Transfering to seat in 3D shows

[Ioansgirl2]

First off, thank you for this forum. Reading it has been so helpful.

We will be visiting for the first time in August after many years away. It will also be a our 1st time traveling with our new 8 yr old son who uses a wheelchair. We are planning on bringing his manual chair as he doesn't maneuver his motorized chair well in crowds.

I wondered how we are going to handle 3D shows like Tree of Life bug show. He will want to be in the seats to experience it all. He can stand and walk a few steps with our assistance. But he wouldn't be able to walk the whole way down the aisle.

I know they want you to fill in the whole aisle so how do we handle that? We have 4 other children and will all want to sit together. My husband also gets major headaches if we sit too close to a movie screen and Im worried they will want us to sit in front.

Any thoughts?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Typically the wheelchair seating is at the back.

Depending on how crowded an attraction is, you should be able to park the chair in a designated spot then he can transfer to the adjacent seat.

Wheelchair seating is limited, and sometimes that guest is limited to one of two companions. When you enter a theater, your son and one of two people go down the wheelchair row, and the rest of your family goes down the next two and sits in front of you.

 

[mamabunny]

First off, thank you for this forum. Reading it has been so helpful.

We will be visiting for the first time in August after many years away. It will also be a our 1st time traveling with our new 8 yr old son who uses a wheelchair. We are planning on bringing his manual chair as he doesn't maneuver his motorized chair well in crowds.

I wondered how we are going to handle 3D shows like Tree of Life bug show. He will want to be in the seats to experience it all. He can stand and walk a few steps with our assistance. But he wouldn't be able to walk the whole way down the aisle.

I know they want you to fill in the whole aisle so how do we handle that? We have 4 other children and will all want to sit together. My husband also gets major headaches if we sit too close to a movie screen and Im worried they will want us to sit in front.

Any thoughts?

Typically the wheelchair seating is at the back.

Depending on how crowded an attraction is, you should be able to park the chair in a designated spot then he can transfer to the adjacent seat.

Wheelchair seating is limited, and sometimes that guest is limited to one of two companions. When you enter a theater, your son and one of two people go down the wheelchair row, and the rest of your family goes down the next two and sits in front of you.

Just to add to what @kaytieeldr said - you may find that you will be asked by a lot of the Cast Members "Can he transfer?"

Let them know that he can walk only one or two steps, so that they don't try to send you all someplace too far from his chair. Usually if you say that he can walk (without the qualifier) then they assume he can go as far as he needs to, to get to his seat, and that isn't the case with him.

I hope you all have a great trip! And to our little corner of the DISBoards

 

[Ioansgirl2]

Thank you for sharing your experience and advice!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Just to add to what @kaytieeldr said - you may find that you will be asked by a lot of the Cast Members "Can he transfer?"

Ideally, they will ask him if he can transfer, unless he's younger than the typical age where kids can talk.

 

[married2mm]

Ideally, they will ask him if he can transfer, unless he's younger than the typical age where kids can talk.

I simply must acknowledge this post.

When I sit in my chair..
I can instantly transform from a fully (overgrown!) woman to become invisible and most definitely mute/deaf.
The vast majority of cast members are wonderful; however just like in the real world-obviously not all.
team members in universal ; not so much.
I’ve had several really awful experiences and won’t ever be returning...but that’s a whole different story!

May I just add; ‘transfer’ has many different meanings by various staff, even on the same ride or attraction.
It can be rather confusing.
I would advise asking , what the transfer process actually entails-before & after the attraction.

 

[mamabunny]

Ideally, they will ask him if he can transfer, unless he's younger than the typical age where kids can talk.

I simply must acknowledge this post.

When I sit in my chair..
I can instantly transform from a fully (overgrown!) woman to become invisible and most definitely mute/deaf.
The vast majority of cast members are wonderful; however just like in the real world-obviously not all.
team members in universal ; not so much.
I’ve had several really awful experiences and won’t ever be returning...but that’s a whole different story!

May I just add; ‘transfer’ has many different meanings by various staff, even on the same ride or attraction.
It can be rather confusing.
I would advise asking , what the transfer process actually entails-before & after the attraction.

I agree - fully.

However, based on our experience with our daughter, who has used a mobility device for her entire life, CMs will ask one of the parents.

Now that I am a full time seated person, I experience this daily. My family has learned to not answer the person who overlooks me, and allows me to engage that person and become part of the conversation. There are still times when we will come up against someone who stubbornly refuses to acknowledge me as a sentient human. That's when my family members know to step away completely to force the person to acknowledge me, and deal with me.

We can't always do that, and we don't. But when and where it's possible we do. We are slowly changing our little corner of the real world one interaction at a time.

 

[SueM in MN]

We travel with our daughter who can’t transfer unless we lift/carry her. She understands, but can’t speak (can nod and shake her head).
Anyway I forget what ride we were going on, but it was one that has a wheelchair car. My husband and I had kind of zoned out until the CM directed us where to park DD’s chair so she could walk to the ride car. We said that we needed the wheelchair car. The CM looked at us kind of confused and said, “she said she could transfer!”
My daughter looked kind of indignant and signed, “Dad lift me”. We told her from now on, if she’s asked, the answer is no.

Anyway - there are a couple of reasons why they ask if you can transfer.
The first is to make sure you know you would need to transfer because the attraction doesn’t have a wheelchair car.
The second would be attractions that do have a wheelchair car, but they want to know if you want to use it or not.

 

[SueM in MN]

First off, thank you for this forum. Reading it has been so helpful.

We will be visiting for the first time in August after many years away. It will also be a our 1st time traveling with our new 8 yr old son who uses a wheelchair. We are planning on bringing his manual chair as he doesn't maneuver his motorized chair well in crowds.

We have never brought our daughter’s power wheelchair. Even though she drives very well, crowds can be intimidating and we know the whole day would just be too fatiguing for her. She’d have to be on alert the whole time.
Also, her power wheelchair does all kinds of things - tilt, recline, stand - and we are afraid of breakage if we put it on the plane.

I wondered how we are going to handle 3D shows like Tree of Life bug show. He will want to be in the seats to experience it all. He can stand and walk a few steps with our assistance. But he wouldn't be able to walk the whole way down the aisle.

I know they want you to fill in the whole aisle so how do we handle that? We have 4 other children and will all want to sit together. My husband also gets major headaches if we sit too close to a movie screen and Im worried they will want us to sit in front.

Any thoughts?

All shows have spots to park a wheelchair with at least one (usually more) companion seats right next to them and seats for the rest of your group nearby.
Depends on the show, but it could be in the same row or the row just in front or just behind. Guests using mobility devices are welcome to park their wheelchair in the spot and transfer to the seat next to it or nearby.

The Bug’s Life Show has a few wheelchair spots in the very front row, but the majority are in the back of the theater.
If you have Fastpasses, you will be routed to the front and there is not really a way to get to the back.
Without a Fastpasses, you would be in the back rows.

As you enter into the building, the CM will ask how many in your party and then direct you to a roped off area to the side of where other guests are waiting. Your whole group will wait in that area until the theater opens for your show. Guests in that wheelchair waiting area will be directed into the theater before the other guests enter. That gives a little extra time for parking/transferring/getting settled.

Most shows have wheelchair seating in both the very front and the very back - the number of front seats are often small. The last post on page 2 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread has info about accessible seat locations.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...ed-1st-trip-next-trip-wish-trip.595713/page-2