Interesting article about making parks accessible

[SueM in MN]

I was ssearching for some information about wheelchair accessibility of Mission Space (I know I had seen some), when I found this article from a trade publication for Amusement Park operators. It doesn't give a lot of new information, but is interesting to see things from the operators viewpoint.

 

[Schmeck]

Interesting - thanks for the link!

One question - could you get the link at the bottom of the article to work? I couldn't, and I really wanted to see the guidelines.

 

[SueM in MN]

Sorry, I didn't try the link because I have already read the guidelines. Their link may have been to a summary of the guidelines that is no longer on the web.
Here's a link to the whole guidline that I tried this morning and I know it works.

Keep in mind that the guidelines are for new rides/attractions. Even something as big as when they changed Alien Encounter to Stitch is considered a 'cosmetic change' and they are not required to make the attraction more accessible (although WDW usually does). Once they change the track, the cars (how they work, not how they look), the loading or unloading, then the guidelines come into effect.

 

[Annam26]

Great article, thanks for bringing it over, Sue!

The transfer for EE couldn't be easier. Thank God for the guidelines! A little door that opens to make it easier to let you in. I loved it! How I wish they'd do something like that on Spaceship Earth. For some reason I had a really hard time transfering (especially tranfering out). Would a little change as adding a door to ONE car be so difficult and expensive?

Also since being refurbished, Pirates has become a harder rather than an easier transfer. Last year it wasn't that difficult. Now, this year they made me transfer to a park wheelchair -even though I use a manual wheelchair- then transfer to the ride. The same rutine to exit. Well, the park wheelchair was really wide, and it didn't feet the bars on the entrance to the ride. It left a gap about a foot or more wide between the chair and the boat. Those of us who can't walk at all know that a foot of space can be an impossible barrier between us and a ride. I almost gave up riding it. I finally managed, but it was so hard that as much as I loved the new version I decided against riding again.

 

[SueM in MN]

Now, this year they made me transfer to a park wheelchair -even though I use a manual wheelchair- then transfer to the ride. The same rutine to exit.

Does your wheelchair fold and is it able to be lifted onto the boat?
That has always been the 'if' in using your own manual wheelchair on that ride. You never were able to bring non-folding manual wheelchairs on the attraction. The entrance/boarding area is in one building on ground floor and the exit is in another building in a lower level (down one floor from ground level). The only way to get your own wheelchair from the boarding area to the exit area is by putting it on the boat with you.
So, if you have an ECV, a power wheelchair or one that doesn't fold/can't go on the boat, you have to leave yours at the entrance to the queue and take one of the WDW wheelchairs to get down the line and then another one at the exit to gedt back to your own wheelchair/ECV. It's been that way as long as I can remember - my DD has always had a wheelchair that had to be partly taken apart to fold it, so we have been dealing with this on Pirates since she was little. When she had a tiny little pediatric wheelchair, we could still get it onto the boat. But once her wheelchair got bigger and heavier, we could not do that.

The same rutine to exit. Well, the park wheelchair was really wide, and it didn't feet the bars on the entrance to the ride. It left a gap about a foot or more wide between the chair and the boat. Those of us who can't walk at all know that a foot of space can be an impossible barrier between us and a ride.

I've very surprised that they didn't remove the barriers from one area for wheelchair users to board. Those kinds of barrier/bars are there to keep the ambulatory guests separated into lines for boarding, but unless they are wide enough to fit a wheelchair plus room for a helper thru, they make things very difficult for people who can't walk.
The ride wasn't open yet when we were at WDW in March and I have not seen pictures of the renovated boarding area. I'm curious to see what they did.

 

[Annam26]

Does your wheelchair fold and is it able to be lifted onto the boat?
That has always been the 'if' in using your own manual wheelchair on that ride. You never were able to bring non-folding manual wheelchairs on the attraction. The entrance/boarding area is in one building on ground floor and the exit is in another building in a lower level (down one floor from ground level). The only way to get your own wheelchair from the boarding area to the exit area is by putting it on the boat with you.

I have a regular, folding wheelchair. It's the same wheelchair I used last year when I rode pirates. The CM didn't ask anything about it nor did he examine it to see what kind of chair it was. As soon as he saw me approaching he said I needed to switch wheelchairs. I told him it was a manual wheelchair, and he said it didin't matter. I didn't know about the folding part. He never asked, or gave me any hint that there was a way take the chair with me. It was like, "this is the way it has to be"

I've very surprised that they didn't remove the barriers from one area for wheelchair users to board. Those kinds of barrier/bars are there to keep the ambulatory guests separated into lines for boarding, but unless they are wide enough to fit a wheelchair plus room for a helper thru, they make things very difficult for people who can't walk.
The ride wasn't open yet when we were at WDW in March and I have not seen pictures of the renovated boarding area. I'm curious to see what they did.

I was surprised too. The barriers made it much more difficult. I wonder how high are the chances that they will make a change to make it easier for wheelchairs once the refurbishing is over? Not very high, I imagine

 

[BillSears]

Annam26,

I'm a paraplegic with total paralysis from the bottom of the ribcage down. My chair doesn't fit into the queue area at PotC but I can usually "just" transfer to the floor and slide into the boat. But my biggest problem is getting out at the end of the ride. Since you said you can't walk at all I was wondering what method you used on leaving PotC? Currently I lift myself out of the boat then slide off to the side of the path. I slide my way over to where a nice solid railing is then I put on hand on the railing and one on the chair and lift myself up into the chair.

I agree about Spaceship Earth. That narrow entrance really makes that transfer alot harder then it needs to be. I have to grab hold of the car side and practically pull myself up into the car, almost extending myself to a standing postion. A cut away door there would make that ride so much easier.

 

[SueM in MN]

I have a regular, folding wheelchair. It's the same wheelchair I used last year when I rode pirates. The CM didn't ask anything about it nor did he examine it to see what kind of chair it was. As soon as he saw me approaching he said I needed to switch wheelchairs. I told him it was a manual wheelchair, and he said it didin't matter. I didn't know about the folding part. He never asked, or gave me any hint that there was a way take the chair with me. It was like, "this is the way it has to be"

It sounds like you got a CM who was probably used to having people with either WDW wheelchairs or ECVs and really didn't have experience with people's personal manual folding wheelchairs. I don't know if the ride boats changed, but if they put the WDW POC wheelchair into the boat, there would be no reason they could not put someone's manual wheelchair into the boat (which is what they did before the renovation).

I was surprised too. The barriers made it much more difficult. I wonder how high are the chances that they will make a change to make it easier for wheelchairs once the refurbishing is over? Not very high, I imagine

A CM who works at DisneyLAND was saying they are working on a wheelchair boat that would allow wheelchairs to be loaded onto boat. Apparently, DL has a different wheelchair boat for Small World than at WDW and they would base a POC boat on that design. Instead of being a ramp, it's some sort of lift. If anyone has been to Small World at DL, it would be helpful to have more info.

 

[Chuck S]

Pirates started doing this prior to the rehab, Mom had to transfer to the park chair last December. They no longer fold your chair and put it in the back seat. I'm thinking they are probably trying to utilize all the seats for guests, or they may have had a non-standard wheel chair fly out on the drop.

It wasn't "bad" for her, but did take up more time snce we had to go back to he entrance to retrieve her chair.

 

[BillSears]

Pirates started doing this prior to the rehab, Mom had to transfer to the park chair last December. They no longer fold your chair and put it in the back seat. I'm thinking they are probably trying to utilize all the seats for guests, or they may have had a non-standard wheel chair fly out on the drop.

It wasn't "bad" for her, but did take up more time snce we had to go back to he entrance to retrieve her chair.

Darn it! I've been using my own manual chair on PotC for 30 years now and it's worked fine. But it's really a rough transfer back into my own chair at the end. Using one of those flimsy WDW wheelchairs will probably make it impossible to get back up into the chair. Oh well if I can't make it back up at the end I'm sure WDW will do something other then let me sit there till park closing.

 

[SueM in MN]

Pirates started doing this prior to the rehab, Mom had to transfer to the park chair last December. They no longer fold your chair and put it in the back seat. I'm thinking they are probably trying to utilize all the seats for guests, or they may have had a non-standard wheel chair fly out on the drop.

It wasn't "bad" for her, but did take up more time snce we had to go back to he entrance to retrieve her chair.

The 'use all seats' may be the big reason since they are so busy after the rehab. When they do put a folded wheelchair in, it takes one whole row of seats just for the wheelchair. Maybe after the demand for the ride slows down a bit, they will change back to allowing them.
A year ago in March, we talked with the CM about how we could possibly go on because DD can't ride the WDW wheelchairs. We were even prepared to bring her wheelchair in the line and have one of our party not ride and bring her wheelchair backwards thru the entrance to get it out of the area. The CM at boarding told us to all get on and he threw the wheelchair (not folded) into the back row.

 

[Annam26]

Annam26,

I'm a paraplegic with total paralysis from the bottom of the ribcage down. My chair doesn't fit into the queue area at PotC but I can usually "just" transfer to the floor and slide into the boat. But my biggest problem is getting out at the end of the ride. Since you said you can't walk at all I was wondering what method you used on leaving PotC? Currently I lift myself out of the boat then slide off to the side of the path. I slide my way over to where a nice solid railing is then I put on hand on the railing and one on the chair and lift myself up into the chair.

Bill, I also lift myself out of the boat. I didn't think about doing what you did, sounds like a good method. I didn't have too much trouble lifting myself out of the boat, however lifting myself to the wheelchair is another matter. It's a bit high for me and I just don't have the strenght to do it by myself if there isn't anything at a lower lever than the chair for me to grab on. ( and like you said in another post, those filmsy WDW chairs made it even harder!) In those cases usually one of my sisters help me by helping to lift me grabing me by one or both underarms.

I agree about Spaceship Earth. That narrow entrance really makes that transfer alot harder then it needs to be. I have to grab hold of the car side and practically pull myself up into the car, almost extending myself to a standing postion. A cut away door there would make that ride so much easier.

This time was made even more difficult for me since I forgot to bring the armrests of my wheelchair. Grabbing them really helps me getting on, and espacially off the ride. But I don't normally use the armrests, and I forgot them That made exiting the ride really, really difficult. My sisters and I tried all kinds of strategies, which lead to cortonsions that would have caused the envy of performers from Cirque de Soleil. When I finally settled down on my chair, I saw the CM and she had a hand to her chest, with an expression of horror. I was really never in any danger of falling, but I guess she worried I had hurt myself or something. Must have been quite a sight!

A CM who works at DisneyLAND was saying they are working on a wheelchair boat that would allow wheelchairs to be loaded onto boat. Apparently, DL has a different wheelchair boat for Small World than at WDW and they would base a POC boat on that design. Instead of being a ramp, it's some sort of lift. If anyone has been to Small World at DL, it would be helpful to have more info.

That's great news, Sue! I hope they plan this at WDW too!