#theme park rant

I was reading an article about guests complaining and suing about getting pulled out of line by cast members due to their disability and getting asked to leave when getting on the ride. I've also seen abled people that ignore safety requirements/procedures get upset when they are asked to leave a line/attraction/park.

I'll use Universal for an example. (I believe all theme parks are supposed to do this but again this is just an example)

Universal is great when it comes to telling guests rules, restrictions, and warnings before they even enter the line for a ride. Including whether or not it's safe to ride with prosthetics, if they must transfer from a wheelchair, or need to put loose articles away. If you cannot bring yourself to read the safety restrictions, no matter how capable you are with your disability, or you think you are above them, if you can/will not safely participate in the attraction according to the park rules, you will not be permitted on the ride! By getting in line you are saying that you understand the rules and accept the risks of taking part in this attraction. Trying to take part in an attraction while under clear violation of the stated rules means you will more than likely be asked to leave the line.

Especially water parks! Water slides can be extremely dangerous if you don't follow certain precautions! I know how much not being allowed to take part in rides and attractions sucks, but is that ride really worth putting your physical safety and life at such a high risk?

Rides, where you're told to hold on to a lap bar or handle, aren't just saying that to suck the fun out of your ride. That rule is set there to keep you as safe as possible, and if you cannot or will not properly hold on to that bar/handle then I'm sorry, but you don't meet the requirements to ride that ride. These requirements include listening to ride attendants and park staff, remember, they know more about the ride than you do!

Everything in life has risks, this includes theme parks! These machines are not infallible and accidents do happen. I think sometimes when people go to places like Disney they forget that and believe that they or their child should be able to do whatever they want on rides.

Sometimes people get hurt on rides even when safety procedures are being followed, do you really expect the park to compromise those procedures and endanger you? By letting you on that ride they would not only be putting you at risk, but if you get injured you would be able to sue them for not enforcing safety laws and endangering park guests!

I also see people book trips and stays and when they get to the park they're upset and angry at the fact they don't meet ride requirements for x, y, & z. It's like people don't look at park websites.

On the Universal website, when looking at the Rides and Attractions tab, there is an accessibility drop-down box that lets you sort them by whatever accessibility you might need, as well as one for height restrictions. (On further inspection the drop-down accessibility menu in Rides and Attractions doesn't work, but in the footer of the site there's an Accessibility Information link that leads you to tabs with all relevant information, though I'm not 100% the physical disability info has been updated to include Volcano bay as of yet). You can also find this information by selecting the attraction you are looking for.

The Disney World world site also has accessibility filters in the Attractions and Entertainment tab as well as a "Guests with Disabilities" link in the Help and Rules drop-down menu and in the Help section of the site footer.

You can also find this information by selecting the attraction you are looking for on both sites.