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- Aug 23, 1999
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Disney no longer has GAC (Guest Assistance Cards). They were replaced with DAS (Disability Access Service), which provides for guests who can't wait in the regular line to wait outside of the line. There is more information on the disABILITIES Board.
Many of the 'claustrophobia' issues are part of the attraction, not part of the line, do DAS would not help much.
This is copied from a post on the disABILITIES FAQs thread:
At MK:
- Haunted Mansion preshow room is a fairly small room called the Stretching Room. It has “No windows and No doors” (the Ghost Host reminds you of that). After the preshow, guests file into another very dark room for boarding and the space gets gradually narrower and narrower as you get closer to boarding. The doombuggies are a problem for some people because of the darkness, the ‘roof’ of the ride vehicle and the fact that for part of the ride you are going backwards down a ‘hill’. If you want to ride without going thru the Stretching room, talk with the CM at the entrance. You MAY be able to do it, but it is very rarely allowed.
- Stitch’s Great Escape is not ‘tight’, but is dark and some people have problems with the over shoulder harnesses and feeling like they can’t escape. There are intrusive parts, like pushing on your shoulder, Stitch 'breathing'. Parts of it are in total darkness.
- Carousel of Progress has a fairly low ceiling is fairly and once the show begins, it is not possible to leave without an emergency stop of the show. I have not heard of anyone having a problem, but the inability to leave may cause a problem for some people.
- Mickey’s Philharmagic and Laugh Floor have preshow ‘gathering’ areas where many guests are congregated to wait for the next show. The spaces are large and if someone has a problem being in the crowd, it is possible to hang back away from the crowd. The CMs will tell guests to keep moving forward and fill in all space, but if the CM tells your group to keep moving forward, just explain why you need to stay back.
- Space Mountain has a ‘tunnel’ with flashing lights that your ride car goes thru at the beginning of the ride. The ride itself is in near total darkness, which some people have issues with. The space rocket itself fits fairly tightly.
- Tom Sawyer’s Island has some narrow passageways to make your way through.
- Pirates of the Caribbean waiting area is themed as a connecting set of caves. It is dim and the ceiling is fairly low. The wait generally is short, so guests pass thru the caves quickly, which minimizes any potential problems. When exiting the attraction, guests go up a steep moving walkway. Guests who are not able to use this use a small elevator to get back to group level.
- Astro Orbitor in Tomorrowland is located above ground level. There is a small elevator to get up and down from the ride.
- Tomorrowland Transit Authority is an elevated tram that gives an overview of Tomorrowland. The track goes into some buildings, including a section going thru Space Mountain. This gives a bit of a Space Mountain overview, but is also extremely dark.
- Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid in New Fantasyland has a series of cave-like passageways to get to the boarding area. Some areas are narrow or have fairly low ceilings. The last part before boarding is quite dark.
At Epcot:
- Spaceship Earth has a sort of narrow ‘hallway’ that your ride car goes thru at the start of the ride and another that your ride car will go down backward at the end of the ride. Both of those can cause a problem for some people, especially the backwards part near the end. There is an interactive touchscreen experience while going down, which helps.
- Ellen’s Energy Adventure has very large spaces, but some people are bothered by knowing that the ride is long and once it has begun, it can only be stopped in emergency.
- Mission Space has a small room for the preshow. The ride is a small capsule to begin with and the control panel advances toward you once the ride car has closed, making it even smaller. Interestingly, I have problems with claustrophobia and didn’t have a problem on Mission Space. The waiting area and the ride capsule is pretty much identical whether riding the original version or the more 'tame' green version.
- Test Track has a waiting line for both the regular line and the Fastpass line that snakes around quite a bit. The ‘music’ in the queue area includes a lot of clanging and banging sounds that might be a problem for someone with claustrophobia. The preshow area is a fairly small room with a fairly low ceiling. When it is crowded, it may feel more claustrophobic.
- Soarin’ queue is in a large space, but the line may feel very tight because there are high walls on both sides (both Fastpass and regular line). There is an interactive game occurring in the regular line, which means people may be jumping, waving, swaying next to you while playing the game.
- Guests entering the Land with a wheelchair or ECV need to use a small elevator to go from the entrance level down to the level where the food court, Soarin' and Living With the Land are located.
- Nemo ride at Living Seas had a darkened line with a lot of twists and turns. It is seldom busy, so guests move through quickly, which minimizes problems.
- Guests with wheelchairs at the Living Seas need to use a small elevator if they want to go to the second floor of the attraction.
- Sum of All Thrills at Innoventions is a 'design it ypurself' roller coaster. Guests sit in a self contained ride with a tightly fitting restraint and a screen that comes very close to the guest's face while the ride is in motion.
- American Adventure theater is on the second floor of the building. Guests can get up there using an escalator or a flight of stairs. Guests with wheelchairs or ECVs use a small elevator to get up there. When leaving, all guests go down a fairly steep ramp.
At Hollywood Studios
- Voyage of the Little Mermaid has a fairly small room for the preshow area and they do pack guests in quite tightly.
- Twilight Zone Tower of Terror has a preshow in a library with a fairly low ceiling and many people will be in the room for the preshow. The ride car is a fairly large elevator, but the ceiling is fairly low and many people with claustrophobia or anxiety issues have problems with elevators in general.
- Rock N Roller Coaster is a very dark ride, which may cause problems for some people. It also has an over the shoulder restraint.
- Fantasmic waiting line and theater are outside, but some people have difficulty because of the large number of people and the closeness. If you have enough people in your party, they can act as a ‘buffer’ around you to keep a space around you.
- Toy Story Mania is a large space, but at one point of the line, you come to a steep set of stairs which leads to a passageway that goes over the ride track and then another stairway to get back down to board. There are windows in the passageway, but the ceiling is fairly low.
- Star Tours ride is in a fairly small theater with no windows, simulating a small space ship. A movie is shown out the front 'window' and your space ship moves in reaction to what is going on in the movie.
- Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground has some small tunnels for climbing thru that you may want to avoid.
Animal Kingdom:
- It’s Tough to Be a Bug has a low ceiling in the preshow area that simulates being underground. The theater itself is large, but some guests with claustrophobia may have difficulty with the the darkness and the fact that things are happening to you - some of them poking you in the back or bottom.
- Dinosaur has a tunnel sort of area that the ride cars go thru to be sent back to the past. Once in ‘the past’ , the attraction very dark, some in almost total darkness. There is a set of stairs in the boarding area. Guests who are not able to use the stairs use a small elevator to get to the boarding area.
The best way to avoid crowded preshows is to go during less busy times and to use touring plans, which will help you to be in the least crowded part of the least crowded park.
