How do they measure kids in wheelchairs?

[MightyMom]

Howdy ya'll!

I have a couple of quick questions.

Question #1:
Since my son is nonabulatory, how will they know if he is tall enough to ride some of the "big kid rides" like Expedition Everest and Tower of Terror? Surely they won't just take my word for it, will they?

Question #2:
We're leaving in about.... uhm.... 5 days. I didn't do the Fantasmic Dinner Package. (I am now second guessing that decision.) Will we miss out on seeing Fantasmic? Or will we be seated in the accessible viewing area before the stadium fills up? (assuming we get there early)

Question #3:
My son does not have binocular vision. Basically he can not see out of both eyes at the same time..... which means he can't see in 3D. We typically avoid 3D movies that use the two tone glasses for 3D viewing. I heard (I know, I know.... you shouldn't believe everything you read) that Philharmagic was made using a different technology and that even people with monocular vision were able to see the 3D effects. That sounds too good to be true.... but if it was it would be a dream come true.

Thanks for your assistance... I eagerly await your wise and wonderful responses.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Question #1:
Since my son is nonabulatory, how will they know if he is tall enough to ride some of the "big kid rides" like Expedition Everest and Tower of Terror? Surely they won't just take my word for it, will they?

I think they will take your word for it. However, note in both these cases he must transfer out of the chair to the ride vehicle. When you stand him up to help him transfer, they will see his size and if he looks short they may, at that time, challange you. Just be aware that the reason for the height restrictions is Guest Safety!

Question #2:
We're leaving in about.... uhm.... 5 days. I didn't do the Fantasmic Dinner Package. (I am now second guessing that decision.) Will we miss out on seeing Fantasmic? Or will we be seated in the accessible viewing area before the stadium fills up? (assuming we get there early)

Wheelchair seating is at the back. They have spaces with for wheelchairs with a bench/seat next to the chair slot for one person. The row before that is reserved for additional people (reasonable number only) with the person in the chair.

Question #3:
My son does not have binocular vision. Basically he can not see out of both eyes at the same time..... which means he can't see in 3D. We typically avoid 3D movies that use the two tone glasses for 3D viewing. I heard (I know, I know.... you shouldn't believe everything you read) that Philharmagic was made using a different technology and that even people with monocular vision were able to see the 3D effects. That sounds too good to be true.... but if it was it would be a dream come true.

These use polarized lenses and not colors, which may make a difference. Anyway, even if he would only be able to see out of one eye as long as he is wearing the glasses he will not see a blur. Try it and report back

 

[michelle9343]

I know first hand that they will take your word for it, but the height req. is for saftey so it is really important to be the correct height. My DD is in a WC and we have never been asked to measure her.
FAntasmic can fill to capacity so if you do not want to go early , I would try and get a dinner package.

 

[JenJen]

I used to work at several attractions with Height restrictions at Disney and once DOSH came in we have to measure any child that even comes remotely close to the requirement so things have changed a bit. If your child does not look tall enough they CAN NOT go by what the parents say.
When I left the were talking about getting measuring tapes for kids that can not be measured correctly. The first questioned I asked before measuring a child was there age. Then if I could not tell there Height I would have the parent hold them up. Experienced attractions host can tell pretty quickly if a child is tall enough or "borderline."
I also worked Honey I shrunk the audience. (I know I got around I was there for 10 years lol) Although with mono vision you can not see 3D you can still enjoy the show. It is recommended to have the person with mono vision to wear the goggles because then the picture will at least be clear even though it is not in 3 D. He will still enjoy the shows because there are many other sensory stimulations in all 3D shows.
I hope you have a blast!
(((((((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))))))
Jen

 

[SueM in MN]

Howdy ya'll!

I have a couple of quick questions.

Question #1:
Since my son is nonabulatory, how will they know if he is tall enough to ride some of the "big kid rides" like Expedition Everest and Tower of Terror? Surely they won't just take my word for it, will they?

My DD has not been on EE, but has been on TOT (and many other rides that have height restrictions). They will ask how tall the child is and if it looks reasonable that the child is that tall, they always took our word for it. As, has already been mentioned, you do want to make sure he is at least that tall, since the restraints are designed for that height.

For EE, you should consider sending some "test riders" from your party on first to see how rough it actually is. We made the mistake of watching Primeval Whirl for a while and thinking it would be OK. When DD actually rode it, it proved to be a lot rougher than it looks. I think EE might be the same type of ride.

Question #2:
We're leaving in about.... uhm.... 5 days. I didn't do the Fantasmic Dinner Package. (I am now second guessing that decision.) Will we miss out on seeing Fantasmic? Or will we be seated in the accessible viewing area before the stadium fills up? (assuming we get there early)

We have been to Fantasmic at least 10 times and have not ever done the Dinner Package. We usually get there about one hour before time. That sounds bad, but during almost all of that time, you are actually in the theater, sitting down, waiting for the show to begin. And, there is a lot going on. They are playing Disney music, you can buy popcorn, pop, cotton candy from vendors walking around the stands and there is actually a snack bar and bathrooms inside the auditorium.

Don't worry if you see a large crowd outside waiting in line for the show 2 hours before. They start letting in people about 1 hour before the show begins; before they start letting people in, there will be a line. Once they start letting people in, the line starts moving and people who join the line after that are basically walking slowly in the whole time they are in line. We usually do not actually get into the line until it starts moving - and wheelchair users are pulled to the side so that you can be directed to the wheelchair spots.

As was already mentioned, the back row of the seating area has places for wheelchairs with seats next to many of them for another member of your party to sit next to the wheelchair. The 2 rows right in front of that row are also handicapped seating - for people who will not be able to go down a lot of steps, need to sit near the back for other reasons or who are with the wheelchair/ecv parties.
The latest we have gotten there was about 10 minutes before the show began (during spring break). I would not recommend that, but we were at the park later in the day than we planned and thought we would see if there was any space. We have seen wheelchair users ushered in right before the lights go off and when we were there last in March of this year, there was no one at all in the top 5-10 rows at the farthest in section 5 minutes before the show started (so there would have been wheelchair spaces even when the show started).
You can't really know ahead of time what the demand for wheelchair spots is, but I would expect to get in if you are there an hour before.
The CMs at the Information area can give an estimate of probable crowd levels and what time you would need to get there.

Question #3:
My son does not have binocular vision. Basically he can not see out of both eyes at the same time..... which means he can't see in 3D. We typically avoid 3D movies that use the two tone glasses for 3D viewing. I heard (I know, I know.... you shouldn't believe everything you read) that Philharmagic was made using a different technology and that even people with monocular vision were able to see the 3D effects. That sounds too good to be true.... but if it was it would be a dream come true.

As was already noted, WDW uses polarized lenses for the 3D shows. The lenses are kind of a gray color. If he wears the 3D glasses, he may have "snippets" of 3D if his eyes are sometimes in synch with each other for a few seconds. If he truely only sees out of one eye at a time, he should have a clear view out of whichever eye he is actually using at the time.

 

[seashoreCM]

Persons with vision in only one eye (as well as everyone else) must wear the gray glasses during the 3D movies. Otherwise the picture will appear blurry or doubled most of the time.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[clkelley]

My hubby uses an ECV and we have always entered Fantasmic about 30 minutes before showtime and have always gotten top row seating in the Mickey Section (center). The dinner package is a waste of money for wheelchair users as you are still top back row, but all the way to the right.

With 30 minutes ahead of time, we have always gotten our seats, had time to run to the restroom and get some caramel corn and a drink.