I'll be going to Disney in August with my husband, best friend (she is a quadriplegic) and her aide. She has no mobility from the chest down and has decided to take her manual wheelchair.
If you haven't looked at it yet, there is a link in the disABILITIES FAQs thread (in post #3) to eternaldisneyfan's trip report with a power wheelchair (and a ventilator).
Some of the attractions that a manual wheelchair will fit on won't be able to do a power wheelchair because of how much clearance there is at the bottom of the power wheelchair and/or how long it is.
So, she would probably be able to do more with the manual wheelchair. She will give up independence with the manual, but if she's OK with that, it's a good trade off. My DD uses her power wheelchair whenever she's out of the house, but she doesn't use it at WDW. We are concerned about possible damage transporting it by plane and we are also concerned about her ability to concentrate on driving safely in such a busy and stimulating environment.
Knowing some of the possible pluses and minuses will help your friend make her decision.
How much time do they give you to do this?
As other posters mentioned, many of the attractions stop for everyone to board and don't start up until the CM can tell that all guests are safely seated.
The ones with moving walkways can be slowed down or stopped -with the exception of Peter Pan and the Tomorrowland Transit Authority.
The CMs will usually
slow them for guests with wheelchairs. If your friend needs a full stop, she should tell the CM. There is more information on the disABILITIES FAQs thread, a link to boarding information in post #3.
Also, something I have found helpful - don't be shy about letting the CM know you would like to watch the ride process a little while before you try getting her in. For some attractions, your 'planning process will be pretty straightforward. For others, it may be helpful to watch for a while.
As you watch, also think about getting off. For the moving walkway rides, you will be getting on and off at the usual exit. Many of the ride cars will only hold 2 people, so think about who would be best riding with her. Also, whether it would be better for the 'helpers' to be in the car ahead of her so they will get off before she does. For some attractions, it doesn't matter, but in others, the people in the car behind won't be able to get off until their ride car gets to a certain point, so if they are behind her, they won't be able to help.
I'd also suggest 'pacing' yourself, by planning to alternate attractions where you will need to transfer her and ones where she can stay in the wheelchair. We find that transferring our DD tires us out and her too, so we need to plan our day to accomodate that.
Also, the attractions at MK are very short (some as short as 90 seconds), so it's just too hard for us to transfer our DD in and then out again 90 seconds later. We have not been on Snow White with her in a long time because of that.
She is just over 5 feet tall and weighs less than 90 pounds.
Thank you all so much!
I guess I should clarify that she cannot transfer herself. It will be the three of us transferring her, so I'm not sure if that makes a difference in how easy/difficult it will be. She's 28 years old, 5'7", and is average weight (she and I are the same size). My husband and I have transferred her in and out of our cars (a Civic and a Corolla) numerous times, so we've got that down. She has a sliding board, but I'm not if that would even help in this situation.
I'm guessing anything that isn't even with her manual chair is out because she is dead weight and we would have to physically lift her either up or down. Her manual chair is pretty high and is actually even height with her power chair if that gives you a better idea of what we're working with.
A little more information about your friend would be helpful:
- Is she a spastic quad (tight, stiff and difficult to bend) or hypotonic (think of a rag doll?). Some of the things that might not be that hard with someone hypotonic are much more difficult with someone who has spasticity.
- Does she have any arm/shoulder function that can help her to hang on when being lifted, or is she totally dead weight?
- Does she have spasms or any other movements? If so, do they happen unexpectedly or are there things that seem to cause them?
- Is she stable to sit in a seat where the seatback only comes to the middle of her back?
- Is she stable for a seat that is shallow and made of shiny plastic?
- Is a particular time of day better for her - if so, plan rides where she'll need to transfer for the 'better' time.
- And about her wheelchair, does it have swingaway armrests?
- Does she have things that will need to be loosened or removed before she can get out (like my DD has straps that hold her feet down into the footrests)
I'm most interested in hearing experiences with Snow White, Haunted Mansion, and Spaceship Earth.
ETA: I'd also love to hear from anyone who has transferred for Soarin.
Thank you!!
For some attractions (like Mission Space, Haunted Mansion, Soarin) the seat of the ride car is not that much different height than a car seat. But, you may not have much space to make the transfer.
Here's a picture of the ride car for Haunted Mansion. The CMs can stop the moving walkway for you and the wheelchair can be parked where ever it would be most helpful to you for making the transfer. After she is in, the CM will move the wheelchair off the moving walkway.
Some (like Pirates) are very much lower.
For Pirates, I'd suggest you ride Small World first. SW has a special car that
a wheelchair can roll right onto. Pirates doesn't, but the step down (and back up) to get into Pirates is similar to the regular seats on the SW boat. So, riding SW will give you some insight into what you need to do to get on and off of Pirates.
Here's a picture of the SW wheelchair boat:
The boat ride in Mexico has a similar wheelchair boat and Living with the Land in Epcot also has a wheelchair boat.
Maestrom in Norway has a boat that is similar to Pirates. Personally, I think it is harder to transfer someone off because there is little room.
I don't have any pictures of the ride car for Snow White, but allearsnet.com has one in their ride car gallery:
Here's a photo of Spaceship Earth. The pictures that show the ride cars were taken before the recent renovation, but I've been told they used the same cars; just added some video screens to them. I agree with the description that Bill gave. Because the doors don't open very far, it's much harder to get someone in than it might look.
Soarin is about the best ride, at least for us. Here's a
link to a page about Soarin' with pictures. You can park the wheelchair where ever it's best for transfer, the seat is at about chair height and it's stable for getting in. The ride car leans backward slightly during the ride, so it is quite supportive and secure. There is a small belt that goes between the legs for small children, but it also works for adults and we use it for extra security for DD.
), but out s a totally other question. She'll probably need somebody to help her, or push herself up, first sitting with her bum on the platform (start out with bum on top of backrest, makes transfer lighter in my experience) and than transferring into the chair. From boat right into chair is a prettyy big height difference, and I would definately not be able to do that. 
Thanks. 
It's one of those rides I really should try at least once but amazingly enough I've never gotten around to it.
It wasnt even a busy time of year... 
It wasn't one of my best experiences on the last several trips. I only do it once per trip and because of my 5 year old. The things you do for your kids. 
And I hope it's so much fun she wants to go back!
