Disney with MS

Chi_Kel

Faith Trust & Pixie Dust
Joined
Nov 5, 2015
Messages
26
Hi Everyone! I am beginning to plan a trip to Disney with my mom who has MS. She is in a wheelchair and can (slowly) get in and out of it with some help. I am curious if anyone has traveled with a similar disability, and if you have any tips!

I am mostly curious about which rides are able to slow down enough to get on the ride. I found a post describing EPCOT rides, but was unable to locate a similiar post for MK, AK and DHS.

Any help is greatly appreciated! I hope you have a MAGICAL day!
 
I have MS and use a power wheelchair. I can stand up and walk for short distances but can be a bit wobbly on my feet. I go to WDW on a fairly regular basis. There are only two rides in the Magic Kingdom that have moving sidewalk for boarding that cannot be stopped. They are the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (People Mover) and Peter Pan. The other rides that have a moving sidewalk for boarding are Buzz Lightyear Ranger Spin, Haunted Mansion and Little Mermaid.

For Haunted Mansion, if they ask you if she is alright walking a short distance and standing in a short line, say NO. If you say yes, they will direct you to go to the exit, park the chair and you walk "upstream" against the exiting crowd and it is a long walk and you will have to be quite insistent to get them to slow or stop the moving sidewalk. If you say NO, they lead you to a different area to wait in your chair off to the side, when the more accessible doom buggy comes by, they will stop the ride, let you get the chair up close to it and do the transfer.

Both Buzz and Little Mermaid will see the chair and direct you to the exit to board and you just tell the person who comes to help you board that you need the belt slowed or stopped. Both of those rides also have a car where she can stay in she chair and be tied down into the car.

Winnie the Pooh does not have a moving belt but does have a wheelchair car if she needs to remain in her chair.

There are three rides where your ride vehicle is actually a boat, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise and Small World. The step down into the boat and back out again are difficult for me. As a result, I no longer ride Pirates. However, both Jungle Cruise and Small World have a boat that they put the wheelchair on and you stay in the chair. For Small World you go through the gate marked with the handicapped sign and down a ramp. At the end of the ramp a cast member will ask you if she can transfer, if you say no, they put you into a separate line to wait for the accessible boat. For Jungle Cruise, if you have a fastpass, a cast member will direct where to go to wait for the accessible boat and if you do not have a fast pass, they will give you a card with a time to return and when you return put you into the accessible boat line. However, if your Mom can do the step in and out of the boat with help, tell them and you will not have to wait for the accessible boat but they will have the boat tied down and held steady while you help her get on and later get off.

Many people with MS have problems with over heating. If she has heat issues, the best solution is wearing a good hat, having a little personal fan, a cooling towel (google FrogTog) and drinking lots of and lots of water. Every quick service restaurant will give you free cups of ice water, you don't even have to order food, just ask for a glass of ice water.
 
For helpful lists of attractions, follow the link in my signature to the disABILITIES FAQs thread (it's also located near the top of this board.
This is a list of the posts from that thread that should be most helpful:

  • Post 18: MK attractions and Accessibility. Lists which have a difficult step on and which have a wheelchair car
  • Post 19: Epcot attractions and Accessibility. Lists which have a difficult step on and which have a wheelchair car
  • Post 20: Disney Hollywood Studios and Accessibility. Lists which may be difficult to board and which have a wheelchair car
  • Post 21: Animal Kingdom and Accessibility. Lists which may be difficult to board and which have a wheelchair car
  • Post 22: Attractions where guests must stand unless they have mobility device
  • Post 23: Attractions with Warnings
  • Post 26: Attractions that are good places to cool off
  • Post 28: Attractions with moving walkways and stairs
 
However, both Jungle Cruise and Small World have a boat that they put the wheelchair on and you stay in the chair. For Small World you go through the gate marked with the handicapped sign and down a ramp. At the end of the ramp a cast member will ask you if she can transfer, if you say no, they put you into a separate line to wait for the accessible boat.
If Small World is busy, you will need to get a return time pass (paper) from the CM at the entrance to the regular line. That pass will have a time written on it to come back; the time will be 10 minutes less than the current wait time.
At times guests with wheelchairs wait in the regular line until the last turn before the line goes right along the wall.

If you have a Fastpasses, the return time ticket will have 'fastpass' written on it and you can go directly to the wheelchair gate. A CM at the entrance to that gate collects the passes and sends guests down the ramp.
We just did Small World this afternoon and saw people who did not have a pass turned away and sent back to get one.
For Jungle Cruise, if you have a fastpass, a cast member will direct where to go to wait for the accessible boat and if you do not have a fast pass, they will give you a card with a time to return and when you return put you into the accessible boat line. However, if your Mom can do the step in and out of the boat with help, tell them and you will not have to wait for the accessible boat but they will have the boat tied down and held steady while you help her get on and later get off.
You may still have to wait. When we talked to a CM a few days ago as were waiting, he told us only 2 boats can be tied off; one is the wheelchair accessible boat.
You also want to be careful to avoid dehydration, so the hint above about getting ice water is a great one to remember.
 

Thanks for making my information more up to date. I am able to plan my visits in the slower times so did not have get card at Small World but now I know what to do if it is busier.
 
Many people with MS have problems with over heating. If she has heat issues, the best solution is wearing a good hat, having a little personal fan, a cooling towel (google FrogTog) and drinking lots of and lots of water. Every quick service restaurant will give you free cups of ice water, you don't even have to order food, just ask for a glass of ice water.

This advice is dead on for me. Coming from Michigan, I'm not used to that Florida heat! I get in vacation mode and forget how to manage my MS because I'm caught up in everything going on.
 











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