First trip blind

[Turk82]

Hi! I am so excited to find your disABILITIES board!!! I have been lurking for awhile, but finally thought I would introduce myself, register, and get to actually know you all.
I am recently blind (less than a year) and am just finishing up my guide dog training. I have been to Disney once before (2006) but I could see then and didn't have a guide dog (obviously). I am (bravely) planning my first trip blind and was just looking for some ideas and suggestions. I booked the dining plan and made all my ADRs for table service locations without buffets or family style (so much easier for me). I'm not sure what it will be like to go without any vision. I have always LOVED all things Disney, and that certainly hasn't changed (I just found and "watched" a described version of Finding Nemo tonight...too fun!!). I have 5 days at WDW this November and a 7 night cruise aboard the Magic in the middle of it. I am kinda wondering if I am crazy to be trying it!!! Any thoughts or suggestions at all??? I am 26 years old and will be travelling with my (slightly) older parents (60's) who tire much more easily than I do...I would love to be able to "do more" than just what they are up to doing, but not sure how to make it work...etc...is it hard to find your way back to the right bus??? What about just getting around in the parks??? Any thoughts at all? Thanks in advance!!!!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Hi and to disABILITIES!

Here is a link to a recent thread by Goofyslonglostsis on the topic of Disney World with a Service Dog, with lots of questions and answers.

As far as getting around by yourself, especially to get the right bus more than likely anybody you approach would be able to head you in the correct direction or even lead you to your bus stop.

 

[sasmmb]

And if you are there during the first 2 weeks in November, Epcot has the International Food and Wine Festival. That should be fun for your tastebuds!

 

[SueM in MN]

Welcome and glad that you decided to come out of lurking and visit.

There is a WDW Guidebook for Guests with Visual Disabilities, but it doesn't really have a lot of information.
One thing I have heard they are experimenting with that is not listed there are audio tools that give a description of what is happening during some shows. You can check with Guest Services about any additional assistance.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Nope, I don't think you're at all crazy for wanting to go on a Disney trip! Though my disabilities are mobility related, rather than visual, I can tell you that Disney is the most accommodating and accessible place I've ever been. It will require a bit of a different way of touring, and you may have to go a bit slower than you did last time, but you're still going to have a great time (it is Disney, after all!).

All the Cast Members (C.M.) are extremely helpful and friendly, and so are most of the park Guests, so you can always ask for help if you run into trouble. Each of the parks has a tactile map somewhere near the entrance, and if you can read Braille, you can get Braille guidebooks from Guest Relations. They have two tapes available, one which you can listen to before touring gives you an overview of the park (I don't know whether you'll need this, if you've been already), and another which is basically an Audio Tour, guiding you around the whole park. The problem with the tour is that you have to go to each attraction in the order they give you, so you can't just go off and explore freely.

If you need extra time to board attractions, you can get a Guest Assistance Card, known as a G.A.C., from Guest Relations. This will allow you to use the wheelchair boarding area, instead of the regular one. This will often increase your wait time, but might make things a bit easier on you. Almost all rides with moving walkways, can be slowed down; the only exception to this that I know of is Peter Pan's Flight.

As for touring on your own, you should be able to do so. Just remember that the parks are really big, often very crowded and get very hot. I would suggest that you take a slow pace when you're on your own, try and stick close to the buildings, so you have a reference point to navigate from, and take regular breaks in the air conditioning for you and your dog to cool off.

Other people here have posted information on other threads, about touring with assistance dogs (I think someone posted above, linking to a good thread), but I'll give you an overview of what I can remember. There are a number of areas for dogs to relieve themselves, outside the Guest areas. When you need to use these, just find a Cast Member to ask. A lot of people here with Assistance dogs carry folding water bowls and a bottle of water, to make sure they don't get dehydrated. I've also seen people mention something you can put on the dog's paws to stop their feet burning on the hot paving.

If you want to get an idea of the food available before you go, all the menus for all of the restaurants are available on the DIS main pages (here is the link: Disney Restaurants and Menus). These should work perfectly well with a screen reader, and will help you to get an idea of what's on offer in each restaurant before you go. The only issue you may have using this page, is that it does have some drop-down menus to refine your search; I don't know whether your screen reader can cope with these or not. When you get to W.D.W., you can always ask a C.M. to read the menu for you.

If your parents tire easily, they may want to consider renting ECVs (electric scooter things). Disney is huge, hot and crowded, and can tire out even those who are fighting fit; when you have health concerns or stamina issues, these problems increase a hundred-fold. You can rent them for the length of your stay, from a number of external companies. You'll find a list of these in the disabilities F.A.Q. thread.

Hope this helps somewhat. If you have any more questions, just post them up and we'll do what we can to help!

 

[bzzymom]

A friend of ours has been blind since birth. He has a dog and does very well. However, we have gone to several amusement parks with him, great america, cedarpoint, kings island and he won't take his dog. He feels that it is too hot, and too stressful for the dog. Apparently, he took his first dog to great america and it didn't go so well. When he went with his wife and kids to WDW, they left the dog at home with his mom. They lead him around.

 

[SueM in MN]

There is more information about Guest Assistance Cards in the disABILITIES FAQs thread, in post #6.

 

[Turk82]

Thanks everyone for all the help! I appreciate your time and effort on our behalf! I'll keep you posted as we make our plans!

 

[Claire L]

sorry posted on the wrong thread!