Sorry for the digression from strollers, but some things need to be said.
Not angry at all but just telling the truth from both sides.
The truth hurts I know but simply denying it is not going to help those that really deserve it.
And those of us that really deserve a GAC don"t complain but count there blessings and the "non valeurs "are just making a stink about getting FOTL.
You bring the same items up every time that disabilities are discussed.
I don’t claim to be an expert about
Disneyland Paris or how people with disabilities are treated there from visiting several times. Visiting the US and WDW does not make a European an expert about how people with disabilities are treated at WDW, in the US in general or about the ADA.
There are some very big differences that are readily apparent:
Disability Cards: European countries have some sort of system of cards for people with disabilities.
Disneyland Paris mentions those as proof of what can be used to get assistance for guests with disabilities:
"Documents required:
French residents:
disability card, war disability card, difficulty standing card, disabled person's priority card, European disabled parking badge, or a medical certificate issued less than 3 months ago certifying the person's disability and stating whether or not they need to be accompanied by a third party.
Residents of other countries:
European disabled parking badge or a medical certificate in French or English issued less than 3 months ago, signed and stamped by the doctor, certifying the person?s disability and stating whether or not they need to be accompanied by a third party.”
There is no similar system of ‘disabled cards’ in the US. Many people with disabilities in the US
do have handicapped parking cards, but
having a handicapped parking card does not mean that the person would require any accommodation other than for parking - which is one of the reasons they are not used as proof of disability. Besides - people who are driving and parking in the handicapped parking spots would need to leave the card in their car, so it would not be available to show to anyone.
Helpers Go Free:
Reduced Price Entry:
This is available at Disneyland Paris - a guest with a disability who can present something that shows they need to be accompanied by a third party. A person with a disability can get reduced price tickets, even if they don’t need an accompanying person.
From the Disneyland Paris website (my bold):
"To benefit from reduced-priced entry to the Disney® Parks (1, 2 and 3-day tickets), you must purchase your admission ticket from the appropriate ticket desks (located near the Disneyland® Hotel) or from the Guest Relations Window, depending on whether or not the Parks are open.
Important:
to be eligible for reduced-price entry, guests must present one of the following documents: disability card, war disability card, disabled person's priority card (or a difficulty standing card, as it was previously known), European disabled parking badge, or a medical certificate issued less than 3 months ago certifying the person's disability and stating whether or not they need to be accompanied by a third party.
Helpers go free
Helpers are only given a free admission ticket when a reduced-price admission ticket is purchased at the Park entrance for the disabled guest*. Helpers must be aged 18 or over and capable of helping you whenever necessary - in attractions that require guests to transfer from a wheelchair into the attraction vehicle, or whenever else you need assistance during your stay (guiding, interpreting or in the event of evacuation). “
There is NO REDUCED PRICE or HELPERS GO FREE at WDW for people with disabilities. I have not received questions lately, but have received questions in the past from people in the UK asking about whether they would get a discount by showing their “Blue Badge” (UK parking permit).
If there was, the ADA
would allow for proof of disability to be required. A few other parks (like Sea World in the past) have chosen to offer this. They do require proof and one of the reasons that they offer it is they consider some of their attractions to not be accessible, so guests with disabilities do not get 'full enjoyment.’
United States National Parks do have free lifetime passes to their parks for people with permanent disabilities. They require proof, which is allowed under the ADA when the disabled person could be getting something of value.
Discounts for people with disabilities are very rare in the US - most theme parks don’t have any discounts.
Accessibility:
Disneyland Paris was not built to have all attractions accessible thru the ‘regular’ main lines, so many attractions have a special disabled entrance. Those entrances can’t be used without having an ‘Easy Access Card.’ There is no guarantee that someone coming to Disneyland Paris will be issued a card, even with proof.
Quotes from the Disneyland Paris website:
"This card allows you to access certain attractions via specially-adapted entrances.
See the "Guide for Guests with Disabilities" for more specific information on each attraction....
We cannot guarantee that you will be eligible for one of these Cards. Hiring a wheelchair does not automatically make guests eligible for an Easy Access Card.”
If you go to a link for the Disneyland
Guide For Guests with Disabilities, you will see that most of the attractions at DL Paris have special entrances (often the exit). A guest with disabilities who can’t use the regular entrance will need an Easy Access Card to use those entrances.
Most of the attractions at Walt Disney Studios are accessible thru the main entrance, the same as other guests (these are called Mainstream Lines).
When we first started going to WDW in 1987, only the MK and Epcot existed. They had many attractions where the ‘disability access’ was at the exit.
The ADA changed that and required Mainstream Access as much as possible.
The newer parks (AK and the Studio) were built with Mainstream Access and Mainstream Access was added to attractions at MK and Epcot as much as possible.
At this point, there are very few attractions at WDW that do not have Mainstream Access. WDW doesn’t require special access card to use a wheelchair or
ECV in line because in most circumstances, the regular lines are accessible. Where there is a ‘special entrance’, it is because the ‘regular entrance or regular boarding’ is not accessible and was not able to be mainstreamed. A ‘handicapped entrance’ does not mean a shorter wait and often guests with disabilities are ‘held’ in the waiting area for as long as they would have been waiting if they had used the ‘regular entrance’. Rather than list them all,
this is a link to a post where I listed the attraction entrances for each WDW park.
GACs are not given out in the US for ‘deserving one’ but because people have needs or limitations related to a disability that keep them from having equal access.
Here’s the definition of disability from the ADA:
"Sec. 12102. Definition of disability
As used in this chapter:
(1) Disability
The term "disability" means, with respect to an individual
(A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual;
(B) a record of such an impairment; or
(C) being regarded as having such an impairment (as described in paragraph (3)).
(2) Major Life Activities
(A) In general
For purposes of paragraph (1), major life activities include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working.
(B) Major bodily functions
For purposes of paragraph (1), a major life activity also includes the operation of a major bodily function, including but not limited to, functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions.”
So, no, the ADA does not cover “deserving” accommodation; it covers needing accommodation. Needing treatment for cancer is a horrible thing to go thru, but most cancer survivors in the US don’t want, expect or feel they deserve any special treatment at WDW just because they have gone thru that.
Many people with disabilities rent ECVs and wheelchairs at WDW if they can’t walk all day and because using an ECV or wheelchair will allow them to access most attractions
without special treatment.
Adults can barely push them wihout incident
