-> Yup, until my mother had a knee replacement, we plopped her in a
-> wheelchair at DL. Discovered two things: the castmembers are very
-> well trained in not only accomodating wheelchair guests, but in
-> making them feel comfortable about sneaking in the exits et al. Also
-> discovered that Main Street could use a lot more curb cuts!
->
The worst is when there is a parade on Main Street that you've already
seen a thousand times, so you try to wheel your wife up the street to
enjoy the lands. Forget about it. Might as well pitch a tent - you'll be
staying a while.
-> If there's one thing I've learned about the ADA, it's that nobody
-> knows what it takes to be in compliance until the court tells you
-> (and sometimes not even then). This answer stinks for another
-> reason: the Skyway is a one-way trip, and you really can't get a
-> wheelchair into the gondolas. So what good would elevators do?
Well many people in wheelchairs can stand up long enough to board rides
- they just can't walk miles and miles around the park and STAND in long
lines. My wife, for instance, has been handicapped all her life. She
can't walk very well and can't stand up very long (can't stand at all if
she is unsupported).
The way it could have worked for these people would be that they could
enter the wheelchair and go up to the loading area. They then could exit
the chair and get onto the ride. They then would have to be allowed to
go round trip so they could recover their wheelchair. In this case the
skytram would not serve as transportation, but it is a very nice ride
with WONDERFUL views.
People who have no ability to be out of wheelchairs at all don't do very
good on MOST rides at the world's happiest place.
-> Further, if the Skyway was dismantled as a result of legal action
-> under the _Federal_ ADA, it would have been done in Federal Court
-> and applied equally to the Florida park, where the Skyway is still
-> very much in service. (This also tends to support the earthquake
-> theory, too.)
Remember, I am NOT trying to prove the story is true. It's just what I
was told when I asked.
One thing you should remember is that most federal laws are preceded by
state laws. For instance, there is a smoking ban in public buildings in
Utah. That is a state law. Later, the federal government could pass the
same law for the whole country. The state AND federal laws would be in
effect. If that happened, when someone violated the law, the prosecuters
would DECIDE whether to prosecute it on a state or federal level.
It might just be that the authorities in California decided to go
through their own courts. There were handicapped-access laws in
California long before the Americans With Disabilities Act was passed.
Another thing, a person or group could have sued Disneyland itself and
base the lawsuit on the ADA. The settlement then would not necessarily
affect other locations and other rides. Disneyland may have settled the
case and then decided that it was simply not worth it to risk facing
other, similar lawsuits.
Again, this is just "what-if" speculations on my part. They are fun to
persue but are not based on any knowledge that this is the reason the
ride was shut down.
It might have had to do with guests dropping things on the people below.
I know this was very popular there.
-> One important thing to remember about DL and WDW--everything is on
-> the Endangered List. When the public's taste changes, so do DL
-> priorities, and when we least expect it, up go the barricades and
-> it's gone. Remember the Mine Train through Natures Wonderland? Or
-> the Pack Mules? Or the Stagecoach? Or the Freight Train? (Gee,
-> you're older than you type if you do.)
You bet I do! My two favs at DL when I was young were "Journey Through
Inner Space" (where they shrunk you with a microscope) and "Rainbow
Ridge Pack Mules". "Mr. Toad" came in third.
-> Remember what Walt said, "As long as there's imagination left in the
-> world, Disneyland will never be completed." Get that film exposed now
-> while the shootin's good.
And send copies of your Disney park videos to me!!!
--- WILDMAIL!/WC v4.12 
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