Hello all,
Quick question if anybody knows. We are headed to Epcot for NYE. We've been there in year's past and had a blast. One of our family members had spinal surgery earlier this year and will be in a wheelchair for most of the day. I've read that there are wheelchair/
scooter viewing areas around World Showcase and a mention that for NYE that you need to sign-up for a spot earlier in the day.
My question is if anybody knows if (1) you need to sign-up for a handicap viewing spot for Illuminations on NYE and (2) if so, where and when do these sign-ups occur?
I searched the forums and googled it, but could not find an answer. It sounds like on non-holiday nights that no sign-ups are needed, but a few posts from a thread I found from 2009 mentioned the need for sign-ups for NYE.
Many thanks to anyone who may have an answer.
I would assume you need to sign up - go to Guest Relations early in the day and check. Whether or not they did it other years may not have anything to do with whether they do it this year.
If they are not doing sign up, you are not out anything. If they are, you are in the logical place to ask. If they are doing sign up, do not assume that means you have a spot and can arrive just before it begins. For things like that, you will be given a time to show up and after that point, they will start letting in guests who did not sign up.
A couple of things to be aware of though:
1) at other times of the year, there are no sign ups. The park maps list the locations, but say they are first come, first served with no guarantee there will be space. Guests usually have to arrive earlier to get into these viewing areas than they would otherwise stake out a spot.
They do reserve the right to limit a party size - normally, it is up to 6 (5 plus the person with a disability). During busy times, we have been asked to limit it to 2 (one companion for the disabled person) in order to accommodate as many people with disabilities as possible.
2) the handicapped viewing areas fill up very fast. The one by Germany is very small and we have gotten there on a non-busy night more than an hour ahead of time and found it was completely full. The one by the UK and Canada is similar (locations are marked on the park maps).
3) there are larger handicapped viewing areas by/between the 2 shops as you enter World Showcase. Those are prime viewing areas and also fill up early. They are often very, very crowded.
3) to get the most un-obstructed viewing for guests in wheelchair, they usually line up the wheelchairs/
ECVs very tightly spaced across the front of the viewing area. The space for others in your party will be directly behind the wheelchair - or one or two people there and the rest of your party at the rear of the viewing area.
It is not unusual to have 2 rows of wheelchairs, one behind the other at the front of the viewing area. I have even seen 3 rows of wheelchairs.
4) plan on your whole party going together to the viewing area together and staying inside the viewing area once you arrive. The guest using a wheelchair is going to find it difficult to leave and get back in due to how they park the wheelchairs. They rest of you may find the standing spots are filled when you come back.
5) for Illuminations, there are good viewing spots all around the World Showcase without using the handicapped viewing areas. Because the show takes place over the water, and there is fence all around the shore of the lake, it is possible to get 'front row' viewing for Illuminations for guests using mobility devices without using the handicapped viewing areas. If your party is larger than 6 total and/or you all want to be near each other while watching, staking out a spot outside of the handicapped viewing area would be a better option.
During the day, look for the barges that are brought out and parking in the World Showcase Lagoon. If you have a clear view of them, you will have a clear view of the lower parts of the show. If they are blocked by trees, you will see the fireworks, but have an obstructed view of the lower parts.
