A heartbreaking story recently surfaced online when Tessa Blanchard took to Twitter to say that professional wrestling legend Magnum TA had been denied entry to a Disney theme park. Magnum was denied entry because Disney apparently doesn’t allow Segways into the park, which is unfortunate because Magnum was trying to surprise his family by bringing them to Disney.
https://twitter.com/Tess_Blanchard/status/895308089607544833
Due to Magnum TA’s condition he uses a Segway for mobility, and Tessa later explained on Twitter that they looked into the option of using a scooter, but all of the scooters that were available could only be operated using right hand controls, and Magnum can only operate a scooter that runs using left hand controls.
Magnum TA took to social media to issue a statement about the situation noting that he hopes at the very least it will raise awareness so that other people don’t have to go through the same experience. Magnum posted the following:
“It’s about overcoming and being independent. About the never ending fight not to be treated as a “lesser than” and utilizing technology and ingenuity to keep from being a burden on those around us. The lack of understanding I encountered at the Magic Kingdom frankly in 2017 astounds me. A magic moment with our twins will never be recaptured and sometimes I’m sorry just doesn’t get it. I try and never ask anyone for any preferential treatment, but I’ll be less than honest if I didn’t think had I been in the company of my old contemporaries the experience would have been much different. That is not the experience Walt Disney envisioned, I have no doubt. If Anything, I hope this raises awareness so other young innocents don’t have to share the same experience if their mom or dad have any special challenges.#DisneyWorld.”
