Do you think this is possible on Soarin?

[Bete]

My mom is 87 and with Alzheimer's. We will use a transfer wheelchair for her on the trip. I think she would like this ride, but I'm afraid she may back out at the last minute. My 89 year old MIL did the ride with us 2 years ago. Rather than have everyone leave the ride can we leave her in the wheelchair close to us in the ride while we do the ride? Is it considered safe to be in the wheelchair in the ride, but not on the ride? I can't leave her alone.

Is there a way to get a list of the rides where you can go with the wheelchair and not transfer. I want a simple list on just rides with wheelchair capabilities.

 

[Hook's Girl]

Unfortunately, she won't be allowed to remain in the wheelchair while the ride is operating. According to the Cast at Soarin' this is a safety issue. She will either need to ride, or go safely outside the exit doors. There might be the possibility of speaking to the Cast about some sort of rider switch in the event that she goes all the way through the queue and then decides not to ride, and someone misses out on the ride to wait with her.

 

[mickeyluvr004]

its a small world you can take the wheelchair on we did this last month with my 84yo grandmother, she loved it she also loved soarin but she was able to transfer. there isn't much unless you can transfer, on the haunted mansion just tell them they need to stop the belt and you can bring the wheelchair right onto the belt and have her get in, when its over i stop the belt again for her to get off, some of the rides do, do this. they seem to be very accomodating, its a bugs life in animal kingdom you can wheel her in no problem, my grandmother had a blast, she also seems to be suffering from dementia. Have fun and with us we had 4 generations so my daughters have memories that will last forever

 

[silvergoldberry]

How high are the seats on Soarin?
Is it a difficult transfer for someone who cannot lift themselves?
For some reason I seem to recall the seats being a little high for me, we road it twice in Jan but I wasn't thinking about transferring at the time.

 

[SueM in MN]

If you look in the disABILITIES FAQs thread, in post #3, there are links to the official WDW Guidebook for Disabilities for each park. In those, you will find a list of attractions with an icon for each one that tells what the access is (must transfer or can stay in the wheelchair).
This is a complete list of which attractions you can stay in a wheelchair for and which require a transfer:

Magic Kingdom® Park
Can stay in a wheelchair or ECV:
Ariel's Grotto
Castle Forecourt Stage Show
Country Bear Jamboree
Donald's Boat
Fairytale Garden
Frontierland® Shooting Arcade
Galaxy Palace Theater (seasonal)
Judge's Tent
Jungle Cruise
Liberty Square Riverboat
Mickey's PhilharMagic
Mickey's Country House
Minnie's Country House
Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
Shrunken Ned's Jungle Boats
Toontown Hall of Fame
"The Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management"
The Hall of Presidents
Tomorrowland Arcade
Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress (seasonal)

Guests in motorized vehicles, ECVs, must transfer into an available wheelchair at these attractions (if you are already in a wheelchair, you can use it in the attraction and won't need to transfer:
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
"it's a small world"
Stitch's Great Escape!™
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Tom Sawyer Island Rafts
Walt Disney World Railroad

Attractions requiring Guests to transfer from their wheelchair to board the attraction include:
Astro Orbiter
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Cinderella's Golden Carousel
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Mad Tea Party
Main Street Vehicles
Mad Tea Party
Peter Pan's Flight
Pirates of the Caribbean
Snow White's Scary Adventures
Space Mountain®
Splash Mountain®
Swiss Family Treehouse - Guest must be ambulatory
The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm
The Haunted Mansion
Tomorrowland® Indy Speedway

Epcot®
Guests may enter and enjoy these attractions in a wheelchair or ECV:
Mexico: Art of Mexico Gallery
Japan: Bijutsu-kan Gallery
China: "Dragon: Ruler of Wind and Waves" Gallery
China: "Reflections of China"
Imagination: "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience"
Imagination: Journey Into Your Imagination with Figment
France: "Impressions de France"
Innoventions East & West
Canada: O Canada!
Norway: Stave Church Gallery
The American Adventure: The America Gardens Theatre
The American Adventure: The American Adventure
The Land: The Circle of Life
The Seas with Nemo & Friends: All Attractions
Morocco: "Treasure of Morocco"

Guests in motorized vehicles, ECVs, must transfer into an available wheelchair at these attractions (people using a wheelchair may stay in the wheelchair):
Universe of Energy: "Ellen's Energy Adventure"
Mexico: Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
The Land: Living with the Land

Attractions requiring Guests to transfer from their wheelchair to board the attraction include:
Norway: Maelstrom
Mission: SPACE
Spaceship Earth
Test Track
The Land: Soarin'™

Disney's Hollywood Studios™
Guests may enter and enjoy these attractions in a wheelchair or ECV:
ABC Sound Studio
"Beauty and the Beast" at the Theater of the Stars
Disney-MGM Studios Backlot Tour
Fantasmic!
"Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" Movie Set Adventure
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
Muppet*Vision 3D
Lights, Motors, Action!™ Extreme Stunt Show
Playhouse Disney - Live On Stage!
The American Film Institute Showcase
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Walt Disney: One Man's Dream

Guests in motorized vehicles, ECVs, must transfer into an available wheelchair at these attractions:
The Great Movie Ride
The Magic of Disney Animation

Attractions requiring Guests to transfer from their wheelchair to board the attraction include:
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster® starring Aerosmith
Star Tours
"The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™"

Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park
Guests may enter and enjoy these attractions in a wheelchair or ECV:
Caravan Stage: "Flights of Wonder"
Cretaceous Trail
Conservation Station
Discovery Island Trails
Finding Nemo - The Musical
Fossil Fun Games
It's Tough To Be A Bug
Lion King Theater: "Festival of the Lion King"
Maharajah Jungle Trek
Pangani Forest Exploration Trail
The Boneyard
TriceraTop Spin
Wildlife Express

Guests in motorized vehicles, ECVs, must transfer into an available wheelchair at this attraction:
Affection section in Rafiki's Planet Watch
Kilimanjaro Safaris
TriceraTop Spin

Attractions requiring Guests to transfer from their wheelchair to board the attraction include:
DINOSAUR
Expedition Everest™
Primeval Whirl
Kali River Rapids

For the question about Soarin', if you go to page #2 of the Epcot FAQs thread, you will find some ride pictures, including some pictures of Soarin'. I don't have any that really show the height of the seats very well - without people in the picture, it's hard to get perspective. My memory is that they were lower than my DD's wheelchair seat - the top of her seat is 23 inches from the floor. I seem to remember the Soarin' seat more the height of the bottom of her wheelchair seat - more like 17-19 inches.
My DD can't lift herself, but she can stand if we lift her up. With the wheelchair parked right next to the ride car, Soarin' is one of the easiest transfers for us to do with her.

 

[Bete]

That's a very good list. I, thank-you. It's all inclusive. I did some searches on this and I really like how you presented it.

I think I will try Soarin with mom,; it's worth a shot. I'll make my final decision once we are there. I'll see how some of the other rides go before making this decision.

 

[SueM in MN]

That's a very good list. I, thank-you. It's all inclusive. I did some searches on this and I really like how you presented it.

I think I will try Soarin with mom,; it's worth a shot. I'll make my final decision once we are there. I'll see how some of the other rides go before making this decision.

Thanks. Just to be clear though.....
I just copied and pasted it from the WDW Guidebook.
The only things I can take credit for are the bold, italic and a few extra notes.

For Soarin', I'd suggest you use the extra little strap that goes between the legs. That adds a little extra security. During the ride, the seats actually are back a little (like they are slightly reclines, which would help to keep her in).

 

[silvergoldberry]

My thanks to you as well, Sue! You do an awesome job on these boards.

Soarin is one of the really cool rides I think Jack will be able to experience, but I was afraid it would be too high.

 

[ILuvMulan]

Sue M. This is a wonderful list. I printed it, to have it handy for our next visit. I have numerous books that list accessibility for each ride, but this is great to have it all in one place. Thanks again.

 

[CoryDKross]

A big thank you to Sue for having this list! I have saved it for the future!

 

[SueM in MN]

A big thank you to Sue for having this list! I have saved it for the future!

I also put it in the disABILITIES FAQs thread. So, if you lose it, you can find it there.