Night Blindness- List of Dark que areas.

[tamlav]

Two questions-
1.A member of our party has night blindness. Can't see in the dark. How can we skip the dark que area on dark que areas. We went a decade ago and it took forever to get her to walk through the Pirates of the Caribbean whole que area. It surprised me how dark it was.
2. Can anyone list the dark que areas? I've been there a decade ago so new rides especially. I see the Flights of Fancy que area is dark.

 

[kaytieeldr]

1. Talk to the Greeter at each attraction.

2. See the disABILITIES FAQ. There should be some information.

 

[gap2368]

Two questions-
1.A member of our party has night blindness. Can't see in the dark. How can we skip the dark que area on dark que areas. We went a decade ago and it took forever to get her to walk through the Pirates of the Caribbean whole que area. It surprised me how dark it was.
2. Can anyone list the dark que areas? I've been there a decade ago so new rides especially. I see the Flights of Fancy que area is dark.

Do you mean flight of passage the new ride in pandora the standby line is the FP is not

A few rides I can think of ( and some depends on the person)

Space mountain
Buzz
Under the sea
7DMT
peter pan
haunted Manson

 

[LittleFishy101]

A few more I can think of:
Mission Space
the frozen ride
part of Rockin Roller coaster
part of tower of terror

 

[redberyl]

Line for Nemo ride in epcot is really, really dark

 

[Simba's Mom]

The worst for me is the Pirates que.

 

[NH-to-FL]

I think the Haunted Mansion que is the darkest. DW has trouble seeing in the dark and have to be her eyes for a number of ride ques. We have done it enough that I have become proficient at being a guide. Though I also struggled a bit in the HM before I had my cataract surgery. That became the blind leading the blind for a year or so. DW enjoys the HM but I suspect that there is a lot she really can't see.

There are a number of other ride ques that are dim, Pirates, Peter Pan, and the end of It's Tough to Be a Bug come to mind in the moment. I didn't find the Flight of Passage que to be dark but DW hasn't ridden it so I don't have her opinion.

 

[ChanaC]

Not really a queue, but the fort and cave on Tom Swayer Island was surprisingly dark the last time I went in it. Like, nearly pitch black dark.

 

[smidgy]

Not really a queue, but the fort and cave on Tom Swayer Island was surprisingly dark the last time I went in it. Like, nearly pitch black dark.

bump

 

[Shock13]

I suffer from night blindness as well. There are some dark queues that I can handle and some I can't even with help. The ones that I will always skip are Nemo, Pirates and Haunted Mansion. Omnimover rides also make me nervous but I've never had trouble with Buzz.
Here is my shortlist for queues I was okay with:
FP line for Flight of Passage
Mission Space
Rock N Roller Coaster

Other rides mentioned above I haven't ridden or can't remember the queues because it's been so long such as Space Mountain, Little Mermaid, Tower of Terror and Frozen.

7DMT is dark as well.
Quick story about this one...I went on a solo trip shortly after this ride opened. I knew the queue area was going to be dark and I asked the CM if there was someone available that could just 'walk' me through it (I had my white cane with me). I had a FP. I understand that all CM's have a job and post and I was okay with them saying no. Well, they didn't. She had another CM come walk me through the FP queue and she even rode with me on the ride and pointed out all kinds of things that I would have missed since my vision in low-light is so poor. It was certainly one of those magical moments that I will always remember.
I almost never ask for special treatment when I'm solo and I always skip favorites because queues are just too dark but I REALLY wanted to ride 7DMT so I thought I'd allow myself this one time to see if they could accommodate me.

 

[Simba's Mom]

7DMT is dark as well.
Quick story about this one...I went on a solo trip shortly after this ride opened. I knew the queue area was going to be dark and I asked the CM if there was someone available that could just 'walk' me through it (I had my white cane with me). I had a FP. I understand that all CM's have a job and post and I was okay with them saying no. Well, they didn't. She had another CM come walk me through the FP queue and she even rode with me on the ride and pointed out all kinds of things that I would have missed since my vision in low-light is so poor. It was certainly one of those magical moments that I will always remember.
I almost never ask for special treatment when I'm solo and I always skip favorites because queues are just too dark but I REALLY wanted to ride 7DMT so I thought I'd allow myself this one time to see if they could accommodate me.

That's so sweet! I've always found the CMs to be especially helpful when I'm solo with my ECV. On Winnie the Pooh, you need to transfer to a wheelchair then have someone else in your party push you. Well, we solos don't have a "pusher", so I asked at Pooh if I could just use it as a walker. A CM appeared and offered to push me, then waited after the ride and brought me all the way back to my ECV. At Pirates, I haven't gone yet, just asked and they were so nice about promising to be sure to take care of me. And at CS restaurants, CMs always offer to carry my food-I even had one CM sit with me throughout the meal, just to keep me company. But no one's offered to ride with me yet.

 

[Shock13]

That's so sweet! I've always found the CMs to be especially helpful when I'm solo with my ECV. On Winnie the Pooh, you need to transfer to a wheelchair then have someone else in your party push you. Well, we solos don't have a "pusher", so I asked at Pooh if I could just use it as a walker. A CM appeared and offered to push me, then waited after the ride and brought me all the way back to my ECV. At Pirates, I haven't gone yet, just asked and they were so nice about promising to be sure to take care of me. And at CS restaurants, CMs always offer to carry my food-I even had one CM sit with me throughout the meal, just to keep me company. But no one's offered to ride with me yet.

That is so great! Simple things just like carrying a food tray for me makes such a difference. I was super nervous about doing WDW solo with my visual impairment but the CM's are quick to help and make the trip enjoyable.
I also wanted to add that not just CM's are great but guests in general as well. Disney people are one of the most friendliest and most of the time, they are quick to offer a hand if they see me struggling or if I politely ask.

 

[gap2368]

.
I also wanted to add that not just CM's are great but guests in general as well. Disney people are one of the most friendliest and most of the time, they are quick to offer a hand if they see me struggling or if I politely ask.

while the CM are amazing it is also the other guest that truly have helped me out with my disability

 

[tamlav]

Thank you for all your replies. It's very helpful. Do you think if we carried a small flashlight to use to help see, that would be okay?

 

[gap2368]

Thank you for all your replies. It's very helpful. Do you think if we carried a small flashlight to use to help see, that would be okay?

I would think a flash light would be ok ( you might run into a guest that quest it but a simply I have night time blindness would help if they do) and I would turn it off in the stretching room at HM and stay close to the wall or hold on to someone in your group

 

[ttintagel]

Night blindness, and temporary blindness after any sudden change in lighting levels, is part of my visual impairment. I've had mixed results at best when asking for accommodations from the CM's at attractions, especially regarding alternate access for dark queues.

I'm not saying this to be discouraging; I only want to spare others the experiences I've had with going to the parks just assuming that everybody would be helpful and that everything would go as I hoped, only to be disappointed and left without a backup plan.

My advice is that you should *plan* on someone with normal vision guiding the person with night blindness, and then if the cast member *does* agree to alternate accommodation so much the better.

 

[ttintagel]

while the CM are amazing it is also the other guest that truly have helped me out with my disability

Now that I think about it, when it comes to vision issues, I think other guests may have helped me even more often than cast members have! I know most of us have had stressful occasions with crowds and pushing and the unpleasant things that happen when you have a lot of people in a limited space, but I've also experienced a great camaraderie with all kinds of strangers in the parks. Especially when we see each other struggling.

 

[Shock13]

Thank you for all your replies. It's very helpful. Do you think if we carried a small flashlight to use to help see, that would be okay?

I use a small flashlight sometimes but mostly for easier reading of the numbered rows that are displayed on the ground. For example, BTMRR or RNRC. I can get through the queue okay but the numbers for the rows are sometimes hard to see so I use the flashlight for that.
But the beam for a small flashlight is not enough for me overall. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the rides at Universal but I tried using a small flashlight to get through the queues of The Mummy and ET. It was a nightmare and unfortunately if I'm solo again, I will not ride those rides. As much as I love Universal, many of their ride queues are dark and winding and just overall unpleasant to try and navigate.

 

[gismo1554]

Two questions-
1.A member of our party has night blindness. Can't see in the dark. How can we skip the dark que area on dark que areas. We went a decade ago and it took forever to get her to walk through the Pirates of the Caribbean whole que area. It surprised me how dark it was.

So I'm night blind too and know the pain! Most CMs are very receptive to getting help for these things. Depending on their vision level will depend on what they find "dark" or difficult.

2. Can anyone list the dark que areas? I've been there a decade ago so new rides especially. I see the Flights of Fancy que area is dark.

Lots of the ones I struggle with have been mentioned but I have a few extra to add so gonna list them all as well as giving info on what options they have

• Magic Kingdom
  • Pirates of the Caribbean - never bypassed so not sure where you would go (hate this ride lol)
  • Haunted Mansion - the bit from the shrinking room to the ride vehicle - here they can let you go through the exit but I've been directed through the shrinking room before and had a melt down as I couldn't cope it was so dark so this one I actually now avoid completely as its so hit and miss
  • Journey of the Little Mermaid - this they have let me use the fast pass queue which is shorter but still fairly dark
  • Tiki Room - this is a little dark when you enter but usually not too crowded and CMs will help on this one
  • Don't do rollercoasters but I'd assume that at least Space Mountain has a reasonably dark queue area
• EPCOT
  • Living Seas - so so dark! Here the CMs will let you bypass the queue and walk you to the exit. The whole exhibit however is fairly dark so something to bare in mind
  • Mexico Ride - the whole pavillion is dark and there is no way to skip this area but usually the queue is very short
  • Again I don't do many of the fast rides so not sure on those
• Hollywood Studios
  • Star Tours - so here they tend to send me up the wheelchair ramp which is also dark and basically I use my cane to hit against the wall to know when to turn as there is little to no light in one section!
  • Muppets - the queue area I do find a little dark for some reason
  • Again don't do many of the fast rides so not sure on those
• Animal Kingdom
  • Its tough to be a bug - queue area is very dark. Sometimes CMs are good and direct you to seats before the crowd comes in but depends on CMs and last time they directed me to a seat and then told me it was the wrong seat but couldn't tell me where to go just kept pointing for ages and then I said "excuse me I can't actually see" at which point they let me stay where I was
  • Navai River - Absolutely pointless ride in my opinion! Dark queue area followed by almost pitch black ride so I struggled to get through queue to find I didn't really see much of anything.
  • Flights of Passage - Not ridden but been told the queue area is very dark
  • Dinosaur - this queue area is dark I believe but not ridden
  • Lion King show - it is fairly dark when you sit down so I always go in the disabled entrance and then get escorted with a torch to a seat. CMs are really great on this one
  • Nemo Show - never been given the option of anything but the main entrance and always struggled. theatre is fairly dark before the show and there are steps so I have given up on this one.
  • Don't do any really fast rides so not sure on others
• Universal
  • In general I find Universal a nightmare for these things as most CM's barely notice theres an issue and I've been refused their access card on two occassions.
  • ET is very very bad! I just end up banging into things and people all the way around the tree area.
  • Shrek - the queuing area is dark and so I always request to go in the wheelchair area as this gets let into the show area first so slightly easier
  • Harry Potter land - some of the walk ways are very dark in this area
  • I don't do a whole lot in the park so not a huge amount to report on
• Islands of Adventure
  • Cat in the Hat queue is very dark - its one where I hope my cane will stop me from falling into anything
  • Kong - worse queue ever! Its dark and windy and even with their express pass, I managed to break my cane in the ride as it got wedged in an uneven section of wall! I haven't ridden this again since
  • Hogwarts - very dark and again a windy queue.
  • Posiedan Show - very dark and walking show so can't really do.

Also the torch suggestion, I have used a torch but what I would warn is that other guests are often very very rude! On Haunted Mansion when you leave the shrinking room I once used a torch pointing towards the ground so I could avoid trampling anyone as the light level was so low. A very obnoxious guest loudly said to his friend "if this *** would stop using a torch we would all move quicker the ***". I was devestated by this so just be warned it may be the happiest place on earth but sometimes people are very cruel about things they don't understand. I quite often get weird comments because I'm able to move around fine in normal lighting and not in dark but some people are worse than others! Doesn't stop me going solo at all however (in fact back there in about 45 days!) and I always enjoy myself. Its good to have an idea of where you may have problems though to make sure that you are prepared.