[blindkid] Canes and amusement park rides?

Sun Aug 8 05:10:06 UTC 2010

Very scary about the Six Flags experience below!
I think I'll tuck a letter from his dr in my purse to be on the safe side
since we haven't gotten Hank's "blind card" in the mail yet :smile.

 I agree that being blind on it's own isn't a reason to get out of standing
in line.  With good O&M skills and no other medical issues, there is no
reason a blind person can't navigate a ride queue.   When we say we want
equal rights as everyone else, that means waiting in long lines too LOL!

Disney has what I feel is a good system in place.  You can go to guest
relations and get a Guest Assistance Card.
You explain to the staff member what types of assistance you need and they
mark the appropriate accommodations on the card.  You show the card in the
situations where it applies.  It does not give you front of the line access
though sometimes you do end up getting through things a little faster.

Some of the pre-printed reasons are to be able to wait in a shaded/cooled
area, to allow a stroller to be used as a wheelchair (go through the queue
instead of leaving it outside), use an alternate entrance (usually the
wheelchair entrance or fast pass entrance), front seating for VI guests.  If
it's something not specifically printed, the staff member can write in
what's needed. The theory behind it is they want to give you the help you
need to get equal enjoyment out of your visit as a typical guest would.

Because Hank has Albinism, we would ask for the front seating as well as
shaded waiting areas and alternate entrances.  He's been to Disney once (3
yrs ago, before he had a cane hence my original question!)  We found the
card to be helpful but we didn't have to actually use it often because
things are fairly accessible as is.

If the waiting are was fully shaded, we'd wait in the regular line with
everyone else.  If it's going to be a long wait in full sun, we'd show the
card because if we get stuck in too many long, sunny lines, we're going to
have to end the day early to avoid a crispy kid.
For the front seating, they don't reserve special seats nor will they move
an already seated guest so if you get there late in the seating process
there may not have anything available.  You can choose to sit wherever
available or wait for the next showing to get the front seats.  I think
that's reasonable since the turnover for just about everything is pretty
quick.  Also they have designed most exhibits to be very visible from all
areas so we didn't necessarily need to sit up front for him to enjoy it.

The cards are especially good for autistic kids.  A lot of autistic kids
simply can not hold it together in a 45 minute line plus the whole
experience is so overwhelming it's likely they won't be able to do a full
day.  The GAC will usually let them use the fast pass entrance, shortening
the wait and allowing them to cover more ground in the shorter time
available.  Our older son has Aspergers.
We went a few times when he was younger (and before Hank!) this was our
situation.  We'd get the card but not always use it.  If he was having a
good day, if they lines weren't too bad, we waited like everyone else.  But
on those rough days, being able to shave off some waiting time or even just
being able to wait someplace not as crowded & noisy made all the difference
in the world.

Using a wheel chair as a stroller works well for many autistic kids
(security/personal space).  It's also for kids who may have a physical
condition that doesn't require them to use a wheelchair in their daily life
but trying to walk/stand all day would be too fatiguing.

Holly

Some of the  and how many people are in your party.  They allow up to six
people to accompany the card holder.  If you are with a larger group, the
other people have to wait in the regular lines.

On Fri, Aug 6, 2010 at 1:35 PM, Richard Holloway <rholloway at gopbc.org>wrote:

> Blind guests have, in fact, even fought to get canes into Six Flags, quite
> literally. As some of you may or may not be aware, Six Flags in Atlanta
> refused entrance to a number of blind cane travelers (or more specifically
> told them they could come in, but not with the "sticks" which looked like
> "weapons")-- this was, as I recall, during a NFB National convention in
> Atlanta-- perhaps in 2004? I cringe as an Atlanta native over the matter,
> but it could (obviously) have happened anywhere.
>
> Here's a link to that story:
>
> http://www.blindinc.org/articles/blindcard.html
>
> I suspect most any Six Flags now has policy to clarify that canes can come
> in with blind cane travelers. (We have never had a problem going to that
> same Six Flags with our daughter and her cane.)
>
> Still, ideally, you might want to call ahead to any park you plan to visit
> for the first time and ask what sort of accommodations they offer. This will
> help confirm that there should be no cane entrance issues, but more
> importantly it will help you deal with the much more likely confusion of how
> to get a cane most easily to the ride exits properly and safely.
>
> The point of the past discussion I had mentioned (in my earlier post) was
> that the "magic ticket" (whatever it was called) solved the whole thing--
> when you come to the ride they KNOW to look for the item you're wearing (I
> assume similar to an ID card around your neck like at a convention maybe?,
> or perhaps it could be a wrist band?) they know the guest needs their
> attention and some possible help.
>
> If you want to do the full wait in line (which is not practical at all for
> say, a wheel chair user-- at least in some queues-- the chairs simply won't
> fit) you could probably wear the pass through the two hour long ride queue,
> then just get the needed help as you get on the ride, but it is almost
> certain that all the parks have a relatively seamless system to get
> wheelchairs and walkers to ride exits so it should be nothing for them to
> transport a little fiberglass cane 50 yards...
>
> Incidentally, the most recent Six Flags policy I find online shows that Six
> Flags offers a pass to skip the line but not the wait (as of about 3 years
> ago, I think?) and also Disney apparently does not officially let you skip
> the wait but lets you wait up front for the rest of your party to come
> through the line.
>
> In fact the reason (as posted by a former Disney employee) they tend to put
> people through rides more quickly with the pass is generally that the
> special needs guest, especially if they have more space requirements than
> most guests (think of the footprint of a wheelchair or walker) sort of clogs
> up the loading platform area. So the employees run through those who they
> can faster to clear out space.
>
> Surely there are other needs that make waits very hard for some guests, but
> blindness alone would not seem to make that list of reasons to jump the
> line. Still, we can all reasonably make use of the appropriate portion of
> such accommodations when needed-- just my thoughts on the matter.
>
> Richard
>
>
>
>
> On Aug 6, 2010, at 12:06 PM, Kim Cunningham wrote:
>
>  Jessica,
>> I am very concerned that you are telling a mother to LEAVE THE CHILD'S
>> CANE BEHIND! Would you ask a parent whose child needed a wheelchair or
>> crutches to leave them behind? Even if the child has some usable vision,
>> what happens when the child enters a dark room or into the bright sunlight?
>> Do you really think blind children should be led around as if they aren't
>> able to navigate on their own? Do other kids their age have their mothers or
>> fathers holding their hands? We have fought so hard for school district's to
>> get children canes, I can't hold my tongue when someone suggests leaving it
>> behind.
>> Just my two cents.
>> Kim Cunningham
>>
>> --- On Fri, 8/6/10, Jess sA Mobile <jess28 at samobile.net> wrote:
>>
>>
>> From: Jess sA Mobile <jess28 at samobile.net>
>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] Canes and amusement park rides?
>> To: "'NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)'" <
>> blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>> Date: Friday, August 6, 2010, 11:28 AM
>>
>>
>> Holly,
>> Since he really doesn't need it except for identification purposes that it
>> might be better off if you just keep it at home. Unless you have someone
>> who
>> isn't going to ride all the rides and he/she would just hold on to his
>> cane.
>> You've done sighted guide with him correct? It might just be better if you
>> do sighted guide in a situation like that especially if he wants to go on
>> every ride.
>> Jessica
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of holly miller
>> Sent: Friday, August 06, 2010 8:56 AM
>> To: NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)
>> Subject: [blindkid] Canes and amusement park rides?
>>
>> What do you do with them?  We're taking Hank to 6 Flags for the first time
>> next week.  I haven't been in a loooong time so I'm not familiar with the
>> rides anymore.
>>
>> A folding cane wouldn't be an issue but I'm thinking a straight cane isn't
>> always going to fit in the seat.  Some rides have you get off at a
>> different
>> place than you get on so you couldn't just leave it with the attendant I
>> wouldn't think.
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Holly
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> http://www.raceforindependence.org/goto/Hank
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>
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-- 
http://www.raceforindependence.org/goto/Hank