Disney Cruise

[lunapnp]

Okay. I wasn't sure where to post this...here or the cruise forum. (So I will post on both...sorry for the crosspost!) Has anyone been on the Disney cruise with a person in a wheelchair? What about a child with a disability? I would love to take my family on a cruise. DD, 11, has CP and uses a wheelchair. I have never been on a cruise with her so I just need some input. How easy is it to maneuver the chair on the cruise...accessibility in restaurants, pools, etc? She can transfer so that's not a problem. What about at Castaway Cay? Anyone done any excursions that are accessible?

TIA!!

 

[Shorty82]

Here is an article about using a WC on DCL. The information on DCL is just part of a series of informative articles about wheeling around WDW.

 

[Mason7AK]

lunapnp, I will be able to help you in a few weeks! We are taking our first Disney cruise in December (Land/Sea Package). We will be on the Wonder Dec 6 - 9. We will have two in wheelchairs, so when I get back I will post and let you know how accessible everything was and how the kids clubs did/did not handle my kids!
The cruise line has been very helpful so far in getting everything set up for us and answering my million questions.
Angela

 

[lunapnp]

lunapnp, I will be able to help you in a few weeks! We are taking our first Disney cruise in December (Land/Sea Package). We will be on the Wonder Dec 6 - 9. We will have two in wheelchairs, so when I get back I will post and let you know how accessible everything was and how the kids clubs did/did not handle my kids!
The cruise line has been very helpful so far in getting everything set up for us and answering my million questions.
Angela

Angela, I can't wait to hear about your cruise! Please let me know how it goes. We just got back from Disney a couple of weeks ago. We had a great time, but my girls really want to try the cruise. Enjoy your cruise!

Kellie

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

I don't have personal experience on DCL with a WC, but on one of our cruises our dinner-mates were in a handicapped room because they were in a WC, and they LOVED their room. I have also seen CM's onboard pay special attention to those in WC's, especially at dining times. I've also read a trip report about an elderly couple (one was in a WC) who took their first cruise ever on DCL and they couldn't say enough good things about how they were taken care of on the cruise. I'm not sure about how WC friendly it is on Castaway Cay, but as far as being on the ship, I believe you'll be just fine!! But, I sure hope CC is an option for you...it is the most beautiful place I have ever seen!

Mason7AK - I hope your trip is wonderful and I hope you come back with lots of wonderful experiences to share with lunapnp!!!!

 

[MickeyMirth]

Here is an article about using a WC on DCL. The information on DCL is just part of a series of informative articles about wheeling around WDW.

Thank you so much for posting this link. The article is loaded with information and now that I know the spa is ready and willing to accomodate, I may be trying my very first massage

 

[lunapnp]

Here is an article about using a WC on DCL. The information on DCL is just part of a series of informative articles about wheeling around WDW.

Just had a chance to read the link. Thanks for posting it!! It makes me even more excited to want to go on a cruise.

 

[3mmm]

I don't have any experience with a wheelchair, but my DD5 has Down Syndrome and we have cruised three times. I highly recommend it. The staff is incredibly accomodating. Dining alone makes it worth the trip - you have the same servers every night and they get to know your kids and what they need. The kid clubs switched her down an age group at our request with no problem, but then we ended up not using it as she still wasn't really potty trained. The head server gave her special autographed pictures of the characters and one of the princesses. The other 9 kids in our group didn't get them! We used a stroller each time for either her or one of her siblings and we never had a problem. The staff sees me coming and opens doors, move chairs out of the way, carry a tray, whatever - I never need to ask for assistance. Now I can't always say the same thing about the other guests - just kidding. Honestly, it seemed the staff went out of their way to interact with our daughter. I hope you have as good of an experience as we have had.
Mary

 

[cccory]

We have been on a Disney cruise with my son who is in a wheelchair, and all I can say is good things. Everyone was so accomadating and we never had a problem, except when it came to the elevators, I guess. Sometimes you have to wait for there to be enough room, but we have a total of 4 kids, so what we did was mom or dad went with Nathan, who's in the wheelchair, and the rest did the stairs. It all worked out.
The first night we went to the show and sat all the way in the back, where the wheelchair sitting is. That was awful because the other kids couldn't see a thing, but then on the second night a cast memeber saw us and told us to come with her, and she took us a special way to get down in the front row. So from then on we sat in the front row in the wheelchair seats. We would of never known about these seats if it wasn't for her. So be sure you ask.
The only thing I remember about Castaway Cay is that it was hard pushing his wheelchair in the sand. It was hard to find chairs, but if you went ALL the way down the beach you could find one, so I made the mistake of walking all the way down there in the sand and not the walkway.
He too can transfer out of his wheelchair, so we just left the wheelchair out in the hallway, since it didn't fit through the cabin door. It wasn't a problem and this way we didn't have to stress about not getting a handicap room.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

As others have posted the CMs are FANTASTIC. We were unable to get DS a handicapped room on the ship but our room was nice and big. We were able to carry him into the room and into the tub so it was not a big deal for us. He loved the balcony and sat out in his chair quite a bit. As someone else psoted the elevators are the worst. Sometimes we were there for 1/2 hour. They are really bad when it is dinner time. Castaway Cay was great for us. We were able to get a sand wheelchair to push in the sand and it was great. The servers were wonderful and made sure there was not a chair so the wheelchair could be wheeled right up tot he table with no waiting for someone to remove chair etc. You are going to love it!!!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I was on a cruise last week and was given an accessible room based on my Medical Form. I will be doing a post on the room, as wel as some comments on the cruise.

I discussed this with Sue before she left on her trip and I will be adding some of the information to a new page in the "disABILITIES FAQ" and will add some links.

 

[mazz1]

I was on a cruise last week and was given an accessible room based on my Medical Form. I will be doing a post on the room, as wel as some comments on the cruise.

I discussed this with Sue before she left on her trip and I will be adding some of the information to a new page in the "disABILITIES FAQ" and will add some links.

i'll be interested in reading about this, can i ask would you be posting on here or on the cruise section?

doh !!! sorry you've already answered that question, it's early and i'm having one of those mornings, sorry

 

[Ottawacruiser]

lunapnp:

We have been on a few cruises and my wife is in a wheelchair. She found it pretty easy to get around the ship. She also wasn't the only one - on every cruise we went on, there were a number of people in wheelchairs and ECV's.

A few pointers, though:
- try to get into an accessible room (there are plenty of descriptions of these on the boards but let me know if you want a full-blown account).
- yes, the CM's are extra helpful
- you will need to go in through the "back door" at Lumiere's (down the hallway to the right of the restaurant) to avoid the stairs at the front door
- there is a way to get to the front of the Walt Disney Theatre through the back of the Cadillac Lounge on deck 3. This is a little behind the scenes so you may need a CM to help you here, but it will get you up close to the action in the Theatre.
- although the mid-ship elevators are larger, they are also very busy. Sometimes we found it faster to go to the forward or aft elevators.
- if we wanted to traverse the ship, we would try to avoid deck 9 and deck 10. Even though these are outdoors there were too many obstacles (deck chairs in the way, lots of people, etc) to be able to move freely.
- in some ports, you may have to tender to get to shore. This is highly problematic in a wheelchair as there are stairs to and from the tender platform as well as to the tenders themselves.
- on Castaway Cay, they have special wheelchairs available with oversize tires that make it very easy to roll in the sand. We always transfer to one of these while we are at the island. If you ask, a CM will also bring you from the ship to the beach in a golf cart, avoiding the tram ride. The island is accessible, with everything at the same level.

I'll post again if I think of anything else! let me know if you have any questions!

Regards,
... Mike (aka Ottawacruiser)

 

[petchie]

I have been checking the links in the sticky for a friend and printing off things that may help him. I saw that http://www.themouseonwheels.com has this note up: 11/28/07 DISNEY CRUISE LINE HANDICAP GUIDE ADDED!

My friend is not cruising, but maybe it will help others

 

[ducklite]

Just wanted to add that the Charlotte Amalie Historical Tour in St. Thomas is NOT accessible at all. Lots of stairs and no ramps make it difficult fo strollers as well.