Originally Posted By AutoPost This topic is for Discussion of <a href="http://www.LaughingPlace.com/Latest-ID-82004.asp" target="_blank"><b>Latest: Rich Manhattan Moms Hire Disabled Tour Guides to Skip Lines at WDW</b></a> <p>A New York Post article writes about wealthy Manhattans who are hiring a tour guide company run by a disabled couple to skip lines at Disney World. The guides attend the parks with the family and, along with their guide, use Disney's disabled access policies to allow everyone to circumvent many lines. However, according to the tour company's Facebook Page, their whole purpose for being is to provide tours for other special needs families to Disney World and other Central Florida locations. So it's not clear, to me anyway, if the tour company is soliticting this type of business, or they are being taken advantage of in what is otherwise a very worthwhile endeavor. What do you think?</p>
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 Disney doesn't care about the abuse based on how many guests commit this type of fraud.... It's abused by far too many people...
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA I'm amazed at the kind of mind who could think of such a scheme. Sick.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt It's actually a pretty brilliant scam. “You can’t go to Disney without a tour concierge,’’ she sniffed. “This is how the 1 percent does Disney.” I bet. "Disney doesn't care about the abuse based on how many guests commit this type of fraud.... It's abused by far too many people." Disney DOES care and services like Fastpass and My Magic+ are strategically designed to thwart the kind of abuse outlined in the article. Obviously people hate lines and Disney is right to find ways to minimize waits for popular attractions. The trick is how to do it without making giving the impression that some people are getting preferential treatment.
Originally Posted By mrkthompsn I've heard of that trick since the 1970's. Also, parking at the pet kennels without pets. A few steps from the monorail.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros What confuses me is how helpful this would actually be at navigating the parks. Many of WDW's queues are accessible, so they can be navigated in a wheelchair. While DAK was the only park built entirely after ADA went into effect, the generally larger infrastructure (and remodels since 1990) made it pretty easy for them to upgrade nearly every facility to be accessible. There may be a couple of attractions at MK and Epcot where this could help, but overall I question the validity of this approach. Additionally, there are limits to the number of wheelchair-bound guests allowed onboard a ride at any given time, in case of an emergency. DL has had its own variation on this problem for years. People show up to the parks and rent a wheelchair, and think that it will work as a universal FP. The problem is, because of the limits on a ride at any time, the wheelchair queue often ends up being much longer than the traditional queue (look no further than POTC). While this seems to do a good job punishing the cheaters, it also punishes the people who are in wheelchairs for totally legitimate reasons, which is entirely unfair. And since it's illegal to ask someone what their disability is, Disney is severly limited in how well they can enforce any rules they may make Plus, if these people have the money to spend on a hiring wheelchair-bound guide, why not just pony up for the official Disney tourguide? These people obviously aren't hurting for money
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Plus, if these people have the money to spend on a hiring wheelchair-bound guide, why not just pony up for the official Disney tourguide?" In the article a mom says the guides from Dream Tours are more "efficient", whatever that means.
Originally Posted By phruby That means they are "cheaper". Just because your rich doesn't mean you aren't cheap.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt So I wonder what kind of authorization Dream Tours has to operate inside WDW. Now that the lids been blown off their scam I'm guessing Disney won't let them operate on the premises any longer.
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 It's actually a pretty brilliant scam. “You can’t go to Disney without a tour concierge,’’ she sniffed. “This is how the 1 percent does Disney.” I bet. "Disney doesn't care about the abuse based on how many guests commit this type of fraud.... It's abused by far too many people." Disney DOES care and services like Fastpass and My Magic+ are strategically designed to thwart the kind of abuse outlined in the article. << Look in the parking lot at EPCOT some time at closing, you will see dozens of wheel chairs abandoned in the parking lot, or listen to people arguing over "Who's turn it is to ride in the wheelchair" Disney doesn't give a damn about the problem. I had my foot run over in May by one of those motorized scooters, and the lady yelled at me because I was in her way...and the CM told me the wheelchair had the right of way, so no, Disney encourages this kind of BS by not cracking down hard. My solution is simple...Wheelchair users are given fastpasses like everyone else, if there is a ride that they want to go on without a FP they are kept in a holding area while the rest of their party waits in line. When the party reaches the front of the line, the wheelchair user can go on the ride with their party... Stop the flipping insanity...
Originally Posted By FerretAfros While the idea of a wheelchair holding pen seems like it would avoid this problem, I'm pretty sure it would also violate ADA, which requires that everybody get an equal experience (part of the reason that the number of accompaning guests is so high, so small groups aren't split up). At Radiator Springs Racers in DCA, they developed a system where you check in and get a specific return time, similar to a FP, but based on the length of the queue. Supposedly this helped cut down on people cheating the system and also limited the number of rides per day each person could have, which further helped the attraction's standby queue
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "I had my foot run over in May by one of those motorized scooters, and the lady yelled at me because I was in her way...and the CM told me the wheelchair had the right of way, so no, Disney encourages this kind of BS by not cracking down hard." How rude. Have a magical day, I guess. "While the idea of a wheelchair holding pen seems like it would avoid this problem, I'm pretty sure it would also violate ADA, which requires that everybody get an equal experience (part of the reason that the number of accompaning guests is so high, so small groups aren't split up)." Waiting for an attraction like everyone else does isn't an "equal experience"? Something tells me that in the future there won't be any queues, at least for the most in demand attractions, and they will only be available on a reservation basis, which would be fine by me.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 There seems to be some confusion about WDW's policy on wheelchairs. Let me try to help. If the attraction is fully wheelchair accessible then guests in wheelchairs and their parties use the regular queue or the FP queue if they have a FP. Soarin is a good example of this. If an attraction is not fully wheelchair accessible then the wheelchair is directed to the wheelchair entrance with another member of their party and the rest of the party is supposed to stand in the queue line and then are reunited with their party at the load zone. If every CM follows the policy, the folks using the wheelchair entrance should be told that their wait time is approximately the time of the Standby line (unless they are holding a FP). The idea is that the wheelchair is not meant to give you priority entrance, just an easier way to board. There are exceptions. I guest can go to Guest Relations and request a GAC card (Guest Assistance Card) which provides special access depending on a guests need. For instance, an adult with a child who severely autistic may need special access for that child. At one time a Doctors request was required to receive the card, but over the past couple of years Disney has been concerned about the legal issues surrounding not giving the card to someone, so more people get them then probably should. There will always be people who will try to scam the system. When FP first came online there were many counterfeit passes out there. People will lie about their disabilities and people who do not need a wheelchair will rent them. For along time Disney's position was to try to treat guests in wheelchairs or with special needs just like every guest. This position came after long consultations with several of the country's top disability advocates. The pendulum has swung back some and there seems to be an effort to be more accomodating.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>attraction like everyone else does isn't an "equal experience"?<< Being separated from your group and made to wait by yourself doesn't count as 'equal'. Disney is trying to define at what point your group can be split up without having an impact on your experience; presumably that groups size is 6, since you rarely talk with more than that many people at any given time. But getting pulled off by yourself, to wait in a room full of other people in wheelchairs, hardly seems like equal treatment And as shjym touched on (and a friend pointed out on Facebook), you could easily just go into Guest Relations and say you have a disability of your own and skip hiring the guide all together. Since they won't ask for 'proof', you're good to go right there
Originally Posted By u k fan Sometimes the GAC's are given out because guests would have difficulty in waiting a long time (for various reasons) so a "holding pen" wouldn't work for all. Occasionally my sister who had epilepsy would need a GAC at DLP. We had to take a Dr's letter to get one, but she was never in a wheel chair so it wasn't her level of accessibilty that was the issue. It's a real conundrum. I do hope the tour guides aren't being taken advantage of though. I think that would be worse than them scamming Disney!!!
Originally Posted By u k fan Sometimes the GAC's are given out because guests would have difficulty in waiting a long time (for various reasons) so a "holding pen" wouldn't work for all. Occasionally my sister who had epilepsy would need a GAC at DLP. We had to take a Dr's letter to get one, but she was never in a wheel chair so it wasn't her level of accessibilty that was the issue. It's a real conundrum. I do hope the tour guides aren't being taken advantage of though. I think that would be worse than them scamming Disney!!!
