How to ask them to stop a ride ?

Mrsjvb said:

they are not allowed to leave their spot. if you have low vision, then bring a flashlight.

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One of the CM's I remember the most certainly left her spot. She turned on her heel and walked away from me in the middle of my sentence, throwing her hands in the air.

Disney is certainly stuck between a rock and a hard place on this issue. On one hand, stopping the ride makes it safe for some riders to get onto the ride. However, stopping the ride may send other's into a panic attack, that leaves them in the middle of the ride trying to escape, which is definitely not safe for them or their caregiver. I've witnessed that happening in a doom buggie in front of me and that was much more scary than the rest of the haunted mansion.

Perhaps that is why sometimes the CMs are more likely to slow or stop a ride, when they are sure there are no cognitively disabled people on the ride. And other times, when big crowds also mean lots of DAS riders, they are less likely to slow or stop the ride because they aren't sure if some of those riders would be triggered by a stopped or slowed ride.

charmed59 said:

Disney is certainly stuck between a rock and a hard place on this issue

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1) Yep - well said.
2) Let's face it, everyone cannot be pleased or accommodated.
3) People will just have to get used to that.
4) WDW does their best, and that is about all anyone can ask.

ttintagel said:

One of the CM's I remember the most certainly left her spot. She turned on her heel and walked away from me in the middle of my sentence, throwing her hands in the air.

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I have to ask, what in the world were you saying that would cause a CM to throw up their hands and walk away from you?

maxiesmom said:

I have to ask, what in the world were you saying that would cause a CM to throw up their hands and walk away from you?

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1) Good questions.
2) It would nice to have a recap of the conversation.

allwritemel said:

After that I went to the Hippogriff? The 'tame' roller coaster ... I couldn't tell you if it was tame or not - the seatbelt/restraint failed and I spent my time sliding from one side of the seat to the other, screaming and trying to alert them to the problem!

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The restraint in hippogriff is one big lap bar. That's it. Nothing to prevent you from going side to side. Especially if you are very tiny and it doesnt go far enough to touch you, or if it's not pulled back far enough. When DS was littler and rode with DH DS definitely had to hold on tight to prevent sliding around! The ride is 30 seconds long if I recall correctly.

maxiesmom said:

I have to ask, what in the world were you saying that would cause a CM to throw up their hands and walk away from you?

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I asked her to slow the moving walkway because I have low vision and needed extra time to get into a Doombuggy. As far as I can recall, my exact words were, "I need to have the moving walkway slowed, because I'm visually impaired and need a little extra time to board the vehicle."

ttintagel said:

I asked her to slow the moving walkway because I have low vision and needed extra time to get into a Doombuggy. As far as I can recall, my exact words were, "I need to have the moving walkway slowed, because I'm visually impaired and need a little extra time to board the vehicle."

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I don't know how it works at MK, but at DL there's an HA line when you get to the boarding area. They won't slow or stop the ride on demand for anyone, you have to wait in that line until the ride cycles. It is a safety a security issue for all guests on the ride so they will only do it every so often.

SMD said:

I don't know how it works at MK, but at DL there's an HA line when you get to the boarding area. They won't slow or stop the ride on demand for anyone, you have to wait in that line until the ride cycles. It is a safety a security issue for all guests on the ride so they will only do it every so often.

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I had told every CM since the gate that I would need the walkway slowed, and I was directed into the alternate waiting location (another person in my party was using a wheelchair but didn't need the walkway slowed) right after the stretching gallery. It's not like I just suddenly brought it up out of the blue.

And this one woman was far from the only overtly rude, dismissive CM I've encountered in the HM, especially when it comes to accommodating people with disabilities. The generous me would like to believe that that particular attraction is just such a difficult and demanding place to work that any break with hidebound routine, no matter how small, is enough to make a perfectly nice person's day so bad that they turn into a not-so-perfectly nice person. The ungenerous me is tempted to believe that since it's the only location where CM's aren't required to smile and act cheerful at all times, they tend to forget all the other things that go with customer service, so anyone who isn't good with people gets assigned back there in the hopes that nobody will notice.

ttintagel said:

I had told every CM since the gate that I would need the walkway slowed, and I was directed into the alternate waiting location (another person in my party was using a wheelchair but didn't need the walkway slowed) right after the stretching gallery. It's not like I just suddenly brought it up out of the blue.

And this one woman was far from the only overtly rude, dismissive CM I've encountered in the HM, especially when it comes to accommodating people with disabilities. The generous me would like to believe that that particular attraction is just such a difficult and demanding place to work that any break with hidebound routine, no matter how small, is enough to make a perfectly nice person's day so bad that they turn into a not-so-perfectly nice person. The ungenerous me is tempted to believe that since it's the only location where CM's aren't required to smile and act cheerful at all times, they tend to forget all the other things that go with customer service, so anyone who isn't good with people gets assigned back there in the hopes that nobody will notice.

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When were you to Haunted Mansion last?
Did you have a cane or anything that indicated that you had a disability?

Some changes have been made in the past 18 months, so I wonder if you have been recently.

We have been to Haunted Mansion multiple times since April of 2014 and they seem to have put some changes in when they started DAS in October 2013. The changes didn't just affect guests using DAS and we have observed some guests with visual disabilities using canes being handled the same way as we have been. We've been on 4 long trips in the past year (April 2014, October 2014, late December thru first week of Jan. 2015, May 2015).
Here's what we have consistently seen since our April 2014 trip.

- at the point where Fastpass and the Standby line merge, the CM there has announced multiple times that guests with mobility devices or disabilities should stay to the far right. As you move farther into the area and they are asking people to move all the way toward the doors, the CMs specifically say ,"except those with wheelchairs or disabilities."

- at the door, the CM usually looks out to see how many people and to remind people to stay behind the line. At that point, we have been told each time to follow the other guests into the room, but stay to the back of the group and the CM will give us more instructions. As the door opens, that CM has had a flashlight and uses it to point the path we should take into the room.
Once in the room, the CM tells us to wait until the other guests have entered the next room.

- when the door opens into the Stretching Room, the other guests go first, then the CM shows us the path to go with the flashlight. The CM is almost always behind us and uses the light to sweep where we should go, holding the light steady at our stopping point. Before the show starts, we are told what to do when the next door opens (exactly where to go depends on which Stretching Room you are in. Sometimes we are told to follow the group just into the next room, then stop. Sometimes to stay in the Stretching Room for a CM to tell us what to do)

- at the next point, the CM also has a flashlight and uses it to point where we are to go to get to the hallway that leads to the exit for handicapped boarding.

- when we get to the front of the hallway, there seems to now be a standard script of questions to ask. This includes specific ones for guests with mobility devices and kind of a different 'path' of questions depending on the answers.
We have always been asked and have heard the CM ask whether we will need the moving walkway slowed or stopped.

We have not had an issue with getting the walkway stopped. I do know from talking to CMs there that they can only stop the walkway at certain points and they are only allowed to slow it to a certain speed and only so often.
There have been situations where guests have tried to get out when it was stopped or slowed and one where teens were trying to switch cars while it was slowed. That resulted in a caught foot and an apputation.
So, they really are trying to balance safety for all guests. A guest at the boarding or unload area is a more controlled situation (even if they have difficulty) than a guest inside the attraction.

No, I haven't been in the last 18 months, and I don't use a cane (none of the organizations for the blind in my area will do cane training with you until you're legally blind). But I have decided that next time I go to WDW I will be using an ID cane. Hopefully that will help.

I think it will.
We noticed quite large change in how they are doing things there now compared to the past.
It started in October 2013, but has been pretty stable since April of 2014

TheRustyScupper said:

1) They do not have to state whether they can or will comply, basically a judgment call by the CM.
2) They simply either slow/stop or don't.
3) In this manner, there are few angered guests and few arguments.
4) However, with Peter Pan, they will usually state they can't slow/stop it.

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sigh. first, I was NOT talking about peter pan.. so that is NOT as issue second, i didn't say the HAD to stae if they can of will comply. I said they DID say they could slow it down. (but, by the way. they don't have to state whether they can slow it down or not? is this a new game show "let's play surprise and watch the floundering guest who is almost blind try to jump inot the doom buggy and we won't tell him whether we are slowing it down or not"?
we will stand there until it is slowed. so : no arguements. we will get on when it is slowed.
adn my whole point was, they DI SAY they could slow it, and they did slow it. and pointed to a particulare doom buggy.
and by that point I could see it going away and since I know better than the CM what my husband can or cannot see, I KNEW that he could NOT safely enter that particular doom buggy, it would HAVE to be the next one.. period.
so I led him to the next one. the first one he could safely enter. and that is when the CM started YELLING at me. oops rorke that 4th wall there didnt' she?
sorry. the HM can slow down the doom buggy . and I will make sure my husband is safe.

sue M. I am glad to hear about the apparently new protocals. the last time we rode HM was shortly after the new DAS<> perhaps the CMs hadn't been fully traind then.. we were told there was no more "alternate entrance" and we had to play the crap shoot of jumping on the moving doom buggy. and we haven't ridden it since for that reason.

smidgy said:

sigh. first, I was NOT talking about peter pan.. so that is NOT as issue second, i didn't say the HAD to stae if they can of will comply. I said they DID say they could slow it down. (but, by the way. they don't have to state whether they can slow it down or not? is this a new game show "let's play surprise and watch the floundering guest who is almost blind try to jump inot the doom buggy and we won't tell him whether we are slowing it down or not"?
we will stand there until it is slowed. so : no arguements. we will get on when it is slowed.
adn my whole point was, they DI SAY they could slow it, and they did slow it. and pointed to a particulare doom buggy.
and by that point I could see it going away and since I know better than the CM what my husband can or cannot see, I KNEW that he could NOT safely enter that particular doom buggy, it would HAVE to be the next one.. period.
so I led him to the next one. the first one he could safely enter. and that is when the CM started YELLING at me. oops rorke that 4th wall there didnt' she?
sorry. the HM can slow down the doom buggy . and I will make sure my husband is safe.

sue M. I am glad to hear about the apparently new protocals. the last time we rode HM was shortly after the new DAS<> perhaps the CMs hadn't been fully traind then.. we were told there was no more "alternate entrance" and we had to play the crap shoot of jumping on the moving doom buggy. and we haven't ridden it since for that reason.

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It is true that there is no more "alternate entrance" because the attraction was made accessible through the regular entrance during the last renovations. That was well before DAS started.

If you ask to use the alternate entrance, you will be told there is none. Where you need to board is the wheelchair/handicapped boarding area.

SueM in MN said:

It is true that there is no more "alternate entrance" because the attraction was made accessible through the regular entrance during the last renovations. That was well before DAS started.

If you ask to use the alternate entrance, you will be told there is none. Where you need to board is the wheelchair/handicapped boarding area.

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thank you for that information! when I tried to tell the CMS at Haunted mansion about my husbands needs (every CM I saw, at the first entrance, at the entrance to the stretching room, at the moving walkway) I was told they would slow down the walkway. I guess because my husband is not in a wheel chair they assumed he didn't need the handicapped entrance? they really didn't give me much time to talk. just kind of brushed us along and said "they'll slow it down, don't worry" and everyone is in such a big rush there, pushing and shoving and it seems they didn't want us "holding up the works"
anyway, if getting him into the doom buggy they direct us to is not safe, I will not do it. I will lead him into the one I know he can safely board.. thanks!

Glad to know that there's a handicapped entrance for us to be able to enter the ride safer. I get very leery of moving sidewalks with my SD and I was hoping that attractions that have a moving walkway have the potential to have the walkway stopped/slowed down so that Disney can enter and exit the ride safely. Have heard of one too many stories of paws being pinched on the walkways. I know there are certain attractions she can't ride but for those that she can with the sidewalk, we will have to make sure to ask the CM about how we can safely enter and exit.

• It is true that there is no more "alternate entrance" because the attraction was made accessible through the regular entrance during the last renovations. That was well before DAS started. If you ask to use the alternate entrance, you will be told there is none. Where you need to board is the wheelchair/handicapped boarding area.

• thank you for that information!

I just wanted to elaborate on that - even if you ask to enter through the "wheelchair/handicapped boarding area" instead of the "alternate entrance," you will still be expected to go through the foyer and stretching room first, and then make your way through a different corridor from the other guests out to the wheelchair/handicapped boarding area. Even though I spelled out for every CM I encountered that because of the light levels and the crowds pushing around, it would be safer for me to just go straight to the boarding area (and wait the same amount of time - I wasn't looking to cut ahead of anyone, I would actually have been missing part of the attraction) I was told that I would not be allowed to do it.

That doesn't make sense to me, given that almost every day I read a report where someone says they were allowed to do JUST that with no fuss or bother, because their child was scared to go through the stretching room. But I guess scared children are more important than disabled adults.

You can ask, but they are not staffed to have guests enter from the outside like they used to be.
They are staffed to get guests from the hallway that open from the Stretching Room to the boarding area.

I have not seen recent reports of people saying they were allowed to skip the stretching room area and go directly to boarding. (I'm not saying there are not any; just that I have not seen them). In the past, they did allow that for children with cognitive disabilities (for example, Autism), but I have even seen reports recently where they were told it was not possible.
Several reports recently said they were brought straight thru the first room you enter and then thru the Stretching Room as it was entering. Then they entered the hallway to the boarding area.
That might be even more problematic for some guests because of the need to move quickly in the window of time

On my last trip I was in an ECV and Haunted Mansion pulled me to an alternate entrance. If I remember it was after the stretching room. We had to wait a bit to board (I think the ride was stopped due to an issue) and they were very apologetic and someone even walked holding one side of me while my friend had the other and he alerted someone to slow it down when we got off. When I didn't have my ECV I had my cane so that might have tipped them off, but my friend also asked at the front of the line if the ride could be slowed for me and warned that we sometimes miss the next available buggy and that was never a problem. At The Little Mermaid ride they slowed the walkway down to a crawl, which was much appreciated!
At Universal - the harry potter ride I had people help me the first time and the second time we were told about an alternate entrance without a moving walkway which we did for our second ride. (And the ride promptly broke down as soon as we took off!)

mamabunny said:

What about Haunted Mansion? Do they allow it to be stopped now? To be honest, I haven't ridden that in over 5 years, but it does load with a belt.

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The ride vehicle can be stopped here and it is a reasonable accommodation to request, so in my opinion they would have to do so upon request and if they refused, I would ask for a lead (or whatever they are calling them there this week).

Please note Peter Pan and Peoplemover cannot be stopped due to the way their ride systems work, but Haunted Mansion, Little Mermaid, Nemo and Buzz Lightyear all CAN be stopped and as I said, it is perfectly reasonable to request they do so.

On a side note, if you have these issues, please make sure that you ask them to tie up the boat at Jungle Cruise, they didn't do this last time and a person in our party ended up in first aid and filing an incident report as a result because the boat moved away from the dock as she was trying to get off.