Any "must miss" attractions for low/no vision guests?

[JillyBean1899]

Because I'm planning compulsive (and it's quicker for me to search the internet than the people I'm going with), I'm making a list of the attractions at the parks, and noting which ones have various adaptive devices/features, what the guide dog can go on (I've already told his human that I insist on getting a pic of his GD with Pluto, he laughed hysterically at that), and so on. There's lots of good information about what is available, but I wanted to know if any of you guys have rides/shows/attractions that are a definite skip to people with low vision. I know, and they understand, that they won't get the full experience on a lot of things, but they're excited about what they *CAN* do. Since I've been to the park a lot, and will be going back by myself at least twice this year, I'm not really worried about what I want to do, I'm more concerned with what they can do and what they will actually get enjoyment out of.

So, what do you suggest skipping if you can't really see it?

 

[spacecanada]

I don't frequently deal with people with visual impairment so take my suggestions with a grain of salt. I think Toy Story is very reliant on the visual aspect of the ride, as the whole purpose is to aim and shoot at things. Buzz Lightyear is very similar. Neither queue have overly interactive or sensory experiences either. If their visual impairment provides partial vision, they may enjoy these attractions but if they are totally blind I'm not sure if the descriptive audio would really provide the full experience.

Those are the only two I can think of off the top of my head right now, mostly because the attractions are interactive based on visual cues. I'll think about it some more and post if anything else pops up.

Oh, just thought of one more: Lights, Motors, Action doesn't have descriptive audio and I'm not sure the show has enough audio description itself. If one of your visually impaired guests really likes cars, I'm sure a sighted person could provide description. Otherwise, I'd skip that one too.

Be careful with Mission Space. I know people with certain visual impairments are not allowed to do centrifuge-type rides, so be sure to get approval for that. Otherwise, the centrifuge part of Mission Space provides a unique experience for the visually impaired and the audio is really good for this one if I recall correctly. Guests who cannot use the centrifuge can go on the attraction, just in the version that doesn't spin.

 

[Jellifer]

I'm blind and visited WDW in 2012, returning again this year. I also have a pacemaker so can't ride the r'n'r, the people moved or mission space.

In the magic kingdom I couldn't manage on Peter Pan because the walkway was really fast (I don't think they slow it either). The stitch ride was hard because you move between rooms a lot and kids trip on your cane running for seats at one bit. The scare floor was good but I didn't realise people were on screen from the audience! For parades and wishes I was told blind people couldn't use the wheelchair area but as we travelled in September/October I watched parades from the train station and wishes from the corner at Casey's.

In Epcot I enjoyed Soarin because the smells helped me piece together what was happening on the screen, the WS was lovely to explore but canada, America and China were a bit boring as their rides were movies/shows and I couldn't see much of what was going on.

In animal kingdom we told the guide on the safari that I'm blind and they sat me up front near the guide where I got help to see what was happening. I nearly died in its tough to be a big because you get bumped in the back and I actually thought for 2 minutes that something was stinging me.

In Hollywood studios I enjoyed everything including toy story and managed to get the high score even though I was just playing with the gadget that makes you fire stuff. For fantasmic I got sat up the top beside 2 ladies with mobility scooters and I really enjoyed it.


Hope that helps

 

[ttintagel]

Do I understand correctly that you’re a person with normal vision traveling with a visually-impaired person?

The Haunted Mansion is notoriously unfriendly to visually impaired people visiting by themselves. Ever since the normal entrance path through the foyer and stretching rooms was made wheelchair-accessible, they insist that everybody enter that way, no matter what non-mobility-related disabilities they may have. I’ve had CM’s go so far as to insist over and over that another entrance doesn’t even exist. The lighting levels in those areas plunge between dim and 100% pitch dark in the matter of a second, and the crowds are out of control, running, screaming, and jostling in irregularly-shaped rooms with few barriers. Just the parents trying to keep their kids with them are a trip-and-fall hazard waiting to happen.

The attraction is chronically understaffed, and the CM’s who do work there are so deeply invested in “acting spooky” that they have lost all sense of what they are actually there to do – help the guests. More than once, I’ve had them simply turn and walk away while I was asking for help. I’ve had them refuse to slow down the moving walkway to board the ride vehicles, even though I always start telling them as soon as I meet the first CM outside the door that I’ll need them to. (That is, of course, when I can get his or her, attention, which is rarely – they seem to consider themselves more performers than customer service professionals.) Once you’re in your ride vehicle, you’re all set, and the show scenes are lit well enough that you don’t really miss anything.

I’ve never had an injury there, but I’ve walked (and wheeled, the time I went there after an injury) into walls, lost and recovered my balance at the last minute, and had many near misses. Occasionally, a kind fellow guest has seen me struggling and lent a hand.The day will come when I’ll have to give up trying, if they decide to keep up with their policies. It’s my favorite attraction otherwise, so I really hate to give up before I absolutely have to, just because some arses don’t understand that there’s a lot of gray area between “normal vision” and “completely blind.”

If you’re a normally-sighted person who’s able to lead an impaired person from the entrance to the Doombuggy, you should be fine. Just be prepared to do ALL the navigating.



Another stumbling block I've encountered is that, late at night, a lot of kids wander the parks carrying really bright LED lights that blink on and off. If one of them catches me without warning and gets me right in the eyes, it completely blinds me and is very painful.

 

[ttintagel]

Another ride with an unsafe queue for the visually impaired is The Seas with Nemo and Friends in EPCOT. It's very dark, and takes a lot of sharp twists and turns on an uneven floor. Fortunately, the CM's there are very good about letting you in through an alternate entrance if you explain why you need to.

The ride itself doesn't have a ton to offer, in my opinion - it's also really dark, and full of preschoolers shrieking "NEEEEEEEMOOOOOOO!" at the tops of their little lungs. But the animated fish projected into the aquariums are quite bright and visible, and you can see quite a lot of the sea life if it happens to be close to the glass, so it may be worth a spin, especially if you need an air conditioned sit down on a hot day.

 

[JillyBean1899]

These are all really good ideas, thanks!

Yes, I am a normally-sighted person, and will be traveling with a classmate ("D") that has low vision (I've never asked why or what specifically) and typically uses a cane because she says she has better far vision than near, but she was able to read our textbook on my computer if I zoomed the page in a bit. The other 2 of our group will be a partially blind husband ("J", he's albino, but again, I haven't asked if the low vision is due to that or what, I just ask questions about what they can/can't do and what they want help with) that uses a guide dog ("R"), and his normally-sighted wife ("V"). They've all been to Disney before, but it was years and years ago.

D has been watching YouTube videos of some of the rides, and actually is excited about Toy Story. I mentioned that it's very vision based, but she doesn't care, she wants to experience it anyway. She doesn't think the ride part of the Living Seas will be good, or if she'd even like the aquarium part, but we're holding on to that if we need a cool off break. She's cool with all the coasters since they don't have big drops, and is still deciding if she's going to ride ToT. She wants to see Fantasmic, too, and possibly Philharmagic if the lines aren't too long. I never would have even thought about the moving walkways at the various rides, I'll have to ask her if she'd be OK with ones if they can't be slowed down or stopped. I've talked with her more about the trip than with the married couple because I share a class with her, and for the first 3 weeks of school she was without a cane because it had broken, so I walked her back and forth from the class we share. She moves around campus pretty quick, but I'm sure part of that is just the familiarity with the campus, so I don't expect her to be quite that fast moving at WDW.

We know that R won't be able to go on a lot of the rides, but will on some, and he rides well in a vehicle so he should be OK on the ones he is allowed on. If not he can use the kennel at the ride, or either V or me will sit it out. The only question J has is about AK, since he knows that guide dogs don't always do well at zoo type parks. I know there are a few walk through areas where you see the animals, which we will avoid (or they can go thru and I'll sit outside with R), and he won't go on Kilimanjaro even if he's "allowed" on it. Other than that, has anyone taken their SD to AK? Would you do it again? Or would you have left him/her at the park kennel for the day? I've downloaded the disability guide maps for all 4 parks so we know where the service animal "stations" are, and our coordinator is going to find out about getting us as close to the animal area at Port Orleans (speaking of, is there anything special we should ask for in the rooms?).

Neither of them are sure if they want to deal with getting the audio devices or not, because they don't know how helpful they actually are. We'll probably skip the parades since we're all "adults" and are more ride people than watching people anyway.

For on-property transportation, is there anything special we need to do? Is there a separate "waiting/loading" area for wheelchair guests that we would need to utilize? I know that D can handle a few steps (which I found out the say I completely didn't even think about it and led her thru the cafeteria so I could refill my water bottle before class and we had to go to down a flight of 4 stairs, eek), and will probably have to on the trip down depending on if we get a charter bus or if we rent 15 passenger vans, but I'm not sure about J. I think that having a few extra minutes to get on and settled out of the way before the other guests start getting on would be helpful, but I know they both want to experience the park as "normally" as possible.

 

[ttintagel]

The only moving walkways that officially can't be slowed down are at the Peoplemover in Tomorrowland and at Peter Pan;s Flight in Fantasyland, both in the Magic Kingdom.

(The one at the Haunted Mansion CAN be slowed down, you just need to be there when a cooperative CM is on duty. Since one of your party carries a cane and therefore "looks" disabled, you will probably have better luck convincing them than I do.)

I don't have personal experience with guide dogs, but I saw one on Spaceship Earth once.

There used to be a card you could get that said they had to let you sit in the front at shows, but they don't have it anymore; you have to just ask at the door of each show and hope they feel like letting you. I used to be able to show the same card at Space Mountain and use the alternate entrance that had ramps instead of stairs, but I don't know how they handle that now.