seashoreCM said:
Problems with Guest Assistance Cards usually occur because the CM at a ride does not follow its instructions correctly, and this is exacerbated because each guest's GAC is different.[/url]
One of the problems is that the GAC can sometimes
not be followed exactly the same on all attractions. People assume they can and the CMs sometimes don't do a good job (or don't have time to) explain.
Sometimes the accomidation that was available at one attaction is not available at another. And sometimes, what happens depends on when you come, how busy it is, how many other people with special needs are already waiting and the staffing for that attraction. So, you might even end up being handled differently during 2 visits to the
same attraction.
For example, at Haunted Mansion, sometimes the waiting area for people with special needs is already full when you arrive and the CM may give you a slip of paper with a return time on it. If the CM doesn't explain
why they are doing that, the guest may feel they are being mistreated (especially if the standby line has a short or no wait). Occasionally, there is no one with special needs waiting and the CM may take the party with special needs right away for what I would call operational needs - ie, maybe the CM knows that the staffing is good right now, but someone is going to lunch in 15 minutes. So, if they handle the party with special needs right away, they can be done before the CM's lunch period begins. If that happens at one attraction, guests might think that is the way it's supposed to happen.
You can end up handled both ways at Haunted Mansion, depending on "operational needs".
So which way is right? They both are.
There are also situations where a particular queue is not wheelchair accessible and the guest is taken in thru an alternate entrance. There are very few of these and most are at MK; because the park is old, it was not possible to make some of the attractions accessible. Some guests assume that is the way all the attractions are supposed to work and are puzzled when they are asked to go in the regular line for the next attraction. There are also some attractions that are wheelchair accessible, but not accessible to ECVs.
I know one attraction that people have complained about having to leave their ECVs outside is Pirates. People have written that they could not see why they needed to do this since the walk into the attraction is wide with no steps. People have suggested that they should be able to take their
ECV into the exit and board there. The things guests can't see are that the boarding and exit area are actually in 2 different buildings. If a guest with an ECV or non-folding wheelchair boards at the regular boarding area, there needs to be a CM free who can take the ECV to the exit area. And, for that attraction, it's not possible to board at the exit because right after guests get off, the boats go up thru an area that is just high enough for the boats to fit thru (no room for guests). It was an attraction designed a long time ago when accessibility was not really thought of.
There
are a few CMs who just don't "get it". One problem attraction which people have written about (and we have also experienced) is Splash Mountain. There is a point where the standby line goes up a flight of steps; at that point, there is also a chain "gate" with a wheelchair symbol on it. When the person with a wheelchair or ECV gets to that point, they are supposed to wait there for the CM to open the chain.
Some guests open the chain themselves and continue up that path (that sometimes makes the CM mad). We have had the experience of waiting patiently at that gate and when the CM comes, she's said she "can't let" us go thru the gate because that would be "cutting in line". And pointed us back to the regular line which goes up the stairs.
Even though we pointed out to her that DD is using a wheelchair and can't walk up the steps (and is too heavy to carry at 5 feet tall and 84 pounds). That CM would not budge; when we asked for a supervisor, she said of course we could not be expected to take a wheelchair up the stairs. That same thing has happened to other people. Plus, because DD has other needs besides needs for accessibility, we also had a GAC. So, having a GAC doesn't always help.
Another situation that other people have also experienced was on Small World. Even when the line of people waiting is short, some CMs seem to enjoy making people with wheelchairs and ECVs "snake" thru the regular line. In sseveral situations I'm aware of (us personally and people posting), there was no one ahead in the line until you got to the point near the regular boarding area where the wheelchair and ECV users are routed to the exit to board because the regular boarding area is not accessible. That seemed to be more a "power play" by the CM than anything else; the person with a wheelchair or ECV would not have gotten on board any faster if they were sent directly to the wheelchair boarding area, but the trip thru the line would have been easier.
In most situations, getting a supervisor involved clears up the problem. Sometimes and individual CM is just not informed or is overzealous (the case in Splash Mountain) or is just kind of nasty (the case in the Small World situation). Getting the supervisor invloved also educates the CM who is not doing things correctly.
And sometimes, there is a good reason why the CM is telling the guest that they can't do what they want to do - a guest once complained that her "rights had been violated" because her service dog was not allowed on Peter Pan. She got into a big arguement with the CMs at Peter Pan. She posted about it on this board and the disABILITIES Board (still very angry); we were able to explain to her satisfaction that there were some attractions the dog couldn't go on, why that was the case and how to find out which ones were a problem. She had not looked at the Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities, the park map or the sign at the attraction that said dogs were not allowed on that particular attraction, so she just assumed when she was told "no" that her right were being violated.
I'd be interested in finding out from the poster who had problems, what the problems were and on which attractions. We may be able to clear them up or help them not happen to other people (I know CMs read these boards regularly).
