Sea World and Universal Special Assistance?

[whitetiger]

Does anyone know if Sea World and Universal Studios offer anything akin to the Guest Assistance Card like WDW does? If so, any details you can provide would be most appreciated.

 

[Wheelsie]

Well I dont BELIEVE Sea World has a form of GAC because the 2 (maybe 3) rides that exist there are not accessible unless you have all your faculties about ya .....then again when do I EVER have all my faculties about me??? LOL

Universal/IOA does have a GAC and you can get it from the Guest Services Area just inside the park!

 

[teri]

When we went to USF/IOA, we stayed onsite at Portofino Bay Hotel, and therefore had the Express Pass (I think that is what they call it) that basically means you have "Fastpass" line access all day long. We did go inquire about a GAC at IOA, but they told us that we would not need it, and they were right.

I understand but have not experienced myself, they prefer that families with special needs use the Family Rooms that are associated with each ride as an alternate waiting area, and that the rest of the party go through, you meet up with them. I really am not sure about this, we did not use the family rooms.

I have also heard that many rides that used to accept electric wheelchairs are no longer able to load them, for safety reasons. If I could search the boards I would look for those posts.

 

[SueM in MN]

We haven't been to either Sea World of Universal in a while, but there was not any sort of GAC when we went. I do know that all of the attractions at Universal and IOA were built for Mainstream lines (where wheelchair and ecv users wait in the same lines with everyone else).
There was a good thread on this a while ago. I think it was Andrew Bichard that posted he was actually boarded on a ride with his power wheelchair when a manager came up and said that power chairs were no longer allowed. Hopefully, we can use search again soon. The Webmasters are working really hard to get everything up and running again.

 

[nancycels]

i don't think they have sp cards or anything, but i use an ecv there all the time, and have
found it a very accessible park. we did a behind the scenes tour, complete w/my ecv, the
moderator was very careful to be sure it worked well for me, also most of the attractions
have lots of wheelchr/ecv space. also the ecv's at sea world are much beter than the ones
at dis or universal. they also offer a special admission discount for the handicapped, not sure exactly
what we paid but it was significantly cheaper. also the 2nd day free means you don't have
to feel like u have to race around the park which is nice! just get your 2nd day ticket at the
front before its time to leave (we ended up getting ours at the end of the day, in the pouring
rain, and u have to have yr pic taken to get it, so if its raining its NOT FUN! lol). IOA was
very unfriendly for ecv's and i wdn't recommend it, but that may just be my experience! had better
luck at univ. studios. Have a blast!!!

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Originally posted by SueM in MN
There was a good thread on this a while ago. I think it was Andrew Bichard that posted he was actually boarded on a ride with his power wheelchair when a manager came up and said that power chairs were no longer allowed. Hopefully, we can use search again soon. The Webmasters are working really hard to get everything up and running again.

Lost some threads? It sounds as if the problem on the boards was more serious that we thought?

The manager (of the earthquake ride) didn't use the words 'no longer', though it is true I was taken off the ride having boarded and haven been strapped in by the regular ride crew. I suspect either:-
a) the manage was new to the job, didn't know what he was alowed and what was not and covering his backside
or b) there had been some kind of accident in the days immediately preceding my visit and they were banning electric wheelchairs while thet checked their safety rules.
or c)(most likely) the manager didn't know the difference between power wheelchairs and ECVs.
I could in any case have ridden, had I been able to transfer into the manual chair they had for that purpose next to the ride.

I don't know whether the ban on electric wheelchairs (if there ever was one) is still in place.

Theatre type shows will not be a problem for anyone.
No problem if you can transfer into a ride car.
Wheelchairs good for all but two or three rides
ECVs no good for rides unless you can transfer out.
Electric Wheelchairs - depends if Universal is classifying them with manual chairs or ECVs.

This is based on my talk with their guest relations. Because of my problem with the Earthquake ride I was given a refund and left the park after a very short stay. Anyone going in a power chair should phone to check current policy before setting off - and remember to get the name of the person you spoke to.

Andrew

 

[SueM in MN]

Just a little clarification about the change-over to a new server. We did lose about 1 week of postings in the change-over (those posted right before the change). The problem I was talking about was that the "Search" function was not able to be used for a while. This was an expected problem because to make a switch-over on such a big database doesn't happen overnight. The older threads didn't get lost, but they were not accessible to us when search is disabled.