Hiring Handicapped Guides to Skip Lines
I remember hearing about this a while back and thought it would be a perfect topic to blog about.
Coming from a prestigious New York City private school filled with the "1%" that the article refers to I wouldn't be surprised if someone in my grade had done this themselves.
Basically, it was discovered that wealthy Manhattan mothers were hiring handicapped guides so their kids could skip the lines at Disney World. The guides cost about $130 an hour or $1,040 for an eight hour day. Because I am so used to living along side Manhattan's elite, when I heard about this, I found it quite comical. It is not surprising to me at all that people would think of doing this. Technically there's no law or anything against this so I guess if people don't want to wait in line and can pay for an alternative why not...
I remember waiting in lines at Disney all the time. Even though we bought the special fast pass line the lines still took forever; however, it always paid off once I was on the ride. It's the wait that makes Disney so great.
http://nypost.com/2013/05/14/rich-manhattan-moms-hire-handicapped-tour-guides-so-kids-can-cut-lines-at-disney-world/
Thank you for sharing this article! I remember going to Disney when I was younger with my grandma, who was in a wheelchair, and skipping some of the lines. However, it never crossed my mind how easily this system can also be abused. It's despicable on the part of the Manhattan mothers, but also interesting to consider that some disabled people are able to put their handicaps "to use".
ReplyDeleteAs much as this is unethical, I've got to hand it to the mother for thinking of something like this. But isn't waiting in line part of the Disney experience? I mean what is a trip to an amusement park without spending hours upon hours standing in line, eagerly anticipating what's about to come.
ReplyDeleteWow. As tempted as I am to criticize those mothers, I realized that I've actually done something similar, although in my opinion not nearly as bad. After a friend of mine recovered from a leg injury, we really wanted to go to Disney. Over the last few months with her boot on, she had gotten used to skipping the lines and she suggested that she simply put the boot back on and pretend that she was still injured. All I had to do was push her around in a wheelchair all day (which was actually sort of fun). So as much as I would love to condemn those moms for exploiting handicapped persons, I guess I'm not really in a position to talk.
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