can a person with a disability and their party board a ride without a wait

[cbenjisgirl]

I have read that if you are in a wheel chair you would be able to go on the rides without waiting in line. We will be going to the parks with a friend who is in a wheel chair there are seven of us all together will we be able to all stay with him and use the handicap entrance to the rides(if there is such a thing) or would we be split up?

 

[livndisney]

No, you still wait in line.

There is a sticky on this thread that will give you information about traveling in a wheelchair party.

 

[breezy1077]

trust me you don't want to ask this question

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

Very simply, unless you are on a Make A Wish trip, no one gets front of the line access. Most lines at Disney are able to handle a wheelchair or ecv, some will need to redirect you while in line, but for the most part everyone waits together for most of the line. Some rides also have specific vehicles for wheelchairs, if you are trying to ride those rides you may have a longer wait while the car comes around.

 

[merryweather20]

Mostly its alot longer to queue with a wheel-chair user. For example on certain rides the regular queue is wheel-chair accessible and after waiting in the full line you wait again to use a specific accessible car.

 

[mechurchlady]

Also there is a limit on how many people can go with a disabled person which is the disabled person and up to 5 other persons. Sometimes a CM will let in 7 or 8 people through but expect the 7th person to have to use their own GAC if disabled or use single rider, stand by or fast pass.

Even waddlerumps like me have to wait. At DLR and Sea World they have one or two rafts for disabled guests so that means the disabled guests must wait for the raft to return to the dock before 2 parties can board. Some rides allow, for safety reasons, one disabled guest per cycle of the ride. The only time I did not have to wait in line at DLR, Sea World, WDW, and San Diego Wild Park was when I happened to get in line when the train was pulling in at DLR and even then it was a wait for guests to disembark.

 

[KPeveler]

generally the rule is that the wheelchair user plus 5 people can go together if there is a special line (note: NOT a shorter line, but a different entrance). so you may not always be able to go as a group.

also, at a lot of shows only 1 or 2 people will be able to sit next to him if he stays in his wheelchair.

if this is the wheelchair user's first trip to disney, they may want to consider passporters "open mouse." for a lot of rides (kilimanjaro safaris, for example) you will often have to wait longer if you have a wheelchair.

to give you an idea, the standby line for Big Thunder was 10 mins. i had to wait 35 because i am a wheelchair user and it took that long to get me on...

so, in short, no there is no way to bypass the line with a wheelchair user.

 

[SueM in MN]

You already got the answer, which is "No".

When the regular lines are wheelchair/ECV accessible, those are called Mainstream Lines.
The Studio and AK were built with Mainstream Lines. Because MK and Epcot were planned and built in the late 1960s to early 1970s, most of their lines were not built to be accessible. Since the mid 1990s, as things were renovated or added to those parks, they made the lines accessible.
As some people mentioned, there are times when a 'detour' is needed for wheelchair/ECV users because of the path of the regular line or the regular boarding area is not wheelchair accessible. Those few attractions have a handicapped entrance, but the wait for boarding is often longer than at the 'regular' entrance.
If you check out the disABILITIES FAQs thread, there are links to the guidebook for guests with disabilities in post #3. If you check those out, you will see the instructions for boarding most rides included "enter thru the Mainstream queue."