Wall-E1
Dis Dad
- Joined
- May 12, 2008
- Messages
- 4,266
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.
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.
