"They have that dignity of risk. Don’t deny it to me."

After the COVID-19 pandemic postponed her family trip to Universal Orlando Resort, Jennifer Bertrand was excited to visit with her husband and three of their kids in late April.

But a visit to the Volcano Bay water park ended in tears after Bertrand, a tourist from New Hampshire born with one hand, was turned away from the Maku Puihi Round Raft Rides because she could not grip both of the raft’s handles.

Volcano Bay’s accessibility guide says the attraction requires riders to have “two arms with two functioning hands,” but one hand or arm can be a prosthetic.

A mother of four and an active athlete who has rappelled down waterfalls and completed high ropes courses, 51-year-old Bertrand offered to sign a waiver or show ride attendants she could grip the second handle with her elbow joint.

She said park supervisors told her the rule came from the ride’s manufacturer, ProSlide, and was firm. Under Florida law, theme parks have to follow manufacturers’ operating guidelines.

Read more at the Orlando Sentinel