CA amusement park cancels ‘cuts’ for guests with disabilities
June 25th, 2008
From the Orange County [California] Register:
Knott’s Berry Farm, one of southern California’s most popular tourist attractions, has adopted a new policy that requires people with disabilities to wait in line as long as everyone else.
Officials at the park say their intention is to thwart the people who were faking disabilities to get to the front of the line.
People with disabilities now must wait on the sidelines for the rest of their party to go through the line, or get a pass from a ride operator that will allow them to return at approximately the time it would take them to get through the line.
Some guests are upset about the new policy, which has been in place for about a month.
(Orange County Register photo)
Our RSS Feed
April 7th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
A person with a disability has many obstacles to overcome everyday! Once your health is compromised your ability to participate with the rest of the world is changed dramatically.
Getting in front of the line in an amusement park should be never be revoked. One simple act of kindness (like getting to be first) should be honored for those who have so many other obstacles in life.
Obviously this person has no understanding of what it is like to live as a person with a disability. What type of person would complain about a person with a disability getting to be first? That is first grade behavior and not maturity. I’m sure most people would rather wait longer than be “that” person in the front of the line.
June 25th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Being treated just like everyone else. Not a bad thing for those who can wait in line!
June 25th, 2008 at 11:16 am
As the father of an 8-year old, non-verbal daughter with Down Syndrome, who has just recently visited Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, I’d like to comment on this.
At both parks, we asked for and were given a pass that essentially allowed us to use our daughter’s stroller as a wheelchair — as she is often non-compliant in situations like waiting patiently in a line, to the point of needing physical restraint/removal.
Disneyland’s approach is *accommodation*, and they do it with excellence. At Disneyland, the older park, there are rides where one is instructed to go in via the exit — where there is usually a shorter line of others with disabilities — and you are ‘worked into’ the ride, not just given a break in the line. At the newer rides, and at Disneyland California Adventure, you wait in line with everyone else.
This is perfectly acceptable to us, and, to a person, ride operators were friendly and genuinely accommodating. The difference for us is the difference between a manageable situation vs. total frustration and and exhausting and often embarrassing one.
This article seems a bit arbitrary; I hope that Knott’s approach is actually performed in a bit better way than it’s portrayed.
All this is to say that I think the majority of us aren’t looking to jump these lines, but to be ‘accommodated’ in a manner that lends itself to the same ‘amusement’, which is why we’re there, too.