Information about Handicap entrances?

[S johnson]

We will be going to WDW with a handicap child in wheelchair? I would like to get a booklet for the different parks on the handicap entrances for the rides. I have ones for Disneyland is CA and hope they have ones for the parks in Florida. (We get these booklets at City Hall in Disneyland.)Do you know how I can get some of these for the various parks before going to the park so I can be familiar with entrances. Will WDW mail me them.

 

[SueM in MN]

Welcome to our boards.
You will find that most of the rides at WDW have Mainstream access, which means wheelchair and ecv users wait in the same lines with everyone else. The Studio and AK were built with Mainstream access, Epcot is mostly changed over and MK has some rides that are not Mainstream. For some rides, wheelchair users have to board at the exit, but they still have you wait in line and then at some point closer to the ride entry, you will be directed to the exit.

There is a Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities for each park. You can pick them up at Guest Services (at MK, it is in City Hall, the smae as at Disneyland). You can also go to the official Disney website and download them. This link should take you there.

Ask any other questions you can think of. I have a DD who is not able to walk and uses a wheelchair full time. We have been to WDW over 20 times. We have lots of other posters who have been to WDW with a wheelchair, so we should be able to answer most anything you can think of.

 

[S johnson]

My son is severely involved physically and loves disneyland. He is spastic quad and gets very excited when waiting in line and can not remain in chair for long in a line without his spasticity causing him to arch and throw up. Disneyland is the only place we have found where they allow him to enter in most exits. Visiting an amusement park would be too hard physically for us all if we did not get to bypass waiting long. He just received a Make a Wish wish to go to Disney World in Florida but after reading this I am wondering if we are not going to be able to see it. Surely they must have some way for the most seriously hadicap with extreme needs to get on the rides.

 

[aprilgail2]

<<He just received a Make a Wish wish to go to Disney World in Florida but after reading this I am wondering if we are not going to be able to see it.>>

I believe that Make a Wish kids DO get to go on first, they alway had their own agreement with Disney so unless it has changed they do get to go ahead...

 

[Wheelsie]

Hiya

Well if for some od reason the Make a wish doesn't get you what you need (which I'm sure it will) there is alwyays the GAC or Guest Assistance Pass that you can aquire from Guest Services in any of the parks...I've never used one but I believe all you need is to tell them what you child requires and they mark it on a card to show to the CMs at each attraction entrance...then you are directed where to go from there. Hope this helps

 

[SueM in MN]

Not to worry!
Make A Wish guests get a special pass that allows them to have fast ride access with their party, so don't worry about that. You will be well taken care of.
Most of the Make A Wish guests stay in Give Kids the World Village (click here for a link) and are totally pampered during their stay. There are a number of fairly frequent posters to this board who have had MAW trips, stayed there and can tell you all about it.

There are some differences in the way things happen in Disneyland as opposed to WDW. DL was built way before anyone thought of people in wheelchairs going to an amusement park. As a result, most of the rides had to be retrofitted, some lines can't fit wheelchairs and wheelchair users have to go in the exit of many rides in order to board. Some of the rides at MK at WDW are built the same way. When we first started coming to WDW 15 years ago, wheelchair users had to go in the exit because that was the only way to get to the place where they could board. As rides are being changed for fastpass, the waiting lines are being adjusted so wheelchair users can wait in the same lines with everyone else (Mainstream Access). Some of the rides/attractions at Epcot were built with wheelchair users in mind and almost all of the Studio and AK were built with mainstream access.
For some people (like Wheelsie, for example), what they need is a line that will allow them to bring their wheelchair with them where ever the line goes (plus a way to board the ride).
Fastpass also helps with the wait. When you get a fastpass, a return time is printed on it. When you come back at your return time, you may have only a 5 to 15 minute wait. That helps a lot. The GAC that Wheelsie mentioned also can help. It is not meant to give immediate access to the ride, but will help you get what you need to enjoy the park. It might be a waiting place out of the sun or an alternative waiting place. If I did this right, it should be a link to teri's FAQs about GACs. If it doesn't work, go to one of her posts and click the link by her signature.