According to a thread I saw on Disboards, some rides are seeing 25% of riders going through the disabled access process, which absolutely requires changes. Making quick exceptions for people in wheelchairs or severely autistic kids is one thing, but that kind of percentage seems to indicate everyone too obese to walk to Fantasyland or any kid ever diagnosed as ADD is using this method.
The problem of lines in general is one that Disney is clearly working on–they are clearly getting more and more engaging with each one built. I know there was some talk about using the RFID chips in the MagicBands to eventually help make parts of the queue areas more personalized in some way. But changing the queue area on an existing ride is generally only done during a major refurbishment, which obviously doesn’t happen very often.
And they’re working on getting better and better real-time line data to guests as well. If you’re already in Tomorrowland and see the Space Mountain line is an hour, you’re not likely to cross the park in the hope that Big Thunder is quicker. But if you come out of Main Street, pull up your smartphone app, and see that Space Mountain is 60 minutes, but Big Thunder is at 15 minutes, you’re more likely to head over to Frontierland. The more people that do that, the more the queues should even out (though never completely, particularly if you have rides that are both popular and slow where they can’t just add a second one like they just did to Dumbo)
Beautifully put. I also wondered about what another commenter asked: Do none of these people ever have to wait anywhere else? I’m just not seeing how they are always capable of waiting if it’s exactly under the amount of time that Disney had allotted for the original system.
I think what they mean is that everyone who has a physical disability has a different circumstance; just because it’s OK for you doesn’t mean it’s universally OK for everyone. I don’t think I should be unable to experience attractions at Disney because I’m unable to stand on line (which I cannot do). I’m not there riding Space Mountain, I’m there wanting to do much tamer things, but they still require fast pass or standing in line. I’m not entitled but an accommodation (easier Fast pass or line wait pass) would be really appreciated so I can actually experience some of the fun with everyone else.
The new system permits you to wait in an area other than the formal line, thereby addressing your exact concern. If you want to visit Disney during high season and not wait, then no, you cannot have that. Waiting is part if the “fun” “everyone else” is experiencing.
I never said anything like that though. What i said was that this change focused on the correct issue: the physical conditions of the wait for those with disabilities. It allows those disabled customwrs to wait their fair turn in an equal and fair manner.
The part I wonder about is why an autistic kid having a meltdown or having to leave the park after 2 hours because he has to wait, is overstimulated or is too tired is different from the neurotypical kid having a meltdown or needing to leave the park after 2 hours for the same reasons. Or why someone who can only tolerate the heat for a short period of time due to a disability who may have to leave the park after an hour or two is different from someone who just can’t take heat in the absence of any other disabilty who may also have to leave the park in an hour or two. But if you try to accomodate everyone whose kid might have a meltdown, or who might have to leave after two hours because of the heat, or who can’t stand on line for two hours because they can’t go that long without a restroom visit and so on , you’ll end up with a single line again whether it’s physical or virtual.
In many ways the new system is still more generous than the current fastpass system. Fastpasses for popular attractions can be for several (e.g. 6+) hours later, or run out completely. Presumably the disabled access won’t run out and won’t have a time window restriction.
Also, the new system is independent of the already existing fastpass (soon to be FastPass+) system. That means someone with a need could simultaneously use the FastPass virtual waiting system and the new virtual wait for disabled guests. That’s a pretty big benefit.
Bottom line is someone has to wait, and there is a limit to how much more non-disabled guests can be asked to wait extra. I’m fine waiting a bit more for a few guests who have special needs. I’m not fine with waiting more for a hundred guests (even if they need it).
We live within four mile of Six Flags, and as a mom to a 14yo with Autism, I am so grateful for the Guest Accommodations. When I heard that Disney was changing their policy, I was briefly concerned but well aware of how it was being abused by those who need it and those who may not. its sucks for the people who really enjoy it and truly need it.
I was only posting to say that in my family’s situation, for my son, visiting Six Flags is one of few chances in his life where he has an opportunity to enjoy an event/venue where being disabled helps him. He is enamored with the rollercoasters and it is one of the few words that he can say to express his needs. Do I take him to other places where there might be lines…yes- with lots of planning, distractions and escape plans for all parties involved- and that’s just for the grocery store. Pretty sad.
I never take for granted the opportunity these companies have provided to us and I would hate for this accommodation to be severely restricted. In parting, I also just wanted to give you a gentle reminder that there are some people that will never drive themselves to Disneyland, pick out their own souvenirs, express what they want to eat from the concession stand and then come home to post on a forum how their trip would have been so much better if the lines weren’t so long.
I just don’t understand how the people that are used to these accommodations (and in many cases, going by the comments on that article, are planning on never going back to Disney) don’t realize that. If Disney accommodates everyone and their dogs (and their dogs’ significant others), then the wait time for all lines are going to creep up to the point that everyone (even those that need it most) has to wait a ridiculously long time. I agree with the author of that piece. It is about “use” more than abuse.
^ There are also legions of people that will never get to go to Disney at all. Period. As great a thing as it is for those of us who love it due to special needs, it’s still not a necessity. I have a friend (with problems of her own that could land her some of these accommodations) who is almost 50 and would kill to go, but probably won’t ever. It’s just life, not life or death.
So the main problem stems from people abusing the system by hiring a handicap person as an escort for their entire party?
One solution I haven’t seen mentioned would be a one-for-one line jump. That is for each person with special needs that gets to skip the line, they only get to bring one person with them.
A family of 5 isn’t going to hire 5 handicapped escorts to bring along.
I’m sure some special needs folks might complain that they can’t enjoy the attraction unless they are with their entire family and friends but I think it would be a fair trade-off.
No. That got a lot of press attention, and may have been a partial catalyst for their timing of when they rolled the system out, but the prime reason appears to be that there were more people using the existing system than it could handle.