Special Needs Not So Magical Cast/Guests - Page 6 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
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We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Just thought of one I had totally forgotten!
You know the walk-way up to sorin' there is a big sign that says
"Handicapped entrance" & all along the ground are big blue circles with wheelchair pictures..
there is another walkway next to it for foot traffic.. I can't tell you how many times I have almost hit people walking there because they walk there..
Are they hard of seeing or what???????????
Just thought of one I had totally forgotten!
You know the walk-way up to sorin' there is a big sign that says
"Handicapped entrance" & all along the ground are big blue circles with wheelchair pictures..
there is another walkway next to it for foot traffic.. I can't tell you how many times I have almost hit people walking there because they walk there..
Are they hard of seeing or what???????????
Please check the manual for your scooter, ECV, rollator, wheelchair or cane. You will see that they come with invisibility shields that prevent people from seeing you.
I am going to DLR tomorrow. Anyone want to loan me some should pads? I just lean with my shoulder as the idiots go around Mom and hit me. The parade route is bad because CMs do not remove people off the ropes. Last trip Mom stopped and had to see the band. I had traffic on top of me like a cartoon. She is very child like at times and how do you get her to understand that we cannot stop. I am not mean but we cannot stop.
INVISIBILITY SHIELD
Makes disabled person invisible and thus causes people to walk into, on top of, and in front of the disabled.
I need to find my wrist brace for tomorrow as I have not recovered from Friday.
__________________
Mom calls to check on me and reminded me to pay the gardener. I love her so much.
Disneyland was fun with flag retreat and pickles. I have a home here, thank you. GAC is NOT a "front of the line pass".
She is gone but keeping signature. Laundry is getting done. My purpose in life is to help poor people in FL. Farewell, will miss you.
The path at Soarin' and a similar one at Small World suffer from the fact that people don't look down. The signs are at wheelchair height or on the ground. People, sadly, look right over the top of them. And us. And small children. At Disney. See what I'm saying?
Last edited by imzadiangel; 05-16-2010 at 08:51 AM..
The worst culprits for me with this problem are the lines for FOTLK & Fantasmic, with Cm's occasionally saying "Wheelchairs to the right"... You can barely hear them over the crowd, & unless you know this little tidbit, getting over to the right as the line starts moving is next to impossible! Plus, the walking guests who are already to the far right will NOT move even when told that only wheels, or strollers should be there. It should be clearly roped off & have signs stating this at the very beginning.
unless you know this little tidbit, getting over to the right as the line starts moving is next to impossible!
Thanks for that little tidbit Chantel. We went to FOLK last year but I don't really remember being told to keep to the right. Abby and Lenny are hoping to catch Fantasmic this year (me I don't care one way or the other) so this will help there - if I can remember it when we go that is
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Sunday we went to Compass Rose to get Mom three books. 4 guys are standing in front of the store entrance chatting. It is the only one ajar and I am using a free wheelchair from DLH that has wings. Wings were the foot rests pushed back and catching on everything.
I am leaving and there they are blocking the exit. A thousand square feet of space and they got to camp out in front of a door.
DLH valet was nice enough to loan us for free a chair on Sunday. Next trip is Blue Bayou but I dread having to deal with getting a chair into that place. NOS kitchen is back up so we are planning trips around that.
I love tidbits on information like for Small World on a crowded day you need to take the chair to the far left. Some times those lines get confusing when it is out toward Fantasyland. You do not want to be on the right side and then try to get through the lines.
My disabled problem lately is the Food and Wine festival seating for chef presentations. They try to cram wheelchairs into small spaces and nothing is Gluten Free. I hope someone will make a list of everything we posted. It is at times hilarious but when your should if hurting and you are walking sideways then you have had a hard day in the parks.
__________________
Mom calls to check on me and reminded me to pay the gardener. I love her so much.
Disneyland was fun with flag retreat and pickles. I have a home here, thank you. GAC is NOT a "front of the line pass".
She is gone but keeping signature. Laundry is getting done. My purpose in life is to help poor people in FL. Farewell, will miss you.
Online there was a grown and older woman who did not know what goosers are. I have been blessed lately but long ago it was not uncommon for one to be in line and get goosed in areas that should not be touched by strangers.
I was at Jungle Cruise with Mom. Line forms to the right for disabled. A man leaves his wife in a wheelchair to the left of the line. He walks up to the yellow line at the exit and is on the phone. His kids are allowed to run around the dock. Lady CM tells him to stay behind the line and he is continuing to ignore her and talking on the phone. Male cast member had little impact. Four boats emptied and had to plow through him and his family. Who in their right mind ignores a CM and the rules?
Pokers, goosers, touchers are related. There are hairwhippers, chair kickers, and leaners who lean on chairs. Got lots of groups, lol
__________________
Mom calls to check on me and reminded me to pay the gardener. I love her so much.
Disneyland was fun with flag retreat and pickles. I have a home here, thank you. GAC is NOT a "front of the line pass".
She is gone but keeping signature. Laundry is getting done. My purpose in life is to help poor people in FL. Farewell, will miss you.
Last night was a horrid time at the parade. They asked people to conga and then boom nondisabled were walking over me as I sat on the ground. Then they stood right next to me and started kicking me. I yelled and yelled and finally got the twisted faces of doom like I was a monster for asking them to stop kicking me. One kid was clapping before the parade, WHOOSH in my ear, I could feel the breeze of the clap.
I was offered comps and got mine, a big hug that calmed me down. I will be talking to a manager in DLR entertainment that I sort of know and do this off the record. Why do parents not understand about the no touchy rule?
We had a man who kept interfering with the parade and stood in front of Mom twice. The second time was in the parade route and in front of Mom. I was slapping his leg hard and he would not acknowledge me let alone move. If some one was slapping me on the leg I would be looking down. He was chased by staff several times. What should we call him? I was having so much fun until I ended up fighting to not be kicked and walked on and have people block the view.
__________________
Mom calls to check on me and reminded me to pay the gardener. I love her so much.
Disneyland was fun with flag retreat and pickles. I have a home here, thank you. GAC is NOT a "front of the line pass".
She is gone but keeping signature. Laundry is getting done. My purpose in life is to help poor people in FL. Farewell, will miss you.
Sorry you had a ruff time at the parade. Some folks get so involved in things they forget there are other people around them that want to watch & enjoy the entertainment without getting a beating
Reading all your posts mechurchlady, has me really discouraged about our 2012 trip to DLR. Has anyone else been with better results? Seems like it's a whole different "world" than how things are @WDW.
DLR and WDW have many things in common but DLR is smaller and does not have the space of WDW. There are lots of bad things going on in DLR but for every bad thing is 100 or 1000 good things. I was kicked, stepped over, and had someone stand in front of us while interfering with the performers BUT we then went to Captain Eo and got in within 5 minutes. I did not even have time to set and rest. We had a great time then left for home. We had no problems getting out of the park except the usual things like convoys. Mom rode on the tram next to a lady from Mexico whose son takes her to DLR weekly, nice little chat.
By reading out posts on the bad people in parks you can learn how to prevent such problems, what is the right way to deal with problems, wrong ways with dealing with problems, and how to destress from idiots you find in both parks. Stay to the right, have patience with convoys, have alternate plans, park on the line at parades, save space around you then let in a few good people, know what you are doing ahead of time, and avoid certain areas at certain times.
I was going to Captain Eo from Small World so I went down to the south side of the Matterhorn then behind Buzz Lightyear and around that way. I had road blocks like packs of guests standing in the pathways whom walkers and wheeled guests both had to go around. That happens in WDW by the way.
At the Saloon we have to go up the ramp on the west side. People saw us coming and moved out of our way because Mom is in a chair. Mom was having fun watching a lady changing tables over and over again. They did not bug us but it was fun to watch them. On the Mark Twain someone helped me move chairs so that Mom could sit right up front. The lady where we bought the pickles remembered us.
There are bad things in both parks. There are so many nice things like that we could have rode Small World three times if we wanted to and they remember us and treat us like guests in their home. Madeline was worried because we had to wait so long for the disable boat there. Genuine concern.
There are the people who hold doors open or who will stop to let us pass or the guests who talk with Mom like she is a real person. She likes to talk to people and people talk with her about so many things that brighten her day. There are flowers which Mom loves and ducklings in the water. There are guests who are disabled and make room for other disabled guests on parade routes. I have a long list but would not want to bore everyone with all the things that make Disneyland so special.
We come here to this thread and list all the bad things then people post solutions and advice. I know that what happens in DLR happens in WDW. People walk in front of other people, people block walkways, people fail to yield to walkers and chairs alike, people use flash at the wrong time, people sing loudly off key, etc. I hope we learned things from these posts.
Overall yesterday was one of the best in a long time.
__________________
Mom calls to check on me and reminded me to pay the gardener. I love her so much.
Disneyland was fun with flag retreat and pickles. I have a home here, thank you. GAC is NOT a "front of the line pass".
She is gone but keeping signature. Laundry is getting done. My purpose in life is to help poor people in FL. Farewell, will miss you.
DLR and WDW have many things in common but DLR is smaller and does not have the space of WDW. There are lots of bad things going on in DLR but for every bad thing is 100 or 1000 good things.
Reading threads like this where we talk about the stupid and sometimes ignorant things some people do, I think it's easy to forget that there are so many other good things happening in the parks. Thanks for the reminder.
Reading all your posts mechurchlady, has me really discouraged about our 2012 trip to DLR. Has anyone else been with better results? Seems like it's a whole different "world" than how things are @WDW.
I feel that people are much more considerate in DLR! We have gone to both with our family and although WDW has more attractions we missed tha "Happy go Lucky" feel at DLR. Our theory is that WDW caters to more people determined to get their moneys worth at all costs. DLR tends to attract more locals and true Disney fans because it is the original. My parents are waiting to join us until we go back to DLR because they find it much more relaxing.
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