Mission Space - how hard to board?

[crusoemom]

Has anyone tried the Mission Space ride? How difficult is it to board for someone who normally uses a walker? My mom will be using a wheelchair while at Disney and uses a walker elsewhere for balance/weakness difficulties. When we went two years ago, very few rides were off-limits (she wasn't interested in the coasters or wet rides). Is Mission SPace a simulator ride, in which one has to walk in the room? If so, she can use her cane if there aren't any steps. Any ideas?

Thanks, thanks!
Sara

 

[brady961]

Mission Space is easily accessible.

I have used a cane, forearm crutches and/or a scooter.

Wheelchairs and scooters can go thru the queue, all the way to point of getting into the pod. or at least to the door right before the pod.

just tell the cast member what is needed and they will work it out for you.

i use my scooter thru queue, thru preshow, and park scooter. i am able to stand the couple minutes using crutches for the last set of instructions, then walk the couple feet to pod entrance.

when ride is over they have my scooter waiting for me at the pod, so just step out of pod and onto scooter.

i would suggest her staying in wheelchair all way thru to boarding pod. no standing, and WC will be there when ride is over.


And at Test Track, the wheelchair/scooters can go thru the queue there too. They have you board the car and hve you WC or scooter ready on other side where you get out of car. So again use the WC all way thru, again no standing. and only have to take a few steps to car but there are hand rails all around to hold onto getting in car.

best of luck.

i think you will find Disney is wheelchair/scooter friendly for the most part.

 

[SueM in MN]

Originally posted by brady961
Mission Space is easily accessible.
And at Test Track, the wheelchair/scooters can go thru the queue there too. They have you board the car and hve you WC or scooter ready on other side where you get out of car. So again use the WC all way thru, again no standing. and only have to take a few steps to car but there are hand rails all around to hold onto getting in car.

I have not ridden MS (I am quite certain - no, positive, I would get sick on that ride), so I have not seen anything first hand, but besides what brady961 posted, I have seen posts where people said they were able to bring the wheelchair right up to the "pod" and slide in quite easily.

At Test Track, with a wheelchair, you can either choose to board at the regular boarding spot or there is an alternate wheelchair boarding spot that they will let you use if needed.
For the regular boarding spot, you do need to step down into the the ride car, but there are lots of handrails. The rail for the car is actually below you.

The alternate boarding spot has the car on the same level as you are. There are no handrails. There is a solid side to the car (similar to sitting on the side of a bathtub and then transferring into sitting on the floor of the bathtub). They do have removable grab bar that can be put into the car so that you can pull yourself in.

 

[Wade Shrader]

We have two boys with CP, and we took their wheelchairs right up to the pod. No problem! They gave us plenty of time to load, and plenty of time to get off.

We, too, were a little worried about the logistics, tight space, and timefrace, etc. But, the CM's were wonderful, the layout extremely accessible, and we had a blast!

However, if your Mom doesn't like rollercoaster rides, you may want to think this one through. It was, by far, the most intense ride I've ever been on. My wife, who usually rides everything with me without complaints, got a little dizzy.

Enjoy the trip!

 

[pumpkinboy]

Originally posted by Wade Shrader
We have two boys with CP, and we took their wheelchairs right up to the pod. No problem! ...

Wade Shrader; do your boys have decent trunk control, or do they slouch without support the way my DS does? I have been trying to get a chance to ride MS, and DS seems interested, tho DW and DD have shown no interest. My son's problem here is trunk control, as he cannot hold himself up at all. Do you think this ride could work for him at all?

 

[SueM in MN]

I haven't ridden, but my oldest DD (non-disabled) has ridden a few times and she's a pretty good judge of what would "work" for her younger sister.

Here's her assessment of the ride.
It would be very hard for someone with poor trunk control on this ride. If the person tends to slump toward the side, it would be hard to stay centered in the seat. If they slumps toward the front (sort of a "C" shape), they might be pulled toward the seat during the part where the ride is really "going", but they might not be centered since G forces would be pulling them toward the seat. She though it would be hard for someone who does not have good ability to hold their head up.

Wade can probably give you a much better assesment since he's actually been on the ride, but one of my DD's other suggestions was to ride it first by yourself. There is a single rider line that usually has a short wait.

One thing to check out is the game in the area at the end of the ride. My younger DD (and I) enjoyed that game a lot. They have wheelchair accessible game consoles and you play the game by touching buttons in front of you. My DH helped DD play the game and the CMs were great at encouraging her.

 

[crusoemom]

Thanks much for the replies. My mom did ride Test Track (using the "even loading" option, and loved it. Her real impossible thing is to step up or step down - she just doesn't have the muscle strength.

However, air-motion rides might not be her thing. It's just great that she has the option, though, and even better that I can find this out in advance so that there are no bad surprises.

Thanks again - this is a great, and much-needed board!

 

[SueM in MN]

Glad to hear she had fun.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

SueM, thanks for the info on Test Track! I think that my mom might enjoy the ride, but I was concerned about her getting into and out of the car since she has two hip replacements (we don't want a hip out of the socket!). What is involved in getting the CMs to let her board in the special area? Does she need the guest assistance card?

Thanks, T&B

 

[Wade Shrader]

Sorry about the late reply; some days (weeks!) I don't get much of a chance to check the boards.

I so understand the concern about trunk and head control. One of my guys is a spastic quad, in a wheelchair. He has some issues with trunk control, and milder issues with head control. Just so you know, he doesn't need additional bolsters for his trunk on his chair, and doesn't use a head support. However, independently, he has some troubles.

Initially, I had told the kids that they were probably going to be too short to ride MS; but now they're 7 (and smarter than Dad), so they found out on their own that they were tall enough. So, I went up and talked to a few CM's, and it sounded like it would be ok. Unlike RnRC, where there would be a chance he could fall out, I knew that this ride would be safer. But I was still concerned.

We already talked about the boarding; the CM's were great. DS can help us transfer him, taking a few steps. Someone who was totally dependent on transfers might have more difficulty; the chair is right out side the "pod", but you have to make it a few steps.

The ride itself does "push" you back into the seat, giving you more stability than you might think. Also, there is a fairly robust "harness" system, that comes over your head. DS can totally come out of his chair if not buckled in, and he always comes off the couch, etc. But in MS, I was very confident that he would not slide down.

I was also concerned about his head control. I took the chance a couple of times to take a peak at him during the ride (and almost tore my head off doing it), and he seemed fine (and he loved it!!!). I think the G-forces also helped stabilize his head, as well.

I hope this helped! Sorry about the length, but this was one ride that I spent a lot of time debating on letting him ride or not. Now, he can't wait to get back on it.

Wade

 

[SueM in MN]

Very complete description, Wade.
I've been debating about whether or not my youngest DD should try this. I would not ride it because of motion sickness with anything that spins. My older DD doesn't want to go with younger DD.
DD is also a spastic quad, with some trunk control issues, but good head control. My biggest concern is that she goes into an extention pattern when she gets excited. Holding her down in Test Track is an adventure and quite a workout and she almost stood up in Tower of Terror.
It sounds like if one of my family is willing to go on MS with her, she might be OK though.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Wow! Wonderfully complete resonse there Wade Shrader! Thx very much. Our DS is also spastic quad, and has very weak trunk control and some head control (uses his head to communicate and, more importantly, to play computer games). So perhaps this will work for him. I would need to transfer, but I do not worry about him hyperextending in the excitement of the ride, as he mainly does that when he "has to go".

Thx again. I'll look forward to riding this in April at the latest