OMG has anyone else seen this article!?!

[Lewisc]

Again, my MAIN contention with the article all along has been the misleading comment stating that the company offers 'handicapped or disabled' tour guides. Getting nit picky about ONE line in the company's description is really going to extremes don't you think?

Again, NOWHERE in the company information does it say they offer disabled/handicapped tour guides. Not only would it be disgusting for Dream Tours to offer disabled/handicapped tour guides, it would border on exploitation!

.

The website says Jacie had a "disabling experience". NY Post was told by Ryan Clement (owner) that Jacie has an auto immune disorder and uses a scooter when running her tours.

The article said the fact that at least one of the guides, girlfriend of the owner, uses a scooter and gets preferential access, is passed around among the 1%.

The fact that the company promises no wait time suggests the company is loose with the facts.

How the company promotes on their website and how they promote via word of mouth might be different.

 

[Wick]

I still don't buy this story. If, as you say, it would be too much of a hassle for them to act handicapped while trying to maneuver around the park, would it not also be true that it would be a hassle to BE with a handicapped 'tour' guide? The group would have to stay together for them to 'benefit' from the 'guides' handicap, so they would have the same maneuvering hassle.

The handicapped guides don't accompany them everywhere. I know one family who hired the guide to just hang out by major attractions and the parents would just text the guide when they were making their way over to the ride or show.

 

[Dopey420]

I don't see a problem with it. If I want to hire someone to go to Disney with me, for whatever reason, it's nobody else's business.

 

[bocaj1431]

25 years ago, many lines were not wheelchair accessible, but almost all of the newer attractions (and many of the older ones) are accessible in the regular (Mainstream) line.
So wheelchair or ECV = front of line has not been true for a long time. Even when there were many attractions with special arrangements for guests using wheelchairs, that didn't always mean shorter wait, just a different place to wait.

Since Small World was mentioned in the article with a "one minute wait" for the disabled tour guide when the regular line was 2 and 1/2 hours .......

This picture shows the handicapped line for Small World.

It is required to be used by guests with mobility devices (like wheelchairs) because the regular line is not accessible. It is also used by some guests with GACs. In our experience, often over 1/2 of the guests/groups using it are using it for that reason - they don't have a mobility device.
Small World doesn't have a 'back door' entrance.
This picture shows a time when the wait was similar or possibly slightly shorter than the wait in the 'regular line.' The handicapped boarding area is toward the left side of the picture, down at the bottom of the ramp.The ramp at the top of the picture is part of the regular line. The ramp people are coming up on the right of the picture, toward you is the exit.

This picture show Small World at a time when the wait in the handicapped area was longer than the wait in the regular line.

My family was at the bottom of the ramp, waiting to get on. The picture is taken from the opposite direct compared to the first picture, looking toward the entrance and exit.
The ramp on the far left of the picture has the people who will get on the next 2 boats.
The ramp in the middle is the exit ramp. The ramp to the far right of the picture is the handicapped line and it went all the way to the entrance and out the gate at the top. People who did not have wheelchairs might have had a shorter wait in the regular line ( in this case, they would have since we saw the people who were just ahead of us entering the regular line get on way before us).

These are some more pictures of Small World that show a longer wait.
The posted wait time for the regular line was 25 minutes and you can see people, at least in this part of the regular line you can see, are widely spaced.

This is the handicapped line at the same time.

The actual entrance to handicapped line is way up where you can see a man and woman in orange shirts. It extends from the front of this picture all the down the ramp that is shown in the pictures in the previous post. All the people to the right of the photo are also part of the handicapped line.
The regular entrance is where you can see a sign in the background, between the heads of 2 people with orange hats.
In this case, people in the handicapped line will be waiting longer.
And, the extra wait can be much longer. One recent trip, my DH and DD had gone to Small World while I went on something DD is not able to go on. I know what time they got into line because DH texted me when they got in the line.
When I arrived at Small World, they had already been waiting for 25 minutes in the handicapped line. I could not get to them since they were in the bottom 1/3 of the handicapped line ramp shown in the picture and the handicapped line ramp was full all the way to the top.
I got in the regular line and planned to meet them later - DH was going to get DD something to drink while they waited for me to be done. 20 minutes later, I got on a boat - 3 boats behind them.
So, I waited 20 minutes (which was the posted time). They waited 45.
They did have to wait for a wheelchair accessible boat, but hadn't let 3 groups who didnt need the wheelchair boat from behind them in that line go past to board, so their wait in the line was not increased more than a few minutes by needing the wheelchair boat.

I rode this very same ride with my, son who required a guest assistance card and had a completely opposite experience from what you have explained. In all cases, including it's a small world, our wait was greatly decreased compared to the regular entrance. There was not one ride that our wait was longer.

I think it is important for those people, who require a guest assistance card, that they understand all facets of what there experiences may be. While no GAC, is for the sole purpose of "cutting the line" or providing a "shorter wait", the reality is that in many cases it often can shorten the wait and provide less congestion.

My point has nothing to do with the article, which I find disgusting. It is yet another example of people taking advantage of assistances created to help assist those, who have medical or mental challenges. Challenges that would otherwise preclude them from being able to experience things in the same manner that those who have no challenges do.

 

[SueM in MN]

I rode this very same ride with my, son who required a guest assistance card and had a completely opposite experience from what you have explained. In all cases, including it's a small world, our wait was greatly decreased compared to the regular entrance. There was not one ride that our wait was longer.

I think it is important for those people, who require a guest assistance card, that they understand all facets of what there experiences may be. While no GAC, is for the sole purpose of "cutting the line" or providing a "shorter wait", the reality is that in many cases it often can shorten the wait and provide less congestion.

My point has nothing to do with the article, which I find disgusting. It is yet another example of people taking advantage of assistances created to help assist those, who have medical or mental challenges. Challenges that would otherwise preclude them from being able to experience things in the same manner that those who have no challenges do.

The first picture shows a time when the wait was the same or shorter.

The other pictures show longer waits. A lot can also have to do with timing. On our last trip, we came to Spaceship Earth at a time when they were just bringing out one group of guests with disabilities, so they were ready to bring another group in and our wait was short. If we had arrived there just after they had brought a group in, our wait would have been longer.
There are no guarantees - the wait could be shorter, longer or the same.

 

[palentir]

This is just messed up, in the worst way.

 

[bocaj1431]

The first picture shows a time when the wait was the same or shorter.

The other pictures show longer waits. A lot can also have to do with timing. On our last trip, we came to Spaceship Earth at a time when they were just bringing out one group of guests with disabilities, so they were ready to bring another group in and our wait was short. If we had arrived there just after they had brought a group in, our wait would have been longer.
There are no guarantees - the wait could be shorter, longer or the same.

You are right every ride varies based on time of year, time of day, random events. There are never guarantees for just about anything in life. That being said, I stayed at DW for two weeks, and the experience I noted in my previous post was always the same. Not to mention the many, friends I have who's children also used the GAC and had the very same experiences.

Just as you stated, it is important to note there are no guarantees; but, for me it also is important to provide useful information that may be helpful to others trying to plan their first trip to DW. That is why I wanted to contribute the knowledge I had about this topic, which is based on mine and my many friends experiences in DW. Just as someone helped me to foster a great experience for my special needs child, I hope to do the same for someone else.

Just as a side note, I am not speaking from the experience of using a wheelchair or EVC. I would know nothing about that. I am speaking for the experiences of special needs children using the GAC.