Wealthy Families Hire Handicapped Guides To Beat The Lines At Disney [Opinion]
Money can't buy happiness, it obviously can't purchase moral character or ethical behavior either. The New York Post in an article published yesterday alleges that some wealthy families are taking advantage of the DIsney parks policy regarding guests with physical handicaps.
The article alleges that some wealthy New York families have paid as much as $130 an hour to hire tour guides with physical handicaps to pose as members of the family in order to gain faster admission to the parks attractions.
Disney parks make each of their attractions more easily accessible to those with physical limitations. This is usually done by providing an alternate entry point that in effect allows the "guest" and up to six family members carte blanche to cut the line.
One woman quoted in the article said while others waited over two hours for entrance to It's A Small World, her family and paid handicapped guide got on the ride in less than two minutes. Is this fair? Or is this the reason America is losing it's place as the greatest nation in the world?
There is a flip side to this story that needs to be considered. Perhaps being the "handicapped" guide at Disney is a great way for physically challenged people to earn a good living. If guides can hire themselves out at $130 an hour that's a pretty sweet paycheck for for 8 hours in the park. I am guessing there aren't many jobs that pay that kind of money regardless of ones physical abilities.
Using the handicapped entrances or taking advantage of the Disney policy is not against any rules. At least not against any rules that are in place as of today.The practice of hiring a special guide to get you where you want to go is not that unusual.
I have been on many tours in foreign lands where hiring the right tour guide made all the difference in what you got to see and what you didn't get to see. On one tour we took in Russia our tour guide asked us to buy two bottles of vodka. She then used that vodka to bribe a security guard to let us into a Russian palace an hour ahead of the general public.
Is this not the same thing as hiring the handicapped guide to beat the crowd? I would love to know what you think. It's not exactly right, but it's not exactly wrong either. It all depends upon which direction your moral compass happens to point.