Mecca for kids entertainment
For children around the world, Disneyland billed as the “happiest place on earth” is the promised land. Founded by Walt Disney in California, USA, they can now be found in Florida, Paris and Hong Kong too. Disneyland theme parks are so physically large that many people find the prospect of a visit daunting. Being faced with long queues at each attraction has no doubt left many wondering if there might be a way to shorten their waiting time.
The answer to this is Disney Tours. It offers a VIP guide and fast passes for $310 to $380 per hour for a group of up to 10 people. There are special perks like door-to-door transportation, preferred seating at events and expedited entry to select attractions.
Cut lines at Disney
Some wealthy Manhattan moms have figured out a cheaper but underhanded way to cut lines at Disney World — by hiring disabled guides to pose as family members so they and their kids can bypass the lines. The “black-market Disney guides” run at a cheaper rate of $130 an hour, or $1,040 for an eight-hour day.
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“My daughter waited one minute to get on ‘It’s a Small World’ — the other kids had to wait 2 1/2 hours,” boasted one mom, who hired a disabled guide through Dream Tours Florida. “You can’t go to Disney without a tour concierge,’’ she bragged. “This is how the 1 percent does Disney.”
The guide escorted her, her husband, their 1-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter through the park on a motorised scooter with a “handicapped” sign on it. The group was sent straight to an auxiliary entrance at the front of each attraction.
Read on the next page reactions to this deplorable tactic to cut lines at Disney.
Facility for disabled misused
Some attractions at Walt Disney World Resort have auxiliary entrances for guests with disabilities. These are intended to offer guests in wheelchairs and up to six members of their party to a more convenient entrance at each attraction. The rest have to join the line at the main entrance.
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The upper-crust moms who have used this illicit tactic to cut lines at Disney, say that not only is their “black-market tour guide” more efficient than Disney World’s VIP Tours, it’s cheaper, too. Social anthropologist, Dr. Wednesday Martin, caught wind of the underground network while doing research for her upcoming book “Primates of Park Avenue.”
Many feel that this is an underhanded way to cut lines at Disney.
View from a different angle
Though many said that these 1 percenters were 100 percent despicable, others had a different view. They look at it as a win-win situation where rich folk get VIP experience for half the rate and a bunch of handicapped people end up with big bucks for doing it.
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Lori Rossiter, whose daughter Ainsley, suffers from a rare dystrophy said on hearing the news, “I’m boiling inside at the idea of people attempting to take a beautiful thing and potentially put it into jeopardy.” The family has trekked twice to Disney World already. As the disease gets worse, Disney remains the one place where Ainsley is treated like the princesses she adored as a young girl. At 9, doctors say she’s nearing the end of her life.
What do you think? Does this leave a bad taste in your mouth or do you think its a win-win commercial arrangement? What lessons are these one percenters teaching their children? Send in your comments below on what you feel about these moms who use and take advantage of the rights and privileges of disabled people to get what they want.