Want to get fired up??? Unreal story!!

[chipndales]

My mother has a spinal disease and rents a motorized scooter for our Disney trips. We do sometimes use another entrance, but have to wait like everyone else. I think a lot of the problem lies in the fact people in the regular lines don't see the "behind the scenes" and see the scooters going ahead, ASSUME they get preferential treatment, and don't see how long the wait is once past that point. Case in point, Buzz Lightyear. It looks like we're "cutting" with the fast pass people but there's a whole other hallway we have to go down and wait our turn.

The thing is, there are idiots in all walks of life, Disney and everyday world, people who like the "easy" way out and like to brag about it. It's a sad fact, and one that definitely fuels the fire here on the DisBoards. It gives people the false illusion about people who really do need the scooters and they get the hate which is completely unfair. I hope this guy who did that will never have to know the real pain of absolutely needing a motorized scooter to do ANYTHING.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

. When offered at the Safari, I declined, parked my scooter with the strollers, and waited like everyone else.

Um, op's guy was not telling the truth. I've been with a scooter user, and seen plenty of other guests use them. Sometimes you wait in aspecial line- and they may have had good luck - but on some attractions the wait is - or can - be actually longer.

The Safari ride is a prime example. Even if you have a fp - you are aksed to use the handicapped area to park your scooter. Then you enter enter a seperate queue for scooters/wheelchairs. It may be that you arrive and nobody is in this area, but the number of vehicles that are diverted to the handicapped area is quite limited and the queue backs up quickly. This makes the wait to get on the ride quite a bit longer than regular fp riders.

At the stunt show, the Disabled seating area was very limited, CM's were very strict (only one other guest could actually sit with the disabled guest) - nad once the disabled section was full, they were turning away disabled guests, much to the chagrin of one lady who arrived after the show had started!

Still at other attractions - like the animal treks - going through the area ina scooter is challenge, to say the least. People on foot will crowd you out repeatedly. Add to that the challenge of navigating crowds with a scooter, and dealing with parking it (say whenver you wish to dine). We found it usually slowed us down quite a bit. Especially when we tried to get off the monorail and the CM neglected to bring over the ramp! (happened mutliple times)

It may sound like a neat scam idea, but trust me, this guy was NOT giving you the whole picture.

 

[sabrecmc]

Years ago, my mother needed a wheelchair at WDW and Universal after foot surgery. At that time, we did pretty much get FotL access, but I will tell you, it was totally not worth it. Having to push her around in a wheelchair for just a few days made me appreciate how difficult it is for disabled people. I will happily stand in line and wait rather than dealing with that again. I can't imagine choosing to deal with a wheelchair or scooter simply to possibly avoid a few lines. Bad example to the kids notwithstanding, its just a total PitA.

 

[Tara922c]

I normally do not get worked up because someone cut the line, but what the guy did is just wrong. It is showing a horrible example to his children. "being handicapped is fun!! you get to cut the lines!!!". I do not care if someone with a true disabilty gets to go in front of me, or gets on the bus before me. It makes me happy that disney does accomidate special needs guest so well. I would assume every person who is pushing their special needs child through the wheelchair access line would give up FOTL access in a heart beat for their child to be able to walk. Or the mother who has MS, and her teenage child is wheeling her on "it's a small world", I am sure she would rather be waiting in line like everyone else than getting to go a few people ahead on a ride at Disney. It is not cool to pretend to be hanicapped. Also, if that guy was really smart he could have rented a wheelchair for free. What he did is wrong on so many levels. If it meant so much to him to cut lines he could have did a VIP tour, or utilized the fast pass system.

 

[Abharmagic]

My friend just got back her son has mild PDD/sensory issues. The had a Guest Assistance Pass and she also reports front of the line access on every ride for her whole family with this- even TSM. I have no reason not to believe her. While her family did not abuse the pass... I have reason to believe there are lots of people out there who do-- Guest Assistance Passes and Motorized scooters.

 

[LaurieN]

Last week I was at a kid's birthday party with my son and daughter. It was the birthday party of a very close friend of ours. Anyway, during the party I started talking to one of the other fathers that I knew and the subject came around to Disney World. He told me that his family had just returned from a week's trip. So as we were discussing the trip, he says to me "Hey, you want to know a secret to get you to the front of all the lines?" Now I've been to WDW 30+ times and as far as I know there is no secret. My first inclination was that he was referring to fast passes. But I was wrong!! He said "Just go on your first day and rent one of those motorized wheel chairs. It cost us about $200 for the whole week and we went to the front of every line". I asked him if he was serious and he assured me that he was. he also went on to say that on the child rides, he allowed his son to ride it and they loved zooming around the park. No one in their group needed a whelchair, they just decided to rent one to cut all the lines. The scary thing is I'm pretty sure this guy is not the only one who does this. I'm sure there are lots and lots and lots of others. Needless to say I was dumbfounded. Couldn't do anything but shake my head.

Oh, this does not surprise me at all!!!! I just had a conversation this morning at the school bus stop about this same subject. One of the other mothers told me all I need is a not saying that I hurt my back, leg, arm etc. and you got to use the handicap entrance. She knows this because SHE DID IT HERSELF and another neighboor of mine was the one that gave her the note
I myself could NEVER in a million years do somehting like this. I feel God would somehow punnish me and IT'S JUST PLAIN WRONG.
All that being said: You don't really think ALL the people you see in those thing REALLY need them do you? I would say maybe about 30% need them, the rest are just plain lazy or abusing the system.
Laurie

PS I feel like I've been yelling, sorry it just gets me so mad that people are like this in this world.

 

[lov2b@disney]

Last year we traveled with family including my DH 92year old grandmother, who is in great health for her age, but cannot walk the parks all day long. We brought her a wheelchair and She got a handicap pass at guest services(good for her and 6 others) and was able to pretty much get right to the front of most of the lines....so this is definately true...at least in her case. She did not use regular lines.

the sad part is some of the family members insisted on taking her and her wheelchair to the front of space mountain...obviously she was not riding... and then get on and she would decline to ride...it made me sick...they asked me over and over to go and on each ride myself, DH and our kids waiting on the regular line...it was just plain wrong!!!

 

[ROEDISNEY]

I have seen this before. It makes me so mad. HOW RUDE! Thank God you don't need it . But to use it for that. Come on!
To put it nicely they r ugly people.

 

[ChuckGA]

What I don't understand is the conflicting information in these stories. The "cheat" group claims that handicapped gets FOTL access and the "real" handicapped claim they do not with very few crossover stories. I don't see how both can be true. I haven't ever had to use GAC or a scooter or a wheelchair but the few times I observed them being used it did appear that while they may have gone in the exit they still had to wait for the remainder of their party to go through the standby or FP line before getting on.

 

[nan214]

what angers me the most is the disrespect for the individuals with disabilities!!! To me, he did the same thing as parking in a handicap parking space when not needing one. Not only was he rude, but very disrespectful.

 

[The Masked Maniac]

Last week I was at a kid's birthday party with my son and daughter. It was the birthday party of a very close friend of ours. Anyway, during the party I started talking to one of the other fathers that I knew and the subject came around to Disney World. He told me that his family had just returned from a week's trip. So as we were discussing the trip, he says to me "Hey, you want to know a secret to get you to the front of all the lines?" Now I've been to WDW 30+ times and as far as I know there is no secret. My first inclination was that he was referring to fast passes. But I was wrong!! He said "Just go on your first day and rent one of those motorized wheel chairs. It cost us about $200 for the whole week and we went to the front of every line". I asked him if he was serious and he assured me that he was. he also went on to say that on the child rides, he allowed his son to ride it and they loved zooming around the park. No one in their group needed a whelchair, they just decided to rent one to cut all the lines. The scary thing is I'm pretty sure this guy is not the only one who does this. I'm sure there are lots and lots and lots of others. Needless to say I was dumbfounded. Couldn't do anything but shake my head.

Its funny but when I said this I was destroyed by everyone on this board......the above poster is correct and people do this all the time....Snow Whites Adventure and Peter Pan both have wheel chair lines which cut to the front of the line as does the Great Movie Ride...im sure others do but this past week I noticed them as we got cut on all 3......Its not the people who need the wheelchairs that get me upset but its the people who use the chairs just to cut and its a lot....

 

[P&L@WDW]

On my last trip to Disney, I turned my ankle and tore a muscle on my first day at the parks (of a 10 day trip). After seeing a doctor (Yay travel insurance) and being given a cane and instructions not to walk when I didn't have to, I rented a scooter. I never once got preferential treatment when it came to lines.

On a side note, just because someone CAN get up and walk doesn't mean they don't need the scooter. I'm stubborn and got up and walked through almost all the lines using my cane (partially because I LOVE the theming of the lines!), and I can't count the number of dirty looks and snarky comments I got...

I agree with pp's that a scooter just is not worth any time that may/may not be saved. Looking at people's backsides for an entire trip sucks!

 

[scousemouse09]

I was offered a wheelchair the first year we went to WDW - I had split my shin open 10 days before we flew out, and had the stitches removed two days before we arrived. I had totally forgotten about my scabby leg, and even if it did hurt (which it did after I'd been swimming because the water softened the scabs) there was no way my parents were letting me use a wheelchair!!

Admittedly now, when I look back on the pictures, I can understand why I was offered the chair (when i'd fallen, you could see the bone!) and it does look pretty nasty. However, that was all - it looked much, much worse than it was.

 

[pepe of ohio]

But due to the flames on this subject, never got into it. This is fact, we've talked to guests at the resorts, overheard them in parks, mostly college age people. For the price of a wheel chairor scooter, they can cruise any park, never tire, drink till their hearts content and gain access to handicapped entrances of attractions. Seems these people have an excess of money, but what 50 bucks to most teenagers any more. That's my problem with any and every body getting to rent a wheel chair or scooter for this purpose. We've seen groups of them racing around EPCOT, park them and go off and then return to ride around some more. Don't tell me that doesn't happen.

Our son, pregnant wife, 8 months and 2 children went to WDW in March. Due to her having problems with the pregnancy, she used a regular wheel chair and they were escorted to all the exits and by passed the long lines I've read other threads saying no front of the line passes with wheelchairs but from my son and what we've seen on our trips, it can go either way, mostly in favor of the handicapped guest. It's nothing to be startled about, everyone knows it goes on but getting ostracized on these forums we keep mum, same as for mugs, room occupancy and pool hopping. It's done every single day, day in and day out but here on these boards we stick our heads in the sand and pretend it doesn't occur.

 

[crazyoldmaurice]

what angers me the most is the disrespect for the individuals with disabilities!!! To me, he did the same thing as parking in a handicap parking space when not needing one. Not only was he rude, but very disrespectful.

Agreed. I imagine if he spent a few days in the shoes of a truly disabled / special needs individual, he would have a different attitude on the matter. The fact that there are special accommodations made for special needs people allows a lot of families to be able to enjoy a vacation, when were it not for WDW, they would not be able to have a family vacation. I can speak first hand.

 

[Kay1]

What I don't understand is the conflicting information in these stories. The "cheat" group claims that handicapped gets FOTL access and the "real" handicapped claim they do not with very few crossover stories. I don't see how both can be true. I haven't ever had to use GAC or a scooter or a wheelchair but the few times I observed them being used it did appear that while they may have gone in the exit they still had to wait for the remainder of their party to go through the standby or FP line before getting on.

Well, every ride is different. Some rides, especially older ones, can't accomodate wheelchairs, so people need to use a different entrance. Sometimes the wait for a ride is longer with a wheelchair - like Spaceship Earth or Safari - and sometimes it's shorter. I think it all evens out.

 

[BethC1952]

unfortunately I know this to be true as well. As recently as my last trip (which was a little over a year ago) people in scooters were getting front of the line treatment and I noticed people on more than one occasion getting up out of a chair and letting a friend/family member switch with them - no disability, just laziness and abuse of the system.

I returned two weeks ago from a trip with a friend in a scooter. We did NOT get front of the line access. We often went to the front of the line, and then were escorted to a place to wait until we could be accommodated, and often waited much longer than anyone in the stand-by line!

We did get to go to the front of the lines for buses, but in some locations you go through most of the queue, and then move ahead. HOWEVER, a bus can take two scooters or wheelchairs. If you're not #1 or #2, you'll wait at the front of that line for the next bus. We were trapped at the boat landing at DHS because the boat couldn't come for us because of lightning and we couldn't take the scooter out from under the "roof" over the landing because of the torrential rain. We were soaked through to the skin that day.

Not all people who use scooters are completely unable to walk, and not all disabilities are visible. My friend can't stand unaided for more than two or three minutes, and she can walk for about five minutes if she keeps moving. Her doctor has instructed her that she has to take a "walking break" for about five minutes each hour. During that time, she walks and I follow with the scooter in case she can't make it. To the outsider, I'm sure it looks like we're two lazy women. We're not. We're following her doctor's orders and doing what's best for her. And I felt free to tell that to at least three people who called her a fat, lazy slob who should get off of her *** and walk like everyone else. Believe me, if she could walk, she would!

We didn't let any of that ruin our trip, any more than we let the torrential rain of those two weeks ruin our good time!

Beth

 

[koolaidmoms]

It really is sad for those of us that have loved ones that need the wheelchair or scooter for whatever reason and we feel guilty about using them because of people who abuse the system.

We just returned a month ago from WDW. DS used a medical stroller as a wheelchair in WDW. We put the stroller in line with us and waited just like everyone else whenever we could. At PP we would get FP and come back and go through the FP line with him rather than by passing the line because we felt it wasn't right to cut ahead of everyone.

Parents are teaching their children to lie and cheat at such a young age using tactics such as this to get ahead. No wonder the world is in such a state when we are teaching children it is okay to get what you want no matter how you get it.

 

[bballbabe]

We found it trully annoying last year when taking the buses around the resort. We stayed at POR and the wait for buses to and from the resort were horrendous!! It really started to bug us when the people with the scooters got on the bus first and the scooters took up 2 seats and then they would get off their scooters and seat in one of the other available seats.

 

[Dawn68PA]

I hate having to own a scooter. What this guy and other fakers do is just awful. Those of us who are stuck with them have no choice. I'd go to Disney in the heat of July and stand an hour for a ride if it meant I didn't have to go with my scooter ever again.

We always go to WDW during the slow season and this is partly why. Scooters and crowds mix like oil and water. When we were there in November there were short lines everywhere. My family did get to ride ToT right away (short stand by line) and BTMRR. BTMRR we probably did beat some stand by people on, but at Jungle Cruise, we waited far longer than stand byers. It evened out I'd say over the course of the trip. Mostly you wait in the regular line with everyone else.

Did I feel guilty when offered to get on right away at either ride - no. I suffer in pain almost daily so if I get to ride 2 rides at WDW right away - I'm thankful. I've said it every time a thread like this comes up - you wanna gripe about the 2 rides I get? Take my chair. Live in it for your Disney week. Truly. Never have the pleasure of walking through World Showcase holding hands with your husband. Forget about running into the wave pool with your teenager at Typhoon Lagoon. Have people shoot you dirty looks when you and your child just want to ride the Disney bus.

You'll gladly stand. I would.