Has anyone ridden the wheelchair boat at "It's A Small World"?

[JoannaOhio]

I saw a drawing (not a photograph) of the new wheelchair boat for It's A Small World. There are no people in the drawing, but it appears that a person in a wheelchair may roll on at the back of the boat, and then wheel down the center aisle to sit between others in their party who sit on benches on either side of the "aisle". Otherwise, if the wheelchair was intended to just stay at the back of the boat, I would think they would have the bench seats go all the way across like in the regular boats. Just wondered if anyone has used this, and how well it worked? We'll be visiting in December, with two in wheelchairs and two not. One of the wheelchair guests is a relatively new member of our family, and cannot transfer at all, so there's a whole new level of research to be done this trip. Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

P.S. Similar question about the boat ride through Mexico. I haven't seen a picture of those boats.

 

[Talking Hands]

Boats are the same for both. Easy to use. Just roll on and you are set. I believe you may be able to actually have 2 wheelchairs on the boat.
For your information Jungle Cruise also has a special boat but it can only handle one wheelchair at a time. It is not like the once at Small World boat.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I rode in the wc boat a few weeks ago. There were two of us with ECVs (the other person was much worse off than me).

Entry/exit for all was at the back of the boat. It was flush with the dock, so a wc could roll on. There was then a sloping aisle down the middle to the front, with three rows of benches on each side of the aisle. This meant that 12 people could sit on the benches. There was easily room for two wcs in the back, maybe even more but I did not pay that much attention.

 

[JoannaOhio]

Thanks for your responses. I was remembering how the regular boat loads, with everyone waiting in rope lines to step down onto the bench that is straight ahead of them when the boat stops. I see now that it makes sense that the wheelchair boat would stop at a different loading area, and everyone would get on at the back, with the ambulatory guests walking down the center aisle to sit on the bench seats, and the WCs/ECVs staying on the level area at the back.

We aren't going until December, but I do so love to plan ahead. This way I have 8-1/2 months to enjoy the anticipation - before we even get there. I love these boards, and getting information from real Disney fans - not just guide book authors, etc.

 

[Michigan]

I don't know if they changed it or not JoannaOhio but wheelchair guests go in the exit and down that ramp not the regular extrance line.

 

[Nanajo1]

Does anyone know ... Did the renovations include making the entrance accessible? Can the boats accommodate an ECV or will I have to transfer to a w/c? I know I won't be steady enough to step down into a regular boat but do so want to ride IASW with my DGKs. Thanks for any info.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I think you would have to transfer. However, there is no step down. The entrance is level with the dock and then the aisle slopes down to the seats.

 

[JoannaOhio]

Does anyone know ... Did the renovations include making the entrance accessible? Can the boats accommodate an ECV or will I have to transfer to a w/c?

According to the MK Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities - which you can view at: http//psc.disney.go.com/wdwr/media/parksandmore/magickingdom/MK_Dis_Guidescreen.pdf]
Guests using the rental ECVs at the park must transfer to a wheelchair. (There should be an available one at the ride.) If you have your own ECV that is smaller, you might be able to drive it right on to the boat. In any case, you wouldn't have to step down to get into the boat. Someone previously posted that the wheelchair entrance to this ride is through the exit. I also read on another thread that there is a rather steep ramp to push the wheelchair up when exiting the attraction. Of course, if you're driving an ECV, that shouldn't be a factor for you.

Here's a link to a picture of the wheelchair boat - (and someone wrote that they use the same boat for the ride in Mexico at Epcot).

http://allearsnet.com/tp/mk/rv11.jpg

 

[Nanajo1]

IASW just had a major renovations and I was wondering if the entrance was made accessible. I remember going in the exit on my ECV. I felt like a salmon swimming upstream!

 

[MommytoMJM]

you can actually have 4 wheelchairs on the boat I think....we have done it with mine and DD's chairs. Warning tho, they often let regular guests on it and make wheelchair guest wait for it to come around again....

 

[brady961]

I rode Small World on Monday. I use a scooter. Handicapped entrance you begin with everyone else, same line. then before the line turns last before going down slope, WC leave the line and then use the Exit route. Its the same as it was before. WC board at the exit.

They have a WC or two there for ppl in ECV's to transfer to WC boat if unable to transfer or step into boat. If you can walk down the little ramp on the WC boat they offer that as well.

Its the same concept the Mexico at Epcot uses.

i think answered your question, WC/handicapped boards at exit. you have to start in the standard queue then vere off to exit ramp.

i didn't see any differences in the actual queues for entering or exiting. will say the colors were so much more bright. it looked great.

 

[JoannaOhio]

Warning tho, they often let regular guests on it and make wheelchair guest wait for it to come around again....

WHAT??? Are you saying that if one or more wheelchair guests are waiting at the boarding area, and a wheelchair boat comes around, they will make the wheelchair guests wait, and let able-bodied guests use the wheelchair boat? This doesn't make sense, since those people could easily get on the very next boat, but the people in wheelchairs CAN'T! Does anyone know how many boats there are on this ride, and how many of them are wheelchair accessible?

 

[dclfun]

I think what the poster meant was that if there are no w/c guests waiting, instead of sending that boat empty or being able to "put it aside" so to speak, they will fill it with other guests waiting to board. The same is true of the "hunny pots" on the Pooh ride or the new accessible boat at Jungle Cruise. This just means it's not used exclusively for guests travelling in w/c's and their parties. Kathy

 

[Janet2k]

It's not the greatest picture but it is a picture of me (and my daughter) riding in the wheelchair boat at the It's A Small World ride about a year & a half ago. (Our faces are blurred in the photo because I posted that picture back when I didn't share photos of my family -- we were too shy.) I rode in the very front of the boat and my husband sat on one side of me and my daughter sat on the other. It was wonderful.

Click here for photo.

 

[JoannaOhio]

Thanks so much for posting that picture. My first assumption when I saw the drawing of the boat was that my DD's fiancee would be able to wheel down to sit in between the two seats, so they could sit side-by-side throughout the ride. Then, from other posts, I got the impression that the wheelchairs had to stay at the back of the boat, and the "aisle" between the seats was only for people to walk down. I certainly hope they'll be able to sit beside each other, even though he is unable to transfer out of his chair. We first experienced Small World at the NY Worlds Fair when she was 4 years old. She's now almost 45, and it's still one of our favorite rides - full of family nostalgia. We're hoping to pass that on to my future SIL as well.

 

[SueM in MN]

The new wheelchair boats for Small World are exactly the same as the old wheelchair boats were. The first time we rode a wheelchair boat was in 1987 and the design has not changed since then. We rode one last week and the only difference we noticed was that the new boats are nice and clean and that the bumpers on the boats seem to be more shock absorbing than the old boats (Sometimes the boats go into a sort of "holding pattern" and while your boat is stopped, it may be hit into by the next boat in line). Our boat got hit from behind and we barely heard or felt it.

The boats have a flat surface at the back of the boat with a large area you can drive the wheelchair on. This is flush with the surface of the loading area so that a wheelchair can easily back right on. The boat has seats for 6 in rows with one seat on each side of the boat, separated by a sloping ramp. I know the boats can take 2 wheelchairs, I have never personally seen more than 2. If there would be more than 2 wheelchairs, I think the "extra" wheelchairs would have to be all the way to the back of the boat, because there would be nothing to keep the wheelchairs on the boat if they were farther up (since there is no "lip" on the boat to keep the wheelchairs from rolling off).
The picture on Deb Will's site that was already posted are good. The seats look in the picture like they would fit 2 people, but only one adult and maybe one small child will fit on each (my niece sat with her 3yr old in one seat). The 2 sets of parallel lines that you can see in the picture are bumps in the floor. The front wheels of the wheelchair is pulled up over them to help hold it in place during the ride.
The passengers can either walk down the ramp before the wheelchair passenger gets on or board like guests in the other boats, by stepping over the side of the boat. The wheelchair is pushed down the ramp, toward the front of the boat. So, the person in the wheelchair will end up sitting between the two riders sitting in the front row of seats.

As someone already mentioned, wheelchair users begin in the regular line and when the line comes around, there is a passage that takes you to the exit. Before the renovation, wheelchair users just came into the ride at the exit and it was like "salmon swimming upstream" as you walked the opposite direction from the people exiting the ride. It looked to us like they made the walkway a bit wider (although that might just be an illusion because it's brighter). They also separated off the wheelchair lane so while you are walking down to the exit to board, no one is in your lane.
Here are some pictures posted before by SafetyMom. The second and third pictiure in the 3rd row show the walkway/exit, but they have added a rope to divide the wheelchair boarding area from the exit since the pictures were taken.

 

[Talking Hands]

Rode it on Monday and the boats have not changed like Sue said. The entry has changed and I must say that the castmember there was not very helpful as to have to go. Couldn't be bothered to walk over and tell use but shooted at us from 10 feet away and could not be understood by me or my husband. Was mad he had to come over and speak to us. Refused to even look at my GAC.

 

[SueM in MN]

Rode it on Monday and the boats have not changed like Sue said. The entry has changed and I must say that the castmember there was not very helpful as to have to go. Couldn't be bothered to walk over and tell use but shooted at us from 10 feet away and could not be understood by me or my husband. Was mad he had to come over and speak to us. Refused to even look at my GAC.

The same guy must have been working a week ago Monday when we rode.
He just shoo'd us into line and when we came back thru the line to where he was standing, he said we had to go up and then back down the line again before he would let us in the wheelchair entrance. He refused to look at DD's GAC too.

PS. I forgot to mention for the OP, the boats at Mexico are the same as the Small World. The wheelchair entrance is the exit. Almost always we have found a smiling CM waiting there for us and the CMs at the Mexico ride have always been very nice to DD.

 

[JoannaOhio]

Thanks so much for the explicit descriptions. I finally realized that the guests in wheelchairs couldn't safely stay back behind the seats, because there aren't any guard rails in the area where they enter and exit the boats. I'm very happy to know that my future son-in-law will be able to wheel down and sit beside my daughter. It's his first trip to WDW, and I know they'll want to experience everything they can, side-by-side. Although we rented a wheelchair for me when we last visited in 2000, I was ambulatory enough when we got to the rides that I could step down into the boats. I'm pretty sure I never saw a wheelchair boat, so I thought this was a new addition to "Small World". I just love this board, and all the helpful information.