People with disabilities will no longer go straight to the front of lines at Disneyland and Walt Disney World under a policy change park officials say is a response to growing abuse of the system.
Under the change, visitors with special needs will be issued tickets with a return time and a shorter wait similar to the FastPass system that's offered to everyone....
You are talking about a company that charges for accommodations they should be providing for free to disabled people. The change will probably reduce wait times for the masses.
I don't think they're charging for the passes. The issue was that people were taking advantage of the system. Non-disabled families were hiring disabled "tour guides" so that the whole group could skip all lines. For a lot of money. My impression is that the family simply needs to declare that there is a disability to be issued this.
You can’t sell a convenience service without something to convenience. As people have said, people use there passes for a fee for others. Those other people won’t pay for the fast pass. Hence a revwnue loss. Disney thinks these people will now more likely by the fast pass. However, the research says otherwise.
Fastpass is free. Its is being replaced by fastpass plus which is also free BUT you can pre-reserve rides on line well befor you get to the park. The system for handicapped "guests" still allows entrance through the exit for wheelchairs etc.
I'm curious as to what research you are referring to.
My personal experience with Disney has been fantastic. As the step-mother to a son with down syndrome (and the mind of a 2 to 3 year old with the strength of a 21 year old) they always took care of us. They would get him and an attendant to the front of the line. No wait, no temper tantrum, no one got hurt. We could actually go to Disney and have fun with him. We are not usually welcome at other places as his temper tantrums scare people. He is nonverbal and sometimes it is just difficult to guess what he is trying to ask for or tell us. Picture a 2 1/2 year old tantrum, picture that kid as 185 pounds with a decent right hook. Until my PsA got bad I spent a lot of my free time helping run the Special Olympics in our county.
I'd need more information to even consider trying the new system. Or find out if we are in some loop hole. I wouldn't want to take him there and have things be different. The worse tantrums are due to an unexpected change. He knows how Disneyland has always worked for him and he loves it. It is one of the few places that really seemed to understand our situation.
The other place that has been good to us is the National Park system. They have allowed us to drive down restricted roads and have access to areas we couldn't have otherwise seen with him.
When we visited Disney, we were contending with both my disabilities with walking and getting around (I used a scooter), and my autistic son's difficulty waiting in line (add in a spouse and another toddler). EVEN with the straight to the front access, we still often had to wait 10-15 minutes, which was difficult for my son, but we honestly couldn't have done Disney without this access.
My problem with fastpass is you have to run around the park getting all the passes... when you have trouble getting around AND have a disabled child who may not understand why you have a ticket, but can't go on the ride, it just makes things harder.
FWIW, my family enjoyed LEGOLAND a lot more than Disney... less overstimulating, more quiet places to rest, better food.
I’ve never understood, when I am sitting comfortably (on my scooter) and everyone else is standing in line, why I should move to the front of the queue. I think it’s only fair to have to wait like everyone else. That said, I can do a fair amount of damage to peoples’ heels and calves if I’m not careful in line! As a person with a handicap, I want the same access as everyone else, not preferential treatment.
I’m confused? Fast Pass has always been free at Disney. What has happened is that disabled people were charging to escort others through Disney in order to take advantage of skipping to the front of the line. This was also free on Disney’s end, but people were taking advantage of it to make a buck or 100.
mataribot said:
You can’t sell a convenience service without something to convenience. As people have said, people use there passes for a fee for others. Those other people won’t pay for the fast pass. Hence a revwnue loss. Disney thinks these people will now more likely by the fast pass. However, the research says otherwise.