“Being able to ride on these rides is not the big deal; the big deal is seeing my niece upset,” said Nasser, who is paralyzed from the waist down due to a spinal cord injury in a motorcycle accident a decade ago. 

When Nasser arrived at the park on July 19 he was given a “boarding pass,” which allows guests with mobility restrictions or cognitive impairment to get on attractions at specified times via the alternate access entrance without having to be in lineups. 

Then, Nasser said he was asked a series of questions, such as “Can you transfer?” That means moving from a wheelchair to other locations — something Nasser is able to do. 

“I have full, complete upper body control … I can transfer. I can get on beds. I can get in my car. I can get in rides, no problem,” he said. 

“I answered all of them as best I could.”  

But the rider access form Nasser received said he would not be allowed to go on any rides in the park and when he asked why, staff said it was due to manufacturers’ liability.

“So, I couldn’t even get on little kiddy rides,” he said. 

Nasser calls experience ‘discriminatory’

“So it pretty much had nothing to do with my physical capabilities, whether I can transfer, whether I can do this or that. It was, ‘Hey, we don’t want to get sued, so you can’t go on.'” 

Nasser was refunded the money for his park pass but he said the experience felt discriminatory.

“Nobody really took the time on their end to understand each [of our] individual needs … I felt it was easier for them to just put us all in one bag and say, ‘This is the no section.'”

David Lepofsky, the chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, says service providers like Canada’s Wonderland have a duty to accommodate customers with disabilities. 

“If the individual can make an informed decision for themselves that they want to assume that risk, then it’s not for Canada’s Wonderland to unilaterally make that decision for them.”

Canada’s Wonderland does have a Guest Assistance Guide, but Lepofsky says individuals with disabilities need to be dealt with case-by-case. 

“Canada’s Wonderland has a duty to investigate solutions,” he said. 

“Including investigating it with the individual and find out if other amusement parks have allowed something similar before they could just slam the door on this individual.”

Safety is ‘first priority,’ Canada’s Wonderland says

“The ride admission policy at Canada’s Wonderland is developed in consultation with industry experts and based on the safety recommendations of the ride manufacturers,” the amusement park’s management said in a statement.

“The safety of our guests and associates is our first priority and we reserve the right to make the final decision regarding the eligibility of a rider to endure the dynamics of a ride without risk of injury to themselves or other riders,” the statement reads. 

The park said it is committed to giving all guests with disabilities the same opportunity to enjoy and benefit from their services and attractions in a similar way as other guests and is equally committed to providing accommodations to people with disabilities.

A petition launched by Nasser’s sister is calling for an end to the exclusion paraplegics and quadriplegics from rides at the park. It has since garnered hundreds of signatures. 

Nasser said he hopes shedding light on this will spark some action. 

“What I would like to see changed is for people with disabilities to have that confidence to know that [the park is] doing more and they’re treating us with respect individually, that they want to let us ride.”