Interesting experience at Big Thunder last night

[stargazertechie]

DH and I witnessed a less than magical moment at BTMRR yesterday.

We were sitting outside of the exit, repacking our bag near the alternate entrance. There were several families waiting with GACs in hand.

The CM walked up to each person and said (quite loudly) "I see y'all have your wheelchair access card- but none of you have wheelchairs. Im not allowed to let you in this way without a wheelchair. This entrance is for folks in wheelchairs only"

Needless to say there were several crying children and a handful of irate parents.

I do hope that one of the families said something to guest relations. That CM is in obvious need of retraining!

[cm8]

Originally Posted by stargazertechie

DH and I witnessed a less than magical moment at BTMRR yesterday.

We were sitting outside of the exit, repacking our bag near the alternate entrance. There were several families waiting with GACs in hand.

The CM walked up to each person and said (quite loudly) "I see y'all have your wheelchair access card- but none of you have wheelchairs. Im not allowed to let you in this way without a wheelchair. This entrance is for folks in wheelchairs only"

Needless to say there were several crying children and a handful of irate parents.

I do hope that one of the families said something to guest relations. That CM is in obvious need of retraining!

hopefully someone did

[rewardsinlife]

Yikes! Well I don't agree with the shouting or the words...but there might be a point he was trying to make. ..in which he didn't do such a good job. Are there stairs at big thunder in WDW? If not, he might have been implying that this attraction does not accept all the GAC's out there...it is mostly for wheelchairs..there are after all..different gacs. Some people just can't do stairs...some can't go on moving walkways..etc.

I saw one time where this person had a GAC specifically for stairs and they were trying to get into the alternate entrance with it at the haunted mansion at DL. Well...since there are no stairs in the regular line...the CM stated they could go through the regular line without any problems. The person was unhappy...said the pass was supposed to get them to pass the line and left the line and attraction. Obviously this person thinks the pass is used for a different reason...

Anyway...was it right for him to yell. No. Was it right for him to say it is only for wheelchairs...no. He is generalizing...and there are gacs (significantly enough I have one when I am feeling ok to walk a bit) that allows for the GAC to be used exactly as a handicap wheelchair access. I too, hope someone brings this to his attention..or to guest relations. This can turn away many people who really do need GAC and already feel weird or unsure about using it...but need it.

[Schmeck]

Originally Posted by stargazertechie

DH and I witnessed a less than magical moment at BTMRR yesterday.

We were sitting outside of the exit, repacking our bag near the alternate entrance. There were several families waiting with GACs in hand.

The CM walked up to each person and said (quite loudly) "I see y'all have your wheelchair access card- but none of you have wheelchairs. Im not allowed to let you in this way without a wheelchair. This entrance is for folks in wheelchairs only"

Needless to say there were several crying children and a handful of irate parents.

I do hope that one of the families said something to guest relations. That CM is in obvious need of retraining!

If the families did have a 'wheelchair' stamp of some kind (not saying there is one, because if you had a wheelchair the accommodation would be obvious for just the chair) and no one was in a wheelchair, well yes, I'd expect the CM to call them on that.

If the CM did not look at the GAC to see what accommodations were needed, then that is a problem.

If the CM was sent to get people only in wheelchairs, because the area was full/overused as a waiting area for other accessibility needs but there was an opening for a non-ambulatory person, then the CM was in the right. Terse, but correct. There can only be a certain number of non-ambulatory guests on the ride at a time. If there was a back-up of guests using the alternative entrance, but no one on the ride classified as a non-ambulatory rider, then it makes sense to go out and check to see if they could fill in that opportunity, instead of having someone have to wait even longer than usual.

Having a GAC doesn't mean you will always get to use an alternative entrance. It depends on so many variables. It's really a tool for the CM, not a pass for the guests.

[dvc one day]

I don't have enough information to form an opinion, mainly because I don't know why these people had GAC's.

This is what I do know. At BTMRR (and splash as well), wheelchairs have to use the exit to get on the ride because there are stairs in the queue. Everyone with a GAC would not necessarily need to use that entrance. There are many times where you would not want to use that way to get on either ride anyway because the normal queue can be much faster.

[stargazertechie]

Originally Posted by dvc one day

I don't have enough information to form an opinion, mainly because I don't know why these people had GACs.

And this is why I wasn't comfortable enough to say anything at GR. what made me most uncomfortable was the fact that the CM called them "wheelchair cards"... especially since those who are in WCs for mobility only do not need a GAC- the WC/ECV serves as the visual notifier for assistance needed.

I didn't know these folks, but if I had to venture a guess based solely on the family interaction I witnessed, (which is so hard to do) I would say that several families were utilizing it as an alternate waiting area for sensory processing disorders.

[SueM in MN]

Originally Posted by dvc one day

I don't have enough information to form an opinion, mainly because I don't know why these people had GAC's.

This is what I do know. At BTMRR (and splash as well), wheelchairs have to use the exit to get on the ride because there are stairs in the queue. Everyone with a GAC would not necessarily need to use that entrance. There are many times where you would not want to use that way to get on either ride anyway because the normal queue can be much faster.

BTMRR at WDW does not have any stairs or moving walkway in the queue. There is a steep ramped area, which is too steep for use with a wheelchair.

The main reason for having a wheelchair entrance at that attraction is to have the person using a wheelchair board at the correct spot.
Guests without wheelchairs board on one side of the track and get off at the other side - obviously not something that can be done with a wheelchair.

There are guests who don't have a wheelchair who might need to use the wheelchair accessible path, but there are not that many attractions with things like stairs or moving walkways, which are the issue.

Guest Relations should do a better job of explaining how and when to use the GAC based on the reason it was given out. Using the wheelchair entrance at some attractions (including BTMRR) may not be that helpful for someone with sensory processing issues because the space is tight and/or crowded.
This is especially an issue when there are more people already waiting in the area - the wait there may be longer and the conditions less meeting the person's needs than just using the regular line.

I do not know any facts, but have heard RUMORS that the RFID enabled cards and scanners will help with some issues around GACs.

[Sunnywho]

It's weird that he called it a "wheelchair access card."

[dvc one day]

Sue - You are, of course, right. I forgot that BTMRR has the alternate entrance because of the loading/unloading of the ride.

I don't know the sensory disorder policies for each ride, which is the other reason I didn't want to comment on the people and their validity for being there.

I hope the CM is new or having a bad day because this was mishandled no matter what the situation was with the people waiting to get on the ride. The "wheelchair access card" comment made me think new CM.

[disney david]

Originally Posted by Sunnywho

It's weird that he called it a "wheelchair access card."

Yeah he might be a newer cm that might not know what a gac is or he just called it the wrong thing.


I was at Epcot international gate two week ago and a guest was being rude to a cm because they thought guest relations was close to the entrance and the cm kept apologizing and saying their closet on is out side and showed her where to go and said if hey want they could go to he one in the park. The lady said no I want to get this done I have to get him a handicap pass which the cms oh yes a gac you cms get it at his guest relations or the one in the park. So the guest called it the wrong name and was being ride to the cm who was only trying to help explain where guest relations was and apologized that they had to exit and renter he funny thing is once the cm said gac then she was nicer to he cm. I felt bad because that cm was not trying to keep them from getting a gac was only trying to show them where they could get one because someone not sure who told them it was near the entrance which it is but before you enter the park they did say hey used google maps and it showed it their. So the cm had to explain it was in front before they enter she did try her best to help them which in the end they did see and hopefully they got their gac.

[KPeveler]

In response to your previous comment there are GACs which allow the use a wheelchair accessible entrance is even if you don't have a wheelchair in the party... like for someone who can I find stairs or needs a wider area to move through.

The way to cast member handled it, however, is not appropriate. He should have approached each party to determine what each GAC said and what their needs were instead of shouting at the whole group.

[a1tinkfans]

I think what bothered me Most about this story....was the yelling out of ANYTHING at all to someone/group that is/was carrying the card.
Its difficult enough for some people to even acknowledge they need help...ie even asking for the GAC, and to be subjected to another insensitive (being kind here) person (even worse its an alleged trained cm) makes me very sad!
Its just "screams" of insensitivity and borders on verbal discrimination against handicapped people....How about some privacy and respect!!
Rant over....
I admit.....this hit a raw spot.....lets get people Trained properly DISNEY since they are offering the accommodation.... Please!!

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Originally Posted by a1tinkfans

I think what bothered me Most about this story....was the yelling out of ANYTHING at all to someone/group that is/was carrying the card.
Its difficult enough for some people to even acknowledge they need help...ie even asking for the GAC, and to be subjected to another insensitive (being kind here) person (even worse its an alleged trained cm) makes me very sad!
Its just "screams" of insensitivity and borders on verbal discrimination against handicapped people....How about some privacy and respect!!
Rant over....
I admit.....this hit a raw spot.....lets get people Trained properly DISNEY since they are offering the accommodation.... Please!!

I don't see why the Cast Member raising their voice so everyone can here them is a bad thing. Keep in mind it can get noisy around Big Thunder and the CM in question wanted to inform a large group of People as quickly and as efficiently as poseable.

[LockShockBarrel]

If I understand OPs post correctly, it was multiple separate families not at all traveling together. Therefore it was rude of the CM to address them as a group as each of their GACs likely said something different. If the guests were unfamiliar with what could be done at BTMRR, then I would imagine it'd be highly embarrassing to be scolded by a CM at all, let alone loudly in front of a group of people.

[SueM in MN]

Originally Posted by LockShockBarrel

If I understand OPs post correctly, it was multiple separate families not at all traveling together. Therefore it was rude of the CM to address them as a group as each of their GACs likely said something different. If the guests were unfamiliar with what could be done at BTMRR, then I would imagine it'd be highly embarrassing to be scolded by a CM at all, let alone loudly in front of a group of people.

Agree with this.