Keeping a large party together

[monkey0816]

Hi! We are planning a trip for 10 family members, one of whom will be in a wheelchair. I understand that 5 members of our party will be able to join him if there is a separate entrance. Is it possible for the remaining 4 people in our party to "meet up" with them so that we can all ride together? For example, on It's A Small World, could either the group of 6 (with the wheelchair) or the group of 4 wait to the side if they got the loading area 1st so that we could ride on the same boat together or is it too crowded to be able to do this? Are there any rides that this works particularly well with...or rides that it would be impossible to do so on? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

[SueM in MN]

Hi! We are planning a trip for 10 family members, one of whom will be in a wheelchair. I understand that 5 members of our party will be able to join him if there is a separate entrance. Is it possible for the remaining 4 people in our party to "meet up" with them so that we can all ride together? For example, on It's A Small World, could either the group of 6 (with the wheelchair) or the group of 4 wait to the side if they got the loading area 1st so that we could ride on the same boat together or is it too crowded to be able to do this? Are there any rides that this works particularly well with...or rides that it would be impossible to do so on? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

I will answer more later, but for some attractions, you will all be in the same Mainstream Line almost all the way to boarding when the person using the wheelchair and up to 5 would be routed to a different area for boarding. This is usually the unload area because the regular loading area is not accessible.
Because the area for loading in the unload area is small, there is a limited number of people allowed.
In these situations, it would not be possible for you to step off to the side and wait because you will not be in the same area for boarding at all.
Examples of rides like this would be Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story Midway Mania,
Journey into Imagination, Dinosaur.

For your example of Small World, there is a separate waiting line, which is often quite full. Because it is crowded, there is little chance that you would all be allowed to stay together. If the person using the wheelchair needs to stay in their wheelchair and use the accessible boat, you would have to separate anyway because that boat only has 6 seats.

Another one where it would not be possible for the same reason is the boat ride in Mexico.
Spaceship Earth has a separate waiting area, but there is usually a long line of people needing to board there, so they do limit the party to 6.

Soarin’ has a completely accessible line all the way to boarding, so you will be able to stay together there.

 

[monkey0816]

Thank you for all of the information so far--looking forward to your further insights!

 

[nfceagles]

I'm in a similar boat (party of 8 with MIL in wheelchair) and have been trying to make sure I understand how lines work with wheelchairs. DH thinks MIL will park her wheelchair with our stroller and walk through the lines. I suspect she'll want it more than that and want to make sure I know how it works.

I know that a few rides are different, but are you saying that for MOST mainstream lines, there is still a separation of the party at the very end of the line?

 

[jdb in AZ]

I'm in a similar boat (party of 8 with MIL in wheelchair) and have been trying to make sure I understand how lines work with wheelchairs. DH thinks MIL will park her wheelchair with our stroller and walk through the lines. I suspect she'll want it more than that and want to make sure I know how it works.

I know that a few rides are different, but are you saying that for MOST mainstream lines, there is still a separation of the party at the very end of the line?

No. If a ride is mainstreamed, the wheelchair stays in the line with everybuddy else, right up to boarding.

 

[nfceagles]

THANKS! That's so helpful.

 

[WheeledTraveler]

Actually, there are several mainstream rides where there is a different loading area if you use a wheelchair. I think Sue's FAQ at the top of the board has a list somewhere with the boarding procedure for wheelchair users for all rides.

Of the top of my head, Buzz Lightyear, RocknRoller Coaster, and Kilimanjaro Safari all have the rider go through the mainstream line, but at the end the wheelchair user has to go off to a separate loading area (generally the exit, but not always). I'm sure there are quite a few others as well, I'm just forgetting them as I've not done a huge amount of WDW's rides as a wheelchair user. I think the new redesign of Haunted Mansion also does something similar.

Of those, the one where you probably want to park the wheelchair in stroller parking for sure is Kilimanjaro Safari. The stroller parking is most of the way through the queue and if you have a wheelchair (even if she can transfer from the wheelchair), once you get down to boarding, it can be quite a bit longer before the vehicle used by those with access needs takes off.

Otherwise, one mainstreamed line (which doesn't have separate boarding) where she'll most likely want the wheelchair is Soarin'. The line just to walk it is 1/4 mile long and there's no difference between the length for the fastpass or the regular line. It's just plain a long walk to get on the ride.