Starting on Oct. 9, visitors to Walt Disney World and Disneyland with disabilities will no longer be automatically admitted to the front of the lines due to what park officials are calling "abuse of the system" from able-bodied visitors, the New York Post reports.
Visitors to the legendary theme parks with disabilities and special needs will be given cards that grant them backdoor access to rides or takes them through the exit to wait in a much shorter line, similar to the way a restaurant reservation works. Disney officials will brief employees on the new rules shortly after they are enacted.
The decision was prompted by a growing number of disabled "tour guides" who charge able-bodied guests sometimes hundreds of dollars to accompany them throughout the park and allow them to skip long lines. Essentially, wealthy individuals have been "renting" the disabled.
"We wanted to curb some of the abuse of this system," Disneyland Resort spokeswoman Suzi Brown told the Orange County Register, noting that the ongoing issue has "certainly been problematic" for some time.
"We have an unwavering commitment to making our parks accessible to all guests," Brown said. "Given the increasing volume of requests we receive for special access to our attractions, we are changing our process to create a more consistent experience for all our guests while providing accommodations for guests with disabilities."
In May this year, the New York Post was tipped off on a number of wealthy Manhattan mothers who used "black-market Disney guides," charging as much as $130 an hour or $1,040 for an eight-hour day at the the park.
"It's insider knowledge that very few have and share carefully," social anthropologist Dr. Wednesday Martin, who caught wind of the underground network while doing research for her upcoming book "Primates of Park Avenue," told the New York Post.
Some families, however, have criticized the park for changing the rules, despite the presence of cheaters. Parents of children with epilepsy and autism have spoken out, including weekly Disneyland-goer Rebecca Goddard, who told the Orange County Register that her 4 and 6-year-old sons have autism, and waiting in line for too long can make them aggressive.
"My boys don't have the cognition to understand why it's going to be a long wait," Goddard told the Register. "There are so few things for my boys that bring them utter joy and happiness - to mess with it just makes me sad."
However, Disney did consult with disability groups, including Autism Speaks, an autism advocacy organization, before changing the current regulations.
"Change is difficult," said Southern California executive director Matt Asner. "I didn't want it to change, but I understand there was an issue that needed to be dealt with."
In a poll on the Daily Mail, 65 percent voted that park-goers with disabilities should not be able to skip the lines at theme parks, while the remaining 35 percent voted in favor of the exception to the rule.
