Handicapped viewing for the parade problem

lisabarr

<font color=blue>Caused an uproar over Tag Fairy v
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Mar 20, 2005
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We have two more trips planned for this year and on our trip in Feb we went to the viewing section for wheelchairs.
When we go there, most of the sidewalk spots were taken but there were quite a few people who had accompnied a wheelchair person, sitting on the curb taking a spot. Now my son, in a wheelchair, is only 5 (4 then) and really couldn't see. A man seeing my dilema asked those people to move so my son could see. My dilema is, was that right? Should they move? Just want a few opinions for next time.
 
Yes he was. They only let one person in with the wheelchair with the understanding that they might have to move for another wheelchair.
 
pugdog said:
Yes he was. They only let one person in with the wheelchair with the understanding that they might have to move for another wheelchair.
::yes::
agree with pugdog.
When we have used the wheelchair viewing area, we were allowed in with DD and 2 people. We were told if they needed the space, one person would have to move outside the area. The CMs in the area also had people with wheelchairs/scooters park in the front. The people accompanying them were asked to stand behind the wheelchair.
 
Depending on which handicapped area you are seated in will depend on whether or not someone can sit on the curb. One area doesn't have a curb and wheelchairs are up to the rope so no one can sit in front. On the ones with a curb family members can sit on the curb in front of you but if you are not with the person you may not and will be asked to move on. I will often allow a child of one of the other wheelchair guests sit in front of my wheelchair but no way would I allow an adult. They need to stand behind the wheelchairs. My husband rarely stays in the handicapped area with me but will find a bench to sit on in a quiet area and meet me after the parade.
 

The main reason for having the accessible viewing area is so that someone in a w/c can actually see the parade. Cm's usually make people stand behind the chairs. Sometimes I've told a party with small children that they can sit in front of my chair and I'll back up a little to make room...that way the family with a w/c guest and young children can all see the parade. There is no excuse for an adult blocking the view of your child in a w/c. ---Kathy
 
I truly beleive after this last trip , that for parades , children with disabilites should have seperate viewing from adults. Most small children with disabilites need the comfort of a parent in view , especially 2,3, 4 and 5 etc year olds.. During Spectro we put our DD's chair up against the rope as we were ORDERED to do. Prior to this we had our other DD and DS sitting in Front of DD's chair not taking up ANY space from anyone.. TWO ladies in ECV's pulled up on either side of DD's Chair .. That was fine.. but they parked the ECVS then ran, yes, ran to get ice cream.. then proceeded to stand for 30 minutes in the back of the group until the parade started.. then sat in the ECV's , but what was worse, they refused to back up to allow the few other small children to sit in front.. sorry , there was no curb and these ECV's were high enough to allow smaller children to sit, heck ,even an adult could have sat in front without affecting the views. In the group there were 6 or 7 small children in chairs who needed the comfort of a parent next to or near their visual field and of course the siblings were separated. One child was even visibly upset that his mom could not sit next to him but rather had to stand behind him.. his chair was not high and the mom even offered to sit him on her lap and move the chair back.. but we were all told no the child HAD to stay in the chair to be up there .. 5-10 minutes before the parade we all nicely adjusted to accomondate this family who obviously needed to be by her child, our DD is only 4 and has a lot of fears so we too needed at least one of us to be near her. Most people were more than willing to find a workable solution for all and it was finally comfortable for everyone. So after all this , another ADULT in a chair (5 minutes to spectro) .. who came with 6 , yes 6 family memebers.. two adults, four kids.. the CM let them in and told us we ALL had to move again.. Of course most refused .. I moved back and over a little so she had room to park her chair next to us since no one moved .. she said she could see fine from back.. and she really could.. she also got up and carried a four year old back to sit on her lap.. she said she used the chair as she get's tired walking in the heat.. Again there were a lot of significantly disabled children, teens and adults being separated from their parties . The kicker.. she sent all 4 kids up front in the little space left.. TWO of them were 14-15 years old and very tall.. They pushed my two kids over.. and forced another mom to pull her child back and sit a child on her lap.. They then got rowdy . I pulled DD 's chair back a little.. told the CM that I was concerned for my DD's safety being alone up there and sat her on my lap in the spot.. when another ADULT in a chair said.. if we were not using a chair we should move.. Well I was pissed since again, this was a a fairly large adult in a disney ECV who also was walking around just fine until the parade started, who COULD have seen easily over my seated head and proceded to ask the CM for DD's parking spot.. I then put the chair behind.. and sat in front of it with DD on my lap . I told my other two kids to go in the back and stand near the fence.. they would be able to see still.. well this was not good enough for this man and he wheeled right up and pushed DD's chair with the ECV.. now I have the late lady in the chairs fours kids crowding me, and a man in an ECV pushing DD's chair which I HAD To have there or he would go and get the CM.. so finally the lady called two of her big kids back (they snuck back at the middle of the pardade and had feet hanging out of the rope.. almost on my lap, the parade people moved them back and they shoved us back.. this was not just exp. by us but also the other three kids in chairs next to us to... the lady next to us let my two small kids sit up with her, between the two of us and 4 kids, two on our laps we took up less space then two chairs..

I am so disgruntled about this.. Adults, who are MORE than able to see from slightly back over small chidlren, who are not significantly disabled that it would affect their ability to view a parade from a normal distance should be a little more respectful to small children or even teens who require a little more assistance, who require more medical care or parental care.. especially if you can RUN to get ice cream..

The disability parade viewing area's are too small and too crowded to provide the service they are designed too.. the CM's try hard to accomondate everyone but it is impossible.. we would have done better getting a regular spot along the parade route, problem is that we would not have been able to have DD's chair up front and then she could not see at all.. but we could not be too far from her chair incase of a bad seizure.. plus needed the ability to have some room to move incase she did have one.. like she had at epcot two nights prior..

At one parade, they had a MAW child sitting out of the sun until the parade started .. when we pulled in they told us that space was for him.. we had no problems with this AT ALL.. again a few minutes before , a family with an older lady in a chair pulled in an quickly went into that spot , despite us and others pointing to the boy and asking her to move she did not and we all reshuffled to make room for this child.. she too could have seen from a little bit back.. I am sorry but just because you are in a chair, ECV or have another medical need does not give you more importance than everyone else.. There was a lady who stood in the back with me and was mad because she was told to go in the back row with her family (two adults and three kids) had a GAC and felt she should have been given space for 5 of them in the front.. She had a stubbed toe, no chair, no crutches and proceeded to tell me how she just walked through all of the world showcase for the first time and was amazed how much walking it was and that her foot did not bother her too much.. but then proceeded to complain that she should have been given space up front to rest now and to see the show.. the wheelchairs were doubled up and almost touching side to side.. no one was able to stay with their groups excpet one companion.. a few of the chairs moved back to allow children to sit in front which was not asked of but offered nicely..

We did have a magical trip and had wonderful treatment for the most part from all Disney CM's .. I just felt that the small disability viewing areas and the CM's inability to control the area left alot to be desired.. but, what is more annoying is that even if you are disabled or are the parent of a disabled person the same rules about common sense should apply ... and sadly that was not the case with the exception of a few . One man said it best the last show we viewed and he has severe CP .. just because you are disabled, doesn't mean you are entitled to special FOL treatment, just entitiled to some accomondations to make your experience as good and comfortable as someone not disabled . He said this to the man in a chair next to him who had a broken ankle and would not move his family (wife and two kids) over so a few smaller kids could sit up in front. Needless to say the words were ignored....The wife could have seen quite well from the back where I stood with the other able parents and adults.. never in my life have I seen such ugly attitudes.. and sadly we did not even have it as bad as some other families did.. the rudeness of some people is just inexcusible..
 
We had a similar terrible experience on our last trip. I won't go through all the details, but my DS14 (wheelchair kid) was competing for a spot with 2 adult men in ECV's at a parade viewing spot on Main Street. Perhaps WDW should consider enlarging some of these viewing areas, as they know how many more ECV's they rent, and how many people bring their own, as well as wheelchairs. NO ADULT (except maybe a mentally challenged one) should interfere with a CHILD's enjoyment ! of course, I am a little biased on this...
 
kirlinale, we had similar experience viewing a parade at the mk :sad2: . a woman in an ECV wanted the last spot in the viewing row and the cm asked her to move over, but we thought we were being nice and said no problem we will just go to the right of her. what we didn't realize was that my son couldn't see the parade coming from the left because the evc was in the way. my son has down syndrome and pdd and unfortunately this lady had a squirting fan hanging from the handlebars that he just kept touching and we kept on telling his not to. you think the lady would have gotten the point and just moved the bottle but she just kept on looking at him with this nasty look. finally, we nicely asked her to move it because he couldn't control himself and not touch it. she just snarled at us and turned her back. i was so angry inside because this lady had to have realized that this was handicapped seating & sorry, but my son is handicapped!!!

i think it is fair for 1 person from each party to be along the curb/rope, but there should be some leadway for small children being with 1 parent to feel comfortable (and to see those wonderful facial expressions on their kid's face when they see the characters/floats pixiedust: ). and as far as not moving because you took a maw kids spot that was waiting out of the sun, that is just down right wrong :furious: .

all in all we have had mostly positive experiences, but it just takes that one rude person to steal some of your pixie dust!!
 
I agree that one person with the 'disabled' person is fine.. except I feel that for children having the person stay behind not best in all cases. I also feel that there are two different types of people using these areas.. Those who have permanantly significant disabling conditions which if not provided with an area to assist would otherwise not be able to view the parade, and , those who rent ECV's and Wheelchairs for the purpose of aiding in fatigue or distance mobility issues who *COULD* otherwise view the parade from another location.

I also believe that allowing small children to sit in the very front of Adults in ECV's not taking away from their enjoyment.. sitting in front of a child in a wheelchair or a disabled adult in a wheelchair a different story.

This is why I felt that they should have areas specifically roped off for disabled children and families and disabled adults confined to wheelchairs and another for those using ECV's/ Wheelchairs for other reasons. I am not trying to discrimanate.. but my MIL rented an ECV because she is older and the walking would have been hard for her.. but she is NOT disabled and COULD stand or sit in a nondisabled area.. She did not need to take a spot from a person who TRULY needed the space to enjoy the parade/show/etc.. There was even one time, at MGM when they were all out of wheelchair space.. a teenager and two parents came in.. My child is smaller and was easily able to be removed to sit on mine or Dh's lap in this case.. so I moved her to my lap, had DH put her chair in the back and allowed this family to be together.. you'd have thought I gave them a golden key.. Yes, I have a disabled child but I also can be reasonable, this was not the *best* set up for us, but a very workable one as we all were able to enjoy the show now.. I just wish others felt that way too.. there was a man on an ECV who probably could have moved down to a regular seat as well as he left his ECV parked in the spot and for a good portion of the show sat on the bench next to his wife.. that is the problem with the system.. he could have parked his ECV back , sat next to his wife, allowing his 'parking spot' to be used by someone who could NOT transfer to a seat.. does that make sense?
 
I am glad to see I am not the only one with these issues. I have found some people to be very rude whether at Disney or elsewhere. It seems society has such a me, me, me attitude. What are they teaching their kids? Where is the kindeness and courtesy? I was raised to be respectful, open doors, especially if someone is disabled. I can't tell you how many times I have struggled to open a door with DS wheelchair, while someone walks right by letting the door slam on us.

Let's see if we can come up with some remarks to make to rude people, because I always think what to say, too late.
 
My MIL uses an ECV only when a lot of walking is required, so obviously she had one at Disney when we went in Dec. While we did not use the special viewing areas, we did notice how crowded they looked. I feel bad for those of you who do not have a choice, but to use these areas and be crammed in there, obviously they serve a great purpose, but I think some people view them as a great way to see the parade without the long wait and try and take advantage of it.

What we did and this worked great for us was DH, myself and 2 sons and sometimes SIL would sit on the curb, then she would park the ECV parallel to the curb behind us and FIL would stand behind her. This allowed us to stay together as a family and MIL could also easily see the kids reaction to the parade. I would think that this would work for some of the larger groups with and adult in the ECV.
 
princess mom of 4 said:
We had a similar terrible experience on our last trip. I won't go through all the details, but my DS14 (wheelchair kid) was competing for a spot with 2 adult men in ECV's at a parade viewing spot on Main Street. Perhaps WDW should consider enlarging some of these viewing areas, as they know how many more ECV's they rent, and how many people bring their own, as well as wheelchairs. NO ADULT (except maybe a mentally challenged one) should interfere with a CHILD's enjoyment ! of course, I am a little biased on this...
Adults have the same right to enjoy the parades and shows as adults. I work hard to be able to visit Disney frequently though I am in pain most of the time. The seating is first come first served and if it is full too bad. You should have arrived earlier.
I would not move back to allow a child's wheelchair to be placed in front of me. I would not be able to see the parade. I arrive early to get my place and wait. Of course, I only go to the handicapped area across from Hall of the Presidents for the 3pm parade since that is where the sign language interpreters are and I also use ASL.
 
When Spectro/wishes was over, getting to the Trams/boat was a Joke .. We were on line and DH had DD in her chair and I was behind holding the hands of my other two kids.. it was a miserable exit.. we were rammed by ECV's, pushed , shoved.. but that was to be expected as it was SOOOO crowded..

However, DH had gotten a few feet a head of me and they quickly put him in the Handicapped loading area for the tram.. I let go of my kids and told them to go up with Daddy and I figured I would get there too .. but some 'fill in the blank' lady got ugly with me and said.. What , you think you are MORE important than everyone else.. and was so nasty.. I wasn't pushing but I did cut across / excused myself across the line (way right to left in order to get to where my family was) .. she just complained and complained LOUDLY .. What do you think you are the QUEEN or something!?!?!?.. My family got on the tram and they load and go in 10 seconds.. another family got in front of me and I was waiting but the family stepped off when it was too crowded and said 'we will wait' and then I tried to get to the tram door but I was blocked .. My kids waved to me as I was left standing on the platform.. the lady who told the guy they'd wait apoligised for cutting me off and blocking me.. they all felt bad that my family had gone without me.. It was not a big deal.. I'd just get the next tram.. but that Lady screaming at me and talking like that was just so uncalled for... but at least she got on the tram.. sighhh......
 
Talking Hands said:
Adults have the same right to enjoy the parades and shows as adults. I work hard to be able to visit Disney frequently though I am in pain most of the time. The seating is first come first served and if it is full too bad. You should have arrived earlier.
THANK YOU Talking Hands!! I just now read this thread and you posted this before I could.
 
I imagine there would be some safety concerns about letting small children sit on the curb in front of ECVs, so there are some good reasons not to do that.

We seldom use the handicapped viewing areas for parades, Illuminations, etc. because the areas are crowded and we can't be together. My youngest DD uses a wheelchair, but also has many other issues, especially with strangers being right next to her. That is one of the problems I see - the people without those kinds of issues (adult or children) have the right to view the show without worrying about the person next to them getting upset. And, there are people like my DD, or the young man with Down syndrome who really don't do well with the "close" environment of those viewing areas.
I could see 2 types of viewing areas - one for people who are using mobility devices and have no problem being right next to other people and another area for people who really need to have a little distance or have their family with them.

Our last time using the handicapped viewing area was pretty much a nightmare since we had to stand behind her wheelchair and her wheelchair was within touching (and hitting) distance of ECVs on both sides of her. The thing that bothered me the most was that she was directed to park right behind a tree and when Illuminations began, she really couldn't see anything except the tree trunk. Meanwhile, there were ECVs parked on both sides of her that were not even occupied - their users were sitting on a bench toward the back of the viewing area. So, the person who was least able to move around had the worst spot and the un-occupied ECVs had the best spots.

So, we choose to find spots early, have some of our family save the spots and NOT use the handicapped viewing area. That way our family can stay together and DD can roam around and then come back to her "spot" shortly before the show begins. Works better for us.
 
i hope this doesn't turn into a kids have priority over adults debate. i don't think that is what anyone here is saying. i truly believe in the first come first serve basis of seating. i have waited on the street for "regular" seating, then at the last minute have a family try to push their kid in front to the curb to cram them in because they didn't get there early enough. with that said, i think that the point is that there is no sense of common courtesy any more by many people (either handicapped or not).

one funny thing last summer, there was a HUGE line for the ferry after the fireworks. i keep a little space between my son & the people in front because he will kick or hit if someone is too close. well this family decides to jump into line in front of us just as we got to the ferry building bypassing the 45 min line that we had just waited in. you know i didn't leave that space anymore and he swung his feet and gave the lady a little kick, and she turned around and looked at him then me. i said, if you hadn't cut in line than maybe you wouldn't be getting kicked. she turned around and didn't say another thing. i am not a mean person, so i think the hot florida sun made me do it :rolleyes1 .
 
Adults have the same right to enjoy the parades and shows as adults

I don't beleive thats what I was saying. I should have said that I believe the viewing area should be for the disabled person and 1 or 2 other members of their party. What I saw was a large family, with only one person, in an ECV, taking curb space, so my son couldn't see the show. What's the limit? Whats the point of having the viewing area if 50-75% of the people aren't handicapped? Should we get there 2 hours early? 3? When does it stop?
 
lisabarr said:
I don't beleive thats what I was saying. I should have said that I believe the viewing area should be for the disabled person and 1 or 2 other members of their party. What I saw was a large family, with only one person, in an ECV, taking curb space, so my son couldn't see the show. What's the limit? Whats the point of having the viewing area if 50-75% of the people aren't handicapped? Should we get there 2 hours early? 3? When does it stop?
Their policy is for 1-2 people plus the person with a disability, so it seems the problem comes with the CMs not following their policy. On the other hand, I would not want to be a CM. On our recent trip, I saw people who refused to follow the CM's instructions. I think that follows along with the general rudeness that some people are mentioning.

We did see some very nice people on our last trip though - like when we were watching Spectromagic, a little boy wandered over in front of our party. His did moved him back and told him he could not get in front of other people. My DD also dropped something at one point and several people went to pick it up for her.
So.........civility is not totally dead.
 
I agree with Lisa about disabled adults having just as much right to view a parade as a child. I also get to those spots early and wait as long as other people on the curb in the regular viewing areas. I expect am courteous to others, not expecting special treatment or last minute consideration for others to move just for me. Since I am waiting with alot of delicate equipment and a service dog, it's not easy to keep moving every time another party arrives. I park a reasonable distance to the next chair/ecv and then expect the next party to line up next to me. When the area is full, it's full and people should then not be expected to keep shuffling and moving to accomodate late-comers. I now refuse to move once I'm settled in since I have taken the time and effort to be an appropriate distance from whoever was there before me. I will offer to have children sit in front of me or a parent of a disabled child sit in front of me to be next to their child's chair but I refuse to continue to ask my dog to get up and to have my equipment compromised to the point where I can't enjoy the parade because I'm worried about someone disconnecting my breathing tubes. There needs to be some sort of limit to how many people they try to accomodate- it seems that Disney CM's are trained never to say "no" even when it would be in the best interests of the majority. ---Kathy
 
SueM in MN said:
Their policy is for 1-2 people plus the person with a disability, so it seems the problem comes with the CMs not following their policy.

We were at a viewing area for Illuminations and were told one person only could stay with me. The others were outside the roped area. We were fine with that until we saw the CM letting some of her friends into the roped off area. They were laughing and joking standing in front of folks that had not gone right up to the fence. I do think the CMs need to take the job of monitoring these viewing areas seriously. Now that I've said that I KNOW there are some really great CMs and I thank them every chance I get.
 












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