The Sleeping Beauty alternative experience is a dark room roughly the size of a small bedroom… just enough space to turn a small
ecv (like those commonly rented from off-site) around. A larger (read: Disney) ECV will have to back up and reposition a couple times to turn around. There are maybe 2 diorama-type scenes to look at. At least with the ones up the stairs there are interesting features to the scenes. (I don’t want to give anything away… but don’t just walk quickly by, some of the features are on a timer and may take several seconds to a minute to appear).
Can she do stairs at all? The steps in the castle are shorter than standard stair height, and are certainly a lot less steep. There are handles on both sides to hang onto (be prepared with hand sanitizer when you exit—
every single one of the Disney-provided ones in Fantasyland were empty
all 4 days we were there earlier this month. We told CM’s several times… but none of them seemed to care
). So if Mom can do stairs at all, the castle isn’t too challenging. I have trouble with normal stairs (like in hotels, or homes) but I can manage the castle. I‘m slow, but I just let people go by if I’m holding up traffic.
I think that Jungle Cruise will request that you transfer to a regular wheelchair prior to using the lift-equipped boat. A power wheelchair can go but
ECVs have a bigger footprint... Even if it’s allowed, it’s trickier to drive onto, and back off of the little “bridge/ramp” that connects the dock to the lift in the center of the boat. They have a wheelchair there to transfer to, and then a cast member will wheel her onto the lift and check that the wheels are locked. From there, enjoy the bonus ride
. They’ll have the rest of your party board after Mom is situated.
There’s a similar boat at Small World.
If she can step down into a ride vehicle/boat with support, there’s very little she’ll need to sit out. Just get one of you in the vehicle first to take her hand, and someone ready to support her from behind if she feels off balance (primarily on boats like Pirates of the Caribbean or Splash Mountain.)
Does she like thrill rides? (Hey, ya never know… I hope to live long enough to be the little old lady going on Incredicoaster
) If so, she should let them know if she’ll require extra time to board/disembark.
This is especially important on Space Mountain, where they have a special ride vehicle that slides to a boarding area outside of the regular launch lane… then it slides back over to the track after the party boards. (The “secret code” they use to indicate that rocket is “no stairs”)
Actually, even if Mom doesn’t want to go on it, if anyone else in your party wants to go on Space Mountain but thinks they need add’l time getting into the rocket, you can go thru the normal line all the way up to boarding & tell the CM there that you need extra time, and they’ll direct you over to the special rocket. They would much rather you do that, than take too long and end up making the launch time-out. That’s a headache they’d really rather avoid. Truly.
Any rides like haunted mansion, or little mermaid … they can slow or even stop the moving platform to allow her to board more easily. Mermaid is really cool, because it seems like they can slow it to varying degrees, where HM is 1/2 speed or stopped as far as I can tell.
Never be afraid to ask for help with stuff like that. CM’s, almost without fail, will do everything in their power to help people be able to experience an attraction. There’s sometimes a cranky-pants CM, but they’re generally few & far between. If you are respectful and grateful, they will typically work with you to get you on the ride.
Well, I think I’ve rambled on (& on & on &… ) just about enough for now. I’ll add one last thing: there are several places in Anaheim that rent ECV’s. They’ll deliver them to your hotel (@ bell services or front desk) and pick them up at the end of your rental period— for free. If you are planning to walk from your hotel to the parks, it’s very much worth renting from one of those places. It’s cheaper— a lot cheaper— and you have it for getting to & from the hotel. Previously, I’ve always used A
Scooter 4 U… but honestly I was somewhat less than impressed earlier this month. The owner wouldn’t let me rent the model I wanted, saying that because of “supply chain issues” he had to limit who could rent which models based on height/weight. Plus the one I got was beat to hades. 95% of the scooters from other rental businesses were in [nearly] pristine condition, and people ‘fluffier’ than me had heavier-duty scooters. On the plus side — after a full day of zig-zagging all over the parks, I still had full battery lights — didn’t lose a single light until 90% of the way back to our hotel. Which is awesome! (So it turned out ok, & I didn’t need the beefier model after all. But it could’ve turned out much differently, with us having to cut our day short or begging the stroller/wheelchair rental CM’s to have mercy on us to let us charge the scooter for a little bit & hope it’s enough to go the mile to the hotel. Been there done that, don’t recommend it. In general though, for maximum battery life, it’s better to not be at the upper end of the weight range for your chosen scooter.) Anyway, if you wanna go that route, call around or check the companies’ websites to compare offerings.
Have an awesome trip! Say hi to Mickey!
{Another last note: if you like Splash Mountain make sure to ride it a time or 2 or 3— it is scheduled to undergo a refurb soon to change its theme to The Princess & the Frog
… The
ride will be the same but the theming will be completely new.}
) So, I was wondering how this worked.
)
