Soaring and wheelchairs

[Twende]

We did Soaring for the first time this trip and I found the entrance very confusing! It seemed we went up a long ramp to get on an elevator to go down and then had to reverse it after the ride.

We could only find one elevator and the line for it seemed as long as the line for the atttraction!

Is there a good way to get on Soaring with a wheelchair?

 

[brady961]

unfortunately if using a wheelchair, scooter, walker in The Land there is only that one elevator. And only way to Soarin is down that elevator, back up it to get out of the building.

When they did their refurbishment of The Land I was hoping they would redo this part as well.

The good thing they did do is downstairs they installed a companion HC bathroom. And upstairs they redid those bathrooms which are now more friendly for wheelchairs/scooters.

and yes the line for the elevator can be very long, and with it being a small elevator olny about two WC/ or two scooters can ride at a time. of course that all depends on how ppl park inside, how many quests they have with them etc....

but i do like the new bathrooms in The Land.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

There is only one elevator in The Land Pavilion which can be used by Guests. Personally I think that when they were closed for several months during the last year they could have put in a second elevator.

 

[Twende]

WOW here I thought we were confused and did something wrong! I can not believe that they expect all those people to enter through one elevator!

That to me is an extreme safety issue! What if there was a need to emergency exit people out of that building? What a mess that would be!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

It is only the front of The Land Pavilion that is elevated. All the service entrances and the greenhouse are at ground level. In case of an emergency exiting would be done backstage and well as through the front. Same thing all the way back in the Soarin' building, the service and emergency exits are at ground level.

 

[Andrew Bichard]

It would help congestion in the lift if
a) scooter users who can walk, parked up at the upper level before taking the elevator down. Last trip the area at the bottom of the lift was packed with parked ECVs.
b) a few fastpass machines at the upper level near the doors or even at the bottom of the slope would ease congestion inside, especially in the elevators.

Andrew

 

[graygables]

It would also help if the able-bodied members of a party would use the escalators while the HC individual and a companion used the elevator. After standing in line for this elevator in early Dec, the doors opened, one person w/ a cane came out and then it turned into something from a Keystone Cops show. The people just kept coming and coming. I guess the heavy sighs from the waiting crowd finally got to them and a woman snapped her head around and said, "We are all together, so we rode together." Welllll, it's not like it was Test Track, lady. 2 wheelchairs could have fit on the lift along with the person w/ the cane.

Also, I had someone make a snarky comment to me (DD uses a stroller as wheelchair) that "only wheelchairs should be allowed on the elevators". I showed her the tag and got a "hmph" in return.

BTW, there is a door on the first floor (end of the "bathroom hall") that isn't too backstage-y that they couldn't use that for handicapped access. We used it on the Undiscovered Future World tour, and I suggested it to the CM.

 

[Twende]

...
BTW, there is a door on the first floor (end of the "bathroom hall") that isn't too backstage-y that they couldn't use that for handicapped access. We used it on the Undiscovered Future World tour, and I suggested it to the CM.

Can you describe how to get to this door from the outside? Do you think that it is open to the general public or is it one of those doors that would be locked unless you are inside coming out of it?

I would really like to find a better way to get into this building! Thanks

 

[MulanMom]

Another oddity about this elevator is that the area was mysteriously "closed" one evening around 8pm, about an hour earlier than Soarin's 9pm close. DH uses an ECV but can walk with braces...just not long distances or stand for long periods of time. Fortunately, he had the option of taking the escalator down and doing the ride, though it was really a physical effort to do so. It angered me that this elevator was shut down early for convenience's sake. It rendered an entire area and attraction unaccessible to those who are not ambulatory!

 

[graygables]

Can you describe how to get to this door from the outside? Do you think that it is open to the general public or is it one of those doors that would be locked unless you are inside coming out of it?

I would really like to find a better way to get into this building! Thanks

It's not open to the general public and as I recall, there was a CM hanging around near it to keep people from using it. We went from the inside out and I am trying for the life of me to remember where it deposited us. We went from there to the Imagination pavilion. If you use the restrooms down by Soarin', it's at the end of that corridor. It was a tad too backstage-looking but a little sprucing up and it would be a perfect handicapped entrance. I do remember mentioning to the guide who said he would mention it to the powers that be.

I really think everyone needs to address this pavilion with WDW. My mom was in a manual wheelchair and my 17yo nearly died pushing her up that slope. It is SO steep that I can't imagine anyone not in an ECV being able to manage it on their own unless they are an athlete. When we go, we try to make it a "full stop" with meals, kidcot, tour, soarin', etc, just b/c it's so stinkin' hard to get to.

 

[kaytieeldr]

It's not open to the general public and as I recall, there was a CM hanging around near it to keep people from using it. We went from the inside out and I am trying for the life of me to remember where it deposited us. We went from there to the Imagination pavilion. If you use the restrooms down by Soarin', it's at the end of that corridor. It was a tad too backstage-looking but a little sprucing up and it would be a perfect handicapped entrance. I do remember mentioning to the guide who said he would mention it to the powers that be.

That sounds like a great idea, graygable! On the other hand, right off the bat I can see two groups of Guests having complaints:
Ambulatory Guests who are already operating under the misperception that wheelchair Guests get special treatment, most notably getting to go to the head of the line
And second, wheelchair Guests who "have to" use the newly-designated entrance to access Soarin', Living with the Land and the food court, then go back outside and around and in the front entrance for Circle of Life and the Garden Grill

 

[graygables]

That sounds like a great idea, graygable! On the other hand, right off the bat I can see two groups of Guests having complaints:
Ambulatory Guests who are already operating under the misperception that wheelchair Guests get special treatment, most notably getting to go to the head of the line
And second, wheelchair Guests who "have to" use the newly-designated entrance to access Soarin', Living with the Land and the food court, then go back outside and around and in the front entrance for Circle of Life and the Garden Grill

My suggestion would be to leave the elevator for guests once they are in the building to transfer floors, and still leave the main entrance open for w/c guests as well, in case someone is just coming for GG or Circle of Life. I think it would reduce the amount of elevator traffic. As far as the ambulatory guests...phooey on them! Let them line up for the elevator and wait umpteen times for it to go up and down! I don't know that it would be that different than the SE entrance, most ambulatory people aren't even that aware of it.

 

[SueM in MN]

I also was hoping they would add at least a bigger elevator when they renovated the pavilion. At least since it is off to the side, most people don't see it and do use the stairs/escalators.
There are some ambulatory people with hidden needs who use the elevators. For example, my older MIL. She has a phobia about escalators (especially long ones) and can't make herslf use the ones in the Land (especially going down). She does sometimes use the steps for going down, but because of a bit of unsteadiness, the elevator is better.

The ramp into the building and once you get inside are pretty bad - I believe they are just barely legal slopes for the ADA requirements. You certainly don't want to be pushing a wheelchair and lose hold of it.

 

[TipTopClub_Girl]

It's not open to the general public and as I recall, there was a CM hanging around near it to keep people from using it. We went from the inside out and I am trying for the life of me to remember where it deposited us. We went from there to the Imagination pavilion. If you use the restrooms down by Soarin', it's at the end of that corridor. It was a tad too backstage-looking but a little sprucing up and it would be a perfect handicapped entrance. I do remember mentioning to the guide who said he would mention it to the powers that be.

Actually, yes that is a backstage area. I had heard it was used only during Christmas time to help with the huge numbers that came to Soarin' that week. It made it easier to exit people out of the building quicker in order to let new people in at the entrance without hitting capacity of the building and closing it.

 

[MulanMom]

That sounds like a great idea, graygable! On the other hand, right off the bat I can see two groups of Guests having complaints:
Ambulatory Guests who are already operating under the misperception that wheelchair Guests get special treatment, most notably getting to go to the head of the line
And second, wheelchair Guests who "have to" use the newly-designated entrance to access Soarin', Living with the Land and the food court, then go back outside and around and in the front entrance for Circle of Life and the Garden Grill

If the elevator is unavailable due to a technical problem, then we'd rather have the option of being able to access the attraction than having no ability to see it at all.

As for ambulatory folks, I'm not taking your comments personally nor am I going to turn this into a flame. But my DH has MD which he is stubbornly fighting every step of the way. Our Nov. 2004 trip, he was able to walk the parks with his braces, without an ECV. By Nov. 2005, he needs to use his ECV as muscles in the hip girdle are being affected. So though he is ambulatory and focused on remaining so, I am the one that is looking with a critical eye and trying to see how we will manage if and when he is totally dependent on a wheelchair/ECV.

I also had the opportunity years ago to tour the parks with a friend who had Lupus. To the casual observer, she was ambulatory. But she paid a heavy price when she pushed herself physically and walked more than she should. I'll never forget how at World of Motion (now Test Track), she had to walk from the ride's exit to the building's exit to get back to her ECV.

I try very hard not to judge others as we've been in the position of being judged by others. I bristle when I hear others complain of ECVs being boarded before others on the bus, etc. I often feel like saying "If you want his diagnosis for seemingly preferential treatment, we'll trade you anytime".

 

[Twende]

I guess I will have to talk to Disney about this problem. It really was at the point of being dangerous!

I pushed by my mom in a manual wheelchair both up and down that ramp and it was super crowded in that building. It was a real chore to get up the ramp and almost impossible to get good control on the speed going down it.

It never occured to me that part of the problem was the steepness of the ramp itself. I was blaming my struggle on the fact that the ramp was so crowed with people.

 

[kaytieeldr]

As for ambulatory folks, I'm not taking your comments personally nor am I going to turn this into a flame. But my DH has MD

Whew, because that wasn't my intention!
I can't find terminology which, to me, is not offensive or exclusionary: Wheelchair-bound? Nope.
Handicapped? Don't like that one either
Mobility impaired? Again, negative.
Disabled? Ditto.
How about "otherly-abled"?

 

[kaytieeldr]

It never occured to me that part of the problem was the steepness of the ramp itself. I was blaming my struggle on the fact that the ramp was so crowed with people.

And that (ramp angle) is probably why Disney has designated - however ineffectively - one of the three ramps as being for wheelchair Guests.

 

[SueM in MN]

As for ambulatory folks, I'm not taking your comments personally nor am I going to turn this into a flame. But my DH has MD which he is stubbornly fighting every step of the way. Our Nov. 2004 trip, he was able to walk the parks with his braces, without an ECV. By Nov. 2005, he needs to use his ECV as muscles in the hip girdle are being affected. So though he is ambulatory and focused on remaining so, I am the one that is looking with a critical eye and trying to see how we will manage if and when he is totally dependent on a wheelchair/ECV.

I don't think your situation was what was meant by "ambulatory people" and kaytieeldr did try to explain.
Correct me if I'm wrong, kaytieeldr, but I think what was meant was what usually happens with threads on the Theme Parks Board when wheelchairs and/or guests with Special Needs was mentioned: Guests without special needs make a lot of posts about all the "perks" that they think guests with special needs are getting. What they don't understand is that those things are not "perks", they are (sometimes) the only way for someone who has special needs to get in/on an attraction.
I think "Ambulatory Guests" was meant to convey the idea of "Guests without special needs".

This is a good time for a reminder - sometimes the words that are written mean one thing to the writer, but have a different meaning to some readers(which may be negative when the writer didn't mean to be negative at all). It especially can get to be a problem on this board because most people are trying to be sensitive with the words they are using to not use words that might exclude or have negative connotations (as kaytieeldr mentioned, it's hard to find terms to talk about disabilities that fit AND everyone agrees with).

Most posters on the disABILITIES Board don't flame each other, so if you see something that seems to be flaming to you - please clarify the writer's meaning and intent before flaming back.

 

[MulanMom]

Whew, because that wasn't my intention!
I can't find terminology which, to me, is not offensive or exclusionary: Wheelchair-bound? Nope.
Handicapped? Don't like that one either
Mobility impaired? Again, negative.
Disabled? Ditto.
How about "otherly-abled"?

I didn't think it was your intention, but being relatively new to the HC community, I didn't know if there were any ongoing issues between folks who were ambulatory, ambulatory with issues, and those who were not ambulatory at all. Maybe it was because I had just come from the theme parks board and read a couple of threads dealing with disability issues which were rather ignorant and insensitive, I interpreted the ambulatory term incorrectly. I expected that people with disabilities would be more empathetic and understanding of all types of issues than the public at large...so I was rather surprised at the use of the term. My apologies for misinterpreting.

As for a term...."folks without mobility issues"?