North Miami Beach mayor says he was 'harassed' about his high-tech wheelchair at Disney World

North Miami Beach mayor Myron Rosner says he was harassed at two Disney World parks over the Thanksgiving weekend because of his high-tech wheelchair. Rosner is paraplegic because of a construction accident. He uses an iBOT 4000, a $30,000 wheelchair that lets him move around on four wheels or two. He is higher in two-wheel mode, which he finds more comfortable because it puts him on the same height level as his wife. Disney Cast Members at Disney's Animal Kingdom and Epcot mistook the chair for a Segway and told him it had to be on four wheels.

Segways, which are not approved medical devices, are banned at Disney despite a 2007 lawsuit by three disabled people who wanted to use them in the parks. Disney Castmembers use Segways while working, and you can book various Segway tours at Epcot and in Fort Wilderness (see photo at upper right), but Disney says they could be dangerous to other guests if used by private people. The lawsuit was settled, and the ban remains in place.

However, the iBOT is a totally different device that is approved for medical use. Rosner says he and his family were embarrassed by the incidents, and he told the Miami Herald that he plans to file a lawsuit (click here for the story). He says they were eventually allowed into the two parks but were told again by Animal Kingdom Cast Members to lower the chair once they were in the park. The Rosners finally left, as they say Cast Membeers were following them around.

In a bit of irony, Rosner says he saw the iBOT on display at the Innoventions area of Epcot on an earlier visit, which inspired him to get one of his own.

Click here to read about the Segway tour at Disney's Fort Wilderness. Click here for information about Segway tours in Celebration, Florida. To read more of my articles, click here.

Photo: Barb Nefer