Adult disabled son, lodging on vs lodging off monorail?

[PatR1213]

Thoughts, opinions, insights? Taking my adult son with mobility issues and intellectual disabilities to WDW for the first time. I have been but many, many years ago. I've been reading up on lodging, rides, etc and with all the Fast +, DAS, etc., it's pretty overwhelming but I'm sure that can all be worked out. My decision now is for lodging, mainly due to transportation. He can walk short distances and will be able to transfer to seats, vehicles, etc with some assistance. He will be using a manual wheelchair, which will be pushed by me or our fellow traveler. Is there a significant advantage of using the monorail as the main mode of transportation versus the bus system? Any off monorail resorts better than others under the circumstances? Thanks for all suggestions.

Since we will probably spin a significant time in the room, do most accessible rooms have balconies or patios? Or only specific resorts?

 

[lady_hlh]

If you plan to spend a lot of time in the Magic Kingdom you can walk over from the Contemporary which is very convenient. If you would be spending more time at Epcot and Hollywood Studios, you can walk to those parks from the resorts in that area or take a boat. If you want to spend less on the hotel, I know that Wilderness Lodge has a boat to the Magic Kingdom but I'm not sure how it is for wheelchairs and it is currently undergoing major renovations.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Hello. As a wheelchair user myself I would say it depends on which parks you like and what you like to do in the evening. If you like to eat in the parks then the monorail resorts can be useful but if you like Disney Springs I like to stay at SSR as its easy to catch the boat or cross the bridge into The Springs. We also stay at The Grand ( we are DVC members ) which on the monorail is good for Magic Kingdom and EPCOT but not so good for eating out at night as we sometimes dine in resorts and off world. We also stay at EPCOT resorts which are great balance. Short push/ride to EPCOT, boat to DHS and a short bus ride to Disney Springs and MK. I love AK but find it the remote.

My ideal stay now is we go for 10 days and we do a spilt stay. 5 days at monorail resort do park dining like BOG etc and the monorail parks then either SSR or Beach Club/Broadwalk.

 

[gap2368]

Thoughts, opinions, insights? Taking my adult son with mobility issues and intellectual disabilities to WDW for the first time. I have been but many, many years ago. I've been reading up on lodging, rides, etc and with all the Fast +, DAS, etc., it's pretty overwhelming but I'm sure that can all be worked out. My decision now is for lodging, mainly due to transportation. He can walk short distances and will be able to transfer to seats, vehicles, etc with some assistance. He will be using a manual wheelchair, which will be pushed by me or our fellow traveler. Is there a significant advantage of using the monorail as the main mode of transportation versus the bus system? Any off monorail resorts better than others under the circumstances? Thanks for all suggestions.

Since we will probably spin a significant time in the room, do most accessible rooms have balconies or patios? Or only specific resorts?

The busses are very easy to load unload with a wheel chair and they run about ever 20 minutes the monerrall only goes to MK and EPCOT so if you want to do AK or HS you will need to take a buss or boat.

the values do not have bacanies or patios but there is more too look at ( in my option) like all star sports has sport them with ever thing over size the rooms are bigger the more you spend so value rooms are smaller then moderated

as fair as FP+ I like it if you are on site then 60 days before your vacation you will decide what park you want to go to ( or decide before this really) go to MDX and book FP then when you go to the park you just go to the ride and tap your MB and go on in if you find that at the time you do not want to do the ride that is ok too. I like tis because there is no more walking all over the park trying to get FP

as fair as the DAS have you looked at the sticky at the top of this thread it explains a lot but all you need to do is go to GR and talk to them about things your son needs in line are that are not meet by his wheel chair the will either say yes or no if they say no then I would try to go with out the DAS card and see how you do if you notice that he is having problems then go back and say I have tried this and it is not working because of this .

 

[lanejudy]

If you want a balcony or patio, you'll want to avoid "moderate" or "value" WDW resorts; those mainly have exterior corridors and I don't believe any have a private balcony or patio. "Deluxe" resorts have interior corridors; I'm not sure if all rooms have a balcony/patio, though. Others may have more info on that.

As others mention, try to think if you will be spending more time at any particular theme park. There are transportation pros and cons (sometimes depending on individual point of view) to any resort. The monorail resorts have easy monorail transportation to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot; but they will use buses to Hollywood Studios and the Animal Kingdom. Some resorts also have boats for transportation. All resorts will have accessible transportation.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[AdamEfimoff]

Disney World should sell a course to other companies on how to treat people with disabilities and the elderly . It was the only company to help my mum period. I also felt they were proactive with helping people with movement issues. They work so hard to make sure everyone has a good time. Universal FTR did not do any of this. I remember they allowed my mum at Disney to get out of the ride helped her out and all that jazz. They were super friendly and helpful. They really should allow tips at the park. Every Cast Member went beyond. Ryan Clavin Sorry I missed the team. I had an excellent time though. Yes my mum is not disabled but is Pooh Sized for lack of better word. And had some sugary on her body. I just think Disney tries really hard.

Do people the ASD or Aspergers is a disability (I have this) ?

 

[PatR1213]

Thanks to everyone for their reply. Sounding more like off monorail may be a possibility. Another question regarding the buses. When a wheelchair rider is loaded is it possible for their companion to load at the same time with them, or are they required to leave the person and board normally? Leaving my son to board by himself in order for me to leave to board by another door I don't see working. Another possibility is that we could collapse the chair and he could board the bus with assistance. Assuming they have an area to store a collapsed chair on the bus. Thanks again for your assistance. I'm sure this will be a once in a lifetime visit for him and I just want to make it the best possible.

 

[gap2368]

You will get on the buss with your son along with your group in less you have a lot of people and the driver feels the need to have only 6 or how ever many people get on

 

[lanejudy]

Yes, you may board with your son and assist him if necessary. If you have a large party they ask that you split with some boarding through the regular queue, but if there are only a couple of you with your son you may both board with him. Since he is using a manual chair, you/he have the option of having the chair tied down and he may remain seated in it while you sit/stand nearby, or he can transfer to a regular seat and fold the chair which you would then hold in front of you as there is no storage.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[mamabunny]

Also - if you aren't used to pushing him in a chair at home, you may want to bring along an inexpensive pair of bike gloves to help prevent blisters on your hands; hard plastic hand grips on manual wheelchairs can wreak havoc after a long day (5+ miles or more!) of pushing.

 

[dismom57]

Similar situation, adult son in manual chair. The monorail resorts may sound great, but there are very long and steep ramps to get up and down to the MK and EP. I cannot manage alone. The ferry boat at Wilderness Lodge is a small boat, have to fold chair and step down. We always stay at Fort Wilderness, buses are great and the ferry boat to MK is large enough to roll on and off. Sometimes they alternate small and large boats in the off seasons.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

Here's my theory, lol...We have been to Disney in 2014 & 2015, both times we stayed on the monorail. My son is on the spectrum so surprises and spontaneity are a no go with him, lol...Anyways both times we stayed on the monorail it was down! We chose to stay on the monorail bc we thought it would be more convenient. It turned out to be more of a headache than anything else though. Last year I had to rent a scooter bc of a sprained ankle and the monorail was down for 3 days during our trip! We ended up using the buses more than anything and they were very reliable in my opinion, lol. We skipped this year for Disney but are planning to return in 2017...we are now considering a few off monorail resorts...it really depends on prices where we decide to stay, but since I decided that off monorail would probably be better I am really hoping to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge. It looks soooo beautiful and the good thing about AKL is it has its own bus system, so you don't share a bus with any other resort which is pretty awesome! My hubby is still convinced staying monorail would be better but it all comes down to cost and what each resort has to offer before we decide.

 

[olookasquirrel]

I wouldn't discount the bus system as a reliable mode of transportation. Wheelchair + bus + Disney made for my absolute favorite memory of Disney.

Grain of salt here: this happened about 10 years ago, so obviously things may have changed. But, I don't think so.

Anyway, we took a big trip about 10 years ago with my grandmother just before she passed. She was in a wheelchair but could do short transfers (though not stairs as on and off a bus). One night we finished the MK along with everyone else in the universe - the lines for the buses were very long and we were tired. Just then, a bus driver came up to our family and asked if we wouldn't mind going on his bus - turns out, he had a new driver who needed training on loading wheelchair bound passengers. So we went and loaded on our special bus and the new driver got the wazoo trained out of him. To be as busy as they were, but to take the time to properly train this guy and to make sure my grandmother was taken care of to the highest degree possible, was beyond above and beyond. And to this day, that is my favorite memory of Disney.

It was many years ago so YMMV, but if we got Grammy back to take her again, I would pick the resort based on the resort itself, and trust Disney on the transport, whatever form it took.

Now I miss my Grammy.

 

[dismom57]

I wouldn't discount the bus system as a reliable mode of transportation. Wheelchair + bus + Disney made for my absolute favorite memory of Disney.

I second the above, we love the buses with a wheelchair. It is my DS's favourite ride, anything with wheels and the drivers are great.

 

[PatR1213]

Thanks to everyone. Suggestions were very helpful. And thank you mamabunny for the bike gloves suggestion. I push my son in his chair for a day at Busch Gardens Wmsburg, (very hilly) without problems but that's just a day at a time. I'm sure the gloves will be invaluable for multiple consecutive days of pushing. Now to decide on which resort.