CMs unable to provide physical assistance to disabled

[Lsdolphin]

My nephew who is ASD, BiPolar, visual impairment, and 6'3" tall fell this afternoon getting of Doom Buggy in Haunted Mansion luckily for me a very kind gentleman immediately came to help me assist him to get back up off of floor. The CMs did stop the ride but did not provide me any assistance in helping him to stand up. I was a little surprised that they did not even check to see if we were ok. By the time we arrived back at the WL my nephew was in significant pain. I called front desk and was told to report incident to manager who did offer medical assistance and informed. Me that CMs are not allowed tp provide physical assistance on or off of rides.
I called our regular pharmacy at home for advice as I am concerned about his pain and possible inflammation and the compatibility of over counter meds with his large number prescription meds. I was advised to give him Tylenol and ice packs on back to relieve pain n possible swelling.

I am posting so that others realize that CMs are limited in the assistance they can provide to persons w/disabilities. Do not take for granted they will help with any lifting or guiding in or out of rides. Also ride such as Haunted. Mansion and Space Ship Earth who used to slow down moving walkways no longer do so. Nor do they allow you to access alternate entrances unless you are in a wheelchair.

We are here at the WL until Tuesday when we move to. Port Orleans Fremch Quarter for 2 nites before going home. Hopefully no further mishaps!

 

[Disworldluv]

A few years back, I took my elderly mother and aunt to Epcot. My mom was in a wheel chair but could walk a very short distance. We were admitted by a side entrance to SpaceShip Earth. The CM inquired as to my mother's ability to walk. She told us to be careful but we had to help mom into the moving cars for the ride. The CM mentioned she could not assist in loading. I understand their concerns and all members of a party should be able to get on and off rides, if necessary, with family assistance.

 

[LilyWDW]

CMs are never supposed to help a person transfer or provide physical assistance. At least, as long as I have been on these boards that has been the rule. It is up to the individual and the group they are traveling with.

This is due to a few reasons:
1) Protects them from lawsuits that could happen if the CM does something incorrectly that causes additional injury
2) Protects the CM from injury
3) Protects the guest from injury

I do not believe it is realistic for anyone to expect an employee of a company to assist in these matters since they are not trained to do so.

 

[SMD]

2) Protects the CM from injury

I think that this is the main concern. As it should be.

Guests should also be aware that if a ride needs to be evacuated, and they can't exit the vehicle under their own power, the CMs will call the fire department to evacuate them, and it will probably take longer than it takes for the other guests to get off the ride.

 

[ttintagel]

I realize the CM can't touch a guest, but failing to ask if you're OK after falling was a serious screwup on their part. And they absolutely should still be slowing the walkways down for those who need it.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

I realize the CM can't touch a guest, but failing to ask if you're OK after falling was a serious screwup on their part. And they absolutely should still be slowing the walkways down for those who need it.

1) We are told explicitly NOT to address or question condition(s).
2) By doing so, we might inadvertently say things like
. . . "I'm sorry."
. . . "Oops, what happened?"
. . . "Are you OK?"
3) These can be an implied statement of guilt in a court of law!
. . . can be interpreted as WDW made an error
. . . can be interpreted as the CM was at fault
. . . can be interpreted as we are trying to lessen the pain or injury

4) As for slowing walkways,
. . . sometimes, they can do it without mechanical problems
. . . sometimes, the rides are old enough that the chain-drive won't allow it *
. . . sometime,s it is a simply a matter of too many crowds and not slowing progress

* Starting and stopping mechanisms with chain drives or chain connections
of ride vehicles can cause the chains to stretch. In such condition, the drive
can fail or cause other symptoms/problems.

 

[ttintagel]

1) We are told explicitly NOT to address or question condition(s).
2) By doing so, we might inadvertently say things like
. . . "I'm sorry."
. . . "Oops, what happened?"
. . . "Are you OK?"
3) These can be an implied statement of guilt in a court of law!
. . . can be interpreted as WDW made an error
. . . can be interpreted as the CM was at fault
. . . can be interpreted as we are trying to lessen the pain or injury

4) As for slowing walkways,
. . . sometimes, they can do it without mechanical problems
. . . sometimes, the rides are old enough that the chain-drive won't allow it *
. . . sometime,s it is a simply a matter of too many crowds and not slowing progress

* Starting and stopping mechanisms with chain drives or chain connections
of ride vehicles can cause the chains to stretch. In such condition, the drive
can fail or cause other symptoms/problems.

Poppycock, sprinkled with a few grains of truth to make it sound plausible. I’ve worked with the public, and especially with large numbers of visitors with children, over the years. I’ve been trained by employers, outside consultants, and government agencies.

Asking if someone is OK is the absolute first step in determining what action to take or not take, and you can get your butt sued for negligence if you DON’T do it – depraved indifference if the injury is bad enough and the plaintiff’s lawyer good enough. Heck, asking if you're choking is even on the choking poster that's required to be displayed in restaurants. If you don’t feel comfortable doing it, you get your supervisor over there ASA-flipping-P and make sure THEY do it. You ask if they’re OK, you ask if they need anything (short of you touching them), you ask if they need you to call anybody (including EMT’s, who are trained, licensed, and have the proper insurance).

There are only two attractions at WDW where the moving walkway can’t be slowed: Peter Pan’s Flight and the TTC Peoplemover. I have been hearing occasional reports of random individual CM’s saying they “can’t” slow the other walkways because of crowds, but I’ve also heard CM’s tell whoppers like “We’re not allowed to use the exit elevator for Pirates of the Caribbean, even for people on crutches,” or “There is no alternate entrance to The Seas with Nemo and Friends/The Haunted Mansion/The Great Movie Ride,” so I’ll start believing that’s an actual resort-wide policy when I see it in print. Sure, it may be a bit inconvenient at times to slow it down, but that's not the guest's problem.

My policy is that if they don't make the ride safe for me to get off, I don't get off. It's not my intention to take a ride away from the next person who's waiting, but I have the same right to a safe egress as the next person.

* I don’t mean they just said I couldn’t use it, I mean they insisted, over and over, that the other entrance didn’t even exist, that I was either making it up or imagining it.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Poppycock, sprinkled with a few grains of truth to make it sound plausible. I’ve worked with the public, and especially with large numbers of visitors with children, over the years. I’ve been trained by employers, outside consultants, and government agencies . . .

1) I am grateful for you experience(s).
2) Have you had the Disney CM Training, either classroom or On-The-Job?
3) As an ex-CEO (with operations in USA, Europe, China), we had different policies than Disney.
4) But, then again, people didn't try to sue us as much as they do Disney.

 

[Talking Hands]

I have to agree with ttintage. I have been lied to by castmembers frequently when it comes to accommodations. I am frequently refused accommodation for my hearing needs because of my power chair. I will self advocate and if needed will contact Disability Access CM's directly if I cannot get it solved at the venue. As far as CMs not asking if you are okay, they do. I fell at Spaceship Earth and was asked. Next time rather than tripping I will let the park the chair when it is time to enter the ride

 

[maxiesmom]

I don't work at WDW, but for a major retailer. And we too are told to not say I'm Sorry, if some falls or is hurt. You may think it is "poppycock" but unfortunately with people looking to sue so much, it is the way some businesses choose to protect themselves from people looking to make a quick thousand or 50.

 

[Sadie22]

Even in hospitals if a visitor falls a staff member is not going to assist that person to get up, because that could cause new injury on top of what the fall may have caused. The most CMs can or should do is call trained personnel to assist and possibly keep gawkers back so that family members can do what they choose to do. It seems harsh to onlookers, I know, but the CMs are not and cannot be trained to deal with every possible contingency. They need to do no harm.

 

[BonnieA]

Coming back from the Ladies Room, my friend fell gently near her scooter. But didn't have the arm strength to get herself up. She was on her rear and I was LMAO. Several CM's stood around talking to her but they could not help. But they radioed someone else and soon a bunch of suits appeared or differently dressed CM's. They got together and lifted her off the ground. It was so quick and easy for them my friend hardly felt it and suddenly she was off the ground.

 

[Coonhound]

I don't work at WDW, but for a major retailer. And we too are told to not say I'm Sorry, if some falls or is hurt. You may think it is "poppycock" but unfortunately with people looking to sue so much, it is the way some businesses choose to protect themselves from people looking to make a quick thousand or 50.

This is absolutely true. In fact most businesses instruct workers NOT to ask if a person is ok or if they can help and NEVER to say I'm Sorry- these things open the door of liability. Basically you are told to act as of you don't see it.
It's sad but true. It's become this way because we live in a sue-happy world.

 

[olwyngdh]

When my daughter was injured last year because someone stepped on her in that healthy bodies game at Epcot, the CM called for someone to bring a wheelchair and for someone to clean up all the blood and gave us directions to first aid. Asking if she were ok would have been silly, because she was bleeding like a stuck pig, and the woman who stepped on her apologized enough for 10 people. I think the CM handled the situation well, and better than I would have expected at any other park.

 

[stitchlovestink]

1) I am grateful for you experience(s).
2) Have you had the Disney CM Training, either classroom or On-The-Job?
3) As an ex-CEO (with operations in USA, Europe, China), we had different policies than Disney.
4) But, then again, people didn't try to sue us as much as they do Disney.

No, but my DD Has had both!! She even had one on one training with someone from the DisABILITIES dept (but it is called a different name that I cannot remember). He was surprised at how much she knew about the GAC (at the time of her training that is what they were using). And he asked how she knew...she shared how her mother had one. He asked her ALL kinds of questions about how I (we) were treated when using it. He was disappointed to hear that we weren't *always* treated well.
And I pretty much agree with ttintagel. If not asking if you are okay, they should be inquiring as to your needs. That CM cannot necessarily help, but can call for the appropriate help for the guest!

 

[ttintagel]

I don't work at WDW, but for a major retailer. And we too are told to not say I'm Sorry, if some falls or is hurt. You may think it is "poppycock" but unfortunately with people looking to sue so much, it is the way some businesses choose to protect themselves from people looking to make a quick thousand or 50.

I didn't say that the part about saying sorry was poppycock; it's the part about not asking if you're OK that I don't believe. Not taking responsibility for an injury is one thing; pretending there isn't even an injured person lying in front of you is another.

 

[SMD]

I didn't say that the part about saying sorry was poppycock; it's the part about not asking if you're OK that I don't believe. Not taking responsibility for an injury is one thing; pretending there isn't even an injured person lying in front of you is another.

Any time you give a directive or policy to thousands of employees you'll have some who ignore it and do what they think is right, some who take it to the extreme and choose inaction over the possibility of overstepping what the company "allows" and the rest who fall in the middle. For all we know, in many of these situations, 2 CMs agreed that one would call for help while the other keeps an eye on the guest. That is hardly failure to take responsibility, though it may not be the response that the guests wants.

 

[maxiesmom]

I didn't say that the part about saying sorry was poppycock; it's the part about not asking if you're OK that I don't believe. Not taking responsibility for an injury is one thing; pretending there isn't even an injured person lying in front of you is another.

Ok! Yeah, even where I work we are allowed to ask the guest if they are ok or want assistance of some sort. We don't just step over their body and carry on with out day!

 

[book_junkie]

1) We are told explicitly NOT to address or question condition(s).
2) By doing so, we might inadvertently say things like
. . . "I'm sorry."
. . . "Oops, what happened?"
. . . "Are you OK?"
3) These can be an implied statement of guilt in a court of law!
. . . can be interpreted as WDW made an error
. . . can be interpreted as the CM was at fault
. . . can be interpreted as we are trying to lessen the pain or injury

4) As for slowing walkways,
. . . sometimes, they can do it without mechanical problems
. . . sometimes, the rides are old enough that the chain-drive won't allow it *
. . . sometime,s it is a simply a matter of too many crowds and not slowing progress

* Starting and stopping mechanisms with chain drives or chain connections
of ride vehicles can cause the chains to stretch. In such condition, the drive
can fail or cause other symptoms/problems.

Your answers to 4 are completely out of whack. When we went with my father in '07, who had mobility problems (and when my parents went again in 09 and 11), the only rides they couldn't get on where the People Mover and Peter Pan because they were not able to stop AT ALL (and were marked on the maps).

Every other ride in MK and Epcot with a moving platform stopped, including the Haunted Mansion and Spaceship Earth. We went in the alternate entrance, told the CMs what he needed, and then waited. They then stopped the ride when it was convenient. That's when you would hear the spiel, "Our happy haunts are causing mischief, please remain in your seats." And they're marked on the maps. Otherwise why are they marked?

If the track is "too old" and is being "stretched" by being stopped, then they're using the wrong material, and lord help the lawsuits for it'll stretch worse in motion than being stopped- think about the belts in your car or on a bike.

If it's "too crowded" then they're not providing proper access to their guests who need to be accommodated.

As to customer service, I've been trained both ways; however, I've ALWAYS been trained to contact the person higher for injuries and document the incident- and that's where the CMs failed in this case. They should have contacted the supervisor on duty to handle things, or whomever is in charge of the area to handle the incident.

 

[aaarcher86]

Your answers to 4 are completely out of whack. When we went with my father in '07, who had mobility problems (and when my parents went again in 09 and 11), the only rides they couldn't get on where the People Mover and Peter Pan because they were not able to stop AT ALL (and were marked on the maps). Every other ride in MK and Epcot with a moving platform stopped, including the Haunted Mansion and Spaceship Earth. We went in the alternate entrance, told the CMs what he needed, and then waited. They then stopped the ride when it was convenient. That's when you would hear the spiel, "Our happy haunts are causing mischief, please remain in your seats." And they're marked on the maps. Otherwise why are they marked? If the track is "too old" and is being "stretched" by being stopped, then they're using the wrong material, and lord help the lawsuits for it'll stretch worse in motion than being stopped- think about the belts in your car or on a bike. If it's "too crowded" then they're not providing proper access to their guests who need to be accommodated. As to customer service, I've been trained both ways; however, I've ALWAYS been trained to contact the person higher for injuries and document the incident- and that's where the CMs failed in this case. They should have contacted the supervisor on duty to handle things, or whomever is in charge of the area to handle the incident.

As far as the too crowded issue, they do not have to do something that interferes with park operations. I imagine slowing or stopping walkways could fall under that category. I don't know how often it's implemented so I can't say for sure, but it doubt they're going to do something that could get them into legal trouble.