What are your biggest frustrations?

[LisaCat]

1.5 hour, oh boy, I know the feeling. That is why this trip we hardly stayed for fireworks, I just cannot take those huge lines. We watched Wishes next to exit and literally ran with the last one. For some stupid reason I love to go to the pool after parks but with long waiting it is almost impossible. By the time you are finally at the resort, all you want is to sleep. I think long lines have not much to do with loading wheelchairs but with the fact that there are just too many people and not enough buses. I can totally accept every 20 min during the day, but at night when I stand in a long line and will take probably 4th bus, I would appreciate every 5 min. Yes, I am a dreamer but there is nothing wrong with that.

Which is why I have "time" budgeted into my spreadsheet (Yes, I'm one of THOSE people!) for the morning trips TO the park and MONEY budgeted for a TAXI LEAVING the parks if we stay till closing. Been there, done that. Not catching the sequel! LOL!

 

[Leajess99]

My biggest peeves:

3)Children running and screaming and crying inside a restaurant and the parents ignore their behavior. Before I get flamed I totally get kids will melt down. I do not get when kids run crazy around a place dodging waitresses and guests. They could get hurt or they could hurt someone else. I do not get when the child is screaming and the adults continue dining as if nothing is happening. Please take the child outside or out of the restaurant. Give them time to calm down.

I so agree with this and saw it twice last week. Once was at Whispering Canyon Cafe while the women sat and talked the kids ran wild around their table and other people's tables. It was very annoying and dangerous to the children and the staff carrying the trays. I felt sorry for the family at the table next to us as their child was hit a couple of times while trying to eat.

 

[Donut23]

1.5 hour, oh boy, I know the feeling. That is why this trip we hardly stayed for fireworks, I just cannot take those huge lines. We watched Wishes next to exit and literally ran with the last one. For some stupid reason I love to go to the pool after parks but with long waiting it is almost impossible. By the time you are finally at the resort, all you want is to sleep. I think long lines have not much to do with loading wheelchairs but with the fact that there are just too many people and not enough buses. I can totally accept every 20 min during the day, but at night when I stand in a long line and will take probably 4th bus, I would appreciate every 5 min. Yes, I am a dreamer but there is nothing wrong with that.

Hey KellyNY -

It USED to be that way...oops, doesn't this belong on the OTHER thread?

anyway.......

YEARS ago, in a former life, I was a travel professional. Part of each trip was set aside for research (yea-yea it was tough!). More than once I would sit next to the bus loading area following fireworks and watch how long it would take to reduce the lines. Know what I remember......I remember 4 .....that's FOUR busses deep for Dixie Landings. Same with all the resorts........the busses just kept coming and coming.....often busses waiting to take guests after the current bus was loaded. There were soooooooo many busses at closing and the que was rarely full. At peak times......there were busses leaving WITHOUT anyone standing...no need.

I'm not sure the guilt is entirely the fault of ECV's. Disney knows exactly how many guests are inside the park and could, if they had the payroll hours to make it happen, have plenty of busses if they wanted.

 

[larryz]

hope you put your flame-retardant suit on!

You need to realize how much longer everything takes if in a wheelchair or scooter!! then you might be a bit more understanding!
Disney does a great job!

ps.... you might consider deleting your post!!! it's offensive.

Would you mind underlining (or otherwise highlighting) what you thought was offensive in his post, please?

 

[Donut23]

Not that I care for your tone (like I ever do) but as I said I don't take the bus so maybe it was 3 or 4. I do know there was line of scooters a mile long (yes, it was an actual mile - honest I measured ) and that every bus took the max number of scooters each time up to and including when we got on the bus ourselves. It still doesn't change the fact that the entire loading process and trip back to CBR took a ridiculous amount of time. How anyone puts up with riding the buses is beyond me. If I was in a scooter I would welcome a dedicated bus to use that could speed the whole process up for everyone.

......and you wonder why DH and I choose to rent a car with my scooter!

 

[divawife]

I will never, ever understand how able bodied people can get so ticked off when they are a bit inconvenienced by someone in a wheelchair or scooter or crutches or a cane. WT??? people! You are my biggest frustration!

Do you walk ok? Do your children walk ok? Are your parents pretty healthy and can walk pretty well perhaps with an occasional rest?

You should get down on those healthy knees and thank God you have the gift of mobility. So you are delayed 10, 15, even 30 or more minutes. Get over your healthy body self!

Where do you get off making a judgement call on if another human being really "needs" to use assistance? Do you have super powers that you can see into their heart? lungs? muscles? eyes? She is not on cortisone for cancer, she is just fat and lazy. He obviously works out look at those arms, can't possibly be because he uses a regular wheelchair at home and pushes himself with those great arms. She doesn't have life threatening MS, she just can't be bothered carrying her packages so she uses a scooter,look at her get off the bus all by herself!

I have seen how challenged people are invisible unless they get in your way. Then they are fully and completely aware that they need to validate their very existance for your convenience. Enough with the bus and scooter trash talk. There but for the Grace of God go YOU.

 

[Donut23]

While I am too sick of the wheelchair/scooter debates...I never understand the comments like these. Do people who are saddened by this honestly think that 100% of wheelchair users need them?

Knowing that fraud and less-than-honest people exist in all areas and all walks of life (sorry for the pun) - I am very confident myself that fraud DOES happen with wheelchairs. Now, the percentage might be small (and hopefully is), but I am sure that some people without integrity do in fact use it specifically for the fraud aspects (skipping lines, etc.). Just line everywhere - there are people who just use the system and try to find loopholes for their own benefit.

That said, I KNOW I cannot tell the difference between people who need them and people who are using the system - so I would never guess or be upset with someone I see using one (even if they stand up to walk sometimes) - so I have to and do assume that everyone I see is a valid user (when I actually think about it - which is usually only on these threads, not at the parks ). But the sad part here is that we all know that is not the case and some people are abusing the system - ultimately making it more difficult for those who truly need them. That's the sad part to me.

I firmly believe this is more a myth than truth.

First, wheelchair and especially ECV rentals are NOT cheep. For us....a scooter on our 10-day December trip is a significant investment.

Second, MOST handicapped access has been mainstreamed - we are standing in line with you. There is no longer much advantage to traveling through WDW in a wheelchair or on a scooter. (other than your feet don't hurt at the end of the day).

Third, it is quite simply.....and royal pain in the patoot to navigate WDW in a wheelchair or EVC. Honestly, your day is FAR more frustrating and you accomplish FAR less than when you navigated on your two feet.

Don't forget there are many conditions which allow you to walk....but not well. I can walk out to my car in the driveway......but probably not my Beach Club hotel room to the lobby without extreme discomfort. There are other conditions....like heart or lung issues which allow the patient to walk..but not far.


Advantages of an EVC or wheelchair?

* My feet don't burn at the end of the night.

* Free valet and convenience of handicapped parking spaces......of course that has nothing to do with the wheelchair or scooter. It's all a factor of the handicapped plackard I now carry.


What to park in some handicapped parking spaces.........I would gladly trade if I could.


(sorry to single you out.....I am responding to the many who can be intolerant). I said it earlier....I have tried WDW both ways......I would give just about anything to look at a scooter in my rear-view mirror.......I can still remember the days when DH and I would wander the world for hours without a second thought.

 

[Donut23]

I will never, ever understand how able bodied people can get so ticked off when they are a bit inconvenienced by someone in a wheelchair or scooter or crutches or a cane. WT??? people! You are my biggest frustration!

Do you walk ok? Do your children walk ok? Are your parents pretty healthy and can walk pretty well perhaps with an occasional rest?

You should get down on those healthy knees and thank God you have the gift of mobility. So you are delayed 10, 15, even 30 or more minutes. Get over your healthy body self!

Where do you get off making a judgement call on if another human being really "needs" to use assistance? Do you have super powers that you can see into their heart? lungs? muscles? eyes? She is not on cortisone for cancer, she is just fat and lazy. He obviously works out look at those arms, can't possibly be because he uses a regular wheelchair at home and pushes himself with those great arms. She doesn't have life threatening MS, she just can't be bothered carrying her packages so she uses a scooter,look at her get off the bus all by herself!

I have seen how challenged people are invisible unless they get in your way. Then they are fully and completely aware that they need to validate their very existance for your convenience. Enough with the bus and scooter trash talk. There but for the Grace of God go YOU.

Thank you. Your words made me cry.

My tears are because someone DOES understand and is willing to stand up for those of us who now struggle...........to stand up.

 

[CLR4321]

My 2 biggest peeves at WDW are people taking flash pictures in dark rides (the worst was in Spaceship Earth, and this guy was taking pics for the entire ride!). Ironically this same dude took on my 2nd biggest peeve - people who cut in line. The guy hopped right in front of us. I wish we would have said something about it, especially after he created a less than pleasant experience, that left me feeling like I was partially blind from all of his flash photos.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Umm.....not all the toliets are automatic flushing toliets and if they are automatic they don't always go off when you leave the stall -wish people would check.

Ah, heck - never mind Walt Disney World; I wish people would do this at work!

 

[allknowingeye]

Closed rides is a major peeve. Also no tables in restaurants after you bought your stuff is a major hassle.

 

[KellyNY]

Hey KellyNY -

It USED to be that way...oops, doesn't this belong on the OTHER thread?

anyway.......

YEARS ago, in a former life, I was a travel professional. Part of each trip was set aside for research (yea-yea it was tough!). More than once I would sit next to the bus loading area following fireworks and watch how long it would take to reduce the lines. Know what I remember......I remember 4 .....that's FOUR busses deep for Dixie Landings. Same with all the resorts........the busses just kept coming and coming.....often busses waiting to take guests after the current bus was loaded. There were soooooooo many busses at closing and the que was rarely full. At peak times......there were busses leaving WITHOUT anyone standing...no need.

I'm not sure the guilt is entirely the fault of ECV's. Disney knows exactly how many guests are inside the park and could, if they had the payroll hours to make it happen, have plenty of busses if they wanted.

Hi Donut,

ECV should take about 5 min to load, so basically it is not that much of delay, esp. that line of ECVs is extremely rare event, I never saw it in all my trips. Number of buses makes me sad however. I actually playing with idea of renting a car and possibly staying offsite next trip, just more convenient and should cost me same as I will pay less for hotel. I am sure, I am not the only switching to off site. Maybe Disney will finally wake up and fix buses problem.

 

[kaytieeldr]

How far back are you standing? Lots of people get tunnel vision at the parks, and they just don't see that you're trying to take a photo.


Sorry, folks, but if you're gonna snap a group photo, use a wide angle lens so you don't have to be 20 feet away from your subject. Either that, or do it early in the day before the crowds pick up.

I'm not intentionally photobombing you, but neither am I going to spend my day trying to avoid getting into your pictures.

If I see you, I'll stop. If not, learn to live with disappointment.

The poster you're asking is standing in a Character picture line - not far back at all. The child or children with the character/s, and the parent at the head of the line (where they'd waited) opposite the kid/character combination. Five to eight feet, maybe? And the character being another big clue - in addition to the camera - that there may be pictures being taken?

 

[KellyNY]

The poster you're asking is standing in a Character picture line - not far back at all. The child or children with the character/s, and the parent at the head of the line (where they'd waited) opposite the kid/character combination. Five to eight feet, maybe? And the character being another big clue - in addition to the camera - that there may be pictures being taken?

If you pay attention. I personally do not. I may not even pay attention to characters and line of people waiting for them. Once I saw Jasmin and was about to approach her, when I turned to my DD I saw an angry line who probably thought I was cutting. Oops moment. But seriously, unless it is about 3 feet away, I will not notice picture being taken.

 

[honeydiane1953]

People who constantly complain! I don't mean venting, we all do that from time to time. I mean people that go to Disney then have the audacity to complain about how expensive EVERYTHING is!!! PEOPLE.........You're on vacation at one of the top tourist destinations in the world. Do you honestly expect everything to be bargain priced? I just don't get it.

I agree to be at Disney is such honor. To have Disney the same. Some think they can argue with prices, meals etc. and it will magically reduce the prices. lol

 

[smidgy]

It takes anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes for peoples' eyes to adjust to the dark, depending on age, nutrition, and other factors.

All it takes is one 50 millisecond flash from a tourist's camera to start the clock all over again.

we purposely wait until dark to ride the dark rides, so hubby can see in them. i takes QUITE a while for his eyes to adjust to be able to see in the dark.
one flash, and it blows the WHOLE reason we waited. by the time his eyes adjust again to the dark, the ride is over.

NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY!!! period.

 

[honeydiane1953]

I think it is wonderful and amazing how godlike your powers are in terms of knowing who needs a scooter and who doesn't.

LOL so true. I had a back fusion several yrs ago. Although I don't use a scooter in my home I HAVE to have one to endure the miles at WDW. I don't care really if someone thinks I need one or not. xray vision maybe would show all the instrumentation in my spinal. Of course some folks would think all the metal just means my spine is more stable than theirs u never know.

 

[smidgy]

AHHHHHHHH

I HATE posts the target a specific nationality or group...

I guess that is my biggest frustration! I think targeting nationalities, )

sorry, but in July, we had NO idea about these groups. we did NOT "target" the groups. it was just a "description".
(ie, if you are a witness, and someone asks you to "describe" the person, are you not allowed to say black, or oriental, or caucasion, or hispanic.. for fear it might be racially biased, discriminatory, etc.? )
we had TERRIBLE experiences with a Brazilain tour group in July at ALl star sports. (if they were oriental, I would say so, but they were brazilian, so I said so)

loud chanting on the buses, moving our things off our pool chairs, slamming into hubby at the DSA at the resort, slamming soccer balls into our window at 1 am, etc etc etc.
basically taking over the resort and CMS doing nothing. total line jumping. etc etc.
now, if it was an Irish tour group, I would say so. but it wasn't, it was brazialian tour group. so I said so.

 

[pegucha]

sorry, but in July, we had NO idea about these groups. we did NOT "target" the groups. it was just a "description".
(ie, if you are a witness, and someone asks you to "describe" the person, are you not allowed to say black, or oriental, or caucasion, or hispanic.. for fear it might be racially biased, discriminatory, etc.? )
we had TERRIBLE experiences with a Brazilain tour group in July at ALl star sports. (if they were oriental, I would say so, but they were brazilian, so I said so)

loud chanting on the buses, moving our things off our pool chairs, slamming into hubby at the DSA at the resort, slamming soccer balls into our window at 1 am, etc etc etc.
basically taking over the resort and CMS doing nothing. total line jumping. etc etc.
now, if it was an Irish tour group, I would say so. but it wasn't, it was brazialian tour group. so I said so.

I am truly not trying to be snarky or anything and while I am not Asian I just thought I would offer up that the term "oriental" is completely incorrect and offensive. Oriental refers to inanimate objects such as rugs etc. People are Asian.

Again, I am really not trying to insult you or anything just providing a little bit of knowledge that may prevent embarassing situations in the future.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I don't understand why WDW doesn't have dedicated buses running at the end of the night just for the scooters & wheelchairs. That would go a long ways to relieving some of the frustrations people have with the buses. We were there last week and took the bus ONCE (we had a rental but thought we'd give a try just once). We ended up waiting forever because each time a bus would pull up 4 or 5 scooters would show up and take up most of the bus.

Well, once isn't a reasonably sampling; and there's no bus at Walt Disney World that can accept four or five scooters. Such a bus, if it existed, would pretty much fill up with just those five scooters, since each scooter needs four spaces - three for the scooter and one for the Guest. No, what you perceived as four or five scooters at a time was likely not more than two.

What should have taken maybe 20 minutes ended up taking more than an hour just to get on the bus.

In an ideal world, sure - but you stayed at a resort with over 2,000 rooms, or potentially 8,000 Guests. Obviously (a) you are not the right type of person for public transportation and (b) you chose a really bad time of day for your 'test'. Even without scooters, it's still going to take a long time to transport all those people.

I don't question if someone needs a scooter or wheelchair but the process that WDW uses to load and unload them is ridiculous. When we did get on there were 4 scooters on the bus and each at a different stop in CBR. Each time the driver had to stop, take two or three shots at "kneeling" the bus just right, untether the scooter and then the rider would attempt to navigate their way off the bus (which took a while too because most of the scooter riders weren't too skilled at navigating in such a tight spot). It took FOREVER!

Okay, so apparently you were on a bus with a lift. While it's too bad the driver needed several attempts to place the lift properly, doesn't it make the most sense to unload all Guests safely? And just like you were able to exit the bus at your village, isn't it reasonable that each Guest using an ECV (and their parties) would be able to exit the bus at the stop closest to their respective rooms? As for it taking forever, well, are you sure about that? Aren't you home now? Or are you still on the bus?

I'll never take the bus again (National Emerald Aisle all the way). Once again, I don't fault anyone for using a scooter/wheelchair but WDW needs to make some serious changes if this is the way the buses normally operate.

Okay, well, understood that you won't use the buses again - but overall, no serious changes need to be made. A separate bus - or a fleet of separate buses - wouldn't work, or probably be necessary for just an hour or two a day; plus that would likely violate the ADA.

Not that I care for your tone (like I ever do) but as I said I don't take the bus so maybe it was 3 or 4. I do know there was line of scooters a mile long (yes, it was an actual mile - honest I measured ) and that every bus took the max number of scooters each time up to and including when we got on the bus ourselves. It still doesn't change the fact that the entire loading process and trip back to CBR took a ridiculous amount of time. How anyone puts up with riding the buses is beyond me. If I was in a scooter I would welcome a dedicated bus to use that could speed the whole process up for everyone.

It wasn't more than three, and it was much more likely two, tops. Given that, and that there are six (or is it seven?) stops at CBR, only three scooters could possibly have been unloaded from your specific bus. It's regrettable that issues with the bus's lift system caused delays with this. Oh, if you were on a bus with a lift, there were only two scooters on your bus. Period. So there were only two drop-offs at your resort where you were inconvenienced by the lift not positioning correctly.

How anyone 'puts up with it'? I guess we know what to expect; we're on vacation and we relax. We even plan for extra transportation time when we're not doing the driving.