# RO: Wealthy Disneyworld Patrons Hiring Disabled "Guides" In Order To Line Skip **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 15, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419 "2013-05-15T16:43:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/81 "2013-05-16T13:31:39Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > No, people are complaining that people are hiring a disabled person to go to the park with them, so that the entire able-bodied family can take advantage of the privileges afforded to disabled people. The focus is not on the disabled person, but rather the ethics of the able-bodied people. how is this practically more objectionable than an entire able-bodied family with a disabled (genuine) friend? as has been pointed out, it is probably more troublesome to have a stranger tag along, and since they already have options to avoid the queues, this way the money goes to the disabled guy instead of the park. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/82 "2013-05-16T14:50:42Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > So it’s okay for you to lie about family to ride Space Mountain, but people of other ethnic groups who happen to be adopted should be forced to wear some visible mark of their status so you know they’re unclean. Sarcasm cone descending: No just a visible mark to punish their adopters for being pathetic liars would be enough to warn people that don’t want to risk having their children stolen. Sarcasm cone ascending. There is a big difference in a minor scam for profit or convenience and deliberately misleading people about situations that can have life changing results. All of this could probably be avoided by Disney simply creating some stricter guidelines and requiring more verification. Handicap people often have a hard time earning living therefore, and I wholeheartedly support them in using what few “benefits” they can find to make some cash. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/83 "2013-05-16T14:55:44Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Nice to know that your values that you used to go on and on about are so worthless. I’m sure that people would have loved to know that all we have to do to get you to shake hands with a man is to make sure that hand has money in it. I thought you of all people would think your cultural values mean more than that. > > And, no, the guides aren’t exploited. They are just as fucking immoral as **ZPG** here. All it takes is money for them to put aside their moral qualms. That’s right, I have more disgust for the people who would go along with this than the rich people who try it. Yeah, the rich people are immoral bastards, but at least they aren’t hypocrites. > > Plus there are so many rich bastards that it’s getting harder to work up any outrage over them. In the scale of immorality what the guides are doing ranks right up there with taking an extra napkin at a fast food place or using the restroom when you haven’t actually bought anything. I can’t believe anyone would actually get angry over this especially people who think it’s okay for children to be forced to call people that have absolutely no genetic relation to them family for the first eighteen yeas of their lives. Maybe the guides should just call it “one day adoptions”, would that make it all rosy for you then? ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/84 "2013-05-16T15:02:28Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > how is this practically more objectionable than an entire able-bodied family with a disabled (genuine) friend? as has been pointed out, it is probably more troublesome to have a stranger tag along, and since they already have options to avoid the queues, this way the money goes to the disabled guy instead of the park. A very good point. Why shouldn’t a disabled teenager market this as a form of babysitting? Most of these wealthy kids have already had plenty of experience with au pairs and young nannies taking them to entertainments? In this case the disabled have an extra advantage (as they have in few things in life) that allows them to market their services at a higher price. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/85 "2013-05-16T15:20:54Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > ^this. When I was in Disneyworld, I got a pass for my son, who’s autistic. Waiting in line would not have worked at all. He just couldn’t do it. Disney recognizes this. And in an ideal world, everything would be fine: those who need it could use it and those that don’t need it wouldn’t use it. The problem is that less scrupulous people are realizing that Disney doesn’t require proof. From a legal standpoint, they don’t want Disney workers judging and verifying disabilities. Someone with a non-autistic child can simply say. “Oh yeah, he’s autistic and can’t wait in lines.” Disney will say Okey-Dokey and issue a pass to that effect. Hell, they don’t even want to know that its autism (probably for legal reasons). As more and more people fake disabilities, the system starts to break down. Now Disney is in a difficult spot. How are they to accommodate guests who truly can’t wait in lines while not allowing liars to game the system? That’s what I find so weird about hiring disabled guides. I guess in a twisted way these wealthy patrons are a few rungs above those who simply lie and say their kid can’t wait in lines. At least by hiring a disabled guide, there actually is a disability involved. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/86 "2013-05-16T15:27:54Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I’ve often wondered why the don’t give up on this whole line business anyway. How about take a number, sit somewhere nice, at a table perhaps, surrounded by ferns or aquariums or performers or something and you got 10 minutes say to get in line once the number shows up on the big board. billfish, meet Dumbo. Dumbo meet billfish. Disney is trying. Dumbo is one attraction where what you describe happens. Disney also has fast pass, which is what you describe, except the guest can go anywhere they want (including a different line). Disney is currently rolling out a new fast pass system. For all we know, what you describe might be only a few months away. I had never thought of this new system as being the solution to the disability-abuse problem, but now that I think about it, maybe it will be. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/87 "2013-05-16T15:30:20Z")
You don’t have to be rich. I have wondered why my sister always insists on taking our mom to Disney whenever they go. Makes sense now. This kind of thing is one of the reasons we stopped going to amusement parks. I get that some people cannot navigate the normal lines - those parks should make their rides accessible, not create a two classes of customers - those who wait and those who don’t. The last time we went to Six Flags the lines were horrible. When we finally get to the front of the line we have to wait some more while whole families walk right in and hop aboard. Huge families with maybe one person in a wheelchair get to ride any ride, any time while my family had to wait 45 minutes for each ride. And there were a lot of handicapped familes that day. Small children aren’t good waiting in line for 45 minutes even when they aren’t handicapped. I know who is a second class customer there and we never saw a need to go back. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/88 "2013-05-16T17:22:18Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Nice to know that your values that you used to go on and on about are so worthless. I’m sure that people would have loved to know that all we have to do to get you to shake hands with a man is to make sure that hand has money in it. I thought you of all people would think your cultural values mean more than that. > > And, no, the guides aren’t exploited. They are just as fucking immoral as **ZPG** here. All it takes is money for them to put aside their moral qualms. That’s right, I have more disgust for the people who would go along with this than the rich people who try it. Yeah, the rich people are immoral bastards, but at least they aren’t hypocrites. > > Plus there are so many rich bastards that it’s getting harder to work up any outrage over them. Praise be to our Lord and Saviour BigT without whom we’d all be fucking donkeys and murdering babies for fun. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/89 "2013-05-16T18:40:50Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Praise be to our Lord and Saviour BigT without whom we’d all be fucking donkeys and murdering babies for fun. Only if I got $130 bucks an hour with an eight hour minimum. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/90 "2013-05-16T18:54:25Z")
If only I can pay $130 an hour so my kid wouldn’t be autistic…I then would be happy to stand in line. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/91 "2013-05-16T19:15:39Z")
This doesn’t really bother me at all. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/92 "2013-05-16T19:24:53Z")
Would it bother you if you had spent all that ticket money to stand in line all day, while those queue-jumping cheaters got so much more opportunity to enjoy their day than you? Eh, it’s Disney’s fault for allowing preferential treatment anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/93 "2013-05-16T19:27:39Z")
Pretending that the handicapped person you’re toting around is related to you so you can cut lines is no different than pretending you yourself are handicapped so you can cut lines. And that’s okay? Pretending that you, or someone related to you, is handicapped so you can soak up all the sweet sweet bennies that come with not being able to walk? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/94 "2013-05-16T19:32:13Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Eh, it’s Disney’s fault for allowing preferential treatment anyway. Every amusement park does this. Not only good customer service, but pretty much required by law. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/95 "2013-05-16T19:35:24Z")
What law? ADA? That only requires access, not preference. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/96 "2013-05-16T19:43:30Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > Disney is currently rolling out a new fast pass system. For all we know, what you describe might be only a few months away. I had never thought of this new system as being the solution to the disability-abuse problem, but now that I think about it, maybe it will be. Well, presumably better line management in general will reduce the value of the abuse. Looks like the Fastpass+ system, which I understand involves RFID wristbands in some fashion, has started very limited trials in the past few days. And I know they have a smartphone app of some sort with park information. If they can get it to a point where people are able to more quickly look and see what rides have what lines, and more easily schedule fastpass stuff, that should normalize times much more across the park. And, of course, parks are making the queues themselves more attractive–I recall at Universal there was a sign in the Harry Potter line telling people that they needed to keep moving with the line–I guess people were so interested in some of the stuff happening in the queue that they were holding up the line. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/97 "2013-05-16T19:57:08Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Would it bother you if you had spent all that ticket money to stand in line all day, while those queue-jumping cheaters got so much more opportunity to enjoy their day than you? > > Eh, it’s Disney’s fault for allowing preferential treatment anyway. Well many amusement parks offer front-of-the-line privileges if you pay some fee (Disneyland I have no idea, but I know Universal Studios does, for example). IS there any outrage over the wealthy being able to do this? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/98 "2013-05-16T19:59:58Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > What law? ADA? That only requires access, not preference. Yes, but some states have their own ADA, and no matter what the ADA actually sez, parks are large targets and wary of lawsuits. And, if a kid isn’t able to wait in line due to a disability, isn’t there a requirement for preference? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/99 "2013-05-16T20:00:08Z")
**GO** : \*Envy \*maybe, but that system is just as fair as first-class airline passengers getting free drinks in return for paying more for their tickets. ---
**Author:** ![TommyTutone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@TommyTutone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TommyTutone)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419/100 "2013-05-16T20:00:08Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > The last time we went to Six Flags the lines were horrible. When we finally get to the front of the line we have to wait some more while whole families walk right in and hop aboard. Huge families with maybe one person in a wheelchair get to ride any ride, any time while my family had to wait 45 minutes for each ride. And there were a lot of handicapped familes that day. Small children aren’t good waiting in line for 45 minutes even when they aren’t handicapped. I know who is a second class customer there and we never saw a need to go back. It was mentioned earlier, but you can buy a Flash Pass to skip all of the lines at Six Flags. They offer Silver, which doesn’t lower the wait time, but sets a time for you to return so you don’t have to wait in line. They also offer Gold, which is the same, but the wait time is cut in half. Finally, they offer the Platinum which not only reduces the wait time by 90%, but lets you ride the ride twice in a row without having to get off. A neat benefit, but really pisses people off when you wave your little platinum machine thingy to stay on and the people who were about to get in your seats have to wait another go around. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-wealthy-disneyworld-patrons-hiring-disabled-guides-in-order-to-line-skip/658419.md?page=6)