Deaf//hearing impairment... Disney questions

[DEBDENBD]

I am deaf (speech reading, no ASL) and going to Disney for the 1st time in January w/ my husband and two kids (I am the only hearing impaired of our family). I have requested TTY for my room and have read about "Info for guest with Hearing disabilities" and am wondering whether renting the captioning assist devices will greatly improve my Disney experience? Or will it be more of a hassle. It seems that for one park I would need to rent several different devices (video, reflective & handheld captioning) and while I can see how hearing the sound may enhance the experience, I am thinking that could be a hassle carry about the parks each day and wondering if the benefit outweighs the hassle?

Also I have seen Guest Access Card (GAC ) mentioned for patrons with disabilities/special needs. Would it be helpful for me to apply for GAC as hearing impairment? For any theatre-type performance I normally need close-to-front seating so I can "hear " (my eyes become my ears) or need to be close to the speaker/source. Should I look into getting GAC for my trip? Any thoughts, advice, ideas are appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Hi and to disABILTIES!

If you click on where it says "disABILTIES" at the top of this page it will take you to the Index. The fifth item down is the "disABILTIES FAQ" which will gives lots of useful information. Post 6 of the FAQ discusses the GAC. Getting a GAC would probably be useful for you.

Some others, especially Talking Hands, can give you a lot more specific answers to the questions about the ALDs.

Also, how old are the kids; there could be a possible bearing on the answers.

 

[DEBDENBD]

The kids are 6&8 ~ Only person in our party that's disabled(hearing impaired) is me.

What is "Talking Hands"? (thanks again)

 

[tacomaranch]

Talking Hands is a person on the board. She has great info on the HI. I know that you can request sign ASL or C for shows but if you don't sign than I am not familar with the other options.

Disney is magical so what ever you can do to make it more so for you, it is worth it.

All the best, April

 

[Talking Hands]

HI I'm Talking Hands.
If you rent the handheld captioning device it also has a button for CC so you don't need to rent the close captioning device. It is $100 deposit which is returned at the end of the day when you return the device. There is no cost other than the refundable deposit.
Reflective captioning is requested at the show. There is a guide you can request from Disney that tells you where you can use the handheld, cc, and reflective captioning.
Also scripts are available at shows.
I would go ahead and get the handheld captioning device.

We are facing the same issue this coming trip. My husband recently lost his hearing in the left ear and while he does understand some sign an I am working on him teaching more there is no way he will be even close to fluent in one month. So we may be sharing the handheld captioning device. Normally I just go with the ASL interpreters since I sign but life is different now.

Yes get the GAC so you can be seated as close as possible to the speakers. In some cases it is really too far to really speech read a lot but you can catch a bit of it.

 

[I Love Pluto]

My daughter (an adult, 31 yrs old) used the handheld captioning device last summer. It was a TOTAL bonus for her. She finally understood what they were saying and singing in many rides & attractions that she previously did not understand.

Yes, a GAC would help for the shows. Up-front seating is necessary so that you will enjoy things as others do.

Good luck to you.

 

[Val]

My DD9 is hard of hearing and we used the reflective captioning for the first time last summer (she signs a little, but mostly lip reads). It, in general, was a huge success. We had a few problems with CMs not understanding how the reflective captioning worked, but once WE understood the routine we were able to make better demands. Used the GAC just to ensure that we got our point across for preferred seating for her in those shows (not for avoiding lines- her feet work just fine ;>). She doesn't like the headphone thingies...says it just makes it louder but not more understandable. We hope to use the handheld this year, as she is now a good, strong reader.

Funny thing with the reflective captioning at Mickey's Philharmagic: She was following along and enjoying the show MUCH more when she could follow the story line. At the end she turned to me and said "Donald Duck can TALK?"....all these years and she had never understood a word that poor duck had said- she thought it was just noise! Amazing how a little technology can open up a whole new world.

 

[DEBDENBD]

Thanks for all your help/replies! I haven't been able follow up on this since I last posted several weeks ago but am planning on getting GAC. (I just wish I could arrange this prior to the visit, I am having worries of waiting in long lines, spending time with clerical work when I could otherwise be enjoying the parks, etc)

I lost my hearing recently (less than 7 years ago) but never gave much thought to assistance at theme parks, movie theaters, etc. This trip to Disney has opened up a WHOLE Bunch of doors for me, and not just for/at Disney either! YAHOO!

Many thanks!!!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I just wish I could arrange this prior to the visit, I am having worries of waiting in long lines, spending time with clerical work when I could otherwise be enjoying the parks, etc

All you need to do is go into Guest Services of the first park that you visit. It is very rare for the line to be longer than ten minutes. It will only take them a minute or two to give you the GAC; you don't have to fill out any paperwork. The GAC will be good at all four parks for the length of your stay.

 

[DEBDENBD]

I am just returning from my trip & wanted to post that I had a great experience at Disney and being deaf -- the only "problem" I encountered was at the Festival of Lion King in AK but part of that may have been due to arriving "just in time" for the show & not being able to find a CM to help find a seat.

I wore the caption box around my neck and it would vibrate when there was caption available and when I asked for seating for hearing impaired in the 3D shows not a single CM blinked an eye--they were all willing and eager to help me find a seat, get me set up and make sure I could understand, despite the fact I didn't carry GAC. They were extremely accomodating!

My hearing husband enjoyed the caption box because he could read along if the kids were distracting to the point where he couldn't HEAR it ! And--it was nice having a little LIGHT in some of those darker rides, too. The only downside, was that sometimes the rental/return lines had more of a wait than I'd like, but it was totally worth it.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Glad you were able to enjoy yourself, and thanks for reporting back to us.