Is there an elevator to the monorail at Magic Kingdom

[freemore]

Are there elevators that go up to the monorail at the Magic Kingdom? I understand that there is a steep path up to the monorail there and I would probably need some kind of assistance to get up there. How about the monorails at Epcot and MGM? are the paths up to them steep as well and do they have elevators?

Thanks Lene

 

[mmouse37]

The only elevators to get to the monorils would be at the Resort hotels like Polynesian, Grand Floridian and Contemporary.
You would use the hotel lobby elevator and walk out to the monorail platform.

The ramp up to the monorail at MK is not that steep, I think the one at EPCOT is steeper. The monorail does not run to MGM. If you are staying at one of the above hotels you could also take a boat back to your hotel.

Are you disabled? You might want to check out the resort board or the disabilities board...here is a link to the disabilities board

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=20

MJ

 

[drclaws]

Which got me to thinking...how much fun would it be to have a monorail from the airport to the cruise terminal??

 

[mmouse37]

That would be pretty cool!!!

MJ

 

[Debbie1967]

Freemore,

I use to push my mother in her wheelchair before she got her powerchair. There is no elevator at the MK monorail stations and to us it's steep. There's no one to help push you up the ramp/path, but once on top they do help with loading you on. Once we arrived at the MK entrance , I would wait for everyone to reach the bottom of the ramp before we started down because once you start going down it's hard to stop. That's how steep it is. I didn't want to run over any kids or people's heals. I've complained. I was told to take the boat. If you take the boat you have to go backwards down their ramp. You will see signs showing you how. There are people at the boat ramp to director you, but they can't push you. If the water level is low, you must take the monorail.
Epcot has an elevator at their monorail station. MGM doesn't have a monorail. Disney's busses are wheelchair accessible.

Debbie

 

[freemore]

Thanks again for the good information. Did you take the elevator at Epcot? How was that experience? We have rented a car and thought we might end up just driving from park to park, but I will miss going on the monorail.

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

I have never seen an elevator at the Epcot monorail station but may have missed it. Can anyone confirm an elevator there?
The Epcot ramps are VERY steep.

 

[freemore]

We will be going to WL the first week in December. Does anyone know what time of year the water level is low and you can't use the boats with an ecv?

Thanks Lene

 

[candykisses]

I am an experienced wheelchair pusher and the ramps at MK, Epcot and the TTC are very steep. MK is the easiest of the 3.

We've used the elevator at Epcot. Worked like a gem.

We've been to the World in May, Jun, Aug, Sept, Oct & Nov and my husband has never had a problem using the boats. Maybe we were lucky.

 

[freemore]

Bless your heart for pushing that wheel chair!! Your husband is a lucky man. It is very good to know that the Magic Kingdom is the easiest of the 3 since there is an elevator at Epcot!

Thanks for the water level information too.

Lene

 

[kda]

I can only recall 1-2 times when the water levels in the lake were low, and I really think that was due to a very dry season, not the time of the year.

Unfortunately, parking for MK is at the TTC, and you will still have to take either the monorail or the BIG boat (don't believe it's ever affected by water levels) to get to the MK. All the other parks have a lot just outside their gates.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[hAm53]

i've seen many a person in a chair go on and off the MK "big boat" without any problems. i'd suggest this over the monorail.

drclaws: your wish might not be too far off. i can promise you that within 10 years you'll be able to board a monorail at MCO to a new quaisi-TTC, located across from the Wide World of Sports Complex. From there you can take larger buses to the respective hotels. I promise you this will happen, and its not just some guy talking out his ear.

 

[SueM in MN]

The boat dock at MK and at the TTC for the "big" boat were renovated a few years ago according to what I've been told by several CMs. Those boats are now wheelchair/ecv accessible pretty much whatever the water level. The boats where you might have a problem are the MK resort boats (like the one that goes from WL to MK and back). During dry periods, the dock is too high compared to where the boat is floating, and when it's been very wet, the dock is too low compared to the boat. The boat CMs have some tricks they can use to get wheelchairs on - like boarding everyone else first so their weight will sink the boat, having everyone stand toward the dock or away from the dock side to redistribute weight. But, there are still times that the MK/WL boats are not wheelchair accessible.

For the monorail, the ramp at the Epcot is fairly steep, but has some "switchbacks" to make it a little easier. The one at MK is pretty much straight up. The recommended steepest ramp is one foot of length for each inch of rise. We were trying to figure out what the angle was at MK the last time we were there. We didn't have anything to measure with, but my best guess is that it's about 3 times that steep. I know it's a lot steeper than our home ramp, which is just a tiny bit stepper than recommended. The hardest part isn't going up, per se. The hardest part is that you often have to stop while going up the ramp, so you have to hold yourself in place without rolling down.

 

[safetymom]

The bullet train from MCO past WDW is having problems getting approved. Sea World and Universal are two of the major businesses that are fighting the location of this train because it favors Disney. I think you may not see this project happen for a long long time or never.