The seating situation on Disney World rides and attractions is a cause for concern for many guests. Physical constraints and family configuration are two of many reasons why you might have issues with the attraction seating.
For example:
- I’m a single parent with two small children, will I be separated from them on rides?
- I’m a plus-sized person, can I fit into the ride vehicles without embarrassment?
- My knees are bad, will I have to step up or down to get into the ride vehicles?
- I’m in a wheelchair, do I have to transfer out of it to go on the rides?
- I have a large party, how will we be split up when visiting the attractions?
- I have balance issues, will the attraction vehicle be moving while I’m trying to board?
And now with COVID-19 precautions in the mix, there are more than the usual questions about ride vehicle procedures, though bear in mind that COVID-related procedures are a moving target and could change at any time. [Note: the row/vehicle capacity comments below are for non-COVID conditions. In many cases, attraction capacity is currently reduced. There are social distancing markers in all attraction queues.]
To answer these questions and more, here’s a photo guide to all the vehicle and attraction seating at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World. Pull down on that lap bar, we’re going for a ride…
Currently Operating Attractions
Alien Swirling Saucers
- Seating capacity per vehicle: 2-3 people, depending on size
- Seating surface: Hard bench with back
- Safety restraints: Fabric lap belt. One belt for all occupants of the vehicle
- Boarding Procedures: Small step up into vehicle (less than 12″)
- Height Requirement: None
- Accessibility: Guest must transfer from wheelchair or ECV into the ride vehicle.
- COVID procedures: Minimal impact. Under normal operations the ride vehicles are more than six feet apart. Your individual vehicle will only contain members of your immediate party.
Disney Junior Dance Party
- Seating capacity per row: Guests sit on the floor.
- Seating capacity per vehicle: NA. Show-style attraction. More than 100 guests per show.
- Seating surface: Most guests sit on the carpeted floor. There are a very few benches at the rear of the theater.
- Safety restraints: None
- Boarding procedure: Walk into theater
- Height requirement: None
- Accessibility: Wheelchair and ECV users may ride directly into the theater.
- COVID procedures: Attraction capacity is reduced. Each party is assigned to a socially distant area on the floor and must stay in that area.
For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
- Seating capacity per row: Several dozen
- Seating capacity per vehicle: NA. Show-style attraction. More than 100 guests per show.
- Seating surface: Padded chair with armrests
- Safety restraints: None
- Boarding procedure: Walk into theater
- Height requirement: None
- Accessibility: Wheelchair and ECV users may ride directly into the theater
- COVID procedures: Attraction capacity is reduced. Rows and seats are blocked to keep guests socially distant.
Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy
- Seating capacity per row: About a dozen
- Seating capacity per vehicle: NA. Show-style attraction. More than 100 guests per show.
- Seating surface: Hard, backless bench
- Safety restraints: None
- Boarding procedure: Walk into theater
- Height requirement: None
- Accessibility: Wheelchair and ECV users may ride directly into the theater
- COVID procedures: Attraction capacity is reduced. Rows and seats are blocked to keep guests socially distant.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Seating capacity per row: 3-5 depending on size
- Seating capacity per vehicle: 6-10 guests per individual railcar
- Seating surface: Hard bench with back
- Safety restraints: None
- Boarding procedure: Walk into ride vehicle, very small step up and then down (less than 6″) required to enter
- Height requirement: None
- Accessibility: Wheelchair and ECV users must transfer out their devices to board the ride. Transfer access vehicle is available. See cast member for assistance.
- COVID procedures: Attraction capacity is reduced. Rows are left open between parties.
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
- Seating capacity per vehicle: 6 individual seats per vehicle
- Seating surface: Padded chair without armrest
- Safety restraints: Individual fabric lap belt
- Boarding procedure: Walk into ride vehicle
- Height requirement: 38 inches
- Accessibility: Wheelchair and ECV users must transfer out their devices to board the ride. Transfer access vehicle is available. See cast member for assistance.
- COVID procedures: One party of up to six people per flight.
- Note: The controls for the gunner and navigator positions (center and back rows of the vehicle) are to the side of the seat. If sideways movement is an issue, ask to be the pilot or choose the side that best fits your needs.
Muppet*Vision 3D
- Seating capacity per row: Several dozen
- Seating capacity per vehicle: NA. Show-style attraction. More than 100 guests per show.
- Seating surface: Padded chair with armrests
- Safety restraints: None
- Boarding procedure: Walk into theater
- Height requirement: None
- Accessibility: Wheelchair and ECV users may ride directly into the theater
- COVID procedures: Attraction capacity is reduced. Rows and seats are blocked to keep guests socially distant.
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
- Seating capacity per row: 2
- Seating capacity per vehicle: 4. 24 seats per full limo.
- Seating surface: Lightly padded bucket-style seats
- Safety restraints: Individual over-the-head harness rests on shoulder and waist. The harness accommodates even very large guests.
- Boarding procedure: Moderate step (just over 12″) up over a wall into the vehicle. Must be able to reach arms up to pull down safety restraint.
- Posted warnings: Standard motion sickness, pregnancy, and heart/back/neck warnings.
- Height requirement: 48″
- Accessibility: Wheelchair and ECV users must transfer to the standard ride vehicle on their own. There is a transfer practice vehicle available to assess guest fit and ability to board. See a cast member for assistance. Boarding must be done quickly.
- Note: This is an intense inversion roller coaster. Head and neck movement may be an issue for some.
- COVID procedures: Rows are left open between parties.
Slinky Dog Dash
- Seating capacity per row: 2
- Seating capacity per vehicle: 4 per slinky segment
- Seating surface: Hard plastic bucket seats
- Safety restraints: Individual pull-down lap bar
- Boarding Procedures: Walk into ride vehicle, very small step up and then down (less than 6″) required to enter
- Height Requirement: 38″
- Accessibility: Guests must transfer to a standard wheelchair, and then to the ride vehicle.
- COVID procedures: Attraction capacity is reduced. Rows are left open between parties
Star Tours, The Adventure Continues
- Seating capacity per row: 10
- Seating capacity per vehicle: 40
- Seating surface: Lightly padded chair with armrest
- Safety restraints: Individual fabric lap belt for each guest.
- Boarding procedure: Walk into ride vehicle
- Height requirement: 40″
- Accessibility: Wheelchair and ECV users must transfer to the ride vehicle on their own. There is one seat with a removable armrest which can facilitate transfer. Ask a cast member for more information.
- Notes: This is a motion simulation. Guests with motion sickness issues take caution. Shooting, aliens, and the Galactic Empire may frighten some children.
- COVID procedures: Reduced capacity. Rows/seats are left open between parties. Plexiglas dividers between parties.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
- Seating capacity per row: 4
- Seating capacity per vehicle: 8
- Seating surface: Hard plastic seat
- Safety restraints: Individual fabric lap belt for each guest.
- Boarding procedure: Small step up into ride vehicle (about 6″)
- Height requirement: 40″
- Accessibility: Wheelchair and ECV users must transfer out their devices to board the ride. Transfer access vehicle is available. See cast member for assistance.
- COVID procedures: Reduced capacity. Rows/seats are left open between parties and/or plexiglas dividers between parties.
Toy Story Midway Mania
- Seating capacity per row: 2-3. The ride is designed for two people per vehicle – there are two game controllers. Cast members will usually allow two adults plus a small child (if the child is a lap-sitter), or one adult plus two small children (if one child is a lap sitter), to ride in one vehicle.
- Seating capacity per vehicle: 2-3
- Seating surface: Hard bench with back
- Safety restraints: Individual pull-down lap bar for each guest
- Boarding procedure: Small step up (less than 12″) into ride vehicle
- Height requirement: None
- Accessibility: One ride vehicle will accommodate wheelchairs. ECV users must transfer to the standard ride or to a wheelchair. Wheelchair users load from a different area than the main queue. Speak with a cast member for instructions.
- COVID procedures: Some vehicles or rows are left empty to increase social distancing.
- Note: The two-game-controller set-up may prove problematic for some families, particularly single adults with multiple children. The easiest solution is to put the two kids in one car and put the solo adult in a nearby car. All members of the party will arrive at the unload point within seconds of each other. To make this work, the children must feel comfortable not having eyes on their adult at all times (and vice versa). However, you will always be within earshot, so if there were a concern, you could shout and be in communication. If you’re going to have parent/children in separate vehicles, be sure to discuss in advance what to do in the event of a temporary halt of the ride. Let the kids know that short stops happen with some regularity and that they should never leave the car unless instructed to by you or a cast member. An alternative solution is to have the adult and one child share the ride, with the other child in the next vehicle.
- Note 2: The ride vehicles have two rows situated back to back. Guest on either side of the same vehicle will never see each other during the ride. Guests seated on either side of adjacent vehicles will see each other periodically while the ride is running. This may be comforting in some family situations. Speak to a cast member about your load preference.
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
- Seating capacity per row: 7
- Seating capacity per vehicle: 21
- Seating surface: Hard chair with back.
- Safety restraints: Individual fabric lap belt for each guest
- Boarding procedure: Walk into elevator. Guests in the second two rows with have to walk up 1 or 2 steps to board.
- Height requirement: 40″
- Accessibility: Wheelchair and ECV users must transfer to the ride vehicle on their own.
- COVID procedures: Seats or rows are left empty between parties. Plexiglas dividers separate parties.
Vacation Fun film
- Seating capacity per row: Several dozen
- Seating capacity per vehicle: NA. Show-style attraction. More than 100 guests per show.
- Seating surface: Padded chair with armrests
- Safety restraints: None
- Boarding procedure: Walk into theater
- Height requirement: None
- Accessibility: Wheelchair and ECV users may ride directly into the theater.
- COVID procedures: Seats or rows are left open between parties to increase social distancing
Walt Disney Presents
- Seating capacity per row: Several dozen
- Seating capacity per vehicle: NA. Show-style attraction. More than 100 guests per show.
- Seating surface: Padded chair with armrests
- Safety restraints: None
- Boarding procedure: Walk into theater
- Height requirement: None
- Accessibility: Wheelchair and ECV users may ride directly into the theater.
- COVID procedures: Seats or rows are left open between parties to increase social distancing
Currently Paused Attractions
Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
- Seating capacity per row: Several dozen
- Seating capacity per vehicle: NA. Show-style attraction. More than 100 guests per show.
- Seating surface: Metal bench with back
- Safety restraints: None
- Boarding procedure: Walk into theater
- Height requirement: None
- Accessibility: Wheelchair and ECV users may ride directly into the theater.
- Note: This theater is outdoors. It is shaded, but it may be hot during summer months and is occasionally impacted by severe weather.
- COVID procedures: NA
Fantasmic
- Seating capacity per row: Several dozen
- Seating capacity per vehicle: NA. Show-style attraction. More than 100 guests per show.
- Seating surface: Metal bench without back
- Safety restraints: None
- Boarding procedure: Walk into theater
- Height requirement: None
- Accessibility: Wheelchair and ECV users may ride directly into the theater.
- Note: This theater is outdoors. It is shaded, but it may be hot during summer months and is occasionally impacted by severe weather.
- COVID procedures: NA
Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular
- Seating capacity per row: Several dozen
- Seating capacity per vehicle: NA. Show-style attraction. More than 100 guests per show.
- Seating surface: Metal bench with back
- Safety restraints: None
- Boarding procedure: Walk into theater
- Height requirement: None
- Accessibility: Wheelchair and ECV users may ride directly into the theater.
- Note: This theater is outdoors. It is shaded, but it may be hot during summer months and is occasionally impacted by severe weather.
- COVID procedures: NA
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
- Seating capacity per row: Several dozen
- Seating capacity per vehicle: NA. Show-style attraction. More than 100 guests per show.
- Seating surface: Padded chair with armrests
- Safety restraints: None
- Boarding procedure: Walk into theater
- Height requirement: None
- Accessibility: Wheelchair and ECV users may ride directly into the theater.
- COVID procedures: NA
- Note: Some of the special effects can only be experienced when seated in the attraction chairs. Guests wanting the full attraction experience may want to transfer to the standard seating if possible.
- Note 2: There have been rumors that this attraction is now permanently closed, but there has not been an official announcement.
Stay tuned for upcoming posts about the attraction vehicles at the other Walt Disney World theme parks.
The post Hollywood Studios Attraction Vehicles and Seating: A Disney World Guide appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.
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Filed Under: Accessibility, Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World (FL), COVID-19, ride vehicles
