Parents using their children’s disabilities to skip the queues at Disneyland

[satsumaqueen]

I know the title will probably infuriate some people, and I just want to say from the outset that I am not writing this thread to cause offence. I’m writing because I don’t have much experience with having children that have disabilities such as Autism and ADHD and I am genuinely curious and want to understand more.

I’ve been planning a trip to Disneyland Paris and have joined some groups on social media to get some tips etc. I’ve been really surprised at the amount of posts asking how to get a special pass from Disney so their children can skip the lines on all the rides.

I know there are some conditions which very obviously make it physically impossible to stand for a hour, however a lot of these posts are from parents whose children have ADHD or Autism. I also know there are varying levels of autism (my cousin is severely autistic), and I know there are numerous things that people with autism have to deal with like sensory overload etc, but there are also many forms of autism where people can function like every other person, and would have no issue in standing in a queue with everyone else.

ADHD I really have no experience with so can’t comment on it, but isn’t our job as parents to teach our children how to cope in society? Things like queues are part of every day life. Why does having ADHD excuse you from waiting like everyone else?

I know there will be many genuine requests for those passes, but I also feel because of the sheer volume of them, that a lot are trying to claim them because the parents can’t be bothered to wait in line and are using their child as a free way to skip the queues? This then impacts everyone else’s experience who then have to wait even longer in queues to accommodate all of the people skipping.

Shouldn't these passes be reserved for the people who really do need them?

I have young children, so believe me when I say I know what it’s like to stand in line for long periods of time with children who find it difficult to stand still/stand for long periods of time. I’m just struggling to understand why parents with toddlers have any less of a difficult time in the queues than those with children who have ADHD as a example, but they are expected to stand in line for a hour with no option to skip. - I will just add I’m not expecting parents with young children to skip the queue, I just don’t understand why a child with ADHD or mild autism (sorry if this is the incorrect terminology) couldn’t wait in the same queue as everyone else?

I would imagine that children with ADHD and autism absolutely do need to be able to skip the queues. Their condition means that standing in a queue for a long time with crowds of people will be extremely challenging. It's challenging enough for a child without those conditions but with them it's very, very difficult.
Just enjoy your visit and don't concern your self with what others are are not njt entitled to they will only get a pass if they can show they need one.

We did it a couple of times, and as a result have some great memories of occasional days out where no one had a meltdown and we were able to enjoy it.

There is so much we can do to help our dc cope- the right clothes, regular quiet rests, a suitcase sized bag of snacks, drinks, ear defenders, twiddle toys etc.

But being trapped in a queue for an hour… can’t do a thing to manage that away.

i’m also one of those people trying to shift society into something that people with differences don’t have to “fit into” at detriment to themselves.

seriously, OP, you have the whole world’s information literally at your fingertips. Maybe use it, occasionally.

I have never been to Disneyland, and nor have any of my DC or DGC. If my child were unable to cope with the queues, might it not be better simply not to go?

@mummyofhyperDD using Disney as a example is it just the queuing that creates the sensory overload? Or it is Disney in general? From my perspective with having no experience of it, to me the whole idea of taking a child with sensory overload to somewhere like Disney would be the worst place you could possibly go, I think most people are exhausted after a day at Disney let alone those who suffer with sensory overload.

Honest honest question why does it matter to you? I’ve seen children waiting in queues for an hour and a half (as in we were behind/ in front of them), and my god I really wished an employee had come over and said they’d fast track them through, I’d guess the parents didn’t think they were severe enough/ maybe wanted them to live everyone else’s experiences, but I could only guess the kids snf parents would have been EXHAUSTED by the end of the day (from someone who found it tough enough with a mixture of happy and moaning children 😅)

You’d actively make the world smaller for them rather than level the playing field with a tiny adjustment? Wow.

I’m writing because I don’t have much experience with having children that have disabilities such as Autism and ADHD and I am genuinely curious and want to understand more.

Lucky you.

If you are genuinely interested why have you titled the thread 'parents using their DCs disability' and used inflammatory language such as expecting parents to parent their DCs out of their disability. Do you think parents of wheelchair users should have done a better job? Why do you only believe in things visible to you, do you believe the earth is flat?

life is harder when your child has additional needs. sometimes these small things like a queue pass just make the day go easier and mean the trip can be managed.

I thought those passes gave a time to go back to the ride? So if the queue is 1hr long, they go to the exit 1hr later?

This is clearly a goady thread. Let's not rise to it.

It’s one of my daughter’s favourite places in the whole world. Of course, we didn’t know she was AuDHD (read up on that one - it will blow your mind) when we first went at 3. Not being clairvoyant and all.

And yes Disney is exhausting but personally even as an adult i think it is one of those mind blowing making memories places that is worth the tantrums, headwrecking moaning, exhaustion, we talk fondly about it and laugh about how it all (including the awful moments!!)

No. You either go in a separate queue or join the queue part way through, depending on the ride.

Ableist and nasty.
Reported.

ROFL if you think the queues will just be an hour long.

That's not really what you asked though.

You said that the parents should be teaching their disabled children how to cope in society.

Clearly you don't realise that things like this mean our children are able to do things they never could before.

These are reasonable adjustments for disabilities, so we are teaching our children to cope with reasonable adjustments they need.

It's society that needs to catch up so everywhere has reasonable adjustments.

Disney have recently changed the eligibility for DAS so it isn't as easy to get anymore. This was caused by abuse of the system. DS actually would be eligible for DAS on paper, but is capable of queuing, so we don't use it.

You don't get to skip the queue - you get access to the faster queue (lightening lane / fast pass lane) without having to purchase a fast pass. You will get given a return time for the ride and then access to the ride - you still wait, just not in a close quarters stressful situation with other people. So if the ride is a 60 min queue, you will get a return time in an hour, wander about for an hour then go back and use the fast pass (or equivalent) queue which is often a walk on or few minute wait. You can normally only do this for one ride at a time, so they're still holding a place in the queue - you just can't see them physically in the queue.

It's a great way to make situations accessible.

If you know your child will struggle with queues then why not go on days where it is or is forecast to chuck down with rain? Start with a local attraction and progress. Always took toddlers to Legoland on wet days out of season especially till they grasped the idea of queuing.

This^

There is a big difference between queuing in a shop and at a theme park filled with 1000s of people.

Even if I was in a long queue in a shop and a person with a non-visible disability was there, I’d have no problem with them going ahead. It’s really not the end of the world.

@Catza From what I’ve seen on the posts, Disney do have a criteria where you have to prove something before you get one. What I mean is as you have eluded too in your reply is two people with autism will have very different issues affecting them, just the same as two people with ADHD will also be impacted differently. Having ADHD or autism, doesn’t automatically mean you can’t queue up and wait like everyone else so why would you need a pass to skip the line?

I’m sure parents of disabled children like mine would rather swap their disabilities for a longer wait in a queue
Anything that makes life easier for children with disabilities (and their parents) is very welcome

I believe by the way that Disney has seriously restricted use of its Access card recently. I've seen quite a lot of criticism of them for it.

The Nimbus/Access card is also quite hard to get, and local parents have shared how much of a challenge it's been in terms of evidence required (and in some cases refused). So it's not remotely the case that a parent can just announce their child has ASD and is very special and needs to jump the line.