Trip Report Broken lifts, EMTs, and spitters (oh my!): WDW with a wheelchair and DAS

I’m back, Magicians! For those who don’t know me, my name is Emily. You may recognize me from my sister @krause's Disneyland trip report from this past April, which was in celebration of my 30th birthday! I also wrote a report in September 2018 from a trip with my friend Kaitlyn and @krause wrote one other from a WDW trip from February 2018 for a trip with her family, myself and our parents. The last time I was in WDW was November 2019 (don’t remember a report? You can blame @krause for that as she took the notes) and I cannot wait to get back!

Let's get to the details!

Who: Myself, and my friend Jenny. This is us (I'm on the right):

Some background on Jenny: Jenny was born with cerebral palsy which, for her, means some physical and cognitive disabilities. Jenny will be using an electric wheelchair on our trip. Her physical disabilities affect her life far more than her cognitive disabilities and she lives very independently. That being said, we know that getting the DAS pass will make this trip much more comfortable for her and so we plan to try to get the DAS using the online chat option when the time comes. Jenny has been to WDW before, as a child in 1996 and then again as a teenager (2006ish?). She remembers very little about her ‘96 trip and as a teenager she only did one day at Magic Kingdom, so lots will be new to her!

Some other (probable) players include: My parents, and my sister Kaely, her husband and two children. They are at WDW similar days as us (arrive and leave two days later than we do) and are staying off-property. Our trip dates just happened to coincide but we plan to meet up with them for dinner one night and potentially in a Park if possible. Here's us on our 2019 trip (not sure where the @krause crew was during this photoshoot):

From L to R: Mom, Dad, my sister Kaely, her kids G and B (who are much bigger now!), her husband K, and myself.

When: October 25-November 3, 2022. We are flying in the afternoon of the 25th from Winnipeg, Canada where we both live.

Where: Pop Century Resort. This is only my second stay on property after staying at Port Orleans Riverside in February 2018. I liked the idea of having Skyliner access so that we don’t have to load the wheelchair on a bus each time we want to hit a park. I have not yet been on the Skyliner so having a wheelchair on there actually scares me a little bit but I’m pushing through the fear!

Up Next: The "Why"

 

[Darstarr]

When in January are you going to be there?

Yeah @riverside … when???

 

[DisneyBaba]

October 31, 2022
Day 7: Epcot

*Lots of text ahead again, sorry!*

After the better part of an afternoon and an evening of rest, Jenny decided to get up and come with me to Epcot this morning.

Only the world had different plans.

As we were going down to the Skyliner, we pushed the elevator button and… nothing happened. No light, no elevator, no nothing. A cast member (I think he was in security) came down the stairs and told us the elevator was down. A repair person was coming but in the meantime they had no idea when it would come back up again. They also had fire trucks coming in case of an emergency. We were stuck. The guy was obviously sorry but couldn’t do anything to help us. He took our room number and said the front desk would call when the elevator came back up. Mishap #7.

Jenny and I discussed what to do. I knew that she wouldn’t be happy knowing I couldn’t go to the Park on account of her. I also think Jenny wanted to go to the Park this morning more for me than for her. I could tell that she was still worn out from the day before. We decided that I would go to the Park, where my family would be again. Jenny and I had plans to do Food & Wine that evening, so she could rest during the morning and we would make the most of that night. If the elevators came back up, she could also find me in Epcot if she decided she wanted to do that.

Had I known that the building only had one elevator, I would have specifically requested a ground floor room. It is honestly quite unbelievable. And spoiler alert but the elevator ended up going back up around 9am and the front desk never called. Even if the security guy forgot to pass the information along, I feel the front desk should have checked in on all the wheelchair accessible rooms on all the floors above ground level. This seems like common courtesy in this kind of situation. We did go to the front desk later in the day to see if anything could be done to compensate for a Park morning missed. They gave us a Lightning Lane for the next day that we never used.

Somewhat regretfully, I made my way over to the Park. I had made it in time for Early Entry but would be meeting my family when the Park opened for offsite guests. I didn’t have any rides I wanted to hit alone so I took the long way around the very empty World Showcase.
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This was so peaceful and a great way to take in the pavilions!

While I was taking pictures here:
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My family was sending me pictures from here:
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More WS pics:
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Coming up: A few more WS pics and meeting up with my fam!

Wow you really had WS to yourself! Great alone pictures!

 

[AKemily]

So glad you both liked Up Close with Rhinos. I had a great experience with it too.

I met Dugan with two of my kids this summer! It really is an awesome tour and well worth the price. We didn’t know we’d be quite so close and the kids (and I) loved it! So glad that it was accessible and hassle free for your trip!

Yes, it was so great! I'm so glad you both enjoyed your experiences as well - Dugan is way too cool!

You’ll never believe this. I tried to book that tour for that exact date/time but I guess it was full bc nothing was available!!
In hindsight I guess it was for the best bc J got really sick that day. We didn’t even make it to AK.

I tried for our January trip & can’t find any availability either. Does it fill up that quick?

No way! How fun would that have been?? That would have been so awesome. That totally sucks that J was sick that day, it would have been great to meet up. I hope he has recovered well!

Up Close with Rhinos is a great tour, we got to meet and pet Dugan too. When I pet him he leaned in towards me so of course in my head that means he just wanted to snuggle with me! Haha!

@riverside the tour books up super quick. They told us that they only run one tour a day to protect the rhinos but maybe they will change it and run more we took the tour this past March. I'm pretty sure the tour booking opens up the same as restaurant ADR's so I would suggest making that a priority on the 60 day mark.

Re booking yeah, I did book as soon as we could (60 days out). I wouldn't have thought it would book up that quickly but I guess it does! I don't think they take more than about a dozen people. I also don't think they do it every day though - maybe twice a week? And they could take "breaks" from scheduling them for the sake of the animals, I'm not sure.

And oh my goodness, I'm sure he did want to snuggle you! He's a sweetie!

Wow you really had WS to yourself! Great alone pictures!

I really did! It was awesome!!

 

[AKemily]

November 2, 2022
Day 9/Final Day: Magic Kingdom

We got to sleep in again this morning as we had a reservation at Topolino’s Terrace at 11AM. We went to the Skyliner at 10AM and I was glad we gave ourselves lots of time as this was the busiest we had seen the Skyliner. Still, we got to Riviera at around 10:40AM. We, of course, had to stop to take pictures of the mosaics.

We headed up and took in the view while we waited a few minutes for our table. A CM pointed out Cinderalla Castle wayyy behind Spaceship Earth.

We were soon seated and were amazed by the even better view! Our table felt like it was kind of floating in the middle of the dining room which wasn’t great but we were glad to have a good view from where we sat.

They started us off with the bowl of pastries and unlimited POG juice! The pastries were delicious (you can see them in the picture of Jenny above).

We both ordered the Wood-fired Butchers Steak, and we were allowed to order basically any of the other food on the menu (eggs, potatoes, waffles, etc.) as sides as well. All the food, but especially the steak, was SOOOO good.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was very nice and the character greets were a lot of fun.

Our server, Tamara, was great. She did forget to bring us some macchiatos we ordered but then she got them for us to go and didn’t charge us for them so that was great as well. Honestly, I can’t say enough good things about our experience here. I felt the value for money was also really good, I think we paid $47 USD per person. For the character experience, food, atmosphere, and price this is by far the best character dining meal I’ve ever had at WDW which does say a lot (for reference I have done Akershus, Crystal Palace, Ohana, Tusker House, and Trattoria Al Forno). I would 100% go again, no hesitation.

Jenny and I left feeling very satisfied (if not a bit overly full) and we felt it was a very special morning. It remains one of our favourite parts of our trip. We were so glad to be able to do this on our last day.

Up next: Magic Kingdom

 

[AKemily]

Day 9 continued

We left the restaurant shortly before 1PM with a goal to meet more characters once we made it into the Park. We tried to meet Snow White in the Town Plaza but the CM said she wasn’t coming out today (this had happened to us one day at EPCOT as well - too bad as she is Jenny’s favourite). With that, we headed over to Adventureland to meet Aladdin and Jasmine.

It was Christmas in the Magic Kingdom!

When we got to Adventureland, we realized it was only Jasmine meeting that day, but that was fine. It was a good meet! I should mention, this day was HOT. We were melting waiting in that line. You can see my hair sticking to my neck

We used an Advance DAS to go on Jingle Cruise next. Couldn’t miss the Christmas overlay! We had to wait a while for Brrrr Bertha (didn’t realize the irony in the name until just now), but eventually got on the ride and had a good cruise. The CMs were having a lot of fun with it being Christmas and were telling jokes over the loudspeaker. “That’s how you Jingle, baby!”

Since we didn’t have a great view the first time around, we decided to watch the parade again. We were too late to find a spot in the shade so we just stood (well, I stood) and melted. The Country Bears were out on their balcony and I was trying to get a picture and said something like “we need their attention”. That’s when Jenny goes, “HEY! BEARS! HEY! HEY BEARS!” I was not expecting that! I was too thrown off to even get a picture when they looked at us all confused like, “Are you talking to us?”

I considered leaving to find shade during the parade but this Canadian pushed through for the magic.

Mickey and Minnie were in their rightful place this time.

Since we badgered the bears, we decided to go see the show. As soon as the rope dropped, I grabbed Jenny’s hand and we formed a wall to cross through the mob.

Jenny and I relate to The Sun Bonnet Trio We laughed SO hard through this show (it is truly ridiculous) and she now claims this is her favourite show at WDW (It’s one of mine too so I’m okay with this assessment).

Up next: More Magic Kingdom

 

[AKemily]

Final Day continued

We headed back to Adventureland after this to see if we could meet Jenny’s other favourite, Captain Jack. As we approached, I saw him go behind-the-scenes so we waited for him to reemerge. Just as we were giving up hope he showed up walking down the walkway behind us! Jenny was absolutely smitten.

We then went to Maurice’s Cottage to meet Belle. She told us all about her Christmas tree that she decorated with her dad.

We had a Haunted Mansion DAS next so we headed that way. As we passed the Rapunzel area, we saw Rapunzel herself walking around! Her CM handler announced she was not meeting.

I guess Haunted Mansion wasn't quite so frightening the second time around...

After Haunted Mansion we decided to go on Small World, but as we headed back through the Rapunzel area we saw some familiar faces! And who was that with Rapunzel?

Why, it was Bennett and Grace! She was leading them around and they were finding Pascals together. It was absolutely adorable and a total Disney Magic moment! @KMD can report further.

We sat down with my family while they ate supper at Pinocchio’s and then went our separate ways - us heading toward IASW.

We were gonna do Pooh again but their accessible vehicle was broken that day, so we decided to pass We headed in the direction of the Little Mermaid. As we walked over, rain drops started to fall. As we entered the queue, the skies absolutely opened up. As we were still in the outdoor queue, we became absolutely drenched. The queue had stopped while we were still outdoors so in the pouring rain, we had to find a bag to cover Jenny’s chair controller, and put her chair charger in the backpack. It was a disaster, but there was nothing to be done but keep moving forward! I told Jenny this was the last Florida experience we needed for our trip! We got on the ride and went around twice to avoid going back out into the elements. The photo doesn’t accurately show how wet we were.

When we went back out it was still raining pretty hard. We sought cover for a couple minutes and then decided we were drenched anyway, we might as well head toward the front of the Park. We didn’t think Fireworks would be happening that night and, even if they were, we wanted to be out before the crowds formed.

Beautiful, even in the rain! I wished we had stayed and looked at the Christmas decorations longer - but it never really is long enough, is it?

That began our longest wait of the trip - an hour for the bus. I think there were 6 ECVs ahead of us when we arrived, so that should have meant we would be on the fourth bus. But they sent so. many. inaccessible. buses. The CM there was really trying, I think, but it wasn’t good enough. So many mostly empty buses passed us by as we waited. As we were getting closer to getting on, an accessible bus came but it seemed they were having issues with the ramp so it left and came back around again. We finally got on. Probably predictably, when we got to the hotel the ramp wasn’t working again. So we were stuck on the bus. We wanted to get a couple things from the gift shop yet so I did that while Jenny sat and waited. It probably took twenty minutes at least before they ended up just prying the ramp up. They said that all the old buses have different ramp systems and they’re not trained on all of them. Excuse me? That’s crazy. Anyway, I guess that’s mishap #8. Not the best end to our trip, but overall we had a really great day and were very happy with what we accomplished!

The next morning we were at the Mears stop at 7 and on our way by 7:20. Luckily, the ramp on the bus worked. We were at the airport shortly after 8, and while our flight was a bit delayed, we got home without trouble.

Overall, we had an absolutely wonderful trip. I don’t want anyone to think that the mishaps ruined our trip. There were definitely some unfortunate events but we always made the most of everything and we both look back on our trip with only joy!

And that’s it, folks! I will do one more post with final thoughts on everything like hotel, DAS, accessibility, and the Parks overall. Thanks for reading along!

 

[RememberWhen]

Really enjoyed your awesome report! Happy new year!

 

[Tuvalu]

You are the BEST friend!!

 

[AKemily]

Final thoughts

Pop Century: Other than the elevator mishap, the hotel was great. There wasn’t a lot of noise from neighbours, the room was perfect for us and very clean. The biggest perk was the Skyliner. I wanted to stay here for the Skyliner because I didn’t want to deal with loading Jenny’s chair onto a bus every day and I was SO glad with my decision. The Skyliner was convenient, easy and quick. I would definitely stay at Pop again. If I were to go with Jenny, however, I would definitely make sure we got first floor. With everything considered, I give Pop a B grade

DAS: The DAS pass system was a massive help. I feel we would have only got half as much done without it as Jenny would have become burnt out in long lines. The pre-registration went very smoothly and for at least the first half of the trip the Advance DAS Registrations were very helpful as well. By the second half of the trip we had done most stuff at least once and the Advance DAS passes became less necessary and we skipped most of them. I have heard some people have trouble with the LL queue before the tapstiles being so long that it took away from their DAS but that never became a problem for us. That being said, I think it would be reasonable for Disney to allow DAS pass holders to go straight to the tapstiles, at least for standard (i.e. not Individual) LL queues.

We (and definitely Jenny) didn’t often realize just how long the standby line was. Once we went on Ratatouille and the lady in front of us at the accessible car said they waited two hours. Jenny was incredibly grateful for the pass when she heard things like this. The fact is, she simply could not have waited 2 hours. I give it the DAS an A (still some room for improvement).

Accessibility in General: Disney is good but they can do better. Obviously we encountered accessible vehicles no longer working, there was the issue with the elevator, and bus ramp problems as well. The fact of the matter is that there are still a lot of rides that accommodate very little to not at all. The ones I find most concerning are rides like Na’vi River Journey which is brand new and is still not accessible. In this day and age, and especially for places like Disney, accessibility should be a given.

The Cast Members were fabulous. They would address Jenny directly and were very accommodating and patient. The biggest issues we encountered as far as people were with non-Disney employees - particularly the Mears staff. Jenny was a bit checked out on our trip home but the bus driver seemed intent on directing questions to me instead of her (“Can she drive forward?” “Can she back in?”, etc.).

Overall I give accessibility a C+ grade.

New attractions: Guardians for the win! This ride was absolutely incredible and I cannot wait to ride it again! It quickly rocketed to my top 3 rides at Disney and, it might be a big claim, but I feel like it increases the quality of WDW overall. I want to see more innovative and thrilling rides like this at WDW. It makes RNRC seem absolutely ancient (I really disliked RNRC on this trip haha, it’s way too bumpy). I think Tron will have the thrills but not the innovation but maybe I’m wrong - @amjt660 , how do you feel as someone who has experienced Tron?

MMRR I had really hyped up in my brain and it did not live up to the hype I created for it. It is cute and fun annnd that’s it. I would say I enjoyed Ratatouille more - it’s just as cute and fun but contains a bit more excitement in my mind.

Both HarmonioUS and Enchanted were very enjoyable and I’m a bit bummed I won’t ever see them again.

General crowds: @fractal was 100% correct about the WALL, FREEZE, and BEAVER people. Why are people incapable of “pulling over” to the side when they stop? Navigating the crowds with a wheelchair was so much more complicated and these people made everything so hard. The fact that people need to be in their phones for half their trip to check wait times and do the Genie+ thing and whatnot definitely contributes. People simply aren’t aware of their surroundings. It was very aggravating at times. Overall, it didn’t seem that the crowds were too bad on our trip but there were definitely congested areas - one particularly for our trip was in front of Haunted Mansion. Magic Kingdom was consistently the most packed and difficult to navigate.

Overall: Disney still has the magic! There’s definitely that concern that with all the extra costs and the nickel and dime-ing that Disney has lost its magic. I did not find this to be the case. Sure, there are some things that are not what they once were but we still had so much fun and had a very special trip. I look forward to returning (but have no idea when that will be).

Jenny’s favourites?

• Ride: Frozen Ever After (yes, even after the EMTs had to come)
• Show: Country Bear Jamboree
• Park: EPCOT (she loved FEA, Test Track and Soarin’ so much and I think most of our best memories are in that Park).

Thanks to everyone who read along. If you ever have any questions, particularly about DAS and accessibility, feel free to reach out - I’d be happy to help.

Wishing you all a magical 2023!

 

[AKemily]

Really enjoyed your awesome report! Happy new year!

Thanks for following along! Happy new year!!

You are the BEST friend!!

Thank you

 

[amjt660]

I think Tron will have the thrills but not the innovation but maybe I’m wrong - @amjt660 , how do you feel as someone who has experienced Tron?

I had the chance to ride tron in Shanghai and did it once during the day
It was thrilling and smooth and can be rode by most people
The only limitation will be the sitting position ( same as flight of passage in dak)
I regret not doing it at night because it would be better for sure
I did not like this is an innovative ride though - just a nice smooth roller coaster
It will be very popular because it will appeal to a larger audience- space mountain will be exposed for what it is after tron is operational

Great TR. - Jenny is lucky to have you as a friend- hope to meet you someday


Max

 

[MickeyCB]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. I really enjoyed following along!

 

[Swissmiss]

I just came back from a few days in DLP and in Paris and was struck by how you don’t see a lot of people with ECVs or wheelchairs in the parks.

Reflecting on my days, I can see how hard it would be for someone in a wheelchair or ECV to get to DLP (though once there, it seems like the parks and rides have more or less the same accessibility issues as WDW). The additional effort required to find the accessible entrances and exits from the metro and/or train would be exhausting.

Thanks for this report and helping us see the difficulties through Jenny’s perspective. So glad you guys had an overall awesome trip.

 

[riverside]

Great TR!! Very fun & informative too!! I’m still bummed that we weren’t able to meet up

 

[MinnieM123]

Excellent TR!!! So glad to read that most of your experiences overall, were positive, and that you both had a wonderful vacation. Thank you for sharing all of your impressions, and wonderful photos.

 

[Wicked Sisters]

So pleased you both had such an awesome adventure. Happy New Year to you both and all of the WDW Magicians.

 

[Darstarr]

Awesome report
Awesome trip
Awesome friends!!!

Thanks for sharing. Now send Disney a letter about how their accessibility could/should be better!!!

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

Thank you for the TR. Glad you and Jenny had an overall good time despite the various mishaps.

 

[cgersic]

Man, what a great time! I can't thank you enough for sharing all of it. The good, the bad, the ridiculous, but mostly, the FUN!! Jenny has such a beautiful smile, but when I see the pictures of the both of you smiling together, it just makes my heart melt. You really are a great friend and I also hope to meet you in the World some day!

 

[AKemily]

I had the chance to ride tron in Shanghai and did it once during the day
It was thrilling and smooth and can be rode by most people
The only limitation will be the sitting position ( same as flight of passage in dak)
I regret not doing it at night because it would be better for sure
I did not like this is an innovative ride though - just a nice smooth roller coaster
It will be very popular because it will appeal to a larger audience- space mountain will be exposed for what it is after tron is operational

Great TR. - Jenny is lucky to have you as a friend- hope to meet you someday


Max

Thanks Max, I knew I could count on you! I saw that the Tron coaster in WDW will have one accessible car with "real" seats so that's good! Totally agree re the Space comment.

Thanks for following along, Max, would be awesome to one day have a meet up with my fellow Canadian!

I just came back from a few days in DLP and in Paris and was struck by how you don’t see a lot of people with ECVs or wheelchairs in the parks.

Reflecting on my days, I can see how hard it would be for someone in a wheelchair or ECV to get to DLP (though once there, it seems like the parks and rides have more or less the same accessibility issues as WDW). The additional effort required to find the accessible entrances and exits from the metro and/or train would be exhausting.

Thanks for this report and helping us see the difficulties through Jenny’s perspective. So glad you guys had an overall awesome trip.

That's really interesting! From my trips to Europe I don't know how anyone with mobility disabilities lives there. All those old buildings and cobblestone streets just simply weren't made for those who need wheelchairs! Glad to hear the Parks are at least somewhat accessible. Thanks for following!

Great TR!! Very fun & informative too!! I’m still bummed that we weren’t able to meet up

Thank you! I know, that's really too bad! It was a sign of us both having a lot of fun though that we couldn't even find time to meet up! For now, I'll continue to settle for just having met E (and a sleeping J) Looking forward to hearing about your trip!

Man, what a great time! I can't thank you enough for sharing all of it. The good, the bad, the ridiculous, but mostly, the FUN!! Jenny has such a beautiful smile, but when I see the pictures of the both of you smiling together, it just makes my heart melt. You really are a great friend and I also hope to meet you in the World some day!

Thank you so much for the kind words, Jenny will love to hear that!

Awesome report
Awesome trip
Awesome friends!!!

Thanks for sharing. Now send Disney a letter about how their accessibility could/should be better!!!

Thanks @Darstarr, that means a lot coming from you! As for the letter -