Universal in a scooter or wheelchair?

[Alexsandra]

Hi Guys!
Maybe someone here can answer my questions. There is not a lot of info about touring Universal Studios with disabilities.

I booked a split stay 3 night Universal and 4 nights Disney but originally it was just me, my husband and the kids. Now we invited my parents-in-law to come along and my mother-in law has mobility issues. We were going to rent a scooter for her.

From what I read many of the rides are not accessible with the scooter. She would need to transfer onto a wheelchair. I am now thinking it might make more sense to just rent a wheelchair for Universal and then a scooter at Disney. It will cost a little more but it seems more logical.

She is will not be able to do any of the rougher rides as her hip is very fragile. So I am now wondering if Universal is even worth visiting for someone in a wheelchair? It does not look that accommodating for someone with disabilities.

Anyone with experience visiting a Universal park in a wheelchair?

 

[chs27]

We normally rent scooters from the parks for my husband as well. He can walk but has intense pain when standing for very long. He does better on big coasters that has shoulder harness than smaller rides that can be jerky.

This time we are renting from a company that will deliver the scooter straight to the hotel.

Universal parks are easily navigated in a scooter. Disney's Animal Kingdom has very narrow walkways, better using a wheelchair, imo.

 

[Alexsandra]

We normally rent scooters from the parks for my husband as well. He can walk but has intense pain when standing for very long. He does better on big coasters that has shoulder harness than smaller rides that can be jerky.

This time we are renting from a company that will deliver the scooter straight to the hotel.

Universal parks are easily navigated in a scooter. Disney's Animal Kingdom has very narrow walkways, better using a wheelchair, imo.

Oh good to know.

 

[bumbershoot]

Scooter. Wheelchairs are hard to push all day.

As far as I know, if a ride has you transfer to a wheelchair, they'll have the chairs there. Same at Disney.

 

[Alexsandra]

Scooter. Wheelchairs are hard to push all day.

As far as I know, if a ride has you transfer to a wheelchair, they'll have the chairs there. Same at Disney.

Ok great! Thanks so much.

 

[tweak89]

Did you read the info on the official site? Click HERE if you didn't. There is a link to a PDF that gives ride specific information on that page that would be very useful in planning your time there.

While the rides at Universal may be a bit much from a motion standpoint, there should be more than enough things to see/do. What rides do you think she could handle at Disney? Knowing that, maybe some advice can be offered as to what similar types of rides she could handle at Universal.

 

[Alexsandra]

At Disney there are more rides attractions that do not not have jerky motions.

For example at MK she can handle Pirate of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, Country Bear Jamboree, Dumbo, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Haunted Mansion, it's a small world, mickey's philarmagic, monsters inc., Peter Pan, under the Sea, carrousel of progress, enchanted tiki room plus all the parades, shows and fireworks. Epcot has Soaring and mission space green side, the seas with Neemo, spaceship earth, Frozen, plus all the country pavilions to visit.

At US she definitely won't be able to do any roller coasters. Rides like Escape from Gringots, Forbidden Journey, Transformers or Spider-Man are out since they would jerk her left to right too much and would further injure her hip. I looked at Universal's rider guide and it doesn't look too promising. However my mother in law might still enjoy roaming the park and taking in the sights even though she can't ride on the attraction.

I am going to call her tonight and talk all this over with her. I guess it depends on her.

 

[bumbershoot]

My husband can't yet ride most of the big rides yet he still enjoys going. And he often sleeps in to enjoy the resort, even at Disney. The onsite universal resorts are lovely and she might enjoy some time to simply be on vacation and not roaming a themepark.

And if she prefers a Disney park, it's ok to split. You planned this then they decide to come, after all.

 

[Alexsandra]

My husband can't yet ride most of the big rides yet he still enjoys going. And he often sleeps in to enjoy the resort, even at Disney. The onsite universal resorts are lovely and she might enjoy some time to simply be on vacation and not roaming a themepark.

And if she prefers a Disney park, it's ok to split. You planned this then they decide to come, after all.

Thank you for your feed back. I did speak to my mother in law yesterday and we discussed what her expectations were for this trip and what she thinks she can handle. She mentioned that her plan was to go to the parks with us in the morning and head back to the resort if she sees she is getting too tired. She was willing to follow our plans if it made all of us happy. As I was discussing this over with her I realized that it was kind of silly to pay for tickets to a park where she is so limited on what she can ride.
We invited them on this trip so that they we could enjoy being together as a family and for the grandparents to enjoy their grandchildren.

My mother in law is so sweet, and she would never ask us to change our plans for her. But in the end, we were trying to fit too much into a 7 day trip. The split stay just complicated things.

So we decided to cancel our stay at Universal and just do Disney the whole time. I think it will be easier on everyone. That way we can take advantage of the magic express and we can rent a scooter for the whole 7 days. It will also give us more time to enjoy the resorts, swim, sleep in since we are planing a few no park days. I am a little disappointed that we are not doing US anymore but at least we are going to my favourite Disney resort: the Polynesian.

 

[bchbetha]

Thank you for your feed back. I did speak to my mother in law yesterday and we discussed what her expectations were for this trip and what she thinks she can handle. She mentioned that her plan was to go to the parks with us in the morning and head back to the resort if she sees she is getting too tired. She was willing to follow our plans if it made all of us happy. As I was discussing this over with her I realized that it was kind of silly to pay for tickets to a park where she is so limited on what she can ride.
We invited them on this trip so that they we could enjoy being together as a family and for the grandparents to enjoy their grandchildren.

My mother in law is so sweet, and she would never ask us to change our plans for her. But in the end, we were trying to fit too much into a 7 day trip. The split stay just complicated things.

So we decided to cancel our stay at Universal and just do Disney the whole time. I think it will be easier on everyone. That way we can take advantage of the magic express and we can rent a scooter for the whole 7 days. It will also give us more time to enjoy the resorts, swim, sleep in since we are planing a few no park days. I am a little disappointed that we are not doing US anymore but at least we are going to my favourite Disney resort: the Polynesian.

You never seemed totally sold on Universal from your other posts. I could easily be misreading (and I do see that you've been in the past). Have a great Disney trip but do try Universal again sometime. Diagon Alley is pretty amazing! Even if you can't ride, there is a lot to see and do!

 

[Alexsandra]

You never seemed totally sold on Universal from your other posts. I could easily be misreading (and I do see that you've been in the past). Have a great Disney trip but do try Universal again sometime. Diagon Alley is pretty amazing! Even if you can't ride, there is a lot to see and do!

Your right i kept teeter tottering. I am definitely planning on going back to Universal. I told my boys I would bring them the following year and that we would do an all Universal trip.
Thanks so much!

 

[ConnecticutFlea]

My husband uses a scooter and we rent the scooter from Buena Vista for the duration. We have used a taxi from Mears when we transfer to Universal. They have a few drivers that have vans with ramps that the scooter can ride up. We call days in advance to arrange for the taxis that can accommodate scooters. With tip the ride ran $50.
Universal tends to be less crowded so it's easier to navigate the scooter. We also didn't need to deal with a bus to get back to the hotel. My husband is able to walk, so getting on the rides is not an issue for him.

 

[Alexsandra]

My husband uses a scooter and we rent the scooter from Buena Vista for the duration. We have used a taxi from Mears when we transfer to Universal. They have a few drivers that have vans with ramps that the scooter can ride up. We call days in advance to arrange for the taxis that can accommodate scooters. With tip the ride ran $50.
Universal tends to be less crowded so it's easier to navigate the scooter. We also didn't need to deal with a bus to get back to the hotel. My husband is able to walk, so getting on the rides is not an issue for him.

Great info about taxi.