Has there been any progress on Flights of Passage being more Disabled friendly? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Has there been any progress on Flights of Passage being more Disabled friendly?
I know when FoP opened, it sounded like the most disabled unfriendly ride going. People of size (like us) couldn't fit on the ride and from what I read, there was no way for people needing wheelchairs (like Lenny) to experience the ride. Has there been any progress or changes to this that people know of? I haven't heard anything and I'm just looking over my itinerary and wondering if I should even try to put this in or if we should skip it completely to avoid any disappointments, especially from Abby.
When we did Pandora last summer, people were in ECVs all the way to the pre-show room. Wheelchairs could go all the way into the ride room itself. We didn’t see this personally, but it was my understanding that guests who could not stand to transfer to the FoP ride apparatus could use a WDW provided special wheelchair that would raise them to the level of the apparatus, so that they could then be more easily placed to ride. The “link chair,” as I think they call it (the bike type seating apparatus) has a back support to secure riders in place, but it recognizes when to lock, according to the size of the rider.
I think it’s possible for you to ride FoP. It’s just up to you to decide whether or not you want to do it.
As for the Na’vi River Journey, it’s true (or at least it was last summer) that there are no boats that accommodate ECVs or wheelchairs. You can go through the queue, but you would need to transfer from the wheels into the boat. I am almost positive, though, that I recall these boats having some small steps for entry. So, you wouldn’t have to plunk down in one big, awkward, and/or precarious step.
When we did Pandora last summer, people were in ECVs all the way to the pre-show room. Wheelchairs could go all the way into the ride room itself. We didn’t see this personally, but it was my understanding that guests who could not stand to transfer to the FoP ride apparatus could use a WDW provided special wheelchair that would raise them to the level of the apparatus, so that they could then be more easily placed to ride. The “link chair,” as I think they call it (the bike type seating apparatus) has a back support to secure riders in place, but it recognizes when to lock, according to the size of the rider.
I think it’s possible for you to ride FoP. It’s just up to you to decide whether or not you want to do it.
As for the Na’vi River Journey, it’s true (or at least it was last summer) that there are no boats that accommodate ECVs or wheelchairs. You can go through the queue, but you would need to transfer from the wheels into the boat. I am almost positive, though, that I recall these boats having some small steps for entry. So, you wouldn’t have to plunk down in one big, awkward, and/or precarious step.
Hope this helps
Abby and I could possibly ride then but I'm not sure Lenny could. With his hip problems - and now a metal plate in his leg - I think just straddling the ride vehicle is going to be painful for him and if you still have to lean forward, I know it will be just asking for more pain . I was left with the impression that Disney was looking for a way to have people who need to stay in a wheelchair to experience this but either I'm wrong or Disney isn't attempting it for this particular ride.
For the river journey, I knew that didn't have a wheelchair boat. Lenny has been able to ride things like PoTC and Norway okay - it just takes him a little extra time to get in and out - so we're okay with that. It's just FoP that I was wondering about.
Guests do have to transfer from wheelchairs in order to ride. Chairs can be used right up to the actual ride vehicle. They do have a ride vehicle around the area outside FoP to try ahead of time to make sure you fit and can make the appropriate bends. A CM is stationed with the vehicle to assist and give pointers.
Darlene, I don't know if this will help but I found this video on Youtube showing and demonstrating the ride seat for FoP. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mNweNWgwHk Thanks to this video I now know that I wont be able to ride FoP due to my severely osteoarthritic knees as there's no way I could keep my legs that bent for any length of time.
Darlene, I don't know if this will help but I found this video on Youtube showing and demonstrating the ride seat for FoP. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mNweNWgwHk Thanks to this video I now know that I wont be able to ride FoP due to my severely osteoarthritic knees as there's no way I could keep my legs that bent for any length of time.
Thank you for sharing that video. I forgot about the test seat but more importantly I had forgotten about the leg restraints too. I showed the video to Lenny and he said there is no way he'll be able to ride sitting like that. I'm thinking I won't be able to either because I have to be careful how I sit (not to mention I can't do MS or ST due to motion sickness). What I think will end up happening is either none of us will ride or Abby will be able to fit in the seat and want to ride but she'll have to ride alone.
As for size worries, the ride clicks in for me, and I was concerned.
As for motion sickness, I had less on FoP than ST. At ST I lift my legs and look down. For FoP, the first time I experienced some motion effects and just looked up. The second time was fantastic. I think I was hyped up about not knowing what to expect and worried I wouldn't fit which made the first time worse.
It's a fantastic ride--I would hate for you to miss it.
I've been told something similar but unfortunately for me, it affects my inner ear too much and even if I look down or at something that doesn't move, it doesn't lessen my nausea. If anything, it gets worse
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