Skipping HM stretching room?

[3DisneyBuggs]

Is this still an option? I love the HM but actually getting to the Doombuggy is very stressful.

 

[ttintagel]

I'm visually impaired and it's actually not safe for me to walk trough the foyer, stretching rooms, and corridor to the load area, and yet I've still been refused every single time I've asked to skip the stretching rooms.

It's 100% at the whim of the CM's on duty, and in my experience Haunted Mansion CM's are the least accommodating, and have the worst attitudes and worst customer service skills on Disney property.

I've read mostly reports of experience similar to mine, but a few who happened to catch a nice CM, so it's worth asking. But it's not something you can count on or plan on ahead of time.

 

[married2mm]

We've had mixed experiences at hm.

Very pleasant cms-where it wasn't a problem, and a very rude, argumentative manager one evening during emh-who essentially told us:
Enter via the stretching room or go away

 

[charmed59]

I'm visually impaired and it's actually not safe for me to walk trough the foyer, stretching rooms, and corridor to the load area, and yet I've still been refused every single time I've asked to skip the stretching room.

The back entrance to the HM is very poorly lit so when they open the door to let CMs in and out it doesn't break the mood of the dim loading area. In addition, the CMs tend to move quickly through that area, and those that couldn't see in the dark might run into them. I'd bet the CMs felt it was less safe for the visually impaired than the stretching room.

 

[Mrsjvb]

I'm visually impaired and it's actually not safe for me to walk trough the foyer, stretching rooms, and corridor to the load area, and yet I've still been refused every single time I've asked to skip the stretching rooms.

It's 100% at the whim of the CM's on duty, and in my experience Haunted Mansion CM's are the least accommodating, and have the worst attitudes and worst customer service skills on Disney property.

I've read mostly reports of experience similar to mine, but a few who happened to catch a nice CM, so it's worth asking. But it's not something you can count on or plan on ahead of time.

it's not exactly safe to go in the back way either. in fact I would rather go through the Stretching room TBH. I have my husband who can direct/guide me.

 

[southernfriedmom]

For what it's worth, we asked and were able to bypass the stretching room twice on our trip a few weeks ago. My DD4 has anxiety issues- loves the ride but often gets very panicky in that room. It wasn't an issue either time. Now they weren't very friendly about it at all but it may just have been that they were staying in character.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

For what it's worth, we asked and were able to bypass the stretching room twice on our trip a few weeks ago. My DD4 has anxiety issues- loves the ride but often gets very panicky in that room. It wasn't an issue either time. Now they weren't very friendly about it at all but it may just have been that they were staying in character.

I think that's one of the problems with both TOT and HM the CM's are told to be creepy and somewhat unfriendly in the role they are playing. Well it may seem unhelpful at times they are playing a role just like if they were in a play or movie.

 

[cmwade77]

If you cannot do the stretching room at all and you are told no, my suggestion is to always ask for a lead and then a manager if you are still told no.

That being said, here are the accommodations that we generally request when with someone that has Panic Attacks due to the crowds in the room:

• Please load fewer people in the stretching room, because they have panic attacks when it's too crowded.
• We need the alternate loading area, as the queue to the standard loading area is too confined and causes panic attacks.

We have never been denied when making these requests, as they are perfectly reasonable requests to make and accommodate the issue. Which is exactly what they are required to do by law.

They also will usually have us enter either first or last and have us wait by either the entry or exit door to further minimize the impact of the crowd.

I have also had it where we were the only party in the stretching room as a result of this request, so that may be a viable option as well.

 

[wdw4rfam]

We always skip it, but like OP said, some CMs are way more accommodating than others.

 

[OurBigTrip]

If you cannot do the stretching room at all and you are told no, my suggestion is to always ask for a lead and then a manager if you are still told no.

That being said, here are the accommodations that we generally request when with someone that has Panic Attacks due to the crowds in the room:

• Please load fewer people in the stretching room, because they have panic attacks when it's too crowded.
• We need the alternate loading area, as the queue to the standard loading area is too confined and causes panic attacks.

We have never been denied when making these requests, as they are perfectly reasonable requests to make and accommodate the issue. Which is exactly what they are required to do by law.

They also will usually have us enter either first or last and have us wait by either the entry or exit door to further minimize the impact of the crowd.

I have also had it where we were the only party in the stretching room as a result of this request, so that may be a viable option as well.

Providing an alternate entrance, i.e., avoiding the stretching room is reasonable.

Bringing fewer people into the room, thus negatively affecting attraction operations, is not. I would hope that this isn't something that they start doing at WDW, as it would slow down things considerably for everyone.

 

[aaarcher86]

Providing an alternate entrance, i.e., avoiding the stretching room is reasonable. Bringing fewer people into the room, thus negatively affecting attraction operations, is not. I would hope that this isn't something that they start doing at WDW, as it would slow down things considerably for everyone.

I'd agree with that completely. I don't see how changing the typical number of people allowed to enter an attraction at one time for a single guest is reasonable at all.

Bypassing that room? Totally acceptable. It doesn't affect anyone else.

 

[cmwade77]

Providing an alternate entrance, i.e., avoiding the stretching room is reasonable.

Bringing fewer people into the room, thus negatively affecting attraction operations, is not. I would hope that this isn't something that they start doing at WDW, as it would slow down things considerably for everyone.

Actually this was the only choice we had at WDW. The CMS were the ones that recommended it in the first place as they were not allowed to let you bypass the room at the time.

At DLR, this is the only choice available due to the physical configuration of the queue and the fact that it's actually an elevator. So that made sense to me, I am actually with you guys about the stretching room, but this is what WDW CMs told us to ask for when going there. By the way loading say 50 people instead of 100 on one trip of the stretching room doesn't affect the line that much. Especially if there's already a backup in the hallway and they are going to have to wait anyway if the room was fully loaded. And no, I don't know if that's the number the room holds, it's just an example to demonstrate that it won't have that much of an impact.

Also being forced to bypass the room when reasonable accommodations can be made (even if they do affect others) would not be acceptable under the law, as it would not provide an equal experience. This is according to Disney when I asked why they changed it so that everyone goes through the stretching room.

 

[ttintagel]

The back entrance to the HM is very poorly lit so when they open the door to let CMs in and out it doesn't break the mood of the dim loading area. In addition, the CMs tend to move quickly through that area, and those that couldn't see in the dark might run into them. I'd bet the CMs felt it was less safe for the visually impaired than the stretching room.

I've been through that other way when I was accompanying a person in a wheelchair. It's dim but it's SOOO much better than the regular way.

Anyway, with me there describing how my vision works, what my symptoms are, how the different light levels affect me - something on which I'm an expert - the CM's should listen to the gust when the guest describes the guest's needs. I've had HM CM's try to lie to my face and tell me the other entrance didn't exist.