Best hotel for wheelchair user?

[neiko486]

Hi everyone, I have been lurking for a long time but had to register to hopefully get some advice.I had planned on taking my son down to Disneyland before Christmas.My parents had been invited but declined due to my mothers work schedule.This morning I get the call that she got the time off.I now need to find the best hotel that will suit their needs.My father had polio as a child and now is almost completely dependent on his wheel chair.He will have to be depedent on it at Disneyland, there is no way he can do the walking and standing.

We will be driving down with the electric wheelchair in the van.Certain hotels are already out of the question because they are booked solid for what we need (think Park Vue, Park Place Inn).Does anyone have recomendations for a close hotel that will fit and charge the wheelchair without any issues, have a reliable elevator, and just generally make his visit easier so he has a great time.He has been very hesitant to travel lately because of his disability and I am suprised ( and thrilled ) that he is coming.Cost is not an issue and am willing to stay at a Disney hotel if that is where things will be easiest for him.

Any advice on rides he can transfer onto would be great.He can use his cane for a minute or two to walk and transfer onto the rides.Is there a special entrance we will use?

Sorry for all the questions.We are not in any way new to Disney but we are new to these circumstances.Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

 

[Nonsuch]

...Cost is not an issue and am willing to stay at a Disney hotel if that is where things will be easiest for him.

If cost is not an issue, stay at the Grand Californian
You should reserve a Handicap Accessible room.
There are a small number of ground floor rooms, but there are never any issues with the elevators.

There are also suites and villas. The villas are part of the DVC, but are sometimes available for cash reservations.

 

[skiingfast]

I saw a review of the Park Vue HCA rooms, months ago. The poster enjoyed the room the only problems were; the room was at the front so a lot of foot traffic going by, the dining location is upstairs but hotel employees brought her/him trays of food.

Keep a few things in mind, a WC is not great to visit with. It's a lot of walking and pushing and many find an ECV to be much better. You can rent both at the parks but can not take them past security. You can rent either from Deckerts or Scotter Village, they deliver. This way you can have it with you the whole time.

At each attraction ask a CM where to go it varies. You can get a guide at guest services too. Also for a list it's on disneyland.com, follow either of these links and you can sort them at the bottom left. Also the park maps have this information.
http://disneyland.disney.go.com/attractions/list/#/wheelchair-ecv-accessible
http://disneyland.disney.go.com/attractions/list/#/transfer-wheelchair-ecv

 

[neiko486]

Thanks for the replies and links, very helpful.

He does have his own personal electric wheelchair (not exactly a wheelchair and not exactly like the ECV's , kind of a hybrid of both) we will be able to bring with us so that will help.I feel for people I see pushing manual chairs around Disneyland as I know that is alot of work.I just have to make sure I get a room big enough so we don't have to crawl over it in the room.

Checking up on the Grand Californian right now.My frugal side is throwing a temper tantrum, but my rational side is thinking it may be the best fit.

 

[ArchOwl]

The Grand Californian is the closest, but I think the Paradise Pier rooms might be bigger (which may be helpful when you have a wheelchair). But all the Disney hotels have HCA rooms, so I would call and ask. You will be very close to the parks and people in your groups could easily get back to their hotel room if they needed a rest or break.

Also, by staying onsite you would get access to Magic Morning, when Resort guests get to go in the parks an hour earlier than everyone else. This might be helpful to your father, since there would be fewer people and less waiting.

As far as handicap access in the parks, the two parks are very different. Since DL is much older, many of the lines are not handicap accessible. For example, Fantasyland rides have wheelchair users board from the exit. There are frequently longer handicapped lines for Pirates, IASW, and Space than the regular lines. So plan hitting those earlier in the day if you can to avoid the longer lines.

In DCA, basically all of the lines are accessible. You can use FP to avoid longer lines, but your father will be able to join you in whichever line you use.

And I think you said that your father has an electric wheelchair? If so, that would be great because pushing does get tiring. Make sure the CMs know that he needs to keep his chair with him as long as possible since it sounds like he can't take more than a few steps. He will want his chair until right before boarding.

I have been to Disneyland with others who were handicapped and myself after knee surgery. I can honestly say that the CMs have always gone out of their way to make things go as smoothly as possible. I can't think of another vacation destination that goes out of their way to really work with their handicapped guests as well as Disney does. So just be prepared to explain your needs and all should be well. Have fun!

 

[skiingfast]

Checking up on the Grand Californian right now.My frugal side is throwing a temper tantrum, but my rational side is thinking it may be the best fit.

I'm not sure if proximity is going to be a major or minor issue. If so after the GCH I would consider the places on Harbor, but like the Park Vue most are not very new so they don't all have elevators. After that the PPH and then DLH.

 

[larina]

PPH has nice big rooms and great suites!