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Just got to wdw..what's up with all the scooter's
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BAChicagoGal
Well-Known Member
Related, but not directly. Is there a policy on this website, where the original poster can notify a moderator, and ask that their thread be removed/closed? Sometimes I have done that very thing on another website, when a thread of mine had either run it's course, or taken a bad direction, or I thought better of the subject material.
disneyflush
Well-Known Member
I'm pretty overweight and there are times when my back hurts after walking a few miles and I have to sit down and catch my breath before moving again. I accept the pain as part of my decision to eat irresponsibly most of the time. Not everyone does but that is just me.
Some people feel that the pain of walking when you weigh a lot more than them should be carried by the person who can't put down their fork. They don't want to have that transference of personal accountability be pushed onto them by having to wait 5 extra minutes to board a park bus. I understand that angle but people still need the ECVs to move. The issue is really complex from all angles. No person has the exact correct answer.
Some people feel that the pain of walking when you weigh a lot more than them should be carried by the person who can't put down their fork. They don't want to have that transference of personal accountability be pushed onto them by having to wait 5 extra minutes to board a park bus. I understand that angle but people still need the ECVs to move. The issue is really complex from all angles. No person has the exact correct answer.
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Broke my left foot years back....was desperate to get out of house and it was so empowering to be able to get self to Target and use a scooter. While I was thrilled to be doing something productive, getting things I needed at the house, and to be mobile....I know I was quite focused on others and my "girth" of said vehicle.....but that being said, I was greatly IGNORED by most people passing me, like I just wasn't there....yep had my crutches in back and big ol' cast on foot....and using said crutch to elevate self to upper shelves as needed...so obvious display of need, no one offered to help me reach for things or even looked at me....It was hard work to get there and do shopping, but opened my eyes to others from being in that situation. It's not just about someone in a scooter being a "bother"....yep it sure would hurt if someone rolled over my foot and lol broke it again!....my point is the empathy of someone, and the ignorance that most people do not have a need for such when it is valid and NOT obvious to others. Should they never leave the house?!?! Maybe some people prefer ignorance to empathy.....I do know some have to had experience personally with same situation to be able to put self in someone elses shoes.
There are a lot of things that can be going on that are not immediately obvious in your brief interaction with someone.
My wife is a healthy and fit woman and only 37. She can and does ride road bike 20-40 miles at a time several times a week. However, walking distances and extended standing has become very painful due to hip displasia that wen't undiagnosed and untreated when she was young. There are no visible clues to the pain that she suffers due to this. Yet, she would rather gobble pain pills and suffer than be judged by people for choosing a wheelchair, even if for part of the day. It would be easy to point to the being able to ride a bike in comfort as some proof that nothings wrong. But there are very specific structural and cartilage issues that make this reality.
Please be kind and patient because there is a big world of things you don't understand until you are unfortunately forced to live it.
My wife is a healthy and fit woman and only 37. She can and does ride road bike 20-40 miles at a time several times a week. However, walking distances and extended standing has become very painful due to hip displasia that wen't undiagnosed and untreated when she was young. There are no visible clues to the pain that she suffers due to this. Yet, she would rather gobble pain pills and suffer than be judged by people for choosing a wheelchair, even if for part of the day. It would be easy to point to the being able to ride a bike in comfort as some proof that nothings wrong. But there are very specific structural and cartilage issues that make this reality.
Please be kind and patient because there is a big world of things you don't understand until you are unfortunately forced to live it.
Raineman
Well-Known Member
Can I like this 1 million times? Some people really love their apostrophe's...
Saxtongoof
Member
Last year when we were down there, I watched a man in a scooter get on the same bus as we did for three straight days, he was on a scooter. This same man I saw every morning as I went to get our coffee running around Riverside getting his morning exercise. He didn't need the scooter and his 3 kids didn't either. A couple of times we saw him and his kids using the scooter to get onto rides thru the handicap entrances. This type of person spoils it for those who are in need of a scooter. I don't know how many times we been yelled at by those on scooter to get out of their way. All that does is make us walk slower right in front of them. And that how we handle those who need to learn some manners.
TXDisney
Well-Known Member
Handicap is a tough call to make for any organization. It's pretty much impossible to tell someone no for a handicap spot or car. Disney does the right thing when it comes to that, they don't say no, that has a lawsuit written all over it. What WDW does do is charge for wheelchairs and motor carts, which makes people who aren't using it for the right reasons question if it's worth it. It weeds out some of the abusers. An other area where WDW is in a tough call is how to approach handicap people on lines. They don't want them in lines taking up tons of space on most rides, but it certainly shouldn't allow you to cut every line. My mom uses a handicap chair. She 100% doesn't use this as a perk bc she rarely even goes on the rides, she just loves seeing everyone so happy for 8 days. But there are plenty who do it just to cut lines, and that's agitating. But there's nothing WDW can really do about it without legal getting involved.
chrisbarry
Active Member
Way off topic, but, OP is your name actually Andre LaPlume or are you an absolute genius for choosing an obscure Odd Couple reference as a screen name?
ninjaprincesst
Well-Known Member
Maybe the little girl was just getting the scooter for mom or dad or grandma or grandpa. The exit to Dinosaur is a good distance from the entrance, my Dad was unable to make the walk back, and since my mother and I both have scooter driving abilities that suck, my daughter went and got it for him. Again don't jump to conclusions.
ninjaprincesst
Well-Known Member
Exactly, we have no way of knowing, that fat person could have cancer and be blown up do to chemo and radiation, my normaly thin mother in law gained over 70 pounds on radiation,itwent away shortly after she finished but while on radiation she looked fat.
Lucky
Well-Known Member
FTFYCan I like this 1 million time's? Some people really love their apostrophe's...
Minnie Mum
Well-Known Member
What do you mean "they don't want them in lines taking up space"????? A guest on an ecv or wheelchair is not affecting the ride capacity of a ride. They take up exactly the same amount of space on a ride as a non handicapped guest. Yes, their ecv may take up an extra 3 feet of space in a queue. So what? It's not going to take you any longer to get on the ride, whether they're on a scooter or walking.
Cutting in line? The vast majority of attractions have mainstreamed queues. Which means that ecv and wheelchair guests go through the same queue that you do. You know - the ones that you complained we were taking up too much room in. A small number have handicap accessible alternate entrances, like IASW and BTMRR. Have you actually been through those lines? Are you aware that guests in those lines often wait as long if not longer than if they had been able to use the regular entrance? I remember something that happened on our last trip. We had FPs for Splash MTN. DD and DSIL had gone ahead and gotten in line a couple of minutes before us. DH and I were detoured to the HC entrance because of my chair. Well, DD and DSIL ended up cooling their heels for over 20 minutes while they waited for us to get off the ride. 20 minutes. Does that sound like cutting the line?
Pumbas Nakasak
Heading for the great escape.
are you in need of an example?
Pumbas Nakasak
Heading for the great escape.
Perhaps it was a Mods convention, were Lambrettas the most popular?
Santa Raccoon 77
Thank you sir. You were an inspiration.
D'o'n't k'n'o'w w'h'a't y'o'u m'e'a'nCan I like this 1 million times? Some people really love their apostrophe's...
SorcererMC
Well-Known Member
Bold for emphasis.
I am in a very similar circumstance as your wife....it is only a matter of time before I will be touring WDW in a wheelchair/scooter, and I stay as fit as possible in order to prolong the inevitable reality or tipping point where the pain pills won't cut it for the day/ week.
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This subject matter reminds me that is is far easier to forgive someone's ignorance than to expect understanding or empathy/compassion. And it is also through threads like this (or similar comments sprinkled in posts) that my family and I know what to expect (while at WDW or other) from those who simply don't know any better or haven't had the misfortune to know.
TXDisney
Well-Known Member
You point out the few times it didn't help you and actually took longer which I completely agree with bc I've been in the same situation with my mother. But you fail to mention how many times you didn't have to wait the actual wait time on some rides bc of a motorized vehicle or wheelchair. Yes some rides you wait in the normal line like everyone else, but some rides not.
Raineman
Well-Known Member
If all park visitors, whether they are on an ECV, stroller, wheelchair, or on foot, were courteous to the people around them, we could avoid alot of the kind of stuff that's being discussed here. Watch where you are going, do not cut in front of people, don't bump into the people in front of you if you can avoid it. There are too many people at WDW that make their way through the crowd as if they are fighting through the defensive backfield trying to get to the end zone.
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