Leaving the line

[burnetta696]

It sure if this would be the right place to ask this, but hopefully someone can help me.

I was wondering how easy/maneuverable/ feasible it would be for someone in an ecv to wait on lines for things like ToT, splash mtn, BTMRR, with their party but not actually ride the ride. We are traveling with my grandmother who has a heart condition and can't ride those high thrill rides, but don't want her to have to wait somewhere alone or have 1 person stay with her while other ride and then have everyone wait again while they go ride like a rider swap situation.

It's been a couple years since I've been to WDW so I'm having trouble remembering what the lines look like... And I've been to 3 other disney parks since then so it's all blurring together. But this is the first time traveling with someone using an ecv.

I know they have exits for people on ToT and the line is themes superbly. Has anyone had experience with this?

 

[Robo]

It sure if this would be the right place to ask this, but hopefully someone can help me.

I was wondering how easy/maneuverable/ feasible it would be for someone in an ecv to wait on lines for things like ToT, splash mtn, BTMRR, with their party but not actually ride the ride. We are traveling with my grandmother who has a heart condition and can't ride those high thrill rides, but don't want her to have to wait somewhere alone or have 1 person stay with her while other ride and then have everyone wait again while they go ride like a rider swap situation.

It's been a couple years since I've been to WDW so I'm having trouble remembering what the lines look like... And I've been to 3 other disney parks since then so it's all blurring together. But this is the first time traveling with someone using an ecv.

I know they have exits for people on ToT and the line is themes superbly. Has anyone had experience with this?

It can be done on most rides, with a couple of exceptions.

It will be best if someone in your party asks the CM at the entrance to the queue what would be the case if the person in the ECV "decided not to ride"
upon reaching the boarding area.

BTW, some rides don't allow for an ECV to go through the regular queue, so those would be a different situation, regardless.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

We took mil back in 2009 and I seem to remember most rides requiring her to get out of the ECV to even get in line at all. As overall, exiting the line is not easy unless you take the "chicken exits"

 

[china mom]

I always used to stand in line with my family and then not ride. I can't think of a singe ride that does not have a "chicken out" exit. Some a little bit before the actual ride but for many, you just step through the car and out the exit.

Of course, none f these work for someone in an ECV since they are usually brought directly to the exit of the rise and don't wait in the SB line.

 

[minnie mum]

You need to go over to the disAbilities board. There is a sticky that discusses touring WDW with an ECV in great detail.

Included there is a list of all of the rides and a description of how an ECV rider is accommodated for each ride. There are quite a few attractions (especially in MK) where the ECV rider either uses a separate entrance altogether (BTMRR, Peter Pan, IASW, etc) or needs to break away from the main line quite a bit before you reach the loading area (Splash Mtn, HM)

The sticky that I mentioned can help you plan for all these eventualities.

 

[perkinsrose]

You might try posting this question on the guests with disabilities forum.

We toured with a family member a few years ago when he was temporarily in a wheel chair. Most rides, not all, had a separate entrance for wheelchairs and vehicles. Many regular lines would be too narrow.

Now with the new rules, I believe you are going to need a GAC, and have a return window to enter the special needs line (even if "not riding")..not sure on this. I believe this policy just began in past year.

 

[minnie mum]

Now with the new rules, I believe you are going to need a GAC, and have a return window to enter the special needs line (even if "not riding")..not sure on this. I believe this policy just began in past year.

There is no GAC. It was discontinued last year. The current method of accommodating guests with NON mobility disabilities is the DAS. Guests with only mobility related disabilities are accommodated with existing standard procedures.

 

[catne]

Most rides do not have separate entrances for wheelchairs and ECVs...most have now been built or re-designed to accommodate wheelchairs and ECVs.

There are a few rides that you must transfer from the ECV to a wheelchair because the lines have not been redesigned to handle ECVs (or the loading area cannot handle them. The wheelchairs are available at the ride entrance, and they will keep the ECV close to the exit for you.) At the Magic Kingdom, that would be Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean and Buzz Lightyear. Tower of Terror requires a transfer to a wheelchair also. Other rides, like Splash, and Big Thunder, you go through the regular line for awhile on the ECV or wheelchair, but once you get to the area where the stairs are, they divert the scooter or wheelchair to enter through the exit. You will find the same at other parks. On many rides at all the parks, she can drive the ECV up very close to the loading area (like within 20-30 ft of where you get onto the ride vehicle. They park the ECV very close to the exit, too so very short walk to get off the ride, too.) The problem with the "chicken exit" is someone would have to stay with her anyway, because someone would have to be there to push the wheelchair for her through the chicken exit...so your idea would not work at some of these rides that require changing from her ECV to a wheelchair at the ride.

One thing to keep in mind...there are a few rides (Jungle Cruise at Magic Kingdom, Star Tours at Hollywood Studios, Spaceship Earth at Epcot, Safari at Animal Kingdom) that DO have special boarding areas for people with ECVs or wheelchairs. Some of these rides will give a return-time card to the party with the wheelchair because you cannot take chairs & ECVs through the regular lines at all there. The rule with those return cards is stand-by time minus 10 minutes, so if the stand by is 40 minutes, the return time will be for 30 minutes later, and is good for 1 hour (so kind of like a fast pass) But NOTE: the person in the ECV or wheelchair has to be riding too on those rides. At Safari, they just send you down a separate line to a special loading area...note that you may wait longer for a safari truck there, and it may take longer to unload also.

Have to say...does she really want to go through these lines with you all? Though the rides lines have been made bigger, they still are NOT all that easy to drive through, unless you're always on a scooter and drive really well..and also if you have a smaller one too. If you're renting the ECVs in the parks, those are huge, and not all that easy to drive. And when you're busy driving you really don't get much chance to look at the fun stuff in the queue lines, either (because you're busy watching where you're going) so it's not much fun to drive through unless you're planning on riding the ride at the end.

As a fellow ECV user, I personally would prefer finding a nice shady place nearby to park it...and have a cool drink, just to people watch. Or even read a book. You might talk to her about it and see what she would rather do.

By the way, make sure to do all the shows...she can drive the ECV right into the theater, and the family can sit in theater seats right next to her.

 

[burnetta696]

Most rides do not have separate entrances for wheelchairs and ECVs...most have now been built or re-designed to accommodate wheelchairs and ECVs. There are a few rides that you must transfer from the ECV to a wheelchair because the lines have not been redesigned to handle ECVs (or the loading area cannot handle them. The wheelchairs are available at the ride entrance, and they will keep the ECV close to the exit for you.) At the Magic Kingdom, that would be Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean and Buzz Lightyear. Tower of Terror requires a transfer to a wheelchair also. Other rides, like Splash, and Big Thunder, you go through the regular line for awhile on the ECV or wheelchair, but once you get to the area where the stairs are, they divert the scooter or wheelchair to enter through the exit. You will find the same at other parks. On many rides at all the parks, she can drive the ECV up very close to the loading area (like within 20-30 ft of where you get onto the ride vehicle. They park the ECV very close to the exit, too so very short walk to get off the ride, too.) The problem with the "chicken exit" is someone would have to stay with her anyway, because someone would have to be there to push the wheelchair for her through the chicken exit...so your idea would not work at some of these rides that require changing from her ECV to a wheelchair at the ride. One thing to keep in mind...there are a few rides (Jungle Cruise at Magic Kingdom, Star Tours at Hollywood Studios, Spaceship Earth at Epcot, Safari at Animal Kingdom) that DO have special boarding areas for people with ECVs or wheelchairs. Some of these rides will give a return-time card to the party with the wheelchair because you cannot take chairs & ECVs through the regular lines at all there. The rule with those return cards is stand-by time minus 10 minutes, so if the stand by is 40 minutes, the return time will be for 30 minutes later, and is good for 1 hour (so kind of like a fast pass) But NOTE: the person in the ECV or wheelchair has to be riding too on those rides. At Safari, they just send you down a separate line to a special loading area...note that you may wait longer for a safari truck there, and it may take longer to unload also. Have to say...does she really want to go through these lines with you all? Though the rides lines have been made bigger, they still are NOT all that easy to drive through, unless you're always on a scooter and drive really well..and also if you have a smaller one too. If you're renting the ECVs in the parks, those are huge, and not all that easy to drive. And when you're busy driving you really don't get much chance to look at the fun stuff in the queue lines, either (because you're busy watching where you're going) so it's not much fun to drive through unless you're planning on riding the ride at the end. As a fellow ECV user, I personally would prefer finding a nice shady place nearby to park it...and have a cool drink, just to people watch. Or even read a book. You might talk to her about it and see what she would rather do. By the way, make sure to do all the shows...she can drive the ECV right into the theater, and the family can sit in theater seats right next to her.

Thanks so much for this... Very helpful information. We will rent the ecv from offsite so she can have it always and will most certainly allow her to make the final decision. I was just trying to get an idea for Whether or not it was feasible to do.

The safari is something she is most looking forward to, so especially thanks for the information there.