Disney Parks Changed Its Disabled Guest Policies Because People Are Terrible
People are the worst. Not because they watch a TV show called 16 and Pregnant. Not because they buy Drake's albums. Not even because Burger King is launching low calorie french fries called "Satisfries." People aren't the worst just because Disney Parks will no longer allow disabled people to go to the front of lines. No, people are the worst because they behaved in a way that made Disney end the policy.
This all started with an article in The New York. The paper reported that some rich mothers were exploiting Disney' policies, which allowed for families or groups with disabled members to cut to the front of lines for rides and attractions, by hiring disabled "tour guides" just so they could skip waiting in line at Disney World (Yeah, like we said — people are terrible). "The 'black-market Disney guides' run $130 an hour, or $1,040 for an eight-hour day," explained The Post. To top off this nonsense, The Post interviewed some of the moms who were doing this and they were about as horrible as you could imagine. "My daughter waited one minute to get on ‘It’s a Small World’ — the other kids had to wait 2 1/2 hours," said one. "You can’t go to Disney without a tour concierge. This is how the one percent does Disney."
The Post claimed that a company called Dream Tours Florida specialized in the unique service. The upper-class moms simply called the company, and a tour guide would be waiting, ready to pose as a family member so they could skip lines. Not only that, but just knowing about the service was seen as uber hip. “It’s insider knowledge that very few have and share carefully,” social anthropologist Dr. Wednesday Martin, told the paper. “Who wants a speed pass when you can use your black-market handicapped guide to circumvent the lines all together? So when you’re doing it, you’re affirming that you are one of the privileged insiders who has and shares this information."
That's just great. Now, because of these people and that company, everything sucks. Or at least, sucks for those with actual disabled family members that want to go to Disney World or Disney Land. Which, you know, sucks! But that's not the point.
The changes at Disney will go into effect October 9. Under the new policy, disabled people will be issued a ticket that must be returned by a specified time. It will give those users a shorter wait, but that's all. One spokesperson said that yes, the changes were due to awful people. These abusers have "certainly been problematic, and we wanted to curb some of the abuse of this system," she said. Another spokesperson took the more diplomatic route.
"We have an unwavering commitment to making our parks accessible to all guests," Disneyland Resort spokeswoman Suzi Brown explained, in a statement. "Given the increasing volume of requests we receive for special access to our attractions, we are changing our process to create a more consistent experience for all our guests while providing accommodations for guests with disabilities."
Translation? People are the worst.
[Pic via Flickr - Candace Lindemann]
