Trip report - first trip using an electric wheelchair at Disneyland

[bluecruiser]

What do they mean by a low center of gravity? Like the chair can’t have a tilting/reclining feature built in?

They mentioned that some wheelchairs can raise and lower, and they would want those at their lowest level for stability. I saw a "tall" wheelchair the other day, and the seat level was much higher, so the person was almost up at the same eye-to-eye level with everyone else.

I think tilting/reclining could also be an issue when the clamshell leans backwards. they might want it to be upright if possible during the ride.

 

[Groot]

They mentioned that some wheelchairs can raise and lower, and they would want those at their lowest level for stability. I saw a "tall" wheelchair the other day, and the seat level was much higher, so the person was almost up at the same eye-to-eye level with everyone else.

I think tilting/reclining could also be an issue when the clamshell leans backwards. they might want it to be upright if possible during the ride.

Oh, okay, so the powerchairs with lifts in em and stuff.

 

[bluecruiser]

I finally was able to fix the orientation problem with my photos, so I updated post #15. Now on to today's report.

December 6 Disneyland

Summary - Disneyland before and after (and a little bit during) rain.

Abbreviations used
CM = cast member
DCA = Disney California Adventure
ECV = electric conveyance vehicle
FP = FastPass
WC = wheelchair

Details for attractions not previously covered:

Pirates of the Caribbean - enter through the exit next to Blue Bayou. It's like swimming upstream at times, watch for people exiting. Must transfer but they have a transfer seat if needed so you can transfer down to the boat in stages.





Haunted Mansion - quick update. I confirmed there's no WC/ECV vehicle. After thinking about it I'm actually surprised the Little Mermaid ride in DCA has one.

Winnie the Pooh - ECVs must transfer. There's a WC vehicle that can take a manual WC or one with a joystick. The ride vehicle slowly bobs or rolls from side to side through various scenes.

Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run - WC/ECV must transfer but can drive right up to the seat if needed to unload. The single rider line has stairs so since I was solo they sent me through what I expect will be the FP line in the future. This was an unexpected bonus since I was able to experience all of the queue environment (unlike the single rider line which bypasses a lot) with minimal wait. There were some long steepish ramps but my WC didn't have any problems making it.

Ride entrance below. From left to right, Single rider line, unlabelled line, Standby line. The two yellow columns looked like FP scanners up close;



One of the long ramps in the unlabelled (future FP?) queue:



Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - must transfer. See the CM at the exit for WC/ECV access. They have a scanner if you're using FP. You can take your WC/ECV to loading area. More fish swimming upstream situation, just stay to the left and let exiters go around you. There's a seat in the car where they can open up the side door to facilitate transfer. This one is my favorite Disney roller coaster, with enough thrills for fun but it doesn't leave me dizzy/sick and regretting my decision to ride.

Mickey and the Magical Map - stage show with bench seating (with backs). Can remain in WC/ECV. There's a ramp down to the front seats. There are also seats in the back on the same level as WC/ECV parking. If you take the ramp to the front a CM will move your WC/ECV and bring it back to you after the show.

WC/ECV ramp on the right to get to the bottom seating level:



View from upper right seating (in front of WC/ECV parking):



View toward main seating area. If you can transfer you can move to any available seat. THere are some steps but some of the aisles are just sloped concrete.



The rain started up again and was not predicted to stop for several hours, so I went back to the hotel for rest/recharge. My WC did fine through the rain, but the battery was almost down to 0 after about 6 hours. I stopped at a DVC kiosk just outside the park where they graciously allowed me to recharge for a half hour to make sure I'd get back to my room. I met a couple nice CMs but failed to get any inside scoop on the newly planned DVC tower on Disneyland hotel property.

Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters - ECV's must transfer but there is a WC car. Go through most of the queue and enter the WC/ECV parking/boarding area near the end.

Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin - WC/ECV must transfer. I only saw the FP queue and it was mainstreamed although it looks tight for ECV's.

 

[ZJ5/9D47]

Enjoyed chatting with you in line at BTM, and now reading your trip report!

You forgot to include though how much you are rocking your new brilliant purple chair and coordinating outfit bits (fellow purple lover here)! I know functionality comes first, but the world is a happier place with more color (especially purple) in it. Your chair comes across as an extension of yourself and your personality rather than a boring clunky medical device, which is also why I love decorating my own aids.

Hope the rest of your holiday goes well (and a bit drier and warmer) and you have a safe trip home!

 

[bluecruiser]

Thanks, it was great to meet you! I was kicking myself for not asking your screenname. Loved your candy cane striped canes too!

 

[SueM in MN]

This is the wheelchair accessible Little Mermaid ride clamshell at WDW.
The back folds down to make a ramp. I believe the one at Disneyland is exactly the same from pictures I’ve seen. The CM has not put chocks under my daughter’s wheelchair tires. The CMs who have commented said she didn’t need them because her wheelchair has brakes and anti tip bars.

 

[bluecruiser]

December 7 DCA

Summary - the last day is always bittersweet. Some attractions then back early for laundry and packing.

Abbreviations used
CM = cast member
DCA = Disney California Adventure
DTD = Downtown Disney
ECV = electric conveyance vehicle
WC = wheelchair

Details for attractions not previously covered:

The Bakery Tour - fully WC/ECV compatible. Not a ride, you just go past windows showing Boudin sourdough bread being made. You can get a small sample piece of sourdough bread at the beginning.

Pixar Pal-A-Round - Ferris wheel with some stationary cars and some that swing. Queue is mainstreamed with separate queues for swinging and non-swinging gondolas (cars). ECV must transfer to WC. WC is not strapped down (even in swinging cars), they just ask that you put the brakes on. There's one step either entering or exiting the swinging gondolas, but no step for the stationary ones.

Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind - square cars hang from memory marbles (it makes sense if you've seen the movie), this is a mild ride that goes in a circle and the height of cars varies during the ride. Must transfer. The Anger (red) and Joy (yellow) cars are easier to transfer into since their doors are larger. You can drive right to the car and a CM will move your WC/ECV and then brings it back at end of ride.

Below you see the side of the Anger car. The normal rectangular door has been widened on the top half so that when it opens you can slide right over from your WC/ECV.



Redwood Creek Challenge Trail - this is a good place for kids to work off excess energy. Some of it is WC/ECV accessible. But there are some areas you can only access via stairs or strong rope nets you have to walk to cross. During the holiday season this is where kids can meet Santa.

Typical accessible path:



Steps to one of the overhead rope bridges:



A look up at the rope bridge:



Jungle Cruise - there's an accessible boat, but ECV's must transfer to a WC in order to use it. You enter the boat through a ramp onto a lift, which then turns 90 degrees and lowers down into the boat.

Monorail - WC/ECV accessible. There's a ramp up to the station in Tomorrowland, and an elevator in DTD. These are the only two stops on the monorail. Loading was similar to WDW, they use a portable ramp to accesst the car. All exits/entrances are on one side, so you go forward to enter the monorail (they put chocks behind your wheels). Then you go backwards to exit.

Battery status at the end of the day - down to 0 after 5.5 hours.

The final day is tomorrow, the return home. Since I'll be getting in late, I probably won't post tomorrow night.

 

[Evita_W]

Does Disneyland have hilly areas like WDW? That too can affect the battery life.

Disneyland has far more, but if you plan it right, you can go.more downhill than uphill by using the train and other such tricks to avoid going uphill as much.

 

[Evita_W]

This is the wheelchair accessible Little Mermaid ride clamshell at WDW.
The back folds down to make a ramp. I believe the one at Disneyland is exactly the same from pictures I’ve seen. The CM has not put chocks under my daughter’s wheelchair tires. The CMs who have commented said she didn’t need them because her wheelchair has brakes and anti tip bars.


View attachment 457364View attachment 457365

Yeah, which is why I am surprised that Haunted Mansion on either coast doesn't have one. Yes, at Disneyland they would need to add a lift or elevator at the exit, but there is room there to accomplish this.

 

[Evita_W]

December 7 DCA

Summary - the last day is always bittersweet. Some attractions then back early for laundry and packing.

Abbreviations used
CM = cast member
DCA = Disney California Adventure
DTD = Downtown Disney
ECV = electric conveyance vehicle
WC = wheelchair

Details for attractions not previously covered:

The Bakery Tour - fully WC/ECV compatible. Not a ride, you just go past windows showing Boudin sourdough bread being made. You can get a small sample piece of sourdough bread at the beginning.

Pixar Pal-A-Round - Ferris wheel with some stationary cars and some that swing. Queue is mainstreamed with separate queues for swinging and non-swinging gondolas (cars). ECV must transfer to WC. WC is not strapped down (even in swinging cars), they just ask that you put the brakes on. There's one step either entering or exiting the swinging gondolas, but no step for the stationary ones.

Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind - square cars hang from memory marbles (it makes sense if you've seen the movie), this is a mild ride that goes in a circle and the height of cars varies during the ride. Must transfer. The Anger (red) and Joy (yellow) cars are easier to transfer into since their doors are larger. You can drive right to the car and a CM will move your WC/ECV and then brings it back at end of ride.

Below you see the side of the Anger car. The normal rectangular door has been widened on the top half so that when it opens you can slide right over from your WC/ECV.

View attachment 457413

Redwood Creek Challenge Trail - this is a good place for kids to work off excess energy. Some of it is WC/ECV accessible. But there are some areas you can only access via stairs or strong rope nets you have to walk to cross. During the holiday season this is where kids can meet Santa.

Typical accessible path:

View attachment 457416

Steps to one of the overhead rope bridges:

View attachment 457417

A look up at the rope bridge:

View attachment 457418

Jungle Cruise - there's an accessible boat, but ECV's must transfer to a WC in order to use it. You enter the boat through a ramp onto a lift, which then turns 90 degrees and lowers down into the boat.

Monorail - WC/ECV accessible. There's a ramp up to the station in Tomorrowland, and an elevator in DTD. These are the only two stops on the monorail. Loading was similar to WDW, they use a portable ramp to accesst the car. All exits/entrances are on one side, so you go forward to enter the monorail (they put chocks behind your wheels). Then you go backwards to exit.

Battery status at the end of the day - down to 0 after 5.5 hours.

The final day is tomorrow, the return home. Since I'll be getting in late, I probably won't post tomorrow night.

for the monorail, there is also an elevator in Tomorrowland. They prefer that it be used for exiting only; however, the entry to is not technically ADA compliant due to slope and length, so if you are by yourself or those with you can't push you up the ramp or your powered device can't make it up the ramp, let them know you will either need assistance or to use the elevator. The elevator is near the Finding Nemo submarines and depending on the length of it's line, you may have to cross across it's line to get to the elevator.

Speaking of Finding Nemo, there is an alternative experience available there for those that cant do the submarines for whatever reasons.

 

[SueM in MN]

Yeah, which is why I am surprised that Haunted Mansion on either coast doesn't have one. Yes, at Disneyland they would need to add a lift or elevator at the exit, but there is room there to accomplish this.

Having ridden Haunted Mansion in MK at WDW many times, I have some guesses why there is no wheelchair accessible doom buggy.

The downward hill at MK’s Haunted Mansion is quite a bit steeper than the one at MK’s Little Mermaid. I think Haunted Mansion is also longer and the track turns closer to the end of the hill.
The Little Mermaid has a low back because it doesn’t matter if you look to the back. Haunted Mansion needs a high back to hide what’s behind you.
The only other wheelchair accessible ride car with a high back is Nemo at Epcot (it’s a very different ride than Nemo at Disneyland). That one loads from the front and then entire ride is going sideways. I’m not sure what challenges doing a high back, front open doom buggy would pose.

 

[Groot]

Having ridden Haunted Mansion in MK at WDW many times, I have some guesses why there is no wheelchair accessible doom buggy.

The downward hill at MK’s Haunted Mansion is quite a bit steeper than the one at MK’s Little Mermaid. I think Haunted Mansion is also longer and the track turns closer to the end of the hill.
The Little Mermaid has a low back because it doesn’t matter if you look to the back. Haunted Mansion needs a high back to hide what’s behind you.
The only other wheelchair accessible ride car with a high back is Nemo at Epcot (it’s a very different ride than Nemo at Disneyland). That one loads from the front and then entire ride is going sideways. I’m not sure what challenges doing a high back, front open doom buggy would pose.

Don’t the doom buggies go forward, but you get in on the side? Wouldn’t that mean that the accessible car(s) would need to be larger in order to accommodate a side ramp into the car(s)?

 

[mamabunny]

Don’t the doom buggies go forward, but you get in on the side? Wouldn’t that mean that the accessible car(s) would need to be larger in order to accommodate a side ramp into the car(s)?

Not sure the doom buggies would have to be necessarily *bigger* - they just need a way to open the side so that you could line up the chair for transfer. (well, and you would want them to stop the thing from moving while you were trying to transfer! )

I'm still kind of surprised after all these years that we don't see them building in more accessibility loops to the rides, like you see at Toy Story Mania, where the HA ride cars can be easily pulled off the chain for loading/unloading, and then slide right back into the main track. I know that with a moving sidewalk system like HM and several other rides have, that becomes more difficult, but isn't it what the Imagineers are tasked with? Making the impossible, possible?

 

[SueM in MN]

Don’t the doom buggies go forward, but you get in on the side? Wouldn’t that mean that the accessible car(s) would need to be larger in order to accommodate a side ramp into the car(s)?

Guests do enter and leave from the side. The doombuggies mostly travel forward, but there are times when they are sideways, partly sideways. They go down the ‘hill’ backwards.

The Nemo ride cars load from the front, which is facing out for the whole attraction. I think the Nemo ride car is wider than the Doombuggies.

 

[CJN]

Haunted Mansion needs a high back to hide what’s behind you.

Now I need to see what’s back there

 

[Evita_W]

Don’t the doom buggies go forward, but you get in on the side? Wouldn’t that mean that the accessible car(s) would need to be larger in order to accommodate a side ramp into the car(s)?

They do, but they could setup an ADA car to be manually turned like the Buzz ADA car at Disneyland. The hill really wouldn't be an issue at WDW HM, as you go down backwards. It might get slightly tricky going up hill at DL, but still doable, especially if they use the high backs of the doom buggies properly.

 

[Evita_W]

Guests do enter and leave from the side. The doombuggies mostly travel forward, but there are times when they are sideways, partly sideways. They go down the ‘hill’ backwards.

The Nemo ride cars load from the front, which is facing out for the whole attraction. I think the Nemo ride car is wider than the Doombuggies.

Actually the Nemo ride cars are most definitely narrower, as my wife and I (who are both Pooh sized) can both fit comfortably in a doom buggies, but can't fit together in a Nemo clamshell, even uncomfortably. Now it is possible that the ADA vehicle is wider, but it doesn't look like it is. The same applies to Little Mermaid by the way, they are definitely narrower than HM.

As I said in my previous posts, there are ways they could make an ADA vehicle that loads from the front with minimal to no effort.

 

[bluecruiser]

December 8 Travel home

My travel day went smoothly (well, as smoothly as airline travel goes these days). I showed the manufacturer's MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) to the gate agent at Santa Ana, and she accepted it after reviewing. No requirement to remove the batteries.

It was a bit easier making the reverse trip since I was already familiar with the connecting airport (Dallas-Fort Worth) and the Skylink system that takes you between terminals. It's inside security and pretty easy to use. There are elevators to bypass the escalators to the upper boarding level.

I took a different tack this time, I waited until all the other passengers had deplaned before getting off. This gave me some breathing room to unfold the wheelchair, put the joystick back on, and wheel up to the terminal (instead of pulling the wheelchair up the ramp in its travel case). I noticed when I got the wheelchair planeside in Pittsburgh that the travel case's velcro had come loose, but the case was still mostly on the wheelchair (and there was no damage). I'll have to think about a good way to ensure the velcro doesn't come undone in the future. Maybe a long bungee cord might do the trick. I want to be sure the case remains on because it keeps the wheelchair from unfolding. You may recall I mentioned on an earlier day that the Magshock wheelchair doesn't "lock" closed when you fold it. So a couple bungee cords may be in order for future travel, one for the wheelchair and one for the travel case.

Overall I found there to be much kindness of strangers as well as cast members this trip (offering to help with doors was the most prevalent). It's possible I just noticed it more on this trip, but it was appreciated. Yes, there were still the people who turned without looking and almost ran into me, and the kids who stepped in front of me when I was moving. But that seemed less this time than in the past. And I think I've learned to leave extra space and go more slowly, which has made a great change in my attitude too. This is probably from a combination of many past wheelchair/ECV trips and buying into Disney Vacation Club (which means I'll be back soon enough and I don't have to see and do everything on each trip).

I still need to follow up with Fold & Go on my battery life this trip and whether I should replace one of my batteries (see day 1 for the battery story).

If anyone has any questions left about my experiences on this trip feel free to ask.