Disneyland Research Paper

When considering a place to redesign I thought about Disneyland. During a trip two years ago I was able to enjoy Disney’s ‘magic.’ However, this course made me completely rethink the way not only environments function in terms of their purpose but also it made me particularly think about accessibility in Disneyland for children with physical impairments. I realized that the rides that I rode that day were not wheelchair accessible, more so it made me realize that Disney was not an inclusive nor a universally designed environment as one would expect. I originally wanted to focus on building the boats that take you on the Peter Pan Flight ride. I thought it would be great if all of the boats were wheelchair accessible. My design consisted of …show more content…
However, I believe that the state the Disneyland is in has a long way to go. Not only do movies not have characters with disabilities that are demonstrated in a positive light, cast members are not sensitive when determining what passes to grant families with children with disabilities, the way families access the park are limited because of their disabilities and it all points to the issues of difference and lack of acceptance. I believe that creating an environment that is inclusive and perhaps universally designed, if possible, could potentially create a place to optimize growth and learning. It can present as a conversational piece for families at the park to begin talking about difference and acceptance. Families can begin to talk about diversity; to acknowledge, to understand, to value and to celebrate differences among people. It creates an opportunity for families to share amongst themselves and with other guests that a disability is only one aspect of an individual and in doing so perhaps we can begin creating welcoming environments for …show more content…
In my project, it was a significant issue to consider how children are labeled and how we can counteract the stigma behind these labels. I began to think that there should be better ways in children are diagnosed and are labeled specifically for purposes like attending a theme park. It would be great if families could buy their tickets online or have a code that explains their child’s disability without having to deal with a barrage of impersonal and insensitive questions to determine their eligibility for DAS cards. Moreover, the park itself would cater to physically impaired children without limits and all rides would accommodate physically impaired children WITHOUT having to leave their wheelchairs or rent an ECV. The way to access the attractions would be from an alternative entry point because of considerations like families with physically impaired children not spending as much time in the park, having limited access to rides, and limited access to the park itself among others. It is not acceptable to have children that are physically impaired and family’s access attractions through an exit, and it is also not acceptable for these families to receive fast passes that in the setting that they are distributed now do not grant families ease of access as the pass is meant