Turtle Talk LL or early access to seating

[pingviini]

I am traveling with my mother at the end of this month for a quick weekend trip to do Epcot and Hollywood Studios (After Hours event). I am hard of hearing and rely on captions in many situations so will be getting the handheld captioning device.

Of the attractions we want to do, Turtle Talk is giving me the most concern. I used to really enjoy it but my last visit (five years ago) was difficult as I could only understand about half of what was said. My word recognition has gotten worse since then.

Since there is no captioning for this attraction, I have figured out a possible DIY captioning option (using the assistive listening option but putting the headphones near my phone microphone for my speech-to-text app) but it is unclear whether it will actually work in the environment.

Sitting in the front may help as I've tended to sit in the back in the past so I've been considering using LL. For people who have been recently, how does LL work? Do they make an announcement before opening it up to the general crowd? I would want to let my mother know what to pay attention for since I likely won't understand any announcements.

Alternatively, has anyone talked to a CM about early access to seating to be in the front? I would prefer to use something like LL so I can avoid the whole explanation of why I may be able to understand someone speaking directly in front of me but not during the attraction (people tend to not understand the complexity and spectrum of hearing). But have also been trying to be better about advocating for myself.

My mom really liked Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor and I think she will like Turtle Talk even more. So I want to put myself in the best possible position to understand things but also manage my own expectations of how much I will have access to.

Appreciate any suggestions or sharing of experiences!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I am traveling with my mother at the end of this month for a quick weekend trip to do Epcot and Hollywood Studios (After Hours event). I am hard of hearing and rely on captions in many situations so will be getting the handheld captioning device.

Of the attractions we want to do, Turtle Talk is giving me the most concern. I used to really enjoy it but my last visit (five years ago) was difficult as I could only understand about half of what was said. My word recognition has gotten worse since then.

Since there is no captioning for this attraction, I have figured out a possible DIY captioning option (using the assistive listening option but putting the headphones near my phone microphone for my speech-to-text app) but it is unclear whether it will actually work in the environment.

Sitting in the front may help as I've tended to sit in the back in the past so I've been considering using LL. For people who have been recently, how does LL work? Do they make an announcement before opening it up to the general crowd? I would want to let my mother know what to pay attention for since I likely won't understand any announcements.

Alternatively, has anyone talked to a CM about early access to seating to be in the front? I would prefer to use something like LL so I can avoid the whole explanation of why I may be able to understand someone speaking directly in front of me but not during the attraction (people tend to not understand the complexity and spectrum of hearing). But have also been trying to be better about advocating for myself.

My mom really liked Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor and I think she will like Turtle Talk even more. So I want to put myself in the best possible position to understand things but also manage my own expectations of how much I will have access to.

Appreciate any suggestions or sharing of experiences!

not sure that LL will help that much as everyone with LL will line up together to be seated. your best bet is to have LL but also be ready to talk with CM at beginning of line early to see what can be done to help you. I have a milder hearing loss but do not need the help you do

 

[ttintagel]

Other than wheelchair seating, there is no systematic process for sitting in a certain place in show-type attraction to accommodate a disability. You have to just ask the CM at each attraction, and it's up to their discretion. I have to do this because of my low vision. I wish I could say that it works 100% of the time, but for me it's been about 50/50.

 

[pingviini]

Thank you both! I thought about LL because in the past it seemed like people didn't really use FP+ (at least that I saw when I did the attraction). But things obviously change and we will be going during a busier time than we are used to.

I suspect the best approach is LL plus arriving early to speak with the CM. I will keep my expectations low and assume I may not be able to understand anything (and possibly nothing). If I'm not feeling up for the potential disappointment that day, I can allow my mother to go by herself while I do something else. I really enjoyed this attraction in the past, so it's a bummer that I may no longer be able to.

 

[pingviini]

I wanted to give an update on how this went since there is not as many posts on hearing access as other access needs. And it may be helpful for anyone who comes across this thread in their search.

We did not end up using a LL for Turtle Talk. We went later in the day and were among the first in the theater. It seemed like LL only got you through a separate entrance into the waiting area rather than being first into the theater. I was able to get a seat in the front row to the side with my better ear facing the center of the room.

Unfortunately, that was the only part that went well. There ended up being no assistive listening offered/working despite advertisement that it was offered at the attraction. So I was unable to see if my DIY captioning worked. I had planned to place the headphones at my microphone of my phone while running Live Transcribe on my phone. It has worked in other environments when I tested it.

Overall, the handheld captioning device (which is what I primarily used it for) was a disappointment. I ended up having a CM at guest services write up a long list of the ride by ride issues I had as I feel it's important to give that feedback back to Disney. I don't want to get this thread off-topic but am happy to provide more information about the problems to be aware of for anyone using these devices.

 

[ttintagel]

That's awesome that you took the time to give feedback to guest relations.

 

[pingviini]

That's awesome that you took the time to give feedback to guest relations.

When I picked up the device at Hollywood Studios the next day (hoping it would at least work for Muppet Vision - it did!), Guest Services gave me a survey to identify positive and negative experiences at each attraction that I used it for. My understanding from the CM is that they are hoping that getting more feedback (the devices are not used by a lot of people) would result in changes.

 

[GrandMum]

Just noticed this post. I travel with my daughter who is deaf. Several years ago she tried the device and had little luck with it. Most of the time it wouldn't connect. It was also time consuming to wait in the line at guest services to pick up and drop off the device. Minor at that time but could take longer now with all the glitches with Genie+.
Last trip we just picked shows that had the ASL interpreters provided. That was wonderful. All the interpreters were excellent and very personable. Did have some problems with Turtle Talk. We were told when to be at a specific show and the CM at the entrance told us to come back later. When we came back, the interpreter had left after doing her show. It was frustrating but another CM did go and find the interpreter who was able to do another show and they got us seated in the front row.

 

[Evita_W]

This is very new tech and I don't know much about them, but I had an ad for these come across my Facebook the other day

https://www.xander.tech/xanderglass...ered by Vuzix,at the speaker and surroundings.

Perhaps they could help?

 

[pingviini]

Just noticed this post. I travel with my daughter who is deaf. Several years ago she tried the device and had little luck with it. Most of the time it wouldn't connect. It was also time consuming to wait in the line at guest services to pick up and drop off the device. Minor at that time but could take longer now with all the glitches with Genie+.
Last trip we just picked shows that had the ASL interpreters provided. That was wonderful. All the interpreters were excellent and very personable. Did have some problems with Turtle Talk. We were told when to be at a specific show and the CM at the entrance told us to come back later. When we came back, the interpreter had left after doing her show. It was frustrating but another CM did go and find the interpreter who was able to do another show and they got us seated in the front row.

I am learning ASL so this is good to know for the future. I would not have thought to request ASL interpretation for Turtle Talk! I had seen that certain shows have interpretation available. Good motivation for me to continue learning.

I agree re: the device. It was frustrating to spend a portion of my day in line either getting it or having to switch it out for a new one. This was the first time my mom traveled with me since my needs changed and I needed more accommodations. It was an eye opener for her how much time I had to spend planning for and navigating getting the device and how basic things (like having all pre-shows open captioning) could have been done but just weren't.

 

[GrandMum]

I am learning ASL so this is good to know for the future. I would not have thought to request ASL interpretation for Turtle Talk! I had seen that certain shows have interpretation available. Good motivation for me to continue learning.

I agree re: the device. It was frustrating to spend a portion of my day in line either getting it or having to switch it out for a new one. This was the first time my mom traveled with me since my needs changed and I needed more accommodations. It was an eye opener for her how much time I had to spend planning for and navigating getting the device and how basic things (like having all pre-shows open captioning) could have been done but just weren't.

You don't request interpreters for shows in the parks. There is a set schedule which you can get ahead of time by contacting WDPRsignlanguageservices@disney.com
They sent me the current schedule and then will send the one for the weeks we are there.

 

[pingviini]

This is very new tech and I don't know much about them, but I had an ad for these come across my Facebook the other day

https://www.xander.tech/xanderglasses#:~:text=XanderGlasses, Powered by Vuzix,at the speaker and surroundings.

Perhaps they could help?

Unfortunately, most tech like this does not consistently work. Movie theaters that don't provide open captions give people devices like this and they are generally disliked due to how often they don't work. I did use glasses provided at Universal Orlando's Bourne Stuntacular and was pleasantly surprised that they worked and didn't strain my eyes (when you use devices like this you are looking close to read the captions and then looking far to see the screen. It gets tiring very fast). I couldn't find any reviews from deaf or hard of hearing people in my quick search so unsure about whether this is going to have the same problems. Thanks for sharing though.

What really is needed is a commitment by the parks if they are going to provide tech devices. It's very obvious from using them that not many people use them and thus they are not prioritized. The syncing was off on some rides to the extent that it was laughable. It had gone through the entire first narrative portion of Living with the Land before our boat even left the loading dock.

 

[lanejudy]

The syncing was off on some rides to the extent that it was laughable.

And unfortunately, you are right about them not prioritizing such needs. The syncing has been an issue for more than a decade when we tried it with DD. I had hoped that technology advances even in that short time had improved the situation in the parks but apparently not.