The magic for us is gone

[diseyore]

I just need to get some of this off my chest. I spent yesterday in tears and am still in tears over our treatment yesterday.

My DD was having a rather hard time with her disability and not feeling well but thought we could go to the parks to bring a little cheer. Well, it was too busy for her to get on most of the rides since she could not even get to where there was no sun. (I understand it is busy) She started crying that she just wanted to be a normal person. We left the park went back to the car and then changed her mind and thought we would try it again. We made it up to the monorail which is a challenge and then went to the closest car which is for disabilites. ( I know the folks in chairs will flame me) The CM told us to go clear down to the end. We tried to explain our circumstances and showed the GAC and said we couldn't show our plakard as it was in the car. He told me that that was a worthless piece of paper and we should be ashamed of ourselves that we were trying to taking advantage of a disability. he was yelling at us! I begged him to just let us be (not busy at the monorail) He just kept yelling at us and saying how we didn't know his family and that we had no right to use this area we were fine. We told him we were going to guest relations and he said fine here is my name and to move! My DD said she wasn't going anywhere. We got on the monorail and she was sobbing. Not what she needs with her condition. We went to guest relations and they just made excuses for the CM.

This has been the absolute worst treatment we have ever received. It hurt so bad to see my DD in her condition, let along be treated this way. I don't think we will ever renew our passes again. How can I give money to such a place. This has been our magical escape for years and it has been ruined.

I know there are some of you who can understand and I appreciate it. I don't need to get flamed as I am already in tears.

 

[wendygrace]

*hugs*

 

[emilyclaire]

I am sorry to hear that. My little sister has cerebal palsy and ran into a rude CM last time we were all down there as a family. She was just a little girl at them time, probably about 5. I don't remember the exact circumstances, but it was something about them making us wait an insanely long time in 90+ degree heat to rent a wheelchair for her (she normally doesn't use one at home but needed one to get around the parks), only to argue with my dad about whether or not she really needed a chair at all. The rest of the CM's just made excuses for the rude CM in our case as well. Like I said I don't remember the details, since I was only 13 at the time, but I know my dad refuses to return to Disney now because of it.

Sorry this happened to you and your DD.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Not flaming you AT ALL, just a bit confused. If the monorail wasn't busy, like you said, why would you even need the wheelchair section of the monorail? If she was wanting to stay out of the sun, I'm not understand why the wheelchair is section is going to remedy the situation.

You said you explained the GAC to the CM. What accomodations were you wanting/expecting at the monorail?

Again, I'm totally not flaming you, just looking for a little clarification.

 

[diseyore]

They told everyone to move down to the very far end. My DD just needed to be as close as possible to be able to get on and sit down. No wheel chairs were there.

Interesting that someone came with a double stroller(not a wheel chair) and they were allowed to load in the disabled section of the monorail without question.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Sorry, but I'm still confused.

 

[lookingforward]

To you and your daughter. The CM was absolutely wrong in yelling at you. He might have gently questioned you, but never argued with you. There are MANY disabilities that are not visable to the naked eye. My friend had terminal cancer and looked well (with a wig and makeup) and yet was so weak and worn out that she needed special accomodations. Same with another friend with MS. That CM should be ashamed of himself.

I hope you write a letter to Disney about the circumstances of your visit, right to the top. It is so sad that you would let that man ruin any future visits you might have. I think the powers that be should know that he is treating people (and especially CHILDREN) like that.

 

[SueM in MN]

That CM was out of line in the way he talked to your family.

I'm still not sure from your explanation why you got in that car though??

I'm sure it made sense to you at the time, but just for future reference and for other posters, the theme park GACs are only used in the parks. They are not used for buses, monorails or anything outside of the 4 theme parks. So, it's possible that the CM had not actually seen one before. That doesn't excuse his behavior, but even if he had not turned argumentative, showing a bus or monorail CM a GAC is likely to lead to a puzzled CM who doesn't know you want or what to do about it. He should have asked what you needed rather than yelling at you though.

Interesting that someone came with a double stroller(not a wheel chair) and they were allowed to load in the disabled section of the monorail without question.

There is a reason for that.
Double strollers will not fit thru the doors in the regular monorail cars without folding. If there are no wheelchairs, the normal procedure is to let them use the wheelchair car because the door is much wider.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

That CM was out of line in the way he talked to your family.

I'm still not sure from your explanation why you got in that car though??

I'm sure it made sense to you at the time, but just for future reference and for other posters, the theme park GACs are only used in the parks. They are not used for buses, monorails or anything outside of the 4 theme parks. So, it's possible that the CM had not actually seen one before. That doesn't excuse his behavior, but even if he had not turned argumentative, showing a bus or monorail CM a GAC is likely to lead to a puzzled CM who doesn't know you want or what to do about it. He should have asked what you needed rather than yelling at you though.


There is a reason for that.
Double strollers will not fit thru the doors in the regular monorail cars without folding. If there are no wheelchairs, the normal procedure is to let them use the wheelchair car because the door is much wider.

Thank you, Sue. I was wondering if I was the only one in the dark on this one.

 

[wendylovesdisney]

Sorry, but I'm still confused.

I do not know what the confusion is... she is saying her daughter wanted to sit down right away and they wanted her to go the end of the monorail and load, which meant walking further.

 

[diseyore]

Thank you wendylovesdisney, I am glad you understand. We didn't just show the GAC, we explained she had a disability and would appreciate the accomodation. We were kind to the CM until he started yelling at us.

 

[SueM in MN]

I do not know what the confusion is... she is saying her daughter wanted to sit down right away and they wanted her to go the end of the monorail and load, which meant walking further.

Well, maybe I'm not picturing it right, but when we have used the monorail, there was a gate to get into the waiting area to use the wheelchair accessible car. We had to wait for the CM to open the gate to get into that gated area.
And after the wheelchairs were loaded, the CM let other people into the car.

For the rest of the cars, there is a fence that slides in front of the monorail door (for want of a better explanation) and people have just walked in when the door opened.
That's what I didn't understand.

 

[diseyore]

There is not a special gate to wait at for the disability cars. Once you go up the ramps you simply go to a gate to the left or right. The closest gates are the ones marked for disabilities. They wanted us to to all the way down to the very end, which at this time was more difficult for my DD.

 

[SueM in MN]

There is not a special gate to wait at for the disability cars. Once you go up the ramps you simply go to a gate to the left or right. The closest gates are the ones marked for disabilities. They wanted us to to all the way down to the very end, which at this time was more difficult for my DD.

We usually take the bus to MK, so we are not usually going from the TTC to MK. The last time I did was March 2006 when we took the monorail from Epcot to TTC and then the monorail from TTC to MK.
When we rode more often, there was a gated waiting area like I described and the CMs 'assigned' people to the different gates. There was a gate closing the wheelchair area off and you had to wait for the CM to 'assign' you to that gate to get let in (the others were open for anyone to wait at).
We've also been to WDW most often when it was busy, so there were more CMs assigning people to gates and while some were told to keep moving ahead, there was also a CM assigning people from the back of the train.

PS
I don't have any problem/concern or other feelings about people without wheelchairs using the wheelchair accessible car. There usually are people without wheelchairs or disabilities assigned to the car we are in when we do ride the monorail.
I'm just trying to understand what happened.

 

[winniethepoohsmom]

My Ds is autistic and does'nt do well with crowds and does'nt have good balance so he would at times be better in a less crowded car where he could sit. I could understand wanting to use the handicap car if it was'nt being used, I understand it is for wheelchairs and strollers when needed but if it was'nt being used by anyone else he should have allowed you to use it just out of courtesy. I understand you were just showing the GAC to show him your child does have a disability as you were explaining it, as with my DS's disability it's not always immediately apparent. I would'nt give up on Disney because of one rude CM, don't let his problem become yours. We have met many CM's who have been very friendly and helpful, I believe this CM is one of the few that was'nt who knows maybe he was having a really bad day.

 

[hematite153]

I am really sorry that you and your DD had such a difficult day.

I also hope that you will write a thorough letter to Disney describing your experiences and naming all of the people involved. You may also wish to share more detailed information about your DD's disabilities that you don't wish to discuss in an open forum. After all, it couldn't hurt for your letter to also provide education.

I hope that you won't give up on wdw forever because of 1 person. (Yes, I know that the other people weren't helpful either but at least they didn't cause the problem.)

 

[diseyore]

Thank you for all your support. I already sent an e-mail to Guest Relations since this was not the first time we have encountered rude CM's. I also know someone in mangement at Disney and will get the scoop on who we should really write to really get attention to the matter. She gave me this info a while ago and I chose to let it go, but I can't do it this time. I did tell Disney that I am sure the Orlando Sentinel would love to help us with our story.

I guess I am so discussed because this was the one place we could actually feel happy and enjoy ourselves and forget our problems and right now we feel that has been stripped from us. I know it is one employee, however it is a reflection of Disney.

 

[allie_to_you]

I cant' believe someone would be so rude and ugly, especially not knowing what the circustances were, I don't care who they were or whether they'd ever heard of a GAC card or not. They should have been reprimanded, but like others have said, I hope you don't completely give up on Disney just because of that.

Keep us informed as to whether or not Disney responds to your complaint!

 

[kaytieeldr]

You could try practicing for next time, "My daughter has mobility problems (or issues, or difficulty); we' like to board a monorail car right here, thank you". Keep repeating this calmly and politely to ANY Cast Member who gives you a hard time. As for a Manager, if necessary.

I realize this might be hard with your daughter - have you considered renting a wheelchair for her? Most likely, Care Medical would have smaller sizes if that's what she'd be most comfortable in.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Well, maybe I'm not picturing it right, but when we have used the monorail, there was a gate to get into the waiting area to use the wheelchair accessible car. We had to wait for the CM to open the gate to get into that gated area.
And after the wheelchairs were loaded, the CM let other people into the car.

For the rest of the cars, there is a fence that slides in front of the monorail door (for want of a better explanation) and people have just walked in when the door opened.
That's what I didn't understand.

This is what I was thinking.

You could try practicing for next time, "My daughter has mobility problems (or issues, or difficulty); we' like to board a monorail car right here, thank you". Keep repeating this calmly and politely to ANY Cast Member who gives you a hard time. As for a Manager, if necessary.

I realize this might be hard with your daughter - have you considered renting a wheelchair for her? Most likely, Care Medical would have smaller sizes if that's what she'd be most comfortable in.

I agree.

Please don't get me wrong. No one should be yelled at by a CM that way. I never said he was in the right. I was just trying to understand your story.