Anyone see this story?

[Disneyfan754321]

It's about a lady that had to park in a regular parking spot +1 because handicapped parking was full. Another park guest left a nasty note on her van.

Guest left rude note on disabled Guest’s vehicle

NOTE from Moderator: I edited your link to make it load better

 

[Bete]

It sounds like she was directed to take up two spots by the cast member; because, she had a ramp. Maybe, it would help if a sticker, flag or whatever provided by the cast member would be placed to notify others that this has the approval of Disney.

 

[DisneyOma]

I can see both sides - until Disney gets the trams going again, it can be a brutal walk to your vehicle at TTC, and seeing a space "wasted" up front, after a hot day at the park, knowing you have a really long walk back. I'd be irritated as well, unless it was completely obvious that the side of the van had the ramp (like a big identifying sticker on the side. I've seen quite a few vans with those) but I wouldn't have a prepared note on colored paper to leave behind. Actually, that makes this pretty suspicious to me.

Now, to be told to park that way and come back to find that prepared note, that's horrible, and I hope she never gets a note like that ever again. There's no need for it, and to have it all ready to put on a car? Someone out there is just plain miserable and wanting to spread that misery around.

I've wondered what people do when the HC spots are taken. Next time I'm at a crowded parking lot I'll give the "bad parkers" a mental break!

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Thankyou mod!!

I cant understand why someone would buy printed notes and carry them with you..
Then attach it to a van that no doubt had at least a HC plate and or a sticker.

 

[Lizgistix]

I just read the story a little bit ago and was appalled by the "ticket".

 

[Evita_W]

I did see this and it is indeed wrong, the medical overflow lot is specifically to accommodate those with disabilities when the traditional ADA spots are full or may not meet the actual needs, maybe all of the remaining spots have the stripped area on the wrong side of the vehicle for example. The medical overflow isn't designed with as wide of spaces as the ADA spaces, so depending on need, they may indeed need to take multiple spaces.

Now what does get to me are people who take EV charging spaces and don't plug in at all, making where others can't get home. There is absolutely no reason to do this, as there are other spaces they could park in that meet needs.

 

[tinkerbelllacey]

Leaving a note like that is terrible!!I have had to park in 2 spaces before with my daughter’s wheelchair van as there were no handicapped parking spaces available but this was not at Disney world. We had stickers on the side window saying do not park within 15 feet but usually they are ignored or people don’t see them. What gets me is thst the spaces that say for accessible vans , usually cars are parked in those spaces. We now have a rear entry van which is a lot easier for us.

 

[mamabunny]

It does indeed feel like the ticket "writer" (using that term loosely here) is basically going about their days looking for people to "ticket" with a big fat chip on their shoulder; it's sad that they feel it's their job to "enforce" parking, especially when they don't know the whole story. The "writer/enforcer" should remember that Karma has an infinite memory, and that what goes around, comes around... I feel sorry for anyone who has to put up with such a person in their family.

Regardless of whether the family who was "ticketed" has stickers on their van regarding the ramp and usage, if it was parked in the appropriate lot (which it was) then anyone else in that lot would have probably presumed that they were parked that way to accommodate a mobility device. The fault here lies entirely with Disney for not providing adequate handicapped parking; The family driving the van did exactly as instructed by CMs, and they had no other viable option.

I hope that family does not let the self-entitled garbage from some fool who is incapable of thinking beyond their own personal issues ruin their memories. I have zero tolerance for that kind of nonsense. (As you may have guessed by now...)

 

[Disneyfan754321]

It does indeed feel like the ticket "writer" (using that term loosely here) is basically going about their days looking for people to "ticket" with a big fat chip on their shoulder; it's sad that they feel it's their job to "enforce" parking, especially when they don't know the whole story. The "writer/enforcer" should remember that Karma has an infinite memory, and that what goes around, comes around... I feel sorry for anyone who has to put up with such a person in their family.

Regardless of whether the family who was "ticketed" has stickers on their van regarding the ramp and usage, if it was parked in the appropriate lot (which it was) then anyone else in that lot would have probably presumed that they were parked that way to accommodate a mobility device. The fault here lies entirely with Disney for not providing adequate handicapped parking; The family driving the van did exactly as instructed by CMs, and they had no other viable option.

I hope that family does not let the self-entitled garbage from some fool who is incapable of thinking beyond their own personal issues ruin their memories. I have zero tolerance for that kind of nonsense. (As you may have guessed by now...)

You know you are right, the sad part is more than likely this person had kids with him... I'm hoping not!

 

[KPeveler]

I also have been directed to take 2 spots with my ramp van when the disabled accessible parking lot is full.

What a disgusting thing for that other person to do.

 

[Selket]

Sometimes when my knee(s) are really bad I cannot get in or out of my car unless I can open the door all the way. I don't have a HC plate but I do sometimes have to find parking with that issue in mind which is a real pain. I've gotten good at knowing where there are spots at the places I often go (like near the cart return) where I can park dead center of the spot but still have extra room to open my door and no one can park next to it. I also limit trips to some stores that have narrow parking spaces cause I might get stuck not being able to get in my car.

So...just saying when I see someone even in a car taking up two spots I assume there is a good reason and move on. I really don't know who takes the time and bother to go around giving people "parking tickets" while on vacation!! Bless their hearts cause they must be miserable.

 

[Groot]

I think that the ADA parking lots should be exclusively reserved or at least give high priori for wheelchair vans and other vehicles when the driver states that there’s a wheelchair and/or scooter in the trunk. The “medical overflow” lots often don’t have ample parking spots or the crossed out sections meant for a side entry van to deploy the ramp/lift.

Stories just like this make this van more and more appealing by the day:

 

[Evita_W]

I think that the ADA parking lots should be exclusively reserved or at least give high priori for wheelchair vans and other vehicles when the driver states that there’s a wheelchair and/or scooter in the trunk. The “medical overflow” lots often don’t have ample parking spots or the crossed out sections meant for a side entry van to deploy the ramp/lift.

Stories just like this make this van more and more appealing by the day:

Interestingly enough, out here in California, there is starting to become a movement of people asking that in addition to up close spaces for those that need them, that some of the ADA spaces be placed further out in the parking lots, not just at theme parks, but every where. Their logic is that often going from the parking lot into a business is the only form of exercise they really get and they would prefer to park out further and leave the closer spaces for those that truly need them. And basically what they want are the wider spaces and they can be the furthest out. This would have the side benefit that a lot of people wouldn't illegally use these spaces since they aren't as convenient. That could also help, but I seriously doubt the polite voice in the video would deter that many people,

 

[mamabunny]

Sometimes when my knee(s) are really bad I cannot get in or out of my car unless I can open the door all the way. I don't have a HC plate but I do sometimes have to find parking with that issue in mind which is a real pain. I've gotten good at knowing where there are spots at the places I often go (like near the cart return) where I can park dead center of the spot but still have extra room to open my door and no one can park next to it. I also limit trips to some stores that have narrow parking spaces cause I might get stuck not being able to get in my car.

Before I had my HC permit, I would often look for end spots - even if I had to back in, so that I had the room I needed on my side of the car to work with my mobility device. I too would look for those spots (like next to the cart return, or next to a curb, where the parking lot striping companies painter's didn't measure from the curb to the next spot, but from the pavement edge of the curb to the next spot), giving a few extra inches that become so precious!

 

[DisneyOma]

I think that the ADA parking lots should be exclusively reserved or at least give high priori for wheelchair vans and other vehicles when the driver states that there’s a wheelchair and/or scooter in the trunk. The “medical overflow” lots often don’t have ample parking spots or the crossed out sections meant for a side entry van to deploy the ramp/lift.

Stories just like this make this van more and more appealing by the day:

I think that's a great start, but where are the rocket launchers to blast the offending vehicle out into orbit? (J/K)

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

Wow. I can’t imagine how horrible it was to come out to that note. People really don’t get how much room it takes to manouver around in a wheelchair. I had someone crowd me in a food line at another theme park and get angry when I asked them to back up and give me space, and then got completely irate when I ran over their foot trying to make a tight turn.

 

[Donna M]

I really hope the person who left the note saw the write up. They probably thought they were letting the van owner know their annoyance in a funny way. Too bad they didn't think first and know the van was in a medical lot and had handicap plates or a placard. More people need to think before they act.

 

[ZJ5/9D47]

I hope that family does not let the self-entitled garbage from some fool who is incapable of thinking beyond their own personal issues ruin their memories. I have zero tolerance for that kind of nonsense. (As you may have guessed by now...)

I’m still a bit traumatized from when this happened to me years ago at the Poly because WDW is supposed to be a safe place. Really drives home that no place will ever be completely safe from being hated simply for existing while disabled.

Some lady from Florida took the time to hand write a nasty note and leave it on the windshield next to the handicap placard. Fairly obvious it was a wheelchair van as well.

Ive since become somewhat paranoid and place huge yellow and black magnets on all sides when having to take up two spaces. Hoping nobody keys the paint to “teach us a lesson”.

Pre-pandemic, CMs would often place a traffic cone in the tiny ADA lot spaces if somebody needed two.

 

[mamabunny]

I’m still a bit traumatized from when this happened to me years ago at the Poly because WDW is supposed to be a safe place. Really drives home that no place will ever be completely safe from being hated simply for existing while disabled.

Some lady from Florida took the time to hand write a nasty note and leave it on the windshield next to the handicap placard. Fairly obvious it was a wheelchair van as well.

Ive since become somewhat paranoid and place huge yellow and black magnets on all sides when having to take up two spaces. Hoping nobody keys the paint to “teach us a lesson”.

Pre-pandemic, CMs would often place a traffic cone in the tiny ADA lot spaces if somebody needed two.

I'm *so* very sorry that happened to you.

When our daughter was a newborn, she was in (tiny little) plaster casts from her hips to her toes - they were trying to (hopefully) correct some or all of her orthopedic issues to help avoid surgery. (long story short: it didn't work and she wound up attending the Shriner's Hospital until she was 18 years old)

At the same time on our side of the state, a handicapped child was beaten to death by an abusive parent - while in a body cast from other injuries inflicted by that same parent. Authorities at the time said that they didn't know or realize that the parent was the cause of the child's injuries; they were told by that parent that the child was "clumsy".

It was horrifying, and tragic - and instantly we became easy targets of vigilante types who decided - at a glance - that we were obviously abusing our tiny newborn daughter because she had casts - on both legs. There was no time for discussion, because they were going to stop us. Period.

I literally put 2 bumperstickers on 3 sides of our minivan that they gave us at the hospital that said "My child is a patient at the Shreveport Shriner's Hospital!" and "Shriner's Hospitals for Children" with the toll-free phone number on it.

Even then, on more than one occasion, someone would follow me out of a store, or ironically a doctor's office, yelling and screaming at me about how they were gonna get my tag# and turn me in to the authorities. Every time, I said the same thing: "Go ahead - we have nothing to hide!". It went on for about 3 years in total. We joked with family members that we should get t-shirts made to wear in public, but instead, we got a stack of business cards from our local Shriners to give out to people, and asked them to help get the word out about the good work that the Shriners do. We also alerted all of her doctors and medical team about what was happening, and ultimately did have to have a discussion with our local police department before it was all over and done with.

It was grinding and horrible and frightening and sad. It's why I have zero tolerance for crap like that family suffered at WDW - and like you went through at Poly - because I have lived it myself.

I'm genuinely sorry, and I hope you never have to go through anything like that again.

 

[ttintagel]

Nobody should have to explain, and people should mind their own business, but it would be so helpful if Disney would give some kind of sign or tag to put on the vehicle when they tell someone to park this way. It would go a long way to sparing their guests this kind of unpleasant experience.