Rides That Could Do Better

[TiffFromTX]

Hi all! I just got back and love how disability-friend Disney is. It's really one of the only places I can relax without being in pain as we go on vacation (NY was a nightmare for me, as are most places).

So I love how most rides are so wonderful in accommodating those on scooters, etc. But I feel like a few could do better - do you have any advice for these or others you feel could improve?

To preface this, let me say I specifically wish scooters were allowed through the majority of the line. It's hot at Disney and having to make my daughter push me in a wheelchair feels cruel to her, so the independence a scooter provides is better. Plus, I'd like to do a solo trip in the future, so I'd feel like a wheelchair would be hard.

1. Tower of Terror. Have to park and stand/walk the entire way. I wish we could at least take it to the main building then transfer off. We could only ride once this time due my knee not being able to handle a 70 minute wait. Other option is for daughter to have to stand by herself most of the way, until she reaches the gate when I join - but even that's kind of grueling, and uphill a bit.

2. Rockin Roller Coaster. No one could tell me how long the walk would be after you get through the outside queue, so I don't know if I'd be able to do it or not. Wish there was another way to board this one.

3. Haunted Mansion. Last time, we had to park under a gazebo outside, and stand in a long line all the way through. I thought I'd pass out from the pain. Wish scooters were allowed most of the way to the building at least.

4. Pirates of the Caribbean. Same thing - even though we arrived at a walk on, it was brutal going all the way through on foot.

Some rides, like Winnie the Pooh or Peter Pan, I know are a tight squeeze, so the wheelchair makes sense. But others I feel don't allow it when it could be allowed.

Either way, I'm grateful for what they DO provide. Just brainstorming ways to make it even better.

 

[DL1WDW2]

I appreciate you are sharing your experience. It makes me realize the importance of observation and hoping to help find ways to make Disney safer and friendlier for everybody. I wonder how Disney handles this during their training for guest experience.

 

[fabfemmeboy]

The ones you mentioned have issues accommodating other mobility devices, too. I've learned to be very careful how I answer the question "Can you walk a few steps?"

Pirates is the one that drives me up a wall. I have a tiny powered wheelchair. It has a turning radius smaller than most manual chairs, it's easy to move, it's fantastic. I can't bring it into the building. Instead, I have to have my partner push me (not an easy feat), usually in the bariatric wheelchair they provide that is much bigger and harder to maneuver through the corridors. No one seems to be sure of why (especially since a person can take their own manual chair through the queue and get it back at the end), but it means we end up having to skip Pirates altogether.

Haunted Mansion is also always a longer walk than I expect! In the dark, too. Oy.

And whyyyy must they take the mobility aid from you in FOP before you get to the preshow? That's awhile to stand for some of us.

In short, I agree: just because Disney is a more accessible place than most, doesn't mean it can't do better sometimes. I just wish there were a way to effect change with some of these things.

 

[ttintagel]

When did they stop allowing ECVs through the Haunted Mansion queue?

The last time I used an ECV there they had us stay on the scooter all the way through the stretching room. In fact, after my experience trying to do that when I couldn’t see well enough to drive inside the pitch-dark building (I drove straight into the wall of the stretching room twice, because I couldn’t see where the door was), I decided to park and walk the second time. The CM stationed outside the ride kept trying to argue me into staying on the ECV even after I told him several times how unsafe it would be.

(The CMs at the Mansion tend, in my experience, to be the worst of all about handling accommodations.)

 

[Evita_W]

Hi all! I just got back and love how disability-friend Disney is. It's really one of the only places I can relax without being in pain as we go on vacation (NY was a nightmare for me, as are most places).

So I love how most rides are so wonderful in accommodating those on scooters, etc. But I feel like a few could do better - do you have any advice for these or others you feel could improve?

To preface this, let me say I specifically wish scooters were allowed through the majority of the line. It's hot at Disney and having to make my daughter push me in a wheelchair feels cruel to her, so the independence a scooter provides is better. Plus, I'd like to do a solo trip in the future, so I'd feel like a wheelchair would be hard.

1. Tower of Terror. Have to park and stand/walk the entire way. I wish we could at least take it to the main building then transfer off. We could only ride once this time due my knee not being able to handle a 70 minute wait. Other option is for daughter to have to stand by herself most of the way, until she reaches the gate when I join - but even that's kind of grueling, and uphill a bit.

2. Rockin Roller Coaster. No one could tell me how long the walk would be after you get through the outside queue, so I don't know if I'd be able to do it or not. Wish there was another way to board this one.

3. Haunted Mansion. Last time, we had to park under a gazebo outside, and stand in a long line all the way through. I thought I'd pass out from the pain. Wish scooters were allowed most of the way to the building at least.

4. Pirates of the Caribbean. Same thing - even though we arrived at a walk on, it was brutal going all the way through on foot.

Some rides, like Winnie the Pooh or Peter Pan, I know are a tight squeeze, so the wheelchair makes sense. But others I feel don't allow it when it could be allowed.

Either way, I'm grateful for what they DO provide. Just brainstorming ways to make it even better.

Tot and rnr both have alternative entrances, but you do miss the preshow if they are used, but you can request them. HM had changed with the parks reopening, scooters enter through the fp queue after a return time and are directed from there, if you can handle standing for about 5 minutes and the moving walkway, you go down a hallway and go through the stretching room and bypass the switchback at the loading area, if not, you load at the exit, no more standing for long periods of time. Likewise Pirates has changed as well, they have a separate queue and you park near the exit, then enter through a side door just before loading and exit as normal, using the elevator if needed and your device is nearby. Winnie the Pooh has not improved.

Buzz also has an alternative entrance available, but you must insist.

Where available, the alternative entrances are generally through the exit.

 

[Evita_W]

I appreciate you are sharing your experience. It makes me realize the importance of observation and hoping to help find ways to make Disney safer and friendlier for everybody. I wonder how Disney handles this during their training for guest experience.

We actually had an off situation at HM on our last trip, they were training me CMs and asked us if we would be willing to stay on for a second ride through to train the new CMs on how to handle when the lines are shorter. Then, even though they knew we didn't need them to do so, they asked us to let them bring it ECVs to us, so that the new CMs could also be trained in how to do this. We of course felt obligated to allow both, you know go it the training of new CMs and all....lol

 

[DisneyOma]

And whyyyy must they take the mobility aid from you in FOP before you get to the preshow? That's awhile to stand for some of us.

We're here at WDW right now, with a friend on a knees scooter, and she took it all the way through to the ride vehicle, then they moved it off the moving unit so it was right there for her at the end. There's really not enough room in the preshow sections to have ECVs though. Tight corners, and two rows of guests standing on numbers on the floor - can't see how an ECV would be in there safely. Don't they let you sit on it right until you go into C1 and D1?

 

[Selket]

Most of the rides you mention I'd do only if I had a fast pass or the line was non-existent (pre-covid). ToT is a long walk though! I'd had to park the ECV under the gazebo at HM for a long time now (seems like several years ago they would sometimes stop letting you go in with an ECV( which was ok with a fast pass. If they gave me a return time to use the FP line I'd be ok with that. I've not had problems waiting for RnRC when I used a fast pass. PoTC is a tough one for me to walk through even in the FP line - I don't know if it's the dark or what feels like an uneven surface or perhaps that it slopes down and I have a lot of trouble walking on a downward slope (uphill slope is fine).

I've always taken the ECV up to just before the pre-show area at FoP and not found the standing/waiting to be too long there once I handed it over. I think you can skip that pre-show (where they scan your body and you get assigned an avatar) and let them take the ECV at the ride but I have not asked to do that. They've always asked me if I wanted to skip it so I presume that's an option!

 

[fabfemmeboy]

We're here at WDW right now, with a friend on a knees scooter, and she took it all the way through to the ride vehicle, then they moved it off the moving unit so it was right there for her at the end. There's really not enough room in the preshow sections to have ECVs though. Tight corners, and two rows of guests standing on numbers on the floor - can't see how an ECV would be in there safely. Don't they let you sit on it right until you go into C1 and D1?

Mine's an electric wheelchair with the same footprint as a manual wheelchair (smaller than some, actually, because the wheels aren't canted). I've only ridden FOP on this latest trip, post-covid with only the second preshow, and they had at least started letting people take them through most of the queue (thank god!) but took it before the preshow even though they were spacing people and there was plenty of room. I picked it up in the room immediately after the ride, but it seemed to me like they could have done as they did with your friend's knee scooter. (I also don't think saying "but there's no room for an ECV" is much of a defense considering how recently the ride was built and the fact that Disney clearly knows how many people use mobility devices while at the parks. We're not talking Pirates here, or even one of the Mountains.)

For me, it's part of the theme of assuming people with mobility devices can stand/walk unless they specifically tell you otherwise. Telling the CM what you need is easier to do if you've been on the ride before, but if you're new to the ride then it's hard to really understand what they're asking. See also: Haunted Mansion, where "can you walk a little?" becomes "can you navigate this long dark hallway?" instead of just the omnimover bit. The ride where they actually did the best IME was ROTR - some people left their devices before boarding the transport, some left them outside the interrogation room, some (like me) left them when boarding the droid car, all depending on what you told the CMs you could do. That was a nice surprise, and especially useful since I was riding by myself (sans partner) a couple times where it would have been more difficult to stand/navigate if they'd taken my chair early.

 

[TiffFromTX]

Just got back on August 4th and Pirates made me park by the entrance and walk the entire way through. I didn't get to ride HM this trip because it was down but the last time in 2019 they made me park under a gazebo by liberty river and walk the entire queue.

 

[Selket]

Just got back on August 4th and Pirates made me park by the entrance and walk the entire way through. I didn't get to ride HM this trip because it was down but the last time in 2019 they made me park under a gazebo by liberty river and walk the entire queue.

I haven't been since before covid but this would be prohibitive for me on those rides. Is there a possibility the CM could give you a return time for them to use the FP line without getting a DAS? I think that seems like a good solution for rides where you cannot take the ECV through and they don't have WC access or you do not have anyone to push you.

 

[fabfemmeboy]

When did they stop allowing ECVs through the Haunted Mansion queue?

The last time I used an ECV there they had us stay on the scooter all the way through the stretching room. In fact, after my experience trying to do that when I couldn’t see well enough to drive inside the pitch-dark building (I drove straight into the wall of the stretching room twice, because I couldn’t see where the door was), I decided to park and walk the second time. The CM stationed outside the ride kept trying to argue me into staying on the ECV even after I told him several times how unsafe it would be.

(The CMs at the Mansion tend, in my experience, to be the worst of all about handling accommodations.)

I can't say for sure, since I've only been on one trip to the World in 6 years and that was during Covid. I know last year they were sending anyone with a mobility device through the exit line, having us leave our devices at the exit, and walking in to merge with the rest of the guests after the stretching room (that wasn't operational) but before the loading area. It was frustrating in part because they wouldn't let anyone with a wheelchair wait in the regular queue; you had to get a return time and come back. I already had a return time for BTMRR (where we have to go through the exit because stairs) and had gone over to HM to do something while I waited, only to discover they wouldn't let me wait in the regular line even though it was accessible. So...at least as far back as last November, possibly as long as like 6 years! Very specific

 

[fabfemmeboy]

I haven't been since before covid but this would be prohibitive for me on those rides. Is there a possibility the CM could give you a return time for them to use the FP line without getting a DAS? I think that seems like a good solution for rides where you cannot take the ECV through and they don't have WC access or you do not have anyone to push you.

I have both a chair and DAS, so I can't say for sure - I had gotten a return time already. I don't know if they will do that for others with mobility issues "only." However, even then it's pretty prohibitive unless you have someone who can push you or can push yourself, which many of us don't/can't for a variety of reasons.

 

[SueM in MN]

I haven't been since before covid but this would be prohibitive for me on those rides. Is there a possibility the CM could give you a return time for them to use the FP line without getting a DAS? I think that seems like a good solution for rides where you cannot take the ECV through and they don't have WC access or you do not have anyone to push you.

That’s what has been happening for at least since DAS began…
- if the line is not accessible and/or guests using mobility devices need to go somewhere is to board, they are given a Return Time that was approxim equal to the Standby wsit. That is separate from DAS and DAS is not needed to get a return time for those attractions.
- when Fast Pass was operating, guests in that situation had their Fastpass read and then were allowed to go to the accessible area. A couple of times when we had Fastpasses, we were still given a return time since the accessible waiting area was already too full.

 

[MS_Warrior]

I can't say for sure, since I've only been on one trip to the World in 6 years and that was during Covid. I know last year they were sending anyone with a mobility device through the exit line, having us leave our devices at the exit, and walking in to merge with the rest of the guests after the stretching room (that wasn't operational) but before the loading area. It was frustrating in part because they wouldn't let anyone with a wheelchair wait in the regular queue; you had to get a return time and come back. I already had a return time for BTMRR (where we have to go through the exit because stairs) and had gone over to HM to do something while I waited, only to discover they wouldn't let me wait in the regular line even though it was accessible. So...at least as far back as last November, possibly as long as like 6 years! Very specific

We haven’t gone since Covid, but precovid, they allowed me to take my scooter through the line at HM.

 

[fabfemmeboy]

That’s what has been happening for at least since DAS began…
- if the line is not accessible and/or guests using mobility devices need to go somewhere is to board, they are given a Return Time that was approxim equal to the Standby wsit. That is separate from DAS and DAS is not needed to get a return time for those attractions.
- when Fast Pass was operating, guests in that situation had their Fastpass read and then were allowed to go to the accessible area. A couple of times when we had Fastpasses, we were still given a return time since the accessible waiting area was already too full.

Right, but when did that start being the case for HM specifically? It always was at DL, but from what I can tell they changed the process at WDW's HM likely around the time of the reopening. What I'm not sure of is why, since the 'extended queue' area was no less accessible than the 'regular' or FP queue.

 

[Evita_W]

Right, but when did that start being the case for HM specifically? It always was at DL, but from what I can tell they changed the process at WDW's HM likely around the time of the reopening. What I'm not sure of is why, since the 'extended queue' area was no less accessible than the 'regular' or FP queue.

Basically, they are trying to minimize the number of attractions where people need to borrow wheelchairs to reduce touch points. The issue at HM for ECVs comes down to the stretching room with no food way to bypass it in many ECVs, as the the bypass hallway is too narrow. This is why previously they requires transferring to a wheelchair for the queue. Additionally, the new extended queue uses the space that was used for ECV parking and isn't always fully accessible. So between all of that, making the change made sense and provides a better overall guest experience for those using ECVs.

 

[DisneyOma]

Mine's an electric wheelchair with the same footprint as a manual wheelchair (smaller than some, actually, because the wheels aren't canted). I've only ridden FOP on this latest trip, post-covid with only the second preshow, and they had at least started letting people take them through most of the queue (thank god!) but took it before the preshow even though they were spacing people and there was plenty of room. I picked it up in the room immediately after the ride, but it seemed to me like they could have done as they did with your friend's knee scooter. (I also don't think saying "but there's no room for an ECV" is much of a defense considering how recently the ride was built and the fact that Disney clearly knows how many people use mobility devices while at the parks. We're not talking Pirates here, or even one of the Mountains.)

For me, it's part of the theme of assuming people with mobility devices can stand/walk unless they specifically tell you otherwise. Telling the CM what you need is easier to do if you've been on the ride before, but if you're new to the ride then it's hard to really understand what they're asking. See also: Haunted Mansion, where "can you walk a little?" becomes "can you navigate this long dark hallway?" instead of just the omnimover bit. The ride where they actually did the best IME was ROTR - some people left their devices before boarding the transport, some left them outside the interrogation room, some (like me) left them when boarding the droid car, all depending on what you told the CMs you could do. That was a nice surprise, and especially useful since I was riding by myself (sans partner) a couple times where it would have been more difficult to stand/navigate if they'd taken my chair early.

I agree that they did not build in enough space at FOP - the preshow rooms are not built for wheelchairs or ECVs at all. The knee scooter barely fit in the allotted space. There's no way a wheelchair wouldn't impose on another person's space, especially in the second room. Not sure how that got past whoever approves the designs for new attractions, except maybe they consider the preshows part of the actual attraction?

 

[fabfemmeboy]

I agree that they did not build in enough space at FOP - the preshow rooms are not built for wheelchairs or ECVs at all. The knee scooter barely fit in the allotted space. There's no way a wheelchair wouldn't impose on another person's space, especially in the second room. Not sure how that got past whoever approves the designs for new attractions, except maybe they consider the preshows part of the actual attraction?

Regardless of whether they consider preshows as part of the attraction (which they clearly do, look at ROTR), the entire thing needs to be built with accessibility and logistics in mind. You can't simply build a new attraction that can only be accessed by stairs with no alternate entrances, and you shouldn't be able to build a new attraction that can accommodate mobility devices but only if there is literally no one else in line. I desperately wish I knew how to get into that job - the person who points out why what they're creating needs to be adjusted for accessibility. I would be everyone's least favourite person, but at least I would be able to get QS food in MK without ridiculous stantions in the way!

 

[fabfemmeboy]

Basically, they are trying to minimize the number of attractions where people need to borrow wheelchairs to reduce touch points. The issue at HM for ECVs comes down to the stretching room with no food way to bypass it in many ECVs, as the the bypass hallway is too narrow. This is why previously they requires transferring to a wheelchair for the queue. Additionally, the new extended queue uses the space that was used for ECV parking and isn't always fully accessible. So between all of that, making the change made sense and provides a better overall guest experience for those using ECVs.

I get what you're saying, but I don't think I can agree with the idea that making something less accessible provides for a better guest experience for people who use mobility aids. Requiring a person to stand/walk for longer means that more guests with ECVs (and wheelchairs and other devices) can't go on that ride. Requiring someone to borrow a push wheelchair means that more of us can't go on that ride. I get that they have limitations - spatial, architectural, the basic rules of physics, etc - and that it's unreasonable to ask them to, for example, make that ramp down into BTMRR safe for wheelchairs. But if they were to stop allowing any mobility aids on the BTMRR platform, that would make the ride less accessible than it currently is. Similarly, the decision to require push chairs for Pirates makes it less accessible because it requires someone a) be able to propel themselves in such a chair or have someone who can push them and b) transfer twice instead of only once. HM, same idea - it means that someone who can transfer but not walk easily either needs to walk (quite a ways!) or go toe-to-toe with a CM who thinks they are required to leave their device outside at the exit. That may be a logistical reality, but I can't see how it provides a "better guest experience" for people with mobility aids.