I have had the chance to ride both new attractions in Disneyland, and I will post a little about how accessibility will work.
The Little Mermaid (LM) Undersea Adventure
The New Little Mermaid ride is one of the best I have seen in a long time in terms of accessibility. The entire queue, including all overflow areas, are completely accessible. The overflow queue snakes back and forth outside, and will be in direct sunlight at almost all times. I am not sure how Disney will handle it for people who cannot handle that kind of heat.
When you get through the overflow line and enter the "official" line, there will be a CM standing at a gate. He/she will check a GAC at this time if the CM outside did not direct a person to do something different.
The queue will be tightly packed and is back-and-forth. It already set off my social-anxiety problems without it even being completely full. Just something to be aware of.
At the end of the queue, there is a gate with a wheelchair symbol on it. People with mobility devices go through there to board the ride. The ride has a moving walkway at both the entrance and exit, which is in basically a 85 foot long hallway. I know that it can be slowed at the "disboard" part.
The cars look just like the cars at Haunted Mansion and the Seas with Nemo. They are brightly colored clam shells with a lap bar and hard plastic bench seats. You can fit 3 adults easily in the cars. Children cannot sit on laps, unless they are infants if I remember properly.
The wheelchair, if I can say, is just awesome. It is designed to look like King Triton's chariot and can fit one wheelchair and one guest. Guest enters first, then the wheelchair just wheels in. The ramp unfolds from the back and is very smooth and easy to navigate. The CM will wheel a person in if they need it, since their "pusher" might already be seated.
My wheelchair is 2 feet wide, and there was at least an extra foot of room, so a decent sized wheelchair can fit. The seat is a decent sized seat, so a person with a normal sized tush should be able to sit without a problem. There is a lap belt that goes on, mostly to keep the person in the seat from standing up.
Scooters cannot fit into the wheelchair car, but they have a complimentary manual wheelchair right there at the ride, at hte CM will help you if you need it.
There are two wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs), so things really do move along quickly.
The cars are slow moving and turn you, much in the way of the HM Doom Buggies, to face the show. At one point they turn and move backwards, but they do not tilt you backwards like HM.
The show is all around you, much like any dark ride. There is an awesome Ursula animatronic which is pretty scary, but nothing jumps out at you, and there are no strobes or flashing lights.
All in all, the ride is AWESOME and they designed for accessibility from the very beginning.
I will post pictures as soon as I get them.
I will post this afternoon about the Star Tours attraction. Hope this helps with planning!
The Little Mermaid (LM) Undersea Adventure
The New Little Mermaid ride is one of the best I have seen in a long time in terms of accessibility. The entire queue, including all overflow areas, are completely accessible. The overflow queue snakes back and forth outside, and will be in direct sunlight at almost all times. I am not sure how Disney will handle it for people who cannot handle that kind of heat.
When you get through the overflow line and enter the "official" line, there will be a CM standing at a gate. He/she will check a GAC at this time if the CM outside did not direct a person to do something different.
The queue will be tightly packed and is back-and-forth. It already set off my social-anxiety problems without it even being completely full. Just something to be aware of.
At the end of the queue, there is a gate with a wheelchair symbol on it. People with mobility devices go through there to board the ride. The ride has a moving walkway at both the entrance and exit, which is in basically a 85 foot long hallway. I know that it can be slowed at the "disboard" part.
The cars look just like the cars at Haunted Mansion and the Seas with Nemo. They are brightly colored clam shells with a lap bar and hard plastic bench seats. You can fit 3 adults easily in the cars. Children cannot sit on laps, unless they are infants if I remember properly.
The wheelchair, if I can say, is just awesome. It is designed to look like King Triton's chariot and can fit one wheelchair and one guest. Guest enters first, then the wheelchair just wheels in. The ramp unfolds from the back and is very smooth and easy to navigate. The CM will wheel a person in if they need it, since their "pusher" might already be seated.
My wheelchair is 2 feet wide, and there was at least an extra foot of room, so a decent sized wheelchair can fit. The seat is a decent sized seat, so a person with a normal sized tush should be able to sit without a problem. There is a lap belt that goes on, mostly to keep the person in the seat from standing up.
Scooters cannot fit into the wheelchair car, but they have a complimentary manual wheelchair right there at the ride, at hte CM will help you if you need it.
There are two wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs), so things really do move along quickly.
The cars are slow moving and turn you, much in the way of the HM Doom Buggies, to face the show. At one point they turn and move backwards, but they do not tilt you backwards like HM.
The show is all around you, much like any dark ride. There is an awesome Ursula animatronic which is pretty scary, but nothing jumps out at you, and there are no strobes or flashing lights.
All in all, the ride is AWESOME and they designed for accessibility from the very beginning.
I will post pictures as soon as I get them.
I will post this afternoon about the Star Tours attraction. Hope this helps with planning!
