Parking lot courtesy chairs

[Safari Steve]

This really isn't a question (or even that productive), but I just felt like getting this out in the open and seeing some comments from you all. At each of the parks, there are "Courtesy chairs" for travel between medical parking and the park entrance (or TTC). They are blue, with a tall flag attached to the back and the phrase "Courtesy chair, for use between parking lot and park entrance only "... in the last week, I've seen three different parties misusing these chairs.
1 party was very upset with the Park Greeter who would not let them take the courtesy chair into Epcot.
1 party tried to take the courtesy chair in the elevator to the Epcot monorail station.
1 party tried to put an MGM courtesy chair onto a WDW bus to Epcot.
(the last two were thwarted by the fact that the flag pole is too tall to fit through doorways... a quite intentional design feature.)
In all three instances, these people seemed to be both shocked that what they were trying wouldn't work (they had "I just fell out of a tree..." looks on their faces) and not embarrassed in the least that they were using the chairs beyond their intended purpose (as if they owned the chairs)...
Has anyone else seen this type of thing?
What's the deal? What's the solution? These chairs are there for guests who need assistance getting between the medical lot and the park entrance. Certainly they are needed, and removing them outright is a bad idea. Sue, Sue, Lisa, anybody... whaddaya think?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

There are always people who will attempt to take advantage of ANY situation, and have the attitude of "I deserve this special dispensation". The only thing to do is politely tell them they are an idiot, tell them how to contact WDW Guest Services with a complaint, and, if necessary, call security.

They make life difficult for everyone else.

 

[SueM in MN]

I agree with Cheshire Figment. There are some who will just try whatever they think they can get away with. Yet, they are the same people who would complain (Probably with lots of ***!!##@** words) if they needed a wheelchair in the parking lot and there was not one there.
I made a special effort to look for the wheelchairs and the signs when we were at WDW this March. The signs where the wheelchairs were parked and on the wheelchairs themselves seemed clear to me. In some of the areas, there were no wheelchairs (maybe someone was trying to smuggle them on the bus). I didn't notice if there were instructions on how to rent a wheelchair or a map to show where in the parks you would get one exactly.

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Originally posted by Safari Steve
What's the solution?

First:

measure the distance from the parking lot to the gates.

Now get some heavy chain and a stake.... <g>

Andrew

 

[SueM in MN]

LOL
It just might work!

 

[sneezy1956]

I've been healthy enough not to need any extra help until just recently....but personally I would rather be able to walk and do for myself instead of stuck in an ECV.

I can't understand why people think that it's so much fun having to be in one . I personally don't want head of the line access, or special help, I just want to be able to do everything I did when my legs worked perfectly.

I really like Andrew's idea but I want to take it one step further!

If you try something stupid with the chairs you have to live 24 hours a day for their entire trip. That way they get to look at all the behinds all day, deal with people running over you, deal with people cutting in front of you and then yelling when you can't stop fast enough and all the other **** that we put up with on a daily basis.

 

[travelitis]

When we were there over Easter, I'd forgotten to move my placard into the van. I needed one of those courtesy chairs, and they were nowhere in site.

 

[Eeyore1954]

I used these chairs at Epcot (it's the only park I could find them at) for my DW. (She usually gets an ECV while in the park.) Not knowing any better ( ) I would drop her off just before the entrance and walk the chair back to the pick-up site. One morning a wonderful CM, Brenda, met me about 2/3 of the way back and she asked me why I was taking it back. I replied that I guess my momma taught me well -- always put things back where you found them ! That's when she "enlightened" me to the fact that I could leave it at Guest Services and they'd make sure it was returned.

But I'd NEVER think of trying to take one into the park or worse, onto a bus. The signs are pretty clear -- or maybe my momma just taught me how to read a little better than some!

 

[doombuggy]

The only thing to do is politely tell them they are an idiot

Love this response!

There was this cataloge that sold a t-shirt that said:

Your village called.
Their idiot is missing.

I wish I had that shirt. Safari Steve, it could be passed out to some of those people!