Just back - a few observations

[SueSue]

We got back a couple days ago and thought I'd share a few things of possible interest.

First of all, the crowds were heavier than I expected. We usually go in July, and MK was almost as crowded as in the summer, at least IMHO! Lines were not too bad for attractions at Epcot and MGM, though there were a lot of people everywhere for the F and W Fest. and the Super Soap weekend.

I tried Mission: Space and loved it. I am NOT a person who can handle spinning rides, like the Teacups, but I really couldn't tell I was spinning. The only thing I noticed that I haven't read yet is that my neck was sore afterwards. I sometimes feel the same after riding RnR. Not sure why, but thought I'd pass it on. Maybe I'm the only one who is affected like that!

Now, the disappointment. Disney is known for their customer service, but we found it extremely lacking when it comes to the disabled. I think our main frustration was that they were so inconsistent in implementing their policy on where to enter an attraction, how many people can accompany the disabled person, etc. We traveled with a family with a child in a wheelchair. Before we came, we were told that we would not need a guest assistance pass because this child is obviously disabled. When we got to the MK, we were told that if the ride has a FP line we could all go thru if Elise was riding. There were 10 in our party. If the ride didn't have a FP we were told to go to the exit and we'd be let on from there. When we got to several of the rides, the CM's told us the policy only allowed for 5 people, not everyone in the party. Some wouldn't even let us go thru the FP line because we didn't have the Guest assistance pass, even though we had been told we didn't need it. We finally got a pass, but really had to fight for it because the CM at City Hall said there was no reason we needed it. She put that it was good for a party of 10 on it, but several CMs still would not let our whole party go together. I think the most disappointing part was we encountered several very rude, even hostile CMs determined not to let us ride. I can understand if it looked like we were trying to pull something over their heads, but it's obvious from looking at Elise that she wasn't faking! We were more than willing to go by the rules, but no one seemed to know exactly what the rules really were.

Besides this issue, we all had a wonderful trip. It's just too bad the confusion over the disabled policy and the behavior of some of the CMs had to dampen it a bit.

 

[danny1649]

You had problems with CM'S not understanding policy to use for your group.I would hope you write or e-mail Disney and explain the problems you had.Glad on the whole you had good trip.Thanks for sharing

 

[HappyMommy2]

I'm so glad you had a good trip in spite of the hassles.

It sounds to me like they need some thorough, standardized training for all CMs on what the official policies are regarding GAC, etc.

 

[sters]

What a bummer! And, so unneccessary, too. I'd write a letter to Disney. It seems if you had a pass that allowed 10, the CM's shouldn't have complained about it.

 

[Flower4Pwr]

I'm sorry that your trip was so difficult! But the good news is Disney IS aware of the confusion and has recently begun re-training all operations cast members in disiblity and they even just started issuing new and improved GAC cards! So hopefully your next visit will run a little smoother!

 

[GOOFY D]

We are going with my disabled father in law who will be in a wheel chair. There are 8 of us (including him) in the party. What will we need to do to be able to enjoy the attractions together? We certainly are not going to pay the $$$ it costs for this vacation or travel this far to be separated on the attractions.

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm sorry that you ran into some confustion, but I can explain part of it. If you asked before you went, I'm sorry that you didn't get the explanations you needed. I don't usually think to ask how large a party is when people ask for advice (I will from now on), but the advice for a party of 5 or less is different than a large party. Most of the explanation should have been done by the CM who gave you the GAC since there are many places where a party of 10 just won't fit. Sometimes, a party of 5 won't even fit. That's where the Customer Service was lacking. In the past when we got a GAC for a party of 8, this was explained to us well and we were prepared that sometimes we couldn't be a party of 8. Sorry, this is going to be long, but I think it will be understandable.

Acccessibility of rides:MK was built before accessibility was really thought of, so most of the accessibility was retro-fitted, not built in from the beginning. Many rides require the person using a wheelchair to get out of their wheelchair and board a ride car. In order to have the wheelchair until boarding and waiting at the exit point, the boarding and exit have to be at the same place or close by. Many of the rides are not built like that because (for walking people at least), traffic flow is better if people get on in one place and get off somewhere else. Some rides (like Splash Mountain, Dinosaur and Small World), you board on one side of the "river" or track and you get off at the same place, but at the other side of the track. Obviously, this won't work for people with wheelchairs. So, how Disney handles this is often to have wheelchair users board at the exit. This causes its own problem, though. Empty wheelchairs are waiting there for their users to exit the ride, people in wheelchairs are waiting to board and people getting off the ride are not expecting to find wheelchairs at the exit. Some of these exit areas are very small and don't have room for even a party of 5, which is why Disney's policy is for a party of 5 people plus the person in the wheelchair. We've been at Small World when the exit area was so filled with wheelchairs and people waiting to get on that the exit was almost clogged. This is why some of the CMs were very reluctant to allow you to use your GAC for 10 people.
For some rides, wheelchair users miss the preshow - like at HM, wheelchair users who can't walk a short distance miss everything before boarding the doom buggies. For those rides, the CMs will often suggest the rest of the party not use the wheelchair entrance. Since they are trying to keep things moving, they often don't explain why.

Accessibility of Shows:Many of the shows have wheelchair seating at the back (not the best place for viewing) and have limited numbers of spots. Some have a lot - like 8 or more , some have only a few. It's usually arranged something like this:
space for a wheelchair-2 or 3 companion seats-space for a wheelchair-2 or 3 companion seats.
For 8 wheelchair seats, there might be 20-24 companion seats. If a party of 10 all want to sit in the wheelchair area, that takes up almost half of the companion seats. It also limits the number of wheelchair parties that can be accomidated, since people in wheelchairs can't get by the people people sitting in the companion seats and if they can, they are not going to be sitting between strangers. This has happened to us in Little Mermaid when we arrived for our fastpass time and were not allowed in because there were 3 large wheelchair parties, even though there are 8 wheelchair spots. It's also happened in TTBAB, where many wheelchair spots were empty, but all the companion spots near the entrance side were full. The CM couldn't get anyone to move in the limited time of "loading", so she directed us to sit on an aisle. So we had to find 3 empty aisle seats and DD was in the aisle (which is really outside the show).
The American Adventure has another twist; there is a small elevator to get up to the second floor. The CMs have a limited time to get all the wheelchair parties up there in time for the show. Smaller parties are able to get up easier.

Parade Viewing areas:When it's not busy, there may be pleanty of space. During busy times, these fill up fast and are basically wheel to wheel. When that happens, they might limit it to the person with a disability plus 2 members of their party. Even then, they will probably be turning away some wheelchair parties because the area is full.

Mainstream Access: This means that the regular lines/attractions are accessible to people with disabilities. The older parks (MK and Epcot) were built before Mainstream Access was thought of. They have been retro-fitted, but there's just not space to make some things completely Mainstream. Almost all the Fastpass lines are Mainstream - the policy is (or at least was) that people with wheelchairs wait in line with everyone else in Mainstream lines and would wait in the Fastpass line if they have a fastpass. There are a few lines at MK where the regular line is not accessible, but the fastpass line is. Those are the ones where they would have routed you directly to the fastpass line. There are a few places (especially in MK, where the Fastpass lines could not be made into Mainstream Access). THose are the few where they have you go to the exit. The Studio and AK were built for Mainstream Access. In most cases, people with wheelchair at those parks will have no problem waiting in the regular Mainstream line with the rest of their party.

Advice for GOOFY D: Go to Guest Relations and pick up a Guidebook for Guestws with Disabilities for each park. If you are staying on site, you may be able to get one at Guest Services there. The Guidebooks are not especially full of information, but they do have some guidance on what to do for boarding. In most cases, you'll norice it says "Wait in the Mainstream queue. The CM will direct you before boarding." Often somewhere close to the boarding area, you will see a little wheelchair access symbol. That would be where you need to go. For most things, your party will be able to stay together, at least for the wait in line. When we have a large party, we usually choose who will stay with our DD if we are asked to split. Sometimes your party will be able to stay together, sometimes not. You may not get an explanation, but be assured that the CM does have a valid reason for asking you to limit the size of your party. Be prepared to split and meet up afterward if necessary.