O Canada and Reflections of China - can dad sit in scooter and see these

[kathy884]

I'm taking my wonderful 82 year old dad to Epcot in March during the Flower and Garden festival. He has some mobility issues and cannot stand in place comfortably for more than a very short period of time. Walking for short distances is OK. We will be renting a scooter for him at the park.

Is it possible for him to sit in his rented scooter for the O Canada and the Reflections of China short movies? And if yes, is it a decent viewing experience from a scooter? If the answer to either of these is no, we'll just skip these attractions.

Also, the two ride attractions we were planning to do were Living with the Land and the Mexico Boat ride that I believe is called "Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros". He can walk, climb steps, etc. Would he be able to wait in line in his scooter due to how uncomfortable it is for him to stand and transfer to these rides or are these only possible to do if he parks his scooter. I think we'll have to skip these attractions if he would need to stand in the line. Walking would be fine, but standing in one place is a problem for him.

I believe that everything else we are doing will not be an issue (sit down stuff -- American Adventure, Impressions of France), sit in scooter for Voices of Liberty, visiting the gardens, and pavilions, eat the Sunshine Seasons - lunch, and Katsura Grill dinner.

If you have any other recommendations or concerns for us let me know. He has a handicapped parking sticker, so should not have too bad a walk from the car to the scooter rental place.

I appreciate any and all advice.

 

[gap2368]

Yes I am almost 109% sure you can sit in an ECV for those shows

 

[kathy884]

Thanks.

I just looked at the frequently asked questions and sticky posts.

Here is what I believe I am seeing from those. Please make corrections if I misinterpreted anything.

-- Because dad will have an ECV he can sit for O Canada and Reflections of China in that.

-- For American Adventure and Impressions of France, he can wait for the attraction in the ECV and for American Adventure will need to go to the second floor to gain access.


I'm still confused about the boat rides below. I'm assuming these don't have moving platforms??
-- For Living with the Land, there appears to be a new ECV accessible boat. One sticky still says transfer to wheelchair and access ride with wheelchair. But another says very new ECV boat, where ECV can go on.
-- For the Mexico boat, he will need to transfer from ECV to wheel chair to have a place to sit in the line and it also sounds like he can get right on the boat with the wheelchair.

All this sounds great and very doable. And it sounds like looking at signs or looking for a CM is all we need to do if we aren't sure where to go.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks.

I just looked at the frequently asked questions and sticky posts.

Here is what I believe I am seeing from those. Please make corrections if I misinterpreted anything.

-- Because dad will have an ECV he can sit for O Canada and Reflections of China in that.

He can sit in his ECV for both of those.
There are ‘lean rails’ in most of the theater because guests stand for the movies unless they have brought a mobility device.
For both shows, there are screens all around. Your view with a wheelchair or ECV is best if you go to the BACK of the theater. You will have less people in close front of you and will have the best view. The front of the theater has a podium, so you can tell the front when entering the theater.
For China, the back is to your left when entering the theater. I think it’s the same for Canada, but can’t picture it in my mind right now.

-- For American Adventure and Impressions of France, he can wait for the attraction in the ECV and for American Adventure will need to go to the second floor to gain access.

For both shows, he can wait in the ECV and sit in it during the show.
Both shows have seating areas with spots for wheelchairs and ECVs at the back row of the theater.
France doesn’t require any special access because the theater is entered on ground level. As you get ready to enter the theater, stay to the far left to enter the theater to the rear row.
American Adventure theater is entered from the second floor of the building. Guest who are walking get to the theater entrance by class mbing stairs or using escalators.
Guests using mobility devices need to use an elevator to get to the same place. Leaving the theater is via a steep ramp.

I'm still confused about the boat rides below. I'm assuming these don't have moving platforms??
-- For Living with the Land, there appears to be a new ECV accessible boat. One sticky still says transfer to wheelchair and access ride with wheelchair. But another says very new ECV boat, where ECV can go on.

Attractions at Epcot with moving walkways. These are the only 2; all the rest are either movies or come to a complete stop for loading and unload:
Spaceship Earth - The regular queue is not accessible and guests using mobility devices will wait and enter thru the exit. Entering the attraction loading area requires walking or riding a wheelchair up a steep ramp. There are attraction wheelchairs guests can borrow if necessary. The ride car is NOT accessible and requires a transfer. The moving walkway is usually slowed for guests with mobility issues, but can be stopped if absolutely necessary. They don’t like to stop it because guests have gotten out of ride cars during stops in the past.

The Seas with Nemo and Friends - the queue is wheelchair and ECV accessible. There is a wheelchair ‘clamshell’ vehicle; it is not ECV accessible, but guests can switch to an attraction wheelchair. The moving walkway can be stopped or slowed. They usually just slow it, even to load a wheelchair. Since the ride cars are moving at the same speed as the moving walkway, slowing is usually all that is needed.

The old boat for Living with the Land was not ECV accessible because the wheelchair spot was at the front of the boat and required a sharp turn that could be made by a wheelchair, but not by an ECV. That boat is no longer in use.
The current boat has a much larger spot in the back of the boat. It has ample room for turning a wheelchair or an ECV. It’s possible that an unusually large ECV may not fit, but the atttraction has wheelchairs people can transfer to.

-- For the Mexico boat, he will need to transfer from ECV to wheel chair to have a place to sit in the line and it also sounds like he can get right on the boat with the wheelchair.

Mexico has a fairly small and narrow queue that ECVs may not be able to navigate. They have attraction wheelchairs guests can transfer to if needed. Discuss your needs with the CM at the queue entrance.
The wheelchair boat has a built in ramp leading to a parking spot. There are seats for a total of 6 other guests on both sides of the ramp.

All this sounds great and very doable. And it sounds like looking at signs or looking for a CM is all we need to do if we aren't sure where to go.

Exactly.
One additional attraction you might want to consider is Soarin’
It is a gentle ride that simulates riding on a hang glider. The entire queue is wheelchair and ECV accessible to the point of boarding. It does require a transfer to the ride sest, but you can park the ECV/wheelchair as close as you need it to be for transferring. The CM will either show you where you where to park it a short distance away or will move it for you after transferring to the ride seat.

 

[SueM in MN]

If you have any other recommendations or concerns for us let me know. He has a handicapped parking sticker, so should not have too bad a walk from the car to the scooter rental place.

something to be aware of - even though the handicapped parking is the closest to the park entrance, it is still quite a walk. There are courtesy wheelchairs ‘corrals’ at the handicapped parking area for getting from the area to where and ECV or wheelchair can be rented. CMs move those wheelchairs back to the parking lot corral as they can, but there is no guarantee that there will be any wheelchairs in the corral when you arrive.
The regular parking lots are served by trams that go from the lot to the park entrance. The shortest walk would actually be parking in the regular lot and using the trams, but he would need to stand for security screening.