A wonderful deed, in a bad situation...

[rewardsinlife]

Hello,
This is my first post so please excuse me if this didn't get put in the exact right spot...I hope that it is though!

I just wanted to share an experience I had recently at DL being a disabled person. Long story short, I have a mobility/neurological disorder that makes it hard for me to endure long distances, walk stairs/walk at all. I have a complete foot drop that also has changed my gait to the point I walk about the 1/4 the speed of a 'normal' person. So, I decided, along with my family to rent a wheelchair at Disneyland to help me get through the day.

As it was the first time doing this...I can say that we did a lot of circles and alternate routes to find the ADA entrances to the lines...not till about half way through the day did a cast member find a map for us that had all the 'hidden' entrances on them so we could find them a little quicker

The day went pretty much without a hitch until that night when we hit the monorail to get to dinner outside of the park. Of course, you can't take the wheelchair outside of the park, so we left it on the platform at the one station and they said we could pick it back up when we came back from DD after the fireworks show. No problem. Had dinner, went back to the monorail...sat in line..and then we see the red phone ring..well those who have seen that phone ring know it is not a good thing. Monorail was broken down for the night and everyone would have to walk back to DL.

I was already exhausted and wondered about my wheelchair sitting so nicely and alone on the other platform. We then notified a cast member about the situation and instead of being told 'tough luck' or 'its not that far' , we were accomodated beyond belief. The manager of the station disappeared and came back with a wheelchair. Then they had a cast member escort us all the way back to DL, get us another wheelchair at the rental for free, and gave us back our entire deposit on the other wheelchair for the trouble. I couldn't believe how much they went through just to make sure that I made it back and was taken care of so we could actually go back into the park and go on a few more rides before the night was over! Thank you Disneyland!

 

[lanejudy]

Welcome! I'm sorry you had a challenging time but very glad Disney made it better for you! You mention DisneyLand but also the monorail, I think you were at Disney World (in FL). DL is in CA.

For future reference, it is recommended to rent from an outside company just so you will have use of the wheelchair outside of the parks, also it's less expensive than daily rentals in the park, and very importantly there is no guarantee a chair will be available if you leave and return. An ECV might be another option for you and alleviate the need for another member of your party to push you, which can be exhausting for them as well.

The map showing the alternate entrances and such is available at Guest Relations in each park.

I've very glad Disney was able to turn a bad situation around for you!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

OP, I'm so glad you had Disney was able to help you out. Outstanding customer service is one of the reasons I love vacationing at Disney. Although I have yet to make it out to DL, only WDW, my DD and I want to make the trip some day.

You mention DisneyLand but also the monorail, I think you were at Disney World (in FL). DL is in CA.

Disneyland also has a monorail. And given the OP's reference to Downtown Disney, I'm fairly certain the OP was indeed at DL. The monorail at DL goes to Downtown Disney whereas the monorail at WDW goes to the 3 monorail resorts, the MK, the TTC, and the separate line to Epcot, but not DTD.

 

[lanejudy]

Disneyland also has a monorail. And given the OP's reference to Downtown Disney, I'm fairly certain the OP was indeed at DL. The monorail at DL goes to Downtown Disney whereas the monorail at WDW goes to the 3 monorail resorts, the MK, the TTC, and the separate line to Epcot, but not DTD.

Thank you for setting me straight. I haven't gotten out to the west coast but would love to some day!

 

[rewardsinlife]

Thank you for the warm welcome!

Since then I have bought a relatively cheap wheelchair for long trips and traveling. Makes things much easier and now I don't have to switch out of it when going outside the park!

Oh, and yes, thank you for the clear up. There is a monorail at DL that goes to Downtown Disney

 

[Buckimion]

As it was the first time doing this...I can say that we did a lot of circles and alternate routes to find the ADA entrances to the lines...not till about half way through the day did a cast member find a map for us that had all the 'hidden' entrances on them so we could find them a little quicker

Chuckle...although WDW is closer, DL will always be my "home". When I became a regular scooter user I became so ingrained at "mainstreamed" lines at WDW, DL threw me for a loop as I often managed to get almost all of the way through the lines before a cast member would say something. This includes getting all the way to the station on Gaget's Go-Coaster only to find I had to get back down! (Luckily the ride had just closed for the night and I wasn't having to fight traffic.)