How the 1% "do Disney"

AuntFlo

Has this been discussed?
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/15/us/disney-skipping-lines/index.html?hpt=hp_t5

Poll question: If you had the money, would you do this?

VarunaTT

I wouldn't do it.

But I don't think I have a real moral issue with it.  It'd be a pretty good gig for anyone, $1K to spend the day at Disney is a damn fine living. 

ETA:  I'd like to know more about the actual workers though.  I have questions about those individuals.

tawillers

If I had the money, I'd pay for the Disney tours.  Or do I not have *that* kind of money?

ETA:  I still wouldn't do it.

zsazsa-stl

I didn't read the whole article, but why hire someone?  Can't you just put one of the kitchen maids in a wheelchair for the day?  I'm surprised more people aren't doing it and ruining Disney for real disabled people?

 

Also, why do disabled people get to jump? 

PMeg819

I think it's gross. I feel like it's taking advantage of disabled people and for the disabled people doing it, I wonder how bad it is for their health. Being at Disney isn't necessarily a picnic. It can get hot, crowded, etc. It's just so gross.

GBCK

There's actually been some rumors about changing the jump rules.

But I don't pay enough attention to be in the know.

(the idea behind the jump *was* that for some disabilities, they can't wait in line--like an autistic kid who gets over-stimulated.  Someone linked me to this the other day, and, it kinda covers some of it and was kinda worth reading:

http://shmoolok.com/Blog/tabid/62/EntryId/1081/Part-of-the-Problem.aspx
)

kerbohl

You know who this is really going to hurt?  The kids who are actually disabled.  The people who are abusing the system are going to make everyone side-eye anyone who gets to jump the line, including people who are honestly disabled and unable to wait in line. 
I wouldn't do this because having money doesn't give you the excuse to be rude, and it is rude to all the poor people (which at this point is me) who have to wait longer in the line just to accommodate people who do this. 

DixieNormous330

I think it's disgusting. Right now the process to get the specialized line passes is pretty easy for those who need them. Odds are that BS like this will make it harder. Last thing I want to do is carry around DD's EI paper work and her chart just to be able to try to give her a semi "normal" trip to an amusement park.

I'm also pretty upset at the disabled people exploiting themselves like this.

alikatt17

Ugh, when we were in Disney in January, it was disgusting how many people rented scooters for this exact reason- it was pretty obvious there was nothing wrong with the guy who was wearing a Marathon tshirt and was in awesome shape.  It also was a giant PITA waiting for them to load their scooters on the buses. 

Go off season and use fast passes- we never waited more than 30 minutes for any ride.  It's not that effing hard.

VarunaTT

DixieNormous330 said:

I'm also pretty upset at the disabled people exploiting themselves like this. 

That's why I said I want to know more about the workers.  I mean, if they really don't have any other job options, they ARE being exploited by rich people and that's horrid.  So, what can we do for them to replace an income that most of us only dream about reaching?  I mean hell, $1K/day?  You do 3-4 trips/month and you have some damn fine money in your pocket.  Who am I to take away their livelihood b/c of my outrage, y'know?

DixieNormous330

VarunaTT said:

That's why I said I want to know more about the workers.  I mean, if they really don't have any other job options, they ARE being exploited by rich people and that's horrid.  So, what can we do for them to replace an income that most of us only dream about reaching?  I mean hell, $1K/day?  You do 3-4 trips/month and you have some damn fine money in your pocket.  Who am I to take away their livelihood b/c of my outrage, y'know?

Unfortunately, federal and state assistance have a backlog and are being cut. And certainly they do not reach anything near to $1k/day. Other vocational positions (depending on the disabilities) are minimum at best. This is a big reason that H and I are going to meet with a lawyer to set up a Special Needs Trust for DD.

Unfortunately, the SN community isn't going to make that kind of a living without doing something like this. And there is someone at the reins. I'm fairly certain that the exploited aren't pocketing the full amount. Unless they're a totally free agent hanging out outside of the parks.

loveshine1

We go to Disney a lot, and we were actually given special "abilities" when we went right after Baby A got out of the hospital in November. We were able to use the stroller as a wheelchair due to a tag when normally you have to park it outside the rides, etc and were able to skip some of the longer lines, like it was a "fast past" of sorts. It was awesome to enjoy those perks for the weekend , I'm not going to lie.

I'm not sure how I feel about the 1% doing this, but I can understand how much it sucks to stand in line for 90 minutes with a 2 year old. But you can do your research on what parks to go to on what days, and fast pass it, and like Ali said, go during the off season. Orlando in July sucks no matter how you slice it and there is no way I would go during peak time.

The renting of the scooter thing REALLY pisses me off. I believe that more than 50% of those people do not need the scooters.