Court stuff:
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/bus...0200218-ngabbcvpsjglrn4vx44luasoaq-story.html
The first time the Disney rules had changed for him, her autistic son stood frozen, blocking the line on the Jungle Cruise ride, and not understanding why he had to wait 40 minutes instead of boarding immediately, said his mother Donna Lorman as she testified Tuesday during a federal civil trial six years in the making against the theme parks.
Her son didn’t know the concept of time. She worried he was going to have a meltdown on that December 2013 night.
I didn’t know what we were going to do,” said Lorman, an Orlando autism advocate who sued in 2014 after Disney changed the special access to rides that it had long allowed for people with autism and other disabilities.
Disney altered the policy not long after a story in the New York Post and other media outlets went viral in 2013 about wealthy tourists abusing the system by hiring people in wheelchairs or with other disabilities to accompany them so they could skip to the front of sometimes hours-long queues for the most popular rides at the parks
The Post quoted one mother who boasted about using that method to get VIP treatment for her family without having to pay for an actual VIP tour who said, "This is how the 1% does Disney.”
Disney began requiring disabled guests to make reservations for rides rather than be allowed to move to the front of the line on demand.
Lorman testified in federal court on Tuesday that the new system is a problem for her son, who thrives on routines and struggles with waiting and must ride his favorite attractions as he follows a specific route through the parks.
“The need for sameness and routine is essential for keeping (him) grounded,” testified Lorman, the president of the Autism Society of Greater Orlando who has trained Universal Orlando employees and law-enforcement agencies how to be more autism-friendly.
Lorman said her son struggles to communicate with the outside world other than to say “bathroom” or “chicken nuggets.” He follows a strict routine, like sleeping with exactly nine pillows at night, eating a certain brand of chips or having a snack every day at 2 p.m.
She said Disney gives her family a limited number of re-admission passes to proceed directly into the FastPass line, but not enough for a park like Magic Kingdom, which has more than 20 rides.
Disney attorneys questioned Lorman’s account and disputed that her son always rode attractions in a specific order.
He didn’t follow that pattern on some of his visits, said attorney Kerry Alan Scanlon, who was able to pinpoint portions of the family’s prior itineraries. He also asked Lorman why she didn’t do more to prepare her son for the family’s trip.
On that December 2013 evening at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, most of the wait times were under 20 minutes but Lorman hadn’t bothered to check, Scanlon said during the first day of what’s expected to be a four-day trial in front of Judge Anne Conway in U.S. District Court’s Orlando division.
Scanlon also pointed to other instances during which Lorman’s son, now 27, appeared to cope with waiting such as a seven-hour road trip with his family or a ceremony for his sister’s law school graduation.
Disney did not respond to a request for comment for this story but said in an earlier statement, “Disney Parks have an unwavering commitment to providing an inclusive and accessible environment for all our guests.”
Lorman’s son, who was diagnosed with autism around age 4, sat in the courtroom during most of his mother’s nearly four-hour testimony, apparently unaware of the significance of the events taking place around him. He stayed mostly quiet, dressed in a collared pink shirt and slacks. At times, he shook a red cylinder tube, which helps calm him like a security blanket.
In December 2013, they were turned away from the Jungle Cruise and told to come back after 40 minutes. Her son refused to move, blocking the line. Lorman distracted him, taking him to get dinner and see a show elsewhere at the park, his normal Disney route disrupted.
Lorman also testified about her son’s fascination with Disney.
He loves music and naturally gravitated toward Disney because of the songs he adored in “The Lion King” and the barbershop quartet who harmonizes on Magic Kingdom’s Main Street USA.
A trip to Disney World became a way to provide him positive reinforcement when he behaved.
Disney “is the happiest place on Earth,” Lorman said outside the courtroom after her testimony. “Except for kids with autism.”
