Feel free to judge - scooter dispute

[Kim&Chris]

LOL!! I LOVE the fact that you were blocking their conversation. I'm sure that made her even more ticked...too bad. Her (and her husband's) entitlement nonsense is for the birds. Glad they didn't succeed.

 

[RunningGirl]

You did good. Line jumpers hack me off! When we were last there half of a tour group got in ToT line. The rest of the group (around a dozen people) plowed through the line to catch up with them. Totally hacked off everyone in line but no one stopped them. I just fumed the whole way through the line; you did better than I!

 

[glitterkittyy]

You did good. Line jumpers hack me off! When we were last there half of a tour group got in ToT line. The rest of the group (around a dozen people) plowed through the line to catch up with them. Totally hacked off everyone in line but no one stopped them. I just fumed the whole way through the line; you did better than I!

We had this happen with the tour group at SSE, and I was so pleased to hear the CM at the entrance say (as we wound through the line), "I'm sorry, you cannot catch up to the rest of your party. They are free to step aside and wait for you." She wouldn't let them line jump, but they complained and threatened to report her so I can understand why more CMs don't get involved.

 

[Wall-E1]

You did good. Line jumpers hack me off! When we were last there half of a tour group got in ToT line. The rest of the group (around a dozen people) plowed through the line to catch up with them. Totally hacked off everyone in line but no one stopped them. I just fumed the whole way through the line; you did better than I!

We had this happen with the tour group at SSE, and I was so pleased to hear the CM at the entrance say (as we wound through the line), "I'm sorry, you cannot catch up to the rest of your party. They are free to step aside and wait for you." She wouldn't let them line jump, but they complained and threatened to report her so I can understand why more CMs don't get involved.

I hate when the tour groups do this - the place holder tactic(one or two people wait in line, and then ten to twenty more suddenly jump in at a later time). Disney needs more cm's that are willing to tell them "no". All of them should wait on line like everyone else.

 

[handinpocket]

The worst line cutter I ever encountered was at Pirates of the Carribbean. A 20ish something girl was elbowing her way through the line saying "excuse me, excuse me". When she got about 15 people ahead of me she yelled "MOM, DAD, COME ON!!". Her parents then come cutting through the line with her Dad saying, "this isn't right, it just isn't right". He sure thought it was right enough to follow his jerk of a DD. Ugh, hate line cutters!

I was caught off guard at POTC and didn't stop the line cutters. Later that week at EPCOT, a party tried that same thing at Space Ship Earth. I put my big butt in front of them and said "oh hell no". They gave me a nasty look and said "well, exxxxxxccuuuuuuuse us". Jerks, I tell you, jerks.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

I was on line at Test Track this past weekend with a close friend. She has rheumatoid arthritis, spinal stenosis and diabetes. She is also having knee replacement surgery in the next couple of months. We were waiting in the regular line. On this ride, wheelchairs and scooters wait in line with everybody else. There was a 50 minute wait time posted when we first got in line, but the ride broke down and that added about another thirty minutes in wait time.

Well, we had been on line for about an hour, when we hear from behind us a woman telling us to excuse her. I stepped to the side as I turned around and this woman zips in front of me with her scooter. She just swerves right around my friend sitting in her wheelchair. We happened to be at the point in line where the pathway becomes thinner(this is in the area of the queue where you begin walking up the ramp. There is only enough width for one person to stand). So, this woman has the front of her scooter nosed right into the beginning of this section of line. She can't cut anyone else because the queue has become too thin. She then looks back behind me where her husband is sitting in his scooter. She tells him to catch up with her. She looks back at me and motions for me to move aside. I put my hands up and ask her what she is doing? She tells me that the cm at the entrance to the ride told her to go on through the regular line. I tell her that he meant that she could wait on the regular line and that he didn't mean that she should cut everyone in the regular line. She disagrees with me. I ask her if she is kidding. I extend my arm in the direction of the rest of the line and show her all of the other wheelchairs and scooters that have patiently been waiting in line with everybody else. At this point, I am standing beside my wheelchair so that the husband cannot catch up to his wife(I know, a little immature, but I had been waiting over an hour and I had no patience for line jumpers).

The old lady in the scooter then turns her attention to my friend in the wheelchair. She tries reasoning with her(big mistake - my friend has less patience with this type of behavior than me). She tells my friend that she has multiple sclerosis. My friend responds with the list of ailments that she suffers. The scooter lady then counters that with her age - 76. My friend is unimpressed and responds with her age - 38. The scooter lady then tries diminishing my friends' handicaps. She tells my friend that knee replacement surgery is nothing and she suffers much more each day. (I'm staying completely out of this discussion, simply enjoying the debate about who is more handicapped. The scooter lady then says that her husband is in a scooter because he had suffered a major stroke last week. My friend tells her that she is amazed that a doctor has cleared her husband to go to Disney and ride Test Track, less than a week after he suffered a major stroke. She also remarked how perfect his speech was for someone who had suffered a major stroke.

So, I made sure to keep the two scooter people split up through the rest of the line. When we made it to the front, the scooter lady tried telling the attendant that we had cut her husband off splitting them up. We quickly countered with what had actually happened. We were so delighted when the attendant had her pull forward and to the side so she could wait for her husband. We were sent right into the pre ride room. They followed right behind us after getting back together. At this point, we were escorted through another door and into the wheelchair/scooter unloading area. The scooter lady again tried telling this attendant that she was first even though we were ahead of her as we traveled to the unloading area. We laughed and told the attendant what they had been doing in line. The attendant then said very loudly to my friend and I, "You two go stand on number 1 for the front seat since you were here first. She then motioned the other couple to line 2. The looks on their face were priceless. They were so mad(it was a truly magical Disney moment).

After the ride, I helped my friend out of the car, as she doesn't have the strength to climb out on her own. The funny thing was that the old lady behind us was having the same issue. She was saying that she needed help getting out, but nobody was hearing her. If it had been anyone else, I would have gladly leant an arm for support. Instead, I just smiled and waved as we left.

This is not a "scooter dispute" as you listed in your thread title. It had nothing to do with the scooter.

It was just an extremely rude person.

How many able bodied people do yyou see on a regular basis also trying to line cut? The ones that say "their friend is up front", ducking under ropes, or the ones that just barrel through?

It happens with a scooter or not a scooter.

I think your thread title is misleading.

Oh, and by the way - LOVED the way you handled it

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I absolutely hated the guests who thought that renting a wheelchair or scooter meant no waiting. 99% of the guests using mobility devices are wonderful, but that 1% can drive you nuts.

I remember having a standoff at Philhar FP Return with a guy one night. It was about 7 or 8 at night, rainy, cold. The wait was 15 minutes, so no more than two shows depending on how you timed it. A man came up to me pushing his wife in a park wheelchair and handed me a standard wheelchair entrance GAC. I politely informed him the standard wheelchair entrance was standby. He refused to accept no. We went back and forth, and I didn't back down. What slayed me was that he stood in the rain with his wife for 20 minutes trying to stare me down then tried again! They then asked for a coordinator who backed me up and sent them to GR (and we called GR telling them the incident and they backed us up.) What slays me is that by the time all was said and done, he could have gone through at least twice!

The girl who was working stand by (a new CP) asked me why I didn't just let them in. I told her that the reason he was being persistent is that he figures if he bullies people enough he will get his way. If I give in, he will pull this at every ride. The other parks have almost no rides where being in a wheelchair automatically means using an alternate entrance since they are newer, so he had better get used to waiting.

 

[Wall-E1]

This is not a "scooter dispute" as you listed in your thread title. It had nothing to do with the scooter.

It was just an extremely rude person.

How many able bodied people do yyou see on a regular basis also trying to line cut? The ones that say "their friend is up front", ducking under ropes, or the ones that just barrel through?

It happens with a scooter or not a scooter.

I think your thread title is misleading.

Oh, and by the way - LOVED the way you handled it

I agree! Let's report him to the mods

What made this attempted line cut so amusing was the debate between my friend and the old lady over whose disability was more serious. It reminded me of the old "Cripple Fight" South Park episode. I was expecting to see some wheelchair/scooter bumping at any moment.

 

[DVCJones]

I am happy to hear you stood your ground. I think it helped that you had someone in a scooter too. I don't think the average guest would not have taken her on at the risk of looking insensitive to a person in a wheelchair.

I know I probably wouldn't have said anything in that situation only because she was in a wheelchair. I probably would have let it slide even though I wouldn't have been happy about it. I would however put up the "block" for another able bodied "line cutter."

 

[SueM in MN]

I don't use a scooter as a rule but in Disney I do for reasons similar to your friend minus the diabetes. I think the problem is that people rent thses things for the right of entitlement. Years ago wheelchairs meant little or no wait. Disney realized the abuse and now make us go through the regular lines as much as possible.
I would have done the exact same thing that you did. Some people are determined to try and suck the magic out of Disney for everyone else. I'm glad the CM's out her in her place.

Many of the lines were actually not accessible in the ‘way past’. They were designed to ‘deliver’ a single file line of guests to the boarding area, which meant someone using a wheelchair or ECV could not come into the line.
As they renovated and added attractions, they also added accessibility in the main line - this was actually required by the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act).

I did tell her that what the cm meant was that she could wait on the regular line, and that he was not telling her to cut everybody. Disney has separate entrances for scooters and wheelchairs when the lines aren't wide enough to accommodate them. They would never send handicapped people through a line of hundreds of people, telling them to cut everyone. She still disagreed with me, even after me pointing out others in scooters and wheelchairs waiting their turn in line. This woman knew exactly what she was doing and was trying to find any excuse that would get her to the front of the line faster. Why else would she then switch her tactic and begin trying to gain sympathy in order to get a better line position? She seemed like a seasoned line cutter to me.

I think you are right.
She sounds like she had done this before.
I don’t know why anyone would think they were supposed to pass everyone in line if the CM told them to get into line.

 

[Sleepy]

The old lady in the scooter then turns her attention to my friend in the wheelchair. She tries reasoning with her(big mistake - my friend has less patience with this type of behavior than me). She tells my friend that she has multiple sclerosis. My friend responds with the list of ailments that she suffers. The scooter lady then counters that with her age - 76. My friend is unimpressed and responds with her age - 38. The scooter lady then tries diminishing my friends' handicaps. She tells my friend that knee replacement surgery is nothing and she suffers much more each day. (I'm staying completely out of this discussion, simply enjoying the debate about who is more handicapped. The scooter lady then says that her husband is in a scooter because he had suffered a major stroke last week. My friend tells her that she is amazed that a doctor has cleared her husband to go to Disney and ride Test Track, less than a week after he suffered a major stroke. She also remarked how perfect his speech was for someone who had suffered a major stroke.

I will probably go to a place with a lot of fire for thinking these situations are amusing, but they are when you are a bystander. I see this sort of thing all the time on public transportation (buses). The old people think they are entitled to sit in the handicapped seats because they are old. I especially love it when an old person tries to make a young person move out of that handicapped seat. The young person shows a rather fresh scar that runs the entire knee or leg and then the old person goes on and on about their ailments and procedes to show their scar too (might not even effect the ability to stand). Old person tries to trump young person with age. I like the old vs old fights. They get interesting.

The best situations are the old people who think they should be able to choose which handicapped seat they want to sit in. For example, there are 2 handicapped seats and one is taken. Another old person gets on the bus and demands the person in the handicapped seat to move because they want THAT seat. The empty handicapped seat is across the aisle....about 2 feet away.

Don't these people understand the concept of first come first serve?

 

[Praying Colonel]

Just wanted to say that if this thread was on the Theme Parks board, we'd already be at Page 11.

 

[Wall-E1]

Just wanted to say that if this thread was on the Theme Parks board, we'd already be at Page 11.

I'll move it right on over for you.