LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (WTXL/NEW YORK POST) -- Tired of the long lines on your Walt Disney World vacation?
The New York Post reports some wealthy Manhattan mothers have figured out a way to cut the lines by hiring disabled people to pose as family members so they and their kids can jump to the front.
"My daughter waited one minute to get on 'It's a Small World' - the other kids had to wait 2 1/2 hours," crowed one mom, who hired a disabled guide through Dream Tours Florida, is quoted as saying in the article.
The Post says the so called "black-market Disney guides" cost $130 an hour, or $1,040 for an eight-hour day.
"You can't go to Disney without a tour concierge,'' she sniffed. "This is how the 1 percent does Disney."
The woman said she hired a Dream Tours guide to escort her, her husband and their 1-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter through the park in a motorized scooter with a "handicapped" sign on it. The group was sent straight to an auxiliary entrance at the front of each attraction.
Disney allows each guest who needs a wheelchair or motorized scooter to bring up to six guests to a "more convenient entrance."
The Florida entertainment mecca warns that there "may be a waiting period before boarding." But the consensus among upper-crust moms who have used the illicit handicap tactic is that the trick is well worth the cost.
Not only is their "black-market tour guide" more efficient than Disney World's VIP Tours, it's cheaper, too.
Disney Tours offers a VIP guide and fast passes for $310 to $380 per hour.
Passing around the rogue guide service's phone number recently became a shameless ritual among Manhattan's private-school set during spring break. The service asks who referred you before they even take your call.
"It's insider knowledge that very few have and share carefully," said social anthropologist Dr. Wednesday Martin, who caught wind of the underground network while doing research for her upcoming book "Primates of Park Avenue."
"Who wants a speed pass when you can use your black-market handicapped guide to circumvent the lines all together?" she said.
"So when you're doing it, you're affirming that you are one of the privileged insiders who has and shares this information."
Ryan Clement runs Dream Tours Florida with girlfriend Jacie Christiano, whom the rich Manhattan mom indicated was her family's guide.
A working phone number for Christiano couldn't be found, and Clement refused to put The Post through to her. A message left on Facebook was not immediately returned by Christiano.
Clement denied that his gal pal uses her disability to bypass lines. He said she has an auto-immune disorder and acknowledged that she uses a scooter on the job.
Disney did not return repeated requests for comment.
