Space Mountain and CP?

[jennine]

Hello all!

We will be visiting WDW for the first time in Feb 2012. We were in DLR a couple of years ago and really enjoyed Space Mountain. At the time, our twins (who both have Cerebral Palsy), we only 3 and nowhere near tall enough to ride. But this time around they are. I have noticed that the ride vehicles are single person in WDW unlike the side by side in DLR. This will be no problem for DD, but DS is way more unstable......do/can people hold smaller or disabled children on their lap during this ride?

 

[SueM in MN]

Hello all!

We will be visiting WDW for the first time in Feb 2012. We were in DLR a couple of years ago and really enjoyed Space Mountain. At the time, our twins (who both have Cerebral Palsy), we only 3 and nowhere near tall enough to ride. But this time around they are. I have noticed that the ride vehicles are single person in WDW unlike the side by side in DLR. This will be no problem for DD, but DS is way more unstable......do/can people hold smaller or disabled children on their lap during this ride?

No, that is not allowed.
Each rider needs to be in their own seat, secured by their own restraint system. So, no holding allowed.

At WDW, there is not a 'pull off' loading area for the ride vehicles for people who will take longer to load like there is a Disneyland.
At WDW, there is a limited amount of time allowed for transfer, so even your DD may not be able to ride if it will take a while to transfer her in and out.

My youngest DD has CP and has not ridden Space Mountain because she would not be able to ride in a seat alone. So, I don't know how long the allowed transfer time is. There are some regular posters who do ride and hopefully one of them will be along to give you the information about time allowed.

 

[Mary976]

Space Mountain is a tough transfer from a wheelchair, but I'm guessing your kids might still be at a size where you can pick them up, so that might not be a problem. But you do need to be prepared to get them down to the floor, and then into the ride car. You have to get over the side of the ride car AND it can be tricky to get your legs in. Plus, as Sue mentioned, you have to do it quickly.

That being said, the cars are "single file" for Space Mountain at WDW. Also, my DD notes that the restraint system is just a lap bar, so in her opinion you would need to have enough upper body stability to keep yourself upright without assistance.

Mary

 

[jennine]

Thanks for a quick reply!

I think DD would be easily plopped into her seat by either myself or DH(the CP does not afect her that greatly.....just a bit unstable on her feet). DS on the other hand cannot stand/walk, but can sit fairly well.....how well does the lap bar hold children in?

 

[SueM in MN]

Space Mountain is a tough transfer from a wheelchair, but I'm guessing your kids might still be at a size where you can pick them up, so that might not be a problem. But you do need to be prepared to get them down to the floor, and then into the ride car. You have to get over the side of the ride car AND it can be tricky to get your legs in. Plus, as Sue mentioned, you have to do it quickly.

That being said, the cars are "single file" for Space Mountain at WDW. Also, my DD notes that the restraint system is just a lap bar, so in her opinion you would need to have enough upper body stability to keep yourself upright without assistance.

Mary

That's the part we are most concerned with having time for.
DD has a lot of spasticity in her legs, so getting them in would be tough.

Plus your DD brought up a good point - my DD's overall tone is mostly spastic and mostly extension. When she gets excited, her arms and legs straighten. When we go on things like Test Track or Tower of Terror with her, the seatbelt restraint IS holding her in, but her body is pushing against the restraint and we are sort of holding her legs down with our legs.
So, it's important to think not only of how you will get in and out, but what effect the motion (or just the excitement) of the ride may have on muscle tone for the person riding.

 

[jennine]

my DD's overall tone is mostly spastic and mostly extension. When she gets excited, her arms and legs straighten. .

SueM, this describes our DS to a T! He turns into a stiff board from head to toe when excitement hits!

This definitely give me some more food for thought.....I am reviewing all the rides currently, checking out the ride cars etc. and deciding what he can go on and what is best left for another day when he has some more stability in certain areas.

 

[SueM in MN]

SueM, this describes our DS to a T! He turns into a stiff board from head to toe when excitement hits!

This definitely give me some more food for thought.....I am reviewing all the rides currently, checking out the ride cars etc. and deciding what he can go on and what is best left for another day when he has some more stability in certain areas.

Feel free to ak more questions.
Since it sounds like your DS is a lot like my DD, I should be able to give you some good ideas.

As well as straighting out, DD gets some athetoid movement when these things happen, which makes for arms and legs flying all over.

 

[krisnme]

We were just at WDW in June and DS(19) has moderate cp, able to stand and walk short distances, but can be really slow, we were not rushed when boarding the cars, I assisted DS, got his legs in the right place, and then boarded my own seat. The CM with the control board waited calmly and never indicated that we had any sort of time limit. they also moved his w/c to the unloading area and again did not rush us.

 

[Mary976]

Thanks for a quick reply!

I think DD would be easily plopped into her seat by either myself or DH(the CP does not afect her that greatly.....just a bit unstable on her feet). DS on the other hand cannot stand/walk, but can sit fairly well.....how well does the lap bar hold children in?

The lap bar isn't great on this ride. If you want to see a pic, there is one on AllEars: http://allears.net/tp/mk/mk_space14.jpg.

That's the part we are most concerned with having time for.
DD has a lot of spasticity in her legs, so getting them in would be tough.

Plus your DD brought up a good point - my DD's overall tone is mostly spastic and mostly extension. When she gets excited, her arms and legs straighten. When we go on things like Test Track or Tower of Terror with her, the seatbelt restraint IS holding her in, but her body is pushing against the restraint and we are sort of holding her legs down with our legs.
So, it's important to think not only of how you will get in and out, but what effect the motion (or just the excitement) of the ride may have on muscle tone for the person riding.

My DD normally transfers rear end first, then she swings her legs in. For Space Mtn, I kind of stuff her legs first and then we pull her over the side and into the seat.

This is one that I don't know if I'd recommend for someone without good upper body stability, given the lap bar issue and the fact that there isn't much holding your upper body up. Unlike coasters with over the shoulder restraints, there is nothing to lean on or hold you in. That being said, maybe a parent could ride alone first to check it out? Also, there is probably video on youtube if you want to get a better idea of what it's like.

Mary

 

[SueM in MN]

The lap bar isn't great on this ride. If you want to see a pic, there is one on AllEars: http://allears.net/tp/mk/mk_space14.jpg.




My DD normally transfers rear end first, then she swings her legs in. For Space Mtn, I kind of stuff her legs first and then we pull her over the side and into the seat.

This is one that I don't know if I'd recommend for someone without good upper body stability, given the lap bar issue and the fact that there isn't much holding your upper body up. Unlike coasters with over the shoulder restraints, there is nothing to lean on or hold you in. That being said, maybe a parent could ride alone first to check it out? Also, there is probably video on youtube if you want to get a better idea of what it's like.

Mary

A parent riding first is a good Idea. There are a couple of things that we do not take DD on because we rode first. You may be able to speak to a supervisor and only wait once if you ride and then think your child could handle it.

I thought that a YouTube video was a good idea too, but since it's pretty much pitch dark, most of the videos don't show anything except the lights at the beginning. There are a couple that show a ride with the lights on - apparently CMs or a coaster club got some special rides with lights on. Those would give a better idea.

Mary, were you told your DD needed to get in quickly or given a time?
A poster up above wrote that they had as much time as they needed.
But, I have read before that there is a 'hard stop' time, where if a rider is not in and set to ride, the attraction will stop.
It's possible that got changed somewhat in the renovation, but I think probably not, since the loading cars have to be out of the way when the cars that have been on the ride cone back. It just may be that the 'hard stop' time was long enough and the person loaded quickly enough that the previous poster had enough time and extra.

 

[Mary976]

I have read before that there is a 'hard stop' time, where if a rider is not in and set to ride, the attraction will stop.
It's possible that got changed somewhat in the renovation, but I think probably not, since the loading cars have to be out of the way when the cars that have been on the ride cone back. It just may be that the 'hard stop' time was long enough and the person loaded quickly enough that the previous poster had enough time and extra.

This is what we were told as well. We have DD out of her chair and seated on the floor waiting before the ride, and then after we get her back to the floor and then take the time we need to get her into the chair. It probably helps that I don't ride, so I don't need to be worrying about getting myself situated. She could do it on her own, but if I help it goes a lot faster.

Mary