Class-Action Lawsuit against Disney Parks filed - CORRECTION: not class-action

[mttmilner]

I would rather not have Facebook or blog links here because some have been fairly inflammatory and have encouraged people to come over to this board and troll.
Please share Facebook or blog links on Private Messages.

Sorry Sue, I'll just PM next time.

 

[twinboysmom]

That might be the best post I have ever read on the Dis!! IMHO, teaching kid they can whine their way to the front/easy way out is one of the fundamental problems with our country right now!!

Wow! You must not have a child or family member with a disability. I don't agree with the lawsuit and I am glad wdw has a policy for disabled guests. I do not think that my disabled children's inability to be able to wait in a lengthy line is an issue with the problems in our country. I assure you, what they have had to endure in their short little lives is hardly taking the easy way out. I will gladly wait in lines, heck I would never set foot in wdw again, if I could take away my children's disability.

 

[1 DISNEY FAN]

Rant

I hope this swings the pendulum the other way. Everybody waits. Everyone gets their FP+ and nothing else. No more DAS, GAC, or whatever the whiners demand next. If you need to take your wheelchair or scooter up the exit to access I have no problems with that. Wait after you get there.

These people are not whiners. They are sticking up for their children's rights to equality. They understand that disney will not bring back the gac but would like something else than the das that accommodates their child's needs better.

Everyone hates to wait in hot sweaty lines. I am a disabled military vet with prosthetics. I also get very nervous/anxious when I am a crowd or jostled due to some of the experiences I have had. Guess what, when the crowds become too much or my legs ache too much, I go back to the resort or somewhere cool and quiet to rest.

You should not accept being jostled and pushed around by people. These people are not being respectful.

People who feel that they are more special than everyone else needs to suck it up. Things are tough all over and demanding preferential treatment is not the way to go. Teaching your children that they can whine their way to the front of a line is not setting them up for success.

/rant.

these people don't feel they are more "special" than anyone else. A child with autism can't just suck it up and do stuff the way that everyone else wants them to do and the kids do not "whine to the front of the line".
Please go and research autism and other cognitive disabilities so you may have a better understanding of these families. Thank you.

 

[morethananyonex]

These people are not whiners. They are sticking up for their children's rights to equality. They understand that disney will not bring back the gac but would like something else than the das that accommodates their child's needs better.

They have equality. Instead of having to wait in a line to enjoy an attraction, which many people who need the DAS cannot do, they have the ability to spend that wait doing whatever they want. What they're asking for is immediate access to attractions like before, which is more not equal.

 

[happinessisdisney]

Our family has used both the GAC & the DAS passes for our daughter who is a Type 1 diabetic. (I know people do not think that this is a diablitly but that is another discussion.) She has issues with the heat and makes waiting in a long line sometimes difficult with blood sugar issues. Although it was nice to get "immediate" access, it was basically the fast pass line and not immediate, we were very pleased to see how the new system worked when we were there this past Feb break. It was all we really needed. We would head to an attraction get a return time 10 minutes less than the current wait time and return to the fastpass line during that designated time. This would allow us to spead time together as a family doing another nearby attraction with a smaller wait time, or utilize a FP+ time, eat or take a break. We felt like we were getting the same experience, if not a little better than the masses of others who do have to wait on line and hence get on less attractions. I did not feel at all that this was a disadvantage to us over the GAC card.

 

[jimandami]

Wow! You must not have a child or family member with a disability. I don't agree with the lawsuit and I am glad wdw has a policy for disabled guests. I do not think that my disabled children's inability to be able to wait in a lengthy line is an issue with the problems in our country. I assure you, what they have had to endure in their short little lives is hardly taking the easy way out. I will gladly wait in lines, heck I would never set foot in wdw again, if I could take away my children's disability.

But just because the child cannot wait in a long line does not mean every single line should be immediate access. The DAS system gives those who cannot wait in a long line a perfectly adequate system to avoid doing so...do you not agree?

 

[Luckybee]

no one NEEDS 'near immediate access" whatever the hell that is supposed to be.

NO ONE *wants* to wait in any line.., Fast pass, at a QS locale, to see Pooh. physical or mental issues do not make your desire to not wait in line more special than anyone else who would rather spend that time elsewhere.


want Immediate access? fork over the money for the VIP tour or pester Disney to come up with their version of the Universal FOTL pass( at a hefty premium and make it limited to a certain number per park per day)

people got spoiled and started taking unfair advantage of an inherent flaw in the GAC which routinely sent people immediately through the FP line where applicable or sent them to the exit regardless of their actual need.

Sorry but you're wrong about the first line in your comments. I have no dog in this race but that said in my profession I've dealt with adults with cognitive impairments and there is no way they could deal with the lines at Disney so I can well imagine what parents with children with emotional issues must go through.
If as the article indicates the new system has them coming back and still waiting in line I would suggest that Disney will have no alternative but to make modifications or risk non compliance. I don't know U.S law but I can tell you that my cursory interpretation of the ADA is that any policy set by a business must be flexible so that the needs of the individual with the disability are met. It isn't enough to say this is the policy if it isn't being implemented with flexibility to deal with the individual disability itself.

 

[jimandami]

Wow! You must not have a child or family member with a disability. I don't agree with the lawsuit and I am glad wdw has a policy for disabled guests. I do not think that my disabled children's inability to be able to wait in a lengthy line is an issue with the problems in our country. I assure you, what they have had to endure in their short little lives is hardly taking the easy way out. I will gladly wait in lines, heck I would never set foot in wdw again, if I could take away my children's disability.

I would like to apologize if my post sounded harsh. I truly didn't mean that children with autism or who had a disability where "Whiney." I just get very frustrated with the mentality our country seems to have now that everyone deserves everything right now! Does that make sense?

 

[jimandami]

Sorry but you're wrong about the first line in your comments. I have no dog in this race but that said in my profession I've dealt with adults with cognitive impairments and there is no way they could deal with the lines at Disney so I can well imagine what parents with children with emotional issues must go through. If as the article indicates the new system has them coming back and still waiting in line I would suggest that Disney will have no alternative but to make modifications or risk non compliance. I don't know U.S law but I can tell you that my cursory interpretation of the ADA is that any policy set by a business must be flexible so that the needs of the individual with the disability are met. It isn't enough to say this is the policy if it isn't being implemented with flexibility to deal with the individual disability itself.

But they are waiting in the same line they did before...the Fastpass line. They just can't go from ride to ride and immediately get in the FP line.

 

[1 DISNEY FAN]

They have equality. Instead of having to wait in a line to enjoy an attraction, which many people who need the DAS cannot do, they have the ability to spend that wait doing whatever they want. What they're asking for is immediate access to attractions like before, which is more not equal.

Unfortunately sometimes they don't have the ability to spend their wait doing what they want because their child/adult is having a meltdown because they don't understand about waiting and instead are hitting and kicking their parents and other members of the public. When their wait time is up they will still be having a melt down or will have left the park having been on 0 rides.

 

[5Hfan]

I don't want to start something, but can someone point me in the direction of how equal access can work with disabilities on amusement park rides? There are warnings say for people with seizure disorders, or heart problems or neck/back issues etc that they cannot ride? How then can equal access be granted? Wasn't there an incident of a man missing limbs who died falling out of a roller coaster a few years ago? (not at Disney).

 

[Lurch]

Because I am 6'6" and have the aforementioned leg issues, I have an extremely hard time fitting into airline seats. Flights over an hour in duration are very uncomfortable and challenging. Maybe I should engage this ambulance chasing law firm to sue for first class seats on my next flight. It is only fair.

I exceed the weight limit for horseback riding at Ft. Wilderness, perhaps I should sue Disney so that they provide a Clydesdale for my needs? Equal access and all. I'm only being a little sarcastic about that one. It would be so cool.

If your child is overstimulated by crowds, can not endure heat and lines, maybe Disney is not where you should be vacationing? I think the DAS is a very generous solution and don't understand how Disney is being lambasted for giving preferential treatment to some people.

 

[Sammie]

Rant

I hope this swings the pendulum the other way. Everybody waits. Everyone gets their FP+ and nothing else. No more DAS, GAC, or whatever the whiners demand next. If you need to take your wheelchair or scooter up the exit to access I have no problems with that. Wait after you get there.

Everyone hates to wait in hot sweaty lines. I am a disabled military vet with prosthetics. I also get very nervous/anxious when I am a crowd or jostled due to some of the experiences I have had. Guess what, when the crowds become too much or my legs ache too much, I go back to the resort or somewhere cool and quiet to rest.

People who feel that they are more special than everyone else needs to suck it up. Things are tough all over and demanding preferential treatment is not the way to go. Teaching your children that they can whine their way to the front of a line is not setting them up for success.

/rant.

Well said, totally agree and thanks for your service.

 

[amg35]

Unfortunately sometimes they don't have the ability to spend their wait doing what they want because their child/adult is having a meltdown because they don't understand about waiting and instead are hitting and kicking their parents and other members of the public. When their wait time is up they will still be having a melt down or will have left the park having been on 0 rides.

Then perhaps Disney isn't the best place for them? If a child is hitting other members of the public, maybe a crowded place isn't the best idea. Sorry.

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

I don't believe that rich-people-hiring-disabled-tour-guides was the thing that made them get rid of the GAC. I believe that the story was planted by Disney to justify getting rid of the GAC. I believe that the thing that made them get rid of the GAC was FP+. There was no way that GAC and FP+ could coexist. GAC abuse would have skyrocketed even higher than where it was making FP+ a failure before it even started.


Our government brought down the Twin Towers also correct ?

 

[bamberc]

Something that always bothered me about the GAC system that I felt was improved with the new system was that it makes it MORE equal. This is coming from a mom of a 5yo with Down syndrome.
As many have already pointed out, the law states equal access, which returning at a specified time provides.

We have never been able to understand this double standard in the special needs community of wanting your child to be treated fairly-or even better, as an individual with individual needs and talents-yet at a place like Disney, want preferential treatment. We cry out, "look what my child is capable of. My child can be much like typical children. Life is not over because we have a child with a disablity". Yet at WDW it's " life is so hard. We can't enjoy Disney without we need to get to the front of the line for every ride." How can you fight for one and the other at the same time?

I understand that many children have needs different from my daughter's; she doesn't "run", she doesn't have sensory issues, she understands and respects personal space, she doesn't overheat easily. I am glad that the system exists for families whose children deal with these and other issues. But our family has been pressured by other special needs families to "get the front of the line pass." "Why would you NOT get the front of the line pass?" We feel as a family that NOT using the "system" when we-I guess-could sends the better message that our daughter, based on her INDIVIDUAL needs, is able to tour the park in the exact same manner as the rest of the family. She is not defined by her disability.

Again, please don't mistake my rant to mean that people who have children with a disablity don't deserve to have EQUAL access, and I'm glad that they do.

 

[morethananyonex]

Unfortunately sometimes they don't have the ability to spend their wait doing what they want because their child/adult is having a meltdown because they don't understand about waiting and instead are hitting and kicking their parents and other members of the public. When their wait time is up they will still be having a melt down or will have left the park having been on 0 rides.

Again, Disney has the responsibility to provide equal, not greater access. They do. What a family has the ability to do while their waiting is not Disney's issue. If someone with disabilities has the potential to harm members of the public that is the responsibility of their caregiver to make sure it does not happen, not Disney. If that cannot be done under the completely legal system Disney provides, it is irresponsible to visit Disney.

It's funny, the party line for the GAC was always "it does not get FOTL access, it gets a quiet place to wait, sometimes the waits are even longer", but now that it's gone suddenly a quiet place to wait (or loud, you can wait wherever you want doing whatever you want) is not good enough and FOTL access is needed.

 

[Sammie]

These people are not whiners. They are sticking up for their children's rights to equality. They understand that disney will not bring back the gac but would like something else than the das that accommodates their child's needs better.

You should not accept being jostled and pushed around by people. These people are not being respectful.
these people don't feel they are more "special" than anyone else. A child with autism can't just suck it up and do stuff the way that everyone else wants them to do and the kids do not "whine to the front of the line".
Please go and research autism and other cognitive disabilities so you may have a better understanding of these families. Thank you.

How would you change it?

How do you handle taking your child to other venues where one must wait, get hot, stand in lines?

As to autism, I understand it completely, I taught children with autism.

 

[cfriend416]

What it all comes down to is this - A WDW vacation is not a "right" that all people are entitled to. People talk about Disney like it's public education or something. Disney has done all they need to legally do to ensure equal access, and then some. If someone cannot have an enjoyable vacation at Disney with the current system, no one is making them go. It's as simple as that. No one, adult or child, with disabilities or without, is entitled to a Disney vacation.

 

[Laz]

Unfortunately sometimes they don't have the ability to spend their wait doing what they want because their child/adult is having a meltdown because they don't understand about waiting and instead are hitting and kicking their parents and other members of the public. When their wait time is up they will still be having a melt down or will have left the park having been on 0 rides.

Do other theme parks have some type of special access to guests with these types of special needs?