Please try to be courteous...

[Lirael]

Parking spaces are exclusive use because you can't simply take a car from that space and put it elsewhere when someone that needs it shows up

It's different with stalls and seats on public transport. Those are accessible/preferred but not exclusive because it's easy to vacate the space immediately (or within a minute or so in the toilet stall case) should someone that needs that space show up. Car parking can't do that, so it needs to be exclusive and not simply preferred for.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Typically, the stalls are designated as handicapped, with a picture of a wheelchair.

The pictogram is just a communication device. If they denoted an intention of exclusivity then many places would not have toilets available for those not using a wheelchair. The men’s room at a Publix isn’t intended just for wheelchair users.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

This happens to us at WDW ALL THE TIME, and we are not in ECVs.

True enough, and that is why it is a little hard to characterize the experience in a forum like this. In an ECV though, it is far more rampant to have people not make room for you, or at least that was my experience. I've been to WDW/Universal many times before without using any mobility device..

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I get it but what I don’t understand is why someone that is handicapped should get priority over anyone else that needs to use the facilities. If someone requiring the designated space I can understand but other than that explain to me why the facilities shouldn’t be available to the next customer.

If all the stalls are full, then yeah, I agree.
If most the stalls are empty, common sense would say the handicapped stall should be left open if possible.

If you don't need that stall, then you can choose one of the many stalls. If someone needs that stall, then they end up having to wait for that specific stall to become available. Their only option is that ONE stall.

 

[lazyboy97o]

If all the stalls are full, then yeah, I agree.
If most the stalls are empty, common sense would say the handicapped stall should be left open if possible.

If you don't need that stall, then you can choose one of the many stalls. If someone needs that stall, then they end up having to wait for that specific stall to become available. Their only option is that ONE stall.

In advocating for access you’re falling to the common misconception that handicapped equals wheelchair users. Disability extends far beyond wheelchair use as do accessible building elements. For example, there are accessibility requirements for stairs.

A group restroom with six or toilets will actually have two “handicapped stalls”. While the wheelchair accessible stall is designed to accommodate the maneuverability requirements of a wheelchair they are not intended for that exclusive use. Just as there are those who are not wheelchair users but legitimately utilize accessible parking spaces there are those who benefit from other features of the wheelchair accessible stall. Florida’s specific requirement for a sink in the wheelchair accessible stall add additional uses that aren’t predicated on the use of a wheelchair.

 

[flynnibus]

Typically, the stalls are designated as handicapped, with a picture of a wheelchair.

No

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

This is Disneys fault as much as societies decline.

I’ve never used an ECV but I’ve suffered all the same issues, rude people, being cut off, being bumped into without so much as an excuse me, disgusting bathrooms, unflushed toilets, long bathroom lines…

Manners have gone downhill but I think Disney deserves a fair share of the blame for that decline in the parks, when there’s more people than the paths were designed for people are going to bump into each other, when there’s more people than the bathrooms were designed for the lines are going to get long, and people will become more desperate for the next stall whether it’s accessible or not.

Disney (or the popularity of Disney) has created a situation where there’s more people in the parks than the parks can comfortably handle.

Common courtesy is to not use the accessible stall if there’s another stall available, unfortunately many Disney bathroom now have lines of people waiting so that’s not the norm, if there’s someone in a chair/ECV behind me I’ll let them take it but if there’s not I’m using it before I burst.

ETA: On a couple occasions I’ve had ladies rudely tell me they can open the door for themselves, and I always reply with I know you can, but it’s polite to hold the door for the people behind you. I hold the door for guys behind me too.

 

[Chef Mickey]

Not flushing liquids can be a regional thing, I’ve found, where there’s drought or people skew highly eco-conscious. They should know better in public but that may be why it’s not habit from home. Also, this is not meant to be rude but I wouldn’t be telling other people’s kids what to do in a public bathroom. That could potentially get security called if a parent freaks.

Nah, come on...these are Americans. Not everything has an excuse. If their parents want to get up and arms at me for telling their kid to flush their poop, come at me bro. As you said, public bathroom. They aren't on the toilet still or anything - but if i'm going in after, I'm telling them just like I would an adult.

 

[Sweet tears]

This is Disneys fault as much as societies decline.

I’ve never used an ECV but I’ve suffered all the same issues, rude people, being cut off, being bumped into without so much as an excuse me, disgusting bathrooms, unflushed toilets, long bathroom lines…

Manners have gone downhill but I think Disney deserves a fair share of the blame for that decline in the parks, when there’s more people than the paths were designed for people are going to bump into each other, when there’s more people than the bathrooms were designed for the lines are going to get long, and people will become more desperate for the next stall whether it’s accessible or not.

Disney (or the popularity of Disney) has created a situation where there’s more people in the parks than the parks can comfortably handle.

Common courtesy is to not use the accessible stall if there’s another stall available, unfortunately many Disney bathroom now have lines of people waiting so that’s not the norm, if there’s someone in a chair/ECV behind me I’ll let them take it but if there’s not I’m using it before I burst.

ETA: On a couple occasions I’ve had ladies rudely tell me they can open the door for themselves, and I always reply with I know you can, but it’s polite to hold the door for the people behind you. I hold the door for guys behind me too.

No one could have projected the ECV let alone its rampant use when WD was being developed. I’m all for it when it’s needed and some day maybe a user. However it’s not possible to deny that there is abuse.

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

Back in the day when Mr Potato Head was in operation in the interior queue line of Toy Story Mania at DHS, I've seen a fellow guest go behind the curtain of Potato Head with an empty water bottle. A few minutes later he came back without the bottle and went back on line. What you gotta go, you gotta go....

That thing is so rare to see nowadays… kind of crazy!

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

No one could have projected the ECV let alone its rampant use when WD was being developed. I’m all for it when it’s needed and some day maybe a user. However it’s not possible to deny that there is abuse.

I think the same is true of strollers, when the parks were built kids rode in a stroller that was a foot wide by 2 feet long, or they walked, I doubt imagineers from decades ago could have foreseen how large strollers and wagons would become or how many kids would still be using them beyond their pre-school years.

 

[NelleBelle]

Typically, the stalls are designated as handicapped, with a picture of a wheelchair.

I must be totally oblivious as I’ve not noticed these signs on the stalls.
But again, as someone who doesn’t “appear” to have mobility issues, I’m certainly going to use that stall for the higher toilet and grab bars when it’s available. I especially will wait for this stall when I have my service dog with me as I cannot tell you how many times she’s been groped from the neighboring stall. If there is someone in a w/c behind me, and I’m not in desperate need, I’ll certainly let them go ahead.

 

[jaklgreen]

To be honest I'd not really thought about that. I would say that if I ever developed bladder issues that I would find myself in a position where I had two choices. One would be that I'd politely explain to the person in the wheelchair that like themselves I have a medical condition that means I urgently need the toilet and hope that they'd understand. My other option would be to think "I'm not going to explain my condition to them because it's private and I'm just going to enter the stall when it's free without explaining why".

Both are valid options though personally I'd choose the first. The second one is down to the individual really, do you tell them or do you find it embarrassing telling them that. My position is probably made easier because suffering from Dystonia my condition can't be hidden. People tend to stare at me at times because similar to say Parkinson's disease, it's apparent to all there's something going on and some folk enjoy having a good old stare at me. This has perhaps toughened me up a bit and so I have no issue discussing it. Not everyone is like that though so you raise an interesting point.

On the whole I think the basic point is don't use the specially designed stalls unless you need to as it's really for those in wheelchairs if the normal ones are available for others. There's always going to be exceptions to it and I suppose how that's handled is up to the individual.

To be honest, I am on the side that I should not have to explain my medical conditions to anyone. I think most of us realize that not all medical issues are visible.
I honestly think a bigger issue with the woman's restrooms at the parks are the amount of boys that are in there. The restrooms are busy enough without adding boys to the mix. The number of times that I have seen boys, and older boys too, ages 7 and up, in the restroom is crazy, especially since most of these have a man with them in their group. So many times I have seen boys with their mom come out of the woman's restroom and meet up with dad. Why don't men take their sons into the men's restroom with them anymore? They are taking up stalls that woman need. You free up the regular stalls and people are less likely to use the handicapped one.

 

[jaklgreen]

If all the stalls are full, then yeah, I agree.
If most the stalls are empty, common sense would say the handicapped stall should be left open if possible.

If you don't need that stall, then you can choose one of the many stalls. If someone needs that stall, then they end up having to wait for that specific stall to become available. Their only option is that ONE stall.

I think that the point is that you don't know if the person needs that stall or not. You are assuming that just because they are not in a wheelchair, that they don't have a need for that stall. My grandmother used them from midlife because she had horrible knees and needed the bars to help her up. She used a raised seat at home. Some people are claustrophobic and need to use that bigger stalls. I think that you will find that the majority of woman will get in and out as quickly as possible when using those stalls. If I use them, I don't even use the sink in them to get out faster, I just use the standard sinks to wash my hands.

 

[MissingDisney]

I think that the point is that you don't know if the person needs that stall or not. You are assuming that just because they are not in a wheelchair, that they don't have a need for that stall. My grandmother used them from midlife because she had horrible knees and needed the bars to help her up. She used a raised seat at home. Some people are claustrophobic and need to use that bigger stalls. I think that you will find that the majority of woman will get in and out as quickly as possible when using those stalls. If I use them, I don't even use the sink in them to get out faster, I just use the standard sinks to wash my hands.

This
Standing and walking-no problem.
Squatting, sitting and getting back up-BIG problem.
Knee procedures and vertigo issues make the hand rails a necessity, unfortunately.
I long for the days of the tiny stalls.

 

[jloucks]

I find this thread hypocritical.

I mean, on the one hand, most preach you cannot judge a seemingly able person as they may have hidden handicaps. On the other hand we assume they don't belong in the handicap stall?

Can you do that?

Those of you who know me know I do. I have a lot of unpopular opinions on "service dogs", scooters, and accommodation in general.

All that said, my vote goes to use the accessible stall last. I know it is roomy. I know the seat is higher and easier to use. But if you have three other stalls, use those first.

Now here is something the women here may not know... Men's rooms, starting in the 90's, started being built with a 4 to 1 ratio of urinals to toilets. Very often, the only stall is the handicapped stall. As a person with severe IBS, this is pretty jacked up. I do get annoyed with people with nervous bladders tying up the stall(s) just to urinate. It happens all the time. I also understand it is totally their right to do so.

Most of the time, accessible stalls are not marked as such. When it comes to men's rooms, this would be impossible, as I have demonstrated above. Society gives a mixed message to men because of this. We have to rely on common sense and courtesy, which we are a little short on nowadays.

 

[jloucks]

To be honest, I am on the side that I should not have to explain my medical conditions to anyone. I think most of us realize that not all medical issues are visible.
I honestly think a bigger issue with the woman's restrooms at the parks are the amount of boys that are in there. The restrooms are busy enough without adding boys to the mix. The number of times that I have seen boys, and older boys too, ages 7 and up, in the restroom is crazy, especially since most of these have a man with them in their group. So many times I have seen boys with their mom come out of the woman's restroom and meet up with dad. Why don't men take their sons into the men's restroom with them anymore? They are taking up stalls that woman need. You free up the regular stalls and people are less likely to use the handicapped one.

This one is easy...

Mens smaller restrooms often have just a single toilet that is almost always occupied (or it seems that way when you need it), and the urinals are too high for little kids.

Not all restrooms of course, but all the smaller ones built since the 90's.

 

[Lilofan]

To be honest, I am on the side that I should not have to explain my medical conditions to anyone. I think most of us realize that not all medical issues are visible.
I honestly think a bigger issue with the woman's restrooms at the parks are the amount of boys that are in there. The restrooms are busy enough without adding boys to the mix. The number of times that I have seen boys, and older boys too, ages 7 and up, in the restroom is crazy, especially since most of these have a man with them in their group. So many times I have seen boys with their mom come out of the woman's restroom and meet up with dad. Why don't men take their sons into the men's restroom with them anymore? They are taking up stalls that woman need. You free up the regular stalls and people are less likely to use the handicapped one.

Guess that is why when Jimmy Kimmel interviews kids on the street ages 4-6 and asks -which do they love more their Mommy or Daddy . The little ones all answer Mommy.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Alas, another thing I have discovered is that our medical system is not nearly as good as I thought it was. One annoyance is how they ask that stupid 'rate your pain' question. I always think, "Well I injured 1 limb. If I had injured 2 limbs, my pain would be double. Four limbs and my pain would be 4 times as bad." What exactly is the difference between a #2 and a #3 on a scale from 1 to 5?

Sorry as it's off-topic, but you are so right! When I was minutes away from delivering my eldest child, having taken not so much as a Tylenol, the delivery room nurse asked me to rate my pain on a scale of 1 to 10. All I could think to myself was, "as much as this hurts, it would hurt a lot more if someone was stabbing me in the eyeballs at the same time, and no one is doing that," so even though I felt like I was undergoing seppuku with a rusty butter knife, I tentatively answered, "8."

On the other hand, I'm not sure of a better way for them to phrase the question.

 

[jloucks]

Sorry as it's off-topic, but you are so right! When I was minutes away from delivering my eldest child, having taken not so much as a Tylenol, the delivery room nurse asked me to rate my pain on a scale of 1 to 10. All I could think to myself was, "as much as this hurts, it would hurt a lot more if someone was stabbing me in the eyeballs at the same time, and no one is doing that," so even though I felt like I was undergoing seppuku with a butter knife, I tentatively answered, "8."

On the other hand, I'm not sure of a better way for them to phrase the question.

It almost seems like a CYA move for the physician. If you say you're at a 9, then it's opioid time for you.

Because, lets face it, there is no good way to tell how much pain a person is in, except to ask. Guessing on the part of a physician may open them up to liability.

Of course, where opiods are involved, people have been known to lie.