Restrooms

[wendygrace]

Are there family restrooms all around Disney? If not, Are there any? We have two preschoolers and ds is a runner so going to the bathroom with both of them is an adventure in and of itself!

 

[DisneyMamaMG]

There are SOME family restrooms throughout WDW. They are labelled as 'companion restrooms' and have the wheelchair symbol, a man and a woman figure on each sign. I saw many families use them, and used them myself, as my three-year-old still insists on taking off his shoes to pee! Have a great time!

 

[NotUrsula]

There is one "family" restroom per park, at the Baby Care Center in each park. Those are designated for and meant for family use.

The other large single-room restrooms in WDW parks are companion restrooms for the disabled, which is why they are marked with a wheelchair symbol. While you certainly may use them, please be mindful that these are the only toilets (and I literally mean toilet, as in stool, not restroom) in each park that can be used by adult wheelchair users who cannot get out of their chairs unaided. With that in mind, please only use these restrooms when you really cannot manage in a conventional restroom, and please make it a point to finish up and get out of there as quickly as possible.

You might want to consider using a safety harness to contain a "runner" during restroom visits, or any other times when containing them in a stroller is not suitable and you will not have your hands free.

 

[SueM in MN]

Because the Companion Restrooms are set up for use by people with disabilities, they also have the higher raised seat toilets.
Also, they are one fairly large room with a door to the outside. Most of the doors are easy to open for people with disabilities to be able to use them, so if your runner can push down a handle, he can probably get out.
We have found the ones in MK usually have long lines of families waiting to get in, so we usually end up having to backtrack and go to First Aid when DD needs to use the toliet. Most of the handicapped stalls in the bathrooms at MK are not large enough to fit a wheelchair inside, so my youngest DD can only use the Companion Restrooms or the one in First Aid. That means there are only 6 toilets in the whole park she can use.

 

[Hannathy]

You say "we" if you are going with someone why not have one person wait with the kids while the other goes and vice versa. Or start now and impose strict consequences to not standing and waiting in the stall for Mommy, and really mean it.

 

[Oceana]

Animal Kingdom has them all over. I LOVE them!!!!

my 3 year old did fine on the higher toilet.

 

[wendygrace]

I will definetly keep in mind that the companion bathrooms are for wheelchair users. I know how hard it can be to find those available. Ds has special needs. We are planning on harnessing him however I have yet to find a harness he hasn't gotten out of. Yes, it will be my dh and I but I don't often venture out alone with two kids who are still potty learning for long periods of time. Dh has a difficult time controlling ds and doesn't feel comfortable bringing dd into the men's room. They will probably just end up in pull-ups though and we'll hope that they don't regress to terribly much.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[NotUrsula]

Take a look at www.ebay.ca -- you should be able to find a Clippasafe harness there. These are English safety reins that have all the fastenings in the back and have the rein fastened in two spots under the shoulder blades. As long as you adjust it properly, it should be very difficult to get out of.
The rein on a Clippasafe is short, only about 30 inches at full extension when fastened at both points. They also have an extra set of short straps that can be used as backup to keep a child secured in a high chair or stroller.

I was a serious houdini when I was little, but I couldn't get out of reins like these.

 

[dhardawa]

We never had to worry about family restrooms when my daughter was younger. They all were auto-flushing (at least the ones we encountered) and were very violent auto-flusing. We're talking hang on to your purse or it might get sucked down violent. After the first restroom where the toilet flushed while she was sitting on it, she refused to go to the bathroom anywhere but the hotel room.

 

[northriver]

I read somewhere else to take little sticky notes to cover the flush sensor. When you and your children are done, you can remove the sticky note and flush manually with the little button. I haven't personally tried this yet, but have my sticky notes packed and ready to go so I hope it works!

I did not read all the posts carefully so I'm sorry if this is redundant or off topic. When I am alone with DD, I keep her strapped in the stroller. Ours is an umberlla stroller and sometimes it is tight but it does fit with me in all the handicapped stalls I've ever been in. That way I can use the facilites and she cannot escape, even if she is unhappy about the process, lol. (When my son was little once he climbed under the divider and found himself in a stall with another (screaming) woman - he only did that ONCE LOL!)

It is definately a longer wait for those stalls - I really feel sorry for someone needing one every single time. For those that think it isn't necessary to let the wheelchair bound ahead of you in line for the restroom - please think again!

 

[SueM in MN]

I read somewhere else to take little sticky notes to cover the flush sensor. When you and your children are done, you can remove the sticky note and flush manually with the little button. I haven't personally tried this yet, but have my sticky notes packed and ready to go so I hope it works!

Sticky notes work very well.
My youngest DD has cerebral palsy and is not always able to sit still on the toilet. Usually, it will flush once you take the sticky note off.

Before we started using sticky notes, her record for one time using the toilet was 12 flushes. Some of the toilets also have a little button that sticks out near the flush sensor (in case it doesn't flush, you can push the button). Hitting that button will make it flush, even if the sensor is covered with a sticky note (my DD has done that).