Legally blind - ?

[Rosebud123]

Hi everyone,

A friend will be joining us in WDW for 5 days of our trip and he's legally blind (10/400 vision). I'm trying to plan the best seating for the shows, as all of the rides will be fine. In Soarin', I'll just ask the CM if we can wait for the front row. We'll get there super early for BATB so we can sit in front, and if I'm remembering correctly, the LMA show is probably fine from wherever we sit. What about Lion King? Can we just get there really early and request a front row seat?

Any other tips for him?

Thanks!

Sandy

 

[disney world dreamer]

i myself am visually impaired.
i'm completely blind in my left eye and have poor vision in my right eye with terrible night vision

soarin is a ride and you get about the same view from any row so no need to request the front row.

for BATB i don't show up "super" early only about 15 minutes prior to show time and i just walk down the wheelchair ramp towards the right and let the CM standing at the front know that i'm visually impaired and need a close seat.
they have never had a rpoblem letting me in the second row center even thought its "reserved" for those in wheelchairs and their family.

i haven't seen FOTLK so i'm not quite sure how the seating works there but i assume its close to BATB in that you'd just have to explain the situation to a CM and they'll gladly let you sit close.

for shows where its a continuous show where as one group exits another enters i just walk in and head towards the front.
so that includes shows like VOTLM, muppet vision 3D, mickey's philharmagic, carousel of progress.

as for other tips that really just depends on the person you are going with and what they may find helpful.

for me i like to hold onto my sister, mom, or BFF's (whoever i'm with) purse strap in dimly lit situations.
i also make sure that they tell me when there are gonna be steps and ESPECIALLY when there's gonna be a curb.
and they of course read menu options to me and whenever possible i like to be the one that holds the table while someone else gets the food so that i don't have to be worried about walking through crowds of people with a tray.

i did just go completely solo for the first time 3 weeks ago and i had a great time.
i asked for assistance at the airport to get to my gate and then at MCO to get to magical express and then did the same on the way back home and it worked out nicely.
i also was prepared to ask anyone for help if i needed it and CM's and guests were both very helpful.
i took my cane which i know how to use but never have actually used it.
i felt like having it out even if i didn't need it at the moment was good because then people could tell i'm visually impaired and sometimes they would approach me to see if needed help before i had the cahnce to ask for it.
i used it mainly in dimly lit lines and at night.
i also brought a flashlight and put it on a lanyard around my neck.
i was able to find my way through dim lines like POTC and space mountain fairly easily with the cane and flashlight.
many people had told me that the cane may cause problems but i was very aware of my surroundings.
never did i let it get too far from my body to trip anyone or get caught up on a pole during the lines.
(i use the diagonal across the body method vs the straight out in front of you tapping back and forth method. with the method i use you can very easily hold the cane tight against you when you need to so you avoid tripping others when in a crowded situations)
and for restaurants i looked online to see menus ahead of time and i decided what i wanted from each place i was going to eat.
and while i can handle cash just fine for most restaurants i used disney gift cards. i just found it easier.

 

[Rosebud123]

Thank so much much for all your very helpful tips!

He's flying in and out alone, so I'll prep him about where he needs to go to find Magical Express. We live in Boston and get travels all over the city by himself, but I'm thinking he'll need assistance in seeing/finding his gate. He owns a cane but never uses it!

 

[disney world dreamer]

Thank so much much for all your very helpful tips!

He's flying in and out alone, so I'll prep him about where he needs to go to find Magical Express. We live in Boston and get travels all over the city by himself, but I'm thinking he'll need assistance in seeing/finding his gate. He owns a cane but never uses it!

idk what airline he's flying with but i flew with southwest and when i booked the flight there was a place to put that you have a disability and it even listed visual impairment (or blind or something like that).
i know exactly where the southwest check in counter is at my airport so i walked up and stood in line and then explained to the woman that i was visually imapired and needed assistance to my gate and she had me sit off to the side while she got someone to help me through security.
then when i got off the plane at MCO i asked an employee that was standing at the desk at the gate that i was at. he called someone and that person came and knew exactly how to lead a visually impaired person and knew exactly where magical express was and led me right to the bus door.
the way back was a little more difficult.
i asked the CM standing outside of the magical express bus when i got to the airpolrt and he got me a skycap and then the skycap got me assistance but they insisted that i be in a wheelchair.
that was a bit annoying but it worked out fine.
then when i got back to my airport i didn't see anyone at the desk at the gate so i asked someone that was walking with a wheelchair to the plane. he blew me off and said he needed to help disabled people.
i then saw a woman with a wheelchair so i asked her and she took me to her cart and then said she had to get someone off the plane so she'd be right back.
the rude man walked back by with someone and saw me on the cart and apologized that he didn't know i was disabled.
i said it was fine but really i was still quite annoyed.
the woman took me to baggage claim and found my bag for me and then took me outside where my friend was to pick me up.
since my friend's car is bright yellow and i knew she'd call out for me i said i was ok to be left alone.

 

[allwritemel]

Thank you so much for posting that - my second (and last) worry has been debunked. I am functionally blind (often for several hours - the longest is 17 hours so far) for no reason and with no warning - I have a condition called Blepharospasm and I was seriously worried about enjoying disney with a sight problem. This thread has been incredibly reassuring!

 

[smidgy]

as far as Lion kings is concerned, there is a sepearate handicapped entrance, just next to the FP and standby entrances. you stand there and wait. even tho it seems like others in the other lines are going ahead of you, they aren't.. they are just advancing in their line.

when they start letting people in, they will first let the group in the handicapped line in. then you can enter and choose whichever seat you like. be aware that each of the 4 sections has bleachers, which can be a challenge for the visually impaired. but there are also benches in the front fo the bleachers.