Wealthy moms renting handicapped people to skip Disney lines

I didn't think this would qualify as "news", but apparently there is a service to hire handicapped people to pose as part of your family so you can skip the lines at Disney.

Read it here, kids.

I checked the calendar to see if it's April 1st. It isn't. Then I checked the article to see if it was written on some April 1st. It wasn't.

I thought the fake scooter/hover round/ jazzy chair users all over Vegas took the cake, but this is a new low. It's almost like one of those "which is the real story" items you hear on NPR's Wait, Wait, Dont Tell Me.

Maybe I'm missing something, but wouldn't it be cheaper just to buy or rent a wheelchair and have someone in your family fake it for the day?

I'm breaking both my legs and moving to Orlando.

Doesn't this just show that Disney has the wrong approach to dealing with guests with disabilities? Title IV talks about equal but not preferential treatment. Maybe they should find another way to go about the situation like a virtual queue (sort of like a q-bot) to simulate real wait times (instead of a straight line skip). This would prevent this type of ridiculous behavior.

I'm actually surprised no one thought to do this years ago. I mean, it is the ultimate line hopper pass!

This is said in jest, but I AM surprised that this is as new as it is. Carlos Mencia had a whole joke about disabled people skipping lines when he was really popular, and South Park had an episode about something similar. I'm surprised it took people so long to figure out real-life logistics on it.

There are so many things wrong with this. I understand there are good and bad disabled people like everyone else, so I'm not surprised that some would use their disability to claw for whatever money they can get, but this does a great disservice to all those disabled people out there fighting to maintain their dignity while dealing with an already crappy hand. I also think about the fact that some of these disabled people may be so broke that they resort to this because they need the money that badly to pay medical bills. Also...

...actually, I can't type fast enough on my phone to express how many issues I have with this. I'm not surprised by it by any means, but it feels absolutely "icky".

The *smart* moms have just been claiming "disabilities" for their kids for years now.

One of the local radio shows was talking about this article this morning. A woman (who said she at one point worked for Disney) said that because so many people rented wheelchairs and sought to skip the lines, the parks would tell them to come back in 30 minutes (or some other time interval) rather than letting them go to the front of the line immediately. The only people who didn't have to wait were Make a Wish kids. I do not know if that is true (though it makes sense to me). And I should point out to the younger folks here that before it was the case that anything you read on the internet is true, it was the case that anything you heard on the radio was true (back in the days when radio was broadcast in black and white).

bunky666 said:

Carlos Mencia had a whole joke about disabled people skipping lines......".

Interesting. I wonder who he stole that one from.

Unreal.

You can cheat the same way with a guest assistance card. All you have to do is go to guest relations and say you have autism and can’t wait on any line. You will be issued a GAC that is basically an unlimited fast pass your you and your entire party. It’s no secret; Google it and there are forums that tell you what to say at guest relations and they won’t question. I suppose you can require a doctor’s note, but one can forge one in about 18 seconds.

It is really unbeliebable that someone can fake a disability and still be able to look in the mirror…

"For when a Fast Pass just isn't fast enough..."

^^ That's exactly what I was suggesting with the "smart moms" comment.

At one point, DLR guest services estimated that in a single day at Radiator Racers, with approximately 20,000 total riders, 5,000 of them boarded with a GAC.

I mean, I know a lot of kids are "on the spectrum", but that's just ludicrous.

http://miceage.micechat.com/allutz/al091812a.htm

Brian Noble said:

...with approximately 20,000 total riders, 5,000 of them boarded with a GAC.

I mean, I know a lot of kids are "on the spectrum", but that's just ludicrous.

With the way we tend to overdiagnose these days, it probably wouldn't surprise me if a decent chunk of that 5000 thought they needed a GAC.

I don't understand why FastPass doesn't already take care of this. Get an FP, don't wait in line, come back and ride. If the issue is that they're running out of FP's, just have the disabled guests get something tagged on their card that allows them to tap into a special reserve of passes for each time slot. Why would Disney make a different level of access here?

I agree. And based on the miceage article, they are actually giving out fewer FastPasses because so many people are using GACs.

http://www.dreamtoursflorida.com/vip-tours/#

Hrm. Something doesn't really pass the sniff test with the Post story, but I can't really put my finger on it. I think I'll hold onto my outrage for something a bit more believable and bit less, you know...from the NY Post.

I thought something was strange about the story too, matt. I think it has something to do with this; if these people are "mega-rich" like the article claims, why would they want to save money by renting a disabled person, rather than the use the VIP tour that Disney offers? If money is no object, why do something that is dishonest that would make you look cheap to all your peers?

I know the article stated that using a disabled tour guide got the people on the rides even faster than VIP, but I am not so sure about that. Even then, who would want to spend all day with a total stranger in a wheelchair, especially foo-foos like this supposed mega-rich?