Experiences at wdw with the "stare"

[samshane]

I just had to tell you of our experience in WDW about 6 yrs ago when my DD was 5.

At the time she had alopecia universalis (she has since grown some patchy hair back) - she she was entirely hairless. We were waiting for that train in Animal Kingdom when I heard a mom reprimanding her child for staring at mine.

I turned around and suddenly it turned into an educational session about alopecia. I just wanted to explain to them what my DD had and it turned into a really great experience for everyone. They asked questions, I answered them and we chatted about other things as well (I still remember they were from England that the man commented how he must have a form of alopecia cause he had male pattern baldness) Suddenly - we had a bunch of people gathering around since we were all waiting and we were just talking about it.

I wish you the best! We still get looks - but we are so used to them now that we just blow them off.

 

[pampam]

Many years ago, My son went thru a hair-pulling phase ( trichotillomania) and it was very, very obvious with all the "bare to the scalp patches" he had on his head. YES, there were stares but I didn't blame anyone for looking, because I myself have noticed something different about someone and "looked", too. It's human curiosity. So if I felt the need to explain because of the "extra long stare", I spoke up. But never confrontationally-only to engage in conversation.

I believe you'll find most guests at WDW will hope your WDW vacation is everything you hope for and want it to be!!

I would take my cues from your son- ask him how he feels and what he thinks is an acceptable response ( if any)


Enjoy your family time

A little off topic, but your post reminded me of it.

We were at Downtown Disney. Now, we know there are a lot of heart-tugging sights at WDW, but this little girl was in a stroller and her mom was taking her picture. Unfortunatly, this little child had a yellow face. Was it burned? Did she have some sort of protective mask on? I took a second look and realized the whole scene was done up in Lego bricks. Did I ever feel foolish!

 

[Escape2Disney]

Many of these posts have brought tears to my eyes! Thank you for sharing!

I have AS and travel with a scooter and service dog. Last year was my dog's first time to a Disney park (DLR). Before taking him I got lots of stares and questions, and encountered a LOT of people who treated me like furniture! One guy even used my head as support while he stepped over my scooter! There are ignorant people in this world. The more immobile I get, the more apparent this is to me.

Now that I have the dog, people give me more personal space. Not once did someone step over me . I did have quite a few more questions though. My favorites:

- You're not blind! Do you really deserve a service dog??
- Does the dog do tricks? "Show me what you can do puppy!!"
- Is that a REAL service dog?
- Don't you think bringing a dog here is being mean to him?
- Why CAN'T I pet the dog! I'm nice!
- It's okay, MY daughter can pet the dog. She loves dogs!

....and the most crazy.....while my dog was relieving himself (in the appropriate location) someone started taking flash pictures. Really? You want a photo of a dog making a pile?? The poor dog got stage fright and couldn't use that spot again the whole trip!

My daughter gets frustrated by the constant chorus of "OH LOOK, A DOG!" and the PARENT saying "Go ask the lady if you can pet the dog." She got frustrated on the 6th day and started pointing back saying "MOM! LOOOOKKK, A HUMAN CHILD!!!!" - I figured it was time to take a break.

As far as the disability stares, I'm starting to get used to them. I have a daughter who had a large tumor over her eye (now fixed), another with high functioning autism, and I've had AS for years. We've had practice answering the questions in short, polite ways that encourage people to move on. I prefer the polite questions to the long intimidating stares.

 

[JennyDrake]

On our last trip to the world, I had to use a wheelchair due to cancer.


So, before I left home, I bought a ton of those little glow sticks, the wrap around lights, decorations (the .99 cent store was my friend!) such as cheap garland, confetti, etc..etc..etc.. and then my family and I decorated the wheelchair.

It became a daily fun activity, for the whole family, to do before we hit the parks or after we were done at the parks before we went to bed to decorate the wheelchair.

I have a couple of friends that use chairs (full time); they said they learned in rehab that most children stare because they are AFRAID of the chair as well as the person in it, so they began decorating their chairs. They say many smaller children are taken aback at suddenly being on eye level with an adult. The decorations make the chair less scary and open the door to be friendly.

Last Christmas at Cape May there was a gentleman in a greatly decorated chair (flashing Christmas tree lights, ornaments, you name it!) I kept looking and finally approached him and asked him if I could REALLY look at it as I was "wowed!" He said he liked it when people acknowledged his chair instead of pretending it didn't exist and looking away. He said, "After they see MY chair, then they see MY PERSON." I thought that was a great line.

 

[mickey&minniealways]

To the original poster I would not suggest business cards. It could as if you are soliciting. I better idea might be to get a pin trading lanyard. Attach a ID tag or something like it. Write in big letters the problem. When someone stares just flash the card. Meanwhile he might really like pin trading. If you pm me before you go I would love to send him his first pin.

 

[livndisney]

To the original poster I would not suggest business cards. It could as if you are soliciting. I better idea might be to get a pin trading lanyard. Attach a ID tag or something like it. Write in big letters the problem. When someone stares just flash the card. Meanwhile he might really like pin trading. If you pm me before you go I would love to send him his first pin.

Per Disney-they do not consider this "soliciting".

 

[LILOLO]

and my favorite " Turn around and mind your business...I am not wondering why you are such an idiot!"

Tish

I just cracked up laughing, that is such a funny idea for a shirt!

OP, I hope you have an amazing time