Mason7AK
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2006
- Messages
- 168
We just got back on Monday from a wonderful week at WDW and on the Disney Wonder! I promised a while back that I would post of our experiences, especially on the cruise portion of our trip since we have two kids in wheelchairs.
We arrived at WDW on December 1st, just in time for Pop Warner week! We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter. First, let me say that the pop warner crowd did not affect our resort stay at all. We had no problems with noise or with the buses. A few times the buses had some cheerleaders and chaperones on them, but they were well behaved and not excessively noisy (like I had read they might be). The parks were a bit more crowded than we expected them to be the first week in December. Waits for rides were from 30 - 45 minutes though, so not bad. We were traveling as a family of six this trip. DD6 and DS5 both in manual chairs and DD2 in a stroller as a wheelchair. Myself, my husband and my 14 yo DD made up the rest of our party. Our 14 yo was embarrassed to death by us being loaded onto the bus before other mobile people. To the point that she wanted to go to the back of the regular line and risk being seperated from us with DD2 in the stroller. The bus drivers were wonderful about getting her to join us and putting her at ease. Guests were generally understanding and helpful as well. Once, we tried to wave the bus on as we hadn't been waiting as long as the people in the regular line, and all the people in the line told the bus driver to load us! They were concerned that DD6 was too cold to wait for another bus! That was so very nice, but we did wait for the next bus anyway, even though the driver told us "are you sure? I have to put my head on the pillow and sleep well tonight!"
Our first day was at the Studios and we were able to get our GAC there. We explained our needs and they were very accommodating. The CM's at Guest Relations also spent a good bit of time trading pins with our DS5, who had just gotten his first lanyard with pins. Very sweet!
Other than the usual problems with people cutting right in front of the wheelchairs and tripping on them and the kids, we had no bad experiences or encounters this trip at the parks. Things went very smoothly. DD and DS got Tinkerbell trading pins at AK when we went to the Tusker House character breakfast. DD2, with hearing loss, had a wonderful first trip! The shows and music were plenty loud enough for her and she loved the stimulation. She did well using her stroller as a wheelchair, as she is barely walking, and we had no problems using it with the "stroller as a wheelchair" tag attached.
Now, on to the cruise! All I can say is "WOW!" It was our first cruise and we were sooooo impressed with how Disney Cruise Line handled our needs and took care of the kids! We did not request handicapped accesssible cabins, and instead had two oceanview staterooms right next to each other (not connecting). DS5's wheelchair is so tiny that it fit right in through the cabin door and we kept it inside the stateroom. DD6's chair is larger and would not fit through the cabin door, so we kept it in the hallway just outside the room. I cannot tell you how many times I had cabin stewards come running to help if they were in the hallway and saw me carrying DD out of the room to load her in the chair! All the CM's on the ship were soooo helpful and nice. At Castaway Cay a CM helped us find a spot on the family beach that was shaded and handy to everything. We used the sand wheelchairs to get the kids to the beach and back. Parked the wheelchairs over by the kids club on Castaway Cay and they were right where we had left them at the end of the day.
The kids clubs on the ship (Oceanear club and Flounder's Nursery) were outstanding! They already had in their computers the information we had provided on the children's disabilities. They are VERY accommodating. DS5 spent just about all of his time on the cruise at the Oceanear Club - he LOVED it! He is in diapers, but they paged me if he needed a change and I would come to the club, get him, and then return him after his change. Not a problem at all! DD6 was welcome as well, but I kept her with me most of the time, as her needs are much greater than DS and I just felt more comfortable keeping her close to me. The club counselors kept asking me to leave her though! They really wanted her to join in the activities! DD2 stayed at Flounder's Reef Nursery for a few hours every evening and she loved it there too! She would toddle over to the door and point to be let in the playroom as soon as we arrived in the nursery! The counselors there were wonderful with her as well!
All in all, I have only good things to say about Disney Cruise Line!!
We had a great time and if anyone has specific questions, please ask away!!
Angela
We arrived at WDW on December 1st, just in time for Pop Warner week! We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter. First, let me say that the pop warner crowd did not affect our resort stay at all. We had no problems with noise or with the buses. A few times the buses had some cheerleaders and chaperones on them, but they were well behaved and not excessively noisy (like I had read they might be). The parks were a bit more crowded than we expected them to be the first week in December. Waits for rides were from 30 - 45 minutes though, so not bad. We were traveling as a family of six this trip. DD6 and DS5 both in manual chairs and DD2 in a stroller as a wheelchair. Myself, my husband and my 14 yo DD made up the rest of our party. Our 14 yo was embarrassed to death by us being loaded onto the bus before other mobile people. To the point that she wanted to go to the back of the regular line and risk being seperated from us with DD2 in the stroller. The bus drivers were wonderful about getting her to join us and putting her at ease. Guests were generally understanding and helpful as well. Once, we tried to wave the bus on as we hadn't been waiting as long as the people in the regular line, and all the people in the line told the bus driver to load us! They were concerned that DD6 was too cold to wait for another bus! That was so very nice, but we did wait for the next bus anyway, even though the driver told us "are you sure? I have to put my head on the pillow and sleep well tonight!"
Our first day was at the Studios and we were able to get our GAC there. We explained our needs and they were very accommodating. The CM's at Guest Relations also spent a good bit of time trading pins with our DS5, who had just gotten his first lanyard with pins. Very sweet!
Other than the usual problems with people cutting right in front of the wheelchairs and tripping on them and the kids, we had no bad experiences or encounters this trip at the parks. Things went very smoothly. DD and DS got Tinkerbell trading pins at AK when we went to the Tusker House character breakfast. DD2, with hearing loss, had a wonderful first trip! The shows and music were plenty loud enough for her and she loved the stimulation. She did well using her stroller as a wheelchair, as she is barely walking, and we had no problems using it with the "stroller as a wheelchair" tag attached.
Now, on to the cruise! All I can say is "WOW!" It was our first cruise and we were sooooo impressed with how Disney Cruise Line handled our needs and took care of the kids! We did not request handicapped accesssible cabins, and instead had two oceanview staterooms right next to each other (not connecting). DS5's wheelchair is so tiny that it fit right in through the cabin door and we kept it inside the stateroom. DD6's chair is larger and would not fit through the cabin door, so we kept it in the hallway just outside the room. I cannot tell you how many times I had cabin stewards come running to help if they were in the hallway and saw me carrying DD out of the room to load her in the chair! All the CM's on the ship were soooo helpful and nice. At Castaway Cay a CM helped us find a spot on the family beach that was shaded and handy to everything. We used the sand wheelchairs to get the kids to the beach and back. Parked the wheelchairs over by the kids club on Castaway Cay and they were right where we had left them at the end of the day.
The kids clubs on the ship (Oceanear club and Flounder's Nursery) were outstanding! They already had in their computers the information we had provided on the children's disabilities. They are VERY accommodating. DS5 spent just about all of his time on the cruise at the Oceanear Club - he LOVED it! He is in diapers, but they paged me if he needed a change and I would come to the club, get him, and then return him after his change. Not a problem at all! DD6 was welcome as well, but I kept her with me most of the time, as her needs are much greater than DS and I just felt more comfortable keeping her close to me. The club counselors kept asking me to leave her though! They really wanted her to join in the activities! DD2 stayed at Flounder's Reef Nursery for a few hours every evening and she loved it there too! She would toddle over to the door and point to be let in the playroom as soon as we arrived in the nursery! The counselors there were wonderful with her as well!
All in all, I have only good things to say about Disney Cruise Line!!
We had a great time and if anyone has specific questions, please ask away!!
Angela
But, it's helpful to hear first-hand accounts of others. I'm also afraid, because my daughter is so medically involved, of what would happen in case she had a medical emergency. Did you have any need for the medical services aboard the ship? If so, how well equipped did you think they were? Also, did you find it easy to get around the ship with your wheelchairs?
) and we were asked if we wanted medication for her. We declined as she was fine after one lil incident. Rest of the cruise was uneventful as far as medical things went. They did provide us with a three prong extension cord so we could plug in DD6's feeding pump at night. We carried our own emergency seizure meds with us, just in case. We also purchased the 
