6-8-11 Toy Story Mania - ? Wheelchair car temporary out of use?

[SueM in MN]

I read on another forum that the wheelchair accessible car at BOTH California and Florida was temporarily out of use.
She wrote they were told that the wheelchair cars at both parks were being inspected because of an incident that occurred at Disney's California Adventure. She was told the cars would be put of use for at least a few days while they were inspected, but didn't know anything else.

Has anyone heard of an incident or know anything about the cars being down? If there had been any kind of major problem, it would have probably made the news. It could be something very minor, but considering all the parts involved in taking the seat in and out for wheelchair access, they just want to make sure everything is right.
It's also possible there was no incident, but they are just doing a safety inspection based on hours of use.

 

[KPeveler]

I have not heard anything, but I will be at DCA sometime this week, so I can check.

 

[Joanna71985]

I can try asking for DHS

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks to both of you.
Hopefully, it is a short shut down and will be back up very soon.

 

[Singledad]

when i was there it was working fine, but hope that it gets back in service soon!

 

[WheelieBigDisFan]

I will be at DCA on Saturday and can check then. I love riding TSM because of the easy access with the WC vehicle. I always get nervous on that ride though because when it turns my chair does tend to tip back a bit, making me feel as if I am going to tip over in my chair. I wonder if maybe someone wasn't quite secure and tipped back?

 

[SueM in MN]

I will be at DCA on Saturday and can check then. I love riding TSM because of the easy access with the WC vehicle. I always get nervous on that ride though because when it turns my chair does tend to tip back a bit, making me feel as if I am going to tip over in my chair. I wonder if maybe someone wasn't quite secure and tipped back?

I wondered that too. My DD's wheelchair has back antitippers - small wheels that stick out from the back and prevent the chair from tipping backwards. Rental chairs don't usually have those and some people choose not to have them in their personal wheelchairs because they can limit how far the front casters can rise up for getting over obstacles like door thresholds.

When the CMs put her on the wheelchair car, they usually have us remove her backpack and place it on the floor so thee is no added weight on the back to pull her backward. Even with that, the front casters still sometimes come off the floor an inch or two during the spin to get in place for the next game.

It's not possible to tip completely backwards because there is not space enough behind the chair for that to happen, but it is possible that someone was tilted back farther than DD's wheelchair will allow.

My other guess for an incident would involve the piece they add that holds the shooter. It clips in securely (at least from our experience) but may have caused some type of problem during the ride.

 

[kjscrafts]

We used it on Sunday at DCA. It took them 10-15 minutes to remove the lap bar and get the piece that replaces the lap bar in because the pins were not fitting in the holes properly. It took five CMS before one got the pin in. We rode it at least twice a day the three days before and they always had to do the switchover, but never had a problem until Sunday. My dad was thinking maybe they grabbed the wrong pins, but it could be something that needed to be fixed, especially since the holes or pins probably got more messed up with so many CMS trying to jam the pins in. Not sure if that would cause the one in Florida needing to be out, too, though.

 

[SueM in MN]

We used it on Sunday at DCA. It took them 10-15 minutes to remove the lap bar and get the piece that replaces the lap bar in because the pins were not fitting in the holes properly. It took five CMS before one got the pin in. We rode it at least twice a day the three days before and they always had to do the switchover, but never had a problem until Sunday. My dad was thinking maybe they grabbed the wrong pins, but it could be something that needed to be fixed, especially since the holes or pins probably got more messed up with so many CMS trying to jam the pins in. Not sure if that would cause the one in Florida needing to be out, too, though.

Thanks
That would make sense to enough to take it out of service for evaluation and repair.

Since the WDW ride car is exactly the same, if they had an issue with the DCA one, it would make sense to pull the WDW one out also.

 

[carymomof3]

Is the TSM car able to handle a power chair? Or is it the same size as the Buzz Lightyear car? DS sure would like to go on this when we go in a week, but he can't fit on Buzz and he can't transfer out of his chair.

 

[Talking Hands]

Yes a power chair can fit depending on length of course. My Jazzy 1103 fit fine.

 

[Singledad]

Is the TSM car able to handle a power chair? Or is it the same size as the Buzz Lightyear car? DS sure would like to go on this when we go in a week, but he can't fit on Buzz and he can't transfer out of his chair.

I saw multiple power chairs use the car during our trip. It made me so happy and wish my sister was still alive to be able to experience that ease of access. Just kept thinking about how much fun she would have had doing that with DD.

 

[mrsksomeday]

Is the TSM car able to handle a power chair? Or is it the same size as the Buzz Lightyear car? DS sure would like to go on this when we go in a week, but he can't fit on Buzz and he can't transfer out of his chair.

Bill uses a Quickie P222 and fits just fine, this is what the ride vehicle looks like right before a chair loads:

The wheelchair user just rolls up the ramp. It is Bill's favorite ride .

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Is the TSM car able to handle a power chair? Or is it the same size as the Buzz Lightyear car?

I have a fairly large powerchair (Invacare Storm) and have ridden both rides with my chair.

No problems at all with TSM, but on Buzz Lightyeat I had to take off my footplates and give them to a CM to make my chair short enough. It was a tight fit, but I was able to ride, though the 'gun' did not lock into place and I scored a nice round zero. Is that a record for a lowest score?

Andrew

 

[mrsksomeday]

I had to take off Bill's foot plates on Buzz Lightyear too and even with his anti-tip wheels in the back he tipped coming off of it. There was a CM right there, but Bill doesn't want to ride it anymore.

 

[SueM in MN]

I had to take off Bill's foot plates on Buzz Lightyear too and even with his anti-tip wheels in the back he tipped coming off of it. There was a CM right there, but Bill doesn't want to ride it anymore.

Buzz Lightyear has a fairly steep ramp, so I can see why a wheelchair could tip coming off.

The space is tight, but DD’s manual wheelchair does fit. It’s a tight fit though.

No problems at all with TSM, but on Buzz Lightyeat I had to take off my footplates and give them to a CM to make my chair short enough. It was a tight fit, but I was able to ride, though the 'gun' did not lock into place and I scored a nice round zero. Is that a record for a lowest score?

I think my DD can tie your score. She’s more into watching than playing.

 

[WheelieBigDisFan]

I just thought I would update this thread since I rode TSM yesterday at DCA (Disney's California Adventure). When I got to the ride the CM asked me if I would be staying in my chair (SCORE!!! The ride is back to full operation!!) to which I replied yes. He then asked me if I had ridden in my chair on this attraction previously, to which I also said yes. He informed me that they had made some changes to the ride and that they now use a wheelchair restraint (Q Straint) system to keep the wheelchair from rocking back and forth during the ride. I don't know if someone (either at DCA or DHS) fell backwards while on this ride, or if they just got so many complaints that the chairs felt like they were going to tip over that they finally fixed the problem. I asked the CM how long they had been using the restraints and he said that it was their 3rd day in use (July 1 is the launch date). They are just getting used to the new tie downs, so it did take a while for them to strap me in. I was asked where to safely attach the straps to my chair, and even offered to help them strap to the bar I recommended they attach it to. I felt WAY more secure in my manual chair this time around, and have to say that it was a great addition to the ride. I love not going up on two wheels when turning a corner. One of these days I will lose the "death grip" that I have on the shooter, but only time can break me of that habit!
Mandy

 

[SueM in MN]

Thank you, WheelieBigDisFan.

That sounds like a good improvement.
That is the same sort of tiedowns on the buses and on several other attractions at WDW.
Once the CMs have practiced a bit, they are quite easy and fast to attach.

 

[WheelieBigDisFan]

It is the same restraint they use on the trams here too. I am sure that as they see different models of wheelchairs and get more practice it will be second nature. My chair is a bit hard to tie down at times (especially when you haven't been doing it long) because it is a "Z" frame and does not have a lower rail like many wheelchairs do. I always point out where to attach the restraint properly (which bars are stable such as the cross bars, and which are breakable if attached to such as the backrest release bar)
This was definitely a good step in the right direction IMO.
Mandy

 

[KPeveler]

It is the same restraint they use on the trams here too. I am sure that as they see different models of wheelchairs and get more practice it will be second nature. My chair is a bit hard to tie down at times (especially when you haven't been doing it long) because it is a "Z" frame and does not have a lower rail like many wheelchairs do. I always point out where to attach the restraint properly (which bars are stable such as the cross bars, and which are breakable if attached to such as the backrest release bar)
This was definitely a good step in the right direction IMO.
Mandy

Excellent update! I will have to try it as well. I too was always almost falling over - it was so bad that I stopped riding it in my manual chair. I too have a "z" chair (Quickie Q7) so I wonder how the tie down process will go for me.