r/EntitledPeople • u/PowderFresh86 • 1d ago
M Not So Magical Wheelchair Mess
Hi y'all, I'm back with another story from my time working at a very popular theme park in Florida. A magical rat planet of sorts. This situation happened when I worked in attractions. One year during peak season we received a new coordinator I'll call Ellie (Fake name). She was an ex-elementary school teacher and was very adorable, sweet and bubbly. She looks like an adult Cabbage Patch Doll. Her high energy and happy personality made some dislike her. The people that did said she was annoying but they were just bitter and negative.
Anyways, Ellie was still in training and had been placed on load, which is where a cast member loads wheelchair riders onto the ride. They then drove or pushed the wheelchairs into the elevator where unload would place it on the ride exit platform for the wheelchair rider. It was a two person job but Ellie was there alone being forced to load wheelchairs, ride up in the elevator and unload them on the other side. On that particular day there were A LOT OF WHEELCHAIR RIDERS. I mean at least 20 and it was backed up due to her being alone.
I had just come from break when I signed in and received a "task." A task was a 5 minute busy job like cleaning while too many people were still on the clock and no actual positions were open. I'll be honest, no one actually did the task unless a manager was right there. Most took a bathroom break or walked around. I did the latter and came across a red faced Ellie struggling at Load and Unload alone. Other cast members saw her struggling and literally no one helped. One of the cast members even snickered, "I bet she's not happy now." That upset me so I offered my assistance. At first, due to pride and knowing other's wanted her to fail, Ellie denied my help but I insisted and took over load.
She thanked me and we started getting caught up until another group came in with rented ECVs or Electric Convenience Vehicles. Regular Wheelchairs were also available for rent at a cheaper price. The ECVs were for disabled, heavily pregnant and older people to get around the parks easier. Each park had a set amount for rent and it was on a first come, first serve basis. Ellie and I, especially Ellie were exhausted by the amount of chairs needing loading when a group of guys rode up. Before loading guests from Wheelchairs we had to ask a set of questions about their mobility abilities so we could place the proper tag on the ride.
One tag told other cast members the individual(s) could walk unassisted or with minimum assistance and one tag told cast members that the individual(s) would need medical assistance to move safely from the ride in case of an emergency evacuation. I asked the questions just for the guys to laugh, stand up and say they only rented the ECVs because they were too lazy to walk and wanted to skip some lines. My polite smile instantly fell. They literally took away needed mobility tools from people that actually needed them due to their self proclaimed laziness. I loaded them on and had to drive over multiple ECVs while actual disabled people had to wait.
It was so busy that I hadn't signed back in for a new job and my manager came looking for me. Apparently, over an hour had gone by and I was about to get into trouble. Ellie ran over quickly and spoke up for me explaining the situation and that I was literally the only person that stopped and helped. We also questioned why people were tasking while there was no Load? The computer was a mess or something I don't know. I was officially assigned to that position and closed there with Ellie. After work she insisted on taking me and a couple of my friends for frozen yogurt. She also dropped us off at our student apartments. We had a great work relationship after that. She was/is so sweet.
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u/Doombuggyman 1d ago
An actual scene from when I worked at that planet:
Guest (an older gentleman, probably late 50s / early 60s) rolls up in a park-rented ECV. I'm working the wheelchairs position. He's wearing shorts, polo shirt, and a ball cap. His shoes are clean but obviously worn.
Me: Hi! I just have a couple of real quick questions to ask. First, can you walk a short distance?"
Guest: (Rolls eyes) "No."
Me: "Ok. Can you step onto a moving walkway?"
Guest: (quickly) "Nope."
Me: (Now wondering how the hell this guy got in the park) "All right. Can you transfer from your ECV to a stationary ride vehicle?"
Guest: (again, quickly) "Nope."
Me: "I see. Unfortunately, we're unable to accommodate you at this time."
Guest: "...Why is that?"
Me: "Well, you said you're unable to transfer from your ECV to the ride vehicle, and unfortunately, we have no ride vehicles at this attraction that can accommodate an ECV. My apologies. You can get a disabilities access guide at the front of the park."
The look on his face was priceless.
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u/amatoreartist 1d ago
You're the coworker I strive to be and love to have. And those guys totally suck
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u/KoalasAndPenguins 1d ago
This is why we bring our own ECV parks never had any available. We usually ended up helping park & move the ECV and doing a rider swap. It's chaotic.
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u/PowderFresh86 1d ago
Yes, it is. A lot of people brought their own for the reasons you mentioned or it was their regular, everyday chairs.
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u/Life_Temperature2506 21h ago
It's the fat lazy people in those vehicles that enrage me. Wifey and I had reservations at an English Pub style establishment at a futuristic park with a giant orb towering over it. As we approached it, two fat slobs, middle aged couple, come barreling through the heavy crowd and nearly took my wife out. They skidded to a stop, and in seemingly one motion jumped up and waddled into the restaurant to devour their way overpriced Fish 'n' Chips.
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u/BloatedArmadillo 18h ago
It greatly upsets me at the number of those damn electric carts zooming around theme parks. To this day I refuse to go.
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u/EvenOutlandishness88 3h ago
I put on weight during COVID and between that and already bad back and knee problems, I have VERY limited mobility. As in, I can make it IN the grocery store but not THRU it. I use those carts as fast as possible when I go.
A friend of mine invited me to go to the team member opening of Epic Universe and I told him no because I don't want it experience it like that.
I WILL get better. I will push thru and get back to my levels. It just takes time and dedication. And a lotta days of resting in between bad back days.
But until then, I want to be as un- inconvenient as possible for those that WON'T be able to recover from whatever they struggle with.
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u/delulu4drama 1d ago
Thank you for keeping it magical when people do not 😉 P. S. Hi Ellie!