Paraplegic Dad - Advice Needed please!

[AprilsZoo]

I was also wondering what time we should plan to arrive at the park for rope drop. We don't have EE. Park opens at 8am, and was thinking of being there for 7:15am. Is there any special line for those in wheelchairs?

Unfortunately I’m not much help for rope drop… if we’re there by 10, I call it a win.

There is no special line for wheelchairs, but the lines toward the center tend to be a little shorter, because people coming from either side seem to get in the lines toward that side. What you’ll hear at the turnstiles though is “wheels come down the center” and everyone else in your party has to go thru the turnstile. That will make perfect sense once you get there, I promise.

 

[VicgirlBC]

Unfortunately I’m not much help for rope drop… if we’re there by 10, I call it a win.

There is no special line for wheelchairs, but the lines toward the center tend to be a little shorter, because people coming from either side seem to get in the lines toward that side. What you’ll hear at the turnstiles though is “wheels come down the center” and everyone else in your party has to go thru the turnstile. That will make perfect sense once you get there, I promise.

Thank you!

 

[DL1WDW2]

Thank you for Post 14
Alternative ADA Experience for the Swiss Family Treehouse and The Submarines !

 

[AprilsZoo]

Thank you!

Hey Vicgirl,

I hope you had an awesome trip!

I’d love to have an update to hear your experiences…. What worked, what didn’t, etc.

 

[VicgirlBC]

Hey Vicgirl,

I hope you had an awesome trip!

I’d love to have an update to hear your experiences…. What worked, what didn’t, etc.

Wow. So much to report! I'll try and do it succinctly.

First off, we did rope drop each morning by arriving around 7:15am. There was a wheelchair designated gate on the far right side by the stroller rentals. Perfect! It was beneficial for us to arrive early as I found navigating the crowds by early afternoon to be a bit frustrating, and I am sure it must be even more challenging for those using mobility equipment (my husband never complains, but I am sure he was exhausted by it).

DH was disappointed he could not use a small, thin cushion to sit on when the ride seats were hard. This put him at a high risk of a pressure sores, which he did end up getting (small and now healing thankfully). We spoke to numerous Case Members about this and it sounds like the law (if it is one, I am not sure) may be changing. He will investigate more prior to our next trip. Some CM's ignored his use of the pad, and we appreciated this. It did not put him at risk of injury (for example using it on Pirate's).

After the first day of riding stand-by, he was granted DAS by a CM at the Information umbrella purely by accident (I'm not sure DH even knew what DAS was). DH was inquiring about the cushion policy and voila, DAS. Amazing! In hindsight I realize he does qualify, what with neurogenic bladder and bowel etc, so this was really a blessing.

Prior to being granted DAS though, we made a point of speaking with the CM's at ROTR when it was shut down (before we had ridden it) just to see if he'd need to transfer, if there was a separate line etc. Because my DH is so patient and kind and treats everyone with respect, the CM discreetly gave us LL passes to ride when they re-opened!

Honestly, I was blown away by every single CM who treated us with empathy and patience. Our trip was magical as a result. I am sure it helped that DH has an obvious disability and that he isn't trying to scam the system.

DH was not able to ride Goofy's Sky School due to lack of room to transfer. He did not ride Indiana Jones, as it would have tossed him around too much.

He found Materhorn to be too jolting for him as a T12 paraplegic. He did love Big Thunder though, and was able to brace himself easily.

Guardians of the Galaxy was probably our 6 and 8 year old's favourite ride and DH rode it two out of the three times we rode it, as one time the CM would not let him use his cushion so he left the ride while we carried on.

Autopia has a car with hand controls! We didn't use it, but how cool is that?!

Radiator Raceers offered a separate loading area, with two options for loading: one which puts you higher than the car and the other which puts you transferring at the same level. This was nice as we didn't feel rushed to get in the damn car ;-)

Web Slingers has a totally separate wheelchair accessible carriage. Plus they let us ride twice in a row!

Many of the rides allowed us to ride twice or even three times. so fun.

The WoC dessert party accommodated us easily with a low table. In fact the entire row of tables against the rail are low, with the tall tables directly behind. Many folks without disabilities were seated at these low tables too. It's a lovely spot to watch the show.

DH did the Lightsabre building at Savi's and there's a workspace that wheelchair users can wheel under so they can easily use the work bench.

We stayed at the Courtyard Themepark Entrance in a two queen room with bunkbeds. The accessible bathroom was spacious and perfect for our use.

If I think of anything else I'll add it here.

Thanks to everyone for their thoughtful advice and feedback. It was very appreciated.

 

[AprilsZoo]

Awesome trip report. Thanks.

I’ll have to remember about the transfer options at Radiator Springs… can you explain a little more about transferring at a more level height?… That’s something that would be helpful, as I’m beginning to have a lot more difficulty getting in and out of the really low seats. RSR feels lower to me than almost any other ride, including Pirates. I never feel rushed, really… but it’s getting tough.

Did you guys utilize the bump steps to transfer into Pirates? I’m guessing you made use of any ride vehicles that accommodate the chair, too.

I’m so glad your trip was a success and you got to feel the Magic.
Disneyland is totally my Happy Place, from the moment I go thru the tunnel onto Main Street I start Tearing up and by the time I’m at the Castle, I’ve got tears running down. My first trip back after the pandemic, I was full-on bawling… snot and everything. I was soooo happy to be back. It was a little over 5 years between visits because of Covid closures— it was the longest I’ve ever gone between trips.

It always makes me happy when others get to feel that magic too! Mickey Mouse is a Superhero in my book!

 

[KPeveler]

In Disney World, the rule generally is that anything with a lap bar cannot have a cushion under the person. Things like Pirates with no lap bar, my husband uses his cushion (he is a paraplegic)

 

[VicgirlBC]

In Disney World, the rule generally is that anything with a lap bar cannot have a cushion under the person. Things like Pirates with no lap bar, my husband uses his cushion (he is a paraplegic)

Unfortunately at Disneyland it didn't matter if there was a lap bar or not. Cushions were not allowed. Apparently it's a California law? No one was really clear about this.

 

[VicgirlBC]

Awesome trip report. Thanks.

I’ll have to remember about the transfer options at Radiator Springs… can you explain a little more about transferring at a more level height?… That’s something that would be helpful, as I’m beginning to have a lot more difficulty getting in and out of the really low seats. RSR feels lower to me than almost any other ride, including Pirates. I never feel rushed, really… but it’s getting tough.

Did you guys utilize the bump steps to transfer into Pirates? I’m guessing you made use of any ride vehicles that accommodate the chair, too.

I’m so glad your trip was a success and you got to feel the Magic.
Disneyland is totally my Happy Place, from the moment I go thru the tunnel onto Main Street I start Tearing up and by the time I’m at the Castle, I’ve got tears running down. My first trip back after the pandemic, I was full-on bawling… snot and everything. I was soooo happy to be back. It was a little over 5 years between visits because of Covid closures— it was the longest I’ve ever gone between trips.

It always makes me happy when others get to feel that magic too! Mickey Mouse is a Superhero in my book!

You're welcome for the report!

At Radiator Racers there is a platform (which most people use) that is higher than the car (ie. you'd step down into the car if you're able bodied). There is a smaller, separate platform where the base of the car is at the same level as the platform (able bodied folks would need to step up and over the car to sit down). Using this platform DH was able to place his cushion on the edge of the car and transfer laterally from his chair to the edge of the car, then transfer again down onto the car's seat. I hope that describes it a bit better.

DH did not use the transfer steps when we rode Pirates. Like the Radiator Racers he was able to transfer onto the edge of the boat and then into the seat. We did need to use his cushion so he was protected during the transfer as of course the boats are very hard.

We definitely felt the magic! We were all so excited to be there. I hope you have a wonderful trip when you're next there.

 

[ahutton]

I'm hemi-plegic, I think most dsrk rides will have a space where he can transfer. I can't do level changes well, so boats are a no for me, I can't get myself up and out. The river raft ride woyld be hard too, the platform moves and it's an up and over to get out.

 

[AprilsZoo]

I'm hemi-plegic, I think most dsrk rides will have a space where he can transfer. I can't do level changes well, so boats are a no for me, I can't get myself up and out. The river raft ride woyld be hard too, the platform moves and it's an up and over to get out.

By river raft ride I assume you mean Grizzly River Run (the one with the giant bear out front).

They have an area where they can pull a raft over out of the main ride “track”. The area is completely stationary, and the raft is locked in and stable. You have all the time you need to board. You do have to step over the edge of the raft, but there are lots of hand holds and places to balance yourself it’s relatively level from the “dock” to the first step, then there’s one more step down to the bottom of the boat.

I have some difficulty with getting in and out of boats like pirates, but GRR rafts are a lot easier, especially with dh there to help me.

If you ask a CM, they can take you down to that platform so you can look at the boarding set-up to figure out if it’s something you’ll be able to manage. Just tell them you really don’t want to waste time waiting if you won’t be able to ride.