Rich Families Cutting Lines at Disney World By Hiring Disabled Guides
In her new book, Primates of Park Avenue, social anthropologist Dr. Wednesday Martin claims to expose a troubling trend: "Upper crust" moms using a "black market" connection to hire handicapped tour guides to walk them through Disney World so they can take advantage of the line-skipping auxiliary entrances for disabled patrons.
"My daughter waited one minute to get on 'It's a Small World'– the other kids had to wait 2 1/2 hours," one "rich mom" is quoted as saying. "You can't go to Disney without a tour concierge. This is how the 1 percent does Disney."
Though the so-called "black-market Disney guides" are said to charge in the neighborhood of $130 an hour for their services, the New York Post reports that the $1,040 bill at the end of an eight-hour tour is still far cheaper than the $310-$380 an hour the families would be paying for a Disney World fast pass and VIP guide.
"Who wants a speed pass when you can use your black-market handicapped guide to circumvent the lines all together?" Dr. Martin writes.
According to the Post, a phone number for "the rogue guide service" has been "ritualistically" passed around "Manhattan’s private-school set" over spring break.
Apparently the service is so exclusive, callers are asked for a reference before being allowed to book a guide.
However, at least one tour company in Florida — Dream Tours — which was named as a service used by the Manhattanites, denied taking part in the scheme.
Ryan Clement, who runs the company with his handicapped girlfriend Jacie Christiano, told the Post Christian does not exploit her disability for profit, though she does conduct tours with the help of her scooter.
