Arguement in the parking lot

[mousebymarriage]

I honestly don't know what is wrong with people these days. You sound like you had every right to park there, and that guy has issues. Let me tell you about something that happened the night before our last trip in Feb. I was at Walgreens with my wife. She walked in to pick up a prescription and I stayed in the car with our 2 small children. Well, this punk and his girlfriend pull up and park in the handicapped spot right in front of the door, and they have no handicapped plaque in his window and are not in the least bit handicapped (I know that you can't always tell, but they weren't). She got out and went in, and he sat in the car on his phone flicking his cigarette butts out the window (don't even get me started on that). I'm debating on whether to say anything to him, as there is a normal space next to him and behind him. I keep my mouth shut and his friend walks back out and gets in the car and they start to leave. They must have messed up the prescription she got, because they pull around the building again and park in the same handicapped spot. At this point I get out and walk over to him and say "I guess you know that is a handiacapped spot you parked in right? He says " Yeah, I know, why don't you mind your own F***&%$ business, I don't really care". I was like OK, this guy is a bigger jerk than I thought. I say "There are 2 parking space right next to you that you could park in, what if someone that really was handicapped needed that space." He then gets out of his car and gets in my face wanting me to fight him. I have 2 small kids in the car who are now crying and we are leaving the next morning to go to WDW, so as much as I wanted to knock the guy to the ground (and I'm a pretty big guy), I just pulled out my cell phone and walked back to the back of his car and got his license plate number. He said "Call the cops, do you think I care." I said "You're pathetic", and he drove off. Another instance happened this morning, leaving our neighborhood as I took the kids to daycare. Someone totally blows through a stop sign, so I honk my horn at him and he flips me off and wants me to pull over so he can curse me out ,when he is the one at fault. I really don't understand what makes some people so angry and hostile all of the time.

Sorry I flipped you off!:ROFLOL:

All kidding aside, the problem is that many times people abuse the handicapped parking spots, such as those who have a handicapped pass because someone they transport is the one in need but they still use the pass even if that person is not in the car so they don't have to drive around looking for a space(I know someone who does that ). Many people use the handicapped spaces when they are just running in the store quickly but, that is still so wrong! In my area there are some stores that even have special parking for pregnant women and I was amazed how many times I would see men parking in those spaces , i even told one guy "Hey buddy, you must be a F***ing medical miracle because last time I checked men couldn't get pregnant" The guy looked at me like I was crazy but then again I was 9 months pregnant and it was about 1000 degrees so I was not a happy camper! My step-dad had a very serious heart condition and people would question him all the time about not "looking" handicapped, believe me, he would much rather have parked a mile away and been healthy rather than have to use that space, God rest his soul!

 

[hooters dude]

yeah sorry about that too. by the way, what is website where you can get the fake handicap parking passes...?:ROFLOL:

Soooooo wish I'd thought of asking him that at the time

Thanks for all your support guys, it's really appreciated. Don't think you have to apologize for americans though, I've been coming for thirty years and know this guy doesn't represent you. I go to soccer matches in England so am fully aware that society breeds some 'unique' individuals to say the least.

Just felt a little let down by Disney if I'm brutally honest. But still LOVE the place and will still visit each and every year with my lovely wife. Jerks like that can't stop you doing what you love.

:wave:

 

[LoriMistress]

Wow, it's nice to experience racism in the magical wold of Disney, isn't it? Sorry that you had an encounter a stupid @ss redneck. He's from the deep south--the part of the south where they believe SONG OF THE SOUTH is real and call the movie, "the good old days." All you have to do is pretend to is either throw a tennis ball and they'll start chasing after "it" or point at any direction away from you and say, "Hey, that (fill in any race/sexuality/religion) is (fill in stereotype here)!" At that point, the redneck will get distracted and will "tell them a thing or two." And that's where you book it out of there.

And before anyone gets offended that I ripped on the "south", I love people on the south...but just like in any place...there are people who are just plain stupid and are the bad apples that make people look bad . And besides...it's a joke.

 

[emmersandjack]

I love the Brits and usually go out of my way at WDW to talk to them. Most are are very friendly and very funny.

i concur with this. however, the problem arises where one cannot but help slip into that oh so suave accent and then i start sounding like a limey chippy meself.

 

[clarkstallings]

I'm sorry this happened. I'd take a park full of Brits over a park full of Yanks anyday and I'm American. When I was on the college program, not once did I encounter a rude guest from the British Isles. They are the nicest group of guests at Disney in my opinion. Thank y'all!

 

[JML42691]

Even though it did not happen to me, I have heard a story from my neighbor which was somewhat similar to this. She had a 13 year old son who was mentally ill since birth. He is always in a wheelchair and they were allowed by a Cast Member to skip the line to Tough to be a Bug when the wait was too long. When they were entering the show the got a rude remark from a woman at the front. The woman was saying in a rude tone how nice it must have been to have a son like that to be able to pass the lines. She fired right back saying sarcastically that, "yeah, it must be great to have a mentally disabled son, to have to live through an entire lifetime watching your son not be able to succeed in many things in life." It just goes to show you that some people don't think before they speak and are just dumb in what they say. I would have done the same thing in her position and a similar position in your's. Just don't listen to people like that who like to believe that they are superior to everybody else. Those people are just jerks. A person's rights in means of disability are not limited by countries.

 

[stalkingmickey]

Disney is not exempt for enforcing the handicap parking. It is a government regulation. If you park in a handicap spot it is suppose to be a significant fine. Where I live people have taken pictures of cars parked in hadicap spots and sent the picture to the registry. The registry will then issue a ticket. Also the badge now has the picture of the person so family members can not use the badge when the person is not in the car with them. They actually can have the badge revoked if someone else is caught using the badge.

As for Disney's liability for towing. I would assume they have signs that say illegally parked cars will be towed at owners expense and are not responsible for any loss or damage. A car parked in a handicap spot is without a badge or plate is illegally parked.

 

[hooters dude]

Disney is not exempt for enforcing the handicap parking. It is a government regulation. If you park in a handicap spot it is suppose to be a significant fine. Where I live people have taken pictures of cars parked in hadicap spots and sent the picture to the registry. The registry will then issue a ticket. Also the badge now has the picture of the person so family members can not use the badge when the person is not in the car with them. They actually can have the badge revoked if someone else is caught using the badge.

As for Disney's liability for towing. I would assume they have signs that say illegally parked cars will be towed at owners expense and are not responsible for any loss or damage. A car parked in a handicap spot is without a badge or plate is illegally parked.

In the UK in Manchester the local paper recently photographed people parking in disabled spots without valid badges in a very well known national supermarket. They confronted the manager with the evidence and he begrudgingly admitted it was managements policy not to 'enforce' the rules

This of course is because so many do it that they don't want to upset their 'paying' customers, regardless of the fact that they're taking a space needed by those less fortunate than themselves!

I sadly think Disney has the same policy. People who abuse these parking spaces are paying Disney money, so why not turn a blind eye :hurl:

 

[Hakunamatata]

In the UK in Manchester the local paper recently photographed people parking in disabled spots without valid badges in a very well known national supermarket. They confronted the manager with the evidence and he begrudgingly admitted it was managements policy not to 'enforce' the rules

This of course is because so many do it that they don't want to upset their 'paying' customers, regardless of the fact that they're taking a space needed by those less fortunate than themselves!

I sadly think Disney has the same policy. People who abuse these parking spaces are paying Disney money, so why not turn a blind eye :hurl:

I guess it begs the question. Is it actually the retailers responsibility to enforce the law?

 

[kcnole]

In the UK in Manchester the local paper recently photographed people parking in disabled spots without valid badges in a very well known national supermarket. They confronted the manager with the evidence and he begrudgingly admitted it was managements policy not to 'enforce' the rules

To answer that question, in the state of Florida at least it is the management of that particular locations responsibility to ask for the area to be enforced. I worked for a supermarket for a while in Florida years ago and asked about this. The Police are not allowed to just drive through and issue tickets for parking in these spots, the management has to request that they do so since it is private property. It was policy of the store to not do so because they didn't want to anger their customers.

 

[mkt]

As for Disney's liability for towing. I would assume they have signs that say illegally parked cars will be towed at owners expense and are not responsible for any loss or damage. A car parked in a handicap spot is without a badge or plate is illegally parked.

When it's a company as publicly known as Disney, one that people will sue for any reason, whether or not it's within Disney's fault or scope of influence, they won't open up that liability. They're not dumb... they would rather deal with an upset guest in a wheelchair and give them a ride to/from their far out parking spot than dole out the money to repair any potential damage to a car once its been towed.

 

[Valawen9]

Wow. That guy was incredibly rude and you handled it better than I would have because I probably would've gone ape**** on that guy. :fork:

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Does anybody know the policy on handicapped parking?

We took the mother-in-law with us in 2003. She is the holder of a UK disabled badge. We had absolutely no problems using in in Disney. As we approached the parking lot I just held up the badge as we approached each CM and were kindly directed towards the allocated parking spots.
Sounds to me like you parked next to a right a**hole who had fallen out of bed on the wrong side

 

[RSoxNo1]

I know that a few months before my father was going to have knee surgery they let him park in the handicapped area without a pass. Much like the guest assistance passes, Disney generally doesn't fight it. It's not worth the negative press to them.

 

[mary219]

quite frankly,it sounds like you ran into a bonafide nut.

 

[head mouse]

When I was younger. My friends and I would ride our bikes up to the mall. The mall was still new and some what under construction. They had not put in the bike racks yet. so we would lock our bikes to the handicapped sign posts. One day we were there and as we were locking our bikes up, this woman pulled into the spot. I looked up and noticed she didn't have the card in her window. I knew that some people had the license tag with the symblo on it. so I looked at it as we walked away. As the woman got out of her car and WALKED to the mall I said to my friend (loud enough for the woman to hear) "I GUESS SHE'S MENTALY HANDICAPPED". :lol: The woman gave us a dirty look.

 

[WaltzingMatilda]

Don't think you have to apologize for americans though, I've been coming for thirty years and know this guy doesn't represent you. I go to soccer matches in England so am fully aware that society breeds some 'unique' individuals to say the least.

Thanks for saying that...I agree, it's not an "American" thing, it's a jerk thing. And jerks are jerks wherever you go, and will use whatever hurtful language they can lay their hands on because, well, they're jerks.

I would love to visit England someday...just to chicken to fly! :wave:

 

[Kerby626]

I hate stupid people. Hopefully his stupidity stopped with him. Sorry you had to endure that. If it had been me I would've asked what he was doing not being in Iraq. But hey, I'm a jerk to people who talk about defending the country and then turn a blind eye. You did the right thing, the rest of us Disney loving non angry Americans are with ya! And if I ever stop at the Hooters in LBV, I'll throw down a dozen wings with you.

 

[Craig & Lisa]

Sorry about your encounter, please don't believe that he's like eveyone else. But to give you an idea some of the people who can use the spot can be just as big a jerk. Example, where I shop for groceries the parking lot has spaces for the handicapped near the front doors. Well in this instance they also have 2 spaces , ( just 2 ) closer on each side infront of them,making them the first spaces. One day I parked in one, and as I was leaving my car a person started with me about where I parked stating that these were special spaces.I took a quick look and saw what I always saw. 4 spaces marked for the handicapped and 2 that were not. I mentioned this to him and he said that it did not matter. He tried to get in my face but I just walked away. Well after I had finished came back out to my car he was waiting, and a police car came over. He said your gonna get it now. The whole thing was explained to the officer he looked and said there was nothing wrong. The "GENTLEMAN" at which point tried to argue his point as he did with me with the officer said there was nothing wrong. He turned red and walked away. So it comes from both sides.

 

[wdwforus]

I hate stupid people. Hopefully his stupidity stopped with him. Sorry you had to endure that. If it had been me I would've asked what he was doing not being in Iraq. But hey, I'm a jerk to people who talk about defending the country and then turn a blind eye. You did the right thing, the rest of us Disney loving non angry Americans are with ya! And if I ever stop at the Hooters in LBV, I'll throw down a dozen wings with you.

There isnt a cure for stupidity! Hopefully this guy hasnt bred any more like him.