Parade Politness

[cynzilla]

I have a question in regards to the handicapped section of the parades at the MK, especially (upcoming) at the MNSSHP.

The last few times, I have utalized the handicapped section (near the castle) to watch the parade and fireworks with my family. Last time a man had his wife in a wheelchair, 2 children and wanted to stand next to his wife holdhands or whatever during the parade. Well, this older woman was SCREAMING at him to get outta the way cause he was blocking her view by standing in front of her, next to his wife. (She was really rude) He finally he said "Am I not entitled to share a special moment with my family too?"

What is the "protocol" of that section? I usually back up my wheelchair to be able to have my daughter and hubby sit in front of me, but I have been scolded by a CM saying I am too far back and basically I put my chair foot rests in their backs. Are there actual rules to that section?(BTW I never have never seen any issues or hostilities at AK, only MK)[/I]Thanks.

 

[POOHsie]

I was placed at the edge of the sidewalk near the curb in my scooter. My grown daughter and BF were asked to stand behind me close to the other edge of the sidewalk. So technically, others seated in wheelchairs or scooters could park directly behind me and see the parade with little interference.

Just from a common courtesy perspective, the standing man was blocking the view of a wheelchair person seated behind him. And it is a viewing section specifically set aside for wheelchair guests. His "special moment" spiel didn't impress me a bit. If it weren't for Disney making the effort to set aside small spaces for the disabled to view the parades, none of us would have a chance against the standing guests. Sorry, that's my feelings about this.

 

[BillSears]

The whole idea is to allow those seated the ability to see the parade without someone standing in front of them. He was in the wrong and he should have stood behind his wife.

 

[SueM in MN]

The older woman was rude to scream at him, but he was rude to stand next to his wife, blocking her view.
The area in front of the castle is one of the most popular and each time we have used it, the wheelchairs and ECVs were literally lined up almost touching across the entire rope. The rest of our party (DH and I) were told that we could stand behind DD's wheelchair. We saw people with more in their party asked to stand 2 deep behind the wheelchair.

Besides being very busy, that particular viewing spot has some 'features' that make position of each wheelchair important for everyone to view. Here's a link to the MK park map.
You can see that the viewing spot is on the inside of the circle in front of the castle. That means each wheelchair spot has a fairly narrow area of view before the next wheelchair or standing person blocks their view of the parade. If someone is parked too far back or someone is standing next to the wheelchair instead of behind it, they will block the next person's view.

If the viewing area was on the outside of the circle (the side of the street closer to Tomorrowland, it would avoid that 'angle' problem. But, there is a popcorn stand on that side of the street and one advantage of the current spot is that there is park area behind it so it is easy to prevent guests who are not part of the wheelchair parties from standing in the area.

If he wanted to hold his wife's hand during the parade, he could have reached from behind her and held the wife's hand without standing next to her.

 

[Bete]

and I don't think there are exact rules about it all, but some common courtesies. Sometimes, the CMs will direct you in which case I feel you should ablige. We tend to get very oblivious to anyone else when it comes to such matters. I had a person once think I should move to the back; since, I wasn't in a scooter or wheelchair and forget about being with my family at show time. I have an Alzheimer's mother who would be devasted if I left her side. The funny thing was that her husband stood right next to her the whole time including show time. Another funny thing was we got there very early and they did not. In addition, she talked to our family for about 20 minutes as friendly as can be before the parade started and so did her husband, but all niceties went out the window the minute the show was to start. She did get rude. I totally ignored her after stating I would not move.

I do feel they need two areas around MK castle for handicap viewing. I do believe Disney could do better here or at least expand the area they have right, now. This area is very popular.

 

[KPeveler]

The policy is to have the wheelchair in front with the party standing behind you, at least in that viewing area - I was not told the same thing in the Frontierland viewing area.

If you MUST stand next to the person in the wheelchair, do not use the castle viewing area, or position the wheelchair on the corner of the viewing area and have the family members stand to the side right outside the ropes.

I did have my wife sit in front of my wheelchair in the castle viewing area - it was so crowded, they were letting this happen so the children could see. Also, she cannot stand for as long as it would have taken to wait either, so she really had to choice but to sit. Ultimately, she did better sitting in front of me than taking up the LOTS of room another wheelchair would have taken in that area. As it was, there were many children in wheelchairs who were held by their parents to see over the front row.

 

[jmartinez1895]

The last few times we got in the viewing area the Cm's asked the people in the front to sit once the parade started so the others could see. It sounds to me like both parties in that story might have been a little rude. I know it is so easy to get caught up in the magic and to forget about others around you, but he should have taken into account that the woman behind him could not see and it is hard for her to find a new spot. I also think that the woman was very rude. She could have asked politely, but she may have had some kind of a medical condition that makes her act that way.

 

[crashbb]

The last few times we got in the viewing area the Cm's asked the people in the front to sit once the parade started so the others could see. It sounds to me like both parties in that story might have been a little rude. I know it is so easy to get caught up in the magic and to forget about others around you, but he should have taken into account that the woman behind him could not see and it is hard for her to find a new spot. I also think that the woman was very rude. She could have asked politely, but she may have had some kind of a medical condition that makes her act that way.

It is also possible that she had asked nicely, in a quiet voice but was ignored by the man (or told by the man that he wasn't moving) and resorted to the screaming.

I agree that, on the face of it, the screaming woman was rude but the man should not have been standing where he was blocking the view of someone in a wheelchair.

 

[ILoveMyGirls]

when i was there a few weeks ago for the Mickey Halloween Parade a CM told me where to park my scooter. As my DH is 6'3" he is aware he can easily block someones view so he is very cognizant about making sure he does not block anyone. i believe that when someone stands in front of someone who is in a wheelchair/scooter thus blocking their view it is inconsiderate. we were in a tight spot but my husband still made sure he was not blocking anyone's view.