family vacation trip with 5 out of 6 people disabled

[rafiki77]

hello- we are hoping to go to Disney World next year. I have a lot of questions. There are 6 people going including myself. A 5 yr old girl with Autism, Epilepsy, Cerebral Palsy, visually impaired and Ectodermal Dysplasia (doesn't sweat). A 10 yr old boy with Autism, Hypotonia, Hole in heart, Ectodermal Dysplasia. My brother with Diabetes, my Stepmom with Mobility issues (will use a ECV) and my Dad (stroke patient will use a ECV). Then myself. Do any of the resorts have connecting handicap rooms? Which resort is the closest to DW? Any info you may have I probably need. Thank you. Rafiki77

 

[KPeveler]

hello- we are hoping to go to Disney World next year. I have a lot of questions. There are 6 people going including myself. A 5 yr old girl with Autism, Epilepsy, Cerebral Palsy, visually impaired and Ectodermal Dysplasia (doesn't sweat). A 10 yr old boy with Autism, Hypotonia, Hole in heart, Ectodermal Dysplasia. My brother with Diabetes, my Stepmom with Mobility issues (will use a ECV) and my Dad (stroke patient will use a ECV). Then myself. Do any of the resorts have connecting handicap rooms? Which resort is the closest to DW? Any info you may have I probably need. Thank you. Rafiki77

Ok, let's start here. This will probably take a LOT of back and forths to answer all your questions, but it can be done!

First things first: Mobility equipment

How many people will being bringing their own equipment?

How many wheelchairs are we talking total?

How many scooters?

How many who cannot transfer and how many who can?

Are you going to rent equipment or bring your own?


Next: Interests

What park are you thinking about going to the most?

Is everyone going to the parks?

What other things do you like/need to do? Swimming?

All of these things will make a difference in terms of which hotel to suggest and whether you should stay off site or on-site, whether you should rent a car, and where you should rent the mobility equipment.

I STRONGLY suggest buying Passporter's Open Mouse, a very in-depth guide to Disney for guests with special needs and disabilities. It may help a lot with trip planning.

Also, I know you did not say anything, but I figured I should mention it. There are no "front of the line" passes issued for guests with any disability. you should plan on waiting in any and all lines for attractions, and sometimes the wait may be even longer than the "standby" time, or you may wait more than the standby time due to mobility issues.

Some rides have a limit to the number of people allowed on with mobility disabilites at one time. Also, not all queues can have ECVs in the line (mostly the older lines), so your parents would either have to walk, or be pushed in a manual chair kept at the ride. Pirates is one of these. Most Fantasyland rides as well.

Please read the FAQs at the top of the page for lots more info!

 

[twocat]

First, WELCOME!!

There are 4 parks that make up Disneyworld (WDW). They are the Magic Kingdom (MK), Epcot (Epcot), Disney's Hollywood Studios (DHS) and Animal Kingdom (AK).

The resorts on the monorail and closest to the MK are the Polynesian (Poly), Contemporary (CR) and the Grand Floridian (GF). They are considered Deluxe resorts and are some of the most expensive on property.

The resorts within walking/ECVing/Boating to Epcot and DHS are Yacht Club (YC), Beach Club (BC) and the Boardwalk Inn (BWI). These are also Deluxe resorts

BC and BWI also have villas associated with the resorts. The Villas are Disney's version of a timeshare but the are available for booking by the general public. The Villas range in size from studios with kitchenettes to 2 bedrooms with full kitchens.

I don't know about connecting accessible rooms and don't know the ins and outs of Disney with disabled family/friends but just wanted to give you some high-level info.

To get you started, try looking at Disney's site to get an idea of resort theming and rack rate prices. There are often discount codes that come out.
After getting a feel for the resorts from Disney's site, take a look here or at allears.net.

Once you get a feel for things, you can ask at specific boards (Resorts, Tickets, etc.) about questions you may have about those topics. The disABILITIES board is the BEST place to ask disability specific questions. The people here are phenomenal!

 

[rafiki77]

mobility: we will be bringing a special needs stroller, and a wheelchair.
which means we will be renting 3 ecv's.
unless there have been many changes with Ecv's and rides since
2005 I have a general idea on what rides we can all go together
and what rides we need to split up...
Except for my dad they can walk for short distances. My dad
can only pivot and weight bear on his right leg.

interests: we probably spend most of our time in WDW, Epcot, and AK
there will be days where it:s just the kids and myself.
i would like to go to one water park but know that that will
probably not happen.

Do they parks have GAC passes like Disneyland? We live in Cali and utilize them in both Dland and Cali adventure.

 

[KPeveler]

Yes, Disney World has a GAC, but it may work a little differently depending on what stamp you have.

A lot of the lines have been mainstreamed since 2005, which means unlike Disneyland, you will all be going in the normal line. At Disneyland, most people with wheelchairs wait in a different area - this is not so in Disney World.

Also, if you are staying onsite (sounds like you have to, since you have 3 ECVs and a wheelchair/stroller), you will likely have to split up on buses to get to the parks. Most buses can only have 2 scooters on them. Some have 3.

You will have to take the child out of the special needs stroller on the bus unless it is a special one rated for travel. Otherwise it is unsafe to tie down, and your DD will have to sit elsewhere.

In the FAQs is a link to Disney's guide for guests with disabilities. This will give you an idea of what rides you can bring ECVs into the line, and which ones you cannot. this may be important since your dad cannot walk any distance.

It sounds like your brother is using an ECV as well? I assume he is over 18? All rental companies and Disney require people to be over 18 to rent (except in very special circumstances)

 

[rafiki77]

My brother is in his 30's so age and the ECV is no problem. At Dland we use the GAC for "stroller as a wheelchair" and for the waiting in line issue that the kids Autism hinders them. Oh and I didn't say we will be renting vehicles from a car rental place. The stroller is approved for transportation but we usually take her out anyways. We want to stay in one of the disney hotels to get the whole disney feel

 

[alizesmom]

rafiki, all of the resorts are on property so the question you need to ask is which one is closer to the park you want to go to most often.

 

[KPeveler]

When deciding on a hotel, cost is a big thing to consider. Are you looking at the Value, Moderate, Deluxe, or DVC level? And are you going to need to cook your own food for any reason?

 

[Piper]

interests: we probably spend most of our time in WDW, Epcot, and AK
there will be days where it:s just the kids and myself.

I think you are saying that you will spend time in the Magic Kingdom, Epcot and AK. That sounds like you would probably want to stay in one of the hotels on the monorail. They are very expensive, but if that is in your budget, they would be best.

WDW is what the entire complex of 4 parks, 2 water parks, DTD, etc is called.

 

[shewill]

you might consider renting points to stay at a DVC resort. You could all stay in a 2 bedroom and be together. It would also be convenient to cook some meals in the room. Beach club and Board walk are closest to Epcot.
Plan carefully and give yours selves plenty of rest time.

 

[dclfun]

I think transportation will be a huge challenge. There will be other guests also using ECV's and wheelchairs who will be waiting for busses to/from the resorts. You'll need a minimum of two of them just for your group which means you'll have to wait for a minimum of two busses to arrive and then meet up at the parks and back at the resort- and that's IF there are no others in front of you in queue for those spaces. Sounds like you are comfortable with splitting up in the parks due to many attractions only allowing one ECV/Wheelchair per ride vehicle. I agree that you'll have a much better time if you can stay in one of the monorail hotels. Good luck!--Kathy

 

[rafiki77]

We will be renting 2 cars from hertz or avis or somewhere so the we won't be relying on a monorail or bus for the most part. As long as we have a refrigerator in our rooms (for medicine and milk) then we pribably won't be needing to cook.

 

[rigs32]

But will the rental vehicles allow you to fit the ECVs? It sounds like you might need 2 minivans. I don't think you'll be able to fit more than one ECV in a trunk even if they do fold up.

 

[Schmeck]

Yes, getting 5 mobility vehicles (wheelchair, stroller, 3 ECVs) in the trunks of two cars may be impossible! Even using the back seat, it would be a tight squeeze. Renting ECVs at the parks is an expensive, risky option too. The parks run out of ECVs way before they run out of wheelchairs. I would suggest one car, and one van with the rear seat removed.

One question - if there are 6 of you, and 5 will be in mobility devices, who is going to push the other child? It is forbidden to use an ECV to push/pull another device at WDW.

 

[lovethattink]

We will be renting 2 cars from hertz or avis or somewhere so the we won't be relying on a monorail or bus for the most part. As long as we have a refrigerator in our rooms (for medicine and milk) then we pribably won't be needing to cook.

Moderates, Deluxe and DVC rooms all have refrigerators. Value resorts do not, but you can rent one. There use to be threads about refrig swaps at the values, but not sure if those are still ongong, because someone told me the refrig swaps have stopped?? Or do they still rent medical refrigerators for free at the values? It's been a while. I know once they charged us and said they don't do the free medical refrig, but that was years ago.

 

[rafiki77]

We will be going to one park a day. We will renting the ECV's from the Parks so no need to transport them. The stroller we have fits up to 170 lbs so I will be pushing the kids together in one stroller. Plus my dad can hold the youngest on his lap. When the oldest is full of energy he also pushes his sister in the stroller which is very helpful.

 

[crashbb]

We will be going to one park a day. We will renting the ECV's from the Parks so no need to transport them. The stroller we have fits up to 170 lbs so I will be pushing the kids together in one stroller. Plus my dad can hold the youngest on his lap. When the oldest is full of energy he also pushes his sister in the stroller which is very helpful.

Children are not allowed to ride of the lap of someone driving an ECV.

 

[KPeveler]

We will be going to one park a day. We will renting the ECV's from the Parks so no need to transport them. The stroller we have fits up to 170 lbs so I will be pushing the kids together in one stroller. Plus my dad can hold the youngest on his lap. When the oldest is full of energy he also pushes his sister in the stroller which is very helpful.

Children are not allowed to ride on the lap of a person on an ECV. Disney employees WILL ask you to remove the child. They will actually have the right to revoke the rental of the ECV if there is a repeated problem or if there is non-compliance. This is stated right in the rental policy that the renter signs.

Also, especially with park-rental ECVs, you should plan on everyone with an ECV to do a little walking of short distances. For instance, any ride in Fantasyland that does not have a mainstreamed line (I know Peter Pan is one of them) will require you to park the ECV outside and walk in through the accessible entrance. POTC and HM are not accessible to ECVs in large portions of the queue, and part of them must be walked to see all of the attraction.

ECVs are not allowed in any portion of the POTC queue.

ECVs cannot always pull up next to a ride vehicle in the older queues/rides, so you should plan on an ECV user walking a short distance for things like Spaceship Earth.

ECVs are not allowed in the queue at all at RnR and ToT.

I remember you saying your father could not walk due to hemiplegia, so I just wanted to make sure this is understood.

 

[Schmeck]

We will be going to one park a day. We will renting the ECV's from the Parks so no need to transport them. The stroller we have fits up to 170 lbs so I will be pushing the kids together in one stroller. Plus my dad can hold the youngest on his lap. When the oldest is full of energy he also pushes his sister in the stroller which is very helpful.

Call me confused here - who will be in the wheelchair then? 3 ECVs may be difficult to get if you don't arrive at rope drop, so please plan to be at the gates very early each day. Also, it is a very long walk from most parking areas at WDW to the gates. I'm assuming you have an accessible parking hangtag, definitely bring that with you. Also, you might want to rent one ECV offsite to have the entire trip to help out, for the member of your party who cannot walk at all. or bring along a wheelchair from home? (To help out at the airport too!)

I 3rd (or 4th) the notion that children are not permitted to sit on ECVs at any time at WDW. It voids the contract, and people can get nasty about it too. Especially when an accident occurs. No one wants that to happen on vacation!

 

[clanmcculloch]

It would be really helpful if you could list who will be in which mobility device along with each individual's disability. I know I'm getting confused.

You mentioned that your dad is a stroke survivor. Will he have the cognitive, visual and physical ability to drive an ECV?

As others have said, park ECVs are sold out VERY early in the day in the parks. You really should reconcider off site rentals. It's also a lot cheaper to rent offsite and you'll have them for around the resort as between the gates and transportation.