An issue

[tigger2on]

We attended MVMCP in december 2002. It was myself , my mother, a friend and my disabled 6 yr old in a wheelchair. There was a stage production in the outdoor theatre and my child had a GAC allowing her to be seated at the front. When we went up to the designated disabled seating there was a family of six taking up the entire space and would not move. My mother and friend had automatically taken seats in the abled bodied area. I ended up having to go and get a Cm and have them move one person so my child could see. they decided to squish together in the second row which was also for the disabled. We were able to get our seat but there were many others in wheelchairs who were not. I think it should be common knowledge that only one peron should be acoompanying the disbaled person in a theartre situation especially if it is that busy. The thing that gets me is that they were mubling horrific names and giving me very dirty looks as if to say we had no right sitting there when they were with there grandmother, 3 abled bodied kids and 2 adults!!
Thank god for the CM's but that really needs to be monitored.
Any where at WDW I can write to?

 

[Talking Hands]

Disney doesn't normally separate families under 6 people in handicapped seating areas especially when some are children. It is obvious that you and your family are very considerate but unfortunately many are not. My husband will actually sit elsewhere if there is not sufficient room but he is probably one of the most considerate people around.
Yes if there are many guests in wheelchairs then only one family member should sit with the wheelchair guest if possible (not always possible if the person in the wheelchair is one of the parents)
Glad you and your daughter got to see. I know the fustration.
At the Castle Show I arrived and could not get to the front where the interpreters were because of my wheelchair and the large number of people already there for the fireworks. Fortunately they were able to place me on the ramp so I was able to see but otherwise I would have been out of luck.
Castmembers do try bit often there is little they can do without causing a big hassle.

 

[SueM in MN]

We don't usually go to the shows in front of the castle for just the sort of reason you mentioned; they are crowded and hard to get to the front area. When we have used the wheelchair area for parades/Illuminations, we have sometimes been asked to limit our party the person in the wheelchair plus one other person (we had a party of 5 total).
Just like anywhere else, there are inconsiderate people at WDW and it sounds like you came across a party of them.
As for writing to someone, I'd just go to the official disney website www.disney.com and click on the "Contact Us" link. In the subject, just indicate something like "Special Needs concern at Magic Kingdom", so it gets routed to someone who deals with special needs. I've had good luck emailing them that way.
Let us know what happens.

 

[ducklite]

We had just the opposite problem. After spinal cord surgery I was in a wheelchair for several WDW trips. It was DH, DS (who was only about 11 at the time) and myself. There were a couple of times during parade and fireworks viewings that they insisted only one person could join me. DS was certainly not old enough to be left alone, and I was unable to push myself in the chair, so DH was needed. It seems that a little common sense should have prevailed. A couple times they relented, but a couple times we ended up just leaving.

Anne

 

[Talking Hands]

Actually I could see that happening with an 11 yo. Many 11 yo who are regulars in the park go different places on their own. My daughters would head for rides without me and then return to me at a specific spot after. Preferences of the parents should be respected though because some 11yo are not regulars and their parents may not be comfortable with them on their own.

 

[ducklite]

Maybe I should have clarified...my 11 year old (At the time) has learning and neurological disabilities, and is 2-3 years behind schedule in his development. So it would have been like leaving an 8 or 9 year old alone.

While some parents might be comfortable with that, I am absolutely not. Overprotective, maybe, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Anne