my local paper stated that they wanted a wait time of 15 minutes or less for any ride, including those that have a routine FP+ wait of 30+ minutes.

The argument has been made that the ADA affords them the right to equal experience/enjoyment as a guest without any disability, but guaranteed front of the line access on every ride, or multiple times on the same ride, would give them an experience superior to that of the average guest. And that since the ADA does not allow any question beyond what is your disability? (Autism) and what accommodation do you need? (I can't wait in lines) the service might be abused by those who could wait, but prefer to not to do so. And Disney may be opening themselves up to lawsuits when the number of people requesting the service makes it impossible to provide the service to all of those with Autism requesting it during a busy time, or make it impossible for non-disbaled guests to utilize a service they have been promised, ie, a shorter wait time.
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Disney has such a storied history of doing everything possible to accommodate every guest to make it an enjoyable experience, I would think they are doing the same for guest with special needs. It is rather foolish to think you are going to Disney and not have some waiting in line and that applies to those with autism as well.
 
NickMaio

NickMaio

Well-Known Member
Should this have even made it to court. Taking up court-judge time.
Coincidence they sue the most profitable theme park company in the world. What about Uni....6 flags.....Dominion...ect.

I bet other parkd dont even provide an option for guests with Aut.......

Sue happy world indeed.
 
geekza

geekza

Well-Known Member
Playing Devil's Advocate, the ADA only required reasonable accommodation so that the person with the disability is on an equal playing field to those without a disability. It was created to promote fairness in a country that, up until the ADA, had very little in place to accommodate people with disabilities at all. Reading about Disney's policies, I think that any reasonable person would agree that they do more than they are required to do in order to improve the park-going experience of those with disabilities. There is no way for a business to 100% accommodate every disability to the greatest extent. That's why the word "reasonable" is in the law. There's no way this lawsuit will win.
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
NickMaio said:
Should this have even made it to court. Taking up court-judge time.
Coincidence they sue the most profitable theme park company in the world. What about Uni....6 flags.....Dominion...ect.

I bet other parkd dont even provide an option for guests with Aut.......

Sue happy world indeed.
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This is in the court because the previous system is considered a more appropriate accommodation.

Autism is accommodated and more effort is starting to be made industry wide to more specifically address the needs of persons with autism. Sesame Place just became the first park to become a Certified Autism Center.
 
HarperRose

HarperRose

Well-Known Member
geekza said:
Playing Devil's Advocate, the ADA only required reasonable accommodation so that the person with the disability is on an equal playing field to those without a disability. It was created to promote fairness in a country that, up until the ADA, had very little in place to accommodate people with disabilities at all. Reading about Disney's policies, I think that any reasonable person would agree that they do more than they are required to do in order to improve the park-going experience of those with disabilities. There is no way for a business to 100% accommodate every disability to the greatest extent. That's why the word "reasonable" is in the law. There's no way this lawsuit will win.
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They've been trying for five years. I want to know who's supplying the money for this never-ending lawsuit?
 
NickMaio

NickMaio

Well-Known Member
HarperRose said:
They've been trying for five years. I want to know who's supplying the money for this never-ending lawsuit?
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Lawyers are frothing at the mouth to take this on for free or Pro Bono. The lawyers get paid if the plaintifs get paid.
A friend of mine just came back from WDW. He child is not autistic but has a processing disorder. She said with her DAP that they were allowed into any fast pass line at any time. This is more than any other guest gets to experience. Seems good to me.
 

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