The Disney FATPass

[SueM in MN]

Another thought in reference to the line thing. I would imagine that the honest handicap people feel uncomfortable at "putting others out." I know that I would be uncomfortable loading immediately while others had to wait. It seems that on these few rides that we are discussing, Disney could easily make everyone happy by holding the handicap people and their group (No matter how large) for the length of time posted on the line board. They could be given little slips of paper with the time printed on it. This way, the masses wouldn't feel that they were treated unfairly, the handicap people wouldn't be feeling awkward from getting in front of everyone, and the scammers would be discouraged because they'd have to wait anyway. Ha! Is that a solution on what?????????

They already do that.
Bill has posted that he has been given a slip with a time to come back and we have had that happen too. Other people who use wheelchairs have posted the same thing many times in the past.

What is interesting to those of us who regularly travel with wheelchairs or with members of our party who have wheelchair is that we don't end up going to the front of the lines. So, we don't understand who all these people are who say they are going to the front of lines.

And, in fact, a park can get fined by handling people with disabilties with special treatment. The point of the ADA was to make things accessible to people with disabilities as much as possible in the same way as everyone else, without special treatment.

As a number of people have posted, it pretty much all evens out. For about 50% of the attractions, the wait for people with disabilties will be exactly the same as for people without disabilities. About 25% of the time, the wait may be shorter. And the other 25% of the time, the wait will be longer - often much longer, sometimes as long as 40 minutes longer.

 

[MiniGirl]

never mind..... i see peace has somewhat been made and I never intended to stir the pot again, so I'm just deleting my entire message.
Eva

 

[kaabost]

They already do that.
Bill has posted that he has been given a slip with a time to come back and we have had that happen too. Other people who use wheelchairs have posted the same thing many times in the past.

Oh, alright. Sorry.

 

[resol37]

Just got back from 7 days at wdw...had fun as usual, but I was wondering if this bothered anyone else:

Scenario: you stand in line for 20-30 minutes for a ride and group of people accompanying an obese individual show up at a line and get put on with no waiting at all? I find it infuriating personally...people whose only "handicap" is they don't know when to put down the fork, get ushered to the front of lines, front of performances etc. ahead of others that have been standing in line waiting their turn...Anyone know what the official WDW policy on this is? Why can't the rest of the group get into line, and when they make it to the front of the line then they can load the obese riders with them? Why should a group of 5-10 people essentially get prefered access to everything because they eat too much?

Same thing at the shows...we waited 45 minutes to get good seats at the Lion king show (which is awesome BTW)...get seated close to the front, wait another 20 minutes in the seats for the show to start, and 3 minutes before the show starts a group of rather LARGE individuals roll in and essentially ruin our great seats...and they are granted the best seats in the house...why is this done? why do people put up with this? How can this be fair?

If anyone should be allowed to jump to the head of the line it should be the beleaugured parent trying to keep 4 small children happy while waiting in lines all day!

I heard more than one person snickering/grumbling in lines as certain groups of people got to take advantage of their Disney FATPass.

WDW gives special preference to fat people because we eat more of their food and therefore hand over more of our money to the mouse.

 

[autumnbaby9]

WDW gives special preference to fat people because we eat more of their food and therefore hand over more of our money to the mouse.

LMAO

 

[resol37]

Are the GAC the red ones that the CM scans? I've been wondering what those were.

Actually, no. GACs are paper and are white with green printing (I think another color is used as well, but I can't remember). They specify what kind of assistance the person needs. For example, for some people who can't wait in the sun because of skin conditions, the card only provides them with a seperate, covered, area to wait in. I got a lot of these working at Disney-MGM Studio's Backlot Tour. Because the queue is covered, these people waited in line just like everybody else. Some GACs (such as those for people with autism), allow them to wait seperately of the line because they have trouble being surrounded by large groups of people. The queue at the Backlot Tour never got so long while I was there that anyone waited longer than the time it took to prepare our next tank show, so these people waited the exact same amount of time as if they had entered the regular queue.

Wheelchairs and ECVs can enter the regular queue at the Backlot Tour, but when the queue enters in for the tank show, the CM at the front of the queue has to monitor how many wheelchairs/ECVs are entering so they can alert the trams and space can be made. If the CM makes a mistake or misses a wheelchair, that person may have to wait additional time for another tram.

The red plastic cards that are scanned are used to determine wait times. The "greeter" CM scans it to activate the start of the wait time and it is scanned again when handed to the "load" CM to calculate how long that guest stood in line.

 

[cakesnkids]

Ya know what, I don't like to feed trolls, but lissen up pal.

I AM overweight, I DO have fibromyalgia, and I also have GENETIC arthiritis (which has NOTHING to do with my weight), as well as a bone spur on my foot, and last week, WITH my MIL in a chair, I stood in EVERY line with four children JUST as long as you did. Unless you have a slip of paper from EVERY person you saw getting in that handicapped line with their medical data from their doctor dont' DARE judge anyone.
Last week at Disney I did NOT find a lot of Magic as I was promised, instead I found ALOT of people like you who weren't happy until someone else was unhappy.
I'm fat, I'm HAPPY, and I BET you I could outwalk your skinny behind all day long without complaining that someone had done me wrong.

 

[southernbohemian]

The Not-SO-Scary Halloween parade was another example...we line up 1 hour in advance to get so-so position near the castle, and still I had to stand with my two smallest ones in my arms so they could enjoy the show...literally 1 minute before the parade starts, a ECV with an entourage of 10 shows up and get scooted to the best seats in a reserved area...just plain not fair.

I'm sorry if you thought they were somehow justified, Ed, but your posts want to make me cry. My 17-year-old cousin and her family were blessed enough to have one last family vacation together last year thanks to the Make-A-Wish foundation. They were given wonderful and, yes, preferential treatment. They were allowed to sit in reserved areas for parades and the fireworks - seats you might have wanted. She had a very advanced form of brain cancer and those fireworks were the highlight of her trip. You should be forever grateful that you have children to hold, even if its inconvenient. I'm sure you weren't thinking of the thousands of Make-a-Wish kids who visit the parks every year, or their families who enjoy the "perks" of being with someone in a wheelchair - but that is precisely what you should have been thinking of instead of making insensitive and rash judgements of people you don't know. No, she wasn't overweight (and was obviously very sick), but you have to think of why Disney made the effort to pick out the best spots for people in wheelchairs.

 

[BillSears]

Wheelchairs and ECVs can enter the regular queue at the Backlot Tour, but when the queue enters in for the tank show, the CM at the front of the queue has to monitor how many wheelchairs/ECVs are entering so they can alert the trams and space can be made. If the CM makes a mistake or misses a wheelchair, that person may have to wait additional time for another tram.

Yep I've had that happen. You think well waiting for the next tram isn't bad. But this was during the off season and the next tram wasn't until after the next show let out. Waited on an empty platform for about 10-15 minutes on that one.

 

[SueM in MN]

Yep I've had that happen. You think well waiting for the next tram isn't bad. But this was during the off season and the next tram wasn't until after the next show let out. Waited on an empty platform for about 10-15 minutes on that one.

We have had that happen at Voyage of the Little Mermaid. When we arrived to use our Fastpasses, the wheelchair area was already filled (there are only 8 spots for that show), so we had to wait for the next show. Even though they were letting Stanby people into that show.

Also, just a few weeks ago we went to the Stunt Show at MGM. We proceeded in the regular line until we actually were in the stadium area. We got to the area where wheelchair users go up in elevators to the major wheelchair seating area and found that the people who had been sent up in the elevators were coming right back down - the area was full. No one had counted the wheelchairs. We (and about 7 other people with wheelchairs) were routed to a different wheelchair area, but there were about 20 wheelchair/ECVs behind us that must not have gotten in since the CM told our group we had gotten the last wheelchair seats.

One "perk" (sarcasticly speaking) that hasn't been mentioned yet, is being seated in the back row for most of the movies and shows. People traveling with wheelchairs and ECVs don't have a choice of where to sit and are most of the time in the very back row (the exception is Festival of the Lion King).

 

[STEAMBOAT209]

I have a policy about speaking out, if you don't know why or what you should keep your opinions to yourself.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I just remembered an odd thing that occured on our last trip. When we got on the plane we were able to pre-board after the people who had wheelchairs due to having small children. Well- we were lucky and got the first row of the plane. Across from us was a man who was in a wheelchair prior to boarding. No biggie right? Well when we landed and got off the stewardesses had a wheelchair waiting for him. You'd think that was nice right? Well- the alleged wheelchair needer ignored the stewardesses even when they were looking right at him to address him and he strode off that tarmac faster than I could have walked!!! I then saw him at baggage claim (I was not looking but he was distinctly dressed) and he was carrying his huge bags and chatting with a friend! Now I have no idea what his condition may be but you have to admit that sounds a bit strange. I never judge anyone who needs a wc as you don't know what their life is but I found this particular situation a little unsettling. -Oh- and he wasn't obese or anything (just wanted to add that for the OP).

 

[Jim from Jersey]

Years back, my wife had knee surgery. She has about an 8 inch scar crossing her knee. Over the past few years the pain has returned and she will need a total knee replacement. She also has nerve damage in her heels that cause excrutiating pain. She will be having foot surgery in January. Due to the fact that this limits her movement, she had put on a lot of weight. She felt somewhat embarrassed by the weight gain but could not lose the weight. It ended up that she had additional health problems, one which included her thyroid. She just could not take the weight off. As a last resort, she just went through gastric bypass. In 4 1/2 months she has already lost over 200 lbs. Although she feels better, the pain is still constant in her knee and heels, mostly when on her feet. She's only 40 Y.O., pretty, up till this year was overweight, and does not have an obvious disability......would you (op) judge her as not being able to put the fork down? Our last 4 trips to WDW included renting an ECV from Walker Mobility. This was a cost of $140.00. My family consists of myself, my wife, and 3 Y.O. daughter, yet we have to rent a full size SUV or MiniVan in order to fit the ECV. Usually and added cost of $200.00 not to mention the difficulty of getting it in and out. Can I request a certain view or room when making reservations - NOPE! My request is for a building with an elevator or 1st floor room for ECV access. We continuously apologize throughout our WDW trips for, what we feel, is inconveniencing others. She gets very embarrassed when she has to "drive" past a line while others are staring at her, knowing that in their minds they are judging her. Finally, then "it happens", she gets off the ECV and steps onto a ride....oh, the snickers and looks we get. Yet, if they only felt the pain she feels in her heels, for those 2 minutes of the transfer, I wonder how many would want to be in her shoes at that moment. She "tolerates" the pain to move from here to there, but cannot walk or stand for any length of time. Does this sound like fun? Does this sound like she wants to be in the ECV and "cut to the front of the line". No way. I know she wants to walk, but she can't, she can't hold my daughters hand and "run" to the next ride like we did when we were kids. Hopefully some day she will be able to, but till that time, she will be stuck with her ECV. Count your blessings that you do not have to rely on an ECV or W.C. to get around. Lastly, about cutting the lines and wait times, unless you walk with us to every attraction, you have no idea what we go through. You only see what's in front of you. Tunnel Vision! As others have stated, sometimes the wait maybe shorter, however, other times it may be longer... but you don't see that! Walk in my wifes shoes (or any disabled person for that matter) for one day at WDW and see if you still want to comment the same! As a last note, shame on those who scam....this is why those with true disabilities or ailments get treated the way they do! Jim

 

[cxcelica]

I think there are plenty of threads on this board that deal with the legitimate "abuses" by "scooter" users. And it does exist. Who has not been the victim of the battering ram scooter...where a person in a scooter is just plowing straight ahead knocking into people while there family is running behind them making a b-line for the next attraction.

It happens. But the majority of people who are in handicap vehicles have legitimate disabilities and should not be barred from enjoying the same things that we enjoy at the parks. Perhaps Disney does need to come up with better guidelines for dealing with handicap access to rides. I do not get upset about it, but I can see how if you were standing for 50 minutes and a group of 10-15 people waltzed up with one handicap person and boarded ahead of you it could be frustrating, but if you step back it really is not that big of a deal.

I think the OP was a little harsh and could have stated it better, but it did have a somewhat legitimate question: he could have said something like "While I was at Disney I saw what I thought was a lot of unfair advantages and practices that were given to those people who were using handicap vehicles. Does Disney have a set of guidelines on how to deal with handicap vehicles and should they be changed". Now that is PC

 

[fizz13]

Just wanted to post what i witnessed at the MHSSHP last week. We got in line for Snow Whites Adventures and in front of us was a "large" family shall we say, except for their little girl. When they got to boarding time, the little girl hopped into the mine car and two of her family members got in but with a struggle. The third adult went to board but just couldn't lift her leg to do so, she tried again and again for maybe 4 minutes but just couldn't do it.
Now if that had been the OP waiting behind them, I'm sure this would have been an unaccepatble delay, but to me, my heart just broke for this lady who wanted to ride with her family, i was willing her on to manage it but it wasn't going to happen. Now this person probably had overindulged in the past but I did not feel resentful for waiting for my ride, I felt the deepest sympathy as it must have been incredibly painful for her to try as long as she did. I only hope her condition did not ruin her whole disney experience.
BTW, the rest of the family did ride and she waited by the exit, so heartbreaking.

 

[eliza61]

I think the OP could probably just use a lesson on etiquette and patience. My advice to him is to "lighten up, you're at Disney" Every one at one time or another has probably gotten a little frustrated at what we perceive as "abuses of the system". My pet peeve some times are those awful double wide strollers you see, especially when the children are clearly too big for them but I try to just take a deep breath and let it roll off my back. My daily life is stressful enough, I try hard to keep the pixie dust flowing on vacation.

 

[SueM in MN]

Perhaps Disney does need to come up with better guidelines for dealing with handicap access to rides. I do not get upset about it, but I can see how if you were standing for 50 minutes and a group of 10-15 people waltzed up with one handicap person and boarded ahead of you it could be frustrating, but if you step back it really is not that big of a deal.

Disney does have guidelines. First of all, most of the lines are wheelchair accessible and wheelchair/ECV users do wait in most lines (I wrote a list from the Disney website in another long post). If there is a separate wheelchair accessible entrance, their policy is that a wheelchair/ECV 'party' is up to 6 people - 5 plus the person using the wheelchair or ECV.
We have seen situations where it looked like we had a large party when we were just talking with the other people in line. Someone watching us might think we were all together and were one of those 'large' parties.
We have also been in situations where people thought we went on right away because we disappeared from the line, but they did not see where we went (which was the exit to board).

I think there are plenty of threads on this board that deal with the legitimate "abuses" by "scooter" users. And it does exist. Who has not been the victim of the battering ram scooter...where a person in a scooter is just plowing straight ahead knocking into people while there family is running behind them making a b-line for the next attraction.

I just wanted to point out that is an example of abusing the equipment (no one should be using a scooter or wheelchair as a battering ram. That does not mean that the person does not need the equipment, just that they are not using it in a responsible manner. Some of the 'wild drivers' are driving their own ECV. There have been a lot of posts in the past about that type of abuse and people making assumptions about whether the person needs the scooter or not. The only one who knows is the person living in that body and using the scooter.
There was also a recent post where someone said they knew they saw abuse because the person 'jumped out of their scooter and ran ahead of the rest of the people waiting to board at haunted Mansion.' I can say that one is totally not true because at Haunted Mansion, people using wheelchairs and ECV board at the exit (after waiting in line until not long before the regular line enters the building). Since wheelchair/ECV users board at the exit, and the exit not visible from the boarding area, there is no way that someone could have seen what they posted.

Oh, and by the way, unless the person using a wheelchair/ECV is able to walk into the stretching room and stand for the duration of the show in that area, we miss that part of the attraction. My youngest DD can't walk at all and has not seen that part since she was about 6 years old and we were able to carry her in (ever carry a 6 year old in line? It's not fun).

And, also, she can NEVER ride Peter Pan again because she is too big for us to carry and it is too dangerous for us to board and unload that ride with her. It was one of her favorites, but her dad was carrying her off the ride back to her wheelchair and almost ran out of room on the moving walkway. Since that moving walkway can't be stopped, she can't ride it any more.
(Ever tell your child they can't ride because it's not safe to take them any more? It's not fun.)

And, then there are some rides that we have given up because other guests have made it too difficult for us. DD likes the teacups, but people seem to think it's entirely OK to run in front of DH who is carrying DD and take the teacup he is heading to (many of them know they are doing it. It's hard to ignore someone carrying a 5 foot tall 'child'. They just don't care). The same thing happens on the Carrousel, so we don't go on that anymore either.

I don't know exactly when it became OK to be rude to people with disabilities, but it seems to us to be becoming more common. If someone doesn't think you have a disability, they think it's OK to be rude and mean. And, some think it's OK to be rude and mean even if they can see a disability, because they think people with disabilities are getting special treatment.

 

[shovan]

Bill & Sue YOU ROCK!

Thanks so much for representing all ECV/WC users!!!

To the original poster,
I guess I just didn't realize what a perk it was, that my husband has muscular dystrophy and for many years has used an ECV & now is in a wheelchair!

Oh I guess I've forgotten in WDW we usually are allowed to sit together! Yes that is a perk!

At many local events in our city, with a family of three, we've been denied sitting together as a family. In particular, I remember attending a circus when our daughter was about 8. I purchased the tickets informing them that he could not manuever any steps but that I could transfer him to a seat. Well, he had sit alone up in the back, while my daughter & I had to sit several rows below him. What a wonderful family outing that was!

Oh WOW we do get special treatment at WDW!!!!

 

[Daydreamer64]

In our experience the only people who "go to the front of the line" are with Make-A-Wish-
My oldest son has a terminal disease - the average life expectancy is 10 years -, he has multiple health issues three of which endanger his life daily and have to be monitored very closely- we get a GAC for him.

What you will see is Mom in a chair- getting out of it- parking in the stroller lot- to access the lines using HIS Guest Assistance Card or fastpass , for him -NOT because of my body shape.....nor are we trying to scam the system- no matter what other people may think.

--because Mom has diabetes, uncontrolled HBP, Hashimoto's Hypo, fibro, severe asthma, arthritis and heart issues-All of these problems are invisible to you- all you can see is the effect of my health issues- so I need the chair for park visits-I do not get to go to the front of the line and neither does he- we walk- I am overweight because my body is shutting down and the docotrs can't get everything regulated- so the motab has just gone crazy- and I do not eat more then 1200 cals per day - so ..

So, I'll pray for you ( even if you don't care) and hope that you never have to encounter physical hardships in your life that require a little help and compassion once in a while .

Very obese people almost always have other health issues causing their problems.

 

[taximomfor4]

We have been given slips of paper before, with a return time handwritten on them.

Beth

OK. SO, we can all agree on something. The people that we are ALL upset about are the people who choose to abuse the system and and use an ECV/WC when not needed. Right? These people are annoying to the masses but their biggest crime is causing honestly handicapped people to be looked down upon, uncomfortable, and the butt of unfair accusations. Let's all be mad at the scammers..........too bad we can't ID them.

Another thought in reference to the line thing. I would imagine that the honest handicap people feel uncomfortable at "putting others out." I know that I would be uncomfortable loading immediately while others had to wait. It seems that on these few rides that we are discussing, Disney could easily make everyone happy by holding the handicap people and their group (No matter how large) for the length of time posted on the line board. They could be given little slips of paper with the time printed on it. This way, the masses wouldn't feel that they were treated unfairly, the handicap people wouldn't be feeling awkward from getting in front of everyone, and the scammers would be discouraged because they'd have to wait anyway. Ha! Is that a solution on what?????????