People who are rude to those with disablities..

[batulo128]

:shrug:Hello everyone!

I wish to address my comments and hopefully feedback to those with disablities.. My wife and i just returned from Disney World celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary..

I cannot believe how there are those people in DW who are rude to those using Wheelchair and especially scooters.. I cannot believe the faces of people who were inconvienced because of someone like me who needs access to board a bus using the scooter.. It is bad enough when you struggle boarding the thing but to see the very people with discontent looks on their faces because your taking their precious time from going to the next park..

My wife would tell me to ignore them but it very hurtful when you think of the fact that that all share this park with the goal of having a great time..

The drivers are the worst.. I have encountered a few who would even lower the steps nor help park the scooter.. I had to this myself. Mind you, i am going for back surgery very soon..

I am appalled and very disappointed. I have been to DW many times but someone is wrong.. I have just e-mailed the guest relations department and spoke to the consierge about this matter..

There are people who litterally think the park belongs to them and no one else..

I literally had to scream at people for them to move out of the way.. especially those Brazillian teenagers unfortunately, i cussed along the way..

anyway., any feedback with similar experience..would be appreciated..

Thank!..

 

[happymom52003]

I completely agree. We brought my 80 year old grandmother to WDW a couple of years ago and she needed a scooter. While we did not have any bad experiences with cast members, I too was appalled by the rudeness we encountered from many guests. While there were some guests who were polite, I was shocked that the majority were not.

The worst were the people who would intentionally jump in front of her because they did not want to get stuck walking behind her, or the people who would not stop to let us cross a pathway or Main Street even though they saw us trying to cross and her us saying excuse me.

I realize that this can also happen by accident....you get caught up in your surroundings and you do not realize that somone in a scooter wants to cross a path, or that you just stepped in front of them....but alot of people were well aware of what they were doing.

We never took buses because we only took her to Epcot and the MK so we traveled by boat or monorail, but we did recieve a few sighs and eye rolls if it took her more than one try to drive the scooter onto the boat. It was so bad one particular time that my grandmother actually started to cry a bit. She felt embarressed enough that she was holding the boat up (and for what...one, maybe two minutes?) with everyone staring at her....she did not need to hear the rude comments.

She is the sweetest, most respectful caring person I know. Seeing her brought to tears because some people were so upset that they were going to be two minutes later arriving to the MK that they felt it neccessary to be rude disgusted me.

I have a whole new respect for people who need wheelchairs and scooters after that trip.

 

[Dukeblue1016]

All I can say is I am very sorry to hear about that.

People are just rude... it's the simple. People by nature care about nobody but themselves and only look out for themselves...

if they get to MK at 9:03 instead of 9:01 because someone with a wheelchair needs help being loaded up; they look at it as a nusance to them to have to sit there while SOMEONE ELSE IS BEING HELFPUL...

why are we all in such a rush?

I've seen the looks on people's faces too... and it disgusts me...

Personally not knowing anyone in a wheelchair or a scooter I do not know exactly what you have to feel; and so that is why I say that all I can say is I am sorry...

You really do need to not worry about such inconsiderate people though...

 

[palmage]

My SIL needed a scooter the last time we were there.
We had a nice experience overall, I don't recall any rude people.

Sorry you had a rough time.

 

[EpcotServo]

Sorry about that.

I just haven't seen that myself. When I was wheelchair-bound, I was treated great.

In fact I was a little insulted that because when I'm always there I'm ignored, but when in a wheelchair everyone treated me great.
:lol:

I have to add though, alot of time ECV guests can be quite rude as well. If I had a dime for everytime I've been run over or cut off by one.
:brick:

 

[sbkline]

A few weeks ago, my wife and I and my in-laws went to an event, and I overheard a woman in an electric wheelchair say to a woman standing up "We're moving as fast as we can! Who do you think you are?". That's all I heard, but it was obvious that the woman standing up must have been griping at her for rolling in front of her in her wheelchair. Weird thing is, I think we had just joked around or exchanged some kind of pleasantries with the woman standing up, which surprised me to see that she would be making rude comments to a woman in a wheelchair.

As far as the bus drivers not helping, I don't know since I wasn't there, and I don't know company policy or anything. But just a few thoughts here on different possibilities...

In our sue crazy society, one is afraid nowdays to lift a finger to help anyone for fear of getting sued if something goes wrong. Sometimes it's best to just keep your hands off altogether so that someone can't turn around and blame you if something gets broken or something. I know how that is working at Walmart, where I have to help people carry out big items. If it comes down to having to adjust a seat or something to make it fit, I'd rather not be the one to fiddle with the seat. Because if it gets broke, the company and myself could be held liable. Every now and then, someone will buy a big projection TV or something, and be dimwitted enough to drive a car to Walmart instead of a truck, and want to put the product on top of the car and tie it down. I don't touch that with a 10 foot pole and let them to that themselves if that's what they want to do. I don't want to be held liable if the paint gets scratched with the rope, or if the thing isn't tied down good enough and falls out onto the street, etc. So perhaps that's what's going on here with a bus driver refusing to help park the scooter. I don't know, I'm just thinking of different possibilities.

Or, it could be, as it is with many people, that he doesn't know how is offer to help would be received. While many of us would like to help those who are disabled in one way or another, there is also the fear of insulting the person. "I'm not helpless! I can do it myself, thank you!" the person might reply. Some people have alot of pride and don't like to feel like others are treating them like they are helpless. Sometimes, one may feel like if a person wants help, he will say so, and if he doesn't say so, then the person doesn't want to risk offending the person by offering help.

Or, it could be that the driver was just being rude. Who knows? :shrug:

 

[Disneybird]

My elderly mother has been using a wheelchair at WDW for our past 5 or 6 trips. We've never really had any problems with the buses but we've been using push wheelchairs. Usually she is able to walk onto the bus with a little help and we fold the chair up, then put it in front of us so we take up as little room on the bus as possible. The majority of the cast members and bus drivers have been very good to us. The biggest 2 complaints I have are lack of easy access to the Land. It's very hard for someone my age to push someone up that hill. And on our last trip, we went to Fantasmic and there was no easy line for wheelchair guests. Before, there was a side of the line blocked off for wheelchairs, but not that time. It was very hard to get her up that hill in the middle of all those other people.

The problems we have are usually with guests also. Mainly cutting in front of us.

Once we were in line for CBJ, and didn't see the wheelchair access. It's not like the attraction is so crowded that we were inconveniencing people. There was probably only 20 people waiting to go in. A couple got very close to us and the man asked the woman very loudly if the wheelchair line wasn't on the side of the building. I thought that was very rude.

But on the other hand, once when my daughter and I were trying to get the wheelchair off the bus and help mom down too, a stranger came to us, took the wheelchair off the bus, opened it up for my mother and helped her into it.

There was also a woman that told my mother once that she rents a wheelchair for her trip just to get wheelchair access. But that's another thread.

This year we are renting an ECV for her. We'll see how that goes.

 

[ClemsonTigger]

Sorry to hear of your bad experience, and hopefully you will hear back from Disney concerning your feedback. Unfortunately Disney can do nothing about the increasing rudeness of the guests who only worry about themselves. They also can do anything about Brazilian tour groups that have impacted many other guests in the parks.

It's been my experience however that most bus drivers are very considerate in loading and caring for wheelchair and ECV riders. Not to make excuses for a rude driver, but consider that they get looks and comments day in and day out the same as you received for delaying their boarding to load a chair or ECV. I've also witnessed a surprising number of very rude disabled guests who show up to a full bus and expect to be loaded.

This has probably been exasperated with the July crowds and reduced bus frequency making for more crowded busses.

 

[EmOhYouEssE]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. I personally don't mind waiting for people with scooters to load, but I do have a bit of a pet peeve regarding the families with the people with scooters based on a situation on our May trip to WDW.

At our hotel (POFQ), there was a family of 10, two of which had scooters (the grandparents I'm assuming). On three separate occassions in a 7 day stay, we were waiting in the morning for a bus to a park and this family would come up just as the bus pulled up. The scooters were boarded (with two scooters on board, that is 8 seats now unavailable, 3 for each scooter and 2 for the people requiring them, as they are not allowed to stay in the scooter during the trip for safety reasons). Then the other 8 in their party would board, taking up 8 more seats. Some were small children that could have sat on a parents lap to allow for more seats.

So, in essense, a family of 10 is able to walk up last minute and fill half of a bus taking 16 seats, while others waiting in line get the shaft.

I feel the able bodied should have to wait in line and allow the others to board or there should be a limit on the number of people allowed on with the people requiring scooters. It seems that a benefit to having someone in your party use a scooter is that you are always guaranteed a seat on a very crowded bus. It leaves the door open for rampant abuse IMO.

 

[MichRX7]

I noticed a small measure of this on our last trip. We took my wife's uncle Dan and he had polio as a child and lost use of his left leg. It is in a brace and he (being very proud) refused to get a scooter the first night even though I offered to pick up the tab. So I decided to give him a "world tour" to change his mind. One thing I noticed is at most resorts the bus locations are very far away from the resort exits. This is something I would have never picked-up on had Dan not been with us, but at every location I found myself wanting to apologize for it. Though during this "world trip" we went from POP to AKL, MK, the Contemporary (via Monorail), and settled at the WL (via boat). At all forms of transport Disney Staff were extremely cordial and helpful and we did not have "rude" patrons.

The next day we went to MK and he decided a scooter was best, but while there I did spend a lot of time walking directly in front of him (my ankles are still bruised, lol) and trying to politely ask people to step aside/move. Most of the people I chalk up to "being in the moment" and unaware of their surroundings (understandable), but there were quite a few who were rude even to my please and thank you's and a few that ran inbetween the two of us and he almost ran them over. I know it was mentally taxing on me, and you could see he was at times stressed about those instances as he was trying to get around as best he could.

Of course there was the HM incident which I chalk up to my neglect and his stubbornness, but he insisted that he walk the line into HM and experience the whole ride (his first trip). We almost killed each other as he tried to hold on to me getting on and off the moving walkway. Interestingly enough as you exit the ride they have a wireless remote to speed up/slow down the walkway. Fortunately for us it also had a stop button as he almost made a "return voyage" trying to get out. We look back at that and laugh now, but it was very stressful for a few moments.

Regarding the lines at busses. If there was a long line the rest of the group waited in the line while he waited outside the line with his girlfriend letting busses go by until it was obvious the whole group would get onto the next bus which I think is the right way to go about it. When he was on his crutches he waited in line like everyone else except at the end of long days when he waited on the bench as we stood in line as previously noted with the scooter. Of course his grand-nephews thought it was the bomb to ride on his lap whenever they got tired and I was jealous.:ROFLOL:

All-in-all it was a very enlightening experience. He praised all of Disney for their efforts and design in this aspect except the distance to the bus locations. He surprised me the other day and even mentioned he might want to go again with us in the near future to see DHS and AK.