Columnist complains about Disney

[kay1864]

Wow. In this "Why I'll never go to WDW again" article, the columnist goes on for three paragraphs about a faulty wheelchair...rented from a company which has nothing to do with Disney.

Then he generously "excuses" Disney for problems he had with the non-Disney company. Nice!

I'm thinking of complaining to Guest Services about the price of gas at the Hess station. After all, it's "part of the Disney experience"

 

[lanejudy]

Some people can find anything to complain about
It's a shame, such people probably are simply not very happy in life.

 

[smbowtie]

Wow. In this "Why I'll never go to WDW again" article, the columnist goes on for three paragraphs about a faulty wheelchair...rented from a company which has nothing to do with Disney.

Then he generously "excuses" Disney for problems he had with the non-Disney company. Nice!

I'm thinking of complaining to Guest Services about the price of gas at the Hess station. After all, it's "part of the Disney experience"

To each his own. Some people just don't get it.

 

[davedmaine]

He did have some very valid complaints: being assigned a non-accessible room and poorly designed restrooms in the parks. And like you said, he did say problems with the wheelchair weren't Disney's problem.
Seems like he's not out of line at all in his criticism..

 

[kay1864]

He did have some very valid complaints: being assigned a non-accessible room and poorly designed restrooms in the parks.

No dispute there.

And like you said, he did say problems with the wheelchair weren't Disney's problem.

Actually what he said was, "Even if Disney is to be excused for the problems we had with services surrounding the parks", as if Disney *needed* an excuse for a company they don't have any control over.

 

[aaarcher86]

Are the WC stalls at Disney different in general then the WC stalls anywhere else?

 

[Disneylvr]

Are the WC stalls at Disney different in general then the WC stalls anywhere else?

I think since it is oldest park the stalls in MK may be a bit smaller than the standard this blogger is used to. However, in my experience, MK has the most family assist restrooms which should easily accommodate wheelchairs of all sizes. We use a manual transport chair for DD but the blogger uses a power wheelchair so maybe he has a point? He also admits that Disney just really isn't for him in general not just because of disability.

 

[pieface]

The writer must have been huge since the handicap stalls I have seen at Disney are huge. There is plenty of room and the people I saw in chairs had no problem with them. He does have some what of a complaint with room assignments but this was corrected. He has no complaint with Disney with his wheel chair he should never have commented about it since Disney had no power over a chair rented through another company.

There is enough things to complain about in regards to Disney but he has nothing to complain about.
I am not an expert on chairs so if I am wrong I apologize in advance.

 

[Toffeewoffy]

The disabled restrooms are not all well designed. We found one just inside the door of the ladies restroom in AK - it was at right angles to the entrance door - and the door opened inwards. That meant I almost had to climb over my scooter to get the door closed!! Had I just been in a wheelchair then I'd have had no problem.

Most of the time I walked inside while DD sat in the scooter outside waiting for me, but a couple of times I couldn't wait for her and used the disabled ones.

 

[ttintagel]

While the outside rental company isn't owned by Disney, if they're one of the Disney-approved ones (and it sounds like they are, since he mentioned picking up the chair and not meeting a representative from the company to collect it), I can see where you might feel Disney had a responsibility to vet the companies before giving them the official seal of approval.

And, in my own observation, it's true that the levels of accessibility and their ability to get reservations for accessible rooms right has declined in recent years.

 

[bidnow5]

If you go to Disney already not liking it like he did you will not have a good time

 

[Gracie09]

So he had a room mix up that was quickly rectified. An issue with a wheelchair from a third party vendor, and a problem in one bathroom stall. He also doesn't seem to know that universal is not owned by Disney.

Yeah Disney really dropped the ball ::eye roll::

 

[Talking Hands]

While some of his complaints are valid, he went into it not liking Disney type parks and left feeling the same. No surprise. Comment on Universal was not relevant to the discussion.
I agree the handicapped stalls in the MK especially those by Guest Services are not really accessible. You can't shut the door by yourself. Very frustrating.

 

[POOHsie]

Are the WC stalls at Disney different in general then the WC stalls anywhere else?

There are a few bathrooms at MK that are antiquated. The big one by City Hall comes to mind. There's 10 or so stalls on both sides of an aisle. At a couple of stalls at the very end of the aisle, (I guess) to get in ADA compliance a long time ago, what they did was bring out the side walls maybe a foot or more. They didn't widen the stall. Yet they added rails on both side walls. My scooter can't get halfway in there. So I leave it halfway sticking out, with the door wide open. The guests across the aisle can look in if they wish (most divert their eyes). There's another bathroom, I think around the corner from Dole Whips, in that covered alley between Adventureland and Frontierland. Same deal. I may not be remembering the correct restroom, however those are the two worst. I do remember we were in Cinderella's Castle by the Hostess Stand. My DD27 used the restroom there. She told me the stalls were crowded with kids getting into their costumes for their Cinderella meal. So that restroom would probably be the worst, if I needed to use it.

I couldn't get on board with the writer of the article. He said it all when he admitted he didn't enjoy places like WDW, and that biased his writing. I use my scooter full-time, and one thing I know is that my mobility issues do not particularly register with the walking world. At a hotel check-in, I would make it a point to confirm that my room is accessible. I wouldn't let it be overlooked. I would have a faulty rental chair replaced ASAP and not accept that I should plan on mediocre-to-subpar treatment at a tourist resort. Although Disney is certainly not accessibility nirvana, it is miles above most vacation places. With that in mind, I am grateful for Disney in my life, and I return year after year for a wonderful visit.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Wow if he is crabby like this all the time I would hate to live with him for fear I might fold his shirt wrong or bring him six ice cubes in his drink when he really wanted 8.

This just means there will be one less wheel chair at Disney for me to have to maneuver around. What will I do.