We just got back late Monday night. We were not particularly pleased with the WDW portion of our trip. Due to staying offsite at Bonnet Creek, we were not eligible for FP+ and due to having my 80 y/o mom with us, was not always able to get to the parks at rope drop. Added to that we were not able to stay in the parks all day due to her physical problems, so for the most part, the few FP- that were available were not helpful due to having late return times. Consequently we had alot of long stand by lines. We were able to get a decent return time for Soarin the one day we were able to make rope drop at Epcot though. We tried to get a DAC, but was refused. We had rented an ECV from an offsite vender for my mom, so they saw the ECV and thought that was all she needed. We tried to explain that she was a very brittle diabetic who had sudden and unexpected blood sugar drops, had problems with tight spaces, that she needed to avoid waits in the sun due to a couple of her medications, that due to her arthritis stiffness and back pain there were times she needed to get out of the ECV and walk but couldn't walk very far at a time and was unsteady on her feet, that she has had multiple eye surgeries and her eyes do not adjust quickly from bright light to dark, so she has trouble with dark queues, and that she had some mild senile dementia and would do better in a separate waiting area, as crowds cause her to become agitated and more confused. We didn't mind waiting our turn, but wanted to wait away from some of the crowds and wanted to avoid some of the convulated turns in the queues with her ECV. We tried at both MK and DS but they wouldn't listen and just said she did not qualify for a DAC.
One night we went back to MK, to see the Castle lights. The only rides we were going to do was the Jungle Cruise (to see the Christmas overlay) and Buzz. We knew at Buzz that she would have to transfer to a wheelchair and that was fine, but asked if there was anyway she could avoid the queue and if we could just wait our turn at the exit as the walkway would have to be stopped for her anyway (standby was only 5 minutes that night). They refused and made us go through the queue. Fine, not a big deal. But at Jungle Cruise the standby wait when we arrived showed 40 minutes. The CM at the wheelchair entrance showed us a return card and asked if we had one. She then proceeded to give us one with a 30 minute return time. 40 minutes standby time minus 10 minutes=30 minute return time. Fine, but we saw two rows of wheelchairs waiting in that wheelchair queue and the CM told us they only had one wheelchair boat online, so the line was alot longer than ten minutes. She then told us that some of those wheelchair guests would not be needing the wheelchair boat as they could transfer. Not sure what happened, but as we were talking and getting the 30 minute return card, the standby time suddenly changed to 20 minutes. We saw it and asked if we could get a different return card with just a 10 minute wait then. The CM told us that since she'd just given us one with a 30 minute wait, that she couldn't change it. We said fine, we'd just turn it in and get a new one then. She said that she couldn't do that either and since the standby return time when we arrived was listed at 40 minutes then we had to wait the 30 minutes, even though the standby return time changed to 20 minutes right after we got the card.
Another wheelchair party arrived right after that and had about 5 minutes left before their return time, but she wouldn't let them in line either. They said they were very frustrated and had been battling the system all week. Even though the man could transfer, it seemed like they had been waiting alot longer than the standby time all week. Another party arrived and tried to immediately get into the wheelchair queue, but was told they'd have to get a return time card like we did and wait the length of the standby minus ten minutes. At that time the standby wait was 20 minutes, so they got a card that had a 10 minute wait, which meant they got to go in before we did, even though we had been waiting longer. When I questioned the CM, she reminded me that when we had arrived the standby wait was 40 minutes, but when that party arrived it was just 20 minutes. So they got to go in before us, even though we'd been standing there waiting for our time, before they even arrived to ask for a return time card. After thinking about it, she told us to go ahead in though. Once we got in the wheelchair queue another CM again told us they only had one wheelchair boat on line, but only two of the parties waiting needed the wheelchair boat, as the others could transfer, and since the ride took 10 minutes, it would be another 20 minutes or so before we could board. Not happy at that point, but understood. A few minutes later she came back to apologize that it would be an additional 10 minutes or so, because one of the parties that thought they'd be able to transfer had changed her mind and decided she needed the wheelchair boat afterall. So what would have been a 20 minute wait in the standby line became a wait of just over 70 minutes.
One night we went back to MK, to see the Castle lights. The only rides we were going to do was the Jungle Cruise (to see the Christmas overlay) and Buzz. We knew at Buzz that she would have to transfer to a wheelchair and that was fine, but asked if there was anyway she could avoid the queue and if we could just wait our turn at the exit as the walkway would have to be stopped for her anyway (standby was only 5 minutes that night). They refused and made us go through the queue. Fine, not a big deal. But at Jungle Cruise the standby wait when we arrived showed 40 minutes. The CM at the wheelchair entrance showed us a return card and asked if we had one. She then proceeded to give us one with a 30 minute return time. 40 minutes standby time minus 10 minutes=30 minute return time. Fine, but we saw two rows of wheelchairs waiting in that wheelchair queue and the CM told us they only had one wheelchair boat online, so the line was alot longer than ten minutes. She then told us that some of those wheelchair guests would not be needing the wheelchair boat as they could transfer. Not sure what happened, but as we were talking and getting the 30 minute return card, the standby time suddenly changed to 20 minutes. We saw it and asked if we could get a different return card with just a 10 minute wait then. The CM told us that since she'd just given us one with a 30 minute wait, that she couldn't change it. We said fine, we'd just turn it in and get a new one then. She said that she couldn't do that either and since the standby return time when we arrived was listed at 40 minutes then we had to wait the 30 minutes, even though the standby return time changed to 20 minutes right after we got the card.
Another wheelchair party arrived right after that and had about 5 minutes left before their return time, but she wouldn't let them in line either. They said they were very frustrated and had been battling the system all week. Even though the man could transfer, it seemed like they had been waiting alot longer than the standby time all week. Another party arrived and tried to immediately get into the wheelchair queue, but was told they'd have to get a return time card like we did and wait the length of the standby minus ten minutes. At that time the standby wait was 20 minutes, so they got a card that had a 10 minute wait, which meant they got to go in before we did, even though we had been waiting longer. When I questioned the CM, she reminded me that when we had arrived the standby wait was 40 minutes, but when that party arrived it was just 20 minutes. So they got to go in before us, even though we'd been standing there waiting for our time, before they even arrived to ask for a return time card. After thinking about it, she told us to go ahead in though. Once we got in the wheelchair queue another CM again told us they only had one wheelchair boat on line, but only two of the parties waiting needed the wheelchair boat, as the others could transfer, and since the ride took 10 minutes, it would be another 20 minutes or so before we could board. Not happy at that point, but understood. A few minutes later she came back to apologize that it would be an additional 10 minutes or so, because one of the parties that thought they'd be able to transfer had changed her mind and decided she needed the wheelchair boat afterall. So what would have been a 20 minute wait in the standby line became a wait of just over 70 minutes.
. we would muddle through that trip, but future Disney visits would be relegated to random vs several times yearly and likely would sell our DVC holdings.
