Continued: Valleyfair walks a line between fairness, access

Nick Brown loves to ride the Wild Thing at Valleyfair, with its twists and stomach-wrenching drops. ¶ It's a few minutes of freedom from his wheelchair. And family trips there have been positive in another way: The park has always given Nick and others with special needs faster access to rides. ¶ But on a field trip this spring with his ninth-grade class from Shakopee Junior High, Nick, 15, was told that the park had a new policy and that he had to wait in line as long as everyone else. ¶ "Trying to negotiate the new rules was so difficult that he only ended up going on five rides," his mother, Audrey Brown, said Friday. "His classmates made it on a dozen."

The new policy has drawn ire from some parents, frustrated at what they see as just one more roadblock thrown in their children's way. But it also accomplishes something that advocates for the disabled have been chasing for years: Treating them like everybody else.

Valleyfair's parent company, Ohio-based Cedar Fair Entertainment, said some people were abusing the previous policy, which allowed the guest and three others to use a "special access entrance" that bypassed the line.

"We want to be as fair as possible for our disabled patrons, and make their day as memorable as it is for everyone else," spokeswoman Stacy Frole said. "But we also wanted to keep a policy that others don't take advantage of."

And Valleyfair's website says the new policy, enacted in time for this season, is an effort "to be fair to all guests."

Disneyland discontinued its special assistance passes in 2004 because able-bodied people -- many of them teens -- were cheating, some even going as far as renting a wheelchair to get to the front of the line. But after complaints, the park revised its policy and now determines special need on a case-by-case basis.

Mall of America's Nickelodeon Universe theme park does not distinguish among guests with various special needs: Visitors with disabilities can jump ahead to the front of the line for any ride, along with three friends. If the patron needs special assistance, the theme park also provides a free entrance ticket for a chaperone. Spokesperson Dan Jasper said he does not anticipate any changes to the policy.

"Our other guests seem very accommodating as well," he said. "They understand that if someone has special needs, then that's all right."

Valleyfair estimates that it has about 100 season pass holders this year in a program for people with special needs, that grants free admission to a personal care assistant.

The park's new policy appears to be legal, said Joan Willshire, executive director of the Minnesota State Council on Disability, and her office has not received any complaints about the policy change.

"They didn't have to allow people to go to the front of the line, so to speak," she said. "At the end of the day, what we all want to strive for is being treated like everybody else. So we will all have to gain patience."

As amusement parks have become more accessible over the years, she said, some have also made changes that make it feel like "you have the same experience as everyone else, such as waiting in the dreadfully long line."

On Nick Brown's trip with about 450 of his classmates, he tried to dispute the new policy even though he has speech difficulties, his mom said. He had just taken a course in self-advocacy at the Courage Center, so he was learning to stick up for himself.

He was "spitting nails," she said, but in the end, didn't feel like anyone listened to him.

"I've always told my son that he's no different than everybody else," said Audrey Brown. "But it's not like Valleyfair has half their patronage made up of disabled people, it's a pretty small margin. It's just so much more inconvenient for a disabled person than someone who is standing in line with all their friends."

She said giving special-needs guests priority "makes things easier because you are slowed down with someone in a wheelchair and you end up not going on as many things anyway. Other kids "run from one ride to the next and you would just ride and ride and ride. Someone with a disability, you have to meander around."

Valleyfair has adjusted the policy slightly since it was enacted. The park now allows patrons with autism to board the rides immediately.

Frole, of Cedar Fair Entertainment, said concerns from family members of autistic patrons arose at several of its parks, prompting Cedar Fair to make the exception.

"It wasn't a policy that fit for autistic individuals and their situation," she said. "That's why we review our policies on a regular basis."

That was good news to Karen Hosch of Eagan, who said she has been asking the park for weeks to adjust the policy. Her 11-year-old son, Rory, has autism, and Valleyfair's scariest rides had always helped soothe him.

But waiting in line raises his stress level, and if he starts to get frustrated he will bite his wrists -- so much so that they have permanent scarring on them.

"It was a big barrier they'd put up to the amount of fun involved for him," she said. "Autistic children are so into routine and structure, and it is his routine to walk up the special access ramp and get on the ride."

Staff writers Sarah Lemagie and Patrick Lee contributed to this report. Emily Johns • 952-882-9056