Do wheelchairs go to front of line?

[CattailGal]

We're going to WDW this Sunday and my in-laws are meeting us there. My MIL is in a wheelchair due to recent knee surgery. She mentioned that people in WCs are taken to the front of the line (this was the case when she went to WDW some years ago with her own 99 year old mother in a WC). I think I read somewhere that this is no longer done.

Can someone clarify - do people in a WC wait with everyone else, or move directly to the ride boarding area?

TIA,

KC

 

[shades]

I believe anybody that is 99 years old absolutely should have FRONT of the line privileges at Disney World!

Actually, wheelchair access varies at each attraction. The standby waiting lines are wider at some attractions and wheelchairs enter at the same place as every body else. Then at others, the wheelchair access has its own line - like at It's a Small World, but - it doesn't guarantee that the wheelchair user will be able to board immediately and may have to wait (especially if they cannot transfer and are using a special car/boat to wheel their chair on).

 

[Talking Hands]

Only people that get front of the line access is "Make A Wish" children. If being in the wheelchair is her only issue then you can use fastpass or go though the regular lines. If you need to go through a different line the castmembers will tell you what to do and where to go.

 

[Michigan]

That ended in 1997 with all the wheelchair cheating.

Now sometimes you wait even longer then you would if you weren't in a wheelchair! We waited over an hour longer on the safari ride then we would have if my kids did have chairs.

 

[SueM in MN]

I think the reason it actually ended was the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) which came into effect in the early 1990s. The law required businesses to accomidate people with disabilities and give equal opportunity for services. In many situations, the equal opportunity is not there, but one of the things equal opportunity meant was doing things like making queues at amusement parks wheelchair accessible thru the regular line with people not using wheelchairs/ECVs. Sometimes, making things "equal" actually means an extra wait, like Michigan mentioned.
When MK and Epcot were built, accessibility was an afterthought, not something that was built into the parks. As attractions were added and/or renovated, they were made accessible if at all possible. There are a few attractions left at those parks that were not able to be "Mainstreamed". Those are the few with wheelchair entrances.
AK and the Studio were built with mostly Mainstream Access, which means people using wheelchairs and ECVs wait in the same lines with everyone else.

If you actually look in the official Guidebooks for Guests with Disabilities for WDW, you will find that most attractions are listed as Mainstream Access.

 

[Mischa]

Just my 2 cents...

Last May my dh & I went to WDW and we had a wheelchair with us because dh's hips were giving him problems and he couldn't walk very much. I definitely got my exercise that week!

Anyway, depending on the crowds, sometimes the CM would let us go ahead of everyone and then there were times when we waited with everyone else. We didn't mind, and most people were nice about dh being in the wheelchair. We did have a few rude couples (in my opinion) who were behind us and managed to push me & dh out of the way and get ahead of us while we were all waiting for the safari ride at AK. I was a bit surprised at the rudeness, but we didn't let that dampen our happy moods.

Anyway, just wanted to drop my 2 cents.

 

[country-mom-of-4]

Hi! I'm new to the DIS boards and was wondering where I could find the official Guidebooks for Guests with Disabilities for WDW that everyone keeps talking about. Our family is going to WDW over Christmas this year and my brother in law is a Quadriplegic. Any help would be greatly appreciated!! THANKS!

 

[Chuck S]

Hi! I'm new to the DIS boards and was wondering where I could find the official Guidebooks for Guests with Disabilities for WDW that everyone keeps talking about. Our family is going to WDW over Christmas this year and my brother in law is a Quadriplegic. Any help would be greatly appreciated!! THANKS!

Here is a link to the WDW disabilites site. It has a lot of te same info as the guidebook, but it is broken down a little differently. Click on the parks for info about boarding the attractions (ie if transfer is required, etc.)

WDW Guests With DisABILITIES

 

[SueM in MN]

Here is a link to the WDW disabilites site. It has a lot of te same info as the guidebook, but it is broken down a little differently. Click on the parks for info about boarding the attractions (ie if transfer is required, etc.)

WDW Guests With DisABILITIES

There is also a link to the Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities in the disABILITIES FAQs thread, located near the top of this board.

 

[Redbudlover]

We went last fall with an ECV and most of the time we were directed to a different line than the stand by line. Most of the time that meant we went to the front part of a line - maybe not the very front, but very close. Only a couple of times - Safari and Pirates did we have to wait. At Soarin we were in the regular line. A number of times it was the fast pass line. All in all we felt we were treated like royalty. If I ever needed to go by chair or ECV again I would not hesitate. It was just fine!

 

[BillSears]

I wonder what's up with all of these people who say they get front of the line access? The only times I've ever seen this are on the rides where the entrance is not accessible, I believe that's only BTMR, Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World, Star Tours and Space Ship Earth. On every other ride I wait in the regular line like everyone else. In fact on most rides I wait in the line like everyone else then I go to a second line to wait again.

I know both lines for Soarin are wheelchair accessible because I did both the standy and the fastpass(had fastpasses) in September. I've done both Standby and Fastpass for Missions Space, Test Track, Rock and Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safari, and I'm sure many others. Also in my experience in the rare occaision when the standby line is not accessible(The Land used to be this way) I was always given a handwritten Fastpass to come back at a time equal to the wait on the standby line.

 

[dclfun]

Bill- I don't know either as I've always waited with other guests in the regular lines just so I can visit with my friends/family as most of the attractions aren't accessible to me...so I end up waiting in line only to wait for them to exit afterwards. It's sometimes tough for my service dog as she's in close quarters, getting touched inappropriately, and she can't always figure out the queue since the "ropes" are above her line of sight. Whe'll often try to pull me the quickest way through the center of the queue! I don't expect any special treatment nor do I want it. I would hope that everyone is treated like royalty at Disney and not because we are disabled- everyone needs that "magic". ---Kathy

 

[tain321]

My son is in a wheelchair and a Disney reservation agent told me to go to guest services in MK and they would give him a pass to bypass the lines.

 

[BillSears]

My son is in a wheelchair and a Disney reservation agent told me to go to guest services in MK and they would give him a pass to bypass the lines.

The Disney reservation agent was mistaken. Unless there is some other need besides wheelchair access your son will use the normal lines on all but 7 1/2 rides in WDW. I believe the only rides that have lines that are not accessible are Peter Pan, It's a Small World, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Moutain, Jungle Cruise, Space Ship Earth, Star Tours and the last part of the line in Splash Mountain.

 

[SueM in MN]

The Disney reservation agent was mistaken. Unless there is some other need besides wheelchair access your son will use the normal lines on all but 7 1/2 rides in WDW. I believe the only rides that have lines that are not accessible are Peter Pan, It's a Small World, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Moutain, Jungle Cruise, Space Ship Earth, Star Tours and the last part of the line in Splash Mountain.

Bill is right.
The reservation agent was mistaken.
What she was talking about is the Guest Assistance Card (we call it a GAC so we don't have to type so much). The GAC says right on it that it is not meant to bypass or eliminate waits in line. If you look in the disABILITIES FAQs thread, there is a long section about GACs.
Most people using wheelchair don't need a GAC because most of the lines are wheelchair accessible. The GAC is for people with needs besides the need for an accessible line (the FAQs thread explains more about that).

I agree with Bill and Kathy - and, in fact a CM told me once that WDW can get in legal trouble from giving people with disabilities special treatment. The point of the ADA was to make things accessible. If too much special treatment is given, it means that the place is not really accessible.

Most of the lines at WDW are wheelchair accessible, so there are very few situations where someone actually goes thru a wheelchair entrance. In most cases, they wait in the same line with everyone else. For a very few attractions, there is an alternate entrace because the regular one isn't accessible and was not able to be made accessible (most in MK or Epcot since they were built before accessibility was thought of). There are some others, where the boarding area is not accessible and wheelchair/ECV users wait in the regular or Fastpass line and then are pulled into a different area for loading (Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain are examples).
AK and the Studio were built with what are called 'Mainstream Lines'. These are lines where the regular line is wheelchair/ECV accessible and a person using a wheelchair or ECV waits in the same line with everyone else.

Here's what it says in the official WDW Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities about Mainstream Lines and the list of attractions with Mainstream Queues:
Most of the lines are Mainstream Queues:

Magic Kingdom® Park
Ariel's Grotto
Astro Orbiter
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
Donald's Boat
Judge's Tent
Mickey's Country House
Mickey's PhilharMagic
Mike Fink Keelboats (seasonal)
Minnie's Country House
Pirates of the Caribbean
Space Mountain®
Splash Mountain®
Stitch's Great Escape!™
The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacres Farm
"The Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management"
The Hall of Presidents
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Timekeeper (seasonal)
Tomorrowland® Indy Speedway
Toontown Hall of Fame
Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress (seasonal)

Epcot®
FUTURE WORLD
Imagination!: All Attractions
Innoventions East
Innoventions West
Mission: SPACE
Test Track
The Living Seas: All Attractions
The Land: All Attractions
Universe of Energy: "Ellen's Energy Adventure"
Wonders of Life: All Attractions (seasonal)

WORLD SHOWCASE
China: "Reflections of China"
France: "Impressions de France"
FriendShip Boats
Norway: Maelstrom
The American Adventure: "The American Adventure"

Disney-MGM Studios
Disney-MGM Studios Backlot Tour
Fantasmic!
Lights, Motors, Action!™ Extreme Stunt Show
Muppet*Vision 3D
Playhouse Disney - Live On Stage!
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster® Starring Aerosmith
Sounds Dangerous - Starring Drew Carey
Star Tours
The Great Movie Ride
The Magic of Disney Animation
"The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™"
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Walt Disney: One Man's Dream
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Play It!

Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park
Caravan Stage: "Flights of Wonder"
DINOSAUR
Grandmother Willow's Grove: "Pocahontas and Her forest friends"
It's Tough To Be A Bug
Kali River Rapids
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Lion King Theater: "Festival of the Lion King"
Maharajah Jungle Trek
Primeval Whirl
Theater in the Wild: "Tarzan Rocks!"
The Boneyard
TriceraTop Spin

I wanted to add that Soarin' and EE are missing from the list. They are both Mainstream Access.
And, some attractions have limited number of spots for wheelchairs. Most of those are shows/theaters. In order to make sure that the first people to come with wheelchairs get spots, sometimes the CMs will take the parties with wheelchairs to the 'front of the line' to wait. That way the CMs don't end up with more wheelchairs than will fit.

 

[Schmeck]

I agree with Bill and Kathy - and, in fact a CM told me once that WDW can get in legal trouble from giving people with disabilities special treatment. The point of the ADA was to make things accessible. If too much special treatment is given, it means that the place is not really accessible.

Yes, there's a section in the ADA that states that it is illegal to give 'superior' access to someone based on their disability. It's a very hard balance to find and keep.