Hearing Disability - Closed Captioning??

[Tikihula]

This is my first time in this forum and I'm not sure where to find the information I need. In May 2010 I'll be traveling with some friends and one of them is very hard of hearing. She wears hearing aids but they really don't help much.
I've read that many of the Disney attractions have closed captioning or something like that, but how does it work? Does the guest need to pick up a device or something at Guest Relations? Are there special headphones you can rent that amplify the volume of music or speech at attractions?

Thank you for any information you can provide.

 

[Twende]

Many attractions and shows have reflective captioning.
It is a bit hard to explain but there is a stand with flexible metal tubing that has a Plexiglas rectangular plate on the top of it. Imagine an old physician's light. You place the piece of Plexiglas in front of you so that ii picks up the reflection of the red letter LED screen that is over our shoulder.

The lettering on the LED screen is broadcast in reverse so that when reflected on your screen you can read it.

We get a GAC that is marked for hearing impaired (I think) so that we can use this feature. Normally it is not a problem but one time at Fantasmic we had to show proof with the GAC to be able to sit in the are where the screen is visible.

We use it all the time in Country Bears. It is so refreshing to be able to really know what the real words to the songs and conversations are.


Here is a link that shows a picture and tells you some of the attractions that use this device.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://allears.net/pl/reflectivecaption.jpg&imgrefurl=http://allears.net/pl/reflect.htm&usg=__Pdvr8m0VnRieV2QmPEOjmoDU_do=&h=411&w=450&sz=49&hl=en&start=7&um=1&tbnid=68Dv1Io1PxCwMM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3DDisney%2BWorld%2Breflective%2Bcaptioning%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1G1GGLQ_ENUS362%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1


There is also a portable captioning device for attractions that move but we have never used one of those.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://allears.net/pl/reflectivecaption.jpg&imgrefurl=http://allears.net/pl/reflect.htm&usg=__Pdvr8m0VnRieV2QmPEOjmoDU_do=&h=411&w=450&sz=49&hl=en&start=7&um=1&tbnid=68Dv1Io1PxCwMM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3DDisney%2BWorld%2Breflective%2Bcaptioning%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1G1GGLQ_ENUS362%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

Another possibility is this device: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://allears.net/pl/reflectivecaption.jpg&imgrefurl=http://allears.net/pl/reflect.htm&usg=__Pdvr8m0VnRieV2QmPEOjmoDU_do=&h=411&w=450&sz=49&hl=en&start=7&um=1&tbnid=68Dv1Io1PxCwMM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3DDisney%2BWorld%2Breflective%2Bcaptioning%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1G1GGLQ_ENUS362%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

 

[SueM in MN]

If you follow the link in my signature to the disABILITIES FAQs thread, you will find what you are looking for in post #3.
The first part of post #3 has a link to the official WDW information page about services for people with hearing disabilities.
If you look further down in post #3, there is further information/links about specific Concerns or Conditions, including Hearing Impairment.

 

[Tikihula]

Kim - All those links take me to the Allears page about closed captioning and all show the same picture.
I'll try typing in the entire link and see if that gets me to the right place. Thanks for the info.

 

[Tikihula]

If you follow the link in my signature to the disABILITIES FAQs thread, you will find what you are looking for in post #3.
The first part of post #3 has a link to the official WDW information page about services for people with hearing disabilities.
If you look further down in post #3, there is further information/links about specific Concerns or Conditions, including Hearing Impairment.

Thank you, Sue.

 

[SueM in MN]

Kim - All those links take me to the Allears page about closed captioning and all show the same picture.
I'll try typing in the entire link and see if that gets me to the right place. Thanks for the info.

here's a link to the page from allearsnet:
http://allears.net/pl/reflect.htm

The problem is that Kim used a google search to get the picture, which brings up the first page, clicked on the links and then tried to copy from the links. When she did that, it just pointed back to the original page because the original page google search address was what was in the navigation bar.

You can use one of the links Kim provide, then look on the right side top of the page. You will see a box that says "remove frames". When you do that, the page will open to the actual page. Then you can click the links on the left hand side of the page to get to the pictures of different devices.

 

[Tikihula]

Thank you, Sue. I appreciate the help.

 

[Twende]

here's a link to the page from allearsnet:
http://allears.net/pl/reflect.htm

The problem is that Kim used a google search to get the picture, which brings up the first page, clicked on the links and then tried to copy from the links. When she did that, it just pointed back to the original page because the original page google search address was what was in the navigation bar.

You can use one of the links Kim provide, then look on the right side top of the page. You will see a box that says "remove frames". When you do that, the page will open to the actual page. Then you can click the links on the left hand side of the page to get to the pictures of different devices.

Thanks Sue that is exactly what I did! My mistake. I had no idea it would do that! LOL!

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks Sue that is exactly what I did! My mistake. I had no idea it would do that! LOL!

It's a very easy and logical mistake to make.
I put the instuctions so you can avoid the same mistake next time.

 

[Twende]

Sue, I am always so grateful for your help! Thanks so very much! Have a wonderful day!

 

[izkbug]

Hi, I was hoping that I would be able to watch these shows with OC. I'm deaf and I recently checked out the link someone has provided and sadly, they only have RC (Reflective Captioning) and not every place has it. I am not a fan of it and frankly, I'm disappointed. I don't feel it is really fair, in my humble opinion.

 

[tinkerbelluk]

Disney don't just have reflective captioning.

They provide sign language interpretation on many live shows (Usually Sunday and Wednesday at DHS, Mondays and Thursday's at MK, Tuesday's and Friday's at EPCOT and Saturday's at MK.) The schedules are avaliable from WDW information and guest relations.

They also have Assistive Listening, Video Captioning, Handheld Captioning, written aids, and room communication kits, though the type avaliable can vary from location to location. Just pop into guest relations for more info.

This link my also help: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/plain-text/hearing-disabilities/