Shanghai Disneyland apologized after a staff member's remark to a visually impaired park guest was deemed inappropriate. China's media outlet Yangzi Evening News reported on the 23rd.

According to the article, Ms. Song, who is visually impaired, visited Shanghai Disneyland with her boyfriend on the 3rd of this month. After processing a service card for disabled guests, while taking photos in front of the castle, a staff member asked her, "The park is crowded, so could you put away your white cane?"

Ms. Song, upon hearing this, reportedly struggled to understand, saying, "I didn't understand why they would ask such a thing. If it wasn't necessary, who would use a white cane? For me, a white cane is my 'eyes' themselves." she asserted.

Feeling dissatisfied, Ms. Song filed a complaint with customer service a few hours later. Consequently, when she re-entered the park on the following day, the 4th, she received an apology, and two stickers were given to her as a token of apology. Furthermore, she was contacted at a later date, and as a result of a discussion, an apology was reiterated, and they promised to strengthen the training for the staff (security guards) who were involved at the time, in addition to saying, "We hope you will visit again," and providing her with admission tickets and premium access passes for attractions.

In response to this report, many criticisms against Disneyland arose on Chinese social media, with comments such as, "Disneyland has always been this arrogant," "Ignorant and arrogant," "Absolutely no respect for people with disabilities," "This is terrible," "What are visually impaired people supposed to do without white canes? Are you crazy?", "Disneyland has many irrational rules," "I can't believe so many people still go to such a place," and "Disneyland is getting carried away."

On the other hand, opinions such as, "But it would be a problem if someone tripped over a white cane, wouldn't it? Can't companions look after them?" "If someone walks with a white cane in a crowded place, other visitors might trip. The elderly and children are especially at risk. Everyone is defending her because it's just one person, but if hundreds of people came into the park with white canes, you would definitely complain," "The staff wouldn't know if someone can't let go of their white cane, so asking about it isn't a problem, is it?" and "Did they do something bad? They just asked, they didn't force her to put it away, did they? There are so many people in the park. Are you going to criticize them online for something like this? How much compensation are you going to demand?" were also seen.

In addition, when a reporter from Yangzi Evening News inquired with customer service whether white canes could be brought into the park, they were advised, "We recommend sending a photo (of the white cane) by email and reporting it in advance," and this response also drew criticism online, with comments like, "How is a visually impaired person supposed to send an email?" However, when a reporter from The Paper (Pengpai News) re-inquired with Shanghai Disneyland about this, they reportedly received a response stating, "Prior notification is not required for bringing in white canes." (Translation/Editing: Kitada)