No more 'cuts in line' for many disabled Knott's guests

[KPeveler]

I will stand by my statemnet that we have been "cut" by people using the handicap line. I have no problem with the people who really need it but MANY do not need it and they do not need to take 15-20 people with them. If you don't like my opinion tough I didn't ask you to. I think Knotts has a good accomadating plan and hopefully other parks will follow suit. FWIW I can not walk long distances and standing in line is painful for me but I take lots of breaks and deal with the excrutiating pain and yes it is excrutiating.

at least the last part of what you say is fine for you, but i choose NOT to be in excruciating pain by using a wheelchair...

by the way, are you talking about disney or knotts? i have never been to knotts, so i cant speak to that... but disney cant use a policy like that... first of all, disney is largely accessible, so it doesnt matter a lot.

if you are talking about disney, how do people "cut" in line? do you know how the WC use works? or the GAC? both have changed in the last few years, so things may be different than the last time you looked...

there ARE limits to the parties, but those of us in WCs cant make CMs enforce them.

if disney tells me i must wait alone outside a ride while my family goes through the line, i will not be able to go to disney again. i cannot push myself in a chair, so now my family will be split the while time. this sounds like a miserable time to me...

and i cant just go around and schedule my day and then go back to the rides at certain times... i never know when i am going to be able to move, so i really need to be able to get in a line when i get there, not come back an hour later...

i think disney handles it wonderfully right now. yes there are some "cheaters" but they are few and far between...

 

[mjkacmom]

by the way, about knotts berry farm:

people with disabilities must wait outside alone while the rest of their party goes through the line. I will now never go to knotts berry farm. I refuse to wait by myself... that sounds like a miserable day. if i ever was planning on going there, that is done now

I think the whole party should wait in a nice, shaded area.

 

[yeartolate]

I can honestly say, I haven't seen a big problem with "cheaters" at WDW.

Up until a few years back at DL the abuse was rampant and visable. Anyone and everyone asked for and got a pass. Since the park was heavily dependent on locals (much more so than WDW) people got realllllllly good at it. There was a huge backlash when they changed the policy back then. Obviously, in order to cut down on cheaters, some truly handicapped folks get screwed.

 

[KPeveler]

I think the whole party should wait in a nice, shaded area.

there are no nice shaded areas in a lot of older parks...

a lot of parks are trying to get rid of "cheaters" and all its doing is making it miserable for the rest of us. now i will not go to knotts berry farm and six flags. i cant run all over the park getting "come back" times and then run all over again to ride.

i have a list of issues as long as my arm, and i cant do things like sit in the sun waiting for my family to get through the line... which is what happens at some six flags parks (there is a report in the disabilities community forum). if i do that, it can trigger an attack, which will make me sick for weeks and can cause permanent damage... all i want to do is get on a ride after going through a line like everyone else! if they cannot make the line accessible, then they need to get me to where i load, where i wait for my turn. does this sound so hard? that is what i do on rides like small world and splash mountain!

 

[SereneOne]

Oh wow, how horrible...able bodied people waiting in line. I would wait in line for hours for my daughter not to have an 11mm hole in her heart, a tethered spinal cord, imperforate anus with fistula, possible colostomy, fused and missing ribs, multicystic dysplastic kidney, a feeding tube and Reactive Airway Disease. I would wait in lines for eternity to have her healthy and whole in a heartbeat.

We used a GAC once when MAW coordinated her trip and only five people where allowed to get in with her, which was her dad, myself, and her three brothers. We where told only five besides her each time and we where just five. Luckily, WDW is very accomodating to their special needs guests and through all her struggle and pain, she gets to go to DW and forget her problems and feel joyful. She is 4yo and will be having surgery June 30th to have her fistula closed and her anus reconstructed. July 14th, she is having heart surgery.

Go ahead, take her place to have the privilege of "cutting in line" but take her burdens too, we won't be complaining, I promise.

 

[breezy1077]

Oh wow, how horrible...able bodied people waiting in line. I would wait in line for hours for my daughter not to have an 11mm hole in her heart, a tethered spinal cord, imperforate anus with fistula, possible colostomy, fused and missing ribs, multicystic dysplastic kidney, a feeding tube and Reactive Airway Disease. I would wait in lines for eternity to have her healthy and whole in a heartbeat.

We used a GAC once when MAW coordinated her trip and only five people where allowed to get in with her, which was her dad, myself, and her three brothers. We where told only five besides her each time and we where just five. Luckily, WDW is very accomodating to their special needs guests and through all her struggle and pain, she gets to go to DW and forget her problems and feel joyful. She is 4yo and will be having surgery June 30th to have her fistula closed and her anus reconstructed. July 14th, she is having heart surgery.

Go ahead, take her place to have the privilege of "cutting in line" but take her burdens too, we won't be complaining, I promise.

 

[KPeveler]

Oh wow, how horrible...able bodied people waiting in line. I would wait in line for hours for my daughter not to have an 11mm hole in her heart, a tethered spinal cord, imperforate anus with fistula, possible colostomy, fused and missing ribs, multicystic dysplastic kidney, a feeding tube and Reactive Airway Disease. I would wait in lines for eternity to have her healthy and whole in a heartbeat.

We used a GAC once when MAW coordinated her trip and only five people where allowed to get in with her, which was her dad, myself, and her three brothers. We where told only five besides her each time and we where just five. Luckily, WDW is very accomodating to their special needs guests and through all her struggle and pain, she gets to go to DW and forget her problems and feel joyful. She is 4yo and will be having surgery June 30th to have her fistula closed and her anus reconstructed. July 14th, she is having heart surgery.

Go ahead, take her place to have the privilege of "cutting in line" but take her burdens too, we won't be complaining, I promise.

*hugs*

if you thought i was complaining that my family would have to wait in line, i was not! just in case i was unclear... its not the wait that bothers me or my family, its that they are separating families, which seems like a bad plan when on vacation.

 

[C.Ann]

I can honestly say, I haven't seen a big problem with "cheaters" at WDW.

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Neither have I - nor did I see anyone getting front of the line "cuts" due to disabilities - except Make A Wish children waiting for autographs.. I think the system WDW has works very well and is fair for everyone..

The WDW busses can be problematic (although I have never, ever seen the number of parties mentioned on this thread get on first with the disabled person), but considering the busses only accomodate 2 (sometimes 3) wheelchairs or ECV's at a time, obviously those people are going to be loaded first (and for safety reasons, must be loaded before there are any other passengers on the bus)..

 

[KPeveler]

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Neither have I - nor did I see anyone getting front of the line "cuts" due to disabilities except Make A Wish children waiting for autographs.. I think the system WDW has works very well and is fair for everyone..

The WDW busses can be problematic (although I have never, ever seen the number of parties mentioned on this thread get on first with the disabled person), but considering the busses only accomodate 2 (sometimes 3) wheelchairs or ECV's at a time, obviously those people are going to be loaded first (and for safety reasons, must be loaded before there are any other passengers on the bus)..

as to the first thing, MAW and kids on similar trips are the only people who get "head of line" privilege... but i am certainly not going to argue a terminally ill child getting to go to the front of the line! i am certain they would rather not have catastrophic illnesses and wait in line!!

and as to the second, scooters and wheelchairs load first because of safety reasons too - those scooters can weigh up to 200-300 lbs, and you do NOT want them maneuvering through crowds on buses

 

[C.Ann]

as to the first thing, MAW and kids on similar trips are the only people who get "head of line" privilege... but i am certainly not going to argue a terminally ill child getting to go to the front of the line! i am certain they would rather not have catastrophic illnesses and wait in line!!

and as to the second, scooters and wheelchairs load first because of safety reasons too - those scooters can weigh up to 200-300 lbs, and you do NOT want them maneuvering through crowds on buses

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I agree with you 100% - but those who haven't dealt with disabilities (or people who have them) sometimes don't understand what is really going on..

 

[KPeveler]

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I agree with you 100% - but those who haven't dealt with disabilities (or people who have them) sometimes don't understand what is really going on..

i like to think i always was compassionate, but really my eyes were opened when i started getting sick 7 years ago.

 

[Missy1961]

These threads always make me sad. I've gone to WDW many times, I use the bus system and I have never seen any of these "line cutters". I've seen people in wheelchairs & scooters waiting like everyone else for a bus. I've seen them loaded on first, and 1 or 2 people going with them. I've seen some of them have to wait for the next bus because the system isn't working so they can't get on the bus.

And if anyone gets to go first to see a character, or ride a ride, or get on the bus, I'm sure that most of the time, they need it.

 

[Talking Hands]

Have you ever seen it enforced? I haven't. There have been many, many (many!) times I've seen much larger parties than 5 enter with the scooter at the back doors of the bus.

Honestly, I think this is one of those things bus drivers don't want to deal with. They get enough abuse and don't want to listen to someone argue as to why the entire party can't load, they will be separated, I'm going to report you...blah blah blah.

Still, I haven't noticed as much of an issue with this at the parks themselves. Just on the buses.

There seems to be no limit as far as the bus is concerned, but I have had drivers ask if people were with me and had them get off and get in line. Many bus drivers don't want to deal with it. Frankly there are some that don't even want to deal with those of us in wheelchairs.
BTW there are times we end up waiting for the bus. I have had waits as long as 3 hours for them to finally get a bus that will take me. Not often but it has happened. When I was there in April I waited over an hour for a DTD bus. I was by passed by 4. I finally called the bus people and got one but almost missed my time for the show I was going to see.

 

[hentob]

Not only that, but they always bring 17 or 20 relatives with them! How dare they! /sarcasm

It does happen. Why negate other people's experiences

Disney does NOT always enforce their "how many can come along" rule.

 

[KPeveler]

It does happen. Why negate other people's experiences

Disney does NOT always enforce their "how many can come along" rule.

i think some people are tired of this being put forward as the "norm" when in fact it is in the minority... there are people who dont use scooters when they need it because of these stories, because they are afraid people will be mad at them or something

 

[freckles and boo]

We utilized a GAC with our daughter, who is autistic, in April. We were a party of four and nearly every CM had me unfold the GAC so he or she could check the number in the party and the expiration date. As I understand it, the maximum number that can join the person named on the GAC is five, for a total of six. I never saw any abuse on the buses, although I did see a huge party with someone in a wheelchair at IASW. I don't know how that was handled. I can't tell you how much having the GAC made our trip possible. There is no way our child would have been able to function otherwise. As it was she became a bit overloaded and refused to even try some attractions.

 

[imabrat]

as to the first thing, MAW and kids on similar trips are the only people who get "head of line" privilege... but i am certainly not going to argue a terminally ill child getting to go to the front of the line! i am certain they would rather not have catastrophic illnesses and wait in line!!

and as to the second, scooters and wheelchairs load first because of safety reasons too - those scooters can weigh up to 200-300 lbs, and you do NOT want them maneuvering through crowds on buses

MAW isn't for only terminally ill children.

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I would give anything to be able to stand for a long line, and walk around the parks. But unfortunately that isn't possible with a new knee replacement and chemotherapy damages. I would gladly pass them on to you!
The only ones who are allowed to "cut" lines are MAW children, so if you get mad at me in August at DLR, sorry. I've been thru hell and back to earn this trip and at that point, I don't care if someone thinks I'm cutting.

I've never used a GAC, but from what I've read there are only to be up to 5 people with the disabled at a time. If Disney doesn't enforce, I can't do anything but complain to whomever to get them to enforce it. Please, don't take it out on the disabled.

 

[KPeveler]

MAW isn't for only terminally ill children.

I would give anything to be able to stand for a long line, and walk around the parks. But unfortunately that isn't possible with a new knee replacement and chemotherapy damages. I would gladly pass them on to you!
The only ones who are allowed to "cut" lines are MAW children, so if you get mad at me in August at DLR, sorry. I've been thru hell and back to earn this trip and at that point, I don't care if someone thinks I'm cutting.

I've never used a GAC, but from what I've read there are only to be up to 5 people with the disabled at a time. If Disney doesn't enforce, I can't do anything but complain to whomever to get them to enforce it. Please, don't take it out on the disabled.

obviously you didnt read anything else i read. I AM DISABLED. i spent my days here defending the disabled. please read everything else i wrote, and then respond. obviously i do not get mad at disabled people, as i am one of them! please go back and read.

 

[SereneOne]

It does happen. Why negate other people's experiences

Disney does NOT always enforce their "how many can come along" rule.

Why NEGATE people's experiences? Why PUNISH special needs people and NEGATE THEIR experience because able bodied people do not want to wait!

 

[ericamanda01]

I've only read a few posts on the first page but here's how I feel. I am willing to tolerate a few rule breaker's in order to allow those with real disabilities to go ahead of me. Why? Because I can: stand, run and otherwise enjoy my time in the park without physical problems.