I was looking forward to taking a trip to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ, but it turns out you won't be seeing me there any time soon.
My best friend, Cosette, who is in a wheel chair and requires a ventilator, has enjoyed the Six Flags Safari many times. Cosette had planned to go back just last week but her mother noticed something online that said in order to go on the safari, she would have to switch from her power wheel chair to a chair provided by the park. After seeing this, her mother called the park to see if this new rule was true. After explaining to them on the phone that her daughter had never had to use a different chair before, the representative reassured her that Cosette would be fine to go again without switching.
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However, when Cosette arrived to the safari, they insisted that she had to switch into another wheelchair. Because she was unable to do so, she explained that her mother had previously called the park and they had assured her that Cosette staying in her chair would not be a problem. The employee wouldn't budge and claimed all the previous times Cosette had been to the attraction had been mistakes. Cosette and the rest of her party tried everything, they had traveled an hour to get to the park and would not go down without a fight. When speaking to many employees in the summer heat, not one of them apologized and all they did was offer her a refund. Finally they realized that this was not a battle they would win and waited what seemed like forever to get their refund. After fighting for hours they finally were ready to disappointingly head home.
Many disabled citizens have wheelchairs and walkers that are customized to meet their needs, therefor leaving them unable to go on the safari. The reason the park claims to have this rule is to be able to remove the passenger safely in emergencies. In reality, if that person were to be in their own chair, they would be much more comfortable and aware of what to do in these situations.
After telling me this story, Cosette mentioned that she wouldn't have been upset if the situation was handled in a different fashion. If the employees were apologetic or had tried to help accommodate her, she would have understood, but this was not the case. This is the reason I will not be adding a visit to Six Flags on my summer to-do list. Not to mention, that after paying $25 to park their car, if they had wanted to park in a handicapped spot, it would have cost them another $10. If that is not discriminatory, I'm not sure what is.
