The magic for us is gone

[LindsayDunn228]

If her daughter was at the point of exhaustion, why were they heading back into the theme park? Next time it might be best to bring or rent a manual chair. ---Kathy

I have wondered that since the beginning.

 

[diseyore]

If you all must know, she takes breaks and sits for awhile. Some days are better than others. It is not like we do this all at once. It takes a long time for us to get to the parks and then to the rides. If we go to the parks on a slow day we might make it on 3 rides. She does not use a wheel chair because that only makes her stiff and sore.

I really didn't want to make this a free for all and have everyone bickering. I just could not believe someone could be so cruel at Disney and to treat you in this manner.

 

[moses_dog1]

Hi I'm really sorry about that! When I went wit my bro (he's in a wheelchair) we had a great time and the staff was curtious. i dont think it is WDW's fault. WDW is a magical place. mayb it was just a bad staff or he was having a bad day. but he still shouldn't have treated u that way. my dad would have tried to beat that dude up! lol

 

[Michigan]

If we go to the parks on a slow day we might make it on 3 rides. She does not use a wheel chair because that only makes her stiff and sore.

Wouldn't it be better for her if she was in a wheelchair or stroller to get on the monorail and down Main Street? Once you get to a land park the chair and then she could walk. Once you finish all the rides in that land let her ride to the next land. I would think that wouldn't make her any stiffer then riding in a car or sitting in a chair or couch would.

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm going to close this thread with this final post>

It all comes down to necessity VS option/choice.
This is the same for the wheelchair accessible monorail car, companion restroom, etc. etc. etc. etc.

For the monorail, there is one (1) wheelchair accessible car. The door on that car is wider and there is a ramp located near that car so that the CM can move it into place if someone needs it to get in.
That car looks like there is a lot of room in it, but because of the location of the door and the center support/handhold, it is not always easy to get a wheelchair or ECV in there, especially if people are already seated in it. That's why CMs limit access to that car.

The doors on the regular monorail do not open wide enough for a wheelchair or ECV to be loaded. Someone who has a folding wheelchair and can get out of it has the option of getting out of it, lifting (or having a companion lift) the wheelchair into a regular car and riding the regular car. Whether or not that is a good option for that person is going to depend on their individual situation.

For most people with a wheelchair or ECV, that accessible car is a necessity. They don't have the option of going into another monorail car, even if all the other cars still have space.

Strollers are required to be folded for WDW transportation (buses, monorails, boats). For buses and boats, if there is room, strollers are allowed on without being folded as a convenience. Regular strollers are usually narrow enough to roll on the regular monorail car.
Double strollers are too wide and will only fit thru the doors of the wheelchair accessible cars. They could be folded, but as a convenience/option, people are allowed to bring them onto the wheelchair accessible car. People who have done it have posted many times in the past on the Family board that they were told they could do this if no one needed the wheelchair accessible car.
That is fair, since they have the option of folding the stroller and bringing it onto a regular car. Some double strollers don't fold easily, but all that I have heard of do fold (if they didn't, people would not be able to transport them in their cars).
For someone (like the poster who said she took infant twins and a 2 1/2 yr old on the monorail by herself), that's not a good option. Being able to wheel the double stroller on with the kids still in it is a necessity for her (but, the necessity came from the choice to bring two small infants in a double stroller and a toddler without another person).

The CM that the OP posted about should not have treated their family in that way.
There is no "advantage" to the wheelchair accessible car - the only difference is the door and the ready availability of the ramp. The doors to the next car down would have only been about 15-20 feet in front of or behind the wheelchair car. What would have made sense for the CM to do would be to seat the family in one of the other cars that did not involve a long walk. I don't know why that wasn't done and, again, the CM should not have argued/yelled at the family.
I'm still not sure exactly what happened; whether the OP's family was waiting by the wheelchair accessible car and showed the CM their child's GAC when the CM told them to move on?
Or had they gotten into that car, sat down and then were told to get out by a CM?

Whatever the circumstances does not make what the CM did right. He should not have treated them that way, but being able to explain in a very clear way what happened might help the OP in their letter to WDW.

Sorry for all the negative that came out in this thread.