So here’s the real deal on WEG ;-). Always have TP.
[QUOTE=BabyGreen;7731246]
There are no handicapped facilities[/QUOTE]
Please tell me there is at least something for the para riders?? Maybe in the stabling/competitors area? I mean, it’s not like they didn’t know there would be people competing with physical limitations…
Para is in a different and much newer bldg
So they are assuming that no one coming to watch needs compliant accommodations…sigh.
I asked on the official French WEG FB page… Let’s see if I get an answer.The big complain right now is that even babes in arms have to have a (expensive) ticket ie 17 euros for XC! Was it like that at Lex?
Page 59 of the Spectator Guide…it does say there are handicapped washrooms and guides to help locate everything.
Legally, they cannot build w/o handicapped facilities, even apartment buildings… I know from my brother’s head aches at fitting everything within standards in small apts. The stade d’Ornano was refurbished so same specs may not apply, but I cannot imagine NOT planning that… makes no sense
We were told there are no sit toilets or handicap ones at the main venue. We hiked to the car and drove back to the hotel on lunch break as the shopping village is too far and too much hassle. For tomorrow, we have lunch reservations at a nearby restaurant that has modern facilities. The toilet problem is getting talked about a lot in the stands per my friends who speak German and French. It would not have been hard to bringing in the porta-pottie trailers to the main venue like they did at the shopping village.
Valegro was totally worth a little hassle, though!!!
I have no idea what a squat toilet is, I guess I am lucky I don’t know from the sounds of it. I always bring tissues with me to any horse type event, just in case. But I suppose this is an improvement over the WEG at Juarez, anyone remember Jimmy Wofford’s article about it? He said there were NO toilets and that there were rumors that one of the teams filled an empty stall with kitty litter LOL. I think he was exaggerating but with JW you can never be sure. 
Couldn’t the organizers afford to bring in port a potties in for people to use during the WEG? They have people from all over the world coming to watch, it would’ve been nice if they provided them with real toilets! I guess the riders have to use squat toilets too? I wouldn’t want to have to use one of those in breeches and tall boots! Yuck!
[QUOTE=trubandloki;7733590]
BAC, Here is a photo of a squat toilet. No worries, it is just the fixture, no humans using it.[/QUOTE]
Thanks, I am amazed such a thing exists LOL. In its unused state it doesn’t look too bad, assuming you have strong quads, but I guess it can get messy fast. 
I was at the Hampton Classic last Sunday and what a difference, they have such nice trailer porta potties that actually flush, air conditioned, full length mirrors and they have updated their sinks to those bowl-like types that sit on top of the vanity (very pretty but its much easier to have water splash on the counter with those). For all the money people spend on tickets to WEG I think its terrible to not provide decent facilities, including easily accessible handicapped ones.
I guess it is something people should mention to the organizers of WEG 2018 although I have never seen squat toilets in Canada.
But, I am used to them in France but they are getting less frequent… I am surprised they did not use port-a-potties as well…
I asked the ? and was told there are handicapped toilets, but nobody said WHERE!
[QUOTE=FalseImpression;7733762]
I asked the ? and was told there are handicapped toilets, but nobody said WHERE![/QUOTE]
Super secret handicapped facilities, clearly.
Maps show handicapped toilets at the venue where the shopping is (it’s also where the Para-Olympics were held), but none are shown at the main arena.
Meanwhile, conditions are reportedly even worse for the squat toilets at the main arena (venturing in once the first night was enough for me…not gong back). And unbelievably/inexcusably, one of the women’s restrooms had plumbing backed up (what I was told) or pipes leaking (what it looked like to me from the seats) and moisture had worked through the concrete of the arena walls and was dripping onto seats at the top of the lower lever. I kid you not.
Are these squat toilets located in individual stalls or is everyone out in the open in one giant room? This is enough to make me happy I am not at WEG. 
They are individual stalls but at best there are only 3 in a bathroom. I waited 10 minutes today.
[QUOTE=BAC;7734199]
Are these squat toilets located in individual stalls or is everyone out in the open in one giant room? This is enough to make me happy I am not at WEG. :D[/QUOTE]
Bathrooms have been the talk of the week! We had reining and dressage tickets so we would start with the dressage arena, watch for a while, then take the shuttle to the WEG village where reining was, use the modern and very nice toilets, watch reining for a while, and then go back to dressage after a preventive potty break at the reining arena.
There are handicapped portable and permanent toilets in the village. The squat toilets in Ornano (dressage and show jumping) are just disgusting. Some people were stopping in at gas stations.
Also, the signage on some of the permanent toilets is not clear - if it’s a pic of a woman with white lines through it, that means it’s a men’s room. Of course my sister and I and a bunch of other people did not know what that means (and there are a lot of unisex toilets in France) so there have been a lot of really really surprised men (on the men’s side) and really really surprised women on the women’s side. There’s a Brazilian reiner that I surprised at the urinal who will probably never be the same LOL!!!
The WEG committee needed to spend a little less on ads and a little more on good portables at Ornano. (Also people to police the stands but that’s a different topic!)
[QUOTE=oldernewbie;7734273]
The WEG committee needed to spend a little less on ads and a little more on good portables at Ornano. (Also people to police the stands but that’s a different topic!)[/QUOTE]
Explain?
[QUOTE=NorCal10;7734295]
Explain?[/QUOTE]
There are no reserved seats. Your ticket gets you into a section but then it’s open seating. The big tours like Equestrian Tours have an entire section reserved but people with tickets for other sections keep taking our seats so that people from the tour don’t have anywhere to sit. We almost had a rumble yesterday. I don’t blame the volunteers - they have no authority, but I hope the tour operators have some extra help on hand tomorrow so that everyone who paid for a ticket can sit where they paid big money to sit!
ETA - I mean Friday for the freestyle. Show jumping tickets are even more expensive so I’m sure there will be issues there too. Tour operators said they told the WEG committee they were crazy not to have reserved seats but they blew them off.
There is a ramp way in the back of the Stade allowing handicap seat access without stairs But it’s a 200 meter walk. Key to Turkish toilets is to wear pants that can be rolled up from the cuff and will stay so they don’t drag in the pee. Volunteers I talked to realize things are messed up, from shuttle busses to making people
leave the Stade between morning and afternoon sessions. And ticket scanners often reject valid tickets. Food in Normandie is great, though.
[QUOTE=BabyGreen;7734337]
There is a ramp way in the back of the Stade allowing handicap seat access without stairs But it’s a 200 meter walk. Key to Turkish toilets is to wear pants that can be rolled up from the cuff and will stay so they don’t drag in the pee. Volunteers I talked to realize things are messed up, from shuttle busses to making people
leave the Stade between morning and afternoon sessions. And ticket scanners often reject valid tickets. Food in Normandie is great, though.[/QUOTE]
I think the best bet is a skirt and no panties, just hike it up and drop it again when you are done. A catheter sounds more practical. I do have several pairs of pants that are meant to be rolled up and have one of those straps that snaps to hold the fabric in place, making the pants go from trousers to crop pants in seconds. Those would work well also for anyone who is still packing.
