Thanks for posting the video Sue! I was trying to see where a wheelchair or
ECV would go thru the line? If the rider can transfer ok to the vehicle, it does still look like a low-sitting ride. Any thoughts?
I can't be absolutely 100% sure until after we write it, but watching the video, seeing what is on the disability guide, and my knowledge from having been on it many times before, I am 99.9% sure of how it works.
The disability Guidemap that was just updated, shows the 'Mobility Entrance' as entering the Regular queue or obtaining a fast pass and using the fast pass lane.
The icon shows it as ECV and wheelchair accessible, but requiring a transfer to the ride car. It also lists that there is a 'practice car' (guests need to ask where it is).
All this is the same as before and I can see the boarding area and track have been re-themed, but the layout has not changed.
The line is accessible to the point of boarding.
At point 8:42 in the video, the people being filmed turn, but you can see stations 1 and 2 to the right of the picture. That would be where they would route guests using wheelchairs,
ECVs or other mobility devices.
At about 8:50 in the video, you can see a gate near station one and a door ahead of the gate.
Because guests board on one side of the track and get off on the other, there needs to be a way to get mobility devices to the other side of the track. The way they arrange this is by using an elevator that is at the door you can see in the video. If the guest is able to board in the regular area, they would go to station 1 or 2 to board. Their mobility device would be taken up the elevator, across a bridge that goes over the track and then down on the other side in another elevator to wait for them to get off.
The video at about the 9:15 point shows the step in. As you mentioned, it is a pretty low step in and out. That's because the track in actually below floor level at that point so guest don't have to step over the relatively high side of the car.
There is another alternative for guests who can't make the step, need to be lifted in and out or need to transfer from their wheelchair.
At point 9:15 to 9:34 of the video, you can see signs and hear them mention the 'Seat belt check' , which is ahead, just before the first hill.
That seat belt check is at the point where the bridge goes over the track (the ride car path actually goes over the loading area track at that point, but guests can't see that). That is the location of the alternate boarding area, which allows a wheelchair to be brought right up to the ride car. At that point, the track is at the same level as the floor.
The video is very dark, but here is a picture of the way the area was before.
The picture isn't showing up - it's old and I think too big.
here's a link to the thumbnail shot
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/member-galleries/p24258-test-track-alternate-boarding.html
The picture shows my DH's arm in green on the left of the picture as we waited behind a rail on a small ramp. You can see the first hill right in front of the seat belt check area in the middle of the picture. That area has a CM stationed there at all times to do the seat belt checks and that CM also deals with the wheelchairs in the seatbelt check area, moving them out of the way after the guest has transferred.
When those guests are done riding, they will stay on past the regular exit ( at the boarding area) and come back to th seat belt check area to get off & back to their mobility device.
One of the issues before was that the seatbelt check area was rather small and could only hold one party without it being REALLY crowded. The elevators were small and could only old the person with the mobility device plus one other person. Can't tell if they changed those to bigger ones, but my guess is not.
There were stairs for the rest of the party to go up to the bridge and then back down. I see no reason why they would change that.
It appears that they might have additional waiting area in front of the gate near station one. That would help things out a lot since they could hold guests with mobility devices and move them up as there was space at the top.
The 'holding area' before was just after the Fastpass collection area, where they divided guests into different rooms for the preshow. We often waited to the side at that area for 10 or more minutes until they assigned us to a preshow room.
