Wheelchair Abuse

[conntom]

I use the ECV scooter do to a very bad back and knees and yes
Iam overweight but I went from 450 to 409 pounds and Iam trying
to lose alot more I have to go down to 200 pounds and I will.
last Dec I was park on my ECV and a women walk right in to me.
She was so mean to me calling me all kind of names like you fat pig
and more and the thing is my ECV was not on I was to the side and not
in the way.I sometime go to the front of the line but the thing you don't see
is I wiat like you. If you see a person walk after being in a wheelchair that doze not mean they are not in pain. I can walk but the pain is very very
bad in my back and knee.If a person rents a wheelchair just to go to the
front of the line that is wrong they are taking away from a person that
needs that chair and that is not right.



:xmas:

 

[Just A Big Kid]

Seems every so often this kind of thread gets going. I do fully understand alot of your views about people using wheelchairs and ecv's that really have no purpose to be on them other than being lazy. But, let me give the rest of you some insight on this matter. My father-in-law and mother-in-law which have come to Disney with us twice both bring their ecv's. My father-in-law has an enzyme imbalance which caused his weigh to shoot up around 20 years ago. There is nothing medically he can do to loose the weight. He suffers from congestive heart failure, his joint being wore out, the stress on his back and hips, and I can assure you, he'd give anything to be able to enjoy walking the park without his ecv. Don't you understand he would give anything to be able to run hand and hand with his granddaughter through the park. With out the aid of the ecv he would not have been able to enjoy seeing his granddaughter experience many magical moments. And for the comment about riding one just to get to the front of the line, he couldn't ride Space Mountain due to his size. So I can tell you there are reasons that most of the people on ecv's would gladly give it up to be medically able to walk the parks. My mother-in-law suffers from several spinal conditions which has caused her to get her back fused with metal plates and screws which limits her mobility. Once again, her trying to walk all day long would put her in pain which would make her enjoyment not so enjoyable. Just because someone is overweight is no excuse to use the wheelchairs, but don't condemn someone just because you are too shallow to understand there are people who can't help their condition and it's not a question of diet. Also the first 2 years we went to Disney it was just my wife, daughter and myself we had 5 day park hoppers. We were able to do more in those 5 days then we were able to do with 7 day park hoppers the years that my in-laws went with us. Due to people who are very rude and show no concern for the safety of themselves or others, countless times people run right in front of the chairs. I challenge you who think its so much fun to be on one, go rent one go through the magic kingdon on it at anytime see how fast you get to the line of something. Especially during the parades and fireworks. So yes the chairs have many disadvantages as well. Look a little harder at some of the people using these chairs, you will see people who have to carry oxygen with them, people who cannnot walk, let them enjoy the magic moments of Disney without being reminded and discriminated against because of their disability. I am sure they would love to be able to literally "Walk in your Shoes"! Sorry this post was a long one, but this whole debate always tends to point out overweight people. Tell ya what, before your next trip to WDW, go get casts put on one or both of your legs. See how enjoyable your trip is having limited mobility even though your's would be voluntary. I don't mean to belittle or judge anyone on this board but some people really need a reality check and grow up and understand some people may not be as "perfect" as you think you are.

 

[BuzzLite_Fran]

I have to weigh in on this thread. i have been reading these and every time the subject comes up about this it burns me up.

first if all let me make it clear that I AGREE THERE ARE ABUSERS OF THE SYSTEM! THERE WILL ALWAYS BE CHEATERS NO MATTER WHAT THE SITUATION! IE VEGAS, WDW, TESTS IN SCHOOL ETC.

however let me tell you my experience.
my family and i have been to WDW for the past 3 years with another trip upcoming in oct 05. the first year my wife and i walker everywhere. my daughter was 6 at the time. we renter a stroller for my daughter everyday.

my wife had been sick for the past 5 years at that time with Chron's DISEASE, and ended up halfwAY through the vacation developing over 30 blisters on her feet. the blisters were a result of the steroids that she had to take for two years in an attempt to get her chrone's under control. that trip became so miserable for my wife that she did not have a good time due to all the pain from the blisters. we never gave renting an ECV or wheelchear for her a thought.
the next year (2003) my wife had just had 3 major surgeries including removing over 2 ft of her colon. so we decided to rent her an ECV. (Now to look at my wife who is in her early 30's ) you would never know she has any medical conditions. she can walk a short distances but not long periods etc.

she throughly enjoyed this vacation because she could get around and enjoy herself due to th ECV.

last year the same she was able to enjoy herself and minimize her walking due to the ECV.

NOW THIS YEAR will be a different story...my daughter will be 9 years old. she has a problem with her foot which the way she was born the foot doesnt allow her full mobility. to look at her you couldnt tell she has any problems. she is able to do just about anything any other child can run, jump etc. but given the rigors of a 7 day WDW vacation she can not last no more than about an hour or two. she also gets overheated due to some of the medication she takes for some other health issues. to look at her you would never know anything is wrong with her medically. so this year we discussed the issue because she will be too big for the strollers that we normally rent, and she is too young to rent an ECV, SO THE ONLY OTHER OPTION WILL BE TO RENT A WHEELCHAIR and i will push her.


LET ME SAY THAT BOTH WITH MY WIFE AND MY DAUGHTER WE ALWAYS PARK THE ECV'S ETC NEAR AN ATTRACTION AND WALK ON JUST LIKE ANY OTHER NORMAL GUEST INTO ALL ATTRACTIONS. WE NEVER HAVE GOTTEN ON FIRST AS A RESULT OF THE EVC OR STROLLER ETC. WE SIMPLY USE THE ECV, STROLLER AND WILL USE THE WHEELCHAIR AS A MEANS OF TRAVEL BETWEEN THE ATTRACTIONS AND BECAUSE THE PARKS ARE SO BIG!

there is no way without the ecvs we would have been able to experience the magic of WDW for the past 3 years.

while i know abuses go on and it is terrible that they do, some of you should think twice befor posting some of the hurtful comments on this board. sometimes people cannot halp what is wrong with them medically and lest you judge because you may just be struck with some kind of illness yourself.
and then you would be at the mercy of some unkind person judging your condition.



GOT TO WDW HAVE A GREAT TIME AND ENJOY YOURSELF, AND QUIT WORRYING ABOUT THE WRONGS OF THIS WORLD THATS WHAT MANY OF US GO TO WDW TO GET AWAY FROM.

 

[barnum42]

GOT TO WDW HAVE A GREAT TIME AND ENJOY YOURSELF, AND QUIT WORRYING ABOUT THE WRONGS OF THIS WORLD THATS WHAT MANY OF US GO TO WDW TO GET AWAY FROM.

The thing I have been trying to get over in this thread is the fact, as you know, it's a myth that having a wheelchair lets you jump the lines, so anyone abusing the system does not really get any advantage out of it.

Which makes your post all the more correct as there is nothing to fret about :wave:

 

[BRER STITCH]

I'm not gonna post here til it hits 400 replies......

:lookaroun

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

What about monster wheel chairs with big nobbbly tyres or walking sticks fitted with hydraulic shock absorbers, theyd be more comfortable and that little bit more exclusive

 

[Avenger23]

Ther greatest thing about this thread is all of the people waiting to get offended by off the cuff statements made by people they have never met.

 

[DisneyFreak529]

GOT TO WDW HAVE A GREAT TIME AND ENJOY YOURSELF, AND QUIT WORRYING ABOUT THE WRONGS OF THIS WORLD THATS WHAT MANY OF US GO TO WDW TO GET AWAY FROM.

I totally agree!!

 

[Hakunamatata]

Ther greatest thing about this thread is all of the people waiting to get offended by off the cuff statements made by people they have never met.

That statement offends me... :lookaroun :lol:

Oh, and by the way....the individual who started this thread, then made the smart a** comment about overweight people is a moron.

My mom will be in a wheel chair when we go in December. Thats if she is able to make it, or is still with us, when that time comes. There will be nine people in our group. Part of the magic of Disney is being able to experience the magic together. Will I feel uncomfortable using the wheel chair access line, yes. But I would feel more uncomfortable watching my mother suffer from having to stand for long periods of time.

 

[barnum42]

Oh, and by the way....the individual who started this thread, then made the smart a** comment about overweight people is a moron.

I don't know about a moron, but the statement that they rented a chair and got to jump the queues is, IMHO, not exactly factual.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

There is no way of telling whether a person using a wheelchair is a genuine user or whether they are a fraud. The simplest way to get around the problem is to stop allowing wheelchair users front of the line access (no queuing) Once cheats realise that they are not going to gain an advantage over other park guests the problem will disappear

 

[weluvtink]

It's a tricky thing - how are they supposed to verify an individual's need for the chair?

On the plus side of your story, I'm really happy to read that despite having run out of rentals, they were able to provide one due to the doctor's note. You have to give Disney kudos for that

I do give them credit for providing what we needed. I agree that it's not always obvious that someone has a problem. I do also realize that people may get hurt and not see a doctor to provide "proof" of an injury, so it really is tricky.

It drives me crazy when you see parents renting a chair so their "too big for a stroller" kids can get pushed around all day. I've seen what another person posted, about seeing the same family several times in one day, each time with a different person riding.
It's sad because these people don't realize they aren't going to get on the rides much faster then everyone else and it's a pain to push those things around all day.

 

[barnum42]

It's sad because these people don't realize they aren't going to get on the rides much faster then everyone else and it's a pain to push those things around all day.

Well, we can get some consolation from the fact that they don't get special treatment and the spoilt lazy brats will make their selfish lives miserable in time. :drevil: What goes around, comes around.

 

[gsimpson]

I appreciate that some people need wheelchairs and other assitive technologies and certainly would not want anyone to miss out on WDW because of some impairment. I do wish that Disney would equip their electric wheelchairs with some type of hand break. My sister in law was in one of them when we visited last year and many many many people would just walk right in front of her and because when you release the throttle it just slowly stops she ran into some of them. This of course led the person being run over to have a few choice words for my sister in law and when she would apologize and suggests they may wish to watch where they were walking (very politely) they would simply tell her off again. Back in her home town the local grocer makes a very similar electric wheelchair available but it is equipped with the hand brake and that helps a lot.

One of the more general problems with the electric wheelchairs is the fact that many if not most of the people using them don't really know how to and as a result they tend to run into a lot of things including people. I had one of my trips shortened by a few days when someone ran into me while in line for the Maelstrom log flume ride at Epcot. I'm sure the person had no malice but that didn't make my having to end my trip early any easier to swallow.

I don't think that people in wheelchairs should get head of line privledges, I have heard over and over ad neauseum about how the handicapped just want to be treated like everyone else, yet whenever the park closes they rush to the front of the line to get on the bus, that is certainly not fair to all the other people who have their own reasons for wanting to get back to the hotel, not the least of which is small ones tend to get really cranky that late in the evening. Contrary to many of the postings here they also go to the front of the line on quite a few attractions. Hopefully as Disney refurbishes/replaces attrractions they will continue to make them all accessible so there is no advantage to using a wheelchair unless you actually need one. If Disney takes away the advantage gained by gaming the system the cheats will stop doing it.

I for one am happy when someone in a wheelchair abandons it before getting on the bus, at least that way the bus can hold more people.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

. :drevil: What goes around, comes around.

like a dod of poo on your wheel

 

[slappy magoo]

How about this for a solution?

WDW implements a wheelchair-bound-only version of Fastpass, one that is proffered by a CM, not a machine. So if someone wants to ride Space Mountain, they approach the CM monitoring the line. The CM notes how long the standby line wait time currently is, and gives the wheelchair-bound person and his/her party a Fastpass valid for the amount of time they would've had to wait. If it's high noon, and the wait time is 80 minutes, they get a FastPass valid for 1:20. The main caveat is that their "window" to return to Space Mountain is shorter than the full hour that regular Fastpasses get. Maybe it's only 15 or 20 minutes (and we KNOW CMs will give a person in a wheelchair breaks more often than not. If they need a later Fastpass time because they have meal reservations somewhere, I'm sure the CM will accomodate by writing down a later time. This way, while the handicapped are not waiting in line, it's almost guaranteed that they would be waiting just as long as they would be in standby.

The only negative would be that it would make it difficult for the handicapped and their party to take advantage of regular Fastpasses. But it also affords them the luxury of really taking in all of the park, because they're not necessarily dashing from one ride to another like so many of us do, regardless of our intention to stop and smell the roses. And of course, if there's a ride with a short or no standby line, they can ride that while waiting for their personalized Fastpass window. Seems like a fair solution, but I'd be interested in the input of the board.

 

[DONALDisMYhero]

I don't think that people in wheelchairs should get head of line privledges, I have heard over and over ad neauseum about how the handicapped just want to be treated like everyone else, yet whenever the park closes they rush to the front of the line to get on the bus, that is certainly not fair to all the other people who have their own reasons for wanting to get back to the hotel, not the least of which is small ones tend to get really cranky that late in the evening. Contrary to many of the postings here they also go to the front of the line on quite a few attractions. Hopefully as Disney refurbishes/replaces attrractions they will continue to make them all accessible so there is no advantage to using a wheelchair unless you actually need one. If Disney takes away the advantage gained by gaming the system the cheats will stop doing it.

I agree, but my father goes in a wheel chair since he can't walk far distances due to a Prosthetic leg. Only in MK he got to the head of the line. MGM, Epcot, and AK lines were all accessible. For the bus situation, atleast one person from our party had to stand in the line and when they got onto the bus thats when the wheel chair and the rest of the party with it we're able to get on.

 

[magda_96]

wheelchairs

We all know that there are people out there who take advantage of the wheelchair rentals. These are the same type of people who park in the handicap spots at the mall because their grandmother left their sticker in the car and they did not want to walk 20 extra feet in the lot. Living close to WDW I see this abuse all the time. The other week I witness a lady wheeling herself around through epcot. I watched as she stood up, pushed her chair by a bench and walked into a store in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:country-region><st1lace>Canada</st1lace></st1:country-region>. I walked into the store after her and just watched her walk around like nothing was wrong. She then proceeded to leave the store and get back into the chair and wheel around more.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

I believe that the people who take advantage of the wheelchairs will get what is coming to them. Maybe if they were confined to one for the rest of their life they would respect those people who actually need them to function in society. Sorry to ramble but this topic makes me mad.<o></o>

 

[teach2]

just not fair

We just returned from Disney and I need to get this off my chest. I am a very understanding person who thank the heavens that I am able to walk and not need to be in a wheelchair. That being said, if I had to use a wheelchair I couldn't with a good heart abuse the system like many people do at Disney. We stayed at Pop Century and for every bus we patiently waited in line. Not once did a family who had a person in a wheelchair wait in line. Every single time they just walked right up to the wheelchair sign and got right on. There were so many people and children in line waiting for those buses. We were hot and anxious to get to the parks too, but we waited. I cannot figure out why a family who has someone in a wheelchair can't send a representative to wait in line like the rest of us and then if there is room, their whole party can fit on the bus. Many of these families had 7-10 people, plus the wheelchair or motorized scooter. That takes up a lot of space on the buses and the whole group always got to have seats. Another thing I don't understand that if the person who is in the wheelchair can walk for short periods of time, then why go in the wheelchair line at all. If they have a regular fold up wheelchair, they can walk on the bus and a member of the family can fold up the chair and slide it in the spaces between the seats, just like families with strollers. I completely understand those with motorized scooters can't do this, but again they could wait in line like the rest of us.
Isn't this all discrimination against those of us who can walk? I'm just asking for things to be fair for all of us. We pay the same ticket prices and rates as everyone else and we should have the same rights and priveledges.
Thanks for letting me vent. I mean no harm to anyone.

 

[BuzzLite_Fran]

It's sad because these people don't realize they aren't going to get on the rides much faster then everyone else and it's a pain to push those things around all day.

It drives me crazy when you see parents renting a chair so their "too big for a stroller" kids can get pushed around all day. I've seen what another person posted, about seeing the same family several times in one day, each time with a different person riding.

READ my post and youll see that not everyone who pushes a child fits this bill some of our kids really cant walk that much in 1 day....just responding to your post since it fits my situation :lookaroun