A Whole New World For Scamming

Hello, I’m Amy, and it’s been too long since my last post.

Hi Amy.

Too many reasons why I haven’t posted, but finally something has happened that I can’t just sit quietly by without putting in my two cents.  I called into a local radio station to talk about this but had to stop listening to the radio before they aired my comments.  If you don’t hear them aired, have they really been said?

OK, back on topic.  So there’s been a new business crop up in Florida.  There’s a company that will let you hire a special tour guide to enhance your Disney experience.  That person is handicapped, and thus allows your family to bypass the normal lines to use the much shorter line for disabled guests. Now you don’t have to worry about your precious little angel having to wait in line like everyone else, because they have a special friend.

Wow.

One mom joyfully exclaimed that this is how the 1% do Disney.  Other people’s children can wait in line for hours, but not theirs.  And think about the wonderful lessons those little angels are learning about how to get ahead.  No, you don’t have to pay your dues like those people…you can always find an angle to get you ahead of others.  And don’t worry about those souvenirs and photos.  Since your Disabled Buddy of the Day is an employee of yours, you don’t have to buy things for them, you’re paying them.  And they can always be cropped out of photos.  Or hey, let them be the one getting the pictures with the “family” camera so that they have an excuse for not letting them in the photos.

A woman calling in to the radio station said it didn’t bother her, since at least this way, a handicapped person had a job.  Yup, that’s right, those of us with mobility issues can make our most significant contributions to the job force by helping rich people pull scams.  The caller thought she was being compassionate, because she has a disabled child and wouldn’t be upset seeing “those people” in her line because hey, they’re getting paid.  That’s like saying it’s OK for poor women to become hookers – they’re offering their services for free and now have an opportunity for an income.  As a person with a disability and a white collar job, I feel like this mentality is a step backward.  It’s like telling someone to sit on a street corner selling pencils, or encouraging people to sell their bodies since it puts money in their pockets.

So it’s OK to whore out handicapped people to give little kids a bit of pleasure.  Let’s call this what it is – prostituting the handicapped to let families fool the system. It’s not OK to sell your body for sex, but hey, go ahead and sell your body to get a little kid into “It’s a Small World” faster than the other kids.  For those “1% ers”, it is a small world – all that matters in their world is getting what they want RIGHT NOW.

18 months ago, my extended family took a trip to Disney World.  I rented a scooter for the duration of the trip so that I would be able to share the experience with my small children.  During that week, I had to deal with people cutting in front of me to make sure they didn’t get caught behind me in line, while I’m struggling to avoid hitting them and hurting the family following behind me.  (If you haven’t driven a scooter before, trust me, they don’t stop on a dime.)  I had to deal with the stares of people who didn’t appreciate having to get out of my way or that I would want to stay close to the other members of my family on the visit.  I remember going to the park on a cold day, but having to wait for the next bus because all of the scooter spots were full on the bus that had arrived at our station.  There were a lot of downsides, but it was all worth it to be able to share the experiences with my children.  I could sneak away while they were with other family members and buy that special treat that had caught their eye earlier in the day.  I was discouraged to have to use a scooter, but loved the opportunity to be with my family to share experiences.

What would happen if I went to the park tomorrow with my family?  Would there be stares and whispers wondering whether I was the hired help instead of mom?  Would my children hear derogatory comments about getting ahead unfairly by people who assumed that I was “just” the tour guide?  Would I truly be able to enjoy spending time with my family, or would our worthiness to be traveling together be questioned throughout the trip?

Disney says they’re going to address the problem, and I applaud it.  There are a few easy ways to handle the situation.  Before I went on my trip, it was assumed that people who rented scooters were doing so to share time with their families.  Disney recommended that people whose disabilities weren’t so obvious that they go into Guest Services at the front of each part and get a letter confirming that they were indeed eligible for the disabled line.  Since everyone in my party had the same last name as I did, it would have been easy for me to go to Guest Services, prove I’m not hired help, and be able to show proof that I was part of the family.  Folks coming from out of town could use their flight itineraries to show that they hadn’t been hired locally.  I know that some families include multiple last names, but it wouldn’t take much Disney creativity to work out a solution to include all of the people who truly rely on disabled services to allow the whole family to be included in the whole trip.

In the meantime, you “1% ers” need to get the hell out of my line.  Your overloading feeling of entitlement and willing to scratch you way to the top are a far bigger handicap than mine, but that doesn’t entitle you to special treatment.  Who knows, a dash of humility and compassion might actually give you and your child something far more valuable by not taking advantage of others to get to the front of the line.

After all, we’re just trying to have fun with our families, and sometimes that means waiting.