Are people just less tolerant of disability accessibility now ?

What I see even from this thread is just a complete lack of awareness about certain disabilities and the variation involved, covert abelism even from supposedly disabled people.

Such a shame, but very much reflective of society as it is.

What we need is to educate from the very beginning about disabilities oncluding neurodiversity and how to be as inclusive as possible.

This thread shows people are just uneducated about disabled life and believe that they have some sort of right to decide what is and isn't acceptable in terms of accommodations.

There are no fucking perks or compensation, fucking fuck off with that nonsensical shite.

There's a suspicion around disability that people are faking it. Especially 'hidden ' disability.

We haven’t been to Legoland, Haven’t been able to get the youngest ones on a plane yet so Disney is not on the list for us either.
Maybe I just got used to dealing with it all and now I’m the same with my kids.
I don’t think I’d want to go anywhere at peak times, it really is my idea of hell 😂

Well I never said it was justified either.
Only that it's due to the actual condition of the country based on what people live through daily.
Not what the media or any other propaganda outlet says.

This is what we normally try and do even with the access pass. We have never been to Legoland when it hasn’t poured for at least some of the day lol! We wouldn’t ever go at peak time but as my husband is a teacher and we are in Scotland this seriously limits the times we can go.

We did have passes for Disneyland Paris but went at a supposedly quieter time. It allowed queue jumping which was just as well as we had three day tickets and managed a total of about 8 hours in the parks in total. We all have ASD and it was just too busy and we spent much of the time in our room or hiding in a small corner of the park. We had booked longer then we thought we’d need, we had strategies in place etc as we knew it might take a bit longer but without the access pass Disney would have been completely inaccessible for us.

I think there's been a noticeable difference since the pandemic. A lot of people seemed to lose all patience for disabled and chronically ill people and saw them as being to blame for mask policies, social distancing, lockdown etc. I vividly remember so many horrible comments that basically boiled down to not wanting to protect vulnerable people, if it meant a small amount of inconvenience for able bodied people. And a lot of people just don't understand accessibility, they see it as disabled people getting preferential treatment, which is obviously ludicrous.

Yes, a PP has explained it to me. I honestly thought those passes were for physically disabled and severe non visible disabilities.
I will keep doing it my way and stand corrected on the use of accessibility passes. You live and learn.

Agree with this. I think a lot of EDI and social justice just increases division and othering

I think actually the closer you get to equality for any group, the more you get resentment. Adaptations for disability have improved enormously but as the gap has started closing the perception of need has decreased as things are now ‘almost fair’.

You see the same with feminism. We have reached a point of equality in many areas and it means any accommodations for women are highly resented, leading to MRAs and Andrew Tate

It also depends on the severity of any condition. ND doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t utilise coping skills.

Okay, but for those that struggle immensely with queuing, and can't utilize those coping skills, adjustments have been put in place, so people are able to use them@TinklySnail .

They are more emboldened, helped in no small measure by the previous Government, who were not shy in stoking up a culture war, that included the disabled. They fostered this toxic atmosphere.

Disney Florida has recently changed policy and are requiring screening calls with assessors. DAS pass is now only for severe autism. If you can understand what a queue is it’s a no. For physical disabilities they say lines are wheelchair accessible. It’s causing a big outcry as lots of physical disabilities mean people can’t wait in line but a wheelchair isn’t the solution. The DAS used to let people with physical disabilities wait somewhere more comfortable or toilet accessible etc - so not skip the wait but that accommodation has been removed.

I am fully aware. It’s torture queuing. We make our own adjustments to outings.
I also buy fast track passes because we struggle queuing/being near to people etc.
I also take them to places out of season and preferably raining so there are fewer people.
It also depends on the severity of any condition. ND doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t utilise coping skills.

It honestly feels like the world is moving backwards. I'm not sure if peoples attitudes are changing or they just feel more emboldened to let their shitty views be known.

I was stood at the disability access gate for a ride at a small theme park with my severely autistic son. Someone asked if that was the main queue. When I said no, the main (still fairly short) queue was around the corner and that we had a disability pass she walked away and said "lucky you"

What??! Lucky?? Really??!

I also if the constant talk about privilege, of all kinds, isn't having an effect.

Basically, average people are being more and more told they need to be willing to step aside or give extra etc to make room for those who are in some way worse off.

The problem is that realistically, often the people being asked to make room aren't exactly living the high life.

I think when the focus is on this stuff all the time it very quickly build resentment and social division.

Then surely you would know then, that some children who are ND would not be able to cope with having to line up for too long.These concessions have been implemented for a reason, in the first place.

I forgive me, I do not have physical disability so may be I am mistaken.
I genuinely thought it was so they could get on and off the rides without holding up the queue.

I think the frequent nasty threads about disability in MN reflect the attitudes prevalent in our society. Barely a week goes by without some thread barely disguising the OP calling disabled people lazy liars who are a drain on society and then the majority of replies agree and the vitriol is beyond belief.
I started a thread about lack of accessibility when I went for a pub lunch recently and many replies were completely defending the wealthy owner of the premises who had chosen not to have a ramp or even a handrail as well as no loo even though he owns five pubs all doing very well and the building is not listed and has plenty of room available. I was blamed for having the audacity to think that in 2024 a pub would accommodate disabled people.

I speak as a person with ADHD who has struggled to be ‘normal’ all my life.

My DC are also ND. They will struggle all their lives too.
I am speaking from lived experience so I don’t really want to educate myself further

Oh well that's better then. It never used to be like that though did it?
At least with numbers being restricted people with passes is actually worthwhile rather than having a never ending access queue instead. The access queues at thorpe park etc were getting silly.

At Merlin attractions and Blackpool at least you do have to prebook to use the Access pass. They are limited to a certain number a day. Also at Alton Towers/Blackpool no one is skipping the queue. You go on the ride and are given a time equal to the length of the current queue where you are locked out of using the access pass. You can’t go on another ride using the pass until the time is up. The only people skipping the queue are the people who have paid for the queue jump passes.

Out of interest, do you think accessible passes should be limited to a certain amount each day?
Because going to a theme park on a quiet day with an access pass is great that you didn't have to queue. But on normal weekends the access queues can be 30 mins+.
I genuinely wonder what the solution could be. People say you can't limit the amount of access passes available as that's not fair. People also don't like it when they get given a virtual queue time slot to come back as its too restrictive.
Lowering the numbers to theme parks sounds lovely in theory. But it would then mean people would need to pre book only (otherwise you'd get turned away on the day). And that would start causing it's own issues in the long run.

I've had similar experiences including at airports. People have been incredibly rude, either blatantly staring or outright asking me about 'what I've got'. Some older people seem to envy my assistance as if I would choose to have an incurable, progressive disease in middle age which is robbing me of my health, future and life. One interrupted my booked assistance at the airport as if they were hoping I'd be kicked out of the wheelchair and they could take my place.

They don't want to be in my place even if they're 70 with a gammy knee. In the moment though their knee is hurting them and how dare a much younger woman be getting help!

I lived in London until recently, a large number of tube stations aren’t suitable at all for wheelchair users. We now live in a Scandinavian country, every single metro station is wheelchair accessible, all publis buses are, facilities have to be wheelchair accessible, financial support is much better as is actual practical support where both care and equipment is concerned, your employer can also receive support to cover any additional costs that may arise from your employment.