Need advice from a newbie!

[weesignlanguage]

Hey guys!! I am new to the disabilities board! I am trying to read through alot of the posts to get information about going to WDW w/ a disabled person. However, I thought it would be best to ask you guys, the experts, for solid advice! Any advice is appreciated! Here is my situation:

My family (dh, ds who is 4 and myself) along with my in-laws and brother-in-law are headed to WDW for a free dining trip in September. We are currently booked at the AS Sports in a standard room. My mother-in-law is having some severe knee issues and has decided to go ahead and gain handicapped status so she can have closer parking and such. She has also decided to use a mobility scooter at Disney. She is just now accepting her status as disabled and so I am trying to be very sensitive to her needs and not make a big deal out of it b/c I do not want to embarass her or make her feel like she is "trouble." I have been given the task of planning out the entire trip. We have made ressies for all of the restaurants we are going to eat at and like I said a minute ago, we have the room ressies.

What I need is advice on things to think about when bringing a disabled person like my mother-in-law into the parks. How does that work?? Do I need to request a certain type of room?? What about restaurants? Are there any that are particularly difficult to access? My mother-in-law is toying w/ the idea of borrowing a mobility scooter (she hasn't purchased one yet...working on that though) from a person in our hometown. If that falls through, are there mobility scooters for rent at WDW? How does that work? Finally, what about lines for rides? I know that some rides have handicap lines but what about the other 5 in our party? Will we be separated?

These are just a few of the questions I have begun to think about...any help is going to be sooo helpful!! Thanks guys!!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Hi and to disABILITIES!

There are three possibilities for rooms for a person with mobility problems.

One is just a standard room. The key questions for this is if she is able to sit and rise from a toilet on her own and if she is able to safely get into a bathtub (with shower in tub) and out on her own.

If the above answer is no, the next step up is an Accessible Room. In a regular accessible room the toilet is 17-19 inches instead of the standard 13 and has grab bars to assist in sitting and rising and has grab bars at/in the tub to provide extra stability when entering or departing or standing while taking a shower.

The highest level, is wheelchair (or fully) accessible with both extra space next to the toilet so the person can slide-transfer from a wheelchair and has a roll-in shower.

It seems that at this time your MIL can probably make do with a standard or basic accessible room.

All Disney restaurants are fully accessible. Again, as an ECV user I normally will park my ECV outside the restaurant or in the lobby area and walk to the table. However, people who cannot transfer (especially in chairs) can get all the way to the table. (This can be a problem in some locations due to crowding,, but that is another story entirely.)

If she has never used an ECV I would suggest she go to a large store such as a Target or WalMart, or a large grocery store and use their available ECVs to learn. Please realize that the store ECVs are much larger and more difficult to maneuver than any others, especially because of the large basket in the front.

If you click on where it says "disABILTIES" at the top of this page it will take you to the Index. One of the top items is the "disABILTIES FAQ" which will gives lots of useful information. Post #2 discusses mobility and stamina problems at WDW and also lists available resources.

Or, if you want an easier route, click on the link in my signature.

The majority of attraction lines in WDW are "mainstreamed". This means that a wheelchair or ECV will use the regular entrance and line all the way to either a show seating or ride load area. If a line is not mainstreamed there will be signs and/or Cast Members to direct you where to go.

If a show, normally there will be spaces to park a chair or ECV and there will be seats next to the space for other members of the group.

If a ride, usually you will have to transfer to a ride vehicle, although some rides will allow a person in a wheelchair to remain in their chair. If you have to transfer to a ride, and unload is not at the same location as load, your ECV will magically appear at the unload area.

Unless the total party size is greater than six there is never any problem in keeping the group together in a line.

This is just a start, I'm sure you will have more questions as you go along and we will be happy to answer them for you.

 

[SueM in MN]

What I need is advice on things to think about when bringing a disabled person like my mother-in-law into the parks. How does that work?? Do I need to request a certain type of room??

unless she needs something special like a roll in shower, you don't need a certain type of room. The ECV will fit in a standard room. You may have to move some furniture around a little to make a parking spot for it in the room, but that is about all. Wheelchair accessible rooms are no bigger, they just have a different arrangement of space to make room in the bathroom for a roll in shower. If you look in the disABILITIES FAQs thread, one of the posts in that thread is about resorts. There is a link to that thread in my signature.

What about restaurants? Are there any that are particularly difficult to access?

all restaurants are accessible. Since she can walk, she may find it easier to park the ECV and walk to the table, but she would be able to park at the table if she wishes and stay right there to eat.
when you check in for your restaurant reservation, let the CM checking you in know what you plan to do.

My mother-in-law is toying w/ the idea of borrowing a mobility scooter (she hasn't purchased one yet...working on that though) from a person in our hometown. If that falls through, are there mobility scooters for rent at WDW?

post #2 of the disABILIILTIES FAQs thread can answer all your questions about renting an ECV.
If she brings one with and you are flying, the ECV does not cost extra to transport and it does not count toward your baggage allowance.
Check with your airline for how to notify them and what the requirements for getting it ready for travel will be.

How does that work? Finally, what about lines for rides? I know that some rides have handicap lines but what about the other 5 in our party? Will we be separated?

These are just a few of the questions I have begun to think about...any help is going to be sooo helpful!! Thanks guys!!

in most cases, waiting with a wheelchair or ECV is just like waiting without one. Most of the lines are accessible and everyone waits together in the same line. These are called Mainstream Lines. AK and the Studio were built with mostly Mainstream Lines. Epcot and MK are older parks and were not built with accessibility in mind. They added Mainstream Lines where they could as they added or renovated attractions, but were not able to convert all of them.
When you arrive at the first park, go to Guest Relations and request a Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities. The current Guidebook is a map, similar to the regular park maps. There is one for each park and you can ask for one for each park at the first place you stop.
The Guidemap does show the correct entrance for people with disabilities for each attraction (it usually just says "enter through the Mainstream Queue". If you have any questions, you can ask the CM at the entrance.
There are some attractions where you will enter in the usual place, but will be directed to a different place for boarding. There are also a few that do have a handicaaped entrance. WDW considers a wheelchair/ECV party to be a total of 6 people (5 people plus the person with a disability). Since your party is 6, you will seldom find a need to be separated. When you will be asked to separate, it will generally be because the waiting space is very small or there is only seating for a wheelchair/ECV plus one companion. The rest of your party will be directed to seats nearby.

If you think of any other questions, please ask.

 

[SueM in MN]

I was typing at the same time as Cheshire Figment was.
We pretty much said the same things

 

[gailanncreates]

Been reading this intently, as we are doing almost the same thing!

Sue, not to be dense, but when you say "Guidemap", do you mean the folding maps you pick up at the front of each park, or is there something more specific to handicapped accessible that I should get?

I'm crossing my fingers this all works out!

 

[christymarie]

One other thing to keep in mind is parking. Even with a handicapped parking pass we had a lot of walking to do before getting to the monorail at the TTC to get to MK. You can find transportation wheelchairs you can use to get the monorail but they are sometimes not there if you get there after the park has opened for the day. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

There are special guidebooks for each park for Guests with Disabilities. They give lots of information which is not on the regular park maps.

 

[gailanncreates]

Would these be at the Guest Services locations? Is it even possible to get one (or all for the four parks) in advance??
Thanks in advance!

 

[lunapnp]

My oldest DD, 13, uses a power wheelchair. She's been using a chair daily for years. I know the subject may be difficult to approach with your mother-in-law, but it's one the definitely needs to be discussed. Navigating a power chair/scooter in Disney can be very exhausting! I can only imagine it would be even more so to an "inexperienced" driver. I've seen all too many people that decide for Disney to be their first personal experience in driving an ECV. I'm not saying that those people should not be using one...just my personal opinion is that I would not want to have my first learning experience to be at Disney. It's crowded, some people are oblivious to ECV / power chair users, and then there's people who are outright RUDE to chair users. Like I said, my DD is an experienced driver and using her chair at Disney literally wears her out. She gets tired of constantly stopping for people because she's afraid she's going to run over someone who is not paying attention to her. Usually by the evening, we've resorted to using her manual chair so that her dad or I can push her and she can relax and just enjoy Disney.

Good luck to you! I hope you have a great trip!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Would these be at the Guest Services locations? Is it even possible to get one (or all for the four parks) in advance??
Thanks in advance!

If you go to Post #3 of the disABILITIES FAQs (click on link in my signature) near the top of that post you will see links to all the individual park Disability Guidebooks. You can download and print them in advance of arrival.