I’m going to Disneyland soon with 8 other family members. One of my family members is in a wheelchair. I was wondering how the wheelchair pass worked and how the wheel chair lines worked. I was also wondering how many people, if any, were permitted to go into the wheelchair line with them. I know at some other amusement parks the entire party was allowed to use the wheelchair line but I haven’t been to Disneyland with a wheelchair before and wanted to figure it out before I went. Thank you!
It used to be that the wheelchair and up to 10 guests were permitted to enter the attraction through an alternate entry point. That sometimes meant they got on faster, and other times no. According to wheelchair postings I’ve read, the Pirates wheelchair access was always much slower than the regular line, and The Haunted Mansion wheelchair access is just goofy requiring the person remain on the vehicle past the exit and come back around to the loading ramp, then ride the stretching room back up (as it unstretches).
Now, from what I understand, the wheelchair and perhaps an attendant are permitted to use the alternate entrance and wait by the load area while the rest of their party waits in line. When the two groups meet up at the load area, everyone boards together. Some attractions, namely Nemo Submarines and the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough, offer alternate experiences for wheelchair bound folks who would be unable to navigate the many stairs involved.
California Adventure was built to be wheelchair accessible, so there are no separate entrances for wheelchairs.
I don’t know how helpful I can be since I’ve only been to Disney World, but I know there, the handicap either have a special entrance or go in through the fastpass line. My niece has autism and can’t handle waiting and large crowds, so my sister gets a special pass to be able to skip some lines and wait their turn in special areas on others. I’ve also seen small groups with wheelchairs and large groups with wheelchairs. Some rides, the enitre group got to go together(it’s a small world), on others, only the small groups got to go to the special entrance(big thunder mountain). Some rides only have one or two handicap accessible vehicles, so you may be waiting awhile. I think on the rides where you would have to wait for the accessible vehicle, the whole group may get to go together. What’s coming to my mind right now is the Jungle Cruise. I was in line for 30 mins and a lady who was in a wheelchair was waiting almost the same amount of time I was. She had to wait for another person in a wheelchair to get off the only whelchair accessible boat.
Here is the information they hand out at Disneyland. It shows what happens at every attraction at Disneyland and California Adventure.
http://adisneyland.disney.go.com/media/dlr_v0200/en_US/help/Mobility_201009.pdf
Some rides utilize axillary entrances. They are not intended to bypass waiting in line. There may be a waiting period before boarding and wait times will vary depending on the attraction.
From what I understand, you do not need a GAC (available at City hall) if you have a wheelchair. The wheelchair plus 5 other people can use the alternate entrance. All extra members must use the regular queue. Regardless of whether or not you have a GAC ( guest assistance card), you will still be waiting for the rides. Rides like Space Mountain and Pirates have longer wheelchair lines because they can only board disabled guests every so often (for safety reasons due to the possibility of a ride evac and the need for extra CMs or special equipment to evacuate guests) (and to be fair to those waiting in line). Plus the slow loading guests on Space cause to break down often, so all disabled guests are loaded into the ADA rocket ( 12 guests per cycle).
The wheelchair lines can also be used for guests w/o a wheelchair but with a GAC who for some reason can not be in the regular queue. So on certain rides, if the person can, you should try the regular line. Rides like finding Nemo have stairs and are difficult if not impossible for some to navigate.