One of my first posts on Rolling with the Magic was about The Haunted Mansion and my excitement about the enhancements to the queue they made a few years ago. I was so excited to be able to visit the stretch room again. Here are a few tips and some information to make your visit spooktacular. 🙂
There are now two entrances to The Haunted Mansion, one for the stand by queue and the other is the Fastpass+ entrance. If you schedule your Fastpass you bypass the interactive queue while the stand by line makes their way through the cemetery.
The stand by queue is filled with interactive experiences so I definitely think it’s worth your time to visit. If the wait isn’t very long I recommend going through the stand by line at least once. My favorites in the queue are the final resting places of Captain Culpepper Clyne and poetess Prudence Pock.
Before the queue was re-imagined, wheelchair users were taken through the exit to board. To some I guess it felt like you were skipping some of the line, to me it meant missing one of the best parts of the attraction, the stretch room.
When you enter the stretch room, a Cast Member will ask you to stay to the right. After you meet your host, your ghost host, stay behind as everyone else enters the attraction. Once everyone clears out a Cast Member will lead you to a hallway where you are taken over to the exit of the attraction.
If you are unable to walk, they will stop the attraction to let you board. Just tell them you need the accessible ride vehicle. There are two doom buggies that are easier to transfer into since the side is flush with the seat, no arm rest to try to get over.
Once you have made your way through the mansion, they will stop the attraction again so you can transfer back into your wheelchair. My husband helps me get in and out of the ride vehicle and we have never had any problems. The Cast Members at the mansion have always been really helpful and we have never felt rushed.
Love your blog and reference it often when working with service dogs (training) in the park. It’s especially helpful to have an idea of what rides have vehicles that may be more
Accommodating for extremely large
dogs that otherwise don’t fit easily (or not at all) in the floor space of standard ride cars. Early on, it was such a relief to have an idea of what to expect as I could focus more on the pup and it’s environmental stimuli and less on trying to figure out the procedure at each ride. Thanks for sharing your experiences. As I can see from other commenters as well, the details are so very helpful across a wide spectrum of readers 🙂
Thanks so much!
Had been on the Haunted Mansion ride before at Disneyland when I was a child it is one of the best rides at the park.
I think it’s one of the best too!
I just wanted to tell you I love your blog! I am In a wheelchair and on oxygen as well so it’s always great to be able to know what I can ride!! Instead of being disappointed when I get there lol. And I always wanted to ride the Haunted Mansion so now thanks to you I can!!
Thank you so much! I am working on some new posts but if you ever have any questions about anything specific let me know. 🙂
The Haunted Mansion is and always has been my favorite attraction. Being a former Attractions Cast Member, I was proud to learn how accessible WDW tries to be for guests with physical limitations. (Notice I said “tries” because I know we still have a lot to work on!) I’ve been sharing your posts with fellow CM’s so that they all know how much of an impact we can make on guests of all abilities.
I, personally, am hoping that WDW will work on becoming more accessible to Deaf and Hard of Hearing guests as that is something very close to my heart.
I also want you to know that I’ve nominated your blog for the Liebster Award. Should you like to accept it, here’s the blog post. 🙂 https://kaciethings.wordpress.com/2015/03/30/liebster-award-nomination/
Keep on enjoying the Disney Magic and thank you for helping to spread it for others as well! 🙂
Thank you!! Cast Members have always been so good to me and I appreciate everything you guys do for me and others. And thank you for the nomination! I’ll work on getting those questions answered. 🙂