Guest Assistance Cards ending, to be replaced with Fastpasses?

[AndreaA]

For those who think that re-riding is going to be abused. Seriously? How many people do you know who would want to ride It's A Small World more than once in a row? Of that number, how many would be willing to wait in a line and lie about a condition they don't have in order to ride that one ride multiple times?Most people, yes, even most children, want to move on to the next exciting thing.

It's pretty sad that some people are perfectly accepting of the fact that life isn't fair, but then turn around and say that the lines in Disney World had darn well better be. What makes Disney so special? Why should everything there have to be evens-stevens when the rest of life is clearly not? I've said it before, and I'll say it again. How's about we all decide that life isn't fair ANYWHERE. Some people have a lifetime of illness/disability to deal with and some people have to wait a few extra minutes in a theme park ride.

 

[OurBigTrip]

For those who think that re-riding is going to be abused. Seriously? How many people do you know who would want to ride It's A Small World more than once in a row? Of that number, how many would be willing to wait in a line and lie about a condition they don't have in order to ride that one ride multiple times?Most people, yes, even most children, want to move on to the next exciting thing.

Anyone doing it is abuse, except for Wish kids.

It's pretty sad that some people are perfectly accepting of the fact that life isn't fair, but then turn around and say that the lines in Disney World had darn well better be. What makes Disney so special? Why should everything there have to be evens-stevens when the rest of life is clearly not? I've said it before, and I'll say it again. How's about we all decide that life isn't fair ANYWHERE. Some people have a lifetime of illness/disability to deal with and some people have to wait a few extra minutes in a theme park ride.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - it isn't just a few minutes when someone is riding a ride 8 or 9 times.

No one is expecting life to be perfectly fair all the time. At the same time, a company shouldn't be lavishing such extreme favoritism on one group to the point that NT kids are waiting an hour or more for a ride while an ASD kid rides 8 or 9 times with no wait.

No group should be able to enhance their own experience at the expense of everyone else.

 

[mrzrich]

I am curious what types of accommodations those same families use at the airport, driving long distance, pumpkin farm, petting zoo, carnivals, children's museum...the list is endless.

For my family, we simply don't go to those places.

We tried to vacation elsewhere, my DS can't handle it.

Disney has been a godsend for our family. At age 6 it was the first place he pooped on a toilet instead of his pants (TMI?). At age 10 it was the first time he looked at a server in a restaurant and ordered for himself. At Age 13 we are working on pin trading with CM's as a way to socialize him.

I'm lucky, he doesn't loop, and if a standby wait is less than 30 minutes we can tough it out.

In the past we were able to plan a social story with him regarding the oder of his rides. For those not familiar with social story its sort of like dress rehearsal were you plan the schedule of events.

" First Jungle Cruise, the POTC, then BTMRR. "

He gets to the point where he repeats the above sentence over and over for weeks before a trip.

When the schedule does not go according to plan there is often screaming and flailing and jumping.

When he was younger, it was easy to manage, but as he gets bigger, this behavior gets harder. As inappropriate as that Hippie lady was, I really did feel for her in that regard. I can't imagine how i would explain to my son that because he is now bigger than I can handle, he could no longer go to his favorite place

The old system helped our family greatly. I am going next week with a positive attitude and a smile on my face. I'm happy that I don't have to take him to the ride for the return time, he would freak if we approached Buzz Light Year and he couldn't ride it.

I have gone alone with him on "Mommy and Me" trips a few times in the past.. Not sure if we'll be able to manage those under the new system.

I don't qualify for FP+ next week. In the future I hope FP+ alleviates some worry.

 

[livndisney]

My bad - I completely misunderstood!! Thanks for clarifying!

No worries

 

[mrzrich]

I think you missed my point. The access being given is not for all disabled children. Just one group of disabilities. So waiting in line are all the other children AND other children with disabilities other than autism. Not what I call equal.

Sue from the Disabilities Board can clarify this, but she chimed in last night that the person spreading this miscommunication was mistaken. They are not limiting DAS or any particular accommodation to Autistic kids. Apparently the person who posted this just had the misfortune of talking to a misinformed CM.

 

[FireDancer]

For those who think that re-riding is going to be abused. Seriously? How many people do you know who would want to ride It's A Small World more than once in a row? Of that number, how many would be willing to wait in a line and lie about a condition they don't have in order to ride that one ride multiple times?Most people, yes, even most children, want to move on to the next exciting thing.

It's pretty sad that some people are perfectly accepting of the fact that life isn't fair, but then turn around and say that the lines in Disney World had darn well better be. What makes Disney so special? Why should everything there have to be evens-stevens when the rest of life is clearly not? I've said it before, and I'll say it again. How's about we all decide that life isn't fair ANYWHERE. Some people have a lifetime of illness/disability to deal with and some people have to wait a few extra minutes in a theme park ride.

Don't confuse a company's policies with life. A company's policies should strive for fairness. Evens-stevens as you call it as a matter of policy. Not as a matter of totality of life. They can not and should not make up for unfairness in other aspects of life.

It is almost as though some want Disney to have policies that skew unfair in their favor to make of for other aspects of life that skew unfair against their favor. That is never a legitimate argument. Their policies should strive for accommodation without inconveniencing anyone else. That isn't the same as making life fair and those two things should never be confused for each other.

I like the policy of allowing for an alternative way for people to wait. Any accommodation that can be made without either disadvantaging other guests or giving an additional benefit to those who are being accommodated that others can't have is great. I am not black and white on this issue. I'm all for anything that levels the field as much as possible as long as it doesn't over correct.

 

[Vidia2]

.

 

[OurBigTrip]

Did that woman have autism?

Here's the thing about people filing lawsuits over autistic kids getting to loop rides: It would never hold up in court. There are a staggering number of actual experts who would say that some people with autism need to ride certain rides (as well as other things) repeatedly BECAUSE of their disability. Disney has done their homework on this issue.

That's all I'm going to say on that issue because this argument cannot be won and the thread willl eventually get shutdown over this one sticking point.

I just want to say one more thing though about what someone above mentioned regarding employment as a comparison. Where I live disabled people can be hired on a non-competitive basis. That means that if someone applies for a job, the other non-disabled applicants can be discarded as competition. This has nothing to do with Disney, except their stores here, I suppose. This was voted into law here so it's not something that no one wants. I'm just glad I live in a place that's giving equal opportunity (or a leg up) to the disabled.

Yes, I know, you believe that there are kids that "need" to ride multiple times.

What harm comes to them if they don't? If there is no physical harm, then it's not a need.

As to the law in your area, are you actually saying that you don't support hiring the most qualified person for a job? That it should go to the disabled applicant, even if they aren't the best qualified?

 

[livndisney]

Sue from the Disabilities Board can clarify this, but she chimed in last night that the person spreading this miscommunication was mistaken. They are not limiting DAS or any particular accommodation to Autistic kids. Apparently the person who posted this just had the misfortune of talking to a misinformed CM.

That was about getting a DAS-we are talking about looping due to a disability.

 

[AndreaA]

Did that woman have autism?

Here's the thing about people filing lawsuits over autistic kids getting to loop rides: It would never hold up in court. There are a staggering number of actual experts who would say that some people with autism need to ride certain rides (as well as other things) repeatedly BECAUSE of their disability. Disney has done their homework on this issue.

That's all I'm going to say on that issue because this argument cannot be won and the thread willl eventually get shutdown over this one sticking point.

No, that woman did not have autism. The case was really completely different. She was basically using ToT in lieu of an expensive medical treatment. Parents of kids with autism or other neurological/physical issues are not letting their kids loop rides as a part of some medical treatment to save themselves money.

 

[livndisney]

Did that woman have autism?

Here's the thing about people filing lawsuits over autistic kids getting to loop rides: It would never hold up in court. There are a staggering number of actual experts who would say that some people with autism need to ride certain rides (as well as other things) repeatedly BECAUSE of their disability. Disney has done their homework on this issue.

That's all I'm going to say on that issue because this argument cannot be won and the thread willl eventually get shutdown over this one sticking point.

I just want to say one more thing though about what someone above mentioned regarding employment as a comparison. Where I live disabled people can be hired on a non-competitive basis. That means that if someone applies for a job, the other non-disabled applicants can be discarded as competition. This has nothing to do with Disney, except their stores here, I suppose. This was voted into law here so it's not something that no one wants. I'm just glad I live in a place that's giving equal opportunity (or a leg up) to the disabled.

I think you may be confusing two issues. One is the DAS being given to those with disabilities. The other issue is those with a specific diagnosis being given a higher level of access.

 

[AndreaA]

As to the law in your area, are you actually saying that you don't support hiring the most qualified person for a job? That it should go to the disabled applicant, even if they aren't the best qualified?

Guess what? This happens all the time with various racial groups and even genders as well. To say nothing of college admissions.

 

[OurBigTrip]

No, that woman did not have autism. The case was really completely different. She was basically using ToT in lieu of another expensive medical treatment. Parents of kids with autism are not letting their kids loop rides as a part of some medical treatment to save themselves money.

They're doing it because they say that it's a "need" - while I agree 100% that it isn't the same as a medical treatment by any stretch, they're still claiming that their child will be harmed if they can't loop.

 

[mrzrich]

A few years ago I was waiting Standby for POTC a a very large group of kids in Wheelchairs and their CG Queued up on the other side just as we were about to be corralled into the stalls. The CM held us back and started loading the boats with the handicapped kids. They took up 4 boats.

There was an able body man in front of me with his son (about 8) He started to get loud, and stupid. Yelling about how it wasn't fair, we were here first, etc, etc. (What a lesson in compassion for his son )



The thing is how long did waiting for that extra 4 boats to load really take? Maybe 3 minutes? And that was with transferring all those kids out of their chairs.

Did that 3 minutes take away from my enjoyment of the day? Not one bit. The worst part was listening to the ignoramus in front of me.

 

[AndreaA]

They're doing it because they say that it's a "need" - while I agree 100% that it isn't the same as a medical treatment by any stretch, they're still claiming that their child will be harmed if they can't loop.

And in some cases they are correct. Obviously you don't believe that and nothing will change your mind, but actual bona fide experts will disagree with you.

 

[livndisney]

They're doing it because they say that it's a "need" - while I agree 100% that it isn't the same as a medical treatment by any stretch, they're still claiming that their child will be harmed if they can't loop.

You mean I did not have to ride IASW all those times with my child?


(sorry couldn't help it)

 

[Vidia2]

.

 

[OurBigTrip]

Guess what? This happens all the time with various racial groups and even genders as well. To say nothing of college admissions.

Yep, and courts are starting to see that this is also a form of discrimination.

Especially in college admissions.

 

[OurBigTrip]

You can ask an expert on autism regarding what harm will come to them. Maybe they would be no more harmed than if you took their parents away which isn't physical harm. Maybe self-harm isn't physical harm to some but it is to the experts. I'm sure Disney spent a lot of money researching this in depth. It's no surprise that they are asking people specifically is they have autism, as this would give them the legal ground to provide them with something that isn't offered to others. If they were to ask for proof I doubt that any parents of children with autism would hesitate in.

As for the law in my area...I voted for it as did the majority of the population here so yes, I absolutely believe that the job should go to the disabled applicant. The way the law is written, the disabled applicant has to be qualified but not the most qualified. I'm not alone in my thinking. There are many other laws in place throughout the country that help the disabled as well as people who are less fortunate than others to be given special consideration or a special place in line for many, many things.

So in other words, no one can prove there is any harm. That's a want, not a need.

Based on your second paragraph, I see clearly where our differences lie - you support discrimination, whereas I don't. I believe people should get their jobs based on merit, not on pity.

 

[mefordis]

Just to clarify what I've learned about DAS:

Someone can go to Guest Services and say their child needs to loop on a certain ride or rides and they get a loop pass.

Someone can go to Guest Services and say their child can only stay in the park 90 mins for example and they can get a front of the line pass.

I have read the above. I just want to make sure I am correct.

As for the emotional woman on Youtube, why didn't she just get these for her son?