question regarding Disney and my 7 year old who is deaf anyone

[amberdibble3]

i was just wondering a few thing. we are taking our children to their first trip to Disney in August. My son who is 7 is deaf of course we want this trip to be as magical to him as it is to every one else. my question how is Disney in terms of interpreters and other accommodations for individuals who are deaf or hoh.

 

[lanejudy]

WDW does provide ASL interpreters, but there is a schedule -- certain parks on specific days of the week, and certain times for various shows. I believe you need to let them know in advance. Hopefully someone else will chime in about this.

WDW also offers other services in-park, depending on your son's needs/abilities. There is captioning service at some shows, the device is available at Guest Relations with a fully-refundable deposit. If he simply needs to sit at the front to read lips, you can request that. If he has some limited hearing, you can get an assistive listening device, also at Guest Relations with a refundable deposit -- we didn't have very good experience with this but others might.

Here is the link to WDW services for the hearing impaired:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/hearing-impaired-services/

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[CarolAnnB]

Here's some info based on our experiences.

ASL interpreters are available at certain shows/attractions on certain days of the week at each park. The link above tells you which day. If you contact that number they can email you the schedule the week before your trip. If you go to www.wdwent.com and look at the shows for each park, they will tell you the schedule for the current week to give you an idea of the times and where to go. I always get the schedule at Guest Services as well when I arrive at the park. Interpreted shows we have seen:
MK: Dream Along with Mickey, Move it Shake it Celebrate it Parade, Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor, Celebrate a Dream Come True (3:00 parade to be replaced) and Jungle Cruise.
AK: Flights of Wonder, Finding Nemo the Musical, Jammin' Jungle Parade, Festival of the Lion King
DHS: Beauty & the Beast stage show, American Idol, Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular
Epcot: Turtle Talk with Crush and sometimes other things by the tank there but we have not seen these.
The ASL interpreters we have met are AWESOME!


If your son can read well, the handheld captioning device may be a good option when there is not ASL. My husband is HOH and was surprised at how much he had been missing before he got this. This is info I got from the Guests with Disabilities dept.

Handheld Captioning: Portable captioning system that utilizes Disney's Handheld Device to display text in locations such as moving attractions. Devices are available at Theme Park Guest Relations locations and a $25 refundable deposit is required (device must be returned on the same day for refund). Available at the following locations:

MAGIC KINGDOM Park:
Walt Disney World Railroad
Adventureland (2)-Pirates of the Caribbean, &
Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room
Liberty Square-The Haunted Mansion
Fantasyland (5)-Peter Pan’s Flight, “it’s a small world”, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Enchanted Tales with Belle & Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid
Tomorrowland (4)-Stitch’s Great Escape, Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, & Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park:
Camp Minnie-Mickey-Festival of the Lion King
Rafiki’s Planet Watch-Wildlife Express Train

Epcot®:
Spaceship Earth-Spaceship Earth ride
Universe of Energy-Ellen’s Energy Adventure
The Seas with Nemo & Friends-Seas with Nemo & Friends ride
The Land-Living with the Land
Imagination!-Journey Into Imagination with Figment
Norway-Maelstrom (ride portion only)
Mexico-Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros

Disney’s Hollywood Studios:
Beauty & the Beast-Live on Stage
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
The Great Movie Ride (ride portion only)
Disney Jr. – Live on Stage!
Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream
Studios Backlot Tour


On Toy Story Mania ride there is a "CC" button right in the car which will turn captioning on for you.

Also keep an eye on CM's nametags because if they speak ASL it will be noted on their nametag.

Hope this helps.

 

[Talking Hands]

Schedule for interpreters:
Mon and Thu Magic Kingdom
Tues and Sat Animal Kingdom
Wed and Sun Disney Hollywood Studios
Fri Epcot

At Epcot besides Turtle Talk they interpret Lock Out Tank and the Manatee talk at Living Seas and the House of Innovention

If you plan to do Hoop Dee Doo Dinner Show or the Luau you can request interpreters with a minimum of 2 weeks notice.

If you are going in late July be aware that the is a big annual meeting for deaf in Central, Florida this year that my affect how many deaf are on park before or after the meeting.