HS Toy Story Mania: [Merged Threads]

[terri01p]

FYI - saw this on another website in answer to a question about accessibility of this ride as you go up stairs in the regular line.

"Right before the stairs is a separate line that breaks off the main one that is for handicap access. It goes up a ramp onto the station platform. There is a separate loading area for the wheelchair accessible vehicle that is separated by track switches with the vehicle just waiting there ready to load. When it has been loaded, the track switch changes, and the WAV takes the place of a normal vehicle in the second load station. After the vehicle in the first load station is ready, off you go onto the ride. When you are done, the WAV will return to the special loading area for unloading and more loading. It really is very well thought out."

OH that's great we are so excited !

 

[SueM in MN]

Wow, that is a nice improvement. That means no more waiting until the accessible car cycles around unless the car is in use. Also it doesn't keep an empty car in the ride when the accessible car is not in use.

That would be nice.

 

[mechurchlady]

I love that the vehicle is out of service until needed and just sets there waiting while the guest takes their time to board. I hope new attractions will have the same configuration. That is great news. I cannot wait until someday I get to go to WDW.

 

[Absimilliard]

I also hope that it makes its way in all new attractions that can accomodate it.

Its just easier for everyone to have such a set-up.

On another note, I hope they never bring Crush Coaster (new popular dark ride/coaster at Walt Disney Studios park) to a US park... The ride has 2 major problems for disabled guests: the cars never stop in the station and can't stop to allow someone to transfer in! Second problem... Its a fairground ride to start with, so instead of stairs and such like the other Disney coasters, it uses either ladders or very narrow spiral staircases to reach the evacuation platforms. So, at Walt Disney Studios, Crush Coaster is not permitted for guests who can't walk the lenght of the station without help.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I was on Toy Story Mania today. Prior to going on I spoke with two managers. There opinions, as well as mine, is that the ride is fully accessible.

The queue is mainstreamed and I had no problems at all with my ECV. A person in a wheelchair or power chair would not have any problems in the queue. There is lots of things to see in the queue, and so people will not get bored, this includes children. There is a staircase, but before the staircase is a diversion for people who cannot do stairs; the diversion leads to a special load/unload area.

Most of the ride vehicles will seat 8 to 12 people. The seats are designed for two, but if all are thin or there is a child with you it appears that there is no problem putting three in a seat, although the cars only have two cannon per seat. There is a segment with a pair of forward facing seats and a pair of rear facing seats and then a few feet back another pair of forward facing and rear facing seats. You are only facing ahead or back while you are in load and unload. Once you are in the middle of the actual ride you will be facing to one side or the other. So to see everything you have to do the ride twice, once in the forward facing and once in the rear facing seats.

There are special accessible cars. The front segment does not have a set of rear-facing seats, but has a ramp. The ramp can flip down, the forward facing seat is shifted off, and a person in a wheelchair (including power chair) drives into the space where the seat was. Note there is still room next to them for someone else to sit, so they are not alone.

Disabled load/unload is a special area. The cars pull in and can be in the special area for up to six minutes, so there is no real time pressure for boarding. When the vehicle is loaded and the doors shut, the car will be inserted into the regular line of cars going though load/unload. When the ride is over the special cars will drive off the main track to the special load/unload area.

The ride is all on one level, so wheelchairs do not have to be clamped down but the brakes should be locked and the switch on a power chair should be turned off to prevent any problems.

The ride does not spin like Buzz Lightyear. The only spinning you get is when the track changes direction so you are able to face the dioramas and targets. Because of the way the cars move, as well as some of the noises and lighting, Service Animals are not permitted on the attraction. Rider Swap is available for people with Service Animals.

Each seat has two antique-looking cannons; the cannons fire by pulling a cord in the back center of the cannon. Depending on the scene you are in, what the cannon appear to be firing are either tennis-ball-sized balls or ring-toss rings, You have to be wearing the 3D glasses to be able to see what you are doing. There are many different types and sizes of targets, with the point values marked on the targets. There are no sights on the cannons, but as you can see what you are firing you can adjust where the cannon is pointing, both vertically and horizontally.

As you travel between scenes you can see three different figures for you score: your score for the last scene, your total score, and your percentage of successful shots. Just before you get to unload you will be able to see the high scores for the day listed.

My opinion is it is a very fun attraction, and I can’t think of any of the regular contributors to this forum (except Skye) who would not be able to ride it.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for the report and the complete info about accessibility.

There is a thread on the Theme Parks Board that talks about the sneak peek.
Page 3 of that thread includes a link to a website that had pictures of the entrance, Fastpass machines, queue and ride cars.
That might help people to visualize what Cheshire Figment wrote.

 

[MarieS]

Thanks so much for the report! We are looking forward to riding this in October and it helps to know what to expect with DS wheelchair.

 

[SueM in MN]

After reading Cheshire Figment's description, I looked again at the link to an article that was posted on the Theme Parks Board. One of the pictures actually looks like it shows the wheelchair boarding area. If you look at the ride car at the left of the picture, that looks like the ramp - you can see there are no 'cannons' on that side and there should be if it was a regular car that had seats back to back on each side.
Not sure how long this picture will stay here, but here it is for what it's worth:

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Yes, that is the disability boarding area and one of the special cars. I had taken a camera with me today, but I was told since it was a CM preview that I could not take any photos. And since I don't want to get fired....

 

[SueM in MN]

Yes, that is the disability boarding area and one of the special cars. I had taken a camera with me today, but I was told since it was a CM preview that I could not take any photos. And since I don't want to get fired....

thanks for confirming.
the person who posted on the Theme Parks Board also mentioned no pictures allowed, so I didn't expect any.
For whoever goes once pictures are allowed, I'd like one just about like this one and then a couple close ups of the wheelchair car so when I finally get more parks FAQs threads going, I have pictures to use.

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

Could you explain more on the reasons they nixed this ride for service animals? I thought you said the cars don't spin, so why is the way they move a problem? And shouldn't noises/lighting be up to the individual team the way it is on other rides (i.e. fire scene in Spaceship Earth, cannons in Pirates, etc.)?

Also, can you explain more about the string you pull to fire the cannon? Is it hard to pull the string? Do you have to pull it far? Or is it an easy thing to do? I'm thinking for those of us who don't have a lot of energy to spend - it would not be good to waste "a few spoons" (if you've read that "spoon theory" thing) on one ride.

I hope you enjoyed the ride!! It sounds so neat with the 3-D stuff and all!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Could you explain more on the reasons they nixed this ride for service animals? I thought you said the cars don't spin, so why is the way they move a problem? And shouldn't noises/lighting be up to the individual team the way it is on other rides (i.e. fire scene in Spaceship Earth, cannons in Pirates, etc.)?

I really don't know. But when I was talking to one of the managers before entering I was told that for Service Animals they would do Rider Swap. No reason was given.

Also, can you explain more about the string you pull to fire the cannon? Is it hard to pull the string? Do you have to pull it far? Or is it an easy thing to do? I'm thinking for those of us who don't have a lot of energy to spend - it would not be good to waste "a few spoons" (if you've read that "spoon theory" thing) on one ride.

The string pull was about six inches; I would pull it straight back but it could also be pulled down. It does not have much resistance. I found controlling the cannon's movement with one hand very easy. Also it allows you to keep your hand almost anywhere on the cannon to control it rather than having to hold it in a specific place to press a firing button.

I hope you enjoyed the ride!! It sounds so neat with the 3-D stuff and all!

I had a blast. I was sharing my seat with a woman and her about 2yo grandchild. I think that was due not only to it's being Cast Preview but the ride had been down for about 1½ hours for some undisclosed reason. When I got off it was about 5:30 and I did not want to wait over an hour for another ride.

 

[LenDVC92]

Cheshire Figment,

Thanks for the great description of the ride. I hope I can get to ride it when I'm there next week.

Do you know how many wheelchair accessible cars there are and assuming they are all in use how long it will take for the next one to cycle around?

Len.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Cheshire Figment,

Thanks for the great description of the ride. I hope I can get to ride it when I'm there next week.

Do you know how many wheelchair accessible cars there are and assuming they are all in use how long it will take for the next one to cycle around?

Len.

Sorry. I guess I forgot to ask those questions. I don't know, but I do remember the person at load/unload saying that they had six minutes to do a turnaround while it looked to me as if regular load/unload was about 30 seconds.

 

[BroganMc]

Hey CheshireFigment!

It sounds like those cannons are like the ones they use in DQ's Pirate game. Are they?

If so, they are very easy to manipulate for me and I have very reduced mobility in my hands.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Hey CheshireFigment!

It sounds like those cannons are like the ones they use in DQ's Pirate game. Are they?

If so, they are very easy to manipulate for me and I have very reduced mobility in my hands.

It has been several years since I was last in the Pirates at DQ, so I am not sure. The cannons do swivel very easily and the lanyard pull is about six inches.

 

[LenDVC92]

CF-- Another quick question:

I saw a post on another site that implied that there was a separate Fastpass on this ride for wheelchair guests. Did you happen to notice anything like this?

Len.

 

[HonnyDipp]

Thanks for the info Cheshire Figment and SueM!!! Its good to know I can enjoy this ride in my ECV!!!

 

[SueM in MN]

CF-- Another quick question:

I saw a post on another site that implied that there was a separate Fastpass on this ride for wheelchair guests. Did you happen to notice anything like this?

Len.

When I read that in another place, I understood it to mean the separate boarding area that Cheshire Figment described, not a separate Fastpass area.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

CF-- Another quick question:

I saw a post on another site that implied that there was a separate Fastpass on this ride for wheelchair guests. Did you happen to notice anything like this?

Len.

Because it was a Cast Member preview the Fastpass line was not open.

However, I will look into that.