True.A.D.A. laws requires reasonable accommodations not total accommodation or access.
I don't know if that's fair. That character was very strong in his upper body and could do a lot with his arms and was in the military. He also had to link to a Avatar while not being in a wheelchair so he had to transfer himself.True.
But the argument for an Avatar-based land is that the rides have the same accommodations as the movie showed to a paraplegic character.
Since the movie's character manually transferred to his Avatar, and FOP requires a manual transfer, it may be meeting the movie's standard.
True.
But the argument for an Avatar-based land is that the rides have the same accommodations as the movie showed to a paraplegic character.
Since the movie's character manually transferred to his Avatar, and FOP requires a manual transfer, it may be meeting the movie's standard.
That may be the case however if they planned for some longer boats to accommodate the disabled, perhaps the right turns could have been adjusted. Even adding a roll on area for one wheelchair every few boats, perhaps removing one of the rows on those to minimize the length, should have been considered. I think that making as many things disability accessible as possible is something everyone should support because while we may not be disabled today, there is no guarantee things won't change in the future.
NOTE: Hello, Rohde, are you listening, or did the weight of your earring slant your view of the REAL world?
I agree. It would be best if a majority of wheelchair users could have some form of an Avatar experience vs the current apparent minority.I don't know if that's fair. That character was very strong in his upper body and could do a lot with his arms and was in the military. He also had to link to a Avatar while not being in a wheelchair so he had to transfer himself.
Correct that is what Disney has to do.I read the news story on this website that was critical of Disney for not designing the river ride to allow for wheelchairs. How the ADA was actually applied to theme park rides interested me so I checked out the disABILITIES forum. The way I'm interpreting the ADA concerning theme park rides is that Disney just has to provide an option to transfer from a wheelchair onto the ride at minimum. Allowing an actual wheelchair on the ride is up to the ride designer. This is what I have gathered from the disABILITIES forum. So this would imply that Disney has met all the legal obligations concerning ADA correct? Can the flock of lawyers fly somewhere else now?
Are we really so blinded by our armchair imagineer status that we're going to sit here and say "why didn't Disney consider this....why didn't Disney consider that"? Rest assured, every single design suggestion posted here was thoroughly vetted, debated, charted, focus-grouped and otherwise analyzed before things were set in stone.
I'm not trying to be insensitive but every single move to make the attractions more accessible would likely have resulted in a lesser experience for all. When you start changing queue setups, changing ride vehicles, reducing motion, eliminating effects...the entire experience suffers. Ultimately designers have to choose the proper balance between high quality experience and guest accessibility.
I know what you're saying but I'm not sure that in reality options like those being discussed here were considered. Partly because I'm quite sure nobody under design team had handicaps like some of those of us who are posting here do. You haven't lived life in a wheelchair you can't even think of some of the obstacles that pop up in your life.
Maybe you weren't trying to be insensitive but you certainly were. You demonstrated that you don't care that others can enjoy something as long as you get the maximal experience! Ride vehicles and queues can easily be adjusted during the design process with no effect on the overall experience. I agree that reducing motion or limiting effects could affect the experience for others but many of the people with disabilities can handle all of the motion and effects well, they just can't walk and require the use of a wheelchair.
You can't tell me that adding one location where a wheelchair could be loaded on banshee or having one boat where wheelchair could be loaded what affect your or anybody else's experience in the slightest.
1) I fully admit to a personal bias.
2) I have been in a wheelchair since my February MAJOR car accident.
. . . driving on Oceola Parkway near Disney, at highway speed
. . . on-coming driver decided to turn left in front of me
. . . no notice or time to avoid the other car
. . . completely destroyed everything in front of my Yukon windshield
. . . by the Grace of God and GM Safety Engineers, me and my 16-year-old passenger survived
. . . we were coming from volunteering at Give-Kids-The-World
. . . I guess even helping terminally-ill children has its ill-fated rewards
. . . she with only seat-belt rashes, and me with two fractured discs and one fractured ankle
3) If all goes as planned, I should be out of the wheelchair in July-2017
4) But, due to being chair-bond, I can understand A LITTLE of the plight of others.
5) Why should they not be able to enjoy the ride, due to Joe Rohde poor-planning?
6) Disney should be enjoyed by all.
NOTE: Yes, I have been highly, and very openly, vocal critical of Rohde for a long time. He under-planned AK from the start. He did a poor job in the design of the Nighttime Safari, he goofed big-time on the Rivers of Light design and timing. Now, he limits who can enjoy the spectacle of Pandora. And, we have not even talked about the approximate 1-mile walk to exit Pandora, or using the wrong coolant on Avatar ride, so it can run for 1-hr and needs to cool down for 2-hrs. (As an engineer with 11-USA-patents, I have seen where things could have been different. He even has missed planed project milestone dates. SHAME on him. And, SHAME ON DISNEY for keeping him on-board.)
I agree but at this point there isn't much we can do about it. The ride is built and staying as is.
I find it hard to believe Disney did not know what they were doing.Hi Rusty. I did not know you were in an accident, and had wondered where you were of late. We do not always agree but in this case I am also wondering at the lack of foreplanning,. I understand that it is not always possible to retrofit existing attractions, but one that is brand new? This makes no sense to me.
THe point should be that planning these lands and attraction is shortsighted lately. The mine train is only one example of limited vision in my opinion. When we renovated our home we put our money and resources in the structure. We compromised in areas that were not permanent. DIsney seems to plan from the end backwards.
I find it hard to believe Disney did not know what they were doing.
I know what you're saying but I'm not sure that in reality options like those being discussed here were considered. Partly because I'm quite sure nobody under design team had handicaps like some of those of us who are posting here do. You haven't lived life in a wheelchair you can't even think of some of the obstacles that pop up in your life.
Maybe you weren't trying to be insensitive but you certainly were. You demonstrated that you don't care that others can enjoy something as long as you get the maximal experience!
Ride vehicles and queues can easily be adjusted during the design process with no effect on the overall experience.
You can't tell me that adding one location where a wheelchair could be loaded on banshee or having one boat where wheelchair could be loaded what affect your or anybody else's experience in the slightest.
You can't tell me that adding one location where a wheelchair could be loaded on banshee or having one boat where wheelchair could be loaded what affect your or anybody else's experience in the slightest.
"please stay seated, the ride will continue momentarily"
Just wondering, besides Spaceship Earth, where else would you have encountered this during the ride or show?
Pretty much any of the omnimovers. We were stuck in HM for over 5 minutes in December. I got sick of seeing the bride's sickle appear. Spaceship Earth and Little Mermaid come to mind as well. I did very well in one section of Midway Mania because we sat there for quite a while. Those are just the ones I remember from our last trip. I know we didn't stop on Pan on either time through because I remarked to my wife about it.Just wondering, besides Spaceship Earth, where else would you have encountered this during the ride or show?
Any of the Omni-moves. Haunted Mansion has the spiel about "playful spooks".