05/03/2025
Not service dog related but still disability related.
This post has been making rounds and I really hope this mom has listened to how fu**ed up this was.
First, this was NOT Disney property wheelchair. Theirs are exclusively blue, one size and "economy".
This was a pink wheelchair, likely custom to the user. If you know anything about wheelchairs you know this was not some cheap one off Amazon.
This was not deserted, abandoned, forgotten or discarded. Ambulatory wheelchair users often have some mobility where they can have time out of their chair and walk and stand aided or unaided. At theme parks this is especially common for people to get out of their wheelchair to go onto rides, use the restroom or yes, even go into crowded shop because the wheelchair may make it harder for them to maneuver.
There have been times I needed a wheelchair for a day or more due to health issues and I would get up and leave the chair to enter areas that are less wheelchair accessible like expo/con booths.
When we leave our chair, that doesn't make it finders keepers.
If you find a "deserted wheelchair" at a theme park, the best thing to do is leave it alone. The owner likely left it there and will return soon. If it bothers you that much, then seek a cast member and let them know so if someone did lose their chair, they can get it to them
What you don't do is sit your tired child into it and wheel them out cause their feet hurt. Look at everyone behind them, they are probably in more pain than your kid. Rent a stroller or wheelchair yourself.
This was THEFT pure and simple. You can literally catch charges for this nonsense.
NO ONE is abandoning this medical equipment.