<p>But no one has to wait in line for hours - a little research goes a long way. We’ve been there in peak summer season, and by going early in the morning or later in the evening, using Fast passes, and hitting popular rides at the correct times, the waiting is greatly reduced.</p>
<p>What’s the difference between this and employing a blind beggar on the streets of Delhi to collect money for you?</p>
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I agree with this, but:
But nobody is affected much. It’s like somebody stealing a penny from you. Wrong, but how much do we care?
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It’s also unfair to the people who forked out the cash for the official VIP or FastPass or whatever. The cheaters get the same benefit without having to pay.
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You’re right, but somehow…
Well, the arrangement might be a much bigger benefit for the blind beggar than it is for the Disney “guide.”</p>
<p>Actually, I think this is worse. The Delhi situation, it could be argued, is a simple free but unequal exchange of labor for capital. The Disney situation, in addition is designed to take advantage of rules established to aid the disabled, and could have further adverse consequences to them.</p>
<p>I agree - I think the Disney policy ( similar to ADA rules) are for the benefit of the disabled. Not self-entitled people. Not for disabled people trying to make a buck. (The article explains that they are “hiring” disabled people for this line jumping.) I think it’s despicable behavior and a sad commentary on some Americans. </p>
<p>I thought it also bothersome that Disney would not respond to the reporter’s questions about the situation. I guess “if we ignore them it will go away” is what they are hoping.</p>
<p>I believe the article. My spouse’s family had their son pretend to be mentally disabled to get to the front of the line at Disney last summer. They couldn’t understand why I was so upset. Just wrong on so many levels.</p>
<p>I suspect Disney thinks–as do I–that this is one of those phony “trend” stories, in which something that just one or two people do is portrayed as a trend.</p>
<p>Of course, even if it wasn’t a trend before, it may well be now after all the publicity.</p>
<p>I have used a wheelchair for flying twice to get to my gate from check in and then to get to baggage claim at destination when recovering from a nasty cold that had required the use of supplemental O2. Do not think I got great benefits from using the wheelchair but was trying to preserve stamina and avoid relapse. I could walk short distances fine. </p>
<p>For Disney, I love going in off-months, especially November and early December–no lines and no crowds. Have never made it to Disney World yet. Never tried fast passes either.</p>
<p>My mom used a wheelchair at airports even though she could walk. The reason was that she couldn’t hear. Hearing aids don’t work that well when there’s a lot of background noise. So, she couldn’t hear things like gate announcements. She’d get totally confused and upset when she traveled by plane.</p>
<p>We discovered the easiest way to deal with this was to ask for someone to push her in a wheelchair. That way, she got to the right gate.</p>
<p>She didn’t start doing this until she was in her mid 80s.</p>
<p>Onward, just tell me when!</p>
<p>In 2002, we took our first, and last, family trip to Disney World. When we would call for dinner reservations, they would always ask us if anyone in our party was physically handicapped. One night, while waiting in line at a restaurant, I noticed a family with one of their members in a wheelchair, was seated before us, even though we arrived first. So then I started to take notice of the wheelchairs. First of all, there is a larger ratio of people in wheelchairs to people not in wheelchairs at DW than at any other place I have been to in my life. There was also something about these wheelchair bound people that didn’t seem quite right, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.</p>
<p>Then I started noticing how wheelchair groups were placed in the fast lane to get on rides. Considering there is a higher ratio of them, this added considerably to our wait time.</p>
<p>But there was still something about many of these people in wheelchairs that seemed a little off to me.</p>
<p>Then, the night of the fireworks, we tried to secure a good viewing spot, but as the fireworks started, the man in front of us stood up from his wheelchair, blocking our view.</p>
<p>When we came back from our trip, we told our friends that if we ever go back, and we won’t, one of us would be wheelchair bound so we would get better service.</p>
<p>People have known how to work the system at DW for years!</p>
<p>I think Disney parks are likely to have a lot of people who would normally use a walker using a wheelchair instead. A lot of those folks can stand up, or even walk–but not for long. We’ll be using a wheelchair for my MIL at my son’s graduation, even though she doesn’t normally use one. But she doesn’t normally walk all over a college campus, either.</p>
<p>I’m not doubting that there’s some wheelchair abuse at Disney parks. I believe, however, that there’s probably not enough of it to appreciably inconvenience others, or to justify Disney taking steps to stamp it out.</p>
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<p>GAC abuse (which happens, and isn’t in any way limited to the wealthy, because anyone who can convincingly tell the right story can get one for free) isn’t what’s being described in the article. </p>
<p>Because almost all lines are mainstreamed at WDW, and the few that aren’t often have a wait in the accessible line as long or longer than the wait in the non-accessible line, there’s pretty limited potential for wheelchair abuse currently. In fact, “get a wheelchair” is the suggested Disney solution for mobility and stamina issues.</p>
<p>Really offensive behavior. And what a lesson for the kids! Unfortunately they will probably grow up with the same sickening sense of entitlement that the parents possess.</p>
<p>As a Disney veteran I might suggest the unofficial Disney website. I believe it is called allears (.net). They have descriptions of the best days to go for shortest lines, listings of all special events etc. Itbhas been a great help to me in planning our various trips throughout the years.</p>
<p>The VIP pass that many have mentioned is really a VIP tour guide. I believe another poster mentioned that the tour guide is about $300 an hour which is about right if I remember. Pretty steep, but then I guess if you are truly entitled you should be able to afford this rather than scam the system.</p>