BillSears
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2003
I probably have been overeacting to this problem but I really hate watching people walk right past me and enter/board an attraction while I have to wait because I use a wheelchair. So I'm going to send this letter to WDW tomorrow about the situation. Feel free to comment even if it's just to tell me I'm expecting too much. 
Dear Walt Disney World/Guest Communications/Executive Offices,
Recently I have run into a problem with the way wheelchair access to certain attractions is handled. I am a paraplegic who has visited Walt Disney World 12 times over the past 30 years and Ive seen many different ways that access has been provided. On my first trip in 1977 it was fairly hard to get around but things became much easier as time went on. In my opinion the access provided actually became too easy with Disney offering almost all access through the exits of the attractions and people began abusing the system by renting a wheelchair just for the access it provided. I believe in part Disney began mainstreaming their line access to prevent these types of abuses and I agree wholeheartedly with this. I am not looking for superior access to attractions however I would like equal access to attractions.
The problem Ive had in the past year or so is the waiting in two lines if youre a wheelchair user or waiting in a line while non wheelchair users have immediate access. On some attractions there is a small capacity for wheelchair users so the wheelchair section often will fill up and I would have to wait for a second show while non wheelchair users would walk right in past me. Some attractions have wheelchair users wait in the normal line and then right at the boarding area divert the wheelchair user to a separate boarding area where they wait in a second line to board.
I feel that most people with handicaps just want to be treated like everyone else. Walt Disney World is the place I go to where I know I dont have to worry about whether there will be a curbcut, or stairs, or a hotel room with poor wheelchair accommodations, or a bus without a lift, or many of the other day to day concerns I have. At Walt Disney World Im just a normal guest and I love it. However being told that because youre a wheelchair user you cant attend this showing of something and then sitting off to the side watching people walk right in is very disheartening. It takes a wonderful day and brings it to a screeching halt for me. Its a cold hard slap in the face saying that no Im not like others Im still a second class person even here at Walt Disney World.
In my opinion the worst place for this is the Enchanted Tiki Room. Its gotten so bad at this attraction that theyve had a sign made saying that the wheelchair section is full and that wheelchair users will have to wait for the next show. I may be being too sensitive about this but I personally find the sign to be offensive. Its not the language itself of the sign but instead its the fact that Disney knows that there is a problem with wheelchair capacity at this ride and their solution is to just make a sign instead of actually fixing the problem. They allow 4 wheelchair users at this attraction at a time and they send these 4 in before the rest of the audience to sit on the exit side of the theater. A simple way to double capacity here would be to send 4 in for the exit side and then have 4 more wheelchair users enter in at the end of the crowd to sit at the entrance side.
Ive also run into the problem of having to wait for the next show while others are allowed to walk in at the American Adventure, Journey into Narnia and the Little Mermaid. At the American Adventure I was told that there were spaces available but because general seating had already started they couldnt take me upstairs in the elevator. At the Little Mermaid and Journey into Narnia they had reached the capacity for wheelchair users. I can also see this might be a problem at Lights Motor Action since the wheelchair seating there seems limited however Ive always shown up early for this show and havent been denied access.
Some of the rides where wheelchair users wait in the normal line and then a second line to board the ride are the Finding Nemo ride, Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin, Rock n Roller Coaster, and probably the worst one of all the Kilimanjaro Safari. Ive had the Kilimanjaro Safari be a walk on ride for those people who walk while I waited 20 minutes for my turn to use the wheelchair accessible ride vehicle. Sometimes these second waits are only until the accessible ride vehicle (or the car set aside specifically for those with mobility problems like at the Haunted Mansion or Spaceship Earth) cycles around to the exit however other times Ive had as many as 4 people waiting in line in front of me for the ride vehicle and that can add a long wait to the normal wait that youve already had by going through the normal queue.
The ideal Disney should be shooting for is equal access for wheelchair users not superior and not inferior access. To be denied access because a show does not have sufficient seating for wheelchair using guests is not equal access. To wait through a normal queue and then be sent off to a second queue to wait for another 10-20 minutes or longer is not equal access. Ive always traveled to Walt Disney World at slow times of the year but Ive had all of the above happen to me in mid September 2006, the first week of December 2006, the middle of May 2007 and the beginning of September 2007. Considering that these are slower times of the year I cant imagine how bad the situation must be during the busy times at Walt Disney World.
I do want to let you know that I am extremely pleased with certain attractions at Walt Disney World. Two attractions that stand out are Expedition Everest and Soarin. Both of these rides have totally mainstreamed queues and once youre at the front of the line you board immediately. Having an easy access car on every train at Expedition Everest is one of the best accommodations Ive ever seen on a roller coaster. I get to experience the fantastic queues at Expedition Everest and then I get to board right away just like everyone else. I wish all rides could be as accessible.
As our population ages I can see more and more wheelchair and ECV users visiting Walt Disney World in the future. Because of this now is the time to start making changes to accommodate the increased demand for access. Walt Disney World is my favorite vacation spot and the access that you provide for wheelchair users is one of the more important reasons I visit there. Please continue to provide equal access for those of us who use wheelchairs.
Sincerely,
William(Bill) Sears
Dear Walt Disney World/Guest Communications/Executive Offices,
Recently I have run into a problem with the way wheelchair access to certain attractions is handled. I am a paraplegic who has visited Walt Disney World 12 times over the past 30 years and Ive seen many different ways that access has been provided. On my first trip in 1977 it was fairly hard to get around but things became much easier as time went on. In my opinion the access provided actually became too easy with Disney offering almost all access through the exits of the attractions and people began abusing the system by renting a wheelchair just for the access it provided. I believe in part Disney began mainstreaming their line access to prevent these types of abuses and I agree wholeheartedly with this. I am not looking for superior access to attractions however I would like equal access to attractions.
The problem Ive had in the past year or so is the waiting in two lines if youre a wheelchair user or waiting in a line while non wheelchair users have immediate access. On some attractions there is a small capacity for wheelchair users so the wheelchair section often will fill up and I would have to wait for a second show while non wheelchair users would walk right in past me. Some attractions have wheelchair users wait in the normal line and then right at the boarding area divert the wheelchair user to a separate boarding area where they wait in a second line to board.
I feel that most people with handicaps just want to be treated like everyone else. Walt Disney World is the place I go to where I know I dont have to worry about whether there will be a curbcut, or stairs, or a hotel room with poor wheelchair accommodations, or a bus without a lift, or many of the other day to day concerns I have. At Walt Disney World Im just a normal guest and I love it. However being told that because youre a wheelchair user you cant attend this showing of something and then sitting off to the side watching people walk right in is very disheartening. It takes a wonderful day and brings it to a screeching halt for me. Its a cold hard slap in the face saying that no Im not like others Im still a second class person even here at Walt Disney World.
In my opinion the worst place for this is the Enchanted Tiki Room. Its gotten so bad at this attraction that theyve had a sign made saying that the wheelchair section is full and that wheelchair users will have to wait for the next show. I may be being too sensitive about this but I personally find the sign to be offensive. Its not the language itself of the sign but instead its the fact that Disney knows that there is a problem with wheelchair capacity at this ride and their solution is to just make a sign instead of actually fixing the problem. They allow 4 wheelchair users at this attraction at a time and they send these 4 in before the rest of the audience to sit on the exit side of the theater. A simple way to double capacity here would be to send 4 in for the exit side and then have 4 more wheelchair users enter in at the end of the crowd to sit at the entrance side.
Ive also run into the problem of having to wait for the next show while others are allowed to walk in at the American Adventure, Journey into Narnia and the Little Mermaid. At the American Adventure I was told that there were spaces available but because general seating had already started they couldnt take me upstairs in the elevator. At the Little Mermaid and Journey into Narnia they had reached the capacity for wheelchair users. I can also see this might be a problem at Lights Motor Action since the wheelchair seating there seems limited however Ive always shown up early for this show and havent been denied access.
Some of the rides where wheelchair users wait in the normal line and then a second line to board the ride are the Finding Nemo ride, Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin, Rock n Roller Coaster, and probably the worst one of all the Kilimanjaro Safari. Ive had the Kilimanjaro Safari be a walk on ride for those people who walk while I waited 20 minutes for my turn to use the wheelchair accessible ride vehicle. Sometimes these second waits are only until the accessible ride vehicle (or the car set aside specifically for those with mobility problems like at the Haunted Mansion or Spaceship Earth) cycles around to the exit however other times Ive had as many as 4 people waiting in line in front of me for the ride vehicle and that can add a long wait to the normal wait that youve already had by going through the normal queue.
The ideal Disney should be shooting for is equal access for wheelchair users not superior and not inferior access. To be denied access because a show does not have sufficient seating for wheelchair using guests is not equal access. To wait through a normal queue and then be sent off to a second queue to wait for another 10-20 minutes or longer is not equal access. Ive always traveled to Walt Disney World at slow times of the year but Ive had all of the above happen to me in mid September 2006, the first week of December 2006, the middle of May 2007 and the beginning of September 2007. Considering that these are slower times of the year I cant imagine how bad the situation must be during the busy times at Walt Disney World.
I do want to let you know that I am extremely pleased with certain attractions at Walt Disney World. Two attractions that stand out are Expedition Everest and Soarin. Both of these rides have totally mainstreamed queues and once youre at the front of the line you board immediately. Having an easy access car on every train at Expedition Everest is one of the best accommodations Ive ever seen on a roller coaster. I get to experience the fantastic queues at Expedition Everest and then I get to board right away just like everyone else. I wish all rides could be as accessible.
As our population ages I can see more and more wheelchair and ECV users visiting Walt Disney World in the future. Because of this now is the time to start making changes to accommodate the increased demand for access. Walt Disney World is my favorite vacation spot and the access that you provide for wheelchair users is one of the more important reasons I visit there. Please continue to provide equal access for those of us who use wheelchairs.
Sincerely,
William(Bill) Sears
Do you suggest we should try to carry Alize on these rides (34 pounds and stiff as a board). Karen
Kudos to you Bill! Great well written letter, detailing what works for you & what doesn't.
