I'm SHOCKED!

[disneygal2007]

My husband had been talking with some other parents at soccer this morning. They told him we should write our own doctors note and take it to town hall. The dr's note will say one of us is unable to walk and therefore they will supply us with free fastpasses for the day. I am really shocked that people would do this. Is this common practice? I have never heard of anyone doing this before. Maybe I'm just a priss or something but I really don't agree with this.

We always joke that we can use my illness so we can get in the front of the line but I feel fine and I walk fine so why make other people suffer.

 

[5dwarves]

I know that people think that people with a disability in a wheelchair or ecv get to ride without any wait. That just is not true. After traveling to WDW with my mother, many times, who does have mobility issues, I can tell you the wait is just the same or longer. Most of the ride lines are integrated which people in wheelchairs or ecv's stay in line with you. I have waited an extra 20 minutes for KS at AK, and when Spaceship earth was practically a walk on, we waited over 15 minutes.

There are special passes that people with disabilities get sometimes. I guess people see these being used and don't realize what it is. It is often a card that informs cast members what assistance the person may need, such as if the person can transfer out of the wheelchair or not.

The only people that get in front of the line are the make a wish foundation children.

We took our wish trip last year and wish children do not get front of the line privelages either. They do get accomodations though through the GAC (Guest Assistance Card) and the off site resort where most wish families stay provide you with a dated button with the child's name and length of stay on it. That button will help you expedite your wait in character lines and some CM's do take you to the front of the line, but it is not a front of the line pass. Wish kids receive accomodations, have a special lounge at MK for naps and breaks from the heat and get free parking. They get a little extra help because they really need it. People who misuse Disney's thoughtfulness for those who have disabilities by faking a need are pretty low lifes if you ask me. The wish families I know would much prefer to wait in lines at WDW than to go through 20+ hospitalizations, multiple surgeries and life threatening illnesses with their children. If their integrity can be comprised at such a low price then I would associate myself with other people.

 

[5dwarves]

do you know they have talked for some time about removing the GAS because of abuse. We have a 15 yr old w/Adhd/Autism we have used it several times for him . we have 5 kids and depending if we have Mike or not with us depends if we use it or wait in the lines. of course it is great to not have to wait but as others have said i have endured countless stares, pointing, backlash etc in the parks. Once they told us we couldnt ride winnie the pooh anymore because we rode it 5 times in a row.. well that wasent the smartest thing to say to someone who just rode pooh 5 times in a stinking row let alone tell a kid with Autism NO when he is clearly enjoying himself.he threw himself down on the ground it had been a florida monsoon earlier he thrashed around screaming and having a HUGE fit. we finaly got him up.. closed soaked sticks and leaves in his hair and got him to walk away for an ice cream. i later wrote Disney a huge long letter about how upset and disapointed that i was. We got free 1 day passes but it didnt make up for it. People who abuse a system have no idea what it is like to try to have a vacation with an Autistic or otherwise handicapped child let alone deal with it day in and day out. I hope people realize the more they abuse it, the greater chance they will discountinue it. and it isnt easy to get by just having a doc write a note. they have actualy tried talking to mike or watching me interact with him before giving me the pass. thats fine with me because he dosent look like anythings wrong. As soon as i can get him to talk they understand how severe he is. He usualy points/gesters and when he does talk he is hard to understand. not something that can be easily faked. anyways sorry this is a long post but it has been on my mind and glad someone brought it up.. Have a magical day !

Goodness...Bless you! My wish child is a transplant patient, and has also been diagnosed with ASD and has petit mal seizures, and I know where you are coming from. I call his ASD melt downs grand mal temper tantrums. For him, his melt downs are harder to control than his siezures. My DS had a melt down because he was on the wrong color Dumbo and we ended up having to leave the park. Fortunately he didn't have any seizures the week we were there. The GAC is absolutley positively meant for ASD families. Not all disabilities are visible.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

Hugs to all of you who seem to "Get it". I love, love , love my son but it really is not a restful vacation for DH and I when we go. Granted the smiles, giggles and laughter we see are worth every single thing we do. But I feel like I need a vacation after the vacation. Thank you all who understand. It really means a lot

 

[Rylee]

My husband had been talking with some other parents at soccer this morning. They told him we should write our own doctors note and take it to town hall. The dr's note will say one of us is unable to walk and therefore they will supply us with free fastpasses for the day. I am really shocked that people would do this. Is this common practice? I have never heard of anyone doing this before. Maybe I'm just a priss or something but I really don't agree with this.

My mother raised me to feel sorry for these types of people... for how much they miss.

Personally, I wish they would have to volunteer at a Children's Hospital.

Our son was born with a very rare birth defect... 1 in 40,000 births. We spent the first 5 weeks of his life, in Children's Hospital, Boston... leaving 4 other children at home, 350 miles away. Our son has since had 5 surgeries... with more surgeries in his future. He is 6.

Anyway, Children's Hospital's can be very sad places... I've seen the tears and heard the cries, of parents who would give or do anything to change the outcome of their child lives. (I'm one of them.)

To think a parent would "pretend" their child has special needs, really saddens me.



*FWIW - Our son does not require any special assistance at WDW.

 

[5dwarves]

I have a story..this is a bit OT from what we were talking about, but sill has to do with rude and unthoughtful people...
My girls and i were online to see Leo and Annie at DHS in February..we were there for a while and we were finally getting towards the front of the line..then they stopped the line and brought two families up to the front...one family had Make a Wish pins and the other had Give kids the world pins...Well the lady behind me starts making a big deal screaming "this is ridiculous, what are they celebrities or something"? "Oh come on hurry up i have been waiting for a long time, this isn't fair to my kids"..Now my kids know about the special treatment that these families get AND DESERVE..and NEVER complain about having to wait a few minutes more...SO i finally turn to her and say listen did you see the pins on these families? SHe says "yeah so what"..i told her that she should be HAPPY that her children can stand in line and they can always come back, these families may not have the chance to come back with their children, please keep quiet and let them have their time...I wasn't quiet about it and i guess she was embarrassed and left the line. After the CM Thanked me, because obviously they can not do anything like that..

You Go Girl!

 

[5dwarves]

For those of you ASD parents that have posted here, there is someone who is making a touring plan guide book for her ASD son and she is posting directions and pics on the Dis...here is the thread...thought you all might be interested.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1774902

~Elisa

 

[mommylicious]

You know, I'm getting to the point where nothing shocks me anymore. When we were at Star Wars Weekend a couple of years ago we witnessed a woman explaining to a friend how she found someones "online scrapbook" and used a scan they had of their name tag from a "Make a Wish" type of charity that sends kids with serious medical conditions on dream trips and made her son a fake nametag or button or something with that picture. They also made a sign with the logo on it and held it up over his head while he was waiting to be picked for the Jedi Training Academy thing. Essentially lying and saying her perfectly healthy child was on a wish trip to increase his odds of being picked for the training thing. This was back before they had the Jedi Training all the time; at that time you could only do it during Star Wars Weekend.

I was completely appalled that someone would go to that length to get their kid up on that stage.

 

[moxiecola]

I am even more appalled now than I was when I first posted this thread. I just cannot believe the gall and selfishness of some people. I am going to keep my eye open for people trying to pull this stuff in the park. I feel now that I know about this I have an obligation to say something if I see it.

 

[Bugsmom73]

What they are referring to is the Guest Assistance Pass. I would love to come up to that person and give them a piece of my mind. I would kill to wait for hours in line, to know what it would be like not to get the stares, the look, the problems that all go with having a SN child.

We can't go to Disney without a GAC. My son can't wait in lines very long. I don't know what will bring on an instant screaming meltdown. He may start hitting his head. And yes, everyone at Disney stares at me like I am the worst mom in the world.

The GAC is what gives us half a chance to experience the most magical place on earth.

Urgg...I could just scream and perhaps remind them what a horrible example they are setting for their children! And what a GAC is really meant for. URgggg!!!($*^)#&*#$%

While I love my son dearly, there are days when I would love to have a typical family, and not a child with a disability.

 

[My2Angels]

We always get a GAC card for our 2 girls with albinism. They are legally blind so this allows us into the front of many shows, and they still cannot see some of them. In the shows, we sometimes have to wait longer for a front row seat.
The only time we have used the pass on rides is for Dumbo and Magic Carpets because they cannot stand in the intense sun for very long, and we seek out as much shade as possible!
I wouldn't mind at all if they required a medical waiver of some sort. It would prevent people from "faking" a disability. We have taken one each time from our girls doctors, but they didn't need to see them to give us the card.

 

[DevilDuckie]

We always get a GAC card for our 2 girls with albinism. They are legally blind so this allows us into the front of many shows, and they still cannot see some of them. In the shows, we sometimes have to wait longer for a front row seat.

You know, if you walked up to me and asked me to swap my front row seats for some further back so two girls with vision issues could see better, I would. I know not everyone will be as accomodating, but sometimes it can't hurt to ask.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

We are blessed enough not to need any sort of assistance to get around. I wouldn't DREAM of pretending to have any sort of medical problem in order to beat the system.

Me neither. I'd be too worried about karma biting me in the butt.

 

[PrincessRora]

I am even more appalled now than I was when I first posted this thread. I just cannot believe the gall and selfishness of some people. I am going to keep my eye open for people trying to pull this stuff in the park. I feel now that I know about this I have an obligation to say something if I see it.

Me too. I'm usually rather soft spoken in public, but I'm making it a point to say something if I see anything like these things going on during my trip. "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem" is what my grandmother would always tell me.

 

[bellebuzzandpooh]

Oh good gracious. That's ridiculous!

 

[moxiecola]

Gonna give this one a bumb...I think it's so important that everyone be aware of this.

 

[pixiefairy]

My gosh, I must have been living under a rock! I guess thinking someone would take a perfectly healthy child and "pretend" that they were terminal just to go to the front of the line would never occur to most people who have any conscience what-so-ever. I've had a lady I worked with in the past tell me at Christmas time to write a letter to those needy kid foundations and say my kids were from a needy family in order to get more gifts for my kids, because she did it. It changed my outlook on charities for a long long time.

If I saw someone (or heard them) behave that way, I'd give them a piece of my mind too. And if there were kids that couldn't see well or hear well enough, and the parents wanted them to be closer and I was there, I'd move back and give them my spot. People need to learn how to be selfless and care about other people. So many people are so jaded.

 

[tazdev3225]

Two of my kids had ADD/ADHD so lines with them were not always easy but we stood in them. We did need a wheelchair for DD one year because she was hit by a car when she was 6 and has had issues with her leg and ankle because they did not heal properly. We got nasty looks from a lot of people because she looked fine but the walking was torture for her. We even had people push past us in line. It definitely is not a free pass to the front.

 

[trivial]

Maybe I'm just a priss or something but I really don't agree with this.

You're wondering if being an honorable and decent person makes you a priss?

 

[MoniqueU]

I am visually impaired and legally blind and have some mobilty issues because of it. At least at Disneyland I have shown them my handicapped plaquered printout from the DMV, they asked what was wrong with me and I told them and they gave me a pass to sit up front in the cars but not a fastpass for all the rides. I am not sure how it works for other disabilities.