Our less-than-VIP tour at Universal Studios Hollywood

The theme park can do a lot better for disabled guests.

“That’s just how they built things back then.”

We took our 10-year-old Jurassic World-loving son to Universal Studios Hollywood last week. He uses a wheelchair for long distances, but when we arrived for our tour, we learned that the lower level of the park is only accessible through what Universal calls a “futuristic” series of three escalators and four bridges (a total length of 500 feet). Unfortunately, there’s no way to secure a chair on the escalators using Target shopping cart technology.

Whenever we visit someplace new with our son, we plot out the trip like a Mission: Impossible heist — although something usually goes wrong with those, as well. This time we were foiled by the escalators.

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We’d sprung for a VIP tour, not for the advertised “A-list treatment,” but because we often find paying more makes mobility accommodations easier. There was another wheelchair user in a different VIP group, as well, perhaps for similar reasons. Disability fees are not how the world should work, of course. The accessibility information on the Universal Studios Hollywood website doesn’t mention the escalators. We didn’t hear about them until we arrived and the host before our tour asked if our son could stand for an extended period on the escalator (no) or if he needed to keep his wheelchair (yes). And, yes, I blame myself for being by caught by surprise.

The VIP experience starts with breakfast in an exclusive lounge. I enjoyed my cup of oatmeal and banana (no pastries for me, alas) but during that time, the host could’ve arranged transportation for us to the lower level. Instead, when our tour guide arrived, he again asked if the kid in the wheelchair could ride escalators and cross bridges (still no). Our guide adored Universal Studios and the movie business but seemed disinterested in disabled individuals. He explained that obviously, there was no elevator to the lower level because Universal Studios was built in the side of mountain. “That’s just how they built things back then,” he said.

His comment was condescending, infuriating, and yet far too commonplace. People will often justify unacceptable conditions by pointing out that they were once much worse. I’m grateful that my son can actually leave the house and live a relatively normal life, but that doesn’t justify how the world treated disabled people in the past (or today). It’s not just the “way things were.” It’s wrong that public spaces were ever constructed without regard for the disabled.

The tour was not off to a great start, and the guide was on shaky ground. He escorted our party to the small elevator that takes you to the ADA shuttle pickup. The shuttles were on a convenient schedule of every once in a while, so we waited for close to 45 minutes before we finally got on a shuttle.

‘Valet parking. The red carpet. The velvet rope. A gourmet meal. And those are just the extras.’

We could’ve done without the red carpet or velvet rope, but we didn’t consider standing around in a dingy loading area part of a VIP experience. Our son shouldn’t lose an hour of his time at the park through no fault of his own. The guide had a “tough luck” attitude from the start, and he didn’t make it clear if he’d wait for our party before starting the tour. We worried that our son would miss the Jurassic World ride.

Eventually, the one shuttle in service that day got us to the lower level. We fortunately hadn’t missed any rides, but the guide was still dismissive of our concerns about the shuttle transport and the delayed start.

“That’s how it is here,” he said.

We kept from completely losing our cool because our son was with us, but this was the worst thing he could’ve said. We weren’t stranded in the desert or dodging tigers in the jungle. This was a movie studio and theme park. Its inaccessibility is the direct result of people’s active choices. Transportation was provided for the backlot tour because Universal Studios doesn’t expect the guide and tour group to wander around for miles up and down hilly terrain, even if they physically could do so. It’s just unpleasant. You’ll notice that most experiences are tailored to the physical limits of non-disabled people, but if public accommodations included the disabled as part of the baseline, everyone would benefit. Universal parks have reported record revenues. They can invest in more shuttles.

When we (patiently, I think) told the guide the accommodations were unacceptable, he defensively replied, “I assure you this was ADA compliant.” That reminded me of the Chris Rock line about how minimum wage means “I’d pay you less but it’s against the law.” Similarly, “I assure you this is ADA complaint” sounds like “I’d do even less but it’s against the law.”

If you’re disabled or have a disabled loved one, you know that most ADA compliance is just “good enough.” There’s the accessible entrance in the back of the building by the loading dock that you can only reach through an uneven path. There’s the one cramped elevator in the old building that almost always has a line.

The guide expressed little empathy and even less commitment to improving the situation. We didn’t think he actually processed our feedback and would advocate to his superiors for even the most simple changes. Instead, he considered the issue resolved because all the ADA boxes had been checked.

Universal Studios is a business and presumably doesn’t want to offer visitors simply the “bare minimum,” certainly not as part of a supposed “VIP package.” The shuttles are definitely the “bare minimum.” They can only hold two chairs at a time. Universal Studios Hollywood averages 20,000 guests per day but can only transport two to four wheelchair users per hour.

Atlanta-based therapist Derrick Sykes has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. He’s endured his share of frustrating travel situations, and he told Travel Noire that airlines and travel brands should have mandatory training on accommodating disabled travelers. This would include working at a theme park or just being a human in general.

When you have a disability, you’re reminded almost every day that the world was not designed to include you. On this tour, though, Universal Studios Hollywood could have minimized that issue, but the guide only exacerbated it.

Ludmilla Praslova, author of The Canary Code, wrote that “inclusion shouldn’t be a reluctant concession or a handout. And accessibility should not be an afterthought.” Our son is adaptable and generally upbeat. He still enjoyed himself at Universal Studios Hollywood, but he shouldn’t spend his life as an afterthought.

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