Big Thunder Mountain with mobility disablilites - need advice and would like what has your experience been - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Big Thunder Mountain with mobility disablilites - need advice and would like what has your experience been
Many (if not all) of you reading this know Lenny uses a scooter. He likes riding Big Thunder Mountain but we haven't been having the best experiences after riding.
When we get there, they ask if Lenny can walk a short distance. We didn't learn quick enough to say no so the first time he walked in using his two canes which got taken away when it came our time to ride. I understand why and neither one of us had a issue with it. The problem came in when we were let off on the opposite side of where we boarded the train. Lenny's canes were there but it was just too much of a distance for him to walk and he was in agony from it - and in no way, shape or form was it a short distance back to the scooter.
The next time we went back to ride, when he was asked if he could walk a short distance, we said no and a wheelchair was provided for us. We were told it would be waiting for us once we ended the ride. Once again, we were let off on the opposite side of where we boarded but there was no wheelchair waiting. I told Lenny to stand there - which can be just as pain inducing as walking - while I ran to get him a wheelchair. Then it was like swimming up stream to get back to him. People wanted to leave and I probably got more than one dirty look because **I** was going the wrong way with a wheelchair. How dare I do that.
The CM last year obviously didn't get it when we said Lenny couldn't walk so I'm not sure what we need to do this year to make them realize Lenny cannot walk from the opposite track back to where we are told to park the scooter. If we get let off on the same side as we boarded, it would still be hard for Lenny but he would be able to do it (albeit very slowly). It's also a lot wider so he could stand out of the way if I went to get him a wheelchair. I just don't know what to do if the train goes on the opposite track again. Should Lenny stay seated and tell the CM he can't walk that far? Should we get out and stand in the way since that platform is so much smaller and make a CM go get the wheelchair (even though this would cause Lenny pain)? What would you guys do and/or what has your experience been? It would be absolutely wonderful if the CM's did what they said (a wheelchair was suppose to be waiting for Lenny but wasn't) and we could go about our day but I just don't expect it for some reason. I'm trying not to stress about it but now that I've started thinking about it, it seems like I can't help it. Out of all our experiences with Lenny's mobility and Abby's Autism at Disney, this really has been the worst and is what we remember first when we think of riding BTM again.
TIA for any advice/experiences you can share with me for our trip in 26 days.
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I'm sure I rode BTMRR in November as it's one of my favorites but must not have had a problem because I'm not remembering it. The only thing I can think of to do is to make a point of not only saying no when asked if Lenny can walk short distances but to also add that he is unable to walk from where you're let off to where you leave the scooter & needs a wheelchair to be available for him where he gets off the ride. Then when the ride stops flag down a cm as your getting off & ask for a wheelchair. Hopefully you have a better experience this year.
Seems like every cast member is different, some are really good at listening & taking care to be sure a wheelchair is waiting while others just don't care..
Hope you get your point across then you need a chair waiting for you . Can the move the scooter to the exit? I know some rides do that or load you at the exit side of the ride. I have never rode BTMRR because It will be way too much for my Fibro body..
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To explain a bit...
This is an attraction where people without mobility issues get on the train on one side of the track and when their ride is over the get out the door on the other side of the track.
The line itself is not accessible because it has a VERY steep, long ramp going down just before boarding. The other reason it is not accessible is that there is no way to get an ECV across the track to the other (exit) side. Even a manual wheelchair would not work because of the ramp and the track.
Guests with mobility needs board on the exit side of the track. To get back to where they boarded and left their mobility device, they need to ride twice in a row, which will take them back to where they boarded.
We don't ride BTMRR with our daughter because it is too rough for her, but we have somewhat similar issues on Test Track and Kali River Rapids. For both of those, we need to go past the regular unload area to get back to the area where we loaded where her wheelchair is.
If the CM is wanting us to get out, we just say, "she can't walk. We need to ride back to her wheelchair".
So, for BTMRR, I would tell them he can transfer, but not walk and will need to ride all the way back to the ECV. Park the ECV as close to the mine car as possible for the transfer.
When the ride is over, don't get off. Let the CM on the unload side know you need to ride back to his ECV because he can't walk.
I do recall what Sue is saying when we rode with my Grandmother. They asked if she wanted to ride again so we all stayed. When the ride was over we were back right there where we left her chair & my dad's ECV.
I haven't done BTMRR since before I needed my powerchair, but I have never had a problem with Test Track. The CMs have always been ready to take it over to the other side and it's been waiting when the ride is over.
We've never had problems with Test Track either. Like you, the CM's take it in that elevator to get it on the other side of the track and it's always been waiting for us. It's just Thunder Mountain we have the problem with.
Just to clarify - our issue with Test Track is that we need to board at the seat belt check area because our daughter can't walk or stand and it is impossible for us to lower her down to the ride car and lift her back up at the end of the ride.
Boarding at the seat belt check is more like pushing her wheelchair to the side of a bathtub, then transferring he over the side into the seat.
The issue comes when our car gets to the boarding/unload area. We need to ride past that yo get back to the seatbelt check area and sometimes the CMs are gesturing us to get out and the people on the boarding side are trying to get in. That doesn't happen often though and they are great when we tell them.
Just to clarify - our issue with Test Track is that we need to board at the seat belt check area because our daughter can't walk or stand and it is impossible for us to lower her down to the ride car and lift her back up at the end of the ride.
Boarding at the seat belt check is more like pushing her wheelchair to the side of a bathtub, then transferring he over the side into the seat.
The issue comes when our car gets to the boarding/unload area. We need to ride past that yo get back to the seatbelt check area and sometimes the CMs are gesturing us to get out and the people on the boarding side are trying to get in. That doesn't happen often though and they are great when we tell them.
Yes, I can see how that could cause "problems." I know you didn't need to but thank you for explaining as I couldn't understand what was different between your party and mine with someone using wheels. You get on at a different point then we do.
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We did ride with a wheelchair bound person. They allowed her and her seat mate to remain in the car while the roller coaster went through again, because it does stop at the opposite track it started on.
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The Fun, Old-Fashioned Family Vacation, 3.0 http://www.passporterboards.com/foru...ml#post4472933
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We did ride with a wheelchair bound person. They allowed her and her seat mate to remain in the car while the roller coaster went through again, because it does stop at the opposite track it started on.
That's good to know. I just wish I knew what they said to CM's. We'll figure it out though and as I said last night, to him, if we can't then maybe he just won't be able to ride it anymore
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I'm not sure what was said, but they tied a bandana to the front of the car...it's the same alert system we were given on the Tomorrowland Speedway when we were able to have the boys switch drivers after the first ride through.
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I'm not sure what was said, but they tied a bandana to the front of the car...
Wow - that bit of info is a huge help for me. Thank you very much. I was wondering how/if the CM's could alert the other side - now I know they can and do. This is something they've never done for us in the past so now it's something I know to look for - if they don't do it, I'm going to have to say something to them as we know Lenny just isn't going to be able to walk from the opposite side back to the scooter.
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