Doing Disney With Multiple Invisible Disabilities

[mycropht]

I have been blessed in the last 10 years with:

Rheumatoid Arthritis
Endometriosis (okay, I've had this all my life)
Malabsorption syndrome
Dercum's Disease
Secondary Fibromyalgia

I've been to Disney World dozens of times, but our last trip in 2008 was so miserable I never wanted to go back. I hadn't yet come to terms with how my diseases would affect my life, how many limitations they'd bring up.

I'm posting this because I asked myself a million times if I wanted to go through with going back via wheelchair or ECV. Since my disabilities are of the "But You Don't Look Sick" variety, I was very afraid of people's opinions. Would they assume that I was doing the chair because I was lazy or wanted to skip lines? Would they stare? Since the arthritis affects my hands as much or more than (depending on the day) my feet, an ECV would probably not be as doable as a wheelchair and that means my husband would be stuck pushing me like a month's load of groceries at Costco. For all I know, we wouldn't even get to speak since my head would be roughly 2 feet lower than his.

Well, I just got back. And it was the best trip to Disney I've ever had. So if you are for one moment telling yourself you can't go or don't want to go, please reconsider. It is SO worth it.

I've written a much longer piece (about 2500 words) that details exactly what it's like and how lines are handled. If you're interested, I keep it over here.
http://mycropht.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/through-the-eyes-of-a-really-old-child/

 

[SueM in MN]

Nice blog.
I've got one correction suggestion.
People assume that the reason Disney redesigned lines to have Mainstream Access, where the lines are wheelchair accessible as much as possible, was because they were reacting to abuse.
That is not true though.

The reason that guests in the past got 'pulled out of line' is that most lines were not designed for guests using wheelchairs. The lines were designed to effeciently present a single file line of ambulatory guests to the boarding area and, at the end if the ride, to efficiently remove those guests.

To do that, most lines got narrower the closer you got to boarding and many involved gates or turnstiles, moving walkways, and boarding on one side of a ride car, with unloading on the other side.
This makes loading and unloading very efficient, unless you are a giest with a wheelchair, ECV or other mobility device (plus some other disabilities).
Many of those items made it impossible for guests with disabilities to board in the regular place.
Just like now, being taken to another place for boarding did not necessarily mean a shorter wait. Just a wait somewhere that you WOULD be able to board and unload.
And, just like now, there are people who assume a wheelchair means shorter waits. Having been to WDW since 1988 with a wheelchair, I can tell you the wait was usually at the exit and was long, often boring and embarrassing (youngest DD got her first wheelchair as toddler).

The biggest reason for changing was the ADA, which stated that people with disabilities should be handled the same as other people, as much as possible. Disney had already started making changes when the ADA came into effect, but the guidelines were out there for several years before the ADA came into law.

 

[POOHsie]

Enjoyed your blog very much. One point of your post was your worry about what others would think of you in a wheelchair, and about how you would be treated. You concluded after your visit that things went fine, and much of that anxiety was pre-trip jitters, probably after reading hateful remarks posted anonymously on internet forums.

I don't want to start a war with stroller pushers. We both have our worries. Let's try to be sympathetic about one another. I can't figure out how people even manage double strollers. That's a heck of a lot of weight to push around - could be 70 lbs of kids + accessories. Very hard to start and stop, and very tiring.

I use a scooter full time. It's rare to have a negative encounter. More like indifference. A person goes thru a doorway and lets the door close without holding it for you. Didn't see you? Maybe. A busy bank of elevators with lots of people waiting. When the doors open, people exit, then a mob will step in front of you and you don't stand a chance of getting on. You could be stuck like that for a long time. Didn't see you? Not a chance. Almost to a grocery store checkout with a few things in your scooter basket. A lady trots from a diagonal angle to get in front of you, then another person with the lady's full cart joins her. Now that's just downright nasty. But you're slow on your wheels, and selfish people take the advantage to benefit from your disability. OK, rant over.

I'm glad you had a great trip to WDW. Hope you return soon. Your DH sounds like a peach!