Need Help Identifying Rides

[michellex2]

I'm at the point in my trip planning of making a list of rides at different parks that my elderly mother can do. (Her wheelchair, mild dementia, and frailness make some off limits.)

We've done one other very short trip and she had trouble on two rides -- one with entering and one with exiting. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the rides and would like to tag them in my mind so we either talk with the CM about a better access plan or avoid them. The ride she had trouble exiting was in Epcot. It was a boat and you climbed out of the boat onto a moving walkway. When climbing out, it was a pretty big step up onto the moving walkway and she had a very hard time with that step. It took so long that when we finally got out, the walkway ended way too soon and she would have fallen except a very kind, and fortunately very large man behind us saw what was happening and scooped her up and onto safe ground. She loved the ride, but I need a better exit strategy if we do it again.

The other ride was at Magic Kingdom and it had a moving walkway that was really steep and fast. You couldn't see the walkway from the que and once you were on it, it was hard to get off. It was also night at MVMCP so you didn't tend to see things as clearly. We didn't actually do this ride, but getting off the walkway was a nightmare. I don't want to get caught in that situation again with her and I'm afraid I won't recognize the ride. I remember that the ride itself sounded fine for her -- it was the access that was a problem. Note to self: Ask about the access, not just the ride!

If anyone can recognize these rides from my descriptions knowing the names would be great!

 

[ambymm018]

I'm not sure about the first ride but the second at MK is the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. It's not made to be wheelchair accessible (the ride is quite old) so I don't know how they can make that easier for you BUT if you talk to a CM at Guest Relations they can actually give you a map of rides that are easy and hard for guests with wheelchairs. I know many of the guest with with wheelchairs in their parties find the maps very helpful.

 

[CBear]

The ride she had trouble exiting was in Epcot. It was a boat and you climbed out of the boat onto a moving walkway. When climbing out, it was a pretty big step up onto the moving walkway and she had a very hard time with that step. It took so long that when we finally got out, the walkway ended way too soon and she would have fallen except a very kind, and fortunately very large man behind us saw what was happening and scooped her up and onto safe ground. She loved the ride, but I need a better exit strategy if we do it again.

I'm not sure, but could this be the "Living with the Land" ride - the boat that takes you through various agricultural/farming displays? It's definitely a boat, I just can't remember if you get out on to a moving walkway.

Hope you and your Mom have a really wonderful trip.

 

[BonnieA]

I don't think there are any boat rides in Epcot with a moving walkway. All the boat rides are stationary loading (Norway, Mexico and the Land). In fact if my thinking is correct, the only ride with a moving walkway in Epcot is Spaceship Earth. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[ambymm018]

I'm pretty sure you're right. I can't remember ANY of the boat rights having a moving walkway. The only "boat" ride I can think of off the top of my head that has a moving walkway is Kali River Rapids in DAK

 

[JenB]

Journey into Your Imagination had a moving walkway but no boat. Those are tricky to get on though!
Also, Peter Pain in MK had a moving walkway as well as Winnie the Pooh.

 

[ambymm018]

Peter Pan might be it. The cars are shaped like pirate ships.

 

[CBear]

I thought of Peter Pan too, but the OP said the ride was in Epcot. I think the boats in the "Living with the Land" ride do have a big step going up, but no moving walkway.

 

[jwann]

We think
"Living with the Land" at Epcot
"Tomorrowland Transit Authority" at MK

 

[ambymm018]

The only thing about living with the land is that there is no moving platform the boats.

 

[SueM in MN]

There are only 3 boats at Epcot and none has a moving walkway.

Living with the Land is the boat ride in the Land. The boat comes to a complete stop for boarding and unloading. It's only a small step down. A wheelchair can be loaded onto the boat (the front row is ramped for entry). Someone who has trouble with the small step could request to sit in the front row - that way they can walk up and down the small ramp.

Maelstrom in Norway also has a boat that is completly stopped for boarding and unloading. That one is a biggest step down to get on and up to get off.

The boat ride in Mexico, El Rio del Tiempo, is a boat pretty much exactly like the boat on Small World in MK. It also is completely stopped for loading and unloading. There is a boat that can load a wheelchair at the rear with a small built in ramp. Someone who has trouble with stepping into the boat could request to wak on to the wheelchair boat.

Actually the only boat that float on water that has a moving walkway is Kali River Rapids - but, for wheelchair users or mobility challenges, there is a loading area without a moving walkway where they can "trap" one of the boats for loading/unloading.
The only other "boat" that has a moving walkway is Peter Pan (OK, I know it's not a real boat). That is one of the moving walkways that can't be stopped.
The other is Tomorrowland Transit Authority, which as ambymm018 mentioned is probably the ride you were talking about in MK. That has a steep moving walkway to get up/down to the station, which is on second floor level. Once you get up there, there is a moving walkway to get on and off the ride car.
Pirates of the Caribbean in MK has a steep moving walkway to get back up to ground level after you get off. There is also an elevator - wait to the side out of the way when you get off the boat and ask the CM about it when the "crowd" from your boat has gone by.

This is a link to a past disABILITIES Board thread about boarding for people who need extra time. it includes a lot of information about the rides with moving walkways.

 

[KrisTX]

I remember being on the Haunted House buggies and the walkway stopping to allow a wheelchair to pick up a rider. It was about 20 years ago. Not sure if that is still an option.

I hope you and your mom have a wonderful time.

 

[SueM in MN]

I remember being on the Haunted House buggies and the walkway stopping to allow a wheelchair to pick up a rider. It was about 20 years ago. Not sure if that is still an option.

I hope you and your mom have a wonderful time.

The only moving walkways that can't be slowed at WDW are at the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, the moving upward ramp at the exit of Pirates (after you get off the ride) and the moving walkway at Peter Pan.

All the other moving walkways can be stopped or slowed for boarding. In order to do that though, you have to board at the exit. The CMs at the regular boarding area can typically only stop the moving walkways for an Emergency Stop (and you want to avoid those).

 

[michellex2]

Yes. It was Tomorrowland Transit Authority at MK. I'll cross that one off my list.

I must be mixing up two rides in my memory with the Epcot ride. What I remember was the boats (and they were on water) were bunched up. The ride had stopped toward the end of the ride and all of the boats jammed together rather than being spaced out as usual. Then each boat exited onto a round platform of some kind that I thought was moving. It seems to me that people on the other half of the platform were loading into the boats, while our half of the platform was exiting. The boats behind us, because they were all bunched together, pushed into ours and the boat moved while my Mom was trying to get out. She was frightened at that point and I had trouble convincing her she was safe to step out and she was having trouble figuring out what leg to use and it was just a general mess. I was worried as well by this point, so I must just not be remembering the walkway, etc. correctly.

I know it was not The Land. One of the country rides (either Norway or Mexico), I'm pretty sure they loaded her wheel chair on the boat, because I remember they had trouble for some reason getting it turned to take it up the ramp backward. I'm guessing it was Norway, because I do recall that it really was a fairly decent size step up and for some reason, the way I was positioned trying to support her made it difficult to both support her and help her figure out what she needed to do. At any rate, it's got to be either Norway or Mexico, so I'll just check out the process for those to be sure I'm more prepared for the next time. As long as I'm prepared, I can usually help foreshadow things for her and everything goes much smoother.

Thanks everyone for the input.

 

[SamiL]

Does the ride at the Mexico Pavilion (El Rio Del Tiempo, "The River of Time") have a moving walkway? I know it has boats.

 

[Chuck S]

My guess is the boat ride was probably in Norway, a wheelchair guest can not stay in their chair for this ride. There isn't an unload beltway, but it is a steep step up. Or she may be thinking of Spaceship Earth, it had a moving belt, but it isn't a boat.

Both Mexico and The Land have wheelchair accessible boats, so she could stay seated (assuming it is a manual push chair, not an electric chair).

 

[ambymm018]

Sounds like Kali River rapids in Animal Kingdom. The boats were round and you got kinda wet going down a large rapid? They can slow that down if she has trouble getting off and on. TTA can't be slowed down however -I believe it is the only ride in the whole wdw complex that actually has a sign saying it is not availble to guest with disablities. If she's okay walking it though it shouldn't be a problem. It's an awsome ride although it was better with its old name

 

[SueM in MN]

Does the ride at the Mexico Pavilion (El Rio Del Tiempo, "The River of Time") have a moving walkway? I know it has boats.

No moving walkway and the boat is firmly stopped by the boat dispatcher while loading and unloading.

 

[SueM in MN]

Yes. It was Tomorrowland Transit Authority at MK. I'll cross that one off my list.

I must be mixing up two rides in my memory with the Epcot ride. What I remember was the boats (and they were on water) were bunched up. The ride had stopped toward the end of the ride and all of the boats jammed together rather than being spaced out as usual. Then each boat exited onto a round platform of some kind that I thought was moving. It seems to me that people on the other half of the platform were loading into the boats, while our half of the platform was exiting. The boats behind us, because they were all bunched together, pushed into ours and the boat moved while my Mom was trying to get out. She was frightened at that point and I had trouble convincing her she was safe to step out and she was having trouble figuring out what leg to use and it was just a general mess. I was worried as well by this point, so I must just not be remembering the walkway, etc. correctly.

I know it was not The Land. One of the country rides (either Norway or Mexico), I'm pretty sure they loaded her wheel chair on the boat, because I remember they had trouble for some reason getting it turned to take it up the ramp backward. I'm guessing it was Norway, because I do recall that it really was a fairly decent size step up and for some reason, the way I was positioned trying to support her made it difficult to both support her and help her figure out what she needed to do. At any rate, it's got to be either Norway or Mexico, so I'll just check out the process for those to be sure I'm more prepared for the next time. As long as I'm prepared, I can usually help foreshadow things for her and everything goes much smoother.

Thanks everyone for the input.

Check out my other post. I posted a link that will help you.
A wheelchair can be loaded onto the boat in Mexico. The ramp on that boat is fairly steep and the space is not that large, so it can be a bit difficult to load a wheelchair. The CM loads the wheelchair and does turn it to load it backwards.

The Norway boat ride is not wheelchair accessible. As you get on and get off of the boat in Norway, there are those metal dividing bars to keep the rows separate. That makes it a bit difficult if you need to help someone off because it limits where you can stand. There is a ratherr large step up when you are getting off at Norway.

This is a picture of the Norway boat from Deb Wills site. It doesn't give a good view of the "how you get in" part because her pictures are mostly to show how large the seating area is. But, if you look at the picture, the grey line at the bottom of the picture is the side of the boat, which is about even with the floor at the boarding and unloading areas. You can see that the seat of the boat is about an 8 to 12 inch step down from the boarding area and then you need to take another step down to get your feet into the foot area so you can sit down.
The boats at Pirates of the Caribbean are very similar.

The only boat that has a circular loading/unloading area is Kali River Rapids at AK and I can't imagine that you would have taken her on that.

 

[michellex2]

Great information everyone. I read the other thread, Sue, which was very helpful.
Kali River Rapids is out as an option since we didn't ride it. It was definitely Norway as I remember part of the problem was that she lost her balance trying to step from the floor onto the seat when the boat was jostled, and almost fell, which frightened her and she was afraid to get onto the seat again but absolutely could not manage the step from the floor. I couldn't get positioned right to support her. There were people waiting and I was beginning to think we were doomed to repeating that ride endlessly for the remainder of our trip as I couldn't figure out how to get her out of there. (If we get permanently stuck on a ride, due to an inability to exit, do you think the CM's would feed us? Note to self: Take small bottle of wine as emergency calming device in stressful transfers... ) I must be mixing up the moving platform with another ride, I think Spaceship Earth, but maybe one of the MK rides -- we did Haunted Mansion I know for sure (cool ride -- Mom thought so too!), but I don't recall any troubles with that ride.

I appreciate all the help.