The latest can you top this

[lookame]

I was at a doll show(avid doll collector) when a woman brought an older man in(I want to say around mid 30 early 40s) into the womans restroom. I was confused at forst but then realized he was autistic and I didn;t give a second glance at him. I entered the restroom 2 or 3 times(I have crohns disease and it just happened to be acting up pretty badly that day) and I guess the woman noticed my return to the bathroom a couple of times and took offense and told me her son was autistic and needed her help. I politly nodded and said I understand but I have an autoimmune disease which is why I have been to the bathroom a few times this morning.

On a side note...I hate the bathrooms which have like 2 stalls in them and I hate them even more when theyre in a busy area which those two stalls are occupied and even worse when you try to explain why you need the restroom next and the people in front of you completly don;t care...I'm sorry it must be hard to be normal and have a normal urgency to use the restroom and not have to carry pants and underware with you "just in case" Oh it must be hard on you...now I'll wait here and try to breath through this really bad stomache pain that you obviously aren't having.

 

[livndisney]

Me too!!! It does feel good to not feel alone!!

We frequent the parks quite a bit, and most of the time I'm in a manual chair. I haven't had anyone use it, or steal it while I was on an attraction, but it is extremely difficult to take it into the bathrooms. There's ALWAYS a lady with 4 kids with her using the big HC stall, and then when you give them a look when they come out, they are the ones who give the bad looks because I'm HC. I do need the taller toilet, and the hand bars, otherwise I get stuck and can't get up off the potty!! So, most of the time I have to wait. Sometimes we go into the companion stall with my DH, cause I am afraid of getting stuck on the potty. It happens here at home, and I have to have DH or worse DS get me up. When we're at WDW, if it happens, I have no one to help me, cause they can't come in the ladies room!! DH has sent someone in to check on me before, that he didn't know, or a CM passing by to make sure I wasn't stuck tho. It does drive me crazy, the women who take their kids in there, and with 3 or more, it takes FOREVER to get the HC stall. I have left the chair outside of a stall, and used the smaller HC stall, but I make sure it's in the way of the other people taking up space in the big one LOL They gripe about having to step over my chair, then that's what they get, right??

We got the "look" the other day. We went into a very small restroom. 3 stalls total, one handicapped. All were full. The HC stall opened so I went in, dd waiting outside to use the stall next. When I came out there was a wheelchair pushed right up to the door. The woman pushing the chair gave me the face and said "we are next" and pushed dd out of the way. I told dd to wait for another stall.
I do usually try to avoid using the HC stall, but there was a reason to take the first available.

 

[DonnaBoo]

I was at a doll show(avid doll collector) when a woman brought an older man in(I want to say around mid 30 early 40s) into the womans restroom. I was confused at forst but then realized he was autistic and I didn;t give a second glance at him. I entered the restroom 2 or 3 times(I have crohns disease and it just happened to be acting up pretty badly that day) and I guess the woman noticed my return to the bathroom a couple of times and took offense and told me her son was autistic and needed her help. I politly nodded and said I understand but I have an autoimmune disease which is why I have been to the bathroom a few times this morning.

On a side note...I hate the bathrooms which have like 2 stalls in them and I hate them even more when theyre in a busy area which those two stalls are occupied and even worse when you try to explain why you need the restroom next and the people in front of you completly don;t care...I'm sorry it must be hard to be normal and have a normal urgency to use the restroom and not have to carry pants and underware with you "just in case" Oh it must be hard on you...now I'll wait here and try to breath through this really bad stomache pain that you obviously aren't having.

I have Crohn's as well, and have had a few tight calls at Disney. I remember one time I didn't think I could wait any more and seriously considered just dropping my drawers where I stood. Luckily, the next stall opened up and I by passed a few people, muttering I have Chrohn's. Yeah, I was a real popular girl that time.

 

[cmesq61]

... I do need the taller toilet, and the hand bars, otherwise I get stuck and can't get up off the potty!! So, most of the time I have to wait. Sometimes we go into the companion stall with my DH, cause I am afraid of getting stuck on the potty. It happens here at home, and I have to have DH or worse DS get me up. When we're at WDW, if it happens, I have no one to help me, cause they can't come in the ladies room!! DH has sent someone in to check on me before, that he didn't know, or a CM passing by to make sure I wasn't stuck tho. It does drive me crazy, the women who take their kids in there, and with 3 or more, it takes FOREVER to get the HC stall. I have left the chair outside of a stall, and used the smaller HC stall, but I make sure it's in the way of the other people taking up space in the big one LOL They gripe about having to step over my chair, then that's what they get, right??

In September, when I needed the restroom, DBF would check the area for a companion restroom and he would go in w/ me. Somewhere in the Disabilities stickies there is a list of companion bathrooms--i think. Sue or Cheshire can probably direct you. it made the trip so much more pleasant!

 

[Mama Who]

In September, when I needed the restroom, DBF would check the area for a companion restroom and he would go in w/ me. Somewhere in the Disabilities stickies there is a list of companion bathrooms--i think. Sue or Cheshire can probably direct you. it made the trip so much more pleasant!

There are also special maps, but I believe they are given out by request only.

 

[POOHsie]

There are also special maps, but I believe they are given out by request only.

When you enter each park, there is a display of park maps. One of these maps is for guests with disabilities. In this disabilities map, the companion bathrooms are placed on the map with a special "symbol." I have seen these park maps at the resorts, at the Concierge desk, but there is no guarantee they will be in stock there.

Here is a list of companion bathrooms from http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/disabgeneral.htm#Rrooms I can't be sure this info is completely up-to-date:

Most restrooms at Walt Disney World have wheelchair access. Additionally, several restrooms throughout Disney World have companion assisted restrooms. These can be found at:
All First Aid locations (See below)
Magic Kingdom -- the lower level of Cinderella’s Royal Table, Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, restrooms at the Pinocchio Village Haus, restrooms near Space Mountain, Mickey's Toontown Fair, and the Ticket and Transportation Center East Gate
Epcot -- near Canada, near Morocco, near Germany, near Norway opposite the Viking ship, Future World West Block opposite The Land, Future World East Block opposite Test Track and the east side of Spaceship Earth
Disney-Hollywood Studios -- opposite Star Tours, Soundstage 3, Rock 'N' Roller Coaster, opposite The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and at Fantasmic!
Animal Kingdom -- Discovery Island opposite the Flame Tree Barbecue, Harambe Village in the Mombasa Marketplace, Conservation Station at Rafiki's Planet Watch, Asia near Maharajah Jungle Trek, and Chester and Hester's Dinosaur Treasures in Dinoland U.S.A.
Blizzard Beach -- On the north side of Main Change to the rear of the locker room
Typhoon Lagoon -- Near Guest Services

 

[lilmissdisney216]

I've got one. I was working MK during the MSEP and a mother came up to me and she had a daughter (about 7 or 8) who was blind and the mother wanted to know the best place to watch the parade in frontierland and also be able to grab some food. Well behind them there was a rather pushy mother who was getting impatient by the minute and when she felt the family wasn't going fast enough she remarked "what does it matter anyway!! a blind child can't see the parade anyway! I was a bit shocked at this but the mother smiled and continued to talk to me. As she started to walk away she looked at me, took a step back and said with a smile

"Ya know? you find ignorance everywhere, even in at the happiest place on earth. Have a magical night and thanks for all your help."

Best.Moment.Ever.

 

[SueM in MN]

We took my DMIL 93 to WDW for her first trip in June. While we were there she used her own wheelchair if we were going long distances as she can walk short distances but is too weak for anything over a 100 yards or so.

We were at La Hacienda late one night and she decided she wanted to walk into the restaurant so we parked her wheelchair outside. We exited the restaurant about 1/2 an hour or so after the end of Illuminations so we could walk slowly out of the park after the rush.

We went to get her chair and it was gone!

This was her chair, not a rental. It had her name all over it. We thought maybe the Disney people picked it up?

We look down toward where Future World and the countries meet and there is a boy about 12 years-old with his family playing with a wheelchair. Yup. DMILs. We went over and politely said to him that that was DMILs wheelchair to please get out of it.

The parents never said a word to us or the child.

You wonder whether those parents even look at their child. A boy that old is old enough to know better and if he isn't, the parents have not been doing their job.

This has not happened for a while, but when in line for attractions, we have had toddlers sit right down on DD's feet on her wheelchair footrests. Luckily, DD thinks it is pretty funny. Most of the parents were horrified and pulled the child up right away. Occasionally they don't.

Also, one of DD's wheelchairs used to have the thin wire spokes, like bicycle wheels. They are kind of fragile if pulled and someone can get their fingers hurt if they are in the wheel when it moves. Multiple times we had to tell children to get their fingers out of there (they usually tried to strum them). Most of the time, the parents just paid no attention.

My worst story is when we went to Lights, Motors, Action. There was a line of guests with wheelchairs and ECVs waiting by the elevator to get upstairs when one woman on an ECV came back down and said she was sent down because all of the spots were filled.
A CM directed her, us (next in line) and 2 other parties to follow to get to another seating area on ground level. As we went along in a line, the guy behind me in an ECV kept driving his ECV into me (I guess he didn't feel I was going fast enough). I turned around and looked the first few times, then turned around and asked him not to bump me again.
When we got to the seating area, they said there was one companion seat per wheelchair/ECV and the rest of us would have to sit in the row behind. The person ahead of us did that. DH sat with DD and I sat in the row behind.

Then they came to the guy who hit us and they refused to split up. So, their party sat together a child and the wife taking a seat each.
The man got off the scooter and sat on the bench, which meant that the next wheelchair spot had no companion seat (actually 2 seats short).
The CM told them they could not use the whole bench, so the wife got onto the ECV (still not leaving enough room for a companion to sit).

As the wife sat on the ECV, she crossed her legs, put her feet up and rested one foot on DD's wheel. Then she started cleaning her fingernails and flicked the stuff from under her nails over toward DD.
DD doesn't like anyone touching her stuff and I would have thought she was justified if she had hit the woman!

Regarding Companion Restrooms, there is a link in post 3 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread that has all the locations, with a little more information about each. The EPCOT FAQs thread has all the locations for Epcot.
Do be aware though, that some people with disabilities take a long time in there, so you may have a longer wait than for just the regular bathroom.
Also, many of the families using them in MK and the Studio have been rather 'unmagical' to us, so there are some we don't use and just use First Aid.

 

[bearloch]

I am shocked at everything you allhave been through I admit I use the larger stalls when they are open as Im a plus sized lady and the extra room makes for a easier time of it But I would never use if someone needed it it called waiting in line!!! I was once in a resturant with dd who was not feeling well and actually felt she was gonna puke.. so we husstle to rest room to find line on 2 teenage girls who were not gonna move to lether in stahl.. I asked nicely explaining she was feeling ill they said " so" my dear daughter then answered by pukiing on there shoes turned an said I feel Better can we go now!!! I have to say I was kinda happy!

 

[bouncycat]

I do know where most companion bathrooms are, but my DH is military, and often not with myself or DS when we go to the parks. That's when I gotta go in by myself. I have started leaving my chair outside with DS, and walking in, but I do still need a stall with hand rails. There's often a big stall, and then a smaller one with rails, that the door opens outward, that is a stall that I can use also. A bunch of times when I do take my chair in, there's not much room to put it, if I can't take it in the big stall with me, so I have no choice but to block the walkway from the huge HC bathroom. I really hate the bathroom situations at the parks, especially that one restroom in Canada in Epcot right where you go into WS. It's a really small bathroom, and always has a line. I try to avoid that one like the plague!!

 

[buffettgirl]

may I ask, as someone who is not at all familiar with this, is it ok for able bodied people to use the handicap stall at all? If I'm in line and that opens first, is it ok to use that stall or should it always be kept open and available? Or is it simply the case that if someone is in line and visibly needs that stall, then they get first dibs on that spot above everyone else waiting since that is the only stall they can use? (and the rest of us have our choice of stalls) But if no one in line is visibly in need (and all other stalls are taken) then is it ok to use? And yes, I understand invisible illness makes it hard to know this..

I'd like to make sure that I'm doing the right thing and more importantly, helping my kids to learn to do the right thing.

 

[LilyWDW]

may I ask, as someone who is not at all familiar with this, is it ok for able bodied people to use the handicap stall at all? If I'm in line and that opens first, is it ok to use that stall or should it always be kept open and available? Or is it simply the case that if someone is in line then they get first dibs on that spot above everyone else waiting since that is the only stall they can use? But if no one is in line then is it ok to use? And yes, I understand invisible illness makes it hard to know this..

I'd like to make sure that I'm doing the right thing and more importantly, helping my kids to learn to do the right thing.

If there is no one in line that NEEDS the HCA stall, then go ahead and use it. It is accessible, but not restricted. Just don't dilly dally.

 

[buffettgirl]

If there is no one in line that NEEDS the HCA stall, then go ahead and use it. It is accessible, but not restricted. Just don't dilly dally.

is that the general rule? and haha with dilly dally....I try to spend the least amount of time in the ladies room as humanly possible. LOL..

Now, is the mens room similar? Because I know my son refuses to use anything but a stall and I know that they only have a few stalls. Is one of those stalls the accessible stall? (It must be, right?)

 

[BillSears]

As a wheelchair user my personal opinion is that if there is a line waiting for the stalls then every stall is fair game. However it would be nice to allow a wheelchair user to go in a head of you if the HC stall opens up and the WC user is very close to the front of the line. Otherwise you know they WC user will be waiting for you to get out of the stall.

Now if there is no line and other stalls besides the HC stall is open then use the non HC stall. There's something disheartening about walking into an bathroom with all stalls except the HC empty. I wait and I wait, others enter the room and ask if I need some help just because I'm sitting out in the middle of the room waiting. I never knock but sometimes strangers do knock after I say I'm just waiting for the stall to open.

 

[buffettgirl]

As a wheelchair user my personal opinion is that if there is a line waiting for the stalls then every stall is fair game. However it would be nice to allow a wheelchair user to go in a head of you if the HC stall opens up and the WC user is very close to the front of the line. Otherwise you know they WC user will be waiting for you to get out of the stall.

Now if there is no line and other stalls besides the HC stall is open then use the non HC stall. There's something disheartening about walking into an bathroom with all stalls except the HC empty. I wait and I wait, others enter the room and ask if I need some help just because I'm sitting out in the middle of the room waiting. I never knock but sometimes strangers do knock after I say I'm just waiting for the stall to open.

oh yes, already do this. that seems like a no brainer (truthfully, I don't like the big open space in the accessible stall anyway so if there is another stall you can bet I'm in it...and actually, I don't like giant bathrooms at home either. yes, I'm weird. LOL. You can laugh.. )

 

[SueM in MN]

As a wheelchair user my personal opinion is that if there is a line waiting for the stalls then every stall is fair game. However it would be nice to allow a wheelchair user to go in a head of you if the HC stall opens up and the WC user is very close to the front of the line. Otherwise you know they WC user will be waiting for you to get out of the stall.

Now if there is no line and other stalls besides the HC stall is open then use the non HC stall. There's something disheartening about walking into an bathroom with all stalls except the HC empty. I wait and I wait, others enter the room and ask if I need some help just because I'm sitting out in the middle of the room waiting. I never knock but sometimes strangers do knock after I say I'm just waiting for the stall to open.

I agree everything that Bill wrote.

 

[KPeveler]

As a wheelchair user my personal opinion is that if there is a line waiting for the stalls then every stall is fair game. However it would be nice to allow a wheelchair user to go in a head of you if the HC stall opens up and the WC user is very close to the front of the line. Otherwise you know they WC user will be waiting for you to get out of the stall.

Now if there is no line and other stalls besides the HC stall is open then use the non HC stall. There's something disheartening about walking into an bathroom with all stalls except the HC empty. I wait and I wait, others enter the room and ask if I need some help just because I'm sitting out in the middle of the room waiting. I never knock but sometimes strangers do knock after I say I'm just waiting for the stall to open.

I agree - sometimes I say loudly enough for the person in the stall to hear me that I need to wait for it. I figure if the person in there does not need it for accessibility reasons, they are more likely to do their business and get out if they know there is a line.

I have only asked people to get out twice, and both times I could see a child having a temper tantrum involving changing into or out of a princess dress... Basically they were not using the toilet, so it was time for them to get out!

 

[pampam]

I agree with pretty much everything that has been posted. I will however go directly up to the handicap stall and wait for it to become available. I see no reason to wait for a stall that is not accessable, since I won't and can't use it. Also, I find that if I do this, the person in the stall can see the footrests of the WC and know we are waiting for it specifically. Ususually they will hurry it up without anything being said.

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

DD doesn't like anyone touching her stuff and I would have thought she was justified if she had hit the woman!

(bolding added by me)

Perhaps it's just me, but if you ask me your DD was much politer than she indeed understandably could've been. For me a wheelchair like she uses it 24/7 isn't "just" stuff, but it's an extension of the users body. Except perhaps one or two beyond oddballs no nutcase would ever even consider doing the above when we substitute her wheelchair for a walking individuals legs. Which for me is the exact same thing. In this case I truely view it as this woman basically "using" your daughters legs, which just happen to have been situated there in the form of the chairs wheels.


I tend to be rather polite calm and humoristic when dealing with some "oh come on.........."-behaviour, but this is a real hot button for me. I won't rip anybodies head off, but my tone of voice will get very clear and you can bet your life that you will get the "extension of my body, why in the world would you ever even consider this to be acceptable behaviour!?" comment.

Haven't ran into a situation like you mentioned and I'm very good in manouvering myself in such a way it's very difficult for others to accidently or..... less accidently make physical contact when in situations like at WDW but have had it happen more than should be when waiting in lines or on a busier bus. Accidents happen, but I am not the person to purposely and totally uncalled for....... "touch" my chair. Have to say though, reaction tends to be a 95% succesrate of folks getting darkreddened faces and mutter something alike "oh, never looked at that way, ehm ehm you're totally right, sorry" and actually seeing a happen. Not just with the person that I address, but also others within hearing range.

 

[dclfun]

I've mentioned this story before....but back when I had a different ventilator that had a wider base ( LP10) someone STOOD their child on it as it was attached to the back of my chair at the entrance to DAK. We were waiting for the park to open and I got the comment that their child just wanted to see the characters. You can better believe I had some choice, but kind, words to describe that my life support was more important than their little Mouseketeer seeing Safari Mickey!---Kathy