Every business must consider the health and well-being of its customers. A big and successful multinational company like Disneyland is no exception. Having recently come under fire for refusing Ms. Tina Baughman, who is suffering from muscular dystrophy, to use a Segway instead of a wheelchair or motorized scooter at their California theme park, Disney is asked to reconsider what it means to look out for the health and welfare of all of its customers (Cohen).
Whether the business is a theme park like Disneyland or a formal one like a doctor’s office, Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) states that reasonable accommodations must be made for the disabled (Department of Justice 1). According to the Department of Justice, “The 2010 Standards set minimum requirements – both scoping and technical – which entails newly designed and constructed or altered State and local government facilities, public accommodations, and commercial facilities to be functional and readily accessible to individuals with disabilities. To this, Disneyland responded in its website that “The Disneyland Resort is committed to providing access to as many Guests as possible and provides select accommodations for mobility disabilities, hearing disabilities, visual disabilities and service animals” (“Disabilities”). Furthermore, a variety of printable documents on the website illustrate the different services available for people with disabilities who travel to Disneyland.
Although there are limits for accommodating people with disabilities, there are several reasons why a business such as Disneyland must consider these factors such as it being a good business practice. It also makes the establishment more attractive to a wider variety of people. It reduces liability and chance of lawsuits. Last but not the least, it allows the business and each customer to operate with less interruption and to experience what the business has to offer with the least amount of distress, respectively.
Adhering to the ADA is good business practice for Disneyland. Disney is known as a family-friendly place where all people can enjoy amusements of various types. However, Tina Baughman’s lawsuit has clearly given them bad publicity especially to families and persons with disabilities. In her part, Baughman was not asking for unreasonable accommodations for herself, such as requesting for extreme alterations to the rides by Disney in order to accommodate her. She simply wanted to accompany her daughter to the park and to be able to travel through the park in a comfortable manner (Cohen). Repeated episodes of incidents such as this being published in the media would definitely have a negative effect on a business like Disneyland that prides itself on being a family-friendly place, even more so in a time when the economy has a bleak outlook and families must select carefully where they wish to spend their dollars for amusement. Disney should have taken a closer look at whether or not Baughman’s request was reasonable before refusing her request to use a Segway at their park.
Besides bad publicity, not adhering to the ADA or allowing reasonable accommodations for the disabled leaves a business like Disneyland open to lawsuits. This is what happened to Disney and Baughman, who sued via the ADA claiming disability discrimination. In the end, a federal appeals court ruled in her favor, saying, “Technological advances didn’t end with the powered wheelchair” (Cohen). Businesses such as Disneyland must be careful to stay on top of the law and on new technologies that better allow people with disabilities to access public and commercial places. By keeping abreast of the law and technology, Disneyland not only avoids the lawsuits and potential hazards to its customers, but also keeps its status as a family-friendly and up-to-date place of entertainment.
When a business incorporates the standards of the ADA into its structure and practices, it allows the business to operate with less interruption for all customers. Having a set of structure and rules concerning how to deal with customers’ disabilities streamlines the way the entry, events, rides, concession stands, restaurants, accommodations, and other places in Disneyland work. By doing so, both disabled and non-disabled customers can have maximum enjoyment with the least interruption, especially for a busy theme park. In the case of Baughman and her request to use a Segway, Disneyland failed to do this, which compelled Baughman to file a lawsuit. Disneyland, however, argued “that since Baughman could access the park using a wheelchair or a motorized scooter a Segway was not strictly necessary for her to use the park – it was not their problem if her visit was made ‘uncomfortable or difficult’” (Cohen).
The court’s response was that if the ADA only required businesses to make accommodations that were strictly necessary, very few accommodations would be required, giving reference to “a paraplegic [who] could drag himself up the steps of a courthouse, so installing a ramp would not strictly speaking be necessary” (Cohen). Although the example of the paraplegic sounds outlandish, as Cohen writes, it is actually based on a real event that occurred in Polk County, TN in 2004 when a man with two legs in casts and a broken pelvis was forced to exit his wheelchair and climb steps to go to court hearings the facility held on the second floor, and when he refused to do so, was arrested for missing the hearing.
In cases like these, it is apparent that Disneyland and the Polk County courthouse were negligent in offering modest solutions to the people that needed or desired their services simply because it was not convenient for them, and consequently leading to great distress to the people with disabilities. Disneyland, for their part, does have a webpage concerning mobility disabilities, and attractions are marked with four different symbols showing whether they are accessible for people with wheelchairs or people with electric convenience vehicles (ECVs) (“Mobility Disabilities”). This information is clearly provided, and assists people with disabilities in planning the best way to enjoy the most attractions during their visit to the theme park.
However, despite good intentions of the ADA, there are also clear limitations to it. First and foremost, businesses like Disneyland cannot be expected to make accommodations on absolutely every attraction for everyone with disabilities because there are such wide ranges of disabilities. While it may still seem easy for Disney to just allow Baughman to use her Segway, there are some attractions that are not easily altered in order for people with or without disability to be able to use it. For instance, some attractions are visually-based, like those rides that provide “3D experience”. The technology does not yet exist to allow visually-impaired people to have the same experience with the attraction as a visually-able person can. Also, some rides may not be safe for people under a certain height, and cannot be changed for those who are unable to fit into the safety devices required during the ride’s operations.
It is a fact that businesses like Disneyland have a great responsibility towards its guests, disabled or not, and their health and welfare. Adhering to the ADA is a good business practice, which can reduce lawsuits, allow the business to run smoothly, and allow all customers to have the best experience with minimum distress at the attractions. Modern technology may not yet being able to provide and allow every disabled customer at Disney World to experience attractions equally, and they cannot be expected to have strict obligations to fulfill unreasonable requests. However, Disneyland should still do its best to ensure that the ADA is followed and that requests are carefully evaluated against just standards to honor true “reasonable” rather than “convenient ones.
Works Cited
Cohen, Adam. “Does Disneyland Discriminate Against the Disabled?” Time. (23 July 2012). Web.
“Disabilities.” Disneyland Resort, n.d. Web. 13 Oct 2012.
“Mobility Disabilities.” Disneyland Resort, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012.
