Mobility Assistance Friendly (And Not So Friendly) Attractions - The Best and Worst
Ever since 2021, I've been visiting Disney parks with a travel companion who uses an ECV (Electric conveyance vehicle - AKA: scooter). So ever since 2021, we've had to be at least somewhat aware of how attractions work for guests who use ECVs or wheelchairs. And in this week's article, we're going to share our own experiences.
Disclaimer: These are OUR experiences, and therefore might not represent your own experience with an attraction and mobility assistance. There are lots of considerations that determine what the impact of your specific situation is on your enjoyment of an attraction. Our situation is usually that my travel companion can walk a short to medium distance and can transfer to a ride vehicle without having to use a wheelchair in queues that require a transfer from ECV to wheelchair. YMMV.
Finding an Attraction's Mobility Accessibility
The first thing we had to do when this was all new to us was to pick up a map that included accessibility information. You can get these at the front of the park, and if there aren't any in the main map bin, then you can go to guest services and ask for one. Or, my preferred way to do this, you can edit the settings in your MyDisneyExperience app to always show accessibility information for a ride.
In our experience, a map has more explicit information. It might say something like "Enter at the ride exit. Must transfer to ride vehicle." Whereas MyDisneyExperience will typically only include the transfer information. Such as "Must transfer from ECV or wheelchair to ride vehicle" or even "Must transfer from ECV to wheelchair, then transfer again to ride vehicle". But it doesn't typically include how to enter the ride, which can be important because some rides will have you enter through a queue that isn't the normal one (or even the exit), usually because the normal queue has stairs. Still, I've found the information in MyDisneyExperience to be enough for me because I can get the rest of the information from a Cast Member at the ride entrance who is usually watching for ECVs and volunteers to tell you what you need to do if it's anything other than enter where everyone else is entering.
Can Tron Lightcycle Run make our list of friendly attractions?
Disney is Mostly Mobility Friendly
A note before we carry on. By far, the majority of rides at Walt Disney World are accessible to those who need mobility assistance. How you would board a ride typically follows three variants:
You can board with your mobility device (often true for shows)
You can take your mobility advice to a certain point in the queue, and then must transfer to the ride vehicle under your own power, which may involve walking a short distance (true for many rides)
You must transfer to a wheelchair to enter the queue, and then must transfer to the ride vehicle under your own power (true for a small number of rides with narrow queues)
Of all the places we've been, Disney has been the most accessible. So when we talk about poor grades for guests with mobility assistance, we're talking about a lot of other factors. Like, do you have to wait longer? Is the waiting area comfortable? Do you get seated in a less than great spot? Things like that.
The Best and Worst
In future articles, we'll explore each attraction we've experienced using an ECV, park by park, but below are the rides that get an "A" or "F" grade.
"The Gift" singing at Festival of the Lion King at Animal Kingdom theme park
The A-List
The following rides get an "A" from us for guests with mobility assistance. Additionally, we included some Disney transportation options in our list because this is also a situation where a guest using a mobility device may need to be aware of the implications.
Festival of the Lion King: A plus
This is one of those situations where you will be rewarded for your patience with all the guests who cut you off or found you invisible during the course of the day. Not only can you experience the show from the comfort of your own ECV or wheelchair, but you will also have a front row view. The ECV and wheelchair parking is right down in front of everything else, and the dancers are incredibly close and will make eye contact with you throughout the show. It's really a treat.
Disney Monorail: A
We don't personally love the monorail like we used to because the last several times we've been on it, it smells like a can of monkeys left out in the sun. BUT in terms of whether you are losing anything by using a mobility device to board the monorail, the answer is "no". I've not even encountered a wait because an ECV or wheelchair can fit in any car. The Cast Member at the station just needs to see you waiting in line, and then will carry a portable ramp which will allow you to ride directly onto the monorail car. In our experience, nothing is missed out on, and the wait isn't impacted.
Disney Boat Transportation: A
Boats work very similarly to the monorail. The friendship boats at the International Gateway that serve EPCOT, Disney Hollywood Studios, the Boardwalk Resort, Yacht Club and Beach Club Resorts, and Swan and Dolphin Resorts are large enough to fit multiple ECVs or wheelchairs. The Cast Member will see you waiting, and use a portable ramp to help you board. The only time an additional wait might be encountered is if using the resort boats to or from the Magic Kingdom to the Polynesian Village resort or Grand Floridian as there are two types of boats which alternate, and one is small (think Jungle Cruise) and not accessible. If you show up when the small one is due, you may have to wait for the larger boat, which is accessible to arrive, which is typically only a 10 minute wait.
Haunted Mansion, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, The Land, Na'Vi River Journey, Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, Slinky Dog Dash, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, and Toy Story Mania: A
These rides are grouped together because they all load in a very similar fashion. You enter the ride through the normal queue and when you approach the loading area, Cast Members will direct you to park your ECV (if you're able to transfer) at the end of the loading platform, which is also the exit platform. Once parked, it's a few steps to the ride vehicle. You ride, and when you get off, your ECV is right there at the exit, again, a few steps away.
Millennium Falcon Smuggler's Run: A
In this case, you once again enter through the normal queue. When you get inside the Falcon itself (by the couches and game table), a Cast Member will ask if you are able to stand a few minutes and transfer. If so, they take your ECV from you. You are grouped with a crew, given your briefing as normal (you will be standing for this), and then ride as normal. When you exit, your ECV will magically appear around the corner in the corridor into which you exited. It feels like magic, but the Cast Members are really just parking your vehicle so it's there for you. It does feel very personalized and nice.
Rise of the Resistance: A
You might notice by now that Disney Hollywood Studios is leading in its best rides, and that's our opinion. The latest rides really do accessibility right, in our opinion. For Rise of the Resistance, our experience has been that we enter the queue as normal with the ECV. We get the briefing, and board the shuttle vehicle as normal. The Cast Members will let you park wherever in the shuttle, but they do insist you turn your ECV off during this time (they don't want it rolling and hitting another guest during the motion). In the hangar, Cast Members will ask about your ability to transfer, stand, and walk a short distance. In our case, we can, and since we can, they take our ECV in the hanger. The Imperial Guards are actually very polite about this, surprisingly. Then you go down the corridor and wait with other guests, stand in the interrogation chamber with other guests, and board your ride vehicle like other guests. At the end of the ride, your ECV will have moved to very near the exit, so it's a few steps from the ride vehicle to your ECV.
If you are unable to stand for the time needed (5 minutes or so) or walk the distance needed (down the corridor and to your ride vehicle), then I have heard reports that you miss these segments of the ride. That is a bummer because the stares you get from the Imperial Officers in the corridor are one of my favorite parts of this experience. But you will be able to experience the "ride" parts of the ride.
Tron Lightcycle Run: A
To be honest, we experienced this the hard way because we were unfamiliar with the ride, and parked our ECV outside of the sign for the ride entrance. Don't do that. If you do that, it's a very long uphill walk to the beginning of the queue.
But I did take note of what other guests were doing, and can report that guests were able to ride their ECV into the queue and park near the ride vehicle (around the corner) while they rode.
This ride also deserves a special note because some guests with mobility assistance may also be unable to sit in certain positions, and this ride vehicle does require a guest to lift their leg over the vehicle and ride in an almost laying down position, with their knees bent under them, like a motorcycle that you lean heavily forward on. If this is uncomfortable or not possible for you, that's ok! Every other train has a car at the end that is a normal bench seat. And although any guest can request this seat, it doesn't seem to be so popular that you have to wait long for it. We actually prefer this seat because you can see a lot more of the ride, and we've heard other guests agree on this. Just let the Cast Member at the boarding area know you need the bench seat and they'll put you in position for the next one.
Disney Skyliner: A minus
We are so torn on the skyliner after our last trip. Most of the time, for us, the skyliner is an A plus. Loading is super easy and clearly marked. You may have to wait a moment for your car as they either will be brought off the main track and to a complete stop (the case all stations but the Riviera Resort station) or a Cast Member will manually slow the car to a safe speed (at Riviera Resort), so you don't just walk on like other guests do. But the good news is you don't need a ramp or anything extra to roll onto the vehicle. A Cast Member will then put some blocks behind your wheels to keep it from rolling.
The other amazingly good part is that usually you get the ride vehicle to yourself (and your party of course). You don't have to share with other guests. I've ridden the skyliner both ways (with an ECV user and without), and I've found that if you're a party of 2 or less, it's very likely you will share your car with other guests unless it's a very slow time of day. With a party of 3, we've gotten a car mainly to ourselves, but during busy times, we shared with another family (6 people in the car). But with an ECV, even if it's busy, it's always just for you and your party.
And now for the downside. On our last trip, we left EPCOT after the fireworks, and got in line for the skyliner, and I don't know if it was that there was a threat of lightning in the area, or the busy-ness of the post-fireworks rush, but the Cast Members prioritized loading everything but ECVs. It was 8 minutes between each ECV being able to load (I timed it), and they were only loading one of three stations. After the first line cleared, then they moved through the ECVs faster, loading the other stations. But that's only because we'd been waiting for an hour by then and the only people remaining in line were ECV users. We exited the park with everyone else, but that night, we shut down the skyliner. I was pretty angry. So that's my big warning, and I think this warning depends highly on the Cast Members working or managing the queue, and possibly the weather.
And Coming in with an F...
This ride gets an F. Not because we don't love it, but because needing a mobility device severely limits how you can use this ride, which could also be considered transportation. And that ride is:
Signage at the Magic Kingdom (Not actually for the Walt Disney World Railroad, but for a splash pad.
The Walt Disney World Railroad: F
I have to be reminded EVERY SINGLE TIME by my ECV using companion that I can't make plans like "Let's hop on the railroad after Buzz Lightyear and just take it around to Tiana." Because with an ECV, you cannot use the Walt Disney World Railroad as transportation. Let me explain:
Unless you can fold whatever you have, you park it at the station. It can't go on the train with you. This means that in order to get it back, you're going to be taking a round trip back to that same station.
Would it be nice if they could create a ramp to load ECVs onto the train cars? Yes. Would it be even nicer if you were able to tell Cast Members where you were going to be disembarking and they could ride your ECV across the park to meet you? Yes. And also, I want that job. Seriously, Disney. Especially if I could take an elevator down to the utilidor and ride through there so I don't have to fight crowds. Just call me an ECV courier.
But I digress. That doesn't exist, and so the railroad, if you use an ECV, is just a train ride because, ultimately, this beloved historical fixture of the park is not accessible transportation.
So that's our take on the best and worst of Disney's experiences for those with mobility assistance. Am I missing something? If I am, it's probably because we didn't experience it. Or because it got a B, C, or D grade, which we'll explore in future articles. But if we did miss something, let us know your experience with it by commenting over on our Facebook page where you can also follow us to see new articles each week. Until next time...
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