Guest with one hand

[luulu1999]

I am REALLY trying to get my cousin to plan a vacation for her family to go with us, my cousin was born with only one hand, she has a arm that goes down past where the elbow would be so it has a bend just no hand, this has never stopped her from doing anything her whole life and is even a nurse, HOWEVER she has took her kids to six flags before and there are rides she has waited in line for and they not let her ride and that is not only embarrassing for her but also limits what her kids can do and one ride had a lapbar and we were totally confused on why she couldnt ride, does anyone know if she will be able to ride everything at Disneyland?

 

[minnieralyks]

I'm shocked that Six Flags would tell her that she couldn't ride something. I'm not real familiar with Six Flags, but unless there was something she had to physically operate (which is doubtful), there shouldn't have been any problem at all.

There is no ride that she wouldn't be able to ride at DL. Disney is very accommodating, so if she was hesitant about anything she could stop down at City Hall for their guidance. Tell her not to worry and have a magical time at the Happiest Place on Earth!

 

[jolinda]

I would ask this on the disAbilities forum, I'm sure you'll get some good answers there.

 

[luulu1999]

I'm shocked that Six Flags would tell her that she couldn't ride something. I'm not real familiar with Six Flags, but unless there was something she had to physically operate (which is doubtful), there shouldn't have been any problem at all.

There is no ride that she wouldn't be able to ride at DL. Disney is very accommodating, so if she was hesitant about anything she could stop down at City Hall for their guidance. Tell her not to worry and have a magical time at the Happiest Place on Earth!

Great!! Thanks so much, I know she was pretty upset to pay all the money and wait in the lines to be told she had to get off, and in one we were literally strapped in about to go and they made her get off, well us cuz I didnt go without her, so I figure she will be apprehensive about this too

 

[luulu1999]

I would ask this on the disAbilities forum, I'm sure you'll get some good answers there.

Oh thank you I will try that

 

[AnnaS]

I was going to suggest the disability board also. My cousin's wife has only one hand. Hers is a different story - many years ago in her husband's pizzeria, she was grinding cheese and she ended up grinding her hand . She had three small kids at the time and like your cousin, it never prevented her from doing anything. Not sure if she has ever been to an amusement park but I find it strange she could not ride certain rides even if she had to hold on to the bars? Sounds crazy. I know someone who works for Disney and he has one arm that is much, much shorter than the other (with his hand) and never heard that he could not ride any rides.........

 

[Nevada Jen]

There won't be any problem at Disney. My dd has no use of one side of her body and rides everything. The only things she hasn't rode are gotg and California screamin. But that is by choice. It might be worth checking on those two but I am positive about the other rides. We have been and ridden at least a dozen times with never a question. And we had a similar experience to her at universal so we will never go the again.

 

[Niltiac]

I'm also really surprised about Six Flags because I can't imagine what you really need your hands for on most rides. My only guess is that maybe they have a blanket policy about missing limbs. I could certainly see, for example, someone who is missing both legs, or who is missing their arm up to the shoulder might not be able to be safely restrained in a roller coaster harness, so maybe they just don't want the ride operators making judgment calls and instead have a blanket policy. It seems really unfair though.

I know for people who have food allergies, there's a specific email address you can use to ask specific questions. I wonder if there's a similar service for questions like this. Hopefully someone in the disabilities forum will know. I'm pretty confident that they would allow her to ride most/all rides, but I'm sure your cousin would feel more at ease having an official answer before planning the trip and spending the money. Plus, having something in writing could help in any possible situation where the CM at the ride isn't sure whether to allow her to ride.

 

[luulu1999]

I'm also really surprised about Six Flags because I can't imagine what you really need your hands for on most rides. My only guess is that maybe they have a blanket policy about missing limbs. I could certainly see, for example, someone who is missing both legs, or who is missing their arm up to the shoulder might not be able to be safely restrained in a roller coaster harness, so maybe they just don't want the ride operators making judgment calls and instead have a blanket policy. It seems really unfair though.

I know for people who have food allergies, there's a specific email address you can use to ask specific questions. I wonder if there's a similar service for questions like this. Hopefully someone in the disabilities forum will know. I'm pretty confident that they would allow her to ride most/all rides, but I'm sure your cousin would feel more at ease having an official answer before planning the trip and spending the money. Plus, having something in writing could help in any possible situation where the CM at the ride isn't sure whether to allow her to ride.

I had considered emailing them but I know even then it MAY not be accurate

 

[Niltiac]

I had considered emailing them but I know even then it MAY not be accurate

Yes, especially using the generic email form. I was hoping you could get ahold of an email address for a specific accessibility liaison who would have more accurate info than a random CM. That's what they have for food allergies. But I don't see anything like that just looking at the website, so you might be stuck with the regular email form.

 

[bumbershoot]

Disney is fine. They don't have any rides that could be problematic. Their disability rider guide has nothing innit, nor have I ever heard of a restriction for that issue.

Universal is different, in case you're thinking of visiting. Check their website for their disability info. USH has the same sort of useful guide UOrlando does (checked it when ds was in a cast).

As for sixflags, yep! There are restrictions. For the D.C. one (bc it's the first that came up on Google) it's laid out: https://static.sixflags.com/website/files/sfa_ada-guidelines.pdf. Scroll down to the individual ride descriptions. So far skimming I've seen one ride that requires two full arms and I'm sure there are more.