Wheelchair Line. A new 1st

[tobikaye]

Probably all 17 boarded the bus early and filled up most of the seats. Seems like people are always gaming the system.

OP does not even remember which attraction it was, so for all we know, the entire family was actually in a FP+ line and had FP+.

 

[Twende]

If you have ever had to be in a wheelchair or push a family member in one, you would know that for almost all attractions in DW there is no "advantage" to be had waiting for a wheel chair vehicle or wheel chair access. For example in AK the K Safari line is always much longer for wheelchairs than the "normal" line. There are often limited vehicles that can accommodate a wheel chair. Also if a family gets split up on a busy or large attraction it can lead to chaos to get them back together again.

 

[bumbershoot]

I wish the would allow for the number of guests, staying on your reservation. We usually book a 2 BR (9 guests), but would love to book a grand villa (12 guests). Stinks for folks with large families.

Agreed.

It's unbelievable to me that people are still complaining about a family being together. Or even friends being together. If we had disabled people in our families and wanted to take a big trip, would it feel great to have to split up all the time? No. If you wanted to be together it would be rotten to have to be separated.

So 17 people boarded together. They were together, after all.

Given the fact that a wheelchair doesn't give you special access (and it didn't always, by the way), there was more going on here than meets the eye. I believe the OP and surrounding people thought they saw something that was different from what was happening.

 

[Missyrose]

I wish the would allow for the number of guests, staying on your reservation. We usually book a 2 BR (9 guests), but would love to book a grand villa (12 guests). Stinks for folks with large families.

If everyone goes to GR when you get the DAS, I would guess, you have a much better chance of getting an exception. That's how Disney used to handle groups of 7 or more when there was the GAC card.

 

[DisneyOma]

August heat always adds another notch to the cranky meter but I was standing in line for an attraction last week when I saw grandma being wheeled up to the ride. No biggie right, but behind her I can only describe it as a small family reunion. I counted 17 people including grandma. A bit excessive in my personal opinion. And I also agree with what others have said. The temperature has been raised by a few degrees at queue lines.

Were you in the standby queue or the FP+ queue at this time?

I also wish they would tie the card to the traveling party size. We usually travel to WDW with my brother who is in a wheelchair, and is exceedingly mobility impaired. My DH and other DB need to be near him so they can lift him onto rides like HM and PoC since he cannot stay in his wheelchair. But then he wants to sit with me or our Mom in particular. We travel together but we make a party of 8. Sometimes we'll be let through since we are obviously all together, but sometimes not. It can make it a little difficult at times, but we just try and go with the flow!

If you want to ride together, why not have DB, DH, and other DB wait until the rest of you catch up in the queue? Or have the lifters and the one person to ride go in the wheelchair entrance for those rides that have only a 2-3 people per vehicle? Unless it's a ride with a vehicle that fits more than 2-4 people, why is it so important for a huge family (like the 17 mentioned in the OP's post) get on through a special access? It's not like they will be together on the ride. I don't buy the 'hard time finding everyone afterwards' excuse. Pick a spot to meet. Stay there.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

DAS isn't for wheelchair users unless they also have some reason why they can't wait in the regular line.

What you saw was probably use of an alternate entrance at an attraction that has to have one because wheelchairs can't go through the regular line. Not a "17 people skip the line because of grandma in a wheelchair" incident, since immediate access is no longer permitted (the main exception being Make a Wish parties, maybe that's what they were)

 

[PrincessAli]

This is a little off topic--but still pertains to wheelchair use. A few years ago, while loading my husband onto a bus in his ECV, I was waiting outside near the door with the lift. At some point, the bus driver realized that he had not closed the front entrance door and people were beginning to rush on board--he ( the driver) tried to stop them, but by now it was a madhouse. Standing room only and the driver had to exit the loading door and reenter the bus along with people that were still trying to force their way on. When the driver saw that I was at the back of a still long line, he motioned for me to get on---unfortunately the bus was full to capacity and no one would make room for me. SO--I had to wait for the next bus. The driver notified someone and when the next bus came I was given two all day any attraction Fast Pass!! Wondering if that would still happen today!!

 

[TLSnell1981]

If everyone goes to GR when you get the DAS, I would guess, you have a much better chance of getting an exception. That's how Disney used to handle groups of 7 or more when there was the GAC card.

Now, everyone MUST be present to be add onto DAS. I know there's a "chance", the whole family would be included, but I'm not willing to roll the dice. I can't leave some sitting on the sidelines, if the CM "du jour" decides against it...way too random.

 

[Missyrose]

Now, everyone MUST be present to be add onto DAS. I know there's a "chance", the whole family would be included, but I'm not willing to roll the dice. I can't leave some sitting on the sidelines, if the CM "du jour" decides against it...way too random.

Actually, as long as you have everyone's ticket or Magic Band, you don't need everyone to be physically present to get them linked to your DAS.

 

[mrzrich]

My son uses the DAS. It works just like a Fastpass and is linked to his magic band. There is no way for OP to tell if the party was riding with a DAS or with a regular FP. If the person was riding with a wheelchair return time, then typically the party is limited, but it is at the CM's discretion. If they were riding with a wheelchair return time, i personally don't see a problem...Grandma and her family waited just as long as you did, they just didn't stand in the line. Im sure grandma and the person pushing her wheelchair around a hot crowded park would gladly trade circumstances with an able bodied person who has the physical ability to stand in line.

 

[eeyore81]

If you have ever had to be in a wheelchair or push a family member in one, you would know that for almost all attractions in DW there is no "advantage" to be had waiting for a wheel chair vehicle or wheel chair access. For example in AK the K Safari line is always much longer for wheelchairs than the "normal" line. There are often limited vehicles that can accommodate a wheel chair. Also if a family gets split up on a busy or large attraction it can lead to chaos to get them back together again.

I totally agree with you! We have waited way longer on many rides. There have been occasions when we have not been able to see Finding Nemo or Lion King because they could not accommodate another wheel chair but plenty of room available for non-wheel chair users. We do board the bus together as a family before others so that our family sticks together. That's a very small "advantage". Traveling through the parks with someone in a wheel chair at times is impossible. We have encountered so many rude people. People who stand right in front of a wheelchair and block the view, people who stop right in the middle of the walkway, etc. We love Disney and deal with it but if I see an entire family get on a ride with a wheel chair user, I smile and am happy to see a family making memories together.

 

[mrzrich]

Also, remember first on the bus is the last off the bus

 

[ajh88]

Perhaps slightly OT, but as the daughter of a woman who, for 57 years, was able-bodied only to be confined to a wheelchair/mobility chair for the last 3 years, I would gladly wait in line for HOURS with her if she could still walk versus maybe, possibly, appearing to gain some sort of "advantage" over others when boarding a ride at Disney World due to her disability. We are traveling together as an entire family (my parents, my family, my sister and her family), so a group of 12. We've never done this since her accident, so while I'm researching as much as possible beforehand, I know that there will be times we rely on CM's to avail us of what we should be doing for particular rides, even if those instructions may not appear to conform to what some people believe is "right".

I don't like it when I get cut off - in a theme park ride line, on the highway, etc. But then I take a deep breath and realize - even if 20 people just cut in front of me, it probably only extended my wait by what, 2 or 3 minutes? I think its more the perception that some sort of unfairness is being perpetrated - but let me be the first to assure you, even if my mother (or other guests with disabilities) were automatically allowed to the front of any line, all the time, she STILL would only have a fraction of the Disney experience you or I will get to enjoy. I guess I try not to spend my vacations worrying about what everyone else is doing - a sure way to make yourself batty!

I'll get off my soapbox now - hoping everyone (including us!) has magical vacations!

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

I quit all caffeine (including chocolate) cold turkey right before my last trip a few months ago. I was a heavy coffee drinker, and caffeine had started causing some health problems and strange sensitivities. I also found out later that I had an ulcer. Quitting caffeine caused a whole host of unexpected withdrawal symptoms, including hypoglycemia, passing out and rapid heart palpitations for weeks afterwards. Suffice it to say my trip wasn't pleasant. I thought I was having a heart attack at AK and had them call the paramedics, who were great btw, and after they reassured me I wasn't, I was given a wheelchair that I used for the rest of the day. Long story short, a wheelchair does not offer any advantage to the user. I was cut off and tripped over by people trying to push their way around me all day.

One thing I can say I enjoyed, is that because I was rendered child height by the wheelchair, I saw AK in a way I'd never experienced before. The imagineers really designed the entire park to be viewed from a child's perspective.

All that being said, there really are many people who try to scam the system. Some CMs are pushovers, while others, like my father, almost always stick to the rules. He's seen every scam in the book, and there are lots.

 

[stitchlovestink]

My son uses the DAS. It works just like a Fastpass and is linked to his magic band. There is no way for OP to tell if the party was riding with a DAS or with a regular FP. If the person was riding with a wheelchair return time, then typically the party is limited, but it is at the CM's discretion. If they were riding with a wheelchair return time, i personally don't see a problem...Grandma and her family waited just as long as you did, they just didn't stand in the line. Im sure grandma and the person pushing her wheelchair around a hot crowded park would gladly trade circumstances with an able bodied person who has the physical ability to stand in line.

Actually anyone who can view the light up Mickey at the Touchpoint could figure out if a guest is using a DAS return time or a FP+ return time if they know what to look for. The light turns blue if you are using a DAS time and it turns green for FP+ times. There is a difference.

 

[mrzrich]

Actually anyone who can view the light up Mickey at the Touchpoint could figure out if a guest is using a DAS return time or a FP+ return time if they know what to look for. The light turns blue if you are using a DAS time and it turns green for FP+ times. There is a difference.

Yes I know this, my point wasn't about what color the magicband turned. I am usually to involved with my own family to keep tabs on what color somebody else's magic band turns.

Only the DAS holders band turns blue. Once the cm confirms the DAS all other members of the party turn green, so even if you were all up in other people's business, you'd have no way of knowing how many of them were on the DAS and how many of them had FP

 

[jkh36619]

OP does not even remember which attraction it was, so for all we know, the entire family was actually in a FP+ line and had FP+.

Was not standby or FP line. I know that for sure. If I was FP line it wouldn't have stood out to everyone. They came in from the side. Wish i could remember which attraction. And im not hating. Just seemed excessive. I have no idea what Disney's policy is on family members.

 

[Disney Khi]

I'm really confused by this. I am at WDW right now celebrating my grandma's 90th birthday. She is in a wheelchair. There are 8 of us in our party. We have not gotten on anything faster. At JC the cast member offered us a DAS (I guess that's what it was-she offered us a return time) but we actually had FP so we were able to go right in. We went in the wheelchair entrance of iasw but there were other wheelchairs, too, so we had to wait. The safari at AK is always a much longer wait at the wheelchair entrance. The show seating has not been good in the wheelchair areas. Spaceship Earth usually requires a longer wait. Almost every single ride requires us to go through the regular line, so I do not understand this OP at all.

And the buses are no fun to get on with a wheelchair. I know this can be contentious here, but having to wait for a bus with room for a wheelchair and then hoping that the driver will even see that we have a wheelchair is nerve wracking. We had a terribly rude driver at AK who acted really put out by us. Plus my grandma is embarrassed to use a wheelchair (she doesn't in her daily life not at WDW-just a walker or cane) so she hates being loaded on the bus with everyone watching. Then when we get to our destination, we have to wait for everyone else to get off before we can get the wheelchair unstrapped and then get off ourselves.

So, if you are fortunate enough to be at WDW and no one in your party needs mobility assistance, please have a little sympathy for those of us who are just trying to have a good time together as a family. Trust me, it's a lot harder getting through WDW with a wheelchair. It's a lot easier to travel without a wheelchair, but I wouldn't trade this time with my grandma for anything.

 

[DisneyOma]

Was not standby or FP line. I know that for sure. If I was FP line it wouldn't have stood out to everyone. They came in from the side. Wish i could remember which attraction. And im not hating. Just seemed excessive. I have no idea what Disney's policy is on family members.

"In from the side" - the exit side? That would explain a lot - the wheelchair would be available after the ride. It wouldn't be on the wrong side and wouldn't take a CM away from position to move it. I'm guessing the attraction had steps somewhere.

 

[DisneyOma]

I'm really confused by this. I am at WDW right now celebrating my grandma's 90th birthday. She is in a wheelchair. There are 8 of us in our party. We have not gotten on anything faster. At JC the cast member offered us a DAS (I guess that's what it was-she offered us a return time) but we actually had FP so we were able to go right in. We went in the wheelchair entrance of iasw but there were other wheelchairs, too, so we had to wait.

You were not offered a DAS, you were offered a wheelchair return time. A DAS is not for mobility issues, and can only be issued at Guest Services.