I don't know if you receive the newsletter from Deb's website, but they have an interesting article this week about the "Big" Picture at Disney.
http://www.allearsnet.com/
FEATURE ARTICLE
Walt Disney World -- The Big Picture
by Joshua Olive
ALL EARS® Guest Columnist
As a larger guy -- 6'6", 375 lbs. -- hotels, bathrooms, and
public transportation all present their own obstacles. You have
to deal with all of those things, and more, at theme parks. On
my most recent trip to Walt Disney World, I decided to really
pay attention to how everything works for those of us who are of
more than average proportions. I'm happy to report that Disney,
while perhaps not necessarily perfectly suited to larger
visitors, is certainly a Big-Friendly place to be.
Let's start with the hotel. We stayed at the Caribbean Beach
Resort. We requested a king room when we made our reservation in
June, but we made sure to reiterate the request at check-in. It
was good that we did because we ended up waiting several minutes
while they tried to sort that out and, eventually, they came up
with what they told us was the last available king room at the
resort. Having pre-paid for the trip (the super-deal they
offered in June), they did add an additional charge for the king
room, making up the difference between standard and king. It
came to $85.00 for 7 nights with the deal we had, but once we
got there (#3461 of Trinidad South, upstairs), there was a
refrigerator in the room, which we did not pay for, so it worked
out pretty well. (EDITOR'S NOTE: All deluxe and moderate resorts
will soon have refrigerators in all the rooms. Keep in mind that
Caribbean Beach has larger rooms than the other moderate
resorts. Also, there are no elevators at Caribbean Beach.)
We were in the lovely village of Trinidad South. The room was
colorful and uplifting, and there were no low-hanging light
fixtures to knock me on the head, no narrow doors to make me
feel claustrophobic, no impediments at all. The bathtub was an
actual tub, not one of those plastic molds, so it felt solid and
sturdy, without any of that unnerving creaking and groaning that
can occur in lesser quality bathtubs. That particular touch was
a pleasant surprise. The bed was big and sturdy -- I could've
jumped on it if I'd wanted to. All in all, the room was open,
inviting, and comfortable. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about
Caribbean Beach except the labyrinthine complex through which
you are forced to search for your room. Even that could actually
be a relaxing stroll, provided you weren't absolutely exhausted
from a 12-hour day at the parks.
As far as the rides go, I never encountered a single ride that I
couldn't get into. This is a vast improvement over places like
Six Flags, where half the rides (all the best ones!) are less
than accommodating. Granted, I didn't try to cram myself into
the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway race cars at Magic Kingdom. I
can't even imagine fitting in those, let alone them having
enough power to move me! But I did ride the vast majority of the
rides at all four parks. I had done my homework on
AllEarsNetprior to going on my trip, so I already had the skinny
on most of the rides (forgive the pun), thanks to previous trip
reports. Armed with that knowledge and with previous experience
at the World, I knew what to expect in most cases.
The biggest offender for me was, not surprisingly, LEG ROOM. I
had to wedge myself into several of the rides, which could be a
bit uncomfortable depending on how I happened to fit into any
particular ride vehicle. Many of the vehicles were just plain
hard on the knees: Snow White's Scary Adventures, Many
Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (which would have been all right
if it hadn't been for that bar in the middle), Spaceship Earth,
Maelstrom, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Dinosaur, and the Backlot Tour
ride. Admittedly, some were worse than others. In these cases,
all seats on the ride vehicles are the same, meaning that I
couldn't get away with requesting a front seat to get a roomier
and more comfortable ride -- more on that in a minute.
Some of the ride vehicles were short on both leg room and width,
which resulted in some interesting situations. Splash Mountain,
one of my favorite rides in the Magic Kingdom, is also one of
the more difficult to get into and out of. I'm sure anyone who
videotaped me cramming myself into or extricating myself from
one of the logs could sell it on Funniest Home Videos. It takes
some doing. I would say I'm at about the edge of that vehicle's
capacity.
Space Mountain, which I rode this year for the first time since
they got the new ride vehicles, was great! A little scary, but
great. The Cast Members actually suggest that bigger/taller
guests ride in the rear seat of the vehicle. I thought that was
a bit strange, certainly unusual, but what the heck? I climbed
into the back -- again, a humorous sight, with knees sticking
out at all angles. The bar, which is supposed to lower between
your legs and fit snugly across your lap, came only half way
down my femurs, leaving me in a not-quite-comfortable position.
It wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but it definitely made for an
interesting ride. So interesting, in fact, that I immediately
ran back around and rode it again -- there was no line, thanks
to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party's reduced crowd, so
another go at it was irresistible.
Some ride vehicles' seats are not identical in every instance.
Several of the rides, particularly newer ones, have options. The
Rock 'N' Roller Coaster in Disney-MGM Studios, for example -- I
can't sit in the back seat of any of the cars, but I fit quite
comfortably in the front. For all of you taller/larger folks out
there, try the odd-numbered rows, and there shouldn't be a
problem. The same thing goes for Test Track in Epcot. I fit just
fine in the front seat, but I couldn't be shoehorned into the
back seat if my life depended on it. Other rides on which to try
and snag a front seat are, of all things, El Rio del Tiempo in
the Mexico Pavilion and Living with the Land. Both of these can
be extremely enjoyable attractions, as long as your knees aren't
being abused by the seat in front of you.
The Astro Orbiter is an odd one. It's a long-ways bench, meaning
you straddle it with your legs and feet straight out in front of
you. Each rocket is intended to seat two people in this fashion,
but it just wasn't going to work for me. There was simply no
way, without a good can of WD-40, that we were going to wedge my
girlfriend in there, too. So we both flew solo -- what a great
view of the Magic Kingdom!
The only other rides with unusual requirements were Kali River
Rapids and Primeval Whirl, both at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Kali
River Rapids straps a single seatbelt across two seats, which is
all well and good if they're seating a child or a much smaller
adult next to you, but which could easily get uncomfortable if
you have to try to strap in next to anyone of even average size.
To avoid any potential embarrassment, just make sure the Cast
Members are aware of the situation and they'll be happy to seat
you next to someone built on a smaller scale. The semi-circular
seating on Primeval Whirl may not work with another person on
the concave bench seat next to you; it didn't for me. Just tell
the Cast Members your situation, and they'll be more than happy
to seat you alone on your side.
To prove the extent to which I went in my research, I even tried
out Cinderella's Golden Carrousel -- twice. (OK, it was my
girlfriend's idea, but I still did it.) Take a second and
picture that. The first go 'round, I took the easy way out. I
sat on the front row of the carriage and watched as a throng of
divinely happy princes and princesses galloped around, bouncing
up and down as they went. The second time, I figured I'd give
one of the horses a try. Why not? So I chose one of the bigger,
sturdier looking steeds, whispered a brief prayer, and placed my
foot in the stirrup to swing up on his back. Uh oh. Here's an
unexpected problem! Who would have thought that the stirrup
would be too narrow for my size 15EEEE shoe?! Somehow, I managed
to squeeze my foot in there just enough to hoist myself up onto
the horse. After a brief, but enjoyable, ride (infinitely more
enjoyable than sitting on the carriage, if you can manage it), I
dismounted by using the top of the stirrup on the horse next to
me. Once I successfully managed to get down from my perch, I
patted that horse on the head, promptly thanked him for his
generous support, and walked on to the next attraction, feeling
a little silly and a little giddy at the same time.
In the last two years, I have experienced about 99 percent of
the attractions at WDW. If I didn't mention an attraction in
this article, be it a ride, show, etc., it's because I
encountered no problems with it whatsoever. That means that Big
Thunder Mountain Railroad, Mickey's PhilharMagic, etc. were all
perfectly accommodating to my large frame. One exception to that
is Mission: SPACE, which I have yet to ride. I'll definitely let
you know how it fits and how it works as soon as I get the
opportunity to ride it.
All in all, I'd say this was definitely a magical trip. My
girlfriend and I enjoyed fabulous rides, amazing shows (Cirque
du Soleil's La Nouba is INCREDIBLE), and wonderful restaurants,
and we never had to forego anything we wanted to do because of
my size. We enjoyed every moment of our stay and, like most
everyone else, were only disappointed when we had to head back
home.
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Guest Columnist Joshua Olive is a 29-year-old, 10-trip Walt
Disney World veteran who remembers seeing Epcot when it was
under construction and staying at the old Disney Institute Tree
House Villas. A technical writer for a robotics integrator by
day, he also is a comic book store owner,
a musician, and an actor and director in community theater,
where he recently won a local Best Actor award for his portrayal
of Lennie in "Of Mice and Men."
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