Probable Bullshit: Story Of Rich Manhattan Moms "Renting" The Disabled To Jump Lines At Disney
"Lesley" writes a detailed post about why at XOJane:
HAVE YOU BEEN OUTRAGED BY THIS YET? Unfortunately, you're probably angry for all the wrong reasons....1. There is no way this is a common practice.
Basically the Post has taken the story of one Manhattan mother and extrapolated it to mean that renting disabled people is rampant amongst the rich as a means of administering yet another kick to the teeth of the little guy who probably saved for their big family Disney vacation for the past three years.
If you read the Post story closely, the evidence is that there is ONE disabled tour guide who works for one particular company -- who, indeed, is a co-owner of said company -- and that her contact information may have been shared amongst a few people. (The tour company's co-owner told the Post that his partner has an auto-immune disorder and confirmed that she does use a motorized scooter to access the parks.) This is HARDLY the same thing as wealthy Manhattan socialites jetting down to Orlando and choosing a disabled tour guide from a specially-designed "black market" service to provide them.
2. It wouldn't work anyway.
The belief that using a wheelchair or scooter lets you skip epic lines at the theme parks is a thoroughly popular one, but just because people believe it doesn't make it so. The truth is, most of Disney's ride queues are indeed wheels-accessible these days, thanks to efforts on the part of the company to improve access. And the only reason disabled guests and their parties EVER get to skip a line is because they are physically prevented from using the regular queue space -- just being disabled does not get you a head-of-the-line pass.
The worst offender for inaccessible queues is the Magic Kingdom park, simply because it is also the oldest, and updates have been slower to catch up. For the newer parks, like Disney's Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom and even Epcot, very few of the rides require disabled guests to use a different entrance.
We're so quick to believe stories of the evil rich, people's skepticism filters automatically go to the "off" position.
Via @WalterOlson who posts links to the pieces by other skeptics here.
marco73 comments at overlawyered:
This story sure sounds too good to check. You can hire a Disney employee to personally escort your group anywhere in any of the DisneyWorld parks, jumping to the front of every line, and providing entertaining knowledge to boot. We've taken a couple escorted tours, and the experience is worth every penny.Why would you bother with having to drag around some stranger for $1000 per day, when you can have a real tour guide for a lot less?
Do reporters ever do any diligence? Oh, yes, the reporter called Disney a couple times and Disney never called back.
Maybe they should have just checked the Disney website.
TOur guides do not-or at least are not supposed to-get you to the front of the line. They can get your fastpasses for you. Not the same thing. If a tour guide meant no line, you can bet I'd have shelled out the $140 an hour for one. But having worked at Disney, I know it doesn't work.
momof4 at May 19, 2013 8:32 AM
Let me get this straight, someone is complaining about people hiring diabled people? For the difficult job of going on rides at disney?
Joe J at May 19, 2013 8:37 AM
I called shenanigans on that one from the start.
This isn't to say that it may not have happened once or something, but the author didn't prove it and the many media outlets that subsequently reported it didn't (and couldn't) check it.
Kevin at May 19, 2013 9:16 AM
Also, what kind of self proclaimed 1%er worries about saving $2000 on a *Disney* vacation? If you're pinching those kinds of pennies you can rent a wheelchair in the park for $20 a day. Pffft, they probably even stay at an off-site hotel.
Elle at May 19, 2013 10:00 AM
Thank you! It's been all over Facebook and other sites.
Even if they did, so what? Some disabled person got a paid day at Disneyland.
NicoleK at May 19, 2013 10:20 AM
This story is all about Dr. Wednesday Martin's book. She's the only source for it, and she's got a PhD in Comparative Lit, not anthropology. I called BS when I first read it, and am stunned by the number of people who believe it. The REALLY RICH, like Trump rich, just rent the place. Disney has done that in the past, and will again. If you're just sort of hedge-fund rich, you'll take the kids to French Disneyland, not Orlando.
KateC at May 19, 2013 10:41 AM
Tokyo Disneyland, while the Japanese are still in school. We just walked from ride-to-ride until we were tired. That was twenty years ago, and even at the exchange rates then, lunch ran about $100.
MarkD at May 19, 2013 2:47 PM
The jumping ahead really does suck. I don't know about the hiring part. But I have a vivid memory of being at a park (maybe not Disney) and some group getting to go twice in the last half of my wait in line. I wouldn't have seen before that. And then park employee's statement did not make it any better -- they were not allowed to just get go around and get back on...they had to go to a different ride. That means the group had time to ride the roller coaster I was in line for, ride a different ride, and then ride the coaster again all in the less time than us regular folk waiting in the line made through half the line.
I doubt the really rich are doing it...the really well off maybe though I doubt it is too wide spread.t
The Former Banker at May 19, 2013 9:13 PM
Props to the doubters. I love you people.
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at May 19, 2013 9:41 PM
I called BS on it when I first read it about a week ago. Three years ago, I took my grandson to Disneyland for his 2nd birthday. I was 4 weeks post spinal fusion and I went in a wheelchair. Most of the line queues are accessible to a wheelchair. There were a couple of rides that weren't wheelchair friendly, i.e. the tea cups (I wasn't going to ride those anyway) and the Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion. But the big rides, yeah those had updated queues. So did some spoiled princess think she was going to avoid waiting in line if she brought someone in wheelchair? Yeah, she probably did. Is this a Disney World epidemic? Not likely. Even if people are doing this, then they're finding out it doesn't work they way they think it will, and I'm ok with that.
sara at May 20, 2013 6:06 AM
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