Mickey's Philharmagic

[JudithM]

I saw this show three times on my recent trip to WDW. I really like the show !

However, I did not find it very easy for a first timer in an ECV to know where/how to get through the que area. Not once was there a CM out front or any where near the entrance. It would have been nice if a CM was there to direct the ECV to the straight path rather than the que line that winds around & around. The first time I went through the zigzag line with my party. After that I knew to just turn right when I enter, go through the chains, & take the straight path. Then I just waited for my party to meet me.

by contrast at Sea World I nver had to seek out a crew member (employee) to ask how do I get through. There was always someone to let me know the direction to take.

 

[mbb]

that you enjoyed the show

We had the same issues of "trying to find the straight path" too at other attractions...the regular line up maze is just too cumbersome...my mother would never want to remove the chain herself...became a running joke that "CM mbb" will help you with that

 

[chamonix]

Wow, so do all lines have a "straight path" or do you just "find your own"? My mom was new at using an ECV last trip, and therefore, had a tough time with the twisty turning mazes, LOL. Only one time did I just remove a chain to help her, and I was afraid I would get in trouble for doing it. It's funny, at Philharmagic no CMs ever told us what to do, it was the only time we got right up to the doors of the theater before they stopped us from going in--"Oh, you can't go in there! There's no room for any more ECVs, you have to go way over there to the ECV/wheelchair line and wait for the next show!" How did we get all through a line with noone telling us what to do? Weird. Great show though!!

 

[Safari Steve]

Sounds to me like the OP just "made their own path" by lifting chains. Please do not move chains. Even if you put them back properly, other guests may follow your example and the queue can become a tangled mess of multiple dead-end queues. This is a headache and a hassle for the CMs operating the attraction as well as other guests in line, who may end up waiting much longer. I've seen this happen numerous times, and there is always a CM at the entrance to each attraction, even if there is not one deep inside the queue. All queues that ecvs are allowed into are wide enough to accomodate them, but if speed and maneuvering are a problem, you may find it easier to lift the "freewheel" lever on the back, and have another member of the party slowly push you around those corners you don't think you could manage.
Trust me, though. Moving the chains is a bad idea!

As for there not being enough room in one particular show, because Philharmagic has continuous 10 minute shows, and there are no set start times, there's no way for the CM at greeter to know for sure if you will be able to fit in the next show. No one told you anything special to do because there is nothing special to do: Go through the line, stay to the right, wait for the back row of the theater. It's similar to Splash Mountain and The Great Movie Ride that way. You go to a certain point and then you wait in a seperate area for the next available show.

 

[SueM in MN]

Originally posted by Safari Steve
Sounds to me like the OP just "made their own path" by lifting chains. Please do not move chains. Even if you put them back properly, other guests may follow your example and the queue can become a tangled mess of multiple dead-end queues. This is a headache and a hassle for the CMs operating the attraction as well as other guests in line, who may end up waiting much longer. I've seen this happen numerous times, and there is always a CM at the entrance to each attraction, even if there is not one deep inside the queue. All queues that ecvs are allowed into are wide enough to accomodate them, but if speed and maneuvering are a problem, you may find it easier to lift the "freewheel" lever on the back, and have another member of the party slowly push you around those corners you don't think you could manage.
Trust me, though. Moving the chains is a bad idea!

As for there not being enough room in one particular show, because Philharmagic has continuous 10 minute shows, and there are no set start times, there's no way for the CM at greeter to know for sure if you will be able to fit in the next show. No one told you anything special to do because there is nothing special to do: Go through the line, stay to the right, wait for the back row of the theater. It's similar to Splash Mountain and The Great Movie Ride that way. You go to a certain point and then you wait in a seperate area for the next available show.

We've actually ended up at some of those dead ends. At times, the chain with the wheelchair symbol has been left open and we followed the path, only to end up in a dead end place where no one would let us out (because they thought we were cutting in line).
When we first started going to WDW with a wheelchair in 1987, there seemed to be a lot more CMs around. Each ride/attraction had a greeter who directed where to go. And, since many rides did not have completely accessible lines, it usually meant being pulled out of the main line pretty early. Also, I have noticed that the Unofficial Guide to WDW sort of makes it sound like people with wheelchairs/ecvs don't wait in the regular line (when I looked at the 2003 version, it said something about, your wait will usually be much shorter). What used to be and the book make people with ecvs and wheelchair think there is always a different entrance, which probably makes the "lifting the chain" problem much more prevalent.