What attractions have stairs?

[mmcguire]

We have been to WDW many times, and fortunately never had to pay attention to which attractions had stairs.

My DM (56) now has a condition in which most of the cartilage in her knees has worn away. She's not a good candidate for knee replacement (mainly because she is too young), so for now she just have to live with it. She was also diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in '05, and so far it seems to be a non-progressing form, but she does get really bad coughing fits if she pushes herself too much.

She does fine walking on level ground, but stairs cause her excrutiating pain, and can quickly put her out of commission for the day. She has a handicap placard that she uses only if she's having a really bad day. but refuses to use a scooter or wheelchair, so I doubt she would ask for a GAC (probably wouldn't qualify anyway).

Without a GAC, is it feasible that CMs would allow her to just walk up a ramp, or some other alternative to taking stairs? We're not talking about bypassing lines; just avoiding stairs. If that's unlikely, does anyone know if there's a list of which attractions have stairs, so we can just plan to spread them out over the course of the week and not hit too many in one day?

Thank you!!!

 

[OneLittleSpark]

A few of the attractions do have stairs in the queues, but I'm afraid I couldn't tell you which ones (though I'm sure someone else here can help). You might be able to get a GAC to use the wheelchair entrances (though a large portion of attractions now have mainstream queuing for w/c users - i.e. no stairs), I don't know.

I know you said your mother wouldn't want to use a mobility aid, but it really might be for the best for her. Once around the World Showcase Lagoon (without any stops, detours or attractions) is over a mile, and Animal Kingdom could apparently hold all three of the other parks within it's boundaries simultaniously. In other words, it's a heck of a lot of walking. It's likely that the holiday would be a lot more enjoyable for all of you if she did rent an ECV or wheelchair. I'm not trying to bully anyone into a decision here, I just know that I've tried to be 'strong' in the past and once ended up sitting on the floor in Norway on the verge of tears, not the highlight of the holiday, I must say. If you need help convincing her, CheshireFigment has a wonderful set of questions which have helped many people in the past (I'm not sure which threads they're on, so if anyone can help me on that one, I'd be grateful).

The FAQ, if you haven't looked already, has a lot of useful information including, among other things, information on off-site mobility rentals.

Also, I don't know if this would apply to your mother, but you might find this thread on extra boarding time useful: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=273092&perpage=15

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Offhand I can think of Spash and the regular (non-fastpass) queue at Star Tours having stairs. Also the Grand Prix Raceway (but it may be the exit there).

And as OneLittleSpark said, once around the World Showcase Lagoon Promenade is actually more than 1.25 miles.

Please ask her the following questions. Here are the suggested answers to go with them.

1. Are you disabled (even temporarily)? Yes.

2. Do the people you are travelling with, such as your family, know you are disabled? Yes.

3. Do you expect to meet anyone you know during this trip who may not know you are disabled. Probably No!

4. Do you expect to meet a bunch of people who you will probably never meet again in your life? Probably yes!

5. Is there any reason at all that you should care what these people think about you? Absolutely No!!

6. Will using a wheelchair or ECV make for a better vacation for you and your family? Absolutely YES!

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Thank you Cheshire Figment! You've also jogged my memory: I seem to remember Dinosaur in AK has stairs as well.

 

[BillSears]

Dinosaur does have stairs but they also have an elevators for those who use wheelchairs. Big Thunder Mountain has lots of stairs at the entrance therefore the wheelchair entrance is through the exit.

One other place to consider the stairs is at all of the shows. The areas without stairs are almost exclusively reserved for those using wheelchairs or ECVs. However I'm sure they'd let your Mom sit in the rows a step or two down if she explained the problem.

 

[mmcguire]

Thank you all very much for your helpful comments!

 

[freemore]

My husband and I both have knee problems and two years ago we rented evcs from Walker Mobility and kept them the whole time we were at Disney. We had a great time. It was so much fun riding the scooters and not worrying about being in pain and being able to go wherever we wanted to. With your description of your mother's health problems, I don't see how she will be able to make it without a wheel chair or a scooter. You can also rent them at the parks if you get there early enough. We are going again in two weeks and we have rented the scooters again. They make all the difference in the world to us. We wouldn't last a half a day without them. By the way neither one of us had ever driven a scooter before and it only took a few minutes to become an expert.
Freemore

 

[mmcguire]

Thanks again; hearing your personal experience is definitely a plus. I'll see if I can work on her; we have six months til our trip. I think an ECV would definitely make her trip more enjoyable!

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Not just hers, in fact. Seeing a loved one in pain is almost as hard as(some might argue that it's harder than) being in pain yourself. I know that our holidays have always become a lot more fun and cheery for all of us as soon as I've conceded to getting a chair.

Have a great time!

 

[phillybeth]

56 is too young for a knee replacement? First I've heard of that. I know people who have gotten them in their early 50's.

I know that Fantasmic allowed my dad to sit in HC seating in the top row last year- he has a double knee replacement, and while he usually does quite well, all those steps were too much for him at the end of a long day of walking.

Offhand, the only attractions that I can remember that have stairs, besides the theater shows, are Dinosaur and Splash Mountain. Several have one or two steps up or down- Country Bears is one that comes to mind, there is a step up to get onto the 'porch' that is part of the queue. Jungle Cruise has two steps down into the boat (and two back up to get out). Actually, all of the boat rides will have at least one step down to get into the boat. Does she use a cane? They really help with balance for getting into and out of the boats.

I *think* the chicken exit on Space Mountain may have stairs as well.

 

[disney-super-mom]

Thanks again; hearing your personal experience is definitely a plus. I'll see if I can work on her; we have six months til our trip. I think an ECV would definitely make her trip more enjoyable!

I sure hope you can talk her into an ECV. She really will have much more fun if she uses one. Why suffer in pain if you don't have too?

Plus, it's not as if she'll look out of place. We saw hundreds of people using them at the parks, so she shouldn't worry about feeling "out of place" or the "loner ECV user" in the parks.

 

[kandeebunny]

I'm 23, have severe joint problems and use an ECV every trip. I have been doing this since I was 16 (we got them from off site until I was old enough to rent from Disney) it made my trip SOOOOOOOO much better.

As for things with stairs, splash mountain, thunder mountain, all the stage stows, lights motor action has a TON, star tours, El Rio De Tiempo (mexico lol), all the boat rides take a step or two to get in and out of. Be careful on those rides with moving sidewalks, they trip me up more than anything does.