We will be traveling next month with my brother-in-law who is in a wheelchair. Can anyone provide information on how easy/hard it was to get around the parks, get on attractions, etc.?? We want him to have a great time!!!
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Accessibility for Wheelchair Guests
- Thread starter VoiceGuy07
- Start date
Vernonpush
Well-Known Member
This site has some info:
http://allearsnet.com/pl/mobility.htm
http://allearsnet.com/pl/mobility.htm
metscool
Active Member
The CMs are very nice to people that are in a wheelchair. The one thing that I hate the most is pushing the person in the wheelchair around the parks. I have a grandmother that is in a wheelchair. She always come down here and she lives in Jacksonville, FL. So she came down here everytime that (before I moved down here) we came down here to go to the parks and vist her in her home up there. Good luck and have fun.
vonpluto
Well-Known Member
mechurchlady
Active Member
Here is some stuff to consider.
Reservations: There are only so many disabled rooms available so waiting until the last minute may mean you do not get one. There are only so many disable seats at shows, theaters and other events for guests who cannot get out of wheelchairs. You have to make sure you discuss special needs with Disney employees and triple check on anything special like rooms, roll in showers, or diet.
Abilities and skills: I can walk a block but have to use an ECV because the total walking hurts me bad. When planning ask yourself some questions. Can he stand up and walk, if so how far. Can he transfer to a regular seat. Cast members are not allowed to help guest in any way such as lifting them or boosting them into a tram. Vonpluto has the best guide available and it is from Disney.
Getting Around: Strollers and wheelchairs get along fine in the parks but ECVs (scooter like Rascal) do have limitations. The Disney guide talks about that. Some rides have you using the exit or a side door while others require guest to wait in line like everyone else. Standard and the racing type wheelchairs have no problem with getting around the parks. ECVs do have problems sometimes with narrow or winding lines, in shops, some are to large for busses, and crowds.
Rides: The guide that Vanpluto posted covers everything. ECVs may require transferring to a wheelchair or getting out of it. Some rides require transferring from the chair to the ride. Soarin' is a hang glider and you can ask to be put on the end of the row so that family can more easily transfer you out of your chair. It is much like getting into a chair. Look at pictures of rides and copy that guide. Then take notes on what will be too hard.
CMs will stop all moving rides for disabled guest to transfer but they will not wait all day. Some rides like the Tea Cups and Dumbo have awkward entries to the ride. Some require stepping down and squatting or sitting like Pirates and Splash Mountain.
I had an excellent time in WDW because of great planning and because the parks are designed for disabled guests. A wheelchair makes it easier to get through rides and crowds and would have made my trip more fun. CMs went out of their way to help me.
Reservations: There are only so many disabled rooms available so waiting until the last minute may mean you do not get one. There are only so many disable seats at shows, theaters and other events for guests who cannot get out of wheelchairs. You have to make sure you discuss special needs with Disney employees and triple check on anything special like rooms, roll in showers, or diet.
Abilities and skills: I can walk a block but have to use an ECV because the total walking hurts me bad. When planning ask yourself some questions. Can he stand up and walk, if so how far. Can he transfer to a regular seat. Cast members are not allowed to help guest in any way such as lifting them or boosting them into a tram. Vonpluto has the best guide available and it is from Disney.
Getting Around: Strollers and wheelchairs get along fine in the parks but ECVs (scooter like Rascal) do have limitations. The Disney guide talks about that. Some rides have you using the exit or a side door while others require guest to wait in line like everyone else. Standard and the racing type wheelchairs have no problem with getting around the parks. ECVs do have problems sometimes with narrow or winding lines, in shops, some are to large for busses, and crowds.
Rides: The guide that Vanpluto posted covers everything. ECVs may require transferring to a wheelchair or getting out of it. Some rides require transferring from the chair to the ride. Soarin' is a hang glider and you can ask to be put on the end of the row so that family can more easily transfer you out of your chair. It is much like getting into a chair. Look at pictures of rides and copy that guide. Then take notes on what will be too hard.
CMs will stop all moving rides for disabled guest to transfer but they will not wait all day. Some rides like the Tea Cups and Dumbo have awkward entries to the ride. Some require stepping down and squatting or sitting like Pirates and Splash Mountain.
I had an excellent time in WDW because of great planning and because the parks are designed for disabled guests. A wheelchair makes it easier to get through rides and crowds and would have made my trip more fun. CMs went out of their way to help me.
seabee1
Member
Our last trip to Disney(Mar. 05)was our first trip with my husband in a wheelchair. We had been before he was hurt, and really wanted to take the kids again, but were a little nervous about it. We really didn't need to be, because it was great.
My biggest tip with navigating the world with a wheelchair is that the ramp to the monorail is VERY steep. It is way to steep for him to push the chair by himself, and quite hard for me to push up, and keep him from taking off going down. Our solution to this prob.-take the ferry from TTC to MK. If you are taking the monorail from the TTC to Epcot there is no avoiding it, however on the Epcot end there is an elevator so you don't have to go down the ramp.
If he uses an electric chair the ramp is probably not going to be an issue.
There are several rides throughout the world that you can go on with your wheelchair(manual). However some are a bit more of a tight squeeze than others. I thought my husband might have to become a permanant guide on the Jungle Cruise. Funny to talk about now.
The Safari at Animal Kingdom was an easy ride to get the chair on, however, it is a bumpy ride and my husband has no muscle control from the chest down. He liked the ride, but was a bit wobbley in the chair. Infact I don't have any pictures of the animals because I was helping him to stay in his chair. Thought we might loose him to the crocs on the bridge.:lol: If your brother in law has more control than that he will be fine. Also, a lot of the guide books say that AK is hard to navigate with a chair. We didn't find this at all. I don't think it was really any different than any of the other parks.
Oh, and watch out for the trolley tracks on Main St. If you are in a manual chair and not paying attention they will stop you dead in your tracks.(yup another thing I know from experience). Now that I am reliving our last trip I think I should be glad I got my husband home alive!:lol: I am just kidding, we had an absolute blast, and can't wait to go back in Dec.
All in all Disney does a great job at making MOST things accessible to guest in wheelchairs. We have had harder times at a lot of other places than at Disney. You may find some things more difficult then others, but at the end of the day, if you take it all in stride and don't sweat the small stuff, you will have a great time. If you have any other questions I'm happy to try and answer them for you.
My biggest tip with navigating the world with a wheelchair is that the ramp to the monorail is VERY steep. It is way to steep for him to push the chair by himself, and quite hard for me to push up, and keep him from taking off going down. Our solution to this prob.-take the ferry from TTC to MK. If you are taking the monorail from the TTC to Epcot there is no avoiding it, however on the Epcot end there is an elevator so you don't have to go down the ramp.
If he uses an electric chair the ramp is probably not going to be an issue.
There are several rides throughout the world that you can go on with your wheelchair(manual). However some are a bit more of a tight squeeze than others. I thought my husband might have to become a permanant guide on the Jungle Cruise. Funny to talk about now.
The Safari at Animal Kingdom was an easy ride to get the chair on, however, it is a bumpy ride and my husband has no muscle control from the chest down. He liked the ride, but was a bit wobbley in the chair. Infact I don't have any pictures of the animals because I was helping him to stay in his chair. Thought we might loose him to the crocs on the bridge.:lol: If your brother in law has more control than that he will be fine. Also, a lot of the guide books say that AK is hard to navigate with a chair. We didn't find this at all. I don't think it was really any different than any of the other parks.
Oh, and watch out for the trolley tracks on Main St. If you are in a manual chair and not paying attention they will stop you dead in your tracks.(yup another thing I know from experience). Now that I am reliving our last trip I think I should be glad I got my husband home alive!:lol: I am just kidding, we had an absolute blast, and can't wait to go back in Dec.
All in all Disney does a great job at making MOST things accessible to guest in wheelchairs. We have had harder times at a lot of other places than at Disney. You may find some things more difficult then others, but at the end of the day, if you take it all in stride and don't sweat the small stuff, you will have a great time. If you have any other questions I'm happy to try and answer them for you.
CAPTAIN HOOK
Well-Known Member
Disney is geared up for people in wheeelchairs. He'll have a blast.
One other thing to consider - AK's queues are all wheelchair-accessible, meaning no special passes or perks, if you will, are given out for wheelchair-bound guests, unlike the other three parks.
Thanks for all of the information and advice! Greatly appreciate your willingness to share your thoughts.
We're about three weeks away from our trip and looking forward to it. It was hard enough to convince him to get on a plane, once he gets there he'll have a blast. Even better, Epcot Food & Wine Festival time.
We're about three weeks away from our trip and looking forward to it. It was hard enough to convince him to get on a plane, once he gets there he'll have a blast. Even better, Epcot Food & Wine Festival time.
Chape19714
Well-Known Member
I have a quick question about guests in wheelchairs:
There are certain attractions that require guests to transfer to a regular wheelchair from an ECV. Do these attractions provide the Manual chairs to transfer into? I have a guest coming with me who, although she can transfer from the ECV to a regular chair, would have a nearly impossible time transfering to a Small World Boat, or the like.
I'm assuming (and hoping) the answer is yes, but I thought I would 2x check! :wave:
There are certain attractions that require guests to transfer to a regular wheelchair from an ECV. Do these attractions provide the Manual chairs to transfer into? I have a guest coming with me who, although she can transfer from the ECV to a regular chair, would have a nearly impossible time transfering to a Small World Boat, or the like.
I'm assuming (and hoping) the answer is yes, but I thought I would 2x check! :wave:
Great story! Yes, my understanding (from what I've read and heard) is that CM's cannot help guests onto rides. My brother-in-law has MS and we will have to transfer him onto those rides that we can. That means that some rides are out, but he's gonna have a blast anyway. Not sure what the answer is.
WaltzingMatilda
Member
God Bless the USMC...I love how you guys stick together. And I love how you can always count on the Marines (hubby is prior service). You're right, this is probably an extreme example but this thread has provided some really good info on all types of scenarios.
AEfx
Well-Known Member
Yes, CM's cannot physically help guests more than offer a steadying arm if requested (and I do not believe they are required to do that either,but they are allowed).
However, there are very few rides you cannot do if you have members of your party physically able to transfer him. We travel with my niece who has CP and is unable to walk at all so we do all the transfering. Off the top of my head -
Magic Kingdom -
Peter Pan (it can be done, but he'd have to be picked up for more than a few seconds - if you are physically able and he doesn't mind it can be done)
TTA - We've never done this one as a transfer, and it's impossible unless you literally carry someone up the escalator.
Epcot -
Mission : Space - this is the only problem we had at Epcot. M:S had a bunch of new CP'ers running the line, and this really...witchy female CM and her male companion refused to let us board the ride because my niece cannot walk. I explained to them that we do the transfer ourself, and they refused. I was very upset, especially when the...witchy girl started to lecture me about how to read the "guest must transfer" icons. I knew what they meant...she didn't. They were spoken to and I hope it hasn't happened again.
MGM/AK - Newer parks, so nothing you can't transfer at (if you need to transfer at all). In most cases the line is mainstreamed and on many attractions you can even stay in the chair. The only deviation is the RnR, where you just tell them at load that you need to assist in transfer and they'll send you to the exit where you can do it in relative privacy. There is even a special car where the door flips open for easier entry (just like transfering in and out of a car). Virtually everything else is mainstreamed.
Someone else correct me if I am wrong, but I really think the only two rides that are questionable are Pan and TTA.
The two golden rules we learned after our first trip (and have found to be true ever since), are #1) Take your time, don't let anyone rush you and #2) don't be afraid to ask for what you need. You will find WDW among the most wheel-chair friendly places on Earth - the only sad part is that the rest of the world isn't nearly as accomodating.
AEfx
WaltzingMatilda
Member
Very important points...excellent post.
barnum42
New Member
One assumes we have the scumbag ambulance chasing lawyers to thank for this.
barnum42
New Member
A while back I made a tread telling of my experiences in the parks with my wheelchair using Mother. She can walk for short distances, so transferring was not that big an issue on most attractions:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=42507
Have a great trip :wave:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=42507
Have a great trip :wave:
WaltzingMatilda
Member
This is such a great link...I love that you keep an eye out for these questions.
Thanks.
barnum42
New Member
No worries :wave:
It's proven a useful thread. Whilst it started out as a reply to all the people getting abusive about people faking a need for a wheelchair to jump queues, over time I've been pointing to it just to give wheelchair users an idea of what to expect.
Craig & Lisa
Active Member
Understand this, I'm not insulted by your comment, because if you look at it a certain way, your saying that if there's a marine around they'll be the first to help. I've never been in any branch of the military nor did I want to be. My brother however was in the army for almost 18 years, and I learned alot from his experiences. But the one thing I will do is NOT hesitate to help anyone who needs it, ( or too proud to ask ) and I can understand that part as well. Your comment was geared towards the marines, but it just didn't sit right with me for some odd reason. I commend that person for not hesitating to assist the gentleman, as would I. God bless the marines, but God bless anyone who helps anyone who needs assistance. I'm sorry if this has openned a can of worms.