You probably know that we people with disabilities are granted the privilege of going to the head of the line at places like Disney. Actually, it’s a practical matter. We clutter up the line with, say, our wheelchair, plus, we need extra help getting onto the rides. Sometimes our chair won’t fit through the regular door so they take us to a wider entrance. Yes, it seems nice for us, although most of us prefer not to be singled out for obvious special treatment. However, it’s also convenient for the park.
So Florida’s Dream Tours hired disabled persons as guides, meaning they could get up to six people moved to the head of the line with them. It cost the customer only $130 an hour, or $1,040 for 8 hours (cheaper than Disney’s VIP guides, at $310-$380 per hour).
I wonder what it cost the kids who were ushered in this way: increased sense of entitlement, negative perception of people with disabilities, lessons in cheating, a feeling of being better than others…attitudes that prepare them for what kind of adulthood?
As for the guides, what were they thinking, allowing themselves to be used in this way! Not to mention the black mark against the rest of us disabled people.
Bad press caused Dream Tours to stop this practice–without even an apology. I think it’s far too late. They’ve already lost their way in Disgraceland.