How should we follow up with this?

[nighttowll]

I don't think the note was really called for, and it would make me upset, but I think all the recent publicity in the news about people hiring disabled people to take them to Disney and abusing the GAC cards has a lot of people upset. People who might not normally say or do anything, but now feel it is their duty to police Disney, so I could see someone saying something whose looking at it from that point of view.

I've heard so many comments from random people recently about the rampant abuse of disability services at Disney. Comments from people who've never even gone to Disney and from ones who don't even plan on going. Yet, they all seem to know that they should hire a disabled person or get a card to avoid lines. It seems to me that all the publicity, instead of helping the situation and stopping the abuse, is just causing more issues for people with legitimate invisible diseases. I'm expecting similar issues to yours in Sept. as my teenage sister needs a GAC at times, and you always here negative comments about teens who are "perfectly healthy" so they must be abusing the system. I wish they'd look at her "perfectly healthy" test results. I'd like to see those.

I'd do the same thing you did, report it, in case there is a pattern and then let it go. It's frustrating and makes me mad on the one hand, but I can also see how some one could be upset if they thought you or me were cheating the system when they were following the rules. I just have to remind myself that they don't understand what's its like and as long as they aren't hateful just uninformed, I can deal with it.

 

[aubriee]

Personally I would have just tore the note up and ignored it. You can't fix stupid. Your family had a right to park there and did nothing wrong. I had an incident at WalMart a few months ago with a lady. I have my own handicap tag, plus my elderly mom who moved in with me several years ago also has her own, so we are doubly covered. However, a few months ago, we had to go to WalMart to pick up something that wouldn't fit in the car, so took my crew cab pick up. As we were getting out of the truck, some lady pulled up behind us and started yelling about us parking in the handicap spot. Funny thing it was very early in the morning and there were several handicap spots open, including one right beside of us and two across from us. At first I just pointed to my handicap tag, but about that time my mom hobbled around from the other side of the truck using her cane and was asking me about getting a cart for her to ride into the store as she didn't think she was going to be able to make it in without one. I just raised my eyebrows at the woman and she huffed that that still didn't mean we had a right to park there and I could have just dropped my mom off at the front door and if the handicapped person isn't the one driving then you can't park there. I told her that'd be fine, but that particular handicap tag just so happened to be mine and that my mom had her own. She looked me up and down and said "there is nothing wrong with you", at which point I laughed and told her I was glad she could see into me and knew more than my doctor did. This idiot just wouldn't give up, so I just walked off. Her parting shot is what was hilarious though. She yelled out her window that if I could drive a big truck I couldn't possibly be handicapped and would be in a car. I'm still not sure why driving a pickup could prove I wasn't handicapped. This idiot didn't even have a handicap tag, was not wanting a handicap parking space, plus there were several handicap spaces open anyway. She saw me sliding out of my truck and for some reason decided to be the handicap patrol and harass me.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Personally I would have just tore the note up and ignored it. You can't fix stupid. Your family had a right to park there and did nothing wrong. I had an incident at WalMart a few months ago with a lady. I have my own handicap tag, plus my elderly mom who moved in with me several years ago also has her own, so we are doubly covered. However, a few months ago, we had to go to WalMart to pick up something that wouldn't fit in the car, so took my crew cab pick up. As we were getting out of the truck, some lady pulled up behind us and started yelling about us parking in the handicap spot. Funny thing it was very early in the morning and there were several handicap spots open, including one right beside of us and two across from us. At first I just pointed to my handicap tag, but about that time my mom hobbled around from the other side of the truck using her cane and was asking me about getting a cart for her to ride into the store as she didn't think she was going to be able to make it in without one. I just raised my eyebrows at the woman and she huffed that that still didn't mean we had a right to park there and I could have just dropped my mom off at the front door and if the handicapped person isn't the one driving then you can't park there. I told her that'd be fine, but that particular handicap tag just so happened to be mine and that my mom had her own. She looked me up and down and said "there is nothing wrong with you", at which point I laughed and told her I was glad she could see into me and knew more than my doctor did. This idiot just wouldn't give up, so I just walked off. Her parting shot is what was hilarious though. She yelled out her window that if I could drive a big truck I couldn't possibly be handicapped and would be in a car. I'm still not sure why driving a pickup could prove I wasn't handicapped. This idiot didn't even have a handicap tag, was not wanting a handicap parking space, plus there were several handicap spaces open anyway. She saw me sliding out of my truck and for some reason decided to be the handicap patrol and harass me.

You're right. You can't fix stoopid. Unbelievable. That woman truly needs to get a life. But if you told her she's out of her mind, she might claim that as a disability and ask her dr for a hang tag for herself.

 

[Phoebus]

Handicapped parking spaces are reserved for those with mobility issues and your brother simply got called out for abusing the system. Your 5 year old niece obviously appeared healthy so how hard would it have been to push the child's stroller another 50 feet and leave the space for someone who truly needs it? As a parent of a wheelchair bound child with CP (who rarely uses handicapped parking), I applaud the person who left the note.

 

[utterrandomness]

Handicapped parking spaces are reserved for those with mobility issues and your brother simply got called out for abusing the system. Your 5 year old niece obviously appeared healthy so how hard would it have been to push the child's stroller another 50 feet and leave the space for someone who truly needs it? As a parent of a wheelchair bound child with CP (who rarely uses handicapped parking), I applaud the person who left the note.

Handicapped parking spaces are reserved for people who need them, as assessed by the government offices that issue the tags and their doctor. This family was issued a tag for their medically fragile daughter. Appearing healthy has nothing to do with it. Many autoimmune disorders do give people mobility issues by the way. You do not know their circumstances and you're really being quite rude. Perhaps the child only gets a limited number of pain free steps per day and doesn't like the stroller. Perhaps the parent can only push the stroller for so long each day and they want to get the most out of their day. Perhaps it's none of your business why people with legitimate need use handicapped parking. Notes like this are shameful and they're harmful to people who have a legitimate need, while people who really are cheating and faking don't care. If they cared, they wouldn't park there in the first place.

 

[Phoebus]

Handicapped parking spaces are reserved for people who need them, as assessed by the government offices that issue the tags and their doctor. This family was issued a tag for their medically fragile daughter. Appearing healthy has nothing to do with it. Many autoimmune disorders do give people mobility issues by the way. You do not know their circumstances and you're really being quite rude. Perhaps the child only gets a limited number of pain free steps per day and doesn't like the stroller. Perhaps the parent can only push the stroller for so long each day and they want to get the most out of their day. Perhaps it's none of your business why people with legitimate need use handicapped parking. Notes like this are shameful and they're harmful to people who have a legitimate need, while people who really are cheating and faking don't care. If they cared, they wouldn't park there in the first place.

It is my business because it is attitudes like yours (and this families) that is going to lead to handicapped privileges being taken away for those who "truly" need them. Just because you have a handicapped parking pass or a GAC (which they apparently give out like candy), doesn't mean you should automatically utilize the benefit. That parking place should have been left open for someone elderly or someone who had a wheelchair accessible van. This family had a stroller.

 

[utterrandomness]

It is my business because it is attitudes like yours (and this families) that is going to lead to handicapped privileges being taken away for those who "truly" need them. Just because you have a handicapped parking pass or a GAC (which they apparently give out like candy), doesn't mean you should automatically utilize the benefit. That parking place should have been left open for someone elderly or someone who had a wheelchair accessible van. This family had a stroller.

Accessibility isn't just for the elderly and people who use wheelchairs.

 

[ToddyLu]

Handicapped parking spaces are reserved for those with mobility issues and your brother simply got called out for abusing the system. Your 5 year old niece obviously appeared healthy so how hard would it have been to push the child's stroller another 50 feet and leave the space for someone who truly needs it? As a parent of a wheelchair bound child with CP (who rarely uses handicapped parking), I applaud the person who left the note.

Really???!!!???? I mean, really????!!!??? And I thought the OP's initial post made me upset at the insensitivity of people.....geez

 

[mdvlprof]

Don't let it ruin your vacation.

In defense of person writing note - they probably thought [incorrectly] that someone was using tag fraudulently.
We have a neighbor who does. Has his dad's tag. Dad doesn't live w/ him. Treats tag as his own, even tho he mows, chops lumber, does yard work, remodels houses, etc. Even the local police know about it, but there's nothing they can do.

 

[leftaslide]

All consideration towards this note is void and null based on the atrocious spelling. That being said, ignorance is bliss, and these folks have no right to do what they did, since they can't have the first clue as to what your family is dealing with. Shrug it off and know that you're not doing anything wrong. Have fun and stay positive!

 

[Granny square]

It is my business because it is attitudes like yours (and this families) that is going to lead to handicapped privileges being taken away for those who "truly" need them. Just because you have a handicapped parking pass or a GAC (which they apparently give out like candy), doesn't mean you should automatically utilize the benefit. That parking place should have been left open for someone elderly or someone who had a wheelchair accessible van. This family had a stroller.

So if someone has a small wheelchair (as my niece does) they shouldn't use the space? Same as a wheelchair as stroller.

Op, ignorance is so sad. I hope your vacation is filled with joy spending time with family.

 

[jlaalja]

We have a handicap parking tag for my daughter who is 14. She uses a special needs stroller because she can not walk the kind of distances that you have at Disney. The problem is not that we can't push her the distance from a regular spot - the problem is that strollers & wheelchairs have to be folded to ride the trams to get to the front of the park and this is impossible for us. It's impossible to judge someone else's circumstances from a glance.

 

[SteveMouse]

Disabled parking is regulated by the state, not Disney.

Reciprocity aside, Florida's disabled parking application permit specifies the conditions under which someone may apply:

a. Legally Blind (This is the only disability an Optometrist can certify.)
b. Inability to walk without the use of or assistance from a brace, cane, crutch, prosthetic device, or other assistive device, or without assistance of another person. If the assistive device significantly restores the person's ability to walk to the extent that the person can walk without severe limitation, the person is not eligible for the exemption parking permit.
c. The need to permanently use a wheelchair.
d. Restriction by lung disease to the extent that the person's forced (respiratory) expiratory volume for 1 second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one liter or the person's arterial oxygen is less than 60 mm/hg on room air at rest.
e. Use of portable oxygen.
f. Restriction by cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to standards set by the American Heart Association.
g. Severe limitation in a person's ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition.

If I was familiar with the conditions above and saw a child being pushed in what I perceived to be a stroller, not a wheelchair (and I expect more people probably have a (perceived) notion of what a wheelchair is than a "stroller as wheelchair" tag that is a Disney creation in and of itself and holds no legal standing, I might also be tempted to leave a note (with proper spelling). In some ways, that's nicer than calling the police and asking them to ticket a vehicle because of the unlawful use of a handicapped/disabled parking tag, which is another choice the notewriter had (calling the police to complain about a suspected misuse of a tag) (but did not make).

 

[utterrandomness]

Our daughter has a small wheelchair and we don't use handicapped parking unless it is the last resort. So are you saying that people who have handicapped parking passes and GACs should always use them no matter what? No wonder Disney is rethinking the GAC.

And I'm so glad for you that you can do that, but that isn't the case for everyone. You do not know people's circumstances. There are people with disabilities you've never even heard of. I can understand why you're defensive, but your "faker" rhetoric is more dangerous for people with invisible disabilities than a few "fakers" is for you and your child.

 

[Granny square]

And I'm so glad for you that you can do that, but that isn't the case for everyone. You do not know people's circumstances. There are people with disabilities you've never even heard of. I can understand why you're defensive, but your "faker" rhetoric is more dangerous for people with invisible disabilities than a few "fakers" is for you and your child.

Exactly. It is up to the parent to decide what is best for their child in that circumstance.

 

[Granny square]

Disabled parking is regulated by the state, not Disney.

Reciprocity aside, Florida's disabled parking application permit specifies the conditions under which someone may apply:

a. Legally Blind (This is the only disability an Optometrist can certify.)
b. Inability to walk without the use of or assistance from a brace, cane, crutch, prosthetic device, or other assistive device, or without assistance of another person. If the assistive device significantly restores the person's ability to walk to the extent that the person can walk without severe limitation, the person is not eligible for the exemption parking permit.
c. The need to permanently use a wheelchair.
d. Restriction by lung disease to the extent that the person's forced (respiratory) expiratory volume for 1 second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one liter or the person's arterial oxygen is less than 60 mm/hg on room air at rest.
e. Use of portable oxygen.
f. Restriction by cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to standards set by the American Heart Association.
g. Severe limitation in a person's ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition.

If I was familiar with the conditions above and saw a child being pushed in what I perceived to be a stroller, not a wheelchair (and I expect more people probably have a (perceived) notion of what a wheelchair is than a "stroller as wheelchair" tag that is a Disney creation in and of itself and holds no legal standing, I might also be tempted to leave a note (with proper spelling). In some ways, that's nicer than calling the police and asking them to ticket a vehicle because of the unlawful use of a handicapped/disabled parking tag, which is another choice the notewriter had (but did not make).

"Nice" isn't necessary with cheaters and is rude to those who have a medical need.

Lol, didn't mean that to come off as curt as it did!

 

[WheeledTraveler]

I agree that the whole note itself is ridiculous. If you actually read all the rules about handicapped placards/plates, they do say that when possible, it's preferable for the person to whom the placard/plate is issued to be dropped off (with or without companions) and the car parked in a non-handicapped space, but that's a rule that's rarely enforced and really often isn't practical.

I have been known to leave notes on cars with no placard or handicapped (or veteran) plates, but I try not to be rude about it. If I actually see the person, I tend to say something like "Excuse me, you've forgotten to put your placard up". I've also left notes for people who've parked on the cross-hatches blocking others in and once had to get a guy called out of a grocery store to move his car so that I could get out. He tried to argue that he had a placard so could park there (parking in the cross-hatches is not legal for anyone) and then tried to just pull through to the cross-hatches for the space in the next row, but he noticed me get my phone out (I was going to call the police non-emergency line) and went and parked in an empty handicapped spot (yes, there were empty spots). I do occasionally forget to put my placard up (you're really not supposed to drive with them hanging and I find that it does block a little of my view). At those times I'd only be upset if a note was rude, but there's nothing I can do about people being jerks. I always feel lucky in those cases that I've never been ticketed. I'd never leave a note for someone who has a placard and/or plates and is parked legally no matter what they looked like. Occasionally I may look a second time, but that's usually when it looks like Grandma/Grandpa has been left in the car with her/his placard while someone non-disabled is in a store and there are no free handicapped spots. I still wouldn't say anything because I'm sure at least one point when I was out with my grandmother, I left her in the car while I went into a store (I used my placard, but there's no way for anyone walking by to know that).

I looked non-disabled when I first started needing to use a placard. I was 18, too, so you can imagine the looks I got. I know how crappy it is to always feel challenged. (This is also one of the reasons I don't challenge people on handicapped stalls in restrooms; you never know what someone's needs are.)

My absolute scariest parking experience, though, was after I became a wheelchair user (not at WDW). There was only one handicapped space (and I couldn't use any other space because the spaces were too narrow for me to get my chair out). An older man happened to pull into the parking lot as I was parking and he started yelling at me about how I wasn't disabled and actually started shaking his cane out his window, even when I told him I used a wheelchair. He didn't care; I looked young through the window of the car, therefore I couldn't be disabled. I didn't move. I was parked legally and I didn't have any other choices to get to the store I was going to. It scared the heck out of me, though. I don't know if he saw me once I'd gotten my wheelchair out, but I did notice he found a parking space not much farther away that he could use, but I couldn't have used. I was shaking so badly from fright by the time I got to the store I was going to, though, that the store employee I dealt with kept asking if I was okay. I'd just finished my senior thesis and was getting myself a reward, but it just kinda ruined the afternoon. I was so scared the guy would come after me after we'd both parked. I still feel pretty lucky that he didn't 5 years after the experience. I've never felt that much hate from someone ever.

I don't know if anything could be done if this did wasn't an isolated incident, but I'm glad the OP's family isn't letting it impact the rest of their trip. Being nasty at WDW is just really sad.

 

[disney david]

I agree that the whole note itself is ridiculous. If you actually read all the rules about handicapped placards/plates, they do say that when possible, it's preferable for the person to whom the placard/plate is issued to be dropped off (with or without companions) and the car parked in a non-handicapped space, but that's a rule that's rarely enforced and really often isn't practical.

I have been known to leave notes on cars with no placard or handicapped (or veteran) plates, but I try not to be rude about it. If I actually see the person, I tend to say something like "Excuse me, you've forgotten to put your placard up". I've also left notes for people who've parked on the cross-hatches blocking others in and once had to get a guy called out of a grocery store to move his car so that I could get out. He tried to argue that he had a placard so could park there (parking in the cross-hatches is not legal for anyone) and then tried to just pull through to the cross-hatches for the space in the next row, but he noticed me get my phone out (I was going to call the police non-emergency line) and went and parked in an empty handicapped spot (yes, there were empty spots). I do occasionally forget to put my placard up (you're really not supposed to drive with them hanging and I find that it does block a little of my view). At those times I'd only be upset if a note was rude, but there's nothing I can do about people being jerks. I always feel lucky in those cases that I've never been ticketed. I'd never leave a note for someone who has a placard and/or plates and is parked legally no matter what they looked like. Occasionally I may look a second time, but that's usually when it looks like Grandma/Grandpa has been left in the car with her/his placard while someone non-disabled is in a store and there are no free handicapped spots. I still wouldn't say anything because I'm sure at least one point when I was out with my grandmother, I left her in the car while I went into a store (I used my placard, but there's no way for anyone walking by to know that).

I looked non-disabled when I first started needing to use a placard. I was 18, too, so you can imagine the looks I got. I know how crappy it is to always feel challenged. (This is also one of the reasons I don't challenge people on handicapped stalls in restrooms; you never know what someone's needs are.)

My absolute scariest parking experience, though, was after I became a wheelchair user (not at WDW). There was only one handicapped space (and I couldn't use any other space because the spaces were too narrow for me to get my chair out). An older man happened to pull into the parking lot as I was parking and he started yelling at me about how I wasn't disabled and actually started shaking his cane out his window, even when I told him I used a wheelchair. He didn't care; I looked young through the window of the car, therefore I couldn't be disabled. I didn't move. I was parked legally and I didn't have any other choices to get to the store I was going to. It scared the heck out of me, though. I don't know if he saw me once I'd gotten my wheelchair out, but I did notice he found a parking space not much farther away that he could use, but I couldn't have used. I was shaking so badly from fright by the time I got to the store I was going to, though, that the store employee I dealt with kept asking if I was okay. I'd just finished my senior thesis and was getting myself a reward, but it just kinda ruined the afternoon. I was so scared the guy would come after me after we'd both parked. I still feel pretty lucky that he didn't 5 years after the experience. I've never felt that much hate from someone ever.

I don't know if anything could be done if this did wasn't an isolated incident, but I'm glad the OP's family isn't letting it impact the rest of their trip. Being nasty at WDW is just really sad.

Sorry that happened to you it one thing not to have a handicap placard and park in the spot to have someone say something but to have one and still get sown one to say something is more then wrong. No matter what age the person is no one has the right to question wheatear someone has a disability and should be using a handicap spot. It their to use if you have one and you using it legally.

 

[WheeledTraveler]

In defense of person writing note - they probably thought [incorrectly] that someone was using tag fraudulently.
We have a neighbor who does. Has his dad's tag. Dad doesn't live w/ him. Treats tag as his own, even tho he mows, chops lumber, does yard work, remodels houses, etc. Even the local police know about it, but there's nothing they can do.

Actually, the police could do something, but it would ultimately end up punishing the guy's father because it would result in the tag/placard being taken away completely. One of the few reasons my father listens to my objections when he wants to misuse my tag (usually for something like parking on cross-hatches or trying to use it when I'm staying in the car) is that I point out that it could result in my placard being confiscated and that would cause me huge problems. I always make sure I'm the person who holds onto my tag, anyway, because I live on my own without a car and don't know whose car I'll be in the next time I need to use the placard. I don't think my father would use it without me in the car (or without his being on the way to pick me up or something), but I don't want to give him the temptation anyway.

One of my exes' father always used my ex's placard even when my ex wasn't getting out of the car and it made me so angry. I couldn't say anything because it wasn't my father and it would have upset my ex. I don't know if my ex even knew it was illegal. My ex probably wouldn't have said anything, anyway, just due to being passive about things and not liking conflict.

 

[mukorasirish]

As i said in my post, because of the nature of my disability (autoimmune) my limitations are not always blatantly visible. Unfortunately this poor child will be exposed to ignorance of this kind throughout her life. As adults you need to set the example and teach her to not place emphasis on what others thing. Toss the note out with a comment like "Silly man has no idea what he's talking about" and move on. By doing this she will learn that busy bodies like the note writer shouldn't impact her happiness.