Restroom Question

[MarineRose]

I wish I had known about these boards before my trip last month. I had an issue and since we are planning to go again in October, I'm looking for some advice.

I'm a military veteran and I suffer from PTSD. One of my biggest triggers is tight spaces, so I am careful to avoid them. I don't use a GAC, nor do I need one, since my biggest issue is the restroom. I always use the handicap stall and will wait longer for it if need be.

During my last WDW vacation, I was at AK and I waited for the handicap stall to open up. I do better in there because it's not as confining. As I was coming out, a woman on a scooter parked her scooter in such a manner that she pinned me against the wall and began SCREAMING at me for using that stall. I was so panicked, I couldn't even respond. When she finally moved herself so I could get away, I had a panic attack. A cast member working nearby directed my husband to take me to First Aid so I could take a break.

Sadly, a similar thing happened in Hollywood Studios. I again waited for the handicap stall, and when I came out, a woman with stroller fussed at me. She said she had a special needs child and people needed to be more compassionate and not take up that stall if they didn't need it.

What can I do? I do need to use the handicap stall but my disability is invisible and these comments just make me more upset.

This has never been an issue except for at Disney and that makes me sad because I love to go there.

Thanks in advance....

 

[disney david]

I wish I had known about these boards before my trip last month. I had an issue and since we are planning to go again in October, I'm looking for some advice.

I'm a military veteran and I suffer from PTSD. One of my biggest triggers is tight spaces, so I am careful to avoid them. I don't use a GAC, nor do I need one, since my biggest issue is the restroom. I always use the handicap stall and will wait longer for it if need be.

During my last WDW vacation, I was at AK and I waited for the handicap stall to open up. I do better in there because it's not as confining. As I was coming out, a woman on a scooter parked her scooter in such a manner that she pinned me against the wall and began SCREAMING at me for using that stall. I was so panicked, I couldn't even respond. When she finally moved herself so I could get away, I had a panic attack. A cast member working nearby directed my husband to take me to First Aid so I could take a break.

Sadly, a similar thing happened in Hollywood Studios. I again waited for the handicap stall, and when I came out, a woman with stroller fussed at me. She said she had a special needs child and people needed to be more compassionate and not take up that stall if they didn't need it.

What can I do? I do need to use the handicap stall but my disability is invisible and these comments just make me more upset.

This has never been an issue except for at Disney and that makes me sad because I love to go there.

Thanks in advance....

If you need them use them if that happens again ask for security and that person will be dealt with. I understand your problem and it tough but just remember disney owns hem not other guest so they have no right to block you or yell at you. if they had a problem they could of asked a cm for help and then let Disney handle it. The. When Disney ask why you tell them and they will be okay with it. Most cms are veterans and twill understand Disney not out to make any guest feel uncomfortable. if you need you can use the campion bathrooms it a single bathroom with a door not every bathroom will have one but if you ask a cm they will direct you to he nearest one.

A tip

The best and most quieted bath rooms I know of is the ones at Epcot international gates most of the time it may be a couple people in their. I know if your in the park you don't want to exit but figure I give the tip. If you need first aid please use it it give you ac and a place to rest.

Thanks for your service and hope that you do not have to deal with rude people while a Disney.

 

[maxiesmom]

It is a shame people would yell at someone over a stall in the restroom. I think you should simply tell whoever is being a jerk that you have a not so obvious need of the stall, but you need it none the less. I would also tell them that they need to learn manners, but that is me, and I understand you just wanting to get the heck away from those people.

Thank you for your service to our country!

 

[Freesia123]

Sirry you had to go through that. You did nothing wrong.

I've always wondered about handicapped bathroom etiquette. If no one is in line that is either in a wheelchair or has either verbally or non verbally expressed their desire to use it, is it ok to use? I have two little girls and am often alone with them, so it's a great solution for me.

Let me know so I can adjust if need be.

 

[maxiesmom]

Sirry you had to go through that. You did nothing wrong.

I've always wondered about handicapped bathroom etiquette. If no one is in line that is either in a wheelchair or has either verbally or non verbally expressed their desire to use it, is it ok to use? I have two little girls and am often alone with them, so it's a great solution for me.

Let me know so I can adjust if need be.

It is ok for you to use it. Handicapped stalls are not like handicapped parking spaces--they are not reserved only for certain people to use. If you know your going to be a while, I probably wouldn't use it, I wouldn't feel comfortable occupying it for a more than average stretch of time. But for a quick do your business and then moving on, then yes. Those stalls don't need to be left unused.

 

[ttintagel]

That's terrible - they were being very rude. Would it be possible for you to say something like, "I need it, too - not all disabilities are visible." Or does the PTSD make it so you can't? (I know people with anxiety disorders who wouldn't be able to do it because of the stress; I have no idea if PTSD has the same effect.)

 

[Freesia123]

Thank you! Ill check that off my list of things I always wanted to know!

 

[cobright]

You actually have a couple of options Marine. Knowing what they are is a tool in your belt that will mitigate some of your anxiety in the future.

You can disarm the unhappy person. Apologize immediately. This shuts screaming down because they think they are about to get contrition out of you and they want to be able to hear it. Then tell them you have a catheter and it's impossible to manage in a standard stall. It's a horribly personal over-share and people don't know what to do with it, usually they back up and mumble something while you leave. Remember, you don't owe that stranger a damn thing, let alone honesty.

You can be confrontational. I mean this in the sense that you have my permission. I mean that in the sense that you have the permission of every sane human being. Tell a person who gets in your face to back up and shut up. They are chihuahuas with a loud bark and tiny teeth. You're a Teufelhund.

PTSD is a rough battle to get through, do whatever you can to enjoy whatever comforts you can get.

 

[cobright]

The way I have always understood handicap stall is that it is used like any other stall but if a person with specific need of it arrives, they go to the head of the line.

The only time to grief on someone using it is if they are a homeless guy sleeping in there.

 

[bidnow5]

You did nothing wrong I also have to use the handicap stall but don't look like I do I've had a couple of people make comments over the years I just smile and leave. If someone would block me I would grab the throttle lever and move them but that's me
Thank you for your service go back have fun and ignore the uninformed

 

[LockShockBarrel]

The other option that might work is seeking out the less busy or less well know bathrooms. There's a list somewhere, so I hear. Not that I'm saying you did anything wrong. I only bring it up as a possibility because if less people in general are using a particular restroom, it would stand to reason less people will need the handicap stall and therefore there'd be less of a chance for confrontation over it. Although jerks roam everywhere, it's not a perfect solution.

 

[aubriee]

The way I have always understood handicap stall is that it is used like any other stall but if a person with specific need of it arrives, they go to the head of the line.

The only time to grief on someone using it is if they are a homeless guy sleeping in there.

That's the way I've always understood it too, but not everyone sees them that way. When we were there in May, my mom had a small confrontation over the handicap stall in the restroom right there as you come out of Soarin. She is an elderly woman in an ECV, with a cane and very swollen knees, who can barely get around. It's obvious to anyone who sees her that she is handicapped. While we were in line, she made the comment that she didn't know if she was going to be able to make it. Several people glanced at her, but none offered to let her go in front of them when the handicap stall opened. Instead they entered the handicap stall ahead of her. Fine there is nothing to say the handicapped get to go ahead of others, just because the handicap stall opens, and she understood that, (even though you'd have thought someone might show her a little compassion). However, as we got to the front of the line, there was only a mom right in front of us with a little girl about 6 years old. At the same time the handicap stall opened, two more regular stalls also opened. Thinking the mom and little girl would go into the regular stall, my mom headed to the handicap stall she needed. Nope, that woman huffed at her, said we were ahead of you and rushed into the handicap stall ahead of her, saying she needed that stall to change her daughter as they had a reservation at Akershus to get ready for. My mom absolutely had to go, but needed those bars in the handicap stall in order to get up off the commode. I told her to go ahead into a regular stall and we'd just have to leave the door open while I helped her off the toilet. My mom used the restroom, I helped lift her off the toilet, and then I went in and used the restroom and we washed our hands. That mom was still in the handicap stall primping and changing her daughter when we left. We know because we heard them talking in there about how to fix the daughter's hair.

 

[cobright]

When you rely upon the better angels of human nature you set yourself up for disappointment Aubriee.

Better to count on shame to work to your advantage. Next time, your mother or you (would be better), clear your throat and say something like, "excuse me, I (my mother) has a medical need for the handicap accessable restroom. Would it be alright if I (she) used it when it becomes available next?"

Now your fellow bathroom-dwellers are participants in a morality play of sorts where their choice in this matter is on display for all to see. The mother and 2 kids might feel fine using the stall as a changing room, but less so about her kids bragging later about keeping a wheelchair bound elder out of the same stall.

 

[SDSorority]

My husband and I both have 'bathroom issues' (and we both have panic attacks like you OP, more me than him though) and what we are going to try is the companion bathrooms this trip if we can't make it back to the room to 'go'. If you google 'Walt Disney World Bathrooms' there is a great site that shows all of the available facilities and their traffic and noise levels. This might help on your next trip!!

 

[maxiesmom]

My husband and I both have 'bathroom issues' (and we both have panic attacks like you OP, more me than him though) and what we are going to try is the companion bathrooms this trip if we can't make it back to the room to 'go'. If you google 'Walt Disney World Bathrooms' there is a great site that shows all of the available facilities and their traffic and noise levels. This might help on your next trip!!

If you do this, just try and be sensitive that for some, those companion restrooms are the only ones in the park they can use. They are very few and far between. You may have a bit of a wait for one to free up, and you also should use them as quickly as possible.

 

[BCmomma]

I had a similar experience and did not respond in a nice manner.....shame on me but there you have it.

I was at theme park here at home several years ago, waiting in line. When I was next in line the stall to become free was the handicapped and since no one on line was handicapped (visible or not) I took it. Was just pulling down my pants when two old ladies came barging into the bathroom, knocking on my stall "that's for handicapped ONLY!!!", shaming me out of the stall. I was highly embarrassed. I went back in line and waited for the next stall. The entire time I was in there they were in the stall, *****ing about how rude young people can be. I was appalled. After I washed my hands they were still *****ing so I knocked on the stall door and said "the whole bathroom can hear you, shut the **** up you rude old biddies" and I stormed out of the bathroom. Again, not very nice of me but I was humilated and reacted in haste. I'm pretty sure a couple of patrons wanted to applaud me.

The point I'm trying to make is people are RUDE and you had no reason to be treated so badly, I'm very sorry you had to experience that

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Something I've noticed that is kind of sad. . .some people just can't understand that they are not the only people in the world with a disability; they're angry that they have a disability and they're caught up in that anger and self-pity, so much so that sometimes they go out and are cruel to others with disabilities, because, in their minds, no one else in the world can be suffering.

I hate that you ran into these folks at WDW; it just sucks that you did and that they made you miserable and I hate that other people run into them as well.

But they are living in their own hells, I think. I know that's not solace, but they're not being jerks because they're happy or in a happy place. (Even that woman with her daughter. . .if she's that unfeeling to others, especially those who are less abled or older than she is, that's what she's teaching her daughter and her daughter will pay that back to her when she's old, I fear.)

I think cobright's advice is dead on the money, btw! As is the advice to get a CM and let them handle the blankety-blank-blanks. No one should be assaulted verbally, or pinned into a corner by a harrigan anywhere and oh-heck-no, it should never happen at WDW! If you need to use the handicapped bathroom and the line is OUT THE DOOR, you should be allowed to use it. No one else in that line knows you or your needs!

 

[stitchlovestink]

Sirry you had to go through that. You did nothing wrong.

I've always wondered about handicapped bathroom etiquette. If no one is in line that is either in a wheelchair or has either verbally or non verbally expressed their desire to use it, is it ok to use? I have two little girls and am often alone with them, so it's a great solution for me.

Let me know so I can adjust if need be.

But please please please be considerate of the time factor. I have had times where a mom with small children has taken that stall for upwards of 15 minutes! And at a place esp like an airport where you just cannot get off of your ECV and leave it unoccupied (unlike Disney where if you absolsutely had to....) it was VERY frustrating to wait 15 minutes to use the restroom. And she was already in there when I entered the restroom!!! That was just crazy!!

 

[Srbright]

If you do this, just try and be sensitive that for some, those companion restrooms are the only ones in the park they can use. They are very few and far between. You may have a bit of a wait for one to free up, and you also should use them as quickly as possible.

maxiesmom: That is what they are saying. They have anxiety issues and likely are part of the "some" you mention where the companion restrooms may be the only ones they can use.

Having spent 10+ years knowing someone with moderate to severe mental illness I often times find that people forget that mental illness is a disability as much as having cancer or an autistic child. Neither MarineRose nor SDSorority need to move on quickly as you seem wont to suggest.

If you know your going to be a while, I probably wouldn't use it, I wouldn't feel comfortable occupying it for a more than average stretch of time.

and

and you also should use them as quickly as possible.

Trying to negate their disability by suggesting that they hurry along is short sighted to say the least.

Stacy

 

[maxiesmom]

maxiesmom: That is what they are saying. They have anxiety issues and likely are part of the "some" you mention where the companion restrooms may be the only ones they can use.


Stacy

That is not at all what the OP said. They said they could use the larger stalls in the regular restroom areas. So no, the companion restrooms are not the only ones they can use. It is fine if they end up using a companion restroom, but for some guests they cannot use the larger stalls in the regular restrooms at all and the companion ones are the ONLY option. People just need to be aware of that and try to be sensitive to it.

What I was also saying is if at all possible to not use the companion restrooms if they were aware they were going to have to sit for quite a while. As someone who travels with family members that have assorted tummy issues, sometimes the bathroom ends up occupied for long stretches of time. If a guest can use the regular restroom and not the companion restroom during those sorts of instances it would be the more courteous thing to do.