The Loo Review

Chapter 509.221(2)(b) of the Florida Statutes

This statute provides an exception to the law requiring the bathroom facilities for a restaurant to be in the same building as the restaurant. The statute exempts theme park [FN88] restaurants from this requirement so long as the bathrooms are “reasonably accessible” to the restaurant facilities.

Chapter 553.5041 of the Florida Statutes

This statute is part of the Florida Americans With Disabilities Accessibility Implementation Act. It permits theme parks, which provide “continuous attendant services” directing disabled persons to accessible parking, to have eight-foot wide disabled parking spaces in lieu of the twelve-foot wide spaces required by statute. [FN89] Chapter 553.5041 also exempts theme parks from the requirement that each handicapped parking space include an eighty-four inch high sign designating the space as reserved for the disabled so long as the theme park provides a designated lot or area for disabled parking, and the signage at the entrance to the lot indicates that it is reserved for disabled parking. [FN90] Disney has taken advantage of this exemption and the parking *16 lots for each of its theme parks have large, well-marked disabled parking lots close to the entrances of each theme park. [FN91]

Chapter 565.02(6) of the Florida Statutes

This statute permits operators of a theme park to obtain a “master” liquor license for the operation of its on-site bars rather than having to obtain an individual license for each bar. [FN92] An additional tax is imposed for this privilege.

Chapter 616.242(10)(A) of the Florida Statutes

This statute exempts large theme parks, such as Disney, from the permit, inspection, and accident reporting requirements imposed upon fairs and amusement parks. [FN93] The exemption applies to any theme park, which employs at least 1,000 full-time employees and maintains full-time in-house safety inspectors. It would be difficult to argue that this statutory exemption provides less assurance of safety at Disney than other amusement parks. Indeed, the contrary is likely true; Disney’s in-house safety inspectors are likely more thorough than the inspectors from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, who inspect non-exempt amusement parks and fairs. [FN94]”

We recently read a little bit about litter box cakes – these are real, edible cakes that look like kitty litter but are actually made of German chocolate cake and crumbled cookies with tootsie rolls to look like poop. They are served in (clean) litter boxes using (clean) litter scoopers are utentils. It turns out that a lot of people like to serve these cakes on April Fool’s Day and on Halloween as a sort of saucy, spooky, witty, holiday-appropriate take on dessert.

It got us thinking: wouldn’t it be funnier to serve up a box of actual (dirty) kitty litter as a cake using (dirty) litter scoopers as utentils? You could throw in some real tootsie rolls just to throw people off a little.

We learned the other day (from a friend, we think, though one can never be sure about these things) that employees at the GAP are required to let customers use their restrooms, regardless of the number of pairs of khakis you may or may not be buying. In fact, we learned that many a street vendor will walk in off the street, ask to use the bathroom, and then, having done their business, walk right out again. We were unable to confirm this policy, however – anyone have the inside poop for us?

In the course of our extensive research, we did come across a site that seems to be as well visited and updated as our own, addyourown. The section of interest to us is the one entitled “addyourown: Manhattan restrooms and reviews” and while the site itself purports to be a “fast, easy, free way for people to find restaurants, coffeeshops, bookstores, and other places in major cities worldwide,” this one particular section could prove useful to someone finding themselves in Manhattan with the urge to go and access to the Internet but no toilet.

Unfortunately, the same can not be said for the other cities listed on the site, and if you happen to find yourself in, say, Manhattan Beach and in need of a loo, you are – ahem – SOL.

• addyourown: Manhattan restrooms and reviews