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Why are half the people at Disneyland “disabled”?
- Thread starter DR3AM
- Start date
Roger Rabbit
Member
Because adjustments made to accommodate disabled people at many theme parks are much better than at many other leisure activities. They skip most if not all of the worst part of going to Disney - the long waits. Hence it is a popular day out for people with disabilities.
Roger Rabbit
Member
Edit - I don’t begrudge them their own queue, if that’s how I come across. Just explaining.
nush
Member
I've seen some small collapsible ones of those, probably cheap enough for a queue jumping grift.
RJMacready73
Simps for Amouranth
Cause Americans have gotten so fat they can no longer walk 5ft without suffering 6 heart attacks, I might add years ago when I first visited your shores I had truly never seen a proper fat person before, sure we have our own fatties but my god man.. you guys not only took the biscuit and ate it, you smothered it in corn oil, deep fried it and ate the whole damn packet
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ManaByte
Gold Member
Because they don't want to wait in lines and go up the disabled queue. I knew someone who faked a broken leg to do that.
Kilau
Member
BlackTron
Member
Do me a favor and punch that guy in the face for me.
I'm actually disabled, hid the disability and waited in line like everyone else.
Thaedolus
Gold Member
This. I couldn’t believe how fat everyone was at Disneyland the last time I went. I mean there are fatties in my state too but it’s one of the lower obesity rates in the country, so I still get surprised when I go somewhere and half the women look like they weigh as much as me
AJUMP23
Gold Member
I think the US has abundance of processed food that is what a majority consume and that causes a lot of health issues.
Disney no longer gives preference to disabled riders as there was a whole cottage industry around renting disabled people to accompany your family and Disney wanted to stop that.
Disney no longer gives preference to disabled riders as there was a whole cottage industry around renting disabled people to accompany your family and Disney wanted to stop that.
What saddens me is the GENERATIONAL scooter tribes. Grandparents, parents, and kids all on scooters, sucking down sugar.
Disney traditionally has been pretty accommodating for "pooh sized" folk but with the newer, more dynamic rides to keep up with Universal, not so much anymore.
Disney traditionally has been pretty accommodating for "pooh sized" folk but with the newer, more dynamic rides to keep up with Universal, not so much anymore.
BlackTron
Member
Therefore ruining it for legitimately disabled tourists.
People really know how to ruin everything.
VenomousCoffee
Member
I'm in Florida, and I just want to point out that the obesity issue is a function of class and culture. (Although yes, overall America has a huge obesity problem.) I teach at a private school here (our annual tuition is about the same as a minimum wage worker's annual salary) and while we do have obese students, I'd say it's about 5% of our students (and parents), and they're still more 'regular obese' and not 'struggles to breathe' obese. I too am shocked when I go to Wal-Mart, the grocery store, etc.
Poor Americans don't get access to healthy food (meaning, real food costs a lot more here and the grocery stores in the nicer parts of town are going to get a higher % of the healthy food from distributors), don't have access to exercise equipment, and don't come from a culture that values those things.
Poor Americans don't get access to healthy food (meaning, real food costs a lot more here and the grocery stores in the nicer parts of town are going to get a higher % of the healthy food from distributors), don't have access to exercise equipment, and don't come from a culture that values those things.
mitch1971
Member
Haha. The same when I went to florida in the 90's. Seen a young lad, about 14 or 15, at Gatorland and he was enormous. His t-shirt looked like a 2 man tent. Then a visit to pizza hut where a family of 3 were so fat, scrunched into the seating area, that their top halfs were melting onto the table. It was eye opening.
AJUMP23
Gold Member
Being disabled doesn’t mean you get preferential treatment. And that is what was happening you didn’t have to wait you didn’t to do what everybody else did. you got preferential treatment. I think you can accommodate without being preferential. Just make your queues wider.
Daneel Elijah
Gold Member
Sad subject of discussion. In Europe we have state issued cards that attest of your handicap. They allow for the handicaped and a friend to have whatever help they need, like using elevators even if reserved to personel, and stuff like that. This don't exist in the US? Or Disney extend that to more people for commercial/PR/whatever reasons?
ReBurn
Gold Member
In practice, in the US, it can manifest in what is, for all intents and purposes, preferential treatment. Disney already have standard queues wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair, but the time it takes to onboard a disabled person and deal with their equipment when they reach the front of an attraction would slow the queue down even more. Taking them aside at the point of boarding could be seen as embarrassing and thus discriminatory under the ADA, so they allow people with disabilities to use a second entrance so that they can discreetly process them outside of the standard process while keeping the primary queue moving more efficiently.
Due to the ADA Disney won't usually question whether someone is actually disabled for fear of being sued for discrimination (unless it's clearly apparent they don't belong there as in walking up without an assistive device). The disabled queue is given boarding preference. They will seat people in it before they seat people in the standard queue. That's why some people cheat and rent wheelchairs or use crutches when they don't need them. They know they'll get through faster.
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ManaByte
Gold Member
A few years ago there was an epidemic of parents claiming their kids were autistic and couldn't stand in long lines. It became such a problem at Disneyland that they made it more difficult for people to game the system that way in that if a parent really did have a kid like that they'd have to go stand in a different line to get a specific pass and then go to the disabled line. People will always game the system and use social media for tips but Disney finds ways to make it difficult for them while still complying with ADA.
Heimdall_Xtreme
Jim Ryan Fanclub's #1 Member
Sushi_Combo
Member
I thought you had to like.. validate that you are eligible to actually use them. That's interesting.
ReBurn
Gold Member
They took the burden off of the people staffing the attractions with the disability access services thing they're doing now. You have to have an interview with a park rep and with the person with the disability present to qualify for the disability pass. Then they give the party with the disabled person what amounts to fast pass time slots for the attractions so they don't have to wait in line. If someone shows up claiming disability and they don't have DAS they can be turned away.
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Cyberpunkd
Member
Do you see those seats with specials stickers on the bus or the metro? Or looking back - why do you think a bus has this ramp that retracts?
AJUMP23
Gold Member
That is called accommodation making sure you can use the same stuff. More trying to normalize.
I have seen Disney busses prioritize a disabled passenger over the 100 waiting in line. So that is special treatment. Because they can roll up anytime and get a bus to the hotel/park anytime.
AJUMP23
Gold Member
When I worked for the us congress many years ago I had to answer constituent letters and I still remember the one where a disabled person said they deserve cheaper phone bills due to their needs. I remember I had to call all the Carrie’s and ask their thoughts. I think I spoke with the CEO of att and sprint at the time and the president of one other carrier all said the same thing. Offering the disabled discounts is a form of discrimination. That is what I wrote in my letter.
IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
When it is a family with a child who has cerebral palsy, take your time folks.
When it is a fleet of land whales that just can't stop sucking down sugar water cause of "mah fibro-mahalgia!" then they can wait their turn like the rest of us.
Dev1lXYZ
Member
My neural stimulator qualifies me for the DAS service, I use it every time I go to the parks. It’s a great service, and yes- there are a shit ton of people with them.
Go_Ly_Dow
Member
When I went to America I thought I'd seen gluttony before in the UK, but stepping into Walmart was like a religious experience. Seeing the size of those shopping carts and overflowing with industrial sized crates of soda and other sugar filled junk was insane to me.
A lot of peoples carts were filled with just beige looking crap, carbs carbs carbs.
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The Pleasure
Member
NeoIkaruGAF
Gold Member
Shortly before COVID hit, during a trip to London, I learned that apparently being morbidly obese counts as being disabled and getting priority access to places. After standing in a queue for literal hours to get somewhere, this hasn’t raised the amount of sympathy morbidly obese people can expect from me. Quite the contrary, I’m inclined to say.
nush
Member
Quasicat
Member
This is the problem. The US government made a food pyramid that made carbs the most important, then went around telling people that meat and eggs will kill you. The sugar industry lobbied hard for the government to be nice to them where even now 100 grams of sugar per day is officially what a person should consume. Carbs are listed at 300 grams per day which is also too high.When I went to America I thought I'd seen gluttony before in the UK, but stepping into Walmart was like a religious experience. Seeing the size of those shopping carts and overflowing with industrial sized crates of soda and other sugar filled junk was insane to me.
Billbofet
Member
This. Every time I grocery shop, I see three-generation families all scooting and creaking around, buying microwave burritos and energy drinks in bulk. Looks like a Mario Kart reskin.
Liljagare
Member
High fructose corn syrup is a money-maker and it gets put in almost everything.
Quasicat
Member
Yep. Corn, which is subsidized by the USDA, who is also in charge of the food recommendations.
Go_Ly_Dow
Member
Yeah I've listened to a lot of people talk about this on podcasts etc... and 300grams is quite insane. People who consume that much must be experiencing blood sugar crashes on the daily which would be awful. I probably consume 100-125grams which still feels like too much and ideally I'm working towards about 50-75grams of carbs coming from non grain foods and the remaining protein and fat. I couldn't do keto though.
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DeafTourette
Perpetually Offended
Interesting. Disabled people, by and large, don't have plentiful resources to afford a lot. That's why some are in subsidized housing and many, those who are unable to work due to physical or sensory deprivation, draw from SSDI... even for those who CAN work but only part time due to one or more conditions.
Now I'm not talking about people whose weight is due to overeating and the like. I'm talking about the deaf, blind, deaf-blind, severe autism, cerebral palsy, quadriplegic, etc. There are some obese people who are that way due to underlying conditions like being unable to burn any fat or due to something like diabetes or kidney disease (which creates other problems like brittle bones).
The Pleasure
Member
They call their carts "rascals".
SF Kosmo
Al Jazeera Special Reporter
Honestly, after three days at Disney I can barely walk and I'm perfectly healthy. If you have, like, arthritis or a bum knee or something that might be perfectly fine in your day to day life, walking 10 miles a day around a theme park for several days in a row could still push you past your limit.
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
Not surprising when the US has tons of buffets, giant food portions, cheap booze everywhere and rock bottom priced fast food deals. Watching US TV channels and the Taco Bell and McDonalds or bargain pizza ads shown with crazy deals are nuts.
Canadians arent exactly thin either, but compare going to a grocery store in each country. The US store will have double the snack and pop aisles. Those kinds of aisles go on forever.