Restrooms Without Auto-open Doors

[iuki]

How do you manage restroom doors that do not have the HC auto-open button to open the door to restrooms? The door always closes on me and my EWC.

 

[Groot]

Wait for someone to hold the door open. I wish that they had auto doors on the bathrooms.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I think 3 of the parks are configured in such a way that there are no doors on the restrooms. Animal Kingdom is the only park that has doors, and I think that's a safety factor in case there's a loose animal. And there are doors at Disney Springs and all the resorts (or at least all I've been to). As a person who travels solo 90% of the time, I usually do either wait, ask someone nearby to hold the door open, or start trying to figure out how to do it myself, but usually someone comes out and holds the door open for me.

 

[SueM in MN]

Just FYI - if you need the Companion Restroom, I don’t know of any thst have door open buttons.

I agree with Simba's Mom - all the theme parks except Animal Kingdom have restrooms configured without doors. The exceptions in the other parks would be restrooms in restaurants

 

[LoveToDisney]

The restroom by Satu’li canteen has the door propped open every time I have been there.

 

[Tiggerish]

Doing life with a power wheelchair means developing a whole new set of skills because the world is 95% non-button doors. Because I have the ability to move my legs, I have mastered using a foot or the edge of chair to manage doors. But I never turn down someone's offer to help with a door.

 

[Groot]

And let’s not forget that a majority of the doors are heavy, which for me means having to carefully maneuver my powerchair with my good hand while trying to hold the door open with my bad one.

 

[iuki]

I will say that Disney is the most ADA accommodating company of all businesses. I was actually referring to public restrooms like in stores.
Thanks for responding.

 

[DisneyOma]

I will say that Disney is the most ADA accommodating company of all businesses. I was actually referring to public restrooms like in stores.
Thanks for responding.

Maybe ask on the Community disAbilities sub-forum? That's where the non-Disney questions have a maintained home

 

[mamabunny]

I will say that Disney is the most ADA accommodating company of all businesses. I was actually referring to public restrooms like in stores.
Thanks for responding.

It’s hard, because as others have mentioned above, you have to figure out how best to drive your chair *and* hold that door open at the same time.

For me, because I am right handed, and my joystick is on the right, I find it easiest if the door opens to the left (either in or out - towards or away from me) because that lets me use my right hand for the joystick, which is more capable of the accuracy of movement I desire. I can then roll up fairly close to the door, reach out with my left hand, which holds and controls the door while I drive through. I allow enough space to be able to back up a bit while opening the door wide, and then I push the door back as far as possible to give me time to drive forward and clear the doorway. Not gonna lie… I have gotten bumped by doors that have the self-close on them, but I’m averaging a success rate of about 65% these days with no bumps! Yay!

If the door opens to the right, then I will try to pull up to the door slightly off center, towards the left side of the opening. Pull the door open with my right hand, and push it as far back as possible. Once the door is back as far as I can get it, I will use my right hand to work the joystick while my left hand holds the door as far away as possible. I have to make sure I have enough room in front of me to drive over to the right and then forward through the doorway. I usually let go of the door around when I get halfway through. This will almost always result in a “bump” from the self-close on the right rear corner of the chair, but generally speaking, I do OK. This has taken me the longest to master.

There are a lot of things like this that just take time and practice to master. Sue and the others here who said “it takes a lot of time to get used to a power chair” were talking about these exact kinds of things. Most folks can drive a power chair straight in a line, they can even rather quickly learn how to turn in tight spaces, how to back up safely, etc. It’s the “everyday” things - like bathroom doors - that are tough to learn and even harder to master. I may never be perfect at it, but I will keep trying to improve my strategy!

 

[iuki]

It’s hard, because as others have mentioned above, you have to figure out how best to drive your chair *and* hold that door open at the same time.

For me, because I am right handed, and my joystick is on the right, I find it easiest if the door opens to the left (either in or out - towards or away from me) because that lets me use my right hand for the joystick, which is more capable of the accuracy of movement I desire. I can then roll up fairly close to the door, reach out with my left hand, which holds and controls the door while I drive through. I allow enough space to be able to back up a bit while opening the door wide, and then I push the door back as far as possible to give me time to drive forward and clear the doorway. Not gonna lie… I have gotten bumped by doors that have the self-close on them, but I’m averaging a success rate of about 65% these days with no bumps! Yay!

If the door opens to the right, then I will try to pull up to the door slightly off center, towards the left side of the opening. Pull the door open with my right hand, and push it as far back as possible. Once the door is back as far as I can get it, I will use my right hand to work the joystick while my left hand holds the door as far away as possible. I have to make sure I have enough room in front of me to drive over to the right and then forward through the doorway. I usually let go of the door around when I get halfway through. This will almost always result in a “bump” from the self-close on the right rear corner of the chair, but generally speaking, I do OK. This has taken me the longest to master.

There are a lot of things like this that just take time and practice to master. Sue and the others here who said “it takes a lot of time to get used to a power chair” were talking about these exact kinds of things. Most folks can drive a power chair straight in a line, they can even rather quickly learn how to turn in tight spaces, how to back up safely, etc. It’s the “everyday” things - like bathroom doors - that are tough to learn and even harder to master. I may never be perfect at it, but I will keep trying to improve my strategy!

Thanks. I pretty much do what you do. If I find the magic trick, I’ll share.

 

[iuki]

Maybe ask on the Community disAbilities sub-forum? That's where the non-Disney questions have a maintained home

Sorry. I thought I was. For some reason I seem to get the forum and sub forum mixed up.

 

[Groot]

There are a lot of things like this that just take time and practice to master. Sue and the others here who said “it takes a lot of time to get used to a power chair” were talking about these exact kinds of things. Most folks can drive a power chair straight in a line, they can even rather quickly learn how to turn in tight spaces, how to back up safely, etc. It’s the “everyday” things - like bathroom doors - that are tough to learn and even harder to master. I may never be perfect at it, but I will keep trying to improve my strategy!

Exactly. People who have powerchairs have to be extra cautious because if they have a high end chair that has the articulating footrests, if those get damaged, they’re expensive to fix.

 

[lanejudy]

Maybe ask on the Community disAbilities sub-forum? That's where the non-Disney questions have a maintained home

Sorry. I thought I was. For some reason I seem to get the forum and sub forum mixed up.

This is fine. We'll probably shift it eventually since it isn't specific to WDW trip planning. Essentially the same posters read the subforum so you aren't likely to get any different responses.