Originally Posted By BrytensMom First....I am sooo annoyed with people taking :"grandma" in her wheelchair just so the family can avoid lines! Either Granny rides or no one should get the short cut. OK....after that whine...my daughter and I are both in wheelchairs. Disney has their own interpretation of "accessible". Attitudes rarely count! When trying to get on rides, they often leave those in wheelchairs to sit for long waits in back corners to be "fair". I explained to one person if life were "fair" my child could walk. Disney has many hills but few railings to grab to help get your wheelchair up a hill. Very few restrooms actually have "wheelchair" access rather then "handicapped" access. However.....I can say the characters were amazing with my daughter! They made sure she could get to where they were. They came to her when the area was too small. I was impressed!
Originally Posted By imadisneygal I'm sorry you're so frustrated with the wheelchair access at the Resort. The Guest who is using the wheelchair must actually be riding the attraction in order for the party to use the alternate entrances to attractions. They cannot just use the entrance and then leave the person in the wheelchair alone while the rest of the party rides. As to waiting before boarding attractions, while I hear you saying that "if life were fair [your] child could walk," there is no guarantee of a shorter wait just because a Guest uses the disabled entrance to attractions. Just because your daughter uses a wheelchair does not mean that she, or anyone else, does not have to wait to get on an attraction. Generally there is less of a wait - almost all of the time this is the case - but sometimes there is an equal wait to the standby line. Many attractions have limits to how many disabled Guests can be on the attraction at one time so this can extend the wait time. I'm not sure which dark corners you might be referring to as each attraction has a waiting area usually (though not always) near the unload area for Guests in wheelchairs to wait. I'm wondering where the hills are to which you refer where you think there should be railings, and which restrooms do not have wheelchair access? I don't think I've ever heard a complaint specifically about hills at the Resort or bathrooms not being wheelchair accessible. There are a few bathrooms (Tour Guide Gardens may be one?) which I believe do not have disabled access, but they are located just near accessible restrooms. Again, I'm sorry to hear that you had a frustrating experience using your wheelchairs at the Resort. I'm glad the characters left such a positive impression on your daughter.
Originally Posted By dlkozy >>>"First....I am sooo annoyed with people taking :"grandma" in her wheelchair just so the family can avoid lines..."<<< | We take "Grandma" all the time with us to the DLR-and she does ride the rides with us of course-and if it bothers you that my over 89 year old mother who is also in a wheelchair uses the wheelchair entrance with her grandchildren-too bad. I have never seen an elderly person who is in a wheelchair use that entrance with their families that did not also ride the ride themselves with them.
Originally Posted By imadisneygal ^^^You're absolutely right, dlkozy. The Guest who uses the wheelchair must be attending the attraction in order for the party to utilize the alternate entrance. The party cannot simply push the Guest using the wheelchair up and then leave them there while they ride.
Originally Posted By barboy //Disney has many hills// You lost me. Disneyland's grade is quite flat thus, the paths and walkways are flat. Are you sure you weren't at Tokyo Disney Sea instead?
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains There are a few hilly areas - between matterhorn and subs, getting in and out of toontown, and critter country. But I am guessing if it was really too much a nice CM or another guest would gladly help. I have been asked for a push and have gladly helped.
Originally Posted By hammertime I'm thinking one of the attactions this person is refering to is Pirates. I know when Pirates reopened with Captain Jack the standby line had about a 45 -60 minutes long and the wheelchair line had a 4 hour wait due to how many disabled people could be on the ride at a time. Plus the entrace to the ride is very dark and the people in wheelchair are asked to wait over to the side out of the way of the people exiting. That ride was the only ride that seemed like an unfair wait for people who where in wheelchairs.
Originally Posted By imadisneygal I am sure Westsider will be able to add to this or whatever... If I remember correctly, and I think it's the case on "it's a small world" too, I believe that there is a limit to the number of Guests with disabilities (using the alternate entrance - there is no way to know about Guests who use the standby line who also might have some sort of disability) allowed on the attraction at one time in case of an evacuation.
Originally Posted By chickapin I don't have tons of experience with the wheelchair situation, but we did use one for my husband last time he went. Pirates, Splash and Space Mountains can be very slow. The hills outside weren't too bad, but a couple of attractions have slopes inside that were a little difficult. (The ramps in and out of Soarin, the ramp up into Indiana Jones come to mind.) Thank goodness my son was in charge of pushing the wheelchair--I'm not sure I could have done it.
