I’m looking for elevators, especially ones with special “Disney” touches, in the parks and in Disney Springs. I know that many hotels will have elevators, but we’re spending most of our time in the parks, at Blizzard Beach, and at Disney Springs, so I’d love to be able to access some there. (Though if there’s a really cool one at a resort we’d consider making a special trip there to see it, and we will be at Ft. Wilderness for Mickey’s Backyard BBQ.)
My 5 yo son LOOOVES elevators. He pretends to ride elevators all day, watches videos on youtube of people riding elevators, and can identify the make and model of a bunch of elevators on sight. I know, we’re a strange family If I can find some cool elevators for him, it’ll help make his trip super-magical. Thanks for any help you can give!
This isn’t at Disney, but we try to stay at embassy suites when we’re traveling (not at WDW) and all the ones we’ve stayed at have a cool glass elevator. There’s one in Jacksonville, FL that we have stayed at on the way to WDW.
I’m really torn about this one! He hasn’t liked rides that go really fast in the past. He’s ok with a kiddie coaster but didn’t like the “big kid” dinosaur coaster at Storyland in NH, saying it went too fast (peaks around 35 mph). TOT can reach 39 mph. On the other hand, he loves elevators SOOO much, he may enjoy it despite the speed. We’re doing DHS on the first morning of our trip and TOT would be one of the first rides so I lean towards skipping it, but I’m just not sure.
At age 5, ToT might not be a good idea. My 6-year-old son absolutely loved it. But it kind of depends on where your son is developmentally. Without going into details, I learned that 5-year-olds can’t necessarily distinguish well fact from fiction at times, and so the experience of ToT, even if he LOGICALLY knows it isn’t real may have trouble separating out the fiction. I learned (too late) that year five, psychologically, is a transition year where kids who pretty much always see things quite literally start to be able to separate the concepts. But where your own son is, I can’t speak to.
Since the ride, however, is effectively about an elevator ride gone terribly wrong, my worry would be if he goes from loving elevator rides to being terrified of them!
There are a number that I can think of in EP. The land has one as does SE - although the latter may be reserved for people on EVCs/wheel chairs (my wife uses one in the parks). There’s probably one in the Seas as well, but I’ve never been on it. There’s one in the American Adventure, but that was a “need to be escorted by a CM”; presumably only for handicapped access. We used an elevator to get upstairs in France to dine at MP; I assume there’s one in Japan to get upstairs to TE and TD. In the MK, the only thing that comes to mind is the gantry elevator that goes up to the Astro Orbiter. Off hand, I can’t think of any in DHS or AK. But keep in mind, other than the AO elevator, all of the others I listed are marginally themed “utility” elevators no different than you would find in a department store or office building.
Haha love Storyland! The Dinosaur ride is very different than ToT. If you are from New England, have you been to Thomasland? Would he ride Cranky the Crane? That ride is much more similar. (Though cranky is a lot tamer than ToT.) I just really worry about little kids being scared of the theming and pre-show at ToT than the actual ride itself.
Now you could do ToT and just take the “chicken elevator” back up and out? It’s still an elevator?
I’m not sure that I can either! He’s kind of all over the place - way ahead cognitively, behind socially and behind with motor skills. He seems to readily grasp real from pretend in general, though.
Trust me, that’s not likely. I think that his passion for elevators runs too deep for it to be quenched by a single experience. Also, some of his favorite elevator videos are the “epic fail” ones where the elevator doesn’t work right.
Unfortunately, no. Thanks for the tip, though! I appreciate the insight.
That is an awesome idea! I think we’ll do that. Any elevator ride thrills him. We could even show him a video of the ride at home and then have him make a final decision while in the queue over whether to do the “epic fail” elevator (the ride) or the regular elevator (aka the “chicken elevator”).
Oh, I have a follow up (and slightly selfish) question - if we take DS to ToT and he decides to use the “chicken exit” at the last minute, would it still be possible to get a Child Swap so DH could ride then and I could escort DS out and ride later? We’d be there during am EMH, if it makes a difference. I’d really like to ride. I remember loving ToT as a teenager.
I don’t have personal experience, but I would think that they would do this for you. I remember on chat a while ago that a mom was pretty upset that they actually forced the (terrified) child to wait in the line and ride the chicken elevator in order to get the RS in the first place. You could also ask for the lanyard right at the entrance and see if they would give you that too.
We had a lot of good luck with RS last year with my DS1, but I feel like there has been a lot of changes and “tightening” of it. But you should be able to argue a fair case with the CM at the loading elevator and he/she should be the one with the RS passes.
@bswan26 Thank you a million! Even plain elevators are great in DS’s book. I’ll definitely incorporate some of these into our days at the parks. If we go to the land in Epcot and ask a CM, will they be able to direct us to the elevator, or is it in an obvious location?
We’re already planning to go to France, so we can definitely do the elevator to MP (though we won’t be taking DS to dine there). Do you know if there are hours that it isn’t open / running? I know that WS isn’t always open.
Thanks for the tip on the Astro Orbiter! I didn’t know there was an elevator there. I’ll definitely add that in to my touring plan for MK.
Like @bswan we noted only the ones in Epcot…in the Land to get down to Soarin/Living with the Land (by the bathrooms on the left as enter), and in the Japan Pavilion to get to Teppan Edo (kind of by entrance to the giant store). They were basic and not interesting.
The elevator in the Land is pretty obvious; it’s on the Soarin’ side of the building. Not sure about the one going up to MP. They only serve dinner there so there are hours that the pavilion is open (Le Chefs is downstairs) that MP isn’t. You’d have to ask.
At Bay Lake, unless you’re staying there you may or may not be able to ride it. Up to floor 15 only. You can’t get to floor 16 unless you have a DVC membership card.
For the GF, do you know if visitors can also play in the splash area between the main bldg and the Villas? Or on the beach? Or are those just for guests of the GF? (Just trying to think of something DD might enjoy if we make the trip for DS.)
If I can find some cool elevators for him, it’ll help make his trip super-magical. Thanks for any help you can give!
