Wheelchairs at BB question

[OneLittleSpark]

Hello everyone! I was just wondering, does anyone know if it's possible to leave wheelchairs (I have my own, but could use a rental if necessary) at the bottom of the chairlifts at Blizzard Beach? I know that they have an accessible gondola car for use in a wheelchair, but then someone in the party has to bring the thing back down again, missing the ride (and since the trip I'm planning will only be two of us, it would be a very lonely ride).
My plan, if this is allowed, was to leave the chair there, ride up on the lift, go on teamboat springs with my mother, then float back one stop on the creek to end up back at the bottom of the lift. I reckon I can manage that much hobbling, but much more would not be a good idea . I know CMs aren't allowed to take care of personal possessions, but might it be allowed if I used a rental (then they're only storing Disney property, not mine)?

TIA guys!

 

[SueM in MN]

No one has ever posted doing something like this, but it sounds like it might work, if you can find an out of the way place to park the wheelchair.

Cheshire Figment might know.

 

[zumbergc]

Where is this gondola at?

I think we've only been to Blizzard beach one time.
I didn't know there was one there?

May have to re-think our trip planning.

When we've done water parks before. Since its such a long way from the resort bus stop, parking lot to where the beach chairs are, we usually just bring my ecv there to where the beach chairs are, park it to the side.
We've never had a problem with that.

One reason we don't go often is all those stairs!!! to get up to get to the water slide going down. Actually I'm thinking its been 5+ plus years since we've been to a water park.
Does the gondola bring you near several of the water slide?

Thanks,
Connie

 

[SueM in MN]

Here's a link to the official Disney Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities for Blizzard Beach. It doesn't give a lot of information, but it does tell where the lift goes - it sounds like it just goes to Mt. Gushmore.
And, here's a link to the Blizzard Beach map:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/maps/blizzard.htm

 

[nobodies36]

Our family loved teamboat springs! We went on it a dozen times. Now, I hope I am not raising your hopes, or getting this confused with another ride, but I am sure that there is a way aroung your problem.

On a ride (that I am 90% sure was teamboat springs) I saw a wheelchair being tied down onto a raft and sent down on its own. You may need to use a rental (obviously), but that would make sense that I saw a wheel chair going down when it came up in the chairlift. So, by that thinking, I am 95% sure that it was at teamboat springs.

I don't know if you could ride another ride down and still send the wheelie via TS, but I do hope that this helps, because TS rocks!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Although I'm currently working at BB, I never really get away from the gate area. And it has been about eight years since my last time in as a guest. From what I recall, after you get off the lift there are two slides where there are no stairs, and two that require stairs.

Generally it should be fairly safe to leave a wheelchair parked near the bottom of the ski lift.

And, btw, we do not charge for wheelchair loans at the water parks; you do have to leave a driver's license or other positive ID at Guest Relations and it is returned when you return the wheelchair. We do not have EVCs or strollers.

 

[zumbergc]

Wow, thanks for all the info.

I'm thinking we will plan on doing the water park towards the end of the trip. That way if I over do it, ( I tend to dislocate joints). Its hours later when the pain of using the joint in the wrong spot that pain starts in. If I wait until the end of the trip, it won't be to long before I get home, and the massage therapists can pop things back in!!

Wow it really pays to visit the disboards, we have some great experts here, they know all the secrets to a great trip!

Thanks,
Connie

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Cracking! Thanks everyone! I love the water parks, and really didn't want to miss out on them, but the joints are only getting worse, and I can't see myself being able to hobble the whole thing. Knowing I should still be able to do at least a chunk of them is really reassuring.

 

[Carnator]

I am going to the water parks this coming August during our trip. I am renting a ECV from an outside vender. Is it easier to have an ECV at the water parks or get a wheelchair loan from the water park?

 

[SueM in MN]

I am going to the water parks this coming August during our trip. I am renting a ECV from an outside vender. Is it easier to have an ECV at the water parks or get a wheelchair loan from the water park?

We've only been to the water parks a few times, but one of the things I remember is all the sand.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

There is a fair bit of sand in the water parks, but that's mainly around the wave pools and there are hard paved paths going around the park. Typhoon Lagoon says it can rent out beach chairs from the High 'n' Dry rentals, but I'm not sure if BB does. I know you can rent regular chairs from both, though. There are also bump steps at at least one of the entrances to the creeks in both parks, for those who find them useful (I don't know of any hoists, but you could ask).

Blizzard Beach has the chairlifts to get you to the top of Mount Gushmore, giving you access to: Summit Plummet, Slush Gusher, Teamboat Springs, Toboggan Racers and Snow Stormers. This saves you a large number of stairs (you may still have to walk some stairs to get to some of the attraction) and also in Blizzard Beach they have a system to get the rafts etc to the top of the hill. In Typhoon Lagoon you have to walk up the steps to the slide, carrying (or rolling) any rafts or tubes you need (for the family raft ride, that's quite a bulky thing to haul). The chairlift has one gondola car that a wheelchair user and companion can ride in.

The disability guides for Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon are below:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdwi/en_GB/common/Plain?id=PlainBBPage

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdwi/en_GB/common/Plain?id=PlainTLPage

Hope that helps!