Class-Action Lawsuit against Disney Parks filed - CORRECTION: not class-action

[jcb]

I'm hoping for thrown out, plaintiffs have to pay Disney's legal expenses, and banned from the parks for life.

I don't mean to "pick" on any one person, several have said this, but banning the plaintiffs from the theme parks would likely violate the provision prohibiting retaliation. Filing a lawsuit, even one that doesn't succeed, protects the filer from being retaliated against because of the filing.

To be honest, if I were Disney (and I'm not), I would want the plaintiffs to come to the theme parks as much as possible so I could show they were able to enjoy the parks even under DAS (yes, I'm really that devious).

 

[mefordis]

This thread isn't about Disney exceeding the minimum requirement though.

It's about a small group of parents who feel the DAS is lawsuit worthy, because according to them Disney is not even meeting the minimum requirements. I completely understand being upset at the change from GAC to DAS, it's no fun having something you've grown used to taken away (as seen from the FP+ conversations), but that doesn't mean Disney is breaking the law.

To me, it's not about whether or not people are upset the GAC has been changed. It's about the ridiculousness of filing a lawsuit that basically says "We don't need front of the line access, we just need front of the line access".

I don't think this lawsuit will get very far.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I feel for them, I really do. But they are not an average family and must deal with that whether they like it or not. Everyone has things they have to deal with that may affect how they may or may not enjoy things that others do. It's a fact of life.

I'd be more than willing to bet that they are well aware that they aren't an average family, and that they deal with it 24/7 in every situation they are ever in. Serious question, not snark - do you really think they don't know that they are not the average family?

They are still getting equal access. If they can or cannot use that equal access is nothing that Disney can control.

I was actually meaning that as a point of discussion to see what other people define equal access as. I can see and understand the POV that Disney is open, therefore it's equal access.

My reaction to seeing a child or person (really anyone) having a meltdown, violent or not, would be it's time for them to leave. That's what my parents did. It's what I did when I took my niece to WDW in 1997. My niece was mentally, physically and sexually abused as a child and to this day still has issues. When I took her to WDW, I had to pay attention to her mood swings and when I noticed that she was starting to have problems, it was time to go.

I'm pretty sure I specifically said that the friends I was discussing do leave when a meltdown occurs...I don't recall supporting that a family (typical or not) stay in the parks when a child is melting down.

 

[JimmyV]

This thread isn't about Disney exceeding the minimum requirement though.

Well, it didn't start out that way. But the posts ran off the rails pages ago. The vast majority of posts have nothing to do with the law suit and delve into what Disney owes its guests.

 

[SueM in MN]

Disney has already stated that it was USE not ABUSE that ended the GAC. I was trying to find the article but I believe they said up to 1,000 GACs were issued a day at DL. Can't remember how many at WDW. They estimated that in the FP line for Radiator Springs, 5,000 people were using a GAC (that's the 1,000, plus family members). So you can imagine the impact the GAC was having on FP times, especially on a popular ride like RS, which caused them to issue less paper FP's to the rest of us.

Disney also stated in the article they didn't believe that most people using the GAC were fakers, but people who actually needed it, the problem is too many needed it from people with autism, to obesity, diabetes, the elderly, etc. The GAC was just unsustainable. Plus the people who needed the GAC were actually abusing it themselves when they rode rides multiple times in a row or just went from ride to ride, something the GAC was never intended for. It was just suppose to help them out every now and again.

I have to laugh when the lawsuit was blaming the people for hiring out disabled to get the GAC. Honestly how many people on a given day were actually doing that, give me a break.

Scroll down in this article to the item titled “Line King”
http://miceage.micechat.com/allutz/al091812a.htm

That is one of the original articles talking about numbers of GACs and impact on other guests.
Considering that some figures now say one of every 68 children have autism, it is easy to see how the system could be overwhelmed. And, that is just one group of people who were using the GACs.

I don't mean to "pick" on any one person, several have said this, but banning the plaintiffs from the theme parks would like violate the provision prohibiting retaliation. Filing a lawsuit, even one that doesn't succeed, protects the filing from being retaliated against because of the filing.

To be honest, if I were Disney (and I'm not), I would want the plaintiffs to come to the theme parks as much as possible so I could show they were able to enjoy the parks even under DAS (yes, I'm really that devious).

 

[Carnie]

I really just don't get it.

They are talking about RIDES.

Since when is going on a RIDE an end-all be-all life sustaining event?

Seriously. A RIDE.

Aren't there a hundred million other things in life to do then go on RIDES??

 

[amg35]

i'm sorry you took it that way. It wasn't meant to be baiting. I do my best not to do that, especially here, and I guess I didn't do that well in this instance. It was honestly the only word in my head at that moment. I apologize that it came across as baiting, and I too will end it at this point.

I think we may have just misunderstood each other. Of course I don't think people with autistic children should not come to Disney.

I was only speaking to one specific post that mentioned a child who was known (or that's how I read the post) to have violent outbursts to family and public when a trigger was set off and it seemed the triggers were Disney related (lines, crowd, etc).

No hard feelings please!

 

[amg35]

Well, it didn't start out that way. But the posts ran off the rails pages ago. The vast majority of posts have nothing to do with the law suit and delve into what Disney owes its guests.

Guilty as charged.

 

[aaarcher86]

I really just don't get it. They are talking about RIDES. Since when is going on a RIDE an end-all be-all life sustaining event? Seriously. A RIDE. Aren't there a hundred million other things in life to do then go on RIDES??

No. This is the only thing that brings them joy and happiness.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I think we may have just misunderstood each other. Of course I don't think people with autistic children should not come to Disney.

I was only speaking to one specific post that mentioned a child who was known (or that's how I read the post) to have violent outbursts to family and public when a trigger was set off and it seemed the triggers were Disney related (lines, crowd, etc).

No hard feelings please!

We're good

 

[PatMcDuck]

I agree with all the above posts, I think.

Good point about it being a lawsuit about getting on RIDES. I WISH that was my biggest challenge on my trips to WDW with my adult son with special needs. The rides are the easy part, in a way. Compared to my son needing his OWN room to go to sleep in (thank you Disney for Art of A!), him having some BM accidents after Day 3, asking CMs and total stranger fellow guests for help with doors, carrying food trays with managing a WC, and just the difficulty of pushing him around for days. And much more.

These people are kooks.

 

[disneyguyla]

It should be the disabled person and one other or two that is allowed on the DAS card, the rest should have to stay in line and wait...... Your family or group is not disabled . I have a nephew who is D. S. and we take turns with him in lines ,so yes I do know how it is . But he also is learning that the world is not perfect and you do not get it your way all the time. I am so proud of him because he is growing into a young intelligent man.

 

[Mrs.Malone]

Oh my heavens. As a mother of a children with autism, a cognitive disability, and a major physical disability, I'm so offended and angered by the outrageous generalizations and presumptions in this document, I could almost cry! Here's a snippet: "For the most part,
the disabled Plaintiffs and other persons with cognitive impairments
cannot go to birthday parties, they cannot play on baseball teams, they
cannot go fishing or bowling, they cannot go to church." How could any parent sign their name to such a document?

I know nothing about lawsuits. Are they usually like this one, with a fairly reasonable sounding main point backed up by bizarre ideas, like the implication that Disney is somehow encouraging divorce in a fragile population by removing immediate ride access? Or the idea that Disney deliberately got rid of GAC so that cognitively disabled people couldn't come in and ruin the magic with their "loud" and "irrational" behavior? I thought at first that this document was an April Fool's joke!

 

[brown1442]

We have 2 children with autism (1 with medical needs as well) and had a FABULOUS 9 day trip early in March using the DAS and let me tell you the parks were busy! Yes, it took some planning but it was an overall great experience. We were leery and almost cancelled the trip... so glad we didn't!!!

 

[SueM in MN]

It should be the disabled person and one other or two that is allowed on the DAS card, the rest should have to stay in line and wait...... Your family or group is not disabled . I have a nephew who is D. S. and we take turns with him in lines ,so yes I do know how it is . But he also is learning that the world is not perfect and you do not get it your way all the time. I am so proud of him because he is growing into a young intelligent man.

With the DAS, the whole party waits a similar time to the Standby line, just not in line.
With your suggestion, the family would never get to be together since there is no way/place for the guest with DAS and one or 2 others to join those who waited in line.
It would also be discriminatory, since people without disabilities are allowed to be together, but those with disabilities are made to wait apart for no reason.

 

[Cyrano]

Moving to disAbilities board as the folks there are most knowledgable

 

[DVCJones]

I don't believe that rich-people-hiring-disabled-tour-guides was the thing that made them get rid of the GAC. I believe that the story was planted by Disney to justify getting rid of the GAC. I believe that the thing that made them get rid of the GAC was FP+. There was no way that GAC and FP+ could coexist. GAC abuse would have skyrocketed even higher than where it was making FP+ a failure before it even started. Regardless, I'm sure Disney has done their legal homework and knows that the DAS satisfies any requirements.

Yes yes yes!!! I completely agree!! People would be abusing it even more.

 

[DVCJones]

Our family has used both the GAC & the DAS passes for our daughter who is a Type 1 diabetic. (I know people do not think that this is a diablitly but that is another discussion.) She has issues with the heat and makes waiting in a long line sometimes difficult with blood sugar issues. Although it was nice to get "immediate" access, it was basically the fast pass line and not immediate, we were very pleased to see how the new system worked when we were there this past Feb break. It was all we really needed. We would head to an attraction get a return time 10 minutes less than the current wait time and return to the fastpass line during that designated time. This would allow us to spead time together as a family doing another nearby attraction with a smaller wait time, or utilize a FP+ time, eat or take a break. We felt like we were getting the same experience, if not a little better than the masses of others who do have to wait on line and hence get on less attractions. I did not feel at all that this was a disadvantage to us over the GAC card.

Hoping to do the same for my DD who also overheats easily do to a medical condition. I'm glad it worked out for you. I have no problem waiting the same amount of time as anyone else. It just would be healthier for my DD to do it somewhere cooler with better air flow and a lot less sweaty/hot. Heat stroke is a real concern for her.

 

[SueM in MN]

There is already a thread on the same subject on the disABILITIES Board, so I am combining the 2 threads.

 

[Gracie09]

Hoping to do the same for my DD who also overheats easily do to a medical condition. I'm glad it worked out for you. I have no problem waiting the same amount of time as anyone else. It just would be healthier for my DD to do it somewhere cooler with better air flow and a lot less sweaty/hot. Heat stroke is a real concern for her.

She can wait anywhere she needs/wants to. Stores, restaurants, first aid all air conditioned. Sitting somewhere in the shade can work as well. Going to a show that has little to no wait would also work and many don't have long waits or you can walk on as it starts.