Comment from Cast Member

[Mish]

We went to the Pirate and Princess party on August 28. We waited on line to see one of the characters when we were leaving the cast member looks at my son in the Stroller we use and says to him "my aren't you a little big to be pushed around". I turned to her and said no he is not he has a hip problem and the constant walking in the park hurts his lets. I thought that was a little rude.

 

[a1tinkfans]

We went to the Pirate and Princess party on August 28. We waited on line to see one of the characters when we were leaving the cast member looks at my son in the Stroller we use and says to him "my aren't you a little big to be pushed around". I turned to her and said no he is not he has a hip problem and the constant walking in the park hurts his lets. I thought that was a little rude.

AWFUL! And to say it to a child!!! If it were me I would have been SURE to get the name on the tag and stopped in at Guest Services and let them know.
I really hope the TOTALLY UNCALLED FOR comment did not effect your child in any way. That is DISGRACEFUL and insensitive and UGH makes me very very upset!! So sorry that happened to you!
I hope you and your family had some extra magical experiences to make up for that experience.

 

[SueM in MN]

that was rude

 

[Christine43]

Amazingly rude and unprofessional. You are nicer than me, I would have really told her off if she said that to my son.

 

[Tissa]

It was rude and insensitive, some times people just do not think.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Sorry a CM treated you so badly!

 

[hotwheels]

did the CM think it was funny.. liek mean pushed around not literally.? i know from first hand experience how hurtful some things can be whe people say them. and the people think its funny. ..some peple have a warped sence of humor..

however... sometimes certian things that people say can ease the situatuin by making light of it.(not in this case though)

 

[Mish]

You know I decided not to get upset. I have decided that some people don't think before they talk. If she looked she would have seen the big red stroller as a wheel chair tag on the handle of the stroller. I have the Mclaren Major most cast members know that this is considered a wheel chair. I have to say looking at my son he looks like nothing is wrong with him. He has a hip condition so he walks fine. It is just a lot of walking like at Disney causes him a lot of pain and limping. I just look at it like some people are not educated to the different things that could be wrong with people. It is the same as handicap parking, when we use it we get a lot of looking at us.

 

[Mickiethepooh]

Maybe some people do not think but this was not "some People" this was a cast member and they are supposed to be trained.
After reading various posts here I have decided to report any CM who is rude or does non disney things, I will like-wise report favorably any that go beyond the call of duty.

Reporting and everyone doing it is the only way to get Disney back where it should be.

 

[Beccabunny]

I'm not all that surprised at this. If you look at the other boards, there is almost always a stroller debate going on. There is a real anti-stroller mentality, with posters complaining about the use of strollers for "bigger kids" and often expressing disbelief that all of these kids have special needs. If you have all these Disney guests grumbling about strollers, I'm sure there are many CM's who feel the same way. It was totally unprofessional for the CM to make that remark. She needs to be educated. You are a nicer person than I am. I try to stay calm in these situations, but I think I would've told her off.

 

[jayandstacey]

It is at least possible that the CM thought they were paying a compliment to the kid. As in "Aren't you a little big to be pushed around - you're almost as big as me and you get a ride! Boy, I wish I could get a ride too - can we trade places?"

If you kind of think of it in that context, and with the right tone of voice, and given that CM's are taught to be engaging to the guests- I can see where MAYBE the intent was not to be rude. Also, I know I might make the mistake of "well, if there was a medical issue, he'd be in a wheelchair - but I don't see a wheelchair, so if anything is safe, this next comment must be..."

Now, before you point the flamethrower at me - it was still inconsierate. But I wouldn't have blown up in the CM's face or reported them. Ruining their day or getting them fired doesn't help any of us really. In fact, it may actually cause the 'flight' of CMs who mean well but suffer from youth - in favor of CMs who punch the clock, don't smile, don't speak and therefore never risk getting reported.

I think the OP responded appropriately. The CM, assuming they are a good person, probably learned a quick lesson and won't repeat the mistake - and that DOES help all of us. That lesson was served appropriately and didn't risk 'souring' the CM. This was a sin of omission, not comission - it wasn't deliberate or malicious.

I say let the CM live to see another day

 

[MousekeMommy]

Sorry this happened to you--we had a stroller as wheelchair (big red GAC tag) for DS, age 4, with a heart condition, and we also had a cast member comment about "the big kid in the stroller". I was the same as you, too--I just told her why he needed the stroller, and left it at that. Like your situation, my son does not "look like" he has anything wrong . . . Should a CM be better trained to not make tacky comments based on uneducated observations??? Maybe . . . But I do have eyes, and I have noticed how many "big kids" use strollers at Disney, but my thought is "hey, if someone is willing to push them and deal with the aggravation. . . that's their problem!" (And I can't imagine how anyone would not find them more trouble than they are worth for larger children . . . ) So really, it's no one else's business what a parent does, as long as they are not harming their child. But CMs SHOULD observe the big red sticker--my 4 year old was really upset by her comments--he IS a BIG BOY!!! (But the alternative to comments was allowing him to walk, getting his heart rate and rhythm out of control, and spending the night in the Emergency Room . . . no way!) The way I looked at it, this is the first of many uneducated/tacky comments he will hear in his lifetime with a disabling heart condition (more will probably follow when he sits out/gets alternative activities for some of his phys ed activities in school). Believe me, he would have traded all the "rides in the stroller" at Disney for a chance to play on a T-ball team with all the other kids in our neighborhood this year! Any way you look at this, it stinks for your kid A very sympathetic/empathetic Sorry Keep your perspective and faith--you are raising a child for a lifetime, and they are observing a child for a moment--you know who is in the right!

 

[Mason7AK]

Just had to add my comment to this thread! I think it was very inconsiderate of the CM to make that comment to you! We had a problem on our trip in February. My DD6, has a Thomashilfen EasyS Stroller/Wheelchair. It has way more support peices than a regular Maclaren or Convaid stroller and is obviously NOT a stroller. When we got our GAC we did not get the stamp "stroller as wheelchair" because we did not think it would be necessary. But we had NUMEROUS CM's stop us and tell us to "park the stroller outside". Now my daughter is severe CP, non-verbal and very spastic. All you have to do is look at her to tell she is not a "typical" six year old. I found it very frustrating that the CM's are so inattentive that they can't take the time to notice obvious disabilities before they are so quick to "order" you out of the line with a wheelchair/stroller with or without a sticker! And a lot of the time it was "order" and done so rudely. The parks were not busy at all the week we were there either, so that wasn't the problem. We finally went back to guest services and asked for the "stoller as wheelchair" and even after that were sometime stopped at the beginning of lines and at pavillions at Epcot. It just seems the CM's are maybe not getting the training they need in this regard. All were nice enough once we pointed out that the chair was a wheelchair. Though a couple looked dubious even then! LOL
Angela

 

[bopper]

"Aren't you a little old to be making assumptions?"

 

[spotdog]

Mish, I have to compliment you for calmy educating the CM. Hopefully, she will never make the same mistake again.

 

[Peaches1111_00]

The last time we went to Disneyworld, we had 1 of those big ol' 2 seater Disney strollers. 1 of my cousins is Autistic and, at around 9 years old I think, he's a big guy. We also had his 7 year old brother in the stroller too (he's a little guy, and 6 at the time). We get lots of looks everywhere we go, not just at Disney, from people that think the Autistic boy is just bad and not under control. He flaps his arms, makes noises, sticks his fingers in his ears, and doesn't really talk. We get the stroller so he doesn't walk all day and get crabby (we'd like to avoid a complete meltdown in the park).

But that's ok, because while you're waiting in line for an hour for your favorite ride, we get to hop into every fast pass line! That'll teach you to keep your snark little comments to yourself.

 

[pcparamedics01]

We went to the Pirate and Princess party on August 28. We waited on line to see one of the characters when we were leaving the cast member looks at my son in the Stroller we use and says to him "my aren't you a little big to be pushed around". I turned to her and said no he is not he has a hip problem and the constant walking in the park hurts his lets. I thought that was a little rude.

Wow some people just don't use any common sense! I am with the OP I would of got him name too!

 

[GroovyWheeler]

If something like that happened with us, I know my mom would've said something to the cast member like, "You have no idea what it is like to have a child with special-needs". My best friend's mom would've probably said the same thing, since my best friend has severe quadriplegia cerebral palsy. She's a real "stickler" when it comes to sticking up for young people with disabilities, when something like that happens. My mom is too.

Some cast members "just don't get it" about guests who have invisible disabilities, and use mobility devices like a special-needs stroller or a wheelchair.

Samantha

 

[PatMcDuck]

Once, while waiting for the lift on the handicapped line with my son, my husband was questioned by a CM as to WHY my son needed to ride it (the rest of the family, 4 people, walked up the hill). He said to my husband "he does not look all that handicapped to ME". (He has down syndrome, autism, and had both ankles fused 9 months earlier-- he only came to the water park for a couple of hours).

My husband did complain, and they pulled the CM to another location for that day. They also said they would "re-train" him, which is really the best possible thing.

This was about 5 years ago.

 

[Shorty82]

Once, while waiting for the lift on the handicapped line with my son, my husband was questioned by a CM as to WHY my son needed to ride it (the rest of the family, 4 people, walked up the hill). He said to my husband "he does not look all that handicapped to ME". (He has down syndrome, autism, and had both ankles fused 9 months earlier-- he only came to the water park for a couple of hours).

My husband did complain, and they pulled the CM to another location for that day. They also said they would "re-train" him, which is really the best possible thing.

This was about 5 years ago.

What ride are you talking about? You give no details as to which of the many, many rides at WDW you're talking about though I can guess you're talking about one of the water parks. Re-training is what should happen with CMs who do that kind of thing. That's if it is a first offense, after that give them an official write-up and if they keep it up fire them.