So, we're on the monorail platform, at the SAP gate (as one of our group uses a wheelchair), and the CM loading us wants the rest of our group to board first, because the wheelchair spot is next to the door. So what does he say to us? "People first"!

We were all too stunned to look at his name tag.

That is so appalling I'm at a loss for the right words to describe how I would react.... but you can bet I'd have had his name, rank and serial number before that door shut!

Hi ya MamaSilva,
It would have been so cool if you could have been there yesterday. I am still looking forward to the day I get to meet you sweet lady.
I guess I have had a situtaion happen to me like that before, but when that was said about people first boarding the monorail, I just gave him a look and said hey what does that make me? I am a people too. But he didn't hear me. And I wasn't going to let that spoil my fun day with all my MP friends. But I wish I had gotten his name, see I am like this, but someone else might have really taken it the wrong way. And it was so cool that Morrigoon and Not Afraid and the others were sticking up for me and wanted to protect me. But I wanted to let you know in spite of this rude and ignorant CM, I still had an awesome day with everyone. Please come soon so we can meet.
Everyone loved seeing my pretty midnight purple wheelchair. And since I joined MP last june they all have been pulling for me to get this chair too.
Well its 3:05am now so I am off to sleep now. Talk to you soon.
Love ya,
Margo..aka PurpleDove33..°o°

:eek: Ugh. I'm stunned. I don't even know what to say. I probably would have embarrassed Margo by asking that person if he just said what I think he said.......And then giving him a little lecture.

I agree it's very rude -- it's also very ignorant.

At the very least, I would speak to the supervisor at the monorail station. Explain when it happened, what the CM looked like, and explain how important it is that all the CMs are familiar with ADA issues.

At the very least, the CMs need to be educated. I'm sure he didn't mean it to demean the individual in the wheelchair. He just "wasn't thinking," and simply needs to be made aware that that is not the way to treat persons in wheelchairs.

This incident was soooo appaling. I was so shocked when it happened that I had to actually THINK about it. It just was so inappropriate. I finially said to the guy something like "people first, as opposed to......? I'm not sure what I said was effective, but I was fairly dumbstruck. NOT what you'd expect in DL.

I'm still just flabergasted that it happened at all.... and here is another prime example of why a small notepad/pen in a fanny pack, purse pocket whatever is so important.. I use mine to keep track of specific CM's I want to go file compliments on.. but it would have come in handy last night. :eek: :mad: At the very least I agree with Lani, the park should be contacted and made aware of the incident.

Margo I can't wait to meet you, we're coming down in August then again in October so hopefully one of those two trips our schedules can connect :D

I was there too. I don't think that he meant anything by it. But, there are MANY other ways he could have expressed to us that he wanted the wheelchair to enter the car last. The way that he said it was just wrong. As mentioned before, none of us happened to get the CM's name, but I wish I would have.

Originally posted by TheatreTech
I was there too. I don't think that he meant anything by it. But, there are MANY other ways he could have expressed to us that he wanted the wheelchair to enter the car last. The way that he said it was just wrong. As mentioned before, none of us happened to get the CM's name, but I wish I would have.



The problem with that 'excuse' is that for him to even have said it in the first place means that's his mentality about mobility issues... I'm still fuming!

Originally posted by MammaSilva
The problem with that 'excuse' is that for him to even have said it in the first place means that's his mentality about mobility issues...

True. True.

Originally posted by Not Afraid
I finially said to the guy something like "people first, as opposed to......? I'm not sure what I said was effective, but I was fairly dumbstruck.

Did he have any response?


I too am amazed that such a thing happened. Even though no one remembers the person's name, I would strongly suggest that all who were present and heard him make the statement submit a comment to DL's website about the incident. If you remember what time and what the person looked like, I'd include that information as well. If they get enough comments about this incident, maybe they'll at least think about saying something to the crew that was working at that particular time and maybe all CMs in general.

Originally posted by cstephens
Did he have any response?

None.

Well, I was also there, and I think the CM cought his mistake, when we all stood there, and was then heavly embarrased. However, he could have corrected himself. ;) :fez:

I have had something like that happen to my party. He said something to the extent of "let the normals in first" and I told the CM (privately) what he had said and he was apoligetic and he gave us front line passes. Just speak with the CM privately and correct him. Sometimes you don't know what you say (I am not defending him, whatsoever. He should have corrected himself)

Just to let you all know that while I was at DL today with my best friend and her daughter, I spoke with the lead who was on today at the monorail, and discribed the young blonde CM who this thread was about and even though this lead wasn't there on that day, he knew who I was talking about and it seemed that that person was new. I explained that while I try not to let words like this effect me, but to just go on, I did mention that some people wouldn't take the words he was speaking to kindly and that he in the future to phrase his words different. And the lead told me he would make sure this didn't happen again and thanked me for bringing it to his attention. And the lead apoligized to me that this even had to happen in the first place.

Nice pro-active response Purple Dove. I agree-people will not change their language until they know that what they have said previously is offensive. In this day and age I feel that their isn't an excuse for stupidity-but that's just me:D

MM: I don't recall it ever registering with him. In fact, if I remember correctly, when we all stood there (stepping out of Margo's way so she could be the first "people" to board ;)), he REPEATED himself.

Margo: glad you hear you brought it up.

Really, training is the issue. They show us the video they've always shown, but w/out the time for role playing by the CMs, it's all just blah, blah, blah (like the grownups in Peanuts cartoons). New hires are usually so exhausted from being run around the park prior to seeing the video, that I think they just zone out during the guests w/disabilities video. And some of that stuff goes over their heads anyway. I mean, the lady in the video can say "remember to refer to the person before their disability," but w/out time for the trainers to act it out by pretending they're talking to a special assistance group (eg: putting it in context), it just flies over some people's heads.

I simply cannot stress enough how important it is to allow enough time to train CMs properly. They just don't do it anymore (they cut training from two weekends down to one, which is why today's new hires, unless former APs, seem to know nothing at the park or about exceeding guest expectations).

As far as what he was thinking, I think in his mind it was "people" and "wheelchair," but Margo is so much more than her midnight purple ultralight, that to refer to her as a chair and not as a person using one is insulting.

Originally posted by Morrigoon
I simply cannot stress enough how important it is to allow enough time to train CMs properly. They just don't do it anymore (they cut training from two weekends down to one, which is why today's new hires, unless former APs, seem to know nothing at the park or about exceeding guest expectations).
I don't think it's fair to place the blame squarely on new hires. In fact, I'd argue that new hires are, in many cases, better at following the letter of the law than veterans who have slipped into a lazy routine. I know plenty of experienced CMs who would call for assistance with a couple of "wheelchairs" rather than the more polite "disabled guests."

So I don't think more early indoctrination is the answer (it's like drinking from a fire hose for most new hires already). Rather, I think that more sensitivity training back at TDA for ALL CMs is necessary.

Uncle Dick, I agree with you up to a 'point', and please don't take this personally.... but you don't have disabled guests... you have guests who happen to have a disablity......they are PEOPLE first...LOOK at the person NOT their assistive devices.....I don't mean to sound like I'm scolding.. but the whole 'attitude' of DISABLED needs a swift kick in the arse IMHO.. Purpledove isn't a disabled.. person.. she's a person with a disablity... Our own Tony Phoenix is NOT a disablity.. he's a peson WITH a disabilty.. if people would just start using that PERSON first then incidents like the one that happened to Margo would be sooo rare as to be excused by brain damage!

I try to use the term "differently-abled". The other two terms or phrases I stay away from are "confined to a wheelchair" (wheelchairs are NOT confining, they are enabling) and "handicaped" which was derifed from this meaning:
Reference to horse racing is 1754 (Handy-Cap Match), where the umpire decrees the superior horse should carry extra weight as a "handicap;" this led to sense of "encumbrance, disability" first recorded 1890. The verb sense of "equalize chances of competitors" is first recorded 1852, but is implied in the horse-race sense. Meaning "put at a disadvantage" is 1864. The main modern sense, "disability," is the last to develop; handicapped (adj.) is 1915. http://www.etymonline.com

Originally posted by MammaSilva
Uncle Dick, I agree with you up to a 'point', and please don't take this personally.... but you don't have disabled guests... you have guests who happen to have a disablity......they are PEOPLE first...
Tomato, Tamahto, IMHO.

I think it's difficult to derive any semantic difference between "disabled guest" and "guest with disabilities" except that "guest with disabilities" is cumbersome and ends up drawing more attention to the disability than the more natural "disabled guest."

At any rate, the correct use of terminology wasn't my point.

Originally posted by Uncle Dick
I think it's difficult to derive any semantic difference between "disabled guest" and "guest with disabilities" except that "guest with disabilities" is cumbersome and ends up drawing more attention to the disability than the more natural "disabled guest."
Okay, I take that back. Disneyland actually does teach CMs to use the phrase "guest with disabilities" because you are supposed to address the guest first. Got it a little turned around.

At any rate, I still hold that any discussion about the particulars of the terminology used is beside the point. :)

Oh mercy, I have no wish to start a flame war but I couldn't let this pass by. Referring to the person first and disability second is far beyond a difference in semantics. It has to do with thought processes, attitudes,perceptions, personality and so much more.

Originally posted by tjrj
Oh mercy, I have no wish to start a flame war but I couldn't let this pass by. Referring to the person first and disability second is far beyond a difference in semantics. It has to do with thought processes, attitudes,perceptions, personality and so much more.
Maybe, but what I find interesting is the way guests with disabilities refer to themselves. Not once have I heard a guest with disabilities refer to themselves as such; it's always "Where does handicapped go?" or "Where's the entrance for wheelchairs?"

Granted, one would expect a higher standard of conduct from a CM, but I still think it's an issue that only a small percentage of the population, disabled or no, thinks or cares about.

Note: I'm not necessarily disagreeing with anyone here, I just think there is such a thing as oversensitivity, and I think it's something that can be harmful at times, especially when it impedes the normal progress of a conversation and/or draws undue attention to itself.

Uncle Dick let me say NOT all handi-capiable people feel this way and always want to get things handed to them on a silver plater. Having been born with my disablilties I like to do things for myself and be independant. Then if there is something I can't do, I do ask for help and then sometimes that is hard for me to do anyway. And the nice thing about this group from MP have never treated me any different than anyone else. So I use a wheelchair to get around, its just a tool to move around a little better. I am still me who loves my disneyland and the friends who I have made thru this message board. Thanks everyone.
Hey it would be nice to have normal legs to get around, and having a wheelchair helps me be somewhat normal and do a lot of things I can't do with walking on the crutches. Most of you know I can walk some so thank God I can still do that. But am thankful that the tool of a wheelchair was invented so I can get around better.