Mission: Space transfer

[surgefest]

Has anyone ever tried to transfer from a wheelchair or ecv to go onto mission:Space?? I was wondering if they let you stay in until it is actually time to "board"? Also i cant remember how much of a step up it is to get in and if theres anything to hold onto. Thanks for any help.

 

[BillSears]

They will let you take your wheelchair right up to the ride, my chair usually touches the ride vehicle as I make the transfer. I'm a T8 paraplegic who has no use/feeling of anything below my ribcage and I can make the transfer fairly easily. I'd say it's about the same as transferring into the back seat of a car, not as easy as the front seat but not too tough either. There are plenty of good solid things to grab hold of. However I really have no idea how much of a step it is to get inside since I don't actually step into the vehicle.

 

[SueM in MN]

My youngest DD is our wheelchair user. On our trip in October, she rode Mission Space for the first time. Normally, you would enter your 4 person capsule on one side and when you get out, you cross the capsule and get out the opposite door. For someone using a wheelchair, you enter by a door on the same side as the exit. The wheelchair can be parked right next to the doorway for your transfer. After you get in, the CM will move it a safe distance away and it will be waiting for you when you get out.
I have some pictures, but I'm not posting from my computer, so I can't add a picture. They are not very good pictures, but at least give some idea. We rode the green (more tame) version, but from what I have read, the other version is just the same.

 

[kaytieeldr]

The step up from the floor to the space capsule isn't any more than six inches.

 

[SueM in MN]

Here are some pictures; not the best, but the best I could get in a hurry.
You wait outside of a door to go into your 'capsule'. I'm not sure, but I think the other groups shared a door. Our party had our own door that we waited by. There were 3 of us, but each capsule can hold 4 people.
We could see the groups before us leaving as we got in, because we entered on the exit side of the capsule. I can't get that picture to post because it is too large (the site uploaded the one I didn't rotate, but I rotated the others and they are too large of files now). From one of my photos you can see that the step up is about 6 inches up like kaytieeldr estimated.

You can see the interior of the capsule and the seats in this photo from allearsnet.com

 

[Mrsjvb]

I can confirm that both Green and Orange are set up the same way as far as access and getting in and out of the simulator.

 

[zaksmom]

it's been about a year since we rode, Nov 2006. They might not have this now. They took us to a car that had that blue Wheelchair symbol on it. We entered from the right side and there was a little seat that rotated out of the car. We transferred my son (spastic quad) onto the little seat then rotated it in. It took two of us as there was no back on it, so dad got in the car to balance him as we rotated it in. It was very easy. we all enjoyed the GREEN ride. Don't think we could have lifted him into the seat without that rotation out of the car.

 

[shovan]

it's been about a year since we rode, Nov 2006. They might not have this now. They took us to a car that had that blue Wheelchair symbol on it. We entered from the right side and there was a little seat that rotated out of the car. We transferred my son (spastic quad) onto the little seat then rotated it in. It took two of us as there was no back on it, so dad got in the car to balance him as we rotated it in. It was very easy. we all enjoyed the GREEN ride. Don't think we could have lifted him into the seat without that rotation out of the car.

Well that's good to hear! I was going to say that we found it very difficult to transfer my DH with MD into the capsule. We went not long after it opened in '03 & found the door opening very narrow, making it quite hard to get him into the seat. Our daughter & son in law were with us on that trip, we have not tried it since because of the difficulty. I will ask about the transfer seat next trip though!

 

[SueM in MN]

it's been about a year since we rode, Nov 2006. They might not have this now. They took us to a car that had that blue Wheelchair symbol on it. We entered from the right side and there was a little seat that rotated out of the car. We transferred my son (spastic quad) onto the little seat then rotated it in. It took two of us as there was no back on it, so dad got in the car to balance him as we rotated it in. It was very easy. we all enjoyed the GREEN ride. Don't think we could have lifted him into the seat without that rotation out of the car.

People have mentioned using the rotating seat, although no one has mentioned it recently besides you.
The car we rode was on the GREEN side. The door that we took into the loading area brought us to the side where people would normally have exited, so that was the door for wheelchair access. DH thought there might have been a handicapped symbol on the side of the 'ride pod' or the floor, but I didn't see it if there was. If it was on the floor, it did not show up in photos we took.
If the seat rotated out, we did not see how it worked. DH said the CM "might have said something about help", but DH said he would just lift DD in. Looking at our pictures, I can see something that looks like it might be a handle under the seat (I figured out I can't attach those particular pictures because I turned them). That might have been the 'handle' to rotate the seat.
I got into the ride car, thinking I could help from inside, but DH just lifted DD in and there was not a place for me to help.
From what I could see, going in thru the exit door appeared to be a wider opening than the regular entrance, so even if the rotating seat is not used, getting on there would be easier than the regular entrance.
We rode Mission Space Green side in October 2007.

 

[disneymarie]

Here are some pictures; not the best, but the best I could get in a hurry.
You wait outside of a door to go into your 'capsule'. I'm not sure, but I think the other groups shared a door. Our party had our own door that we waited by. There were 3 of us, but each capsule can hold 4 people.
We could see the groups before us leaving as we got in, because we entered on the exit side of the capsule. I can't get that picture to post because it is too large (the site uploaded the one I didn't rotate, but I rotated the others and they are too large of files now). From one of my photos you can see that the step up is about 6 inches up like kaytieeldr estimated.

You can see the interior of the capsule and the seats in this photo from allearsnet.com

Just a heads up that in the picture is the seat area. the controls do come forward as a control panel entrapping feeling.
There are warnings about being in confined spaces and my husband insisted it is not bad, there is open area around you....
Well, I can not handle a closed MRi and this was not much better. I cried like a baby and had terrible panic attack barely able to breath. I just wanted to cry and claw my way out, but a young girl was on with us,

This was that tamer version. It was not the minimal movements, it was entrapment that was a horrific experiance for me. I will never be able to ride this. I also can not do the tower and rolly coaster rids for the drops,. I did space mountain as it does go very fast and take me to the point I yell but do not have a panic attack.

I envy you all that do the attractions. Even space mountain and forget about Everest....
Oh well, lots to make me happy.
dianne

 

[SueM in MN]

Just a heads up that in the picture is the seat area. the controls do come forward as a control panel entrapping feeling.

Good point.
I expected to have a problem because I am claustrophobic, but surprisingly, it didn't bother me much at all.
This picture from allearsnet.com shows the console that moves toward you. It does move close enough that you can use the joystick and punch the buttons, so it does get pretty close.

 

[dwarven1]

Hmm... I'm kind of sorry I wimped out now. I broke my ankle three weeks before going to WDW and I wasn't sure about transferring into the ride on my crutches - I remembered it as pretty cramped.

So I gave it a miss this year... The second reason I wimped out is that I wasn't sure what all that centripetal acceleration would do to a broken bone... and I didn't really want to find out the hard way!

 

[SueM in MN]

So I gave it a miss this year... The second reason I wimped out is that I wasn't sure what all that centripetal acceleration would do to a broken bone... and I didn't really want to find out the hard way!

I just wanted to point out that the green (more tame) version doesn´t spin. It does bounce you around, but not in circles.

 

[dwarven1]

I've avoided doing the neutered version so far, so I'm going to keep on doing it.

I was afraid that I'd be disappointed after only doing the original version since 2003.

 

[Chuck S]

I've avoided doing the neutered version so far, so I'm going to keep on doing it.

I was afraid that I'd be disappointed after only doing the original version since 2003.

Mom & I have done the spinning version since the ride opened, but last week she was having some weird issues with her blood pressure, so we figured better safe than sorry and opted for the non-spinning version.

I was surprised at how similar the sensations were to the spinning version. You don't get pushed back into your seat as much, but still the sensation is still there. I really expected the "green ride" to be lame, but it wasn't.

 

[lobogildisneys]

You have to park your ECV and must transfer to the (courtsey ones available) standard wheelchair or walk up. It is not an easy push all the way up for a standard wheelchair pusher but doable. You do not swing offf until the final division into the different tracks. It is a tricky step down into and back up from the "capsule" but the CMs will hold up all to help you as much as needed. If you have issues, it is best to request the 1 seat as you get more leg room there and can sort of stretch out yourself to get in and out if you have (for example) a bad leg or ankle or unable to move those. Friends in our group had to do underarm dead man lift on both sides on a member to get him in and out and the CMs allowed all the time needed and all went smoothly. Hopefully one day there will be a shortcut for an alternate entrance to avoid the ramps on standard wheels but for now its better than nothing . Also part of our group chose to slowly walk up instead of having to push the manual chair and the crowd behind (which this was now the "fast pass return" line of course, got rude, pushy, shovy and running into , over and around us tripping up 2 of the group. Apparently there is video monitoring along this area (right around the blue strobe) and when we got further up, some CMs were ejecting the gang (mostly ADULTS) that had run us over. We did not try any walkers after that. It was all chair to chair or ecv to chair or skip. Too dangerous to not stay in a chair even if someone was partially mobile, just too slow for the rude 'normal people' apparently