ot problems at 6 flags great adventure

[scottsod]

hi

we just went back to 6 flags great adventure in nj we are sesone pass holders and have been since last year.

my son 9 has cp and uses a wheelchair 6 flags has a system like the GAC
were you go to guest assistance and get a card that lists the rides its good on and has a place for initials for the cm to check off and put a wait time
well we have never in 2 years had to come back and wait the stand by time just use it as an exit pass as most lines are not accesable.so anyway
end of last seasone a nice cm at guest services tells us we can get VIG
put on our plastic seasone pass wich is the same as the paper card and we did and use it all over.

monday we go and he rides lots and lots of rides even thrill rides. then we get to the kiddie section he wants to ride the ballons wich are like tea cups but go up in the air. and so does my 2yo and hes tall enuff. we go to
the exit show the card and the cm says i dont think he can ride. i say why she says to me infront of him beacuse hes handicaped well that made me real mad i say yes he can and go get a manager. she runs off leaving the ride and the other people on line and comes back with a manager. the manager says can he clip his own seat belt to wich i say what does that matter im riding with him and the 2yo and 2yo cant clip his own belt he can sit up and hold on and he has ridden rolercosters and such all day she says i dont think its safe i was MAD then i said you cant deny him access and the sign waring says nothing at all about what you said and get me a supervisor
she calls one take 15 min to come in meantime my 2yo rides another ride
as we wait the park area for kids closes early and is about to close in 10 min so i say call again im not getting shut out waiting. so he comes over says how can i help. i say can my son ride this ride he says shure no problem . so i tell him the whole story of what was said by cm and manager and i said you she owes my son an apology not me it was him she told couldnt ride. so they apologize and we ride and go to leave
and try and ride a carousle and the cm says beacuse we dont have a green card we cant use the exit to load wich is wrong we show the vig card he dosnt know what it is says hes new and lets us ride anyway.

so on the way out we get the park rides vp and explain the story to him
he apologizes and says they all go to classroom training on disabled guests
and he will retrain the 2 cm and manager and speak to her directly as she was a roller coster manager kinda demoted to kiddie area and winked like she was a bad manager. he offered compensation asked if we wanted anything we said no as we just wanted to make shure that the next kids that tried to ride wasnt told no and just left

p.s. most of the summer cm's are from eastern europe and maybe the law dosnt provide access like in the us i told the cm at the 1st ride that in america we have a law called ada that gives disabled people access and you cant discriminate!

sorry so long needed to vent
scott

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I'm sorry that that happened to you and your children. At least it sounds like they will put those two employees through training to make sure they know what the proper procedures are.

 

[minkydog]

You did all the right things. You hung in there for your son despite some misinformed people. And rather than accept compensation *(there is not compensating for this kind of mistake) you fought to make sure they staff received extra training.

Actually, you may have hit the nail on the head--in eastern Europe it is not as common to accomodate people with disabilities. So it is entirely possible that this is a cultural mistake. A friend of ours raised her children in Romania. The youngest has severe CP. Her neighbors were horrified that they took the child out on the sidewalk to practice with her walker--in that part of the world it was common practice to keep people with disabilities locked away in the house where no one would be "bothered" by seeing them. Almost nothing was handicapped accessible and they were actively shunned because of the child's disability. It just wasn't acceptable. They now live in Hungary and while there are more services there, they still face a lot of discrimination.

Hopefully, more education will improve things for Six Flags. I wouldn't hold my breath, though. I have witnessed some pretty bad violations there, including a staff member who made a double-amputee who was in a wheelchair "demonstrate" that he could not walk and therefore needed the special pass

 

[WheeledTraveler]

It's too bad you had such a bad experience. I was at the same Six Flags about 2 1/2 weeks ago with really no issues. The one problem I had was on a coaster where they insisted that I transfer from my wheelchair to the last row (the last row of a coaster is the one that goes the fastest, and, therefore, the one where you're most likely to get whiplash) rather than to a middle row. Sure enough, I got whiplash and was in quite a bit of pain for the next few days. And that was with dealing with employees who at least sounded American.

But really things were mostly good, although I really do feel spoiled by Disney. My Six Flags trip was a senior class trip (college) and it was sad that I couldn't queue with my friends for things because it meant I missed some of the hanging out that they got to do while queuing.

 

[SueM in MN]

It's the right thing to do what you can to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to anyone else.

Since this is off topic on this board, I'm going to move it to the disABILITIES Community Board where it will be on topic.

 

[debbiemomto4]

I am thinking of taking my kids to Six Flags Great Adventure. I haven't been there in years. My youngest ds uses a pediatric stroller when walking long distances and very sun sensitive and I also have my oldest dd who was recently dx with Crohn's and also sun sensitive. Do they give accommodations and should I have a doctor's note?
Thanks
Debbie

 

[scottsod]

hi

if you go to guest services just inside the front gate explain your needs we never had a note they will give you a paper with the rides listed that
have access note not wheelchair access as some have only stairs
but you can use the flash pass entrance or the exit or to enter and show them the pass as posted your results will varry just speak up and show the pass and ask for what you need

as far as sun goes there is not much shade in main lines
but they this year have cabanas you can rent i think there alot of $$
but they do have shadded misted fan cabanas to rent if you want to go that way

scott