Family Restrooms in Parks???

[Snoopygirl]

Are there Family Restrooms in all the parks? And if so, is there a site that lists where they are located?

Thanks!

 

[Plantlady]

Yes, there are lots of them. They were typically located right next to the men/women bathrooms.

 

[sgmom]

Do they also have toddler sized toliets? We are working on potty training and are almost completely there, but it helps having the smaller toliets. I know in malls when they have family restrooms, most have the smaller toliets.

 

[all4fun]

Disneyworld does not have "family" restrooms per se. They have "companion restrooms" that are located sporadically throughout the parks. They are really intended for folks that are handicapped that cannot fit in the regular HC stalls (which sometimes does occur) and/or Disabled folks that need a companion in the restroom of the opposite gender so going into one of the regular restrooms is not an option. In a pinch, I have taken my stroller into a HC stall in the Ladies Room but I do try not to even have to do that. Sometimes if you're seperated from other adults in your party you do what you have to do though... It is technically ok for "families" to use the Companion RR's, but really if you can use a regular restroom that should be your first choice as to leave the companion restrooms open for folks that really have no other option, since there are not that many of them.

Oh and a while back there was a big debate about how old children of the opposite gender should be before going into a restroom for people of the opposite gender. I certainly don't want another one to start up about that but I personally see nothing wrong with a slightly older boy going into a female restroom with his mother as long he is well-behaved (not peeking into stalls, etc.). Better safe than sorry.

To answer another posters question, each park also has a baby care center and I believe that they all have at least one child size toilet for the potty training set. Since there is only one BCC in each park, if your dc is p/ting then you might want to invest in one of those potty adapter rings that folds for travel and some post it notes to cover the "eye" on the self-flushing toilets (because that scares a lot of kids). Make sure you try it out at home so your dc is used to it as well.



hth.

 

[bamabelle]

Those "companion" restrooms are NOT just for disabled people. They are in fact "family" restrooms if you look at the little sign outside the door.

They are for moms and dads who have a diaper to change, a toddler who needs to potty and to go themselves!

I know that there is one near EE in AK because I used it to dry my underwear and shorts after getting drenched on KRR. It is the only restroom in the park with a dryer.

Don't feel bad about using those restrooms--they are there for families and whomever else feels the need to use them!

 

[sgmom]

Thanks for the helpful tidbits! I was hoping somewhere in the park there would be a smaller folks toilet We recently visited a local amusement park and I asked this very question in the younger kids section and the park employee looked at me as if I had asked the strangest question. However, my DH backed me up on it and said that was a very good idea I guessing thinking that Disney was partly geared toward the younger crowd, that there may be a chance for a toddler potty somewhere. However, that could be the longest line at the park!!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Those "companion" restrooms are NOT just for disabled people. They are in fact "family" restrooms if you look at the little sign outside the door.

They are for moms and dads who have a diaper to change, a toddler who needs to potty and to go themselves!

I know that there is one near EE in AK because I used it to dry my underwear and shorts after getting drenched on KRR. It is the only restroom in the park with a dryer.

Don't feel bad about using those restrooms--they are there for families and whomever else feels the need to use them!

I agreee 100%. We've used them in Epcot plenty. Also, my concern with bringing my ds9.5 into the ladies room is not how well he'll "behave." He's a boy and he knows it and finds it extremely uncomfortable to go somewhere that's considered "girls only." Not quite like putting him in a dress, but really would be mortified if another boy his age saw him exit the ladies room. Even when I took ds6 to a ladies room in May near the airport gate for a quick handwashing he growled, "Just get me out of here!" I've never seen him wash so fast.

 

[mrzrich]

Here's a link to the list of where to find them

http://allearsnet.com/pl/restrooms.htm

I have a six year old Autistic son and they work great for us

 

[all4fun]

Those "companion" restrooms are NOT just for disabled people. They are in fact "family" restrooms if you look at the little sign outside the door.

They are for moms and dads who have a diaper to change, a toddler who needs to potty and to go themselves!

I know that there is one near EE in AK because I used it to dry my underwear and shorts after getting drenched on KRR. It is the only restroom in the park with a dryer.

Don't feel bad about using those restrooms--they are there for families and whomever else feels the need to use them!

I was simply pointing out that those restrooms are limited and that some other folks may have no other option but to use those so to try and use the regular restrooms if you are not a disabled person. I do understand that though that sometimes you have to do what you have to do...

Here's the list of Companion Restrooms from Allearsnet.

All Walt Disney World public restrooms have wheelchair accessable stalls.

Unfortunately the accessable stalls do not always accomodate the size of some individual wheelchairs.

Companion Rest Room locations are where members of the opposite sex can enter the restroom together when assistance is needed. Sometime a wheelchair is unable to fit in the wheelchair stall in the women's or men's rest rooms. Another example would be when an opposite sex person is needed to assist even if there isn't a wheelchair involved such as with an older autistic child with an opposite sex attendant.

Keep in mind that the number of companion restrooms are very limited and should only be used when the regular restroom will not accomodate your needs!

Also, I haven't been to the parks since EE opened but a few years ago they did have high velocity dryers in the ladies room right outside of KRR. I'm not sure where that is located in relation to EE, it could be the same restroom, but they do have dryers in the regular restrooms, just FYI.

 

[mrzrich]

I was simply pointing out that those restrooms are limited and that some other folks may have no other option but to use those so to try and use the regular restrooms if you are not a disabled person. I do understand that though that sometimes you have to do what you have to do...

Yes I was irritated one time as my DS usually gives us very little notice before he has to go. We were waiting and waiting for the Companion Restroom.

A young couple finally emerged from thr rest room some time later (felt like an eternity, was probably slightly less than an eternity ) When the girl saw us standing outside the door she was visibly embarassed, the dude was just giggling. I guess they'd been up to behavior better suited for their hotel room.

Please only use these restrooms if you really have too.

 

[SueM in MN]

Those "companion" restrooms are NOT just for disabled people. They are in fact "family" restrooms if you look at the little sign outside the door.

Unless they have changed them since March 2006, they are labeled "Companion Restroom" and they are marked with a wheelchair symbol. They are also not listed on the park maps; the only places WDW lists them are in the WDW Guidebooks for Guests with Disabilities.

They are for moms and dads who have a diaper to change, a toddler who needs to potty and to go themselves!

Many of them do not have any diaper changing facilites, but are just a single restroom that complies with ADA wheelchair accessibility standards as far as the size, space and arrangement of the room. None of them have small sized toliets that a toddler could use by them selves; in fact, most have raised seat toilets and all have a variety of grab bars. (and my DD who is 5 feet tall has a hard time getting her feet on the floor sitting on those toilets, so they are not suitable for a toddler to use by him/herself).
Here's a picture of the inside of a typical Companion Restroom from allearsnet.com

I know that there is one near EE in AK because I used it to dry my underwear and shorts after getting drenched on KRR. It is the only restroom in the park with a dryer.

As was already posted, the regular restrooms in that area have air blowers also. I have dried myself with the air blower in the regular ladies room in that area (and once saw a woman who had stripped down to her underwear in the regular ladies room to dry her clothing under the air blower)

There are a limited number of Companion Restrooms in each of the parks. On the list posted on allearsnet, there are a total of 6 listed for MK(and one of those is not in the park, it is outside at the TTC.)
Since MK is one of the oldest parks and was built under different accessibility standards, most of the handicapped stalls in the regular restrooms at MK are not big enough to fit a wheelchair into the stall and close the door. They certainly are not large enough for someone to assist the person using a wheelchair or to have a 5 foot circle for turning inside the stall (the current ADA requirements for an accessible bathroom stall). This means the handicapped stall in the regular restrooms are useless for a large number of people who use wheelchairs and are not able to leave the wheelchair outside the stall and walk in. They are also useless for people who will be assisting adults or older children of the opposite sex (for example, I've seen elderly adult men or women using the Companion Restroom to assist their husband or wife who is disabled and can't use the bathroom without assistance - most people would not expect or accept those couples using the regular men's or ladies restrooms. Same thing for an adult male with autism who needs assistance from his mother).
The Companion Restrooms were set up to comply with ADA accessibility requirements (and also to meet the needs of people like mrzrich, who has a son with autism who requires assistance and finds that the Companion restrooms fit their needs better.)
Because my DD's wheelchair won't fit into the regular handicapped stalls at MK, that means those 5 Companion Restrooms listed by allearsnet.com (plus one in First Aid) are the only toliets in the whole park we can use. (not 6 bathrooms with multiple toilets in each one, 6 toilets in the whole park). So, I add my voice to those who say, please only use them if you need them. If you have other choices, please use the other choices and leave the Companion Restrooms for those of us who have no choice.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Those "companion" restrooms are NOT just for disabled people. They are in fact "family" restrooms if you look at the little sign outside the door.

They are for moms and dads who have a diaper to change, a toddler who needs to potty and to go themselves!

I know that there is one near EE in AK because I used it to dry my underwear and shorts after getting drenched on KRR. It is the only restroom in the park with a dryer.

Don't feel bad about using those restrooms--they are there for families and whomever else feels the need to use them!

Absolutley!!!

I even found one that was the ONLY choice in one spot..though I have now forgotten where that was

I have been in some where there have been changing tables. We evaluate our need to use them and growing out of the all needing to be in the same stall phase.

But I do not get embarrassed if I evaluated our families need to use them and decided appropriately so.

Having sex in the bathroom cannot be equated with a child's need to go and my inability to squash the 3 of us into a stall.