How long do you have to wait with a guest pass?

[saymama]

I was telling a friend that we will still have to wait, but not as long as the normal line. Can someone give me some details. Like where do you actually enter and wait. And I am thinking up to 20 mins or so. What's the longest that you waited? Of course we plan on using fast pass on all rides that over it. that way, there will be no holding ds down anywhere, whether it be normal line or not.

thanks,

saymama

 

[teri]

Well, it depends on the attraction. Many attractions are "mainstream" lines, in which wheelchairs and strollers (when used as wheelchairs, which may be recommended in your case) can go through the normal queue. Those are usually fast-loading. If your GAC states taht you should be allowed to use the alternate entrance in the event of mainstream queues, then the CM will show you to another entrance which will be closer to the loading area rather than your waiting in line. What happenes next depends entirely on the crowds, the attraction, the mood and sensitivity of the CM at that point... assuming that there are no others in front of you which often there are, then you wait your turn in that shorter queue. If you are next in turn you may be asked to wait until the previous disabled party disembarks from the ride, upon which your party can load. Or, you may be put right on the next loading vehicle. It varies from attraction to attraction. In some cases, the alternative loading is much longer than the regular queue because of multiple parties ahead of you, especially at attractions such as Kilamanjaro Safari. In other cases, you just wait a few minutes, or a few loads (for Dumbo) and then you get right on.

"My brain takes a vacation just to give my heart more room..."
teri@iluvdisney.com

 

[SueM in MN]

We've had the same experience as teri, sometimes the wait is shorter, but not greatly shorter and sometimes it's much longer. We had to wait 30 EXTRA minutes in line for the Safari because there is only room for one occupied wheelchair in each car. Each ride is a little different and, like teri said, it also varies depending on the time, the CMs etc. The point of the card is to give a more appropriate place for waiting, not decrease the wait.
The rides with fastpass are often the rides that have the longest wait, so by using fastpass, you will miss the longest lines.œ

SueM in MN
Co-Moderator of disABILITIES

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[saymama]

thanks for the replies. I should have said that
my son has autism. It will be a godsend if he doens't have to be crammed around other people like. Not sure how the wait will do on him, sometimes as long as he has room, he just sits quietly and zones out. Others, he gets excited and can't stay still. So it's really a matter of what his mood is, which can vary greatly from hour to hour. (or min to min for that matter). We are also traveling with my younger son who has delays and the way it looks has the same form of autism, but we aren't at the stage yet that it should hinder his waiting. Thanks

 

[Puget Peach]

We had to wait 30 EXTRA minutes in line for the Safari because there is only room for one occupied wheelchair in each car. SueM in MN
Co-Moderator of disABILITIES

On our trip the first week of March 2009, at Kilamajaro Safaries, wheelchairs and EVC were diverted to a completely separate loading area and we all loaded on the same ride vehicle. This allowed each party to take as much time as necessary without being in the line of sight of the standy by line. While it was my impression that we loaded more slowly, I thought this allowed for well trained CM's to assist with the loading and allowed us to not feel rushed or pushed by others in line. I appreciated this immensely.

 

[SueM in MN]

On our trip the first week of March 2009, at Kilamajaro Safaries, wheelchairs and EVC were diverted to a completely separate loading area and we all loaded on the same ride vehicle. This allowed each party to take as much time as necessary without being in the line of sight of the standy by line. While it was my impression that we loaded more slowly, I thought this allowed for well trained CM's to assist with the loading and allowed us to not feel rushed or pushed by others in line. I appreciated this immensely.

This is a VERY old thread, so I am going to close it after replying.

Wheelchairs and ECVs were loaded at the same spot as guests not using mobility devices during about the first year or so that the Safari was open.

Since then, there has been a dedicated handicap boarding area, which is also also used for unloading guests with disabilities. The 'pull off' point for this is just before the final part of the 'regular' line.
The dedicated loading area allows extra time for loading and also allows for wheelchairs, ECVs and walkers to be left at the loading/exit spot.
Unfortunately, there is only room for one wheelchair to be tied down with the person riding in it. This can mean an even longer extra wait if there are more than one guest who need to use the wheelchair spot.

Safari is kind of notorious for extra waits for people with disabilities, even if the person is getting out of their wheelchair/ECV. Our longest extra wait was 40 minutes - this was when the posted wait was 10 minutes and we could see Safari trams being driven out with empty seats because guests were not walking up fast enough to fill them. I watched the people who had been ahead of us in line and the 40 minutes I counted was from the time they got on!
There were people with us in the handicap line asking the CMs if they could just leave their wheelchair or ECV and go into the 'regular' line.