My handicapped travel guide to Disney's Epcot Park in Orlando, Florida
Epcot is where you can eat, drink, and be merry. As I've said in my other blog posts, our trip to Disney was cold and wet. This meant it was a pretty dreary day in Epcot, but we made the most of it. Another thing that dampened our mood was that many rides were closed.
In this post, I share my successes and struggles as a wheelchair user and list the accessibility of all the rides and attractions in Epcot.
Click the links to read my Handicapped Travel Guides to Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, or Animal Kingdom Parks.
Preparing for my trip:
Thank goodness for the waterproof wheelchair poncho I purchased from Amazon before this trip (click the link to go to my Amazon Storefront) because the rain would not let up!
We knew that many rides were closed, so we prepared for our day in Epcot by sleeping in and then going on an empty stomach. Our day in this park was all about food and fun!
My struggles at Disney's Animal Kingdom Park:
I've already highlighted the following struggles in my other posts. Hop over and read them in detail.
Public bathrooms.
Dehydration.
Exhaustion
The public.
Inclement weather, and
Lack of accessibility. I will go into this more at the end of my blog.
These struggles are new to Epcot Park:
Entertainment. There aren't many rides and attractions in Epcot. Several were closed, and quite a few of the others are thrill rides or VR, which make me extremely dizzy and nauseous now that my multiple sclerosis has progressed. People rave about Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, so we went there first, and that immediately did me in. I was unable to ride Guardians of the Galaxy as well (which I was SO bummed about), but my husband says it's the best ride ever!
The lack of help from Disney cast members was an issue. This was the only park where the cast members did not move my wheelchair after I got on the ride so that it would be ready for me when I got off. Because of this, I would have to stand, holding onto the gate, while my husband ran to retrieve it (which is difficult because of my lack of mobility). We also had cast members refuse to stop the moving walkways so I could get on and off a ride.
Lack of accessibility at quick service restaurants. For example, La Cantina de San Angel's queues are not wheelchair accessible. I wouldn't have been able to get food from here if I were alone.
My successes at Disney's Epcot Park:
Just like the other parks, bus transportation was very easy and convenient.
I got in a day of great exercise, pushing my manual wheelchair around the world.
I was able to try some delicious new foods.
The accessibility of rides, attractions, and shows at Disney's Epcot Park -
Wheelchair & ECV accessible attractions and shows:
Character experiences (meeting Alice, Belle, Mulan, Snow White, and more...)
Entertainment at the pavilions
Journey into Imagination with Figment
Luminous The Symphony of Us
Turtle Talk with Crush
Wheelchair accessible: (these rides allow you to stay in a wheelchair. You must transfer from a scooter/ECV to a wheelchair. Disney has these chairs on standby for your use.)
Living with the Land
Remy's Ratatouille Adventure
Must transfer from scooter/ECV and wheelchair to ride:
Spaceship Earth (must transfer from scooter/ECV to wheelchair, then transfer to ride.)
Soarin' Around the World
Frozen Ever After
Mission SPACE
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Must be ambulatory:
None - though you could argue that all the rides that require you to transfer from scooter/ECV and wheelchair to ride are Must Be Ambulatory Rides if you are unable to transfer.
Other things to know:
Disney has a Disability Access Service (DAS) for guests who, due to a developmental disability like autism or similar, are unable to wait in a conventional queue for an extended period of time. It doesn't allow immediate access to experiences, but allows guests to request a return time for a specific experience that is comparable to the current standby wait. Contact Disney to apply.
No, I have not applied for Disney's DAS services. While I am disabled and have an intolerance to extreme heat and extreme cold and experience sensory overload, I don't feel that I need Disney's Disability Access Services at this time.
Communicate your needs to attraction attendants. For example, since I could only walk a few steps to get onto the rides, they made sure I could pull my wheelchair close enough to the ride to transfer in and out safely. Most stopped the people movers so I didn't trip or stumble when getting on certain rides.
Epcot has the second-most accessible rides. To recap: there are eight (8) rides in Magic Kingdom that allow you to stay in your wheelchair, two (2) in Epcot, one (1) in Animal Kingdom, and zero (0) in Hollywood Studios. Epcot is mostly mostly food, drink, and street shows. My biggest problem is that there is only so much you can eat and drink in a day. We went hungry, split everything we tried (which wasn't a lot), and still got too full too fast. Like I said with Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, it would be nice if they had more family-friendly rides that weren't VR. All in all, we had a great time. I highly recommend going to Karamell-Küche. Their caramel popcorn and dark chocolate caramel were simply divine!
I hope this Handicapped Travel Guide helps you plan your Disney vacation. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I'm always happy to help. Speaking of which, don't forget to follow me on social media. Links to all of my outlets are located on my home page. My next blog post will take you to Washington, DC!
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