Universal/IOA - accessibility?

[Mazzy]

I just rang Universal to ask for a disability guide to be sent out to me but they don't have one.

According to the person I spoke to EVERYTHING is accessible to the deaf - which I find hard to believe! They mentioned that I could get a 'caption flicker' at Guest Relations to bring the captions up but until I get there I haven't a clue which attractions this would work on, I really doubt that every attraction would have captions!

So, anyone who has been to Universal, maybe you could help me out with this? I am also going to be using a wheelchair but was told that all the lines are accessible so it shouldn't be a problem.

It all sounds a little too simplified to me, especially the captioning! Any realistic advice would be great!

 

[SueM in MN]

I don't know anything about the services for the deaf, but the wheelchair accessible line part is probably true. We were first there a few weeks after the park opened and it was built to have wheelchair accessible lines.

 

[nancycels]

wheelchair maybe, ECV NOT!

 

[dclfun]

The lines were all accessible to me. I have a very long power chair due to medical equipment on the back of it ( it's easily the length of an ECV) and had no trouble at all navigating in all the lines at Universal. The only trouble I had was in the queue lines in the dining venues- they were a bit narrow and had sharp turns. ---Kathy

 

[Mazzy]

Thanks everyone for replying, it sounds as if the wheelchair won't be a problem. I still haven't found out which attractions have captions - I guess I will just have to wait until we get there!

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Originally posted by dclfun
The lines were all accessible to me. I have a very long power chair due to medical equipment on the back of it ---Kathy

Kathy,

Were you able to take your chair onto the rides, or did you have to transfer to a manual?

My power chair is no bigger than a manual, yet Universal Studios still insisted I transfer to a manual chair for the actual rides. As I cannot transfer, they gave me a refund and I left the park.

This was in October '01. Have they relaxed their rules since then?

Andrew

 

[dclfun]

Andrew- I didn't go on any rides as I'm on a ventilator and also have a feeding pump- no way to transfer! I did see information though that indicated that you would need to transfer to a manual chair. I had a similar experience to yours this summer. I like to go through the lines with my kids and they were all accessible, but there wasn't much I could "do"except the shows and a few attractions. I asked for a refund (we bought two year AP's for $159 each) for myself once I realized this but said I'd let my kids keep their AP's. The CM at Guest Relations was wonderful! He not only refunded my pass, but gave me a comp 2 year pass so I could accompany my kids! I was incredulous. There's no way Disney would have done a thing for me as they've not even compensated me for things that have happened there, including my kneecap getting broken on their bus when the driver failed to operate the lift correctly. ---Kathy