guests in wheelchairs

[OhioDisneyLover]

Again, he has the disability, and would be able to prove it. Its the people that are taking advantage that DON'T have a disability that you need to blame.

If Disney had a policy where a medical excuse was required, don't you think that would look much better for your husband? No one would think that he was 'a fat guy trying to be lazy' because he would have had to prove to Disney that he was disabled. Know what I'm trying to say?

I think that even if Disney had a policy to prove disability, people would still be complaining about other people in scooters/wheelchairs. I know that my husband is disabled and frankly, I ignore the rude people that feel the need to comment. Not Disney related but one day we went to the grocery store near our home. My husband was in an extreme amount of pain that day and he actually used his parking pass. An elderly man came up to the car and tapped on the window (husband could not get out of the car) and said "what gives you the right to park here?" Apparently since my husband is relatively young (36), the guy thought he had no business parking there. He doesn't "look disabled". My husband's reply....."your freedom, sir." Nice.....not that he alone is responsible for our freedom , but I still thought that was a great reply....The guy just walked away..........

 

[mousermerf]

*sigh*

I hate these topics.. but here's my most recent thoughts..

After being threatened with physical violence while trying to get a bottle of water while in line at the Electric Umbrella - I've come to realize that people, in general, include jerks.

From the "my child should be able to see" crazies at the fireworks who shove their kids in front of me, to the people who shove their way through lines to "catch up," and lest we forget the woman who rented her whole family ECV's and had the nerve to complain loudly on the monorail platform that they couldn't ride together because she thought renting them would "be convienent and faster" ...

Crappy people just exist. They're everywhere and they're roughly proportionate. Disney World is a place of people, and thus you'll find a proportionate number of crappy people.

On slow days, I only catch 1 kid trying to steal my wallet while I wait in line by "accidentally" bumping into me and putting his hand in my back pocket. On busy days, I get the whole Brazilian tour group singing in the monorail car as it waits for traffic clearance.

My advice is go during the slow time - fewer people means fewer jerks.

 

[Nansafan]

The thought that you get in line first with a wheelchair is incorrect. In 2004 my 13 year old niece sprained her ankle halfway through our vacation. The trip included an ambulance ride, emergency room visit and yes, the renting of a wheelchair for the last 3 days. We did not get in line in front of anyone. At Space you go to the FP return line and they give you a slip of paper with a time written on it and you return approximately an hour later and enter the ride via the FP return line as it is wider and can accomodate the chair. On PoTC you wait in line like everyone else as the queue is wide enough for the chair and then the chair is folded and put in the boat with you. You have to wait for a boat that will accomodate a chair to come to the dock. At Small World, same like PoTC. In Epcot, at SSE you enter from a back door and wait in a holding area for a CM to bring you to the ride. At the HM you enter through the "Servants Quarters" door to avoid the stretching room and the swarm of people as the door opens. Not in one line at any park were we given front of the line access to any attraction. The only front of the line access we received the whole trip was at the airport when we got to board the plane to return home. Side note: the niece mentioned above is now going through chemo for Ewings Sarcoma. This cancer affects mostly children in the bones, bone marrow and soft tissue. To see her with her wig on (she lost her hair to chemo) you wouldn't know there was anything wrong with her save the 2 inch scar on near her knee which was from the biopsy. She is not supposed to put any weight on the affected leg as it is weaker from the tumor. She can walk and would be able to get on any ride at WDW though she would have to spend the rest of the time in a chair.

I've been run into by wheelchairs, ECV's, strollers and kids on Heelies. I've also done my share of stepping in front of someone I didn't see because of being distracted by shiny things. Of the 4, the Heelies are the only ones I have a problem with. It is so easy to get distracted at WDW by looking at the details, your kids, a character, some CM, that getting bumped into is a daily and sometimes hourly occurrance. Of the 10 of us who travel to WDW together, it wouldn't be a trip if my cousin didn't step on the back of your shoes at least once.

 

[Erika]

if you're not diabled in any way, take solace in the fact that a: you're not disabled; b: you're not the sort of jerk0ff who'd pretend to be disabled for kicks, shorter wait times or other perks. And unless you have a third eye that allows you to look in a person's soul & know what ails them, don't waste precious brain cells wondering what they're getting over on WDW. Life's too short, and so is vacation time.

Nicely put. And with that said, I think we've exhausted this subject, here and elsewhere.