Do you use the handicapped stall?

[robinb]

I know I'm going to be shot for this but here goes. If you or anyone have a disability that creates a situation where other, non related individuals must bow down to your individual needs...you do not belong there. If you have a bowel problem that causes a situation were your needs outweigh that of another individual then, there is a good chance that you do not belong there.

Many people have disabilities and within those disabilities there are certain restrictions. If, for example, you are paraplegic you have to accept that there is a good chance that you are not going to be able to walk. You have to accept that and adjust your life around that disability. I know we are only talking about bathroom needs here but it still applies. If you cannot control your bowels or bladder than, yes I'm going to say it, you should not be at a public place like WDW. You are a walking avenue of possible contamination that will effect many, many people that you do not even know.

I am sorry that you cannot conform to the extent that is required to fit into a public place, but you cannot. A theme park, is not the place for you unless you have, in place, a system that will not require the sacrifice of others to accommodate your needs. There is a huge difference between willingness to help someone and requirement to help someone.

Wow.

All I have to say is that you should pray that you or a loved one does not become disabled. And if by some unhappy chance you do, I hope you find more compassion and kindness from people than you exhibit here.

 

[delilah]

An interesting variation of this situation occurred to me when I was visiting the zoo Thanksgiving weekend. I went into one of the restrooms at the zoo, also with three stalls. The large handicapped stall was opened, and the other two were occupied. So, I went into the handicapped stall. As it turned out, I also needed to change the battery in my camera. It was 18 degrees outside, so, I took advantage of a larger, warmer space to open my camera bag and change the battery. While I was changing the battery, a woman came in with her young children, and loudly complained that there was somebody in the handicapped stall. She wasn't handicapped, the changing table was outside the handicapped stall, she just couldn't take the whole crew together in one stall. Oh well. What can you do? I just ignored her.

 

[TangaroaTiki]

I was in a bathroom once that only had 2 stalls. One was flooded and just nasty, the other was handicap. I used the handicap. I'm quick but in the 1 min i was in there a woman in a wheelchair came in. She actually stared banging on the door asking if i need to be in an accessible bathroom. I finished and as i opened the door she started yelling that i was in her way!

I tried to help with the door but she said to get out of her way as I had already been enough of a pain to her.

I was completely shocked and had no response. I just washed my hands and ran!

Wow, that is hard to believe, and to answer the OP - Yes, I use them with my children all the time.

 

[Mickey&Donald]

An interesting variation of this situation occurred to me when I was visiting the zoo Thanksgiving weekend. I went into one of the restrooms at the zoo, also with three stalls. The large handicapped stall was opened, and the other two were occupied. So, I went into the handicapped stall. As it turned out, I also needed to change the battery in my camera. It was 18 degrees outside, so, I took advantage of a larger, warmer space to open my camera bag and change the battery. While I was changing the battery, a woman came in with her young children, and loudly complained that there was somebody in the handicapped stall. She wasn't handicapped, the changing table was outside the handicapped stall, she just couldn't take the whole crew together in one stall. Oh well. What can you do? I just ignored her.

That was pretty rude -- of YOU. You didn't need to remain in the stall to change your camera battery. You could have stepped out to the sink area to do that. Instead, you took up space you didn't need and prevented a mom from being able to keep all of her kids with her while they were using the facilities. I'm not a mom yet, but I know I wouldn't want to leave kids alone even for a minute.. this is a nutty world we live in.

 

[SwedishMeatball]

Well it took 7 pages, but I think this thread is headed for the crapper now.

 

[nuttylawprofessor]

Well it took 7 pages, but I think this thread is headed for the crapper now.

Yes, but is it accessible?

 

[Mom2Nick]

That was pretty rude -- of YOU. You didn't need to remain in the stall to change your camera battery. You could have stepped out to the sink area to do that. Instead, you took up space you didn't need and prevented a mom from being able to keep all of her kids with her while they were using the facilities. I'm not a mom yet, but I know I wouldn't want to leave kids alone even for a minute.. this is a nutty world we live in.

The MOM was rude - when a stall is occupied it's occupied. Waiting a minute - or two - for the stall you want to use isn't going to kill anybody.

 

[KPeveler]

I know I'm going to be shot for this but here goes. If you or anyone have a disability that creates a situation where other, non related individuals must bow down to your individual needs...you do not belong there. If you have a bowel problem that causes a situation were your needs outweigh that of another individual then, there is a good chance that you do not belong there.

Many people have disabilities and within those disabilities there are certain restrictions. If, for example, you are paraplegic you have to accept that there is a good chance that you are not going to be able to walk. You have to accept that and adjust your life around that disability. I know we are only talking about bathroom needs here but it still applies. If you cannot control your bowels or bladder than, yes I'm going to say it, you should not be at a public place like WDW. You are a walking avenue of possible contamination that will effect many, many people that you do not even know.

I am sorry that you cannot conform to the extent that is required to fit into a public place, but you cannot. A theme park, is not the place for you unless you have, in place, a system that will not require the sacrifice of others to accommodate your needs. There is a huge difference between willingness to help someone and requirement to help someone.

wow, I hope you never become disabled, because then you can never go out in public again...

I am curious what you consider "bowing' to the needs of the disabled. I use a wheelchair in disney and face an increasing disability (i am 24, btw), but I do not think that no one ahead of me can use the handicapped stall. I DO find it rude when I am first in line and the handicapped stall is open and a woman with 3-4 kids pushes past me to get into the stall.

What is "bowing" to the needs of the disabled? Are you saying that anyone who needs special accommodations, such as a shorter wait time in a line for an autistic child (not saying this happens at disney, just a general example), should not be allowed in public? Probably 15-20% of Americans have some kind of bowel or bladder problem that may require them to have to ask nicely sometimes "hey, do you mind if i go first?" IBS, Celiacs, Crohns, MS, MD, ALS, EDS, etc... all these things make it hard to guess when one needs to use the toilet, and i see nothing wrong with asking. obviously if a person is incontinent then they must wear a diaper so they do not weewee on Main Street, but that does not mean they never get to leave the house!!

obviously a person must be able to handle themselves in public, or have someone with them to help. it is irresponsible to require strangers to help you. however, the world is not made for those of us with wheels, and sometimes what looks like "special treatment" to you is the only option for us. for example, at BTMRR we wait outside, in the sun, on an incline for our turn on the ride. we do not get to go through the normal queue at TSMM and get to see the animatronic. you may see us enter through the exit and the CM ask the normal line to wait while they get me on a ride, but that is not special treatment, it is our only option. If they made the line accessible it wouldnt be a problem! however, since they didn't, this is all we get, so we make do with what we have.

if the world would conform to OUR disability, or perhaps even follow the law (ADA), it would be less of an issue. however, we must live in YOUR world, and we adapt as we may. what may seem special to you may have taken us hours to accomplish, so please do not judge if you do not know the whole situation.

that being said, a person must be able to safely operate in public to be there, or have someone with them to help/care for them.

and anyone can use a handicapped stall - its a toilet for goodness sakes! go in, do your business, and get out!

a handicapped stall is NOT:
a changing room
a place to fix your makeup
a place to do your hair
the place to do the "peepee dance" for 5 minutes to get your child to go
the place to go when other stalls are empty and you wish to make a career of toileting

go in, go potty, thats it! i never can see why this is so difficult!

just remember, not all disabilities are visible, and i use the HA stall when i dont have my wheelchair cause i cant stand without the rails...

don't judge, go potty, and the world will be a better place!

 

[KPeveler]

An interesting variation of this situation occurred to me when I was visiting the zoo Thanksgiving weekend. I went into one of the restrooms at the zoo, also with three stalls. The large handicapped stall was opened, and the other two were occupied. So, I went into the handicapped stall. As it turned out, I also needed to change the battery in my camera. It was 18 degrees outside, so, I took advantage of a larger, warmer space to open my camera bag and change the battery. While I was changing the battery, a woman came in with her young children, and loudly complained that there was somebody in the handicapped stall. She wasn't handicapped, the changing table was outside the handicapped stall, she just couldn't take the whole crew together in one stall. Oh well. What can you do? I just ignored her.

i am not saying the woman wasn't rude but how do you know she was not handicapped? I am 5 ft tall, 100 lbs, cute, blonde, and walk just fine (for a few feet). unfortunately i cannot stand up from a toilet without the railings... i am not saying she was right, but you cant tell just by looking!

 

[mickeymedic]

I am curious what you consider "bowing' to the needs of the disabled. I use a wheelchair in disney and face an increasing disability (i am 24, btw), but I do not think that no one ahead of me can use the handicapped stall. I DO find it rude when I am first in line and the handicapped stall is open and a woman with 3-4 kids pushes past me to get into the stall.

What is "bowing" to the needs of the disabled? Are you saying that anyone who needs special accommodations, such as a shorter wait time in a line for an autistic child (not saying this happens at disney, just a general example), should not be allowed in public? Probably 15-20% of Americans have some kind of bowel or bladder problem that may require them to have to ask nicely sometimes "hey, do you mind if i go first?" IBS, Celiacs, Crohns, MS, MD, ALS, EDS, etc... all these things make it hard to guess when one needs to use the toilet, and i see nothing wrong with asking. obviously if a person is incontinent then they must wear a diaper so they do not weewee on Main Street, but that does not mean they never get to leave the house!!

obviously a person must be able to handle themselves in public, or have someone with them to help. it is irresponsible to require strangers to help you. however, the world is not made for those of us with wheels, and sometimes what looks like "special treatment" to you is the only option for us. for example, at BTMRR we wait outside, in the sun, on an incline for our turn on the ride. we do not get to go through the normal queue at TSMM and get to see the animatronic. you may see us enter through the exit and the CM ask the normal line to wait while they get me on a ride, but that is not special treatment, it is our only option. If they made the line accessible it wouldnt be a problem! however, since they didn't, this is all we get, so we make do with what we have.

if the world would conform to OUR disability, or perhaps even follow the law (ADA), it would be less of an issue. however, we must live in YOUR world, and we adapt as we may. what may seem special to you may have taken us hours to accomplish, so please do not judge if you do not know the whole situation.

that being said, a person must be able to safely operate in public to be there, or have someone with them to help/care for them.

and anyone can use a handicapped stall - its a toilet for goodness sakes! go in, do your business, and get out!

a handicapped stall is NOT:
a changing room
a place to fix your makeup
a place to do your hair
the place to do the "peepee dance" for 5 minutes to get your child to go
the place to go when other stalls are empty and you wish to make a career of toileting

go in, go potty, thats it! i never can see why this is so difficult!

just remember, not all disabilities are visible, and i use the HA stall when i dont have my wheelchair cause i cant stand without the rails...

don't judge, go potty, and the world will be a better place!

Well said.

 

[lucyanna girl]

OP I always try to look at it like this, for some people rudeness IS their handicap.

The lady was wrong.

Penny

 

[alizesmom]

I will not use the stall unless it is the only one available and then I try to get out as soon as possible. If I have DD or DS with me (both in wheelchairs) I try to get the stall but since they don't use the facilities I don't fight for the handicapped space. If it is my turn then I will just use what is available and (too much information I know) leave the door open with the wheelchair pushed as close to me as I can. You do what you gotta do.

And yes, OP, the woman was rude and you were right.

 

[goofyernmost]

I have no interest in shooting/flaming you, but I just want to be sure that I understand what you're saying. So do you think that an older child or adult, who has a condition which requires the use of diapers, should be prohibited from being in public places such as an amusement park??

Wow.

All I have to say is that you should pray that you or a loved one does not become disabled. And if by some unhappy chance you do, I hope you find more compassion and kindness from people than you exhibit here.

OK, everybody take a deep breath, look at what I said, and stop trying to make me look evil while you all love every bit of humanity.

I will say, just one more time...if you have a problem that cannot be contained within yourself. Be that diapers, whatever. And you feel that all of humanity needs to fall over dead to accommodate you or your relative that has that disability then you or they should not be there.

No, I am lucky I don't have any over riding disability but I can tell you this if I ever did have one that required sacrifice on people that I don't even know, I would not be seen there.

If I have a disability it is MY problem. It is not the problem of everyone else on the planet. I would never, ever demand that some stranger be inconvenienced or even aware of my problem. The world does not owe me anything. If I have a problem it is mine and mine alone. If reasonable accommodation is made, being handicapped accessible facilities in this case, that is all that is owed. If the extent of my disability cannot be met by those reasonable accommodations then I cannot participate, plain and simple.

You can all express "Wow" forever. I've seen all of you write about some little thing that irritates you about other people. You are not holier then I. If you read what I said, I am perfectly willing to accept people with disabilities and to even encourage them to participate as long as their participation isn't at the expense of others. One should not be made to feel guilty because they don't have a disability. If someones bowel problem is such that it is a real possibility that I might come in contact with it then a public facility is not the place for them. Like it or not. If the problem can be contained then there is no reason for them to not participate.

I made that statement because it started out a question about if it was OK to use a access stall when there was no one waiting to use it. The overwhelming response was sure, it's there for them to use but it isn't an exclusive club. When that answer wasn't satisfactory then the argument because a series of "what if's". What if they have a bowel problem and the can't wait, what if they have a bladder problem and they can't wait. If they cannot wait and they are being subjected to humiliation from a group of people that are hell bent on making sure everyone, regardless of ability get's included, then it is just wrong. I'm sure the embarrassment far outweighs any pleasure that is garnered by such a visit.

Not everyone is able to fit into every environment. Not everyone should try. If you had someone that had a phobia about crowds of people, would you advocate denying everyone else the right to admission because that one person would like to experience Disney but cannot stand crowds? Everyone stay out for that person?

I stand by what I said and if everyone decides to read other meanings into what I tried to explain, well there isn't anything I can do about that. Self righteous yourselves silly.

 

[yeartolate]

a handicapped stall is NOT:
a changing room
a place to fix your makeup
a place to do your hair
the place to do the "peepee dance" for 5 minutes to get your child to go

Pssssttttt....none of the stalls are.

Public bathrooms. Get in get out.

Nuff said.

 

[ksumn1]

I think OP was right. Common courtesy goes a looong way. If I was in line for the potty and someone very politely said "I'm sorry I really need to go. I have Crohn's, incontinence, upset tummy etc may I please go 1st?" and I were not literally to the point of embarrasing myself I would let them go. I've been known to let Moms and young children doing the pee pee dance cut in front of me.

I have a milder form of IBS and sometime when you gotta go, you gotta go. In a situation where a handicapped stall became available, I always let the next person go and wait for a small stall if I plan to be *enthroned* for awhile so that if someone should NEED the HA stall, I wouldn't be occupying it.

One thing I like is the Family restrooms at the mall. Plenty of room for strollers and at least 2 changing stations. It really freees up the restroom for those who go, do their business and go on their way. And it enables me to send DH on potty patrol with my DD's for a change!!!

And I really think it's unfait to say that if you can't control your bladder of bowel you shouldn't be a WDW. What about a person with HIV, hepatitis, or simply a cold sore?? Those people are spreading disease or germs and possible contaminating others. Maybe we should all have to go through a bag and body check before entering the park. "Please open your bag, remove all bulky item, bend over, cough and say AAAHH and you'll be on your way" And after completing your exam to ensure that you are indeed disease, germ and weapon free "Have a magical day!!" WTH!!!

I'm sure that those with a disable family member with bowel or incontinece issues use good handwashing and restroom practices. Probable more than your average person simply to avoid the spead of germs TO their loved on, not FROM them!!


OP, you were right.

 

[KPeveler]

Pssssttttt....none of the stalls are.

Public bathrooms. Get in get out.

Nuff said.

ok, well yes, but i meant that if you are going to use ANY stall for these things, perhaps using the kind that there are a dozen of is a better idea than using the ONE handicapped stall... but, yes, common courtesy must be exercised no matter the stall...

 

[KPeveler]

I think OP was right. Common courtesy goes a looong way. If I was in line for the potty and someone very politely said "I'm sorry I really need to go. I have Crohn's, incontinence, upset tummy etc may I please go 1st?" and I were not literally to the point of embarrasing myself I would let them go. I've been known to let Moms and young children doing the pee pee dance cut in front of me.

I have a milder form of IBS and sometime when you gotta go, you gotta go. In a situation where a handicapped stall became available, I always let the next person go and wait for a small stall if I plan to be *enthroned* for awhile so that if someone should NEED the HA stall, I wouldn't be occupying it.

One thing I like is the Family restrooms at the mall. Plenty of room for strollers and at least 2 changing stations. It really freees up the restroom for those who go, do their business and go on their way. And it enables me to send DH on potty patrol with my DD's for a change!!!

And I really think it's unfait to say that if you can't control your bladder of bowel you shouldn't be a WDW. What about a person with HIV, hepatitis, or simply a cold sore?? Those people are spreading disease or germs and possible contaminating others. Maybe we should all have to go through a bag and body check before entering the park. "Please open your bag, remove all bulky item, bend over, cough and say AAAHH and you'll be on your way" And after completing your exam to ensure that you are indeed disease, germ and weapon free "Have a magical day!!" WTH!!!

I'm sure that those with a disable family member with bowel or incontinece issues use good handwashing and restroom practices. Probable more than your average person simply to avoid the spead of germs TO their loved on, not FROM them!!


OP, you were right.

for the record, HIV CANNOT BE TRANSMITTED THROUGH GENERAL CONTACT... unless you are having intercourse or sharing needles in those public places, you cannot spread HIV/AIDS. generally the same is true for most forms of hepatitis... but the flu can be deadly and that is airborne, etc... I get your point, but do not agree with your choice of diseases

 

[Tigger&Belle]

OIf I have a disability it is MY problem. It is not the problem of everyone else on the planet. I would never, ever demand that some stranger be inconvenienced or even aware of my problem. The world does not owe me anything. If I have a problem it is mine and mine alone. If reasonable accommodation is made, being handicapped accessible facilities in this case, that is all that is owed. If the extent of my disability cannot be met by those reasonable accommodations then I cannot participate, plain and simple.

You can all express "Wow" forever. I've seen all of you write about some little thing that irritates you about other people. You are not holier then I. If you read what I said, I am perfectly willing to accept people with disabilities and to even encourage them to participate as long as their participation isn't at the expense of others. One should not be made to feel guilty because they don't have a disability. If someones bowel problem is such that it is a real possibility that I might come in contact with it then a public facility is not the place for them. Like it or not. If the problem can be contained then there is no reason for them to not participate.

I made that statement because it started out a question about if it was OK to use a access stall when there was no one waiting to use it. The overwhelming response was sure, it's there for them to use but it isn't an exclusive club. When that answer wasn't satisfactory then the argument because a series of "what if's". What if they have a bowel problem and the can't wait, what if they have a bladder problem and they can't wait. If they cannot wait and they are being subjected to humiliation from a group of people that are hell bent on making sure everyone, regardless of ability get's included, then it is just wrong. I'm sure the embarrassment far outweighs any pleasure that is garnered by such a visit.

There But For the Grace of God Go I...

If there's a way that I can make the life of someone else a bit easier, less stressful, happier, etc, especially without it being a huge deal to me, I'm going to opt to do that. But I hold doors for the person behind me, when I'm driving I stop to let pedestrians cross, and I let people who are trying to get into my lane get in front of me (who have their turn signal on...). It's just what feels right to me. I'm far from perfect, however I do try to treat others with care and compassion. Everyone has to draw their own line in the sand concerning this sort of thing, but I just hope that karma doesn't end up taking a big chunk out of your rear end.

 

[photobob]

I do at work, we have no persons with disabilities. We refer it as the #2 suite!

 

[FinallyBoughtDVC]

I didn't read the whole thread...I just wanted to mention a trend I've noticed lately.

A lot of establishments are installing the fold down changing tables in the handicapped accessible stall - probably because it's more roomy in there and it keeps the poop away from the sink.

So, I think there can be times when a mom or dad kind of gets stuck in that stall for reasons beyond their control.