Adult Deaf Twins First Tims At Disney My

[CarlyMur09]

Hi all!

So to start off, my family of 7 (all adults) are gonna be heading to Disney World in April! This is gonna be our first time down there, as well as probably our only trip to DW for a long while.

My twin and I are both deaf. I'm a 24 year old girl with a nucleus 6 cochlear implant on one ear and a hearing aid on the other, and my brother has an additional disability in the form of Down's syndrome, which is at a higher level than most, I believe.

So I was wondering if there was anything that should be done on our end to best accommodate us within reasonable means? Both of us sign, though I'm more prone to spoken language. He's very visual, but has a very basic understanding of words and their meanings. He is very excited to be going and can't wait to meet Mickey as well as ride Test Track (he's obsessed with cars). I'm able to get by without accommodations, but I wanted recommendations as to the cochlear implant and hearing aid, as in what should I avoid or do while at the parks. (I do have the waterproof case for the implant as well)

Thanks in advance.

 

[minnie mum]

Welcome to the Dis! The WDW website has some information for guests with hearing impairments. Here's a link : https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/hearing-impaired-services/

I can't offer much more help, but I'm sure others can help with tips. DH has bilateral hearing aids and doesn't do anything in particular for any ride except Kali River Rapids. He takes them out and stores them in a waterproof case for that one.

I hope you all have a wonderful trip.

 

[CarlyMur09]

Yeah, I'll probably end up doing that with the hearing aid, putting it into a ziplock Bag for Kali Rapids, and maybe splash mountain. The CI should be fine with the case that I can wear it with; I hope.

 

[Muskrat191]

I don't have any personal experience, but Disney lists sign language interpretation of some shows in certain parks on certain days. There is also reflective captioning and video captioning on some attractions:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/hearing-impaired-services/

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) When meeting characters,
. . . point to your ears and either shake your head "No", or wave your hands "No"
. . . the characters will pay special attention and accommodate
2) For attractions
. . . ask for the hearing-assist devices
. . . for certain rides, remove the hearing aids due to water (Kali, Splash Mountain)
. . . for certain rides, remove the hearing aids due to violent movements (Space Mtn, Dinosaur, Everest, Thunder Mtn, Star Tours)

 

[minnie mum]

. . . for certain rides, remove the hearing aids due to violent movements (Space Mtn, Dinosaur, Everest, Thunder Mtn, Star Tour

Have you had experience with these rides dislodging a properly fitted hearing aid? With 20 years of riding everything WDW has to offer, DH has never had one pop loose. The OP might want to consider removing the external part of her cochlear implant to avoid damage from her head banging against the headrest on some of these, though.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Have you had experience with these rides dislodging a properly fitted hearing aid?

1) Yes.
2) We have had people coming to the Desk asking if Lost and Found could spot their "dislodged" heating aid.
3) I cannot vouch for properly fitted or not.
.
NOTE: My father wore two hearing aids, and he would remove both prior to a ride at WDW.

 

[CarolAnnB]

My husband recently got a cochlear implant and wears a hearing aid on the other ear. I think Rock N Roller Coaster is another ride where he removes them.

I would definitely recommend the ASL interpreted shows if you can schedule them. Since you said your brother is visual, I think it might be good for him as you get an unobstructed view near the front and the reserved section is usually less crowded if that is helpful. If you like parades, definitely see Festival of Fantasy in the interpreted section. Plus, the interpreters are awesome and always so friendly. The link a few posts above tells you which parks has interpreting on each day. wdwent.com lists the showtimes for the current week so you can get an idea of what shows/attractions they interpret. It might not have everything but if you are interested let me know and I can get my schedule from our last trip to give you an idea. Guest services will have the schedule but it's nicer to get in advance if you want to book fastpasses.

We did try the handheld captioning device before he got his cochlear. It was kind of spotty the times we used it but better than nothing.

We will be there in April as well!

 

[CarlyMur09]

1) Yes.
2) We have had people coming to the Desk asking if Lost and Found could spot their "dislodged" heating aid.
3) I cannot vouch for properly fitted or not.
.
NOTE: My father wore two hearing aids, and he would remove both prior to a ride at WDW.

I'd already done that with the implant here at my home amusement parks where a lot of our rides are pretty rough. My hearing aid though, is pretty hard to dislodge (the ear mold is custom fitted to my ear, and most of the time it's a tad difficult to pull out.) I'll have to play it by ear and see. Might play it safe and pull it out for those rides.

Thank you for your advice.