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. If you didn’t know, wheelchair users weren’t able to see the stretch room until the changes were made. It’s one of the best parts of the experience! Here are a few tips and some information to make your visit spooktacular.
The Basics
Location: Liberty Square in Magic Kingdom Park
Height Requirement: Guests can be any height
Accessibility: Guests most transfer from wheelchair or ECV
FastPass: Available
Who Should Ride: Kids and kids at heart who like attractions that are a little spooky.
Entrance and Queue
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 first part of the queue is really bumpy. My feet are always bouncing off my foot rest so take your time. Once you get to the interactive part of the queue and the FastPass entrance it is a lot smoother.
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.
Stretch Room
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. But if there is a reason that you do need to skip the stretch room just talk to a Cast Member.
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.
Ride Vehicle
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 typically helps me get in and out. But you can pull your wheelchair pretty close to the doom buggy if you want to do it on your own. The Cast Members at the mansion have always been really helpful and we have never felt rushed.
Overall
As far as attractions that you have to transfer, the Haunted Mansion is one of the easiest. If you have any questions or advice for other wheelchair users just leave a comment below. And if you would like to know what the experience is like at Disneyland, check out this post.
12 Comments
Margaret Hubarewich
March 18, 2019 at 7:56 amHi, I’m going to DL next month and will be using a scooter. I can walk a short distance to enter the ride but I will not be able to get into the carts on the moving tram (ie the haunted mansion) fast enough. My daughter is very worried about this and I’m not sure how we will manage getting on and off of the rides where there is a moving platform. Do they slow the carts down, or stop them to let you get on, or is there something else that I can do?
Ally
February 12, 2019 at 11:01 amI was in Disney last May, I was in the parks with my daughter, I’m a chair user, my daughter is adult with cognitive disability, it had changed since our last visit, I had to transfer outside the ride into a manual wheelchair, which my daughter then had to try and navigate through fast pass and through the line to the ride entrance, she just couldn’t do it, it’s actually a little steep in places and she doesn’t have the physical strength. They absolutely would not let me take a scooter through, as we have always done before. We gave up and left the ride, it was awful, we had the same problem on the pirates of the Caribbean ride too, she can’t push, I can’t walk, I hope they change it back.
Laura
August 15, 2018 at 3:43 pmNo kidding, I’m sitting here crying. Your website and information have been so helpful to me, I cannot even tell you. I’m taking my mother in a few weeks as a birthday surprise. She’s not 100% wheelchair bound, but her mobility is severely limited. I’ve been worried sick over her not getting to ride much. But now, I see the possibilities have been blown wide open! Thank you SO MUCH for the information! I am a very grateful daughter.
Melissa
September 4, 2018 at 10:55 amI am so glad the blog was helpful and I hope you have a wonderful trip!
Anne
January 18, 2016 at 5:51 pmLove 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 🙂
Melissa
March 3, 2016 at 11:33 amThanks so much!
Adam
April 1, 2015 at 5:39 pmHad been on the Haunted Mansion ride before at Disneyland when I was a child it is one of the best rides at the park.
Melissa
April 3, 2015 at 2:49 pmI think it’s one of the best too!
Crysta
March 30, 2015 at 1:24 pmI 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!!
Melissa
April 3, 2015 at 2:50 pmThank you so much! I am working on some new posts but if you ever have any questions about anything specific let me know. 🙂
kaciethings
March 30, 2015 at 11:01 amThe 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! 🙂
Melissa
April 3, 2015 at 2:54 pmThank 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. 🙂