Wheelchair Line. A new 1st

[Disney Khi]

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.

OK, thank you for clearing that up! I don't usually travel with someone in a wheelchair, so this is new to me!

 

[stitchlovestink]

There is no way for OP to tell if the party was riding with a DAS or with a regular FP.

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

I wasn't addressing the number of people in the group but addressing the specific statement above.... which is if someone is paying attention then they can tell whether someone is using a DAS or a FP. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Jennasis]

Anyone who has spent time in a wheelchair knows there is no advantage to using them. I busted my ankle on our honeymoon trip and spent ONE day (at DHS) in the chair. It was not a pleasant day.

 

[Twende]

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.

Okay now you have me really confused. If it was not at a Standby and not a FP+ lane .........ummmmm what is left? A few attractions have single rider but they normally enter from a side near the front of the attraction.

Traveling to the parks with a family group is our norm as we do our family reunions in Disney World. Unlike many groups we choose to stay together for most parts of most every day. We usually have some members with infants and/or small children, some in wheelchairs or scooters, and one or two with a DAS. It makes things complicated and it always take longer than guests without these problems. If we are willing to wait the extra time in order to stay together as a family, then that is our choice.

 

[wilkeliza]

Okay now you have me really confused. If it was not at a Standby and not a FP+ lane .........ummmmm what is left? A few attractions have single rider but they normally enter from a side near the front of the attraction.

Traveling to the parks with a family group is our norm as we do our family reunions in Disney World. Unlike many groups we choose to stay together for most parts of most every day. We usually have some members with infants and/or small children, some in wheelchairs or scooters, and one or two with a DAS. It makes things complicated and it always take longer than guests without these problems. If we are willing to wait the extra time in order to stay together as a family, then that is our choice.

Some attractions do have an alternate entrance for wheelchairs but I don't think Pooh is one of them. A few rides you wait until a certain point and then the wheelchair loads from the wheel chair area while the rest of the party waits in the regular line. Space Mountain is known for doing this since you can say oh we are 12 including grandma who is waiting in wheel chair loading. Any attraction that has an alternate wheelchair entrance should be issuing wheelchair return slips. Some do in fact go through the exits (Big Thunder Mountain) but there are not many of those attractions left.

 

[DizBelle]

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.

You can blame the folks who have faked a mobility disability for all the cynicism.

 

[TreeFalls]

I'm really confused by this. I am at WDW right now celebrating my grandma's 90th birthday.

I think it is so cool that you are celebrating a 90th birthday at WDW. I hope she is having a great time!

 

[gap2368]

Was it at BRMRR if you have s wheel chair you go through the exit space ship earth hounded mantion are a few others but there are not many that have different lines for wheel chair

 

[Twende]

Was it at BRMRR if you have s wheel chair you go through the exit space ship earth hounded mantion are a few others but there are not many that have different lines for wheel chair

At Big Thunder wheel chairs enter in small groups through the exit and you join the "line" and get loaded into your seat across from the same place where others enter their ride vehicles. The group waits in another place near the exit to enter the building so no one would have been able to see the wheelchair line.

At Space Ship Earth you enter into the "game room" area at the exit and sign in with a CM there. You wait by hanging around until there is space in a seated area near the exit of the attraction. When it is your turn you are then taken up a ramp to enter your ride vehicle and again no one in the normal line would see the wheelchair waiting area or line.

At Haunted Mansion you are usually in the regular line until the invisible horse drawn hearse and then you are pulled into a different line. From there you can do several options depending on your needs. We have been taken to the exit, skipping the stretching room and we have been left in the line to go into the stretching room and then pulled out after it to enter a Doombuggy near the exit. Again nothing that most others would notice as they wait.

At Small World you wait in a much longer line opposite where others enter. There are only a few scooter/wheel chair vehicles.

At Jungle Cruise you are given a return time and then wait forever for what I think is 1 boat with a system to load scooters/wheelchairs.

At Soarin' you stay in the wheelchair until you are next to the seat and then you transfer. Your chair is placed to the side and after the ride your helper searches frantically for it.

I can not remember how we entered Test Track but I know the wheelchair was sitting on the side as we exited the car.

At Toy Story Mania you get pulled out part way through the line at the second turnstile and you are sent tot he right into another line, usually long, to wait for the few wheelchair vehicles or you transfer right at the vehicle and are dropped back off at the same place.

Again there is NO advantage to having to use these lines or special vehicles other than without them many people would not be able to ride at all.

 

[gap2368]

At TT you wait in what every line and at the end they have you go to the first car where there is more room for a wheel chair to load then when you are on the ride the CM move your wheel chair for you there is a small elevators and a walk way that gose over the tracks

 

[Disney Khi]

I think it is so cool that you are celebrating a 90th birthday at WDW. I hope she is having a great time!

Thanks! She is having a great time! She loves just riding anything like a train-- MK train, People Mover, monorail-- big smiles all the time!

 

[DisneyOma]

At Big Thunder wheel chairs enter in small groups through the exit and you join the "line" and get loaded into your seat across from the same place where others enter their ride vehicles. The group waits in another place near the exit to enter the building so no one would have been able to see the wheelchair line.

There is/was a spot in the standby queue at BTMRR where a CM directs wheelchair users/those who cannot do the steps through a break in the chains and over to the exit area. So there's a bit of standby queue to get through before you head to the exit. Or have they changed that?

 

[gap2368]

There is/was a spot in the standby queue at BTMRR where a CM directs wheelchair users/those who cannot do the steps through a break in the chains and over to the exit area. So there's a bit of standby queue to get through before you head to the exit. Or have they changed that?

Now you just go though the exit there are no steps in BTMRR the que is too narrow for wheel chair to go though and no way to get a wheel chair over the track quickly and safely

 

[kbeam]

My brother suffered a traumatic brain injury playing soccer in college. A few times, my whole family has gotten together at Disney (18 of us) for a reunion. Yes, there have been some who have faked an illness to use a chair..but I think that's few and far between. For those few, try not to sweat the small stuff..life is too short. We'll all get on the ride. And FYI...my brother would give anything, anything to stand with everyone else in the line...

 

[disnut8]

We'll all get on the ride.

Exactly. My husband and I once had this guy and his girlfriend keep inching forward in the queue to It's Tough to be a Bug. That place sets I don't know how many hundreds of people so when they wanted to go by us, I just smiled and said "sure, go ahead! We will probably be seated right behind you in the show as all these people around you right now know and would appreciate you not shoving your way by all of us!" They finally stopped because someone told them the truth.

 

[csjordan]

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.

This! We had a party of 8 and could not ride together as a family. We had to split up which was a pain. We all wanted to experience the rides together, so it was a bummer. I get the "it's for the disable guest's benefit" thing, but, honestly, when it's the family banding together to make it all work and you have to split up, it really creates a lot of stress!

 

[TLSnell1981]

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.

This was required during our visit in May...and last fall, as well as spring 2015. Perhaps, another inconsistency of the program?

 

[TLSnell1981]

You can blame the folks who have faked a mobility disability for all the cynicism.

Or the folks who assumed the disability was faked?

 

[Missyrose]

This was required during our visit in May...and last fall, as well as spring 2015. Perhaps, another inconsistency of the program?

Weird. The last half-dozen times (at least) I've taken the group's bands while the rest head elsewhere.

 

[DisneyOma]

Now you just go though the exit there are no steps in BTMRR the que is too narrow for wheel chair to go though and no way to get a wheel chair over the track quickly and safely

You're right - I've got BTMRR and Splash backwards in my head! The whole time I was typing BTMRR, I was thinking about Splash. Duh moment for me