Moved post: Best way to get to MK in a wheelchair

[SueM in MN]

Author:
sncbird
DIS Veteran
From: Bartlett, IL
Registered: 12-30-00
Posts: 429

Hello to all my friends here on the DisAbilities Board. We're taking our 1st trip to WDW this Oct. It's the also the first vacation I'm going to bring my manual wheelchair with. We're staying at the OKW and are going to rent a van. We plan on going to MK, MGM and Epcot. What would be the best way to get to the parks?
Thanks to Puffy's post I read even if you drive to MK you still need to take a tram or bus to get to the park. Are the trams handicap accessable?
Is the parking situation like this at Epcot and MGM as well?
Also, how early do the buses start running? I really want to get a early PS for Cindy's at MK when we're there but, I want to make sure we can get there on time.
Thanks for your input. You guys are the best!!

1st trip to WDW Oct. 2001!!!
Originally posted 4/27/01 at 9:17 pm Ò

 

[SueM in MN]

Wheelsie
Moderator
From: Mid West USA
Registered: 08-22-99
Posts: 1937

the monorail is PERFECTLY accessible....
The CM gets a lil portable ramp and your park going partner (family member) helps you into the car!
and NO Epcot isn't set up the same as MK you can go straight from the handi lot into the park...MK is the only park set up that you have to monorail or what have you into the park from the lot
Hope this helps
Wheelsie Co-Moderator of disABILITIES and
**********
wheelsie@mail.wdwinfo.com

 

[SueM in MN]

SueM in MN
Moderator
From: Blaine,Minnesota,USA
Registered: 08-23-99
Posts: 2759

You are staying at my home resort (OKW). I'm sure you will like it.
At MK, if you park in the handicapped parking lot, you don't need to take the tram to TTC. For getting to MK, if you can get out of your wheelchair, fold the wheelchair and sit on the tram, you can ride the tram that goes from the parking lot to the TTC. From there, you can get the monorail or a
boat (?depending on the water levels?) to go to MK. I'm putting question marks because I had been told that all the boats were dependent on water level, but someone recently posted that the ferry boat to MK was not. We need to ask Safari Steve to check that out for us.
We always take the bus to MK because it drops you off right at the entrance gate.

For the other parks, the handicapped parking is convenient to the park entrance. The buses let you off in a convenient place also.
We were at WDW from March 23-March 31, 2001 and had a van. It was not a particularly busy time. On our day at AK, we got there about 10am and the handicapped parking was filled. We ended up parking in a lot just beyond the handicapped parking. It would have been a long walk if my DD had needed to rent a wheelchair or ecv. They were just regular parking spots; no extra space beside the van to get her in and out.

We didn't have trouble parking at the Studio; went there several times.
We spent the majority of our days at Epcot. One day we arrived after noon and ended up in the end of the
regular parking lot that is closest to the entrance. The way to the handicapped lot was closed. On 4 or 5 times parking at Epcot, we only actually ended up in a marked handicapped spot once. Arriving that day at10am, there were only about 10 handicapped spots left. The handicapped parking area at Ecpcot is way too small for the amount of people who need to park there. The first few rows of the lot are marked "Medical
Parking" the rest are marked AAA Diamond parking lot, CM parking and kennel parking. You will see a lot of people with handicapped parking spots parked in those other parts of the lot. It makes it hard when the person using the wheelchair can't walk or stand and needs the wheelchair beside the van to transfer. We also saw a lot of lift vans that had to park in the regular spots and lots of cars parked in the van accessible spots.
Epcot has a nice drop off area, but twice we saw the same car parked in the drop off spots when we arrived
as when we left.

We were also to WDW for 5 days in September and found the same problem at Epcot.
If our OKW room is near the first bus stop, we usually ride the bus a lot. This time, we were closest to the last stop, so we only took the bus to MK.

SueM in MN
Co-Moderator of disABILITIES

 

[sncbird]

Thanks Sue for moving my thread over to the new boards as well as replying to my post!!!

 

[hilside]

are wonderful at WDW. Last July, we stayed at ASM, and rode the buses everywhere. I use a motorized wheelchair, & had absolutely no prob. And as far as the times, I know that having early ressies is not a prob, because we had them at Cindy's & arrived in plenty of time. They run very late, too.. I hopped on one at 11:00pm & partied over at PI, then zipped back over to the resort at 2am! Completely by myself, too, with no worries. Speaking as someone who has flipped over sideways in one of our hometown public buses, those WDW buses were great! The lifts and tie-downs worked, and even better, the drivers actually knew how to use them (believe me, a rarity here in St. Louis). So you might want to think about using that bus system.. saves you the worries of finding parking.

Hil

 

[Safari Steve]

The MK Ferries are dependant on water levels. They do travel in channels that are deeper than the rest of the lagoon, but if levels go too far down, they can get stuck easily. I don't believe the levels have ever gotten that low, but they came close last year. The main concern about the boats and water levels is that the docks won't meet up close enough to the boats to allow guests using wheelchairs to board.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thank you, Safari Steve. That confirms what I had been told by a CM. We wanted to check it out since someone else had posted that the ferry boats at MK were not water level dependent.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Hay Hilside,

Just wanted to say Hi since we live so close to each other. Thanks for the info to, we'll be using the busses in Nov. Can't wait!