Is a doctor's note required?

[AnneUCSB]

My family (MH, DS7, DS5, and DS2, and my parents) are headed to Disneyland in mid November. This is our third trip as a family to D-land but this year has come with a struggle and celebration of sorts we had not anticipated when booking the trip in February. In June of this year I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I am currently undergoing chemotherapy and my last chemo session is scheduled for November 1. So, our trip from Nov. 14-18 will be a celebration of my chemo being completed and hopefully one huge step closer to being cancer-free I will still need to complete 5 weeks of radiation in December but my prognosis is great and this is just a crappy chapter of my life I must get through (I'm only 37 years old, this is so not fair ).

Anyway, I'm determined to keep our trip as scheduled and make it a wonderful trip for all of us. I will likely be quite tired though after 8 sessions and 3 months of chemotherapy. I may need a wheelchair to help get me through all the walking. Will I need a doctor's note? If I have a doctor's note explaining my situation, will Disney make any exceptions to get us priority seating for parades or Fantasmic or getting on rides given my medical condition? Obviously, I'm not looking to take advantage of my medical condition. The physical and emotional fatigue that come with cancer and chemotherapy are no joke

I appreciate any help or insight you may be able to provide. I find myself constantly visualizing being at Disneyland with my family and I truly believe this trip is helping in me in my fight back to health Thanks!

 

[Malcon10t]

I may need a wheelchair to help get me through all the walking. Will I need a doctor's note? If I have a doctor's note explaining my situation, will Disney make any exceptions to get us priority seating for parades or Fantasmic or getting on rides given my medical condition? Obviously, I'm not looking to take advantage of my medical condition. The physical and emotional fatigue that come with cancer and chemotherapy are no joke

You will not need a doctor's note. In fact, they will not look at any notes. As far as "priority seating", they have areas set aside for handicap seating, and they will allow you with 5 others in the area. As far as getting on rides, there are entrances for wheelchairs. You best bet is to get fastpasses for rides. The alternative entrances are not usually shorter, but designed to give you an easier wait. They are usually out of the sun and sometimes have seating, and usually designed so that the loaders can give you additional time to load and avoid stairs.

 

[Virgoinab]

I wish you the best of luck in your treatment, and hope that your upcoming trip is all you wish it to be.

You would not need a dr's note to get a "guest assistance pass" this is what you would need in order to access rides in the handicaped entrance/exit. Which if you are in a wheelchair, enables you to bypass stair's etc. However that does not mean you are able to get to the front of the line, that is not how it works. Often it means waitng longer depending on if you need help loading into the ride. Even if you bring a dr's note they will not look at it, since they do not require it for a guest assistance pass.

For show's parades etc You will not be able to get priority seating or such, you will be placed in the handicapped section.

You can get the guest assistance pass at city hall, if you have a wheel chair, that is pretty self evident to the cast member what type of pass you need, and they will ask you how many in your party that will enable them to wait and ride with you via the alternative entrances.

Again I wish you the best of luck

 

[ArchOwl]

I wish you the best of luck in your treatment, and hope that your upcoming trip is all you wish it to be.

You would not need a dr's note to get a "guest assistance pass" this is what you would need in order to access rides in the handicaped entrance/exit. Which if you are in a wheelchair, enables you to bypass stair's etc. However that does not mean you are able to get to the front of the line, that is not how it works. Often it means waitng longer depending on if you need help loading into the ride. Even if you bring a dr's note they will not look at it, since they do not require it for a guest assistance pass.

For show's parades etc You will not be able to get priority seating or such, you will be placed in the handicapped section.

You can get the guest assistance pass at city hall, if you have a wheel chair, that is pretty self evident to the cast member what type of pass you need, and they will ask you how many in your party that will enable them to wait and ride with you via the alternative entrances.

Again I wish you the best of luck

Actually, if you are in a wheelchair, or have a mobility device, you are able to use the handicapped entrances without a GAC (Guest Assistance Card). The mobility device is enough to alert the cast member to your needs. If you have additional needs, you may obtain a GAC for those needs. However, Disney's answer to stamina concerns is to use a wheelchair.

To the OP, I hope you have a great trip and that you are well on your way to health. . You are on the right track to a good vacation by considering a wheelchair, but I would also urge you to consider an ECV. I have had to use both and prefer the ECV because I am more independent and no one has to push me. I know it is a weird thing to think of getting (I am relatively young like yourself), but it is so nice to be able to zip around the parks. Anyway, just something to think about. I have rented both off-site and prefer that, because then I can use them to and from my hotel.

The queues at Disneyland are mostly not accessible and you end up using a lot of exits. You can take up to 5 additional people with you. Sometimes the wait may be longer, sometimes shorter. But the important thing is that you don't have to use up all your energy standing in line. You can remain seated and enjoy yourself much more. The lines at DCA are pretty much all accessible, so keep that in mind. I would for sure get a copy of the mobility guide from City Hall or sometimes they have them at the turnstiles. It will give you directions for boarding for each ride.

Some tips I can give you from personal experience: ride Space Mountain early in the day because the handicap line can get really long as the day wears on, ride Pirates early as well because that handicap line is also very long, and It's a Small World is another one to try for earlier rather than later. In DCA especially, make use of FP since they are accessible. There is handicapped seating for WOC, Fantasmic!, and some of the parades, but be sure to arrive early and understand if the CMs may need to split up your party a bit in order to accommodate everyone.

Have a great visit!

 

[Minuet888]

as someone who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last February I understand, the ADA act forbids them for asking for any notes.
so you can use the wheelchair no problem but be aware there is no priority seating for fireworks or parades
at least for us there haven't been and I've seen wheelchairs around the normal parade and firework area with the wheelchairs which suck because during fireworks everyone is standing and you're sitting its hard to see

 

[skellinton]

My aunt has extremely limited mobility, and I mean extremely, to the point there are times her one leg won't bend and when you see her trying to walk you know why she is using a scooter- she can't typically use a wheelchair due to them being so low, anyway she jst returned from WDW and there were some rides where she had to transfer from her scooter to a wheelchair, and some rides that were not even wheelchair accessible. She was able to get an ADA guide for each park from city hall which helped a lot. Unfortunately some of the CM's were unaware of how to assist or where she would enter the ride, so the maps were very helpful.
If you can transfer from your wheelchair to the rides that makes it much easier, for my aunt on some of the rides they had to get special cars/ boats for her to be able to ride.
If you don't have your own wheelchair you might want to look into cost and where you get them from. In WDW my aunt used an off site company to rent the scooter.

Good luck on your fight to returned health! Have a wonderful trip!!!

 

[Malcon10t]

be aware there is no priority seating for fireworks or parades
at least for us there haven't been

The last few times (as in last month) the handicap area has been down by the Showcase and at the Hub (they usually have a sign). For fireworks, there is no specific area, but we usually just camp out early in front of the castle, near the front curb. Just because I need to use a scooter, doesn't mean I'm not going to have to wait for a good seat. Also, for Fantasmic! the area is by the Mark Twain dock and the Pirate's Lair docking area. I prefer being more front and center, so I usually would stake out an area center, but by where I know the ropes will be (so I am not blocking people.)

Also, you can book Fantasmic! premium viewing. This is usually our preference.

 

[starshine514]

My mom uses a wheelchair, but loves the fireworks. We normally camp out just behind the flagpole simply because there is a large planter there so we have a little bit of space between us and the people in front of us. We did the front curb in front of the castle camp out once (without my mom with us) and found that we still had to pick up the girls to see because of all the people walking in the walkway in front of us. I'm sure there are places around the hub that may have a bit of a gap to help with fireworks viewing from a wheelchair as well.