Here now!! Last day...

plucky

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 21, 2004
Messages
271
Today is our last day (of five and a half) in the parks. I'll do a more detailed trip report after we return (and I'm feeling blue), but here are some thoughts.

1. Used UG's touring plans... most of the time. Wished we used them all of the time. They really worked! Kept all waits to less than 10 minutes. Even Toy Story Mania! (TSM was a blast!)

2. LOVE staying at the POP!!! Our first time staying at a value after staying at mods and deluxes. We will come back again. I just miss the monorail.

3. Doing Disney with a wheelchair (DD broke her ankle a week before the trip :sad2: ) was usually a pleasure. Except at Epcot where it was a nightmare!! I went "home" crying that day.

4. Doing Disney with "tweens" is so much easier than doing Disney with little ones.

5. Disney CMs can make or break your experience. Fortunately, we had tons of positive experiences, and very few (but horrible) negative ones.

6. The weather in February is perfect for these upstate NYers! DH and DD(8) even went swimming every night! Crowds were more than manageable. Especially when following the UG's touring plans.

I've been letting the family sleep in, but it's time to rise and shine! I'll post more later!
 
plucky, It is sad when the trip is coming to an end.:sad2: But you can pick your self up by starting to plan a new Disney trip.:goodvibes I enjoyed your review of your days and can't wait to read more when you get home. Enjoy your last day!:goodvibes
 
Almost all of our bad experience involved using a wheelchair at Epcot. We were so used to the treatment we received at MK and AK, that by the time we hit Epcot, we were expecting to be treated with respect and care. It seemed that the cast members were annoyed with us at every turn, and even made things harder for us. Even the design of the park itself made it very difficult to know where to enter attractions when using a wheelchair! O'Canada, Spaceship Earth, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, the American Adventure, Circle of Life were especially difficult to deal with.

If you don't know where the entrance to Spaceship Earth is for wheelchairs, forget seeing the attraction! And the cast member who finally told us where it was acted like we should have known on our own! The only indication that there is a different entrance for wheelchairs is a very small wheelchair sign nailed to a door that looks like a cast member only door. Epcot's guide book for guests with handicaps says, "Enter through the exit on RIGHT or LEFT." Very confusing! And it seems there is a typo for O'Canada. There is no information given under the attractions details for mobility access. "Circle-Vision 360 film. Hosted by Canadian actor Martin Short. 14-minute shows." But for Le Cellier Steakhouse, "Steaks, pasta and seafood. Mobility Access: Enter through path on RIGHT next to Le Cellier Steakhouse." The mobility access is clearly for O'Canada, but listed under Le Cellier on the guide book.

For shows like Honey I Shrunk the Audience and the American Adventure, only one member of our party of 4 was allowed to push DD into a special waiting area for wheelchairs. Understandable; it leaves room for more wheelchairs. The rest of our party was assured by cast members that when we all entered the theater, we would be seated together. That never happened! There were never enough seats for those needing to sit with their wheelchair member and we were always sitting far from each other. Which of course made it difficult when it came time to exit and find each other.

Even the bus loading area was confusing for us. Everywhere else there is a special entrance for wheelchair users. We would notice the regular line, keep track of the family waiting just before we arrived, and enter the wheelchair area as that family reached the front of the line. That way, we weren't just "butting" the line because usually bus drivers board the handicapped and their party first. But at Epcot, there is no handicapped area. We entered the line with everyone else, and by the time we were at the front of the line, there was no room for DD's wheelchair. So we had to wait for a third of fourth bus, when in reality, it was our "turn" to board.

Boy, I seem to be whining here! :rotfl: But the truth of the matter was, our experience at Epcot made us never want to return with a wheelchair. Thank goodness we have the luxury of getting rid of it, but not everyone has that option. We have a greater appreciation of what people who live their lives in wheelchairs face every day. Impatient people, inconvenient obstacles, misinformed, or ignorant cast members... the list goes on and on.

I'm writing a letter to Disney explaining our experiences at Epcot. I know it won't change anything, but it might make me feel better about the whole thing!
 

Sorry to hear your experience at Epcot. people can be so rude and heartless.

I have subscribed to UG's touring plans and we'll be travelling with 2 teens in 2 weeks. Do you know which plans you used? I'm eager to print them out and would love to hear what worked for you!
 
We used the MK one day for adults plan and hit everything on it with time to spare. AK one day touring plan would have worked, but we were touring with friends who couldn't follow the plan (they have three little kids) and the minute we stopped following it, things fell apart. Thankfully we hit everything that was important to us, except for KS. HS one day touring plan worked great, except that because we had to wait so long to see Fantasmic (if you want to see this, get in line at least 45 minutes early), we missed Beauty and the Beast. And we used the two day plan for Epcot and had plenty of time to do everything with time to spare. It was just frustrating with the wheelchair.

I really do recommend UG's touring plans, they work like a charm! Have a great vacation!
 
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UG is the great book, The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2009. In it are free touring guides for each park, and if you buy the book, you can get a free subscription to all areas of the website www.touringplans.com. There you can find all sorts of touring plans from, "The Magic Kingdom for Tweens and Teens" to "Early Riser Two Day For Epcot". Totally worth the $20 or so bucks I paid for the book! :thumbsup2
 
Just to be clear...you used the touring guides in the back of the book, right? I was not sure if you used the back of the book touring guide or if you went to the website and used one that is not in the book.

Sorry to hear about the trouble in Epcot but it sounds like the rest of your trip was wonderful.

Loralie
 
We used the ones at the back of the book. I considered using some on the website, but the regular ones hit what we wanted to see and do. Have a great time in Disney! Wish I could go back today!
 
I'm glad to hear that you had a great time. We too our visiting in two weeks with my daughter that is in a wheelchair. She broke her tibia right underneath the knee. She is only four and after two therapy lessons, crutches are not an option for us. Anyway, we have only been in the cast for two weeks (it will be on for eight). The cast goes all the way up her leg. All I have to say is that I have a new respect for people in wheelchairs. It is not easy. I'm almost scared about taking her, but I will have plenty of help. She has been on the count down for the trip and I just don't want to take that away from her. She can do the wheelchair by herself. But the loading of the chair and of her in the chair takes some time. I have and will always be courteous to those that go thru this every day. I'm glad to hear the MK treated you good. That is the park we will be at the most. Thanks for your report. If there is anything else I need to know, please post.
 

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