update on Orlando attractions

Betty Boom · 04-08-2004, 01:35 PM

Haven't been online in a while but have some firsthand experiences to report... as a reminder, I am the person with MS in the AP story about Disney that zipped around the country.
SeaWorld said if I brought a "prescription" or letter from my doctor, I could use the Segway, so with my note in hand and visiting family in tow , I headed to SeaWorld. On arrival we were escorted to visitor services (after paying to get in) and told that if I wanted to stay I would have to use a wheel chair. I was so upset I was beside myself but as I did not want to ruin my company's day, I complied. It was my very first wheel chair experience and was humiliating to say the least! I hated it. So a week later when my company wanted to go to Disney Downtown, I was wary but was assured that Disney allowed Segways in public areas, just not in the parks. So off we went. Shortly after arrival, a security guard asked me for documentation that I had permission to use the Segway so I showed him my note and he left me alone. An hour later while scooting around with my sister-in-law separate from the rest of the family, I was stopped by 2 security guards and a "Disney cast member-- Brian from West Allis, Wisconsin" who was very officious and told me 2 wheeled vehicles were not allowed in D.T.Disney. I started to explain what it was used for and he said "I know what a Segway is, we use them all the time, I just got off mine because I prefer to walk" !!!!!!!!!!! Talk about adding insult to injury. Then he said I had to get off it right there and walk it out of the area! My sister-in-law blew a gasket at that point and said if I could walk that far I wouldn't be using the Segway in the first place. Things just got uglier from that point but I refused to get off and rode to collect the family. So with me on my Segway and a screaming two year old pulled away from the Lego kids park, we were escorted like criminals by 3 uniformed employees to the parking lot. My neurologist is drafting an iron clad (he says) letter that he says should work wherever I want to go, but I'm not sure how many more experiences like that I want to endure. My advise--stay away from the attractions with your Segway until somebody either sues them or they come to their senses.
Cheers,

Betty Boom

Entil-Zha · 04-08-2004, 04:13 PM

Betty:

I'm right there with you! I am another person that was quoted in the same AP article. My family, eventually, wants to go back to Disney World. Instead, I am taking them on our first cruise. I checked with the cruise line and they are allowing my Segway.

I understand your frustration, but recommend channeling your energy into effecting change in the world. Anger turned inward can only do you harm (physically and mentally) and serves those who kicked you out.

Collect your thoughts and post them on WWW.DRAFT.CC There are people there that, if it is in their power, will help you. They are, at the very least, a community sympathetic to your needs.

- Doug

SegwayBill · 04-08-2004, 07:06 PM

Betty
Do you have a handicap sticker on your machine? If not email your address and I will send you one.
I have been using a disabilty Metrocard from the NY MTA. It looks offical and says disabled on it.
Boycot Disney with the rest of us, Universal allows Segways in there parks last I heard.

Bill

Dwarf84396 · 04-08-2004, 08:32 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by SegwayBill

Universal allows Segways in there parks last I heard.

Bill

Same with Six Flags, from what I've heard.
(http://www.segwaychat.com/forum/topi...x,Flags,Mexico)

Hopefully I'll be able to talk to the Guest Relations people at Six Flags Over Georgia soon and I'll ask them their view on letting Segways into the park.

Ben

My entire internet experience condensed into one little image:

ions82 · 04-08-2004, 10:37 PM

If I had a Segway and had to rule out Disney, I wouldn't be too disappointed. My favorite part of this post....?

"It was my very first wheel chair experience and was humiliating to say the least! I hated it."

Upon reading that, does anyone else wonder what it's like to spend every day in a wheelchair? If you really want to know, I can tell you. I think I remember an older post in this forum in which there was a description of someone being "forced into a wheelchair." Wow. A real act of dehumanization. Imagine having to be in a wheelchair!!! One time, a paraplegic fellow actually said in an interview that he would rather be dead than be quadriplegic. This was for an article that was to be published in a magazine for people with disabilities. I can understand where the guy was coming from. However, after reading comments like those mentioned above, I can also understand how someone that is quadriplegic might feel after reading something like that. Is living in a wheelchair "humiliating"? Every f***in' day. However, you just become numb to it. I can't afford a Segway. Vocational Rehabilitiation won't purchase one for me. Looks like I'll still be "forced" into my wheelchair when I wake up each day. What am I trying to say here? Forget about Disney and all of it's commercial bullcrap. Just be thankful that you have an OPTION and don't have to be "dehumanized" by using a wheelchair for the rest of your life. If you're reading this from a wheelchair, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. If you aren't, you can only try.

SegwayBill · 04-09-2004, 11:23 AM

Ben
Join Seg America they are raffeling off a Segway, Maybe you will get lucky. It is worth the effort of joining.

Bill

Dwarf84396 · 04-09-2004, 10:19 PM

Bill,

I've already joined, but I am one of the many on this site that are under the age of 18, so I am not eligable for the giveaway (but I want it anyway!!!).

I talked to one of the Admissions supervisors at Six Flags Over Georgia, and he told me a flat "No", but I also think that he thought I was talking about a Razor scooter or the like. I wasn't able to give him a good description, so I'm going to try tomorrow. I hope to get some type of written confirmation from the park. (It does help working there, I can bug them every single day until they see it my way!

Ben

My entire internet experience condensed into one little image:

jrmiller · 04-10-2004, 10:18 AM

Ben, Try and take some printed information that you can copy from the Segway web site showing pictures and general descriptions. I did that when I first flew SWairlines and it helped smooth the way. I think that many people still confuse the HT with other "scooters" and do not understand.

Betty, My heart goes out to you. What an embarassment and disasppointment for you and your family. A large shadow of SHAME should fill the sky over Disney for thier insensitivity and ignorance. JR SEG-ON SEG-RIGHT

jrmiller · 04-10-2004, 03:39 PM

Betty, Have you joined the DRAFT group ? You might get more and/or additional help at that site. Maybe your journalist friend would bbbe interested in a follow-up article on the WDW issue????? JR

Dwarf84396 · 04-11-2004, 08:52 AM

jrmiller,

I'm going to try that next.

If anyone who is an owner in the Atlanta area wants to help me out, I could try and cover the admission cost to the park for a day to see if we can geta Segway into the park.

Ben

My entire internet experience condensed into one little image:

04-08-2004, 01:35 PM	#1
Betty Boom New Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: , , . Posts: 9	update on Orlando attractions Haven't been online in a while but have some firsthand experiences to report... as a reminder, I am the person with MS in the AP story about Disney that zipped around the country. SeaWorld said if I brought a "prescription" or letter from my doctor, I could use the Segway, so with my note in hand and visiting family in tow , I headed to SeaWorld. On arrival we were escorted to visitor services (after paying to get in) and told that if I wanted to stay I would have to use a wheel chair. I was so upset I was beside myself but as I did not want to ruin my company's day, I complied. It was my very first wheel chair experience and was humiliating to say the least! I hated it. So a week later when my company wanted to go to Disney Downtown, I was wary but was assured that Disney allowed Segways in public areas, just not in the parks. So off we went. Shortly after arrival, a security guard asked me for documentation that I had permission to use the Segway so I showed him my note and he left me alone. An hour later while scooting around with my sister-in-law separate from the rest of the family, I was stopped by 2 security guards and a "Disney cast member-- Brian from West Allis, Wisconsin" who was very officious and told me 2 wheeled vehicles were not allowed in D.T.Disney. I started to explain what it was used for and he said "I know what a Segway is, we use them all the time, I just got off mine because I prefer to walk" !!!!!!!!!!! Talk about adding insult to injury. Then he said I had to get off it right there and walk it out of the area! My sister-in-law blew a gasket at that point and said if I could walk that far I wouldn't be using the Segway in the first place. Things just got uglier from that point but I refused to get off and rode to collect the family. So with me on my Segway and a screaming two year old pulled away from the Lego kids park, we were escorted like criminals by 3 uniformed employees to the parking lot. My neurologist is drafting an iron clad (he says) letter that he says should work wherever I want to go, but I'm not sure how many more experiences like that I want to endure. My advise--stay away from the attractions with your Segway until somebody either sues them or they come to their senses. Cheers, Betty Boom

04-08-2004, 04:13 PM	#2
Entil-Zha Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Plano, Texas, . Posts: 46	Betty: I'm right there with you! I am another person that was quoted in the same AP article. My family, eventually, wants to go back to Disney World. Instead, I am taking them on our first cruise. I checked with the cruise line and they are allowing my Segway. I understand your frustration, but recommend channeling your energy into effecting change in the world. Anger turned inward can only do you harm (physically and mentally) and serves those who kicked you out. Collect your thoughts and post them on WWW.DRAFT.CC There are people there that, if it is in their power, will help you. They are, at the very least, a community sympathetic to your needs. - Doug

04-08-2004, 07:06 PM	#3
SegwayBill Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Phoenix AZ Posts: 858	Betty Do you have a handicap sticker on your machine? If not email your address and I will send you one. I have been using a disabilty Metrocard from the NY MTA. It looks offical and says disabled on it. Boycot Disney with the rest of us, Universal allows Segways in there parks last I heard. Bill

04-08-2004, 10:37 PM	#5
ions82 Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: ABQ, NM Posts: 309	If I had a Segway and had to rule out Disney, I wouldn't be too disappointed. My favorite part of this post....? "It was my very first wheel chair experience and was humiliating to say the least! I hated it." Upon reading that, does anyone else wonder what it's like to spend every day in a wheelchair? If you really want to know, I can tell you. I think I remember an older post in this forum in which there was a description of someone being "forced into a wheelchair." Wow. A real act of dehumanization. Imagine having to be in a wheelchair!!! One time, a paraplegic fellow actually said in an interview that he would rather be dead than be quadriplegic. This was for an article that was to be published in a magazine for people with disabilities. I can understand where the guy was coming from. However, after reading comments like those mentioned above, I can also understand how someone that is quadriplegic might feel after reading something like that. Is living in a wheelchair "humiliating"? Every f***in' day. However, you just become numb to it. I can't afford a Segway. Vocational Rehabilitiation won't purchase one for me. Looks like I'll still be "forced" into my wheelchair when I wake up each day. What am I trying to say here? Forget about Disney and all of it's commercial bullcrap. Just be thankful that you have an OPTION and don't have to be "dehumanized" by using a wheelchair for the rest of your life. If you're reading this from a wheelchair, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. If you aren't, you can only try.

04-09-2004, 11:23 AM	#6
SegwayBill Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Phoenix AZ Posts: 858	Ben Join Seg America they are raffeling off a Segway, Maybe you will get lucky. It is worth the effort of joining. Bill

04-09-2004, 10:19 PM	#7
Dwarf84396 Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Kissimmee, FL, USA. Posts: 264	Bill, I've already joined, but I am one of the many on this site that are under the age of 18, so I am not eligable for the giveaway (but I want it anyway!!!). I talked to one of the Admissions supervisors at Six Flags Over Georgia, and he told me a flat "No", but I also think that he thought I was talking about a Razor scooter or the like. I wasn't able to give him a good description, so I'm going to try tomorrow. I hope to get some type of written confirmation from the park. (It does help working there, I can bug them every single day until they see it my way! Ben My entire internet experience condensed into one little image:

04-10-2004, 10:18 AM	#8
jrmiller Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: , Florida, USA. Posts: 223	Ben, Try and take some printed information that you can copy from the Segway web site showing pictures and general descriptions. I did that when I first flew SWairlines and it helped smooth the way. I think that many people still confuse the HT with other "scooters" and do not understand. Betty, My heart goes out to you. What an embarassment and disasppointment for you and your family. A large shadow of SHAME should fill the sky over Disney for thier insensitivity and ignorance. JR SEG-ON SEG-RIGHT

04-10-2004, 03:39 PM	#9
jrmiller Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: , Florida, USA. Posts: 223	Betty, Have you joined the DRAFT group ? You might get more and/or additional help at that site. Maybe your journalist friend would bbbe interested in a follow-up article on the WDW issue????? JR

04-11-2004, 08:52 AM	#10
Dwarf84396 Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Kissimmee, FL, USA. Posts: 264	jrmiller, I'm going to try that next. If anyone who is an owner in the Atlanta area wants to help me out, I could try and cover the admission cost to the park for a day to see if we can geta Segway into the park. Ben My entire internet experience condensed into one little image:

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