Question about leaving WC outside rides/restaurants

[disneygirlinnj]

I'll be leaving Sunday for a week at Disney with my mom. She'll be using a wheelchair due to heart problems and not being able to walk long distances without getting extremely tired. Since she is able to walk short distances, we will 'walk on' to rides and leave the wheelchair behind. We assume that we can just leave the wheelchair at the entrance to the rides/restaurants we go in. Are there any rides/restaurants that will give us a hard time for just leaving the wheelchair by the entrance (I'm assuming by the stroller areas). I'm just thinking that we'll ask a cast member every time but I just want to be sure! Thanks guys!

 

[Earstou]

At rides, leave the wheelchair IN the stroller parking. Otherwise, take it thru the line and the CMs will tell you what to do with it. If you park it outside the ride, but not in stroller parking, the CMs will probably move it to the stroller parking area.
At restaurants, you can leave it outside, just park it out of the way. I found it easier to just take it into the restaurants. That way it stayed dry, and the seat wasn't burning hot when I sat down! This last trip I used an ecv, and had no trouble finding room inside for it! Everyone was very helpful when I asked where a good spot to leave it was!

 

[disneygirlinnj]

At rides, leave the wheelchair IN the stroller parking. Otherwise, take it thru the line and the CMs will tell you what to do with it. If you park it outside the ride, but not in stroller parking, the CMs will probably move it to the stroller parking area.
At restaurants, you can leave it outside, just park it out of the way. I found it easier to just take it into the restaurants. That way it stayed dry, and the seat wasn't burning hot when I sat down! This last trip I used an ecv, and had no trouble finding room inside for it! Everyone was very helpful when I asked where a good spot to leave it was!

Thanks for the great info earstou!

 

[KPeveler]

i also would take the chair through the lines whenver possible... most times it is fairly easy to do. sometimes the line will say 15 minutes and you will think "fine!" but then the ride breaks down and you are in line for 60 minutes. i said i was going to do just what you said, but in reality i found it much easier to just bring the chair in the lines with me!

 

[Marie14625]

When I was there I just looked to see where the other ECV's were parked at the rides. There was usually a row of them. The cast members are good about letting you know where to park.
At MGM, when we went through the Backlot tour, the cast member asked me for the key, as I'd be getting off in a different sopt from where I got on, and she moved it to the exit for me. No problems.
All of the restaurants we went to has places where I could park. A couple even let me park near an electrical outlet, so I could charge it while we were in eating. There were only a couple of restauants where I had to park outside, but the areas were shady, and in one case it was night.
One thing that impressed me was that even if I left things in the basket (never valuables) they were still there when I came out.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

As others have said, you might want to consider taking the chair through the lines with you. Even if she can walk through the lines, it will tire her out unnecessarily, which will probable end up shortening your days in the park. Much better to save her energy where possible, so she can better enjoy all the fun to be had!

Don't feel guilty about taking the chair through the lines, it's not cheating to use it when you could physically 'manage' to get through the lines. You will hardly ever get on the ride quicker with a chair, and often you will wait a bit longer, but this extra wait is worth it if you can save energy.

If at any point she does want to walk in to a shop (these can be quite tight, so she might find it easier to walk), restaurant or ride, just park up in the stroller parking. Don't panic if it isn't exactly where you left it when you get back; sometimes the CMs tidy the area up a bit, or move chairs that are in the way. Putting something bright and distinctive on it can help you find it more easily. Make sure, if you are going to park it outside, that you always leave it covered with a poncho or similar, as it can rain suddenly, and you don't want to come back to a wet chair!

Have a great trip!

 

[disneygirlinnj]

Thank you soo much everyone! I'll definitely be 'marking' our WC with a bunch of um... alien green mickey heads.. so keep a look out for us if you're in the parks!

 

[mechurchlady]

It may seem easier to park the chair or ECV and walk in a ride. We tend to forget that when adding up the 30 foot walk to a dinner table, 25 feet to the restroom, 10 minutes in line, and the hidden lines that are really 100 feet that the total time spent is actually hours and blocks long. My figures may be wrong but you get the picture. Even with a GAC those tiny trips and time in line do add up big time.

 

[mrmagicmph]

It may seem easier to park the chair or ECV and walk in a ride. We tend to forget that when adding up the 30 foot walk to a dinner table, 25 feet to the restroom, 10 minutes in line, and the hidden lines that are really 100 feet that the total time spent is actually hours and blocks long. My figures may be wrong but you get the picture. Even with a GAC those tiny tips and time in line do add up big time.

I'll definitely second what you said. I used an ECV for our trip in October 2007 and was asked by a CM if I was able to walk about 100 feet. I said sure. So, I parked my ECV and walked.

What ride was this? Pirates of the Caribbean. Where was my ECV parked? As close to the main walkway through Adventureland as possible. How many times did the line "backtrack" on itself? I lost count. How long was the wait? Oh, about 25-30 minutes. How far was the walk? My wife & I were only guessing, but, we'd put it at probably closer to 500 or more feet.

So, the moral of this story? When you can take your ECV with you, DO IT! Even if you can walk 100 feet, they never ask if you can walk 100 feet AND stand around for a half hour.

Enjoy the Magic!