Weight time vs. wait time...should disney be setting a better example?

[AndyMagic]

I have a handicap placard. I have also had a liver/kidney transplant but since I don't use a wheelchair or scooter in the parks you would not know of my condition just by looking at me, unless you would notice that I walk slowly and take plenty of rests. I could easily and legitimately use a scooter or a wheelchair. I would hate to think people would think I was being "sneaky". The point is, please don't judge a book by it's cover.

I wasn't judging. I was making a logical assumption based on the human population mixed with at least 3 people that I personally know who drive around with the handicap stickers on their car and who have no disability. Like I said in my previous posts, there are plenty of people who rightfully need something (like yourself) and there are people who take advantage. I don't go around willy-nilly judging people who park in handicap spaces.

 

[XaiChai]

I understand what you're saying but I think it would be a little shortsighted to think this world is perfect and that all the scooter people are honest and really have some sort of disability that makes it hard for them to stand in line. I'm sure plenty of them really do have a disability but there also those that are taking advantage. And yes, technically we'll "never know" but there is no reason to assume that the scooter people are any different than the rest of society. Some are good and some take advantage. It's life I guess but that doesn't mean I should feel bad for grumbling under my breath when a 500 pound man holding a turkey leg in each hand glides by me in line and hops on the ride.

life IS short and that's why you shouldn't be grumbling away..if you're in Disney the last thing you should be doing is complaining about someone you don't even know...but that's just my opinion. There are so many things in life to complain about but if all we do is that, complain...we can lose sight of everything that's going on and not really enjoy anything.

 

[XaiChai]

My problem with food choices at the quick-service places (everywhere, not just Disney) is that you basically have two options; something flavorless but incredibly healthy or a tub of lard. What happened to moderation? Why can't I have a burger but have it be a lean piece of meat instead of primarily made of fat? Why not offer big hearty salads instead of mixed greens with non-fat dressings? The side-orders are just as ridiculous. "Would you like a side of 2 carrots or crispy oil soaked french-fries?" Well actually, I'd like something a little in between those two extremes! I understand it costs more to make things healthier but sometimes I think the 20 cents more you would theoretically pay for the better quality is worth it. In the end the issue isn't that the places don't offer a healthy alternative. It's that the healthy alternatives are gross and not nearly hearty enough to satisfy anyone. I'm 5 11" and a lean 155 pounds. I work out and eat sensible foods but in Disney World (and other theme parks) I always get chicken fingers and burgers and pizza. It isn't that I am just splurging because I'm on vacation. It's that I want to be satisfied and for a 24 year-old guy, a mixed green salad doesn't cut it.

I agree with you...I think eating something healthy shouldn't mean eating something flavorless. I also think that eating healthy shouldn't be something we pay more for. Disney should include better healthy options for the fast food places (cause a lot of the table service restaurants have great choices), as long as they don't force the choices on everyone, I think its fine

 

[DougK]

I wasn't judging. I was making a logical assumption based on the human population mixed with at least 3 people that I personally know who drive around with the handicap stickers on their car and who have no disability. Like I said in my previous posts, there are plenty of people who rightfully need something (like yourself) and there are people who take advantage. I don't go around willy-nilly judging people who park in handicap spaces.

Well it sounded like judging to me, sorry if I am misunderstanding you. I am curious how you know those 3 people have no disability. As I said before, you cannot see my liver transplant.

 

[Sleepy01]

This is an interesting discussion. I don't think Disney should take away the 'unhealthy' options but I don't think there is anything wrong with adding some more healthy options. I realize there are healthy options available, but having them in more places where people who desire them don't have to hunt them down would be great.

I am also in the 'you can't judge a book by the cover crowd.' I'm 28 and have had fast food on average of at least once a day since I was 16. I don't say that because I'm proud of it, I say it because I'm 6'2", weigh 165 lbs & my heart is in fine condition. You can't always relate diet to someone's size.

I also have a health condition (genetic, not diet related) that would allow me the use of a scooter or wheel chair at the parks, but like the poster earlier, choose not to use one. I would assume that there are as many people who could use them that don't as those who don't need them but use them. It all balances out.

 

[AndyMagic]

Well it sounded like judging to me, sorry if I am misunderstanding you. I am curious how you know those 3 people have no disability. As I said before, you cannot see my liver transplant.

Like I said, I know these three people personally. One is even a member of my extended family. It's incredibly to get one because as long as you have someone in your family who is disabled, you can make the case that you need the sticker to drive them around. Too bad they don't actually drive their disabled grandfather around and instead use it to get as close to the front of Target as possible. My frustration isn't with disabled people, it is with abuse of perks that people don't deserve. People who screw with our unemployment system upset me just as much.

 

[Dragonrider1227]

It would be nice to see Disney give more healthy food options, but let's be honest. It's NOT their job to tell us what to eat. Especially when we're supposed to be on vacation

 

[gsimpson]

Disney has done a good job of mixing healthy/not so healthy food. I can find fresh fruit in a lot more places than I can find turkey legs or even chicken strips. I don't want my choices (meal or otherwise) to be based on some current government or university thinking. I am capable of thinking for myself thank you. Besides, it seems they tend to change their thinking a bit too often for me to take them seriously. Need an example, a few years ago there was a book named "Earth in the balance" which warned of global cooling and a possible ice age amongst other things. More recently, the same author penned "An inconvenient truth", which of course warns or global warming. Coffee has been alternately very damaging to your body and healthy. Salt, some months it is evil in granular form the next it is not a big factor and a must have for good health. Of course alcohol is pretty universally considered bad, but recently those same medical luminaries who for decades have said we should ban alcohol said that moderate drinking is actually good for you. I am a bit over weight, not a lot. And it is my fault. Not McDonalds' or KFC's for having so much unhealthy food that they "seduced" me into eating. When I am at Disney I tend to eat more unhealthy than normal and part of the reason is I do a lot of walking and get other exercise that I don't normally get so I feel I can get away with it.

As far as those scooters are concerned, I wish people wouldn't game the system but I also am not going to waste any of my time concerning myself with unscrupulous people, it just isn't worth the aggravation. I am not at all against them waiting in front for their party to catch up, or even going to the head of the line. I still have a somewhat painful injury (and no I didn't sue over it) from one of those scooters who was in the line with everyone else at Norway and kept ramming the back of my ankles as they tried to navigate the line. I surmised by the constant apologies that she was not well versed in scooter driving in tight spaces. I suspect she had a real reason for being in the scooter and I am sure she was sorry she kept ramming me. I would much rather have had her and her party go to the front in stead of causing me months of pain.

 

[Dingle66]

I still see no reason for a scooter to go to front of line. They can use one of those line timers for the person the scooter should have been behind. When that person gets on the ride, then the scooter person and their families can get on next. I don't care about scooters but I do cae very much when they roll up at the last second and they and their families take a whole bus I have been waiting 25 minutes for (which happened 3 times on my last trip) or they get right onto a ride.

I agree with you on the bus thing....waiting your turn to get on a bus requires no moving queue, just a stationary wait for the next available bus which is typically not a long wait. My mother doesn't use one to and from the parks, she just has to pace herself and sit when she can.

You have a point on the line timer concept, but I'm sure the logistics of the line or load area would factor into that working efficiently as well. Basically, you're saying a handicap of any type (including weight) shouldn't necessarily give you a wait time advantage over anyone else because length of wait has nothing to do with the handicap itself. I agree, but the parks don't currently operate on that concept probably because it's easier to simply keep the lines moving rather than creating a traffic jam of scooters all "waiting their turn" and then racing to get aboard the ride.

 

[KingStefan]

I agree with you on the bus thing....waiting your turn to get on a bus requires no moving queue, just a stationary wait for the next available bus which is typically not a long wait. My mother doesn't use one to and from the parks, she just has to pace herself and sit when she can.

You have a point on the line timer concept, but I'm sure the logistics of the line or load area would factor into that working efficiently as well. Basically, you're saying a handicap of any type (including weight) shouldn't necessarily give you a wait time advantage over anyone else because length of wait has nothing to do with the handicap itself. I agree, but the parks don't currently operate on that concept probably because it's easier to simply keep the lines moving rather than creating a traffic jam of scooters all "waiting their turn" and then racing to get aboard the ride.

Actually in some places (I have heard) they have a special "fast-pass" they give scooter-borne folks with GACs that amounts to a return time of "now" plus the posted stand-by wait time. Then they use whatever access entrance they need to depending on their condition at the return time.

 

[CinderALLIE]

I don't really care if they offer healthy alternatives cuz I won't be eating it. I've never been a healthy eater so it's not like I eat junk only when I'm on holidays. I just don't want people to take to far and they get rid of all the junk food. On my last vacation to Orlando I ate non-stop junk for 4 weeks (3 of those weeks at WDW) and with all the walking around I lost 5 Kilos. Plus who can resist those Cheese Pizzas :lol:

 

[Dingle66]

Actually in some places (I have heard) they have a special "fast-pass" they give scooter-borne folks with GACs that amounts to a return time of "now" plus the posted stand-by wait time. Then they use whatever access entrance they need to depending on their condition at the return time.

Not a bad idea, that's interesting.

 

[PurpleDragon]

I think Disney should offer more food options all together. Yes if you search you can find anything you want in WDW, but at 90% of counter service restaurants the menu options are pretty much identical.

I'm a semi-vegitarian, meaning I don't eat pork or beef, so when I'm in WDW at the counter service restaurants my only real options are chicken fingers or a chicken sandwich, there really aren't a lot of choices. I think that is really where WDW needs to focus their efforts on offering healthier alternatives, because majority of the time your average park guest is going to eat at a counter service restaurant because its quick and easy. If they offered more than just burgers and chicken fingers I think it would help a lot with encouraging healthier eating habits.