I Really Did Go Out on the Street

In 2007, while attending the UDA National Dance Team Competition with the Eden Prairie Pom Squad, I tried to go on a Segue tour of Epcot in Disney World. (I wasn’t dancing, my daughter, Anna, is their coach!) After stopping a cast member on a Segue in the park to ask if they thought it would be possible – and being assured that it would be – I enthusiastically signed up. Then I read the fine print: No Accommodation for Individuals with Special Needs. I called to explain that I was one-handed and asked if that disqualified me. “Which hand?”, the person asked. “My left,” I replied. I was informed that all the controls were on the left side. I was indeed out of luck. I was disappointed.

In 2008, Dale and I were in Disney World together, again for the UDA Competition. (Yes, I go every year. I’ve only missed twice since 1994. I’ll blog about that when I go again in February, 2011.) We noticed that the controls on the Segues were no longer on the left hand side, so we enthusiastically signed up for the tour of Epcot. We arrived at the gates of the park at the appointed time, only to find out that our 4 day pass had been used up and there would be no exceptions to allow us to enter for our tour, even though it was before park hours and we promised to leave as soon as the tour was completed. (We were actually flying home that day.) Another disappointment.

Last summer in Washington DC, we saw Segues on the street in small group tours of the Mall. We went to the storefront. We rented two Segues and helmets. We rode with 4 others and a guide for 3 hours. It was fantastic. We crossed busy intersections, navigated busy sidewalks, saw all of the familiar sights from a new viewpoint and forgot the camera at the rental storefront so we have no other pictures to prove that it took place. We did ask another couple to take our photo in front of the White House and email it to us. They took the photo, but we never received it. You will just have to trust me on this one.

Segue tours are available in Minneapolis too. The company is called “People on a Stick” – a local colloquialism referring to the Minnesota State Fair. I go there every year too. I’ve probably only missed 5 years in the last 53. I’ll blog about that in August.