Potty training at WDW

[AliceandAriel]

I didn't say the Companion Restroom are only for use by people with disabilities who use wheelchairs. They are -set up for that use, but some of the features they have make them useful to people with other kinds of disabilities or other people who don't have disabilities.

I wanted to point out that they have raised seat toilets - which is a surprise to many people. Because people call them Family Restrooms, some people expect the ones at WDW to have small toddler sized toilet, which they don't have.

Some, but not all, of the WDW restrooms have handicapped stalls that are large enough to accommodate a person in a wheelchair, plus an aide. Some people with disabilities can't use those stalls because of size, no sink in the stall or the noise level in the bathroom.

I need to use the Companion Restrooms with my daughter, who is disabled.
It does take us a while in there because she is significantly disabled and needs a lot of assistance. It is important to realize that some people may need extra time in there - we have personally had someone call Security on us because we were in the Companion Restroom for more than 5 minutes. The first time they pounded on the door, I did say in a loud voice that I was in there with someone who was disabled and gave an estimate of how much longer we would be in there. I know they heard that because I heard them talking about it. But, they still got Security and demanded that Security kick us out.

We've also had the experience of being yelled at for using the Companion Restrooms because "these are Family Restrooms. You've got stalls in all the bathrooms you can use."

So, my point was people need to be considerate of whoever is using the Companion Restrooms, disabled or non-disabled.

I couldn't agree more. While my experience with using the Companion Restrooms wasn't as horrific as yours, above all you need to be considerate of who is using it. Extreme shame on the person(s) who called Security on you for being in the restroom.

 

[gschon]

Accessible facilities are required by law, so that disabled people have somewhere to go. However, disabled people are not exempt from waiting a few minutes to use the facilities.

 

[gschon]

...If you have a kiddie toilet seat, Please don't bring it into the restaurant and set it on the table. This happened at Akershus last year. The Dad was carrying it, set it down, didn't wash hands , and went to the buffet....

 

[sb682]

Put her in Pull-Ups and stop for a potty break about every half hour. We did this when DS was first showing interest in potty training and he used the toilet most of the time that trip, doing better than he did at home. If she gets a sticker or a piece of candy each time at home, bring some on your trip, too. The post it notes are wonderful. Make sure to pack plenty of extra Pull-Ups and a change of clothes in your park bag every day. Extra underwear and shorts are hard to find in the shops, and they are EXPENSIVE!

 

[CourtneyL]

My DD pretty much potty trained on our last trip. We had her in pull ups and we would all stop at the restrooms every 2 or 3 hours, before any show, a meal, or a long line. We carried a full size potty seat (weepod basix) in a wet/dry bag (meant for cloth diapers). At the time she was not comfortable with any of the folding potty seats we had, so we carried around a big one. It stayed in the stroller most of the time, unless we would be very far away from the stroller for a while.

 

[Shadowcat70]

Just echoing other parents here...
For both our kids, we did pull-ups and went into a bathroom between every ride. I also brought a spare pair of shorts just in case, and a post-it note to cover the sensor on the auto flushing toilets (which used to scare my daughter). On both of the trips, we had zero accidents, and it also built up our kids' potty-training confidence. I also took a look at each park's map before we went, so I knew ahead of time where are the potties were.

They actually enjoyed going into the Disney bathrooms too. I guess the magic is everywhere.

Oh and Happy Mother's Day to all those moms and moms-to-be!

 

[maxiesmom]

Accessible facilities are required by law, so that disabled people have somewhere to go. However, disabled people are not exempt from waiting a few minutes to use the facilities.

Of course not. But as the parks have as few as 6 companion toilets in them the courteous thing to do is to leave them for people who have to use them. And can't use one of the hundreds of other toilets.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We used pull ups and stopped at bathrooms regularly. The trip kind of derailed our potty training progress, but we did the best that we could.

This is what we did too. For years afterwards our youngest wanted to stop every time we passed a bathroom no matter where we went. LOL

 

[bennifer]

I just want to say Bravo to all of you parents who will take your potty training child! I held off for a couple months when I knew my youngest was ready only because I didn't want the hassle of it at WDW!

 

[Gracie09]

The bathrooms are not strictly for handicapped use as is depicted on the signage. There are also handicapped stalls in the public bathrooms as well that can accomodate those in wheelchairs along with an aide. (I work with the elderly and am very aware of the needs of those who are not ambulatory.)

Companion bathrooms are in place for any person who requires a companion while using the facilities (and that does not exempt children who for one reason or another cannot use a public toilet.) Companion bathrooms are also a Godsend for parents of children with sensory issues.) They are also beneficial to a mother travelling alone with a baby or small child who she needs to keep safely with her while she is using the facilities.

Why can't the mother simply bring the child(ren) into the regular stall with her. I have two preschoolers and we often all go into the same regular stall. It's not spacious but it's for going to the bathroom so no big deal.

Accessible facilities are required by law, so that disabled people have somewhere to go. However, disabled people are not exempt from waiting a few minutes to use the facilities.

No one said disabled people shouldn't wait but why make anyone wait longer when you could simply use a regular stall and be out in a couple minutes.

Op when we went with a newly potty trained child. We made a lot of potty breaks especially before entering lines. If we left a line. We did not attempt to go back and meet our party. The lines are not set up for that and you would have to push past hundreds of people who will not like that and you have no way of knowing where your party is. Also it taught our dd that when mommy said you had to try to go, you had to try to go. No pretending just to get to the ride and then ten minutes later you HAD to go