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Old 30 Jun 19, 09:57 AM  
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#21
scojos
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Originally Posted by sasperella View Post
Hi,
Can you just clarify what you mean by contacting airport prior to arrival for assistance?
We’ve booked Special Assistance with Virgin and looked at MCO website which just says contact your airline for SA? TIA.
I dm ed them and they said just to look for greetersin black and gold..
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Old 30 Jun 19, 02:52 PM  
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#22
sasperella
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Originally Posted by scojos View Post
I dm ed them and they said just to look for greetersin black and gold..
Is that people with the lanyards though? I have asked for wheelchair assistance only.
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Old 30 Jul 19, 10:17 AM  
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#23
sugg42
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Has anyone more recent used the special assistance upon landing and if so how was it.
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Old 30 Jul 19, 10:32 AM  
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#24
ayeready
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Originally Posted by sugg42 View Post
Has anyone more recent used the special assistance upon landing and if so how was it.
Used it last month and its same as it always has been.

You'll be met as you come off the plane by a TSA worker and walked through security.
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Old 30 Jul 19, 10:47 AM  
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#25
Jennywren
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When we travelled VS PE in May it was a complete muddle.

We both use Mobility Scooters, so had to wait till last to get off the plane for these to be brought up to the plane door I don't have a problem with that. This meant we could then get around again under our own steam rather than be pushed in airport wheelchairs, we are both competent and confident scooter drivers having had to use them for years.

We had asked for assistance with our hand luggage and collecting our bags so expected to be accompanied as we had in previous trips but we weren't given any help and kept getting told someone would help us further in the system, we joined the queue along with everyone else.

It was almost impossible to negotiate the slalom queue with steering the scooters and negotiating our wheel on hand luggage bags at the same time especially when a pole narrowed the route even further. I lost count of the amount of "tutting" others in the queue made as we struggled. especially to get round the tight corners.

When we finally reached the front and had to keep behind the line before being called forward to the desk it was again almost impossible to do so and we kept getting told off by the staff but there was simply insufficient space for both of our scooters and bags to line up.

Then it was a struggle to find someone to help us retrieve our bags from the first carousel. Several refusals to help us, we were told that the don't provide help with bags, despite the fact we had booked this assistance before a very kind girl from the Virgin ground staff helped us after all her male colleagues also refused,. Or 23kg wheeled holdall bags were bigger than she was but she was the only one who helped in any way. DH is not allowed to lift bags following his heart attack. By now I was struggling to even stay conscious.
Altogether it was a horrible experience and one we are not looking forward to repeating when we return in September.
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Old 30 Jul 19, 04:30 PM  
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#26
sasperella
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Originally Posted by Jennywren View Post
When we travelled VS PE in May it was a complete muddle.

We both use Mobility Scooters, so had to wait till last to get off the plane for these to be brought up to the plane door I don't have a problem with that. This meant we could then get around again under our own steam rather than be pushed in airport wheelchairs, we are both competent and confident scooter drivers having had to use them for years.

We had asked for assistance with our hand luggage and collecting our bags so expected to be accompanied as we had in previous trips but we weren't given any help and kept getting told someone would help us further in the system, we joined the queue along with everyone else.

It was almost impossible to negotiate the slalom queue with steering the scooters and negotiating our wheel on hand luggage bags at the same time especially when a pole narrowed the route even further. I lost count of the amount of "tutting" others in the queue made as we struggled. especially to get round the tight corners.

When we finally reached the front and had to keep behind the line before being called forward to the desk it was again almost impossible to do so and we kept getting told off by the staff but there was simply insufficient space for both of our scooters and bags to line up.

Then it was a struggle to find someone to help us retrieve our bags from the first carousel. Several refusals to help us, we were told that the don't provide help with bags, despite the fact we had booked this assistance before a very kind girl from the Virgin ground staff helped us after all her male colleagues also refused,. Or 23kg wheeled holdall bags were bigger than she was but she was the only one who helped in any way. DH is not allowed to lift bags following his heart attack. By now I was struggling to even stay conscious.
Altogether it was a horrible experience and one we are not looking forward to repeating when we return in September.
Oh dear! What a shame. It seems very hit and miss with the assistance you get or whether you go in “normal” line or wheelchair lane.
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Old 4 Aug 19, 05:04 PM  
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#27
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We travelled end of May... having previously travelled in 2017 albeit the assistance then was pretty awful on arrival we were escorted to a seperate line...

This time there was no seperate line, there was also one skycap to help several people... we were told if we wanted to wait for my sons wheelchair to stand on the bridge but risk being at the back of a very long immigration queue... so we put him in one of Mco's... had to wait in line and collected the chair from oversized luggage once through.

From that point onwards we collected our own luggage, navigated the elevator and over the monorail ourselves and down to meet our driver from car on the drive.

Coming home we used the wheelchair line and was through within minutes... then the BA desk took my son's chair away at the gate to store on board.. promised a replacement which never showed.
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Old 4 Aug 19, 05:10 PM  
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Cloverlady
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Last month we went in and out of MCO and noticed lots of people in wheelchairs in the one big lines nboth going out and coming in. Saw people asking about special assistance line and were directed to the one huge long line.
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Old 10 Aug 19, 07:22 PM  
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#29
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Please don't flame me here - I am merely repeating some comments my girlfriend (a Virgin Flight Service Manager) has made about some - note the use of the word "some" special needs requests, particularly on the MCO route.

She says the requests fall into two general categories. First is the passengers who need it 100% and quite clearly have very complex special / medical needs / mobility issues / have contacted Virgin special assistance in advance to log their details. (Anything requested in advance appears on the crew tablet devices so all the crew are aware of special needs passengers onboard).

The second is the passengers who have heard that requesting special assistance gets you through immigration faster in the USA - and often only request it on the day, at the airport.

Apparently more than a few of the passengers in the second group fall into the "Lourdes Jet-bridge" category - they insist on priority boarding at Manchester as they have special needs. Then upon arrival in Orlando they are all but running off the aircraft and not waiting for their pre-booked special assistance so they can get a better immigration queue. In 9hrs or so their requirement for special assistance has suddenly vanished as they are seemingly healed.

Please note, this is not my personal observation, but that of my girlfriend. She flies MAN-MCO at least twice a month, often three times a month. It's fair to say her observations are probably more informed than many people on here.

And just to clarify - even the Virgin crew are not 100% happy with the refitted 747's used on the MCO route. Pre re-fit, the downstairs Premium Economy was 3 or 4 rows, with a bulkhead then two rows of Economy. This created a very small and private mini-cabin in Economy which was great for Virgin special assistance to allocate seats to passengers with serious medical conditions / anxiety etc. They were in a relatively quiet and private area where medication could be administered with privacy - not like now on the planes after their re-fit (about 6yrs ago).

I am guessing this is merely yet another instance of some people trying it on to the detriment of those who really need the help. Very sadly it happens everywhere (look at supermarket disabled / parent & child car parks over here in the UK). Whilst I'm not 100% au-fait with US discrimination laws, I'd put good money on there being one that says you have to treat everyone the same wherever possible, irrespective of any disability, hence why everybody queues the same.

Having said the above, I do agree that it is not fair for passengers requiring special assistance to have to wait until last to disembark, then join the back of a very long queue for US immigration.

Quite simply put it's a no-win nightmare. The airports / airlines / special assistance operators will never please everyone.
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Old 20 Aug 19, 08:33 AM  
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#30
DisneyPunk
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November 2018 MCO

Disastarous experience
We have been doing a yearly WDW visit for some years. Previously we have been met at the plane door by special assistance
We are Dad, Mum, 3 year old twins, austistic 5 year old, Grandmother with wheel chair

We always inform Virgin and the special needs at Gatwick, our taxi driver helps us at Twilight checkin, and this goes smoothly, we stay overnight at Premier Inn North Terminal
Short walk in the morning to Terminal, special assistance security, Virgin Lounge, smooth as it can be
November 2018
Arrival at MCO, no one available at aircraft door to help. Wheel chair brought up, no push chair - used as place of safety for our Autistic son which has been labelled as a wheelchair.

Walk down to first Carosel, Wife pushing wheelchair, husband pushing buggy, 3 suitcases from Carosel! We are stuck. Asked for help, sorry more special assistance then we knew about, no help available.
Husband took cases to conveyour belt which takes cases to 2nd carosel. Heads back to retrieve Grandmother (recovering from Cancer), children in buggy, wife, autistic son. Sorry sir you cant go back its a secruity line!

We aim to be as independaent as possible, and could have been succesful if someone helped us from 1st carosel to conveyor belt.

We did finally get to second carosel where a chap was very happy to take us to the parking garage.
Arrived at WDW, prearranged interconnecting rooms to allow us to give help to Grandmother wern't available, rooms were apart from each other!
Wasnt a great year. Lets hope this year is better!
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