Disney's California Adventure: Blue Sky Cellar

Date of Visit: March 10, 2011

The Blue Sky Cellar is one place we like to quickly check out every time we visit Disney's California Adventure.  It is just a small building, but it is totally worth visiting as it has exhibits and a short movie about upcoming new attractions at the park.  This time the main exhibit area was about the new Little Mermaid ride opening on June 3, 2011, and the movie also showed the Test Track like ride that will be in the new Cars Land opening in 2012.

I liked seeing the model of the ride track for The Little Mermaid ride.  The clam shaped vehicles are almost exactly like the Doom Buggies in The Haunted Mansion over in Disneyland.  While the track model most definitely does not show a wheelchair accessible vehicle, we are pretty sure there will be one because it is a tame ride and no reason there cannot be.  Plus, the architectural drawing of the ride shows a wheelchair queue.  Of course, if they figure out how to do this ride with a wheelchair vehicle than I for one really hope they add an accessible Doom Buggy to the ride track the next time they shut it down for the holiday changeover.  We can at least dream on that!

We are still unsure about the whole Cars Land.  So far the only ride we have seen anything about is the Test Track like thing and obviously that cannot be a wheelchair accessible ride.  That is still a ways off and not too much details, yet, though.

Besides the information on the upcoming attractions, there are also some touch screen monitors that you can play Disney trivia on and see how well you know your Disney stuff.  Mik has no problem playing these from his wheelchair, as some if not all are down more at kid height than adult height.

The inside of building is wheelchair accessible, but the exit is a manual door.  We went out with me rolling Mik backwards through it, but then there is little room to turn back around once you get out.  It would be easier to just go back out the entrance if you do not have someone to open and hold the door open for you, which was not an option for us since there was no one else inside the Blue Sky Cellar at the time.

Photos by Kjersti
Text by Kjersti with Mik's Wheelchair Accessibility Input

Destination Info:
Disney's California Adventure

1313 South Harbor Boulevard
Anaheim, CA 92802

Disney's California Adventure: Toy Story Mania

Date of Visit: March 10, 2011

Toy Story Mania is definitely our favorite ride in Disney's California Adventure.  In fact, this trip it was the only ride we went on in this park.  You go in the regular line until you get to the boarding area.  The cast member here will then direct you to go straight ahead to the wheelchair boarding area.

They have a wheelchair accessible vehicle here that is off the regular ride track, so the ride continues to operate normally until the vehicle is loaded and added to the regular ride track.  They load all physical disabilities and sometimes other GAC groups in this vehicle.  This means that the wait time after you get through the normal queue can be awhile, although since we have been going in the off season the past few times we have not noticed that much of a delay.  The first summer it was open, though, we would wait another 30 plus minutes after the regular queue.  Totally worth it for this ride, though.

The take a seat out of the vehicle for the wheelchair to fit.  The person riding next to the wheelchair has to go in first and sits to the left of the wheelchair.  The cast member (or another person in the group) then rolls in the wheelchair if the user cannot roll themselves in.  They use a seat belt around the passenger instead of a lap bar coming down.  They then lower the blaster and make sure it is at a comfortable height for the wheelchair user.

The blaster for the wheelchair spot is for the most part like everyone else's.  It has a string to pull to shoot, but it also has an alternative method of shooting.  This alternative is a button on top.  This is easier to use than the string pull method.  Mik prefers the string method for most of the game, but he uses the button to quickly rack up points at the last bonus part where you are hitting the single non-moving target as much as you can before time runs out.

Note that the ride vehicles quickly rotate between the games.  Mik's upper body control is good when he wants it to be, but he still often ends up flopping to the side on this because the movement happens so quickly and it is hard to prepare for it due to the ride often stopping for extra time at the games when the loading process gets backed up and then suddenly moving you to the next game with little warning.   At least once Mik has said he wished he had a chest strap like on his first chair just for this ride and he totally hated that strap!

Photos by Kjersti
Text by Kjersti with Mik's wheelchair accessibility input

Destination Info:
Disney's California Adventure
1313 South Harbor Boulevard
Anaheim, CA 92802

Disneyland: Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island

Date of Visit: March 10, 2011

This trip was the first time in my memory of every going to Tom Sawyer Island at Disneyland, although I probably went when I was little.  It is definitely the first time Mik has ever been to the island.  We have always avoided it because we had heard that once you get there there is no where for wheelchairs to go and do anything.  Well, we finally decided to check it out for ourselves and discovered this was an overgeneralization.

It is true that for the most part wheelchairs cannot enjoy the island, but there is still some things they can access.  I have no idea exactly how much we really missed out on because the wheelchair could not fit in most of the cave openings or there were stairs up to the bridges, but there was still plenty to do to waste an hour on the island.  There is even a companion bathroom by the fort.

To get to Tom Sawyer Island you ride on a raft.  The raft is not exactly even with the loading dock, so we had to tip the front wheels of Mik's wheelchair off the ground to safely get on board.  Not too big an issue, but his new wheelchair is really hard to do that with because it is meant to avoid all the flipping over accidents Mik has ended up in at school.  Good for his usual daily wheelchair use, not so good for adventuring.  At least we did not have the tippers on, so did not have to stop to flip those up just to get on raft.

On the island there certainly are places a wheelchair can go from the start.  Sure, you cannot go to the left, but to the right is a rather level path.  Yes, the path is dirt, but it is hard packed and very easy to roll on.  We followed the path and found an area where there was a wheel that you can turn to lift a treasure chest with a skeleton out of the water.  Mik was able to easily do this by himself and found it fun to do.  There is also a little area where you can pump water, which we tried to do, but stunk and we notices two really in shape guys did not do any better when they tried after us.  This area was overall quite accessible, although the part by the waterfall was a tight squeeze.  Also, there was a rolling bridge of barrels that the wheelchair could not go on.



After this little area of pirate activities we continued on towards the fort.  There was one cave near the hill/lift up to the fort/restrooms that was plenty wide enough to go in with a wheelchair.  There was not much of interest inside, but it was cool to see Mik's new wheelchair glow in there and actually get a picture of it glowing.




The hill up to the front of the fort is very steep.  The one around the back near the treasure area is not much better.  We just went up the steep on in front because Mik had to go to the bathroom and we knew they were up at the fort.  We felt pretty stupid when we go to the bathrooms and right next to them is a wheelchair lift that gets you up to them.  I do not know if you can just operate it or you need to find a cast member to do it, though.  Either way better than dangerously trying to go up the steep hill.




Up at the top of the hill behind the fort is a little graveyard and getting around the fort and the graveyard area is relatively level, although the path is almost too narrow for a wheelchair at parts.  Not really any reason to go up here other than the bathrooms, but the companion bathroom up there is great.




One other fun little part we found is that near one of the areas with stairs up to stuff there is a pirate ship wheel.  Mik rolled up to it to see that a wheelchair person could play with it, although it seemed to kiddie for him.  There are also little microphones to talk into and talk with people up on top, which could be fun for groups with those that want to climb up and those that cannot.

Overall we had a lot of fun on Tom Sawyer Island.  Sure, there is a lot wheelchairs cannot access or do, but there is still some fun stuff.  Plus, you at least get a raft ride as part of it.

Photos by Mik
Text by Kjersti with Mik's Wheelchair Accessibility Input

Destination Info:
Disneyland
1313 South Harbor Boulevard
Anaheim, CA 92802

Disneyland: Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

Date of Visit: March 10, 2011

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters is our all time favorite ride at Disneyland.  We have been enjoying it since they were soft testing it and officially opened it during our March 2005 trip.  It is the first ride we ever went on with Mik staying in his wheelchair, as back then Mik was still not that big and Dad would always transfer him to whatever rides we wanted to go on.  At first Mik liked to go on this as a transfer, but he soon discovered that the wheelchair vehicle is much better as he does not have to try to sit up in the ride vehicle and instead can focus on trying to get a good score.

As a newer ride, the whole Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters queue is wheelchair accessible.  Right before you get to the normal loading area there is a door with a wheelchair logo sign.  I have noticed there is an automatic button next to it, but I always just push Mik into the door and open it that way.  There is always a cast member there to tell you to go through there and often a cast member at the start of the line to make sure you know how to get to the wheelchair boarding area (really the unloading area).  Note that the door into it from the line opens right into the path of people exiting the ride, so open it slowly to avoid hitting or running into people exiting the ride.

Sometimes you have to wait awhile for the wheelchair vehicle to get around again, but even in busy times we have never had to wait longer than for it to get around.  This is because even when their are other wheelchairs it is often people who can or choose to transfer out and they are loaded pretty much as they get there (they still can slow or stop the moving sidewalk/ride for those transferring).

For the wheelchair vehicle they stop the ride and the back of the vehicle folds down to form with the space behind it that unfolds into a ramp to roll into the vehicle.  I have heard some say the turn to get in is tight and can be hard, but we have never had a problem.  The wheelchair can ride by themselves or to the left side with another person riding on the right.  The other person sits on a little seat that folds down.  It is somewhat of a tight spot, but it has never bothered me.  It certainly would not work to have someone ride with those with wider wheelchairs or bigger companions, but you can always ride in the vehicle behind the wheelchair one instead.

Since the ride has to stop to unload the wheelchair, they often ask if we want to go around a second time if no one else is waiting for the wheelchair vehicle.  We love doing this, but it is usually just Mik and I or just people in the one vehicle behind us.  I certainly doubt they would do this for those in larger groups taking up multiple regular vehicles.  Also, it is always up to the cast member and we certainly do not mind getting off and having to get back in line to do it again, as Mik's hands get tired after about one and a half times through in a row.  Plus, you sometimes miss being able to find your first photo at the end if you go around again.

Text by Kjersti with Mik's wheelchair accessibility input

Destination Info:
Disneyland
1313 South Harbor Boulevard
Anaheim, CA 92802

Disneyland: "it's a small world"

Date of Visit: March 10, 2011

For years we would skip "it's a small world," but a few years ago I took Mik to Disneyland for the first time by myself and since I cannot transfer him we decided to go on it.  Now we always go on at least once per Disneyland trip.  This time it ended up being our first ride, as Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (our typical first ride since we were there when they were soft opening and officially opened it in March 2005) was closed for mechanical difficulties when Disneyland first opened.

Mik does not like "it's a small world" much, but he likes it enough to not mind going on it once per trip.  Usually, though, we pick it for later in the day when we are bored and want to kill some time actually being in a line, as the wheelchair queue can often get longer than the regular queue or at least about the same.  However, going first thing we did not have to wait at all and not even for the wheelchair boat to get around, as we got there just as it pulled up.

We consider the "it's a small world" accessible vehicle one of the coolest, although Jungle Cruise is similar (heard that one is under repair right now, though).  A ramp rolls up to the vehicle, so the wheelchair can roll onto a turntable lift that then lowers the wheelchair down into the boat.  Mik likes that he gets a higher up view of "it's a small world" from his wheelchair rather than being down low in the boat rows.  Plus you get the whole boat to yourself.  We even got to go around twice in a row because there was no one else waiting to go on the wheelchair boat, although Mik usually declines to do that on this particular ride.

Photos by Kjersti
Text by Kjersti with Mik's wheelchair accessibility input

Destination Info:
Disneyland
1313 South Harbor Boulevard
Anaheim, CA 92802

D23 2nd Anniversary Mixer and Meeting Bob Gurr

On March 10, 2011, I took Mik as my guest to the 2nd Anniversary D23 Mixer at Disneyland.  Last year I took Dad, as it was only a special after hours Fantasyland experience and I could only have one guest.  This year I could still only have one guest, but the only in park experience was World of Color in California Adventure, which is a show, so totally accessible unlike Fantasyland mostly not wheelchair accessible rides.

The mixer was at ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney.  I did not expect to like this part of the event, but other than the crappy service from the ESPN staff it was pretty good.  Each of us got $10 game cards for free.  Mik was playing an 1990s baseball video game machine he could actually roll up to and reach the controls when a guy came up to him and asked if he wanted his coupon for the game card.  Of course, Mik said yes and he actually gave us 2 vouchers.  The really cool part though was this just was not a totally random guy, but a Disney Legend Bob Gurr.

I knew Bob Gurr was there, but did not expect to actually meet him.  So it was really cool that he came up to us.  That is not the coolest part, though.  The coolest part was as we were leaving to go to California Adventure for the World of Color show, Bob Gurr stopped us and asked us if we had gotten to use the cards.  Totally a cool experience from the mixer considering we really only did the event for the World of Color part and because I went to the 1st anniversary party it seemed fitting to try to keep going every year that I can and they do something.  Without the meeting Bob Gurr experience the whole mixer part would have been worse than expected due to the poor service.

The Color of Wonder was totally awesome and glad to finally see it.  Giving it its own post when I get around to doing the posts about each attraction we visited on this Disneyland trip, as we spent the day in the parks before the mixer.

Text by Kjersti

Cabrillo National Monument

Date of Visit: February 26, 2011

Mik did not want to go to Cabrillo National Monument, but he decided it was better than hanging out at the apartment by himself for a few hours.  Once there, though, he actually enjoyed it, except for when Dad kept lagging behind taking photos at the lookout area.  Although, he saw enough at the visitor's center and did not care to trek up to the lighthouse (he cannot actually go up this anyways due to it being historical and only stairs, but there is still an accessible exhibit and audio/video tour alternative according to their website.).

The parking lot was kind of confusing, as they seemed to have just repainted it.  There were not blue parking spots or handicap signs.  They did have handicap spots, but they were only marked with white paint that had small HC markings and nothing about fines and such, so there were several spots filled with cars with no handicap placards/plates.  There was still several spots, though, as there were not many people there anyways.  Besides it definitely seems they are just restriping and a temporary thing that might have even been fixed by now.

Mik really enjoyed the one little room in the visitor's center that had an exhibit about Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo and his crew's exploration of the California coast in the 1500s.  He liked the ship diagram that lit up the location of different parts of the ship.

At the gift shop I got my National Park passport stamped and Mik finally decided to get one of his own, especially since we plan to go to the Klondike National Park in Alaska in July.  The gift shop was good accessibility wise for the most part, but the automatic doors were closed off and you had to go through the other doors, which were a really tight squeeze if you did not open both.

The observation area outside the visitor center has a ramped and step entryway.  Mik did not like this part, though, because it was windy and cold.  Hence, mainly why he did not want to then go up to the lighthouse.

By the way Cabrillo National Monument is a pay per car type National Park, so those with Golden Access Passports get their whole vehicle in free

Photos by Kjersti
Text by Kjersti with Mik's wheelchair accessibility input



Destination Info:
Cabrillo National Monument
Accessibility Info on Their Website