My handicapped travel guide to Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida
On the second day of our Disney trip, we visited Hollywood Studios Park. This was my first time visiting Disney as a wheelchair user, which prompted me to start a Handicapped Travel Guide. In this post, I share my successes and struggles and list the accessibility of all the rides and attractions in Hollywood Studios.
If you haven't read my Handicapped Travel Guide to Magic Kingdom, click here.
Preparing for my trip:
I booked a trip to Florida because I needed sunshine and warm weather. Thanks to my multiple sclerosis, I have an intolerance to cold, and New York winters are difficult for me now that my disease has progressed. Unfortunately, Murphy's Law kicked in, and we had cold, rainy weather every day of our trip! Thankfully, I purchased a Bramble waterproof wheelchair poncho (click the link to go to my Amazon Storefront). It kept me and my wheelchair dry.
Now, here's a funny thing about me and Hollywood Studios Park. No matter what time of year or what the temperature is, I have never visited Hollywood Studios and had it NOT rain. Seriously, every time I go to this park, it rains - and I'm talking torrential. Our visit this year was no different!
My struggles at Disney's Hollywood Studios Park:
I had the same struggles that I had in Magic Kingdom. I've underlined a few new ones.
Public bathrooms are always a struggle because there's typically only one handicapped-accessible toilet in each restroom. Prepare to wait a long time! Most restroom facilities have a companion bathroom. The lines for these weren't as long, but the heavy doors made them hard to access. My husband had to open them for me 9 out of 10 times, and some were so heavy that he struggled. The bathrooms at Roundup Rodeo BBQ were a nightmare to access. There aren't enough toilets to accommodate the amount of patrons in the restaurant, and spaces were small. Note: If you want to transfer out of your wheelchair to a regular chair in this restaurant, they will put your wheelchair outside. It was pouring rain the night we went, so if you don't want a soggy, wet wheelchair when you're done with your meal, you might want to stay in it. I also had issues going to the bathroom because my wheelchair wasn't within reach. If I ever dine here again, I will stay in my chair.
Bathroom issues equal dehydration. Because of long lines (for rides, attractions, and toilets) I tend to drink less when I'm in the parks. This leads to dehydration. Dehydration leads to headaches. To keep myself healthy, I always pack electrolytes to add to my water and I make sure I hydrate every evening when I return to my hotel room.
Wheeling my way around Hollywood Studios in a manual wheelchair was exhausting. There are way more hills than I thought there were. And some of them are very, very steep. Body weight + gravity + wheels = a major struggle. Ramps in and out of rides and attractions were just as steep, if not more. My husband had to push me through most of the park because of this, and he even struggled. The next time I go, I'll most likely bring Blaze, my Whill Model F electric wheelchair. Rain be damned!
The public!!! The public is always a struggle when it comes to handicapped travel. Why? Because people don't think. Wheeling through the park was like playing a game of Frogger. People suddenly stop short in the middle of the walkway. They jump out in front of me as I'm wheeling by. They also walk straight into me. Having to constantly weave and dodge around the public was the most exhausting part of the trip. The thing people don't think about is that my wheelchair is a moving vehicle. And my hands are the only brakes. If they were driving a car, they wouldn't slam on their brakes and stop short in the middle of the highway. They wouldn't cut out in front of my car. They wouldn't drive into another car head-on. But when it comes to walking, all those safety precautions go out the window! It makes wheeling while they're walking very difficult. So prepare for chaos!
Inclement weather. It was cold and rainy, dampening our mood. I started to get a cluster headache (from being bone cold and dehydrated), and we missed a lot of experiences/rides because of the weather.
The rides at Disney's Hollywood Studio Park are less accessible than Magic Kingdom. I will go into this more at the end of my blog.
My successes at Disney's Hollywood Studio Park:
Just like Magic Kingdom Park, bus transportation was very easy and convenient. The drivers were so nice and helpful. My safety was always a priority. The other passengers were also very kind and considerate. I never felt like a burden or nuisance.
I learned more about using my manual wheelchair in inclement weather.
I was able to experience a few new rides and attractions, which brings us to the fun part ...
The accessibility of rides, attractions, and shows at Disney's Hollywood Studio Park -
Wheelchair & ECV accessible attractions and shows:
Character experiences (meeting Chewbacca, Olaf, and more)
Muppet*Vision 3D
Vacation Fun - An Original Animated Short with Mickey & Minnie
Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage
Disney Jr. Play and Dance
Disney Movie Magic
Wonderful World of Animation
Meet Edna Mode at the Edna Mode Experience
Green Army Drum Corps
First Order Searches for the Resistance
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
Fantasmic!
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.)
None - no rides allow you to stay in a wheelchair in Hollywood Studios Park.
Must transfer from scooter/ECV and wheelchair to ride:
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (must transfer from scooter/ECV to wheelchair, then transfer to ride)
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (must transfer from scooter/ECV to wheelchair, then transfer to ride)
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway (they have a designated transfer and loading area and a transfer access vehicle - if needed)
Toy Story Mania! (they have a designated transfer and loading area and a transfer access vehicle - if needed)
Slinky Dog Dash (must transfer from scooter/ECV to wheelchair, then transfer to ride)
Alien Swirling Saucers
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run (they have a designated transfer and loading area and transfer access vehicle - if needed)
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Star Tours - The Adventures Continue
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: I can only walk a few steps to get onto the rides, so they made sure I could pull my wheelchair close enough to the ride to transfer in and out safely. They also stopped the people movers so I didn't trip or stumble when getting on certain rides.
As you can see, Hollywood Studios is definitely less accessible than Magic Kingdom Park. There are eight (8) rides in Magic Kingdom that allow you to stay in your wheelchair and zero (0) in this park. To me, Hollywood Studios is a combination of shows and thrill rides - and I struggle with thrill rides. Mobility and cognitive dysfunctions make it difficult to ride rollercoasters (they now make me extremely dizzy and nauseous), and vision issues make it difficult for me to go on motion-simulated/virtual rides. Anything VR is pretty much a barf bag for me. If you also suffer from mobility, cognitive, and visual problems, you might have issues with the rides in this park. For instance, I've always been too scared to ride the Tower of Terror. Now that I'm close to losing all of my mobility, I thought it would be a great time to go on rides that I'd never experienced before. So, the first ride we went on was the Tower of Terror. That will be a one-and-done for me! It was super fun, not scary at all, and I WISH I did it years ago when I was healthy. But now, all the up and down and jostling about made me sick. I skipped Rock 'n' Roller Coaster this time around because four (4) years ago when my multiple sclerosis started to transition to the progressive stage, that ride made me feel ill. Overall, we made the best of our time in this park. But it would be nice if they upped their accessibility game and made a few milder rides catered to everyone (like the Back Lot Tour and The Great Movie Ride that they got rid of - or like It's a Small World and Haunted Mansion). 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 cover Animal Kingdom, so stay tuned!!!
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