I agree with everyone else. My first thought is that the Mom was doing exactly what she was accused of doing, using her sons disability to her advantage. I think that is why she is so bent on pointing the finger at Disney to make sure everyone knows she was wronged. She is being called out on exactly what she is doing and she doesn't like it.
My next thought was that I didn't read anything about her being grateful for what was given. Grateful for the opportunity that was given to her son and to her family. Grateful that she was given some spending money to buy the toys. Grateful to Make A Wish and to Disney for everything that was given. Instead, her reaction and the reaction of others "ruined" their trip. It is my opinion that she needs to focus on everything else and be grateful.
My final thought was that some flexibility was needed here. Moving onto Plan B as far as shopping is concerned. There are plenty of other places to shop in WDW and they all basically have the same merchandise. Shopping at a store that is closed makes every employee wait before they can go home. Who knows if while the store was closed a change of shift doesn't occur. I find the fact that she made such a stink that Security had to be called appalling. Why would you stand there for an hour with kids crying? She was being rude and inconsiderate of others, in my opinion.
When you force an apology, it really isn't an apology and really won't make you feel better about the situation. However, I think she isn't going to feel better no matter what Disney or others do because, to me, her focus is on how hard her life is and how much she has to go through.
To share a personal story: My DD was an infant in the NICU. I had been at the hospital nonstop for several days and wasn't emotionally in a good place. I was meeting with doctors and discovering that my precious child had brain damage and would experience significant challenges her entire life. I was feeling very overwhelmed, sad, scared, tired, alone, and a big dose of feeling sorry for myself. My mother came to the hospital to relieve me so I could go to the cafeteria to get something to eat. I got on the elevator and just sobbed for the 4 floors down to the main level. As the elevator opened, there was a Dad with a little girl in a wheel chair. The girl was holding a vomit pan, had an IV, bald, moon faced, etc. with all the indications of being treated for Cancer. Dad was pushing the wheelchair and the IV pole. I looked at them and thought, "Hey Mom, at least your child will live. You have challenges and your child will have challenges, but, you aren't dealing with having to bury a child." From that point on, I resolved to never compare my challenges with anyone else and to be grateful for my challenges, because I can handle them. I would never let my child feel like she was a burden. I would love her and make sure she felt that she is loved. That is just how I decided to handle things in my own life.
(FTR we didn't get a single piece of candy, but we sure had fun going on Splash Mountain with no lines!)
