Response to ADA Suit

[CPT Tripss]

Here is the Disney response to the lawsuit - https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/disney-resorts-autism-action-response.pdf

 

[aaarcher86]

I noticed they're asking for legal fees to be paid by the plaintiffs. That's going to be expensive....

 

[mttmilner]

SIXTEENTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE
Plaintiffs’ claims are barred to the extent that Disney was not required under federal or state law to provide unlimited, repeated, immediate access to its rides and attractions as the only available accommodation for purposes of reasonably accommodating Plaintiffs’ alleged disability.

 

[cmwade77]

Do you have a link to the actual lawsuit?

 

[mttmilner]

http://www.dogalilaw.com/disney-autism-ada-lawsuit.html

That's the link to the website of the lawyer who filed the lawsuit. I can't seem to find a copy of the actual lawsuit.

 

[HopperFan]

http://dogalilaw.com/files/86572403.pdf

 

[CPT Tripss]

Do you have a link to the actual lawsuit?

http://www.disneybymark.com/pdf/lawsuit.pdf

 

[SueM in MN]

Here are some other links:

link to a closed thread about the lawsuit:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3259108

Wdwinfo.com blog post about the original filing of the lawsuit:
http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2014/04/04/new-lawsuit-attacks-disneys-new-disability-access-service/

Since this was discussed at great length at the time the lawsuit was filed, I will leave this thread open for now, but will close it if it gets at all argumentative.

 

[Airship Ariadne]

Will be an interesting read taking them side-by-side.

So far I'm of the opinion the judge should site "Door vs. Where the Good Lord Split You" when he throws the case out...but I'm only a couple dozen pages in.

 

[aaarcher86]

Will be an interesting read taking them side-by-side. So far I'm of the opinion the judge should site "Door vs. Where the Good Lord Split You" when he throws the case out...but I'm only a couple dozen pages in.

I think the most prevalent part starts on pg 87 with the defendants responses. Number 15/16 in particular. I'm of the personal opinion that those two things really wash out everything else. The fact that most plaintiffs haven't visited or used the DAS is so puzzling to me.

Sue - I appreciate the chance to discuss it.

 

[cmwade77]

I think that there are possible solutions that Disney should explore, but there is definitely some merit to the lawsuit as it stands right now.

Mind you most of the problems are not what official Disney policy is, but rather what has become the operating norm for those with DAS cards and other needs, such as wheelchairs, not being able to do stairs, etc.

Where the lawsuit doesn't have merit is that they expect to be able to completely bypass the wait time.

So, I am guessing the courts will order Disney to do something to accommodate them, but not require Disney to eliminate the waiting.

My thoughts are that the courts will order Disney to eliminate the return times and instead say the card is not valid for the length of the standby line after riding the attraction.

 

[aaarcher86]

I think that there are possible solutions that Disney should explore, but there is definitely some merit to the lawsuit as it stands right now. Mind you most of the problems are not what official Disney policy is, but rather what has become the operating norm for those with DAS cards and other needs, such as wheelchairs, not being able to do stairs, etc. Where the lawsuit doesn't have merit is that they expect to be able to completely bypass the wait time. So, I am guessing the courts will order Disney to do something to accommodate them, but not require Disney to eliminate the waiting. My thoughts are that the courts will order Disney to eliminate the return times and instead say the card is not valid for the length of the standby line after riding the attraction.

I don't see how they can. If the policy as it stands meets ADA guidelines the judge can't dictate how it's implemented. And since Universal has the same system it's set the president.

I think they could look at other or more option, but they don't have to. And to be honest, I'm not sure what else the could do that wouldn't put disabled guests on a higher playing field. I'm not really sure what you mean by policy vs operating norm.

 

[ladyjubilee]

Maybe I'm not following, it does seem that 'Disney specifically denies.... that they refuse to review medical documentation that guests provide them' 193 line 12-14.

So do they or don't they? I always liked that they did take the doctors letter and made copy..whatever they did with it. Can we still bring it so they have it In case we get separated?

 

[North of Mouse]

A portion of the lawsuit seems to be one person wanting their disabled child (?) to be able to ride 'It's a Small World' over and over without getting in line again.

I think we were able to do this just once with the People Mover, and that was because there was no line and very few people on the ride. It's not something Disney promotes as being 'available' to anyone.

Didn't read very much of it - definitely too much legalese for me to digest. Just can't see Disney in any way being at fault for someone's false expectations - that's not 'equal' at all.

 

[aaarcher86]

Maybe I'm not following, it does seem that 'Disney specifically denies.... that they refuse to review medical documentation that guests provide them' 193 line 12-14. So do they or don't they? I always liked that they did take the doctors letter and made copy..whatever they did with it. Can we still bring it so they have it In case we get separated?

It's standard to deny it. Anyone can forge a doctors note. Many can get their doctor to write one even if they don't necessarily need it. CMs aren't medical experts and the diagnoses wouldn't tell them what the needs are.

 

[MattDisney]

The only real issue we have had with the DAS is we now typically wait longer than someone how is in standby. They sometime deduct 10 minutes in the return time, but not always. So then we use fast pass which can be longer than 10 minutes and the. We wait for a wheelchair accessible vehicle.

 

[aaarcher86]

I definitely think they need to revisit what to do for WC vehicles. You guys definitely wait longer/twice.

For the regular vehicle DAS user, I think it's both - sometimes longer, sometimes shorter if you get a return time just before the time goes up. But I also think the ability to do other things while waiting is kind of an even trade for the extra few minutes. There's just no way to make it exactly equal since the wait times are estimates.

 

[SueM in MN]

I definitely think they need to revisit what to do for WC vehicles. You guys definitely wait longer/twice.

For the regular vehicle DAS user, I think it's both - sometimes longer, sometimes shorter if you get a return time just before the time goes up. But I also think the ability to do other things while waiting is kind of an even trade for the extra few minutes. There's just no way to make it exactly equal since the wait times are estimates.

I would agree with all of this.
We got a DAS Return Time where the standby wait was 30 minutes, so our time to return was 20 minutes in the future.
Right after that, the posted wait time changed to 40 minutes.

There may be some situations where the wait time is longer, but over the course of a day, the few minutes longer and the few minutes shorter probably pretty much even out.

Since the wait times are estimates, there is no way to make it exactly equal every time. And, there are things that can temporarily slow down loading unexpectedly

 

[Gracie09]

I definitely think they need to revisit what to do for WC vehicles. You guys definitely wait longer/twice. For the regular vehicle DAS user, I think it's both - sometimes longer, sometimes shorter if you get a return time just before the time goes up. But I also think the ability to do other things while waiting is kind of an even trade for the extra few minutes. There's just no way to make it exactly equal since the wait times are estimates.

Although I do agree it stinks about the wheelchair vehicles, I believe it is due in large part to safety concerns. They can only quickly and safely evacuate so many wheelchair bound people at once in case of an emergency.

 

[infopurposesonly]

It's standard to deny it. Anyone can forge a doctors note. Many can get their doctor to write one even if they don't necessarily need it. CMs aren't medical experts and the diagnoses wouldn't tell them what the needs are.

But they're denying that they deny doctors' notes. They also deny that a wheelchair is the only accommodation for mobility issues. Oh, and those re-admission passes people here insist they no longer issue? Disney admits they give them in addition to the DAS.