wheelchair and waiting in line?

[Jenfrog79]

my DH has a disability and we are going to need to get a w/c. i thought i read we can go to the front of the line due to this. is this true? how do we go about this?

 

[Piper]

No, this is not true. Most lines are mainstreamed. As a matter of fact, you will most likely end up waiting longer than usual at most rides because you will wait in line--then when you finally get to the front, you will need to wait for a vehicle that can accommodate the wc (unless he can transfer.)

Even the lines that are not mainstreamed, usually have at least as long a wait (if not longer.)

 

[SueM in MN]

Wheelchair users do not get to go to the front of lines.

That they do is a common misconception, but it's not true.
People using wheelchairs or ECVs don't get out of waiting in line.
Most of the lines at WDW are wheelchair accessible, so there are very few situations where someone actually goes thru a wheelchair entrance. In most cases, they wait in the same line with everyone else. For a very few attractions, there is an alternate entrace because the regular one isn't accessible and was not able to be made accessible (most in MK or Epcot since they were built before accessibility was thought of). There are some others, where the boarding area is not accessible and wheelchair/ECV users wait in the regular or Fastpass line and then are pulled into a different area for loading (Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain are examples).

AK and the Studio were built with what are called 'Mainstream Lines'. These are lines where the regular line is wheelchair/ECV accessible and a person using a wheelchair or ECV waits in the same line with everyone else.

Here's what it says in the official WDW Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities about Mainstream Lines and the list of attractions with Mainstream Queues:
As you can see, most of the lines are Mainstream Queues:

Magic Kingdom® Park
Ariel's Grotto
Astro Orbiter
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
Donald's Boat
Judge's Tent
Mickey's Country House
Mickey's PhilharMagic
Mike Fink Keelboats (seasonal)
Minnie's Country House
Pirates of the Caribbean
Space Mountain®
Splash Mountain®
Stitch's Great Escape!™
The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacres Farm
"The Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management"
The Hall of Presidents
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Laugh Floor
Tomorrowland® Indy Speedway
Toontown Hall of Fame
Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress (seasonal)

Epcot®
FUTURE WORLD
Imagination!: All Attractions
Innoventions East
Innoventions West
Mission: SPACE
Test Track
The Living Seas: All Attractions
The Land: All Attractions
Universe of Energy: "Ellen's Energy Adventure"
Wonders of Life: All Attractions (seasonal)

WORLD SHOWCASE
China: "Reflections of China"
France: "Impressions de France"
FriendShip Boats
Norway: Maelstrom
The American Adventure: "The American Adventure"

Disney-MGM Studios
Disney-MGM Studios Backlot Tour
Fantasmic!
Lights, Motors, Action!™ Extreme Stunt Show
Muppet*Vision 3D
Playhouse Disney - Live On Stage!
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster® Starring Aerosmith
Sounds Dangerous - Starring Drew Carey
Star Tours
The Great Movie Ride
The Magic of Disney Animation
"The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™"
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Walt Disney: One Man's Dream

Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park
Caravan Stage: "Flights of Wonder"
DINOSAUR
Grandmother Willow's Grove: "Pocahontas and Her forest friends"
It's Tough To Be A Bug
Kali River Rapids
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Lion King Theater: "Festival of the Lion King"
Maharajah Jungle Trek
Primeval Whirl
Where's Nemo
The Boneyard
TriceraTop Spin

I wanted to add that Soarin' and EE are missing from the list. They are both Mainstream Access.
And, some attractions have limited number of spots for wheelchairs. We have already shown up for shows where there was still room for ambulatory people, but the wheelchair spots were already filled for that show and we had to wait for the next one (Voyage of the Little Mermaid, where we had Fastpasses; and ITTBAB, where the CMs were practically begging people to come into the queue because there was no wait in the standby line.
There may be an additional wait for someone who needs a wheelchair accessible ride vehicle or if there are already people with disabilities waiting.

 

[Jenfrog79]

that really sucks. i guess times have changed. it was in one of the unofficial disney guides that said you don't have to wait in the line if you are in a wheelchair. thats going to be really annoying.....

 

[Jenfrog79]

ugh, cuz my husband has no tolerance for waiting.....lol

 

[SueM in MN]

that really sucks. i guess times have changed. it was in one of the unofficial disney guides that said you don't have to wait in the line if you are in a wheelchair. thats going to be really annoying.....

Well, they are not correct.
Back in the late 1980s and before, there were situations where people using wheelchairs got brought in thru a different entrance or avoided the lines. That was not because they were in wheelchairs and got a 'benefit' for using a wheelchair. It was because the lines were not wheelchair accessible.
As time went on, more and more attractions were changed to be wheelchair accessible. One reason for this was the ADA said that things needed to be made 'equally' accessible for people with disabilities, which usually meant making lines wheelchair accessible. Another reason was that people were renting wheelchairs because they heard they could skip lines, not because they needed a wheelchair.

ugh, cuz my husband has no tolerance for waiting.....lol

There are some good ways to avoid waits in line - one is to use Fastpass as much as possible.
Another is to go during quieter times - for example, people have been posting on the Theme Parks board recently that waits are very short - 10 minutes.
Another way is to know what is busy and when and avoid those times.
For example, if you go to MK right away in the morning, it's possible to ride all the attractions in Fantasyland without waiting more than a few minutes. That is true even during really busy times like Spring break because the majority of people get there after 10 am.
Another example is AK - most of the attractions there are busy during the morning, but by afternoon many of them are 'walk right on' wait times.

You can also use services like Tour Guide Mike (a Theme Park sponsor) or touring guides from places like the Unofficial Guide. They have done research into what is usually busy and when, so that they can steer you toward places that are not as busy.
Doing things like that are helpful even outside of the attractions because you won't run into as long a wait for things like restaurants and you won't have to contend with crowds just getting around the parks.

 

[Jenfrog79]

thanks for the info.
i'm not that familiar with the Fastpass. how do i get one?

 

[Chuck S]

thanks for the info.
i'm not that familiar with the Fastpass. how do i get one?

Rides/attractions that have fastpasses available will have machines similar to the park entry turnstiles. You simply insert your park ticket and a fastpass will be issued with an assigned time to return to the attraction.

 

[Jenfrog79]

oh ok, so its not something additional that you have to purchase?
thanks!

 

[Mickiethepooh]

Rides/attractions that have fastpasses available will have machines similar to the park entry turnstiles. You simply insert your park ticket and a fastpass will be issued with an assigned time to return to the attraction.

However you can only have one or sometimes two at a time, you get one and then you must wait till the return time has passed or two hours which ever comes first to get another one for another ride. and you need to insert your park ticket into the machine to get it.

You cannot therefore go from ride to ride collecting fast passes.
I would stop reading the unofficial guide and read this forum more since you seem to need to know some basic stuff, that is not a criticism, just sounds that way, not everyone can know everything now can they. that is why these forums exist.

 

[SueM in MN]

oh ok, so its not something additional that you have to purchase?
thanks!

no.
Fastpasses are free.
Here's a link to a page on the other side of this site that will explain all about Fastpass.

 

[loadsapixiedust]

We've found that increasingly wheelchair users, especially those unable to transfer, actually wait longer than anyone else due to the limited accommodations for wheelchairs at many attractions and the increase in wheelchair/ECV use

The days of getting to the front of any lines are long gone, we always use Fastpass where we can as this is the only way to limit your waiting time.

 

[Jenfrog79]

thanks pixie dust.
my DH can transfer easily. he has cerebral palsy so he would just have a hard time walking long distances and uses crutches to walk and tires very easily. it sounds like the fastpass is the way to go

 

[Haley Whippet]

ugh, cuz my husband has no tolerance for waiting.....lol

Tell your Husband, "Disney World = waiting in lines"
I am a ECV user and wait in lines, I don't think I deserve special privileges because of my mobility disability. I am fine with waiting like everyone else.
Sit back and enjoy being at WDW and do some people watching, Enjoy the music, enjoy the weather, Smile! You are at the happiest place on earth..
Deb

 

[Mrsjvb]

depending on when you go it may not be an issue. i was there 2 weeks ago and never waited more than 20 minutes. Only in one ride( the auto test one at Epcot) was there an issue.. the elevator was out of action, and I was directed to go through the exit,where we did have to wait unduly, but that was because the ride had broken down just as we got there and nobody actually saw us waiting!

we never used fastpass either.

 

[tacomaranch]

If you go to the parks and plan out your trips there is very little waiting in line. We just got back and walked onto almost every ride. The ones that were busy, soarin, the safari and EE we just got fastpasses.

We also got up early and had some areas of the park to ourselves. DS got picked for a day of million dreams because we were in MGM at 8:15. The park was truly empty. The bus driver said it wasn't open but I had done my homework and knew there were early EMH.

Go to Disney, have a great time, have a plan and roll onto rides with little wait.

 

[lunapnp]

I was just reading over the list of mainstream ques. The one I found interesting was Goofy's Barnstormer. We just returned from DW...two days ago...we never used the mainstream line. We have always been told (even on previous visits) to use the exit for our DD. This is her favorite ride so we utilize the exit quite a bit!

 

[PrincessWendyBird]

I'm in a wheelchair and we also find that we usually end up waiting longer in lines and I miss some of the fun theming in lines that are not wheelchair friendly. I can transfer, but slowly with help from DH. I just wanted to add that we try to use fastpass in the lines we know are not set up for wheelchairs, like Peter Pan. I think it makes us feel better, because I always feel bad when they send us right on the ride while others are still waiting.

 

[AFL]

This is interesting!

We were in Disneyland in Dec and we went in the back way to almost every ride with the wheelchair. I just figured WDW would be the same. I'm glad I found this forum.

Hubby and I are going to WDW Dec 6-11, for the first time. Hubby is in the wheelchair. I've read that AK is a little rough to manouver. Is this true?

AFL

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Because of the theming at AK, many of the roads are "distressed" and can be very bumpy. Also, there are a lot of hills there that are not noticible to most people but if you are in a chair or ECV they are definitely noticed.