Wheelchair Abuse

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EPCOT.nut

Well-Known Member
I'll never do it again. I'll always use the fast pass or just stand in line.

Sorry, but you will need to write that statement 100 times as penance.

I will never abuse the wheelchairs at WDW again.
I will never abuse the wheelchairs at WDW again.
I will never abuse the wheelchairs at WDW again.
I will never abuse the wheelchairs at WDW again.
I will never abuse the wheelchairs at WDW again.
I will never abuse the wheelchairs at WDW again.
 

Antjeanne

New Member
During my recent vist last week i encountered a wheel chair abuser. Actually it was a scooter. I had thought i saw this lady walking toward our bus after the PNP party. She then held up the bus to take 10 minutes to drive her scooter and try to get it into place for the driver. after she was in place she got up and walked to a seat. i happened to glance down at her basket on the scooter and saw 11 goodie bags from the party. I still gave her the benefit of doubt. The next day i see her swinning in the same pool as me at the CBR. by luck i left about 30 seconds before her. and i saw her walk all the way across the bridge to her room. she was on her cell the whole time and I clearly heard her say" I'm having a great time, you rent one of the scooters here and you get to the front of the line. I make my own fast pass."
I spun around and gave her the dirtiest look and she got real quiet. It took all i had to not comment further. People like that just ruin it for me.
Ant
 

DABIGCHEEZ

Well-Known Member
As I stated in a similar post a few days back, we saw alot of this on our recent trip. I don't have a problem with renting wheelchairs to anyone that needs or wants one. The problem I see is that the whole grand gathering get to bypass the line because Aunt Susie has a broken toe!!!!
They should have a section where people that rent or have wheelchairs and can not stand or wait in line for whatever reason(Gout, Obesity, Amputee, or what ever else) can wait near the loading area. All other members that are with this person should have to wait in the stand-by and when the reach the loading area the whole grand gathering enjoys the ride. Obvious legitimate exceptions should be allowed( Make-A-Wish and the like)

Do away with the Handicap NOPASS FASTPASS!!!!
 

joshwill

Well-Known Member
I've seen things like this. People get into a wheelchair just to get the the front of the line. Ridiculous, but people do it.

Unfortunately, there is not much disney can do about it.

actually, there is something disney can do. dont grant them a free ride to the front of the line. disney needs to make allowances for access, but not for waiting time.
 

janni518

New Member
Coming to this late but...

The day before our very first trip to WDW my older sister sprained her ankle very badly and had to tour the park in a wheelchair. So, no she didn't have a card saying she was disabled. We were just thankful that Disney provided wheelchairs.
 

DABIGCHEEZ

Well-Known Member
Coming to this late but...

The day before our very first trip to WDW my older sister sprained her ankle very badly and had to tour the park in a wheelchair. So, no she didn't have a card saying she was disabled. We were just thankful that Disney provided wheelchairs.

No we were all about 2 years to late to this bumped waaaaaaaaaaaaaay up thread.

But did you get to bypass all the lines because of it?
 

marinoalulema

Account Suspended
wheel chair abuse

my boyfriend has had three back operations and two discs removed
at first look, he does not look disabled at all but he cannot walk for over and hour at a time
we have gotten tons of dirty looks from ignorant people, even had to hear rude comments

when they give us the sheet to put in the wheelchair pouch with your name, we write on it something like 3 backoperations, 2 discs removed, 1 week in disney
it has helped stop some of the dirty looks
 

meekoman

Active Member
I had major knee surgery 4 months ago which had me on crutches for 3.5 months with no weight bearing on the leg at all. I just started walking without them. When I visit in two weeks, I'm not going to hesitate at all renting a wheelchair if I need it. I'm 41 and need a knee replacement, but due to my age I can't get one for another 10 or more years.
So what I'm getting to is that just because someone in a wheelchair looks healthy, you just don't know what their situation may be. And if you don't like it, I'll whack you in the knee with my cane I'm bringing along! (just like Nancy Kerrigan)
:) :) :)
 

miles1

Active Member
I can't imagine why anyone would WANT to ride around WDW in a wheelchair and I really feel for those that have to.

Thirteen years ago I took a nasty fall while running and broke my left tibia/fibula in two places, and moderately cracked my right tibia. This left me in a wheelchair with a cast to my hip for four weeks until I could bear weight on the right leg. Then I was on crutches for another three months.

Believe it or not, being in a manual wheelchair can be really exhausting, especially if you have to propel it yourself, and you feel like a useless invalid if you let someone do it for you. It really is a demoralizing experience. Between the time in the wheelchair and the time on the crutches, I lost about 20 pounds and three inches off my waste, mostly from the constant upper body workout, but also because it was such a pain in the a$$ to get to the refridgerator to eat.

My point is that the number of people that choose to be in this position is probably a lot smaller that many of you think it is.
 

DABIGCHEEZ

Well-Known Member
I understand people have all kinds of accidents, operations, ailments, problems and whatever the case may be...but I don't really think anybody has a problem with people renting wheelchairs or ECVs while at WDW. At least I don't... well except they should give an on the road drivers test for the ECVs if you know what I mean.:lol:

The problem is that by having/ using a wheelchair, why does that make you and your family not have to wait? As I said the wheelchair user can wait at the load area for their family to go through the stand-by line just like me and meet when they get to the load area.

Use of wheelchairs - no problem at all..... ABUSE of waiting in ride lines because of wheelchair - BIG Problem.
 

MinnieMommy

Member
I just had to comment about this. I am in wheelchair. I have my own and we take it to WDW with us. To many people I'm sure I look healthy enough to be walking around. I have a rare type of neuropathy caused by an adrenal/thyroid condition. The pain and numbness in my feet make it impossible to walk for any length and causes me to trip over my feet. I am able to transfer from the wheelchair to a ride vehicle or a seat if needed. (Although I stay in the chair when I can.) I guess what I'm saying is some people can take a few steps but cannot handle the standing and walking of the entire line. Someone may seem fine to you if you see them taking a few steps, but things aren't always that simple. Also, WDW in a wheelchair is not exactly ideal. Try looking at rear ends all day! :animwink:
 

happymom52003

Active Member
I think most of us would agree that not everyone who needs a wheelchair "looks" as though they need one. Many times it is not obvious that a person has a disability, and I do think it is wrong for people to jump to the conclusion that someone is "faking it" if you have no evidence to prove it. And it is very sad that people who truly need wheelchairs have to put up with dirty looks and comments....the people making the comments should be thankful that they are healthy and do not need a wheelchair themselves. So I completly understand why some of you are defending that point. But as the following quote shows, there are people who do fake it. These are the people that are causing the problems, and these are the people that many of the posters in this thread are upset with.

During my recent vist last week i encountered a wheel chair abuser. Actually it was a scooter. I had thought i saw this lady walking toward our bus after the PNP party. She then held up the bus to take 10 minutes to drive her scooter and try to get it into place for the driver. after she was in place she got up and walked to a seat. i happened to glance down at her basket on the scooter and saw 11 goodie bags from the party. I still gave her the benefit of doubt. The next day i see her swinning in the same pool as me at the CBR. by luck i left about 30 seconds before her. and i saw her walk all the way across the bridge to her room. she was on her cell the whole time and I clearly heard her say" I'm having a great time, you rent one of the scooters here and you get to the front of the line. I make my own fast pass."
I spun around and gave her the dirtiest look and she got real quiet. It took all i had to not comment further. People like that just ruin it for me.
Ant
 

islesgirl

New Member
When I went about 11 years ago when I was 14 I had just had a major reconstructive knee surgery about 2 months prior. I was able to walk short distances but my knee definitely wasn't ready to handle walking around disney so we rented a wheelchair. I can't tell you how many dirty looks I got. So many people figured I was just a healthy 14 year old just cutting the lines. And I will admit 10 years ago with a wheelchair you basically cut every single line but the last few times I went this year I have noticed that differences they have made and there are only a handful of rides that a wheelchair will actually get you to the front
 
Annoying but true!

Last March I took my mom to WDW for the first time. She has terrible knee and back problems, so after she attempted to walk AK (the worst park for knees...) we decided to use a wheelchair for the remainer of our trip. The CMs (minus one or two) were extremely helpful and kind. As for the part guests, many were rude and obviously annoyed. Some actually made their opinions known vocally...

My mom is a strong and proud person, who HATED the idea that she had to use a chair, but there weren't any other options for her.

I guess what I'm saying that just because someone doesn't externally appear to be handicapped, you might not know what's really going on.

I'm not saying that the system isn't abused. Heck, I'd love to be pushed around in a wheelchair after 12 hours of walking the parks. But some people really need the chairs, so until something better comes along for guests needing assistance, this is the only option.
 

PeoplemoverTTA

Well-Known Member
I do notice people that are truly handicapped bring their own wheelchairs (my uncle does when he goes and he's paralyzed from the waist down).

I completely understand your frustration, but please do not assume that all people who are handicapped either own a wheelchair or have "obvious" disabilities.

At home, my mom can get around okay (albeit with a lot of pain) due to a disease called neurofibromatosis. She has tumors all over her skin and inside her body, on her nerve endings. She is in constant pain. At home, she manages, but she has to sit down a lot and has difficulty in certain situations.

When we went to WDW during my childhood, and up until a few years ago, my mom walked right with us, and suffered, particularly once we got back to the hotel. She didn't want to drag us down. Now, she uses an ECV in the parks (she parks it outside attractions and stands in queues - we use FP and don't enter especially long ones), and she enjoys the trip so much more because she doesn't aggravate her condition. She doesn't "look" handicapped (we get many rude remarks from people when she uses her handicapped parking permit), but she suffers from a debilitating disease.

What I'm saying is, I've seen people abuse wheelchairs and I get just as angry, but please know that there are people who don't necessarily look like how you would expect a handicapped person to look :).

I've definitely seen people "swap out" of rented wheelchairs, or use them to hold bags (then make a person get in the chair prior to entering a queue). It's very frustrating, it clogs up walkways unnecessarily, and it's a slap in the face to people who really need them.
 

joshwill

Well-Known Member
I completely understand your frustration, but please do not assume that all people who are handicapped either own a wheelchair or have "obvious" disabilities.

At home, my mom can get around okay (albeit with a lot of pain) due to a disease called neurofibromatosis. She has tumors all over her skin and inside her body, on her nerve endings. She is in constant pain. At home, she manages, but she has to sit down a lot and has difficulty in certain situations.

When we went to WDW during my childhood, and up until a few years ago, my mom walked right with us, and suffered, particularly once we got back to the hotel. She didn't want to drag us down. Now, she uses an ECV in the parks (she parks it outside attractions and stands in queues - we use FP and don't enter especially long ones), and she enjoys the trip so much more because she doesn't aggravate her condition. She doesn't "look" handicapped (we get many rude remarks from people when she uses her handicapped parking permit), but she suffers from a debilitating disease.

What I'm saying is, I've seen people abuse wheelchairs and I get just as angry, but please know that there are people who don't necessarily look like how you would expect a handicapped person to look :).

I've definitely seen people "swap out" of rented wheelchairs, or use them to hold bags (then make a person get in the chair prior to entering a queue). It's very frustrating, it clogs up walkways unnecessarily, and it's a slap in the face to people who really need them.

personally i couldnt care less who uses a wheelchair or a scooter. my friends wife isnt "handicappped" but would have a hard time walking around the parks for a full day. if you just cant walk that much, fine use a wheenchair.

what bothers me is that they get a pass to the front of the line.
 
personally i couldnt care less who uses a wheelchair or a scooter. my friends wife isnt "handicappped" but would have a hard time walking around the parks for a full day. if you just cant walk that much, fine use a wheenchair.

what bothers me is that they get a pass to the front of the line.

Well, it's up to WDW to update all of the queues in all four parks, so that they are COMPLETELY accessible to patrons. It's not the park patron's choice to move to the front of the line...it's because some of the queues (especially in MK) were built before the Disabilities Act was passed. By the way, rides are a nightmare in MK...(PPF!)
 

goofyfan13

Well-Known Member
Well, it's up to WDW to update all of the queues in all four parks, so that they are COMPLETELY accessible to patrons. It's not the park patron's choice to move to the front of the line...it's because some of the queues (especially in MK) were built before the Disabilities Act was passed. By the way, rides are a nightmare in MK...(PPF!)

Or...they could just have the family with the wheel chair wait at the exit for whatever the wait time is. They wouldn't have to update the queues to do that.
 

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
My (now ex) mother-in-law has no kneecap and a hip replacement. We went to WDW with her about 18 months ago. She was in a chair most of the time. Sometimes she could transfer, but somtimes her knee was just to bad.

There were really very few places that chair saved us any time. Airport security, Small World (because nobody else can sit in the back of the wheelchair boat), and the busses back to the resorts.

I did feel bad about the busses, they would move her to the front of the line. I allways stood when they did that because I felt bad taking a seat when other people had been waiting.

-dave
 

Laura

22
I think you all are silly, worrying about what people in wheelchairs are doing. Just enjoy your vacation and stop concerning yourself with trying to judge and figure out other people in the crowd.

Honestly, it's their loss anyway. Going through the queues at Disney is half the fun, and who wants to be stuck in a chair all day looking at people's butts?
 
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