Short trip report

[martinrmn]

Well, here is part of it at last. Visitors, Donna-Marie wife and boss, John 6, real boss and me, Martin.
We arrived on Dec 1st at Sanford. Good flight and no problem getting through customs. Got our car and proceeded to get lost on the way to I-Drive! Their road signs need some work. Anyway got to Quality Inn Plaza, checked in and played Pirate Golf as per my promise to John. As usual I lost, then to Pizza hut and Budweiser.
Saturday 2nd, MGM where we met the Power Rangers, one of the few times John was quiet. Lots of photos in which John does various poses. We then went onto the tour and the bus broke down in catastophe canyon for 20 minutes. Not a problem. The rest of the day we wandered around and had a great time.

Next day was Magic Kingdom. I won't bore you with all the details but we rode Thunder mountain and Pirates 10-15 times, thank you John.

Highlights of the trip was meeting Captain Jack Sparrow and having John selected to be a pirate with a certificate to prove it. Riding Pirates before we were supposed to, seeing the shuttle take off, (from our hotel room), Donna is a huge space fan.

Dec 7th we attended Mickeys Christmas party. This was good but now we have done it we wouldn't rush and do it again.
We went to Gatorland, Busch Gardens which was an excellent day and Cape Kennedy the day after the launch. These were all good days. While we were there we decided to go to Universal and Islands of Adventure. This was another good day as John got to meet Scooby Doo again.

Because of Johns age we could not do so much last time we went, 2004. This time we tried to do as much as we could and I think we succeeded.
Our last few nights we had upgraded to Animal Kingdom Lodge. This was fantastic! Waking up and seeing the animals grazing was out of this world. In the hot tub by night knowing there are animals grazing yards away was something that is difficult to describe. The only drawback was that once there we could not upgrade to the dining plan. Apparently we had to have done it before arriving. This did spoil the stay a little as I found the management totally uncooperative. On the plus side we ate out at by night and day and found some excellent restaurants, Planet Hollywood and Rainforest Cafe. We loved Downtown Disney and spent every evening here.

Shopping. We had some great bargains coming back with the usual clothes, jeans, shirts and Disney memorabilia. Even better was when we came back and received our credit card bill. The lowest rate was about 1.94 and the highest 1.97. Thank you Nationwide card, excellent rates.

Eating. We ate well and have put weight on. Good retaurants included Tony Romas, Don Pablos, Planet Hollywood and Rainforest Cafe. Not so good this time was the Olive Garden.

One thing we noticed this time around was the amount of people who skipped queues because they were in wheelchairs. Now before anyone chastises me I have no problem with people who have genuine disabilities but it was surprising how many could walk onto the rides and were seen after eating crisps, chocolates etc. whilst walking around the park. The main problem with these people did not appear to be a disability more like they were overweight. Yes, I will now get a telling off for being discriminating towards the larger person but it seemed unfair that people could skip queuing simply for being overweight. I have even heard that some people hire wheelchairs to avoid queuing! Okay, let the complaints come forth!!

Overall, the holiday was excellent and we did a lot of things that we have done before. We have spoken about future holidays and will probably spend more time at Disney and Universal.

Now to this years holiday. If possible we will try and go to Disney every 2 years. We would like to go to Mexico or Dominican Republic all inclusive in November or early December. Anyone been and got ideas? Photos to follow. Please share.

 

[tashasmum]

No complaints here, we have just come back and cannot agree with you more on "larger people" in wheelchairs. The other one I witnessed was at Epcot where one large (group size) family were turned away from the front of the queue at Maelstrom because the Woman in the wheelchair was pregnant. She was only around 4 months gone, but when they all tried to pile into the ride, they were told by the CM that it was for handicapped only, at which point the husband announced "do you not realise my wife is handicapped, she is pregnant", they were still turned away (Good on the CM) who said "Sir your Wife is pregnant not Handicapped"

I have no problem with the handicapped getting to the front of queues etc as long as they are genuine, but it seems anyone can pick a wheelchair up and try and beat the system.

 

[Lisash]

Sounds like a great holiday. As for the 'disabled' issue I agree with you completely. It has always bugged me that there are people who rent these items to 'buck the system' especially when they are accompanied by a large number of able bodied family members who also get to jump the queue. I can't tell you the number of times I've had to pull one or the other members of my family out of the way of being mown down by the motorised scooters because the rider is so lazy they refuse to navigate around crowds preferring to ride straight through making everyone scatter! This New Years Eve we ran into a group of about 6 people using the scooters on a few occasions during the day. They were all young & clearly not overweight or disabled but had just decided that as it would be a long day they would ride around MK rather than walk. They were racing each other and generally being an absolute pain scattering people here and there. I would gladly give up my place in any queue for a genuine person. Sadly there are very few of those around

 

[allie5]

Sounds like a great trip! My hubby got a huge kick out of seeing the shuttle go up too (we saw it purely by chance on the night we arrived!).

I also agree with you 110% about the "wheelchair" issue. It was a huge problem over the last few weeks wasnt it?

I know it can be difficult to "judge" on appearances, but I would guestimate that maybe as much as 40% of those in wheelchairs were trying it on. Like you we saw HUGE family groups get on rides with one wheelchair bound person - and later on a DIFFERENT person would be in the wheelchair! Disney need to limit wheelchair rental to those with either a doctors letter or disabled status as it seems people are using them as mobile fastpasses. We were also run down by youngsters racing ECVs and giant sized folks (and Id count myself in that category so not judging per se )who could manage to roll onto the ride or into a restaurant, but not manage to walk anywhere else.

Of course wheelchairs and GAC are an absolute nessacity for some people, and Im not suggesting for a moment they should be stopped, but I think some control on useage is in order.

 

[SueM in MN]

For most attractions, people with wheelchairs are in the regualr line with everyone else. This is a list of Mainstream Attractions(which means the lines/queues are wheelchair accessible and people with wheelchairs/ECV would use the regular line) from the official Disney site:
Mainstream Attractions
Magic Kingdom® Park
• Ariel's Grotto
• Astro Orbiter
• Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
• Donald's Boat
• Judge's Tent
• Mickey's Country House
• Mickey's PhilharMagic
• Mike Fink Keelboats (seasonal)
• Minnie's Country House
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Space Mountain®
• Splash Mountain®
• Stitch's Great Escape!™
• The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacres Farm
• "The Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management"
• The Hall of Presidents
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• The Timekeeper (seasonal)
• Tomorrowland® Indy Speedway
• Toontown Hall of Fame
• Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress (seasonal)
Epcot®
• FUTURE WORLD
• Imagination!: All Attractions
• Innoventions East
• Innoventions West
• Mission: SPACE
• Test Track
• The Living Seas: All Attractions
• The Land: All Attractions
• Universe of Energy: "Ellen's Energy Adventure"
• Wonders of Life: All Attractions (seasonal)
Soaring is not listed on the official website, but it is Mainstream
•
• WORLD SHOWCASE
• China: "Reflections of China"
• France: "Impressions de France"
• FriendShip Boats
• Norway: Maelstrom
• The American Adventure: "The American Adventure"
Disney-MGM Studios
• Disney-MGM Studios Backlot Tour
• Fantasmic!
• Lights, Motors, Action!™ Extreme Stunt Show
• Muppet*Vision 3D
• Playhouse Disney - Live On Stage!
• Rock 'n' Roller Coaster® Starring Aerosmith
• Sounds Dangerous - Starring Drew Carey
• Star Tours
• The Great Movie Ride
• The Magic of Disney Animation
• "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™"
• *Voyage of the Little Mermaid
• Walt Disney: One Man's Dream
• Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Play It!
Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park
• Caravan Stage: "Flights of Wonder"
• DINOSAUR
• Grandmother Willow's Grove: "Pocahontas and Her forest friends"
• It's Tough To Be A Bug
• Kali River Rapids
• Kilimanjaro Safaris
• Lion King Theater: "Festival of the Lion King"
• Maharajah Jungle Trek
• Primeval Whirl
• Theater in the Wild: "Tarzan Rocks!"
• The Boneyard
• TriceraTop Spin

Some of the attractions not on this list (like Snow White or Peter Pan) do not have accessible lines, so the only way to go on that attraction is to use a wheelchair entrance. Because MK is the oldest park and has the least space between things, there are more lines that are not mainstream there. The newer attractions and the 2 newer parks (AK and the Studio) were built with wheelchair accessibility in mind and are almost all Mainstream Access.
Sometimes, when people see someone with a wheelchair 'disappear' from the line, they assume they are boarding right away. Often, they are being taken to a different spot to wait in an accessible area. Sometimes (like has happened to us for Haunted Mansion), we came to the attraction and were given a slip of paper (kind of like a handwritten Fastpass) with a time to come back that was equal to the standby line time. If someone saw us come back when the slip told us to, they might have assumed we were just coming on and getting right on, but we had waited for the same time as people in the standby line - just not in the line. And, we miss the stretching room because DD uses a wheelchair.

On our last trip (just got back 1/3/07), we did not go on several attractions because the lines were too long (no special treatment given for users of wheelchairs). Two of the attractions were Pirates of the Caribbean and the new ride at The Living Seas - where we would have had to wait 45 minutes, with a long line outside of the building in the rain. Again, just having a wheelchair would not have given us any special treatment.

Also regarding youngsters racing ECVs, the parks and the off-site companies renting ECVs limit rental and use to people over the age of 18. So if you see someone younger using a park ECV or most people using an off-site rental, they are in violation of the rental agreement.
I have seen people who are racing or otherwise abusing an ECV stopped and talked to by CMs. It's also possible for a CM to confiscate a prak rental ECV if someone is abusing it in a way that might harm others (especially after repreated warnings).

One other point, sometimes people will rent a wheelchair/ECV and have more than one member of their party who 'legitimately' needs it. People often trade off to share the cost or to stretch their legs after sitting.

 

[Lisa1976]

I am a larger person (pooh sized) and I completely agree with you also. It frustrates me that someone who is extremely large hires a wheelchair when lets be frank if they are that big and feel its too much effort to walk round then don't go. I know thats harsh but its how I feel and you can guarantee that someone who definatley needs a wheelchair wont be able to get one because they are all booked out.

 

[Carrickdisfan]

Why don't they ask for some form of disability letter from a doctor or sticker to prove that the person renting is actually disabled as they do in the Uk when using parking spaces?

 

[SueM in MN]

Why don't they ask for some form of disability letter from a doctor or sticker to prove that the person renting is actually disabled as they do in the Uk when using parking spaces?

To get a parking permit to park in handicapped parking spots, US residents DO have to fill out an application form (with a spot for the doctor to certify they have a disability).
For renting wheelchairs or ECVs, businesses are not allowed to require any proof. They can ask the person if they have a disability, but they can't require any proof.
If they did, there are many people who really need a wheelchair or ECV who would not be able to get one. For example, someone who fell and hurt their foot and was not able to walk long distances for a few days (but was not hurt badly enough to see a doctor). There are also people with disabilities who think they will be able to walk well enough in the parks to manage, but after they get there, they find it is too much for them.