we are coming to wdw in July this year and have a 4 1/2 year old and a 2 1/2 year old. Our 2 1/2 year old has a condition which means that his left foot turns in and round to the back so his foot is completely turned around to the back. We were wondering do we have to provide anything to get in the disabled areas for the shows and parades at wdw as he is registered disabled or does he have to have a wheelchair to have this privelidge... can any one help with this info.
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disabled child going to wdw - can you help
- Thread starter daisygeorge
- Start date
CAPTAIN HOOK
Well-Known Member
A wheelchair user will get access into the disabled viewing areas within Disney - For car parking a disabled badge or permit in the windscreen will enable you to park near the park entrances
thank you both for your help...much appreciated... so if we go to guest services at the first park we visit will this last for all the disney parks for 14 days or will we have to get one every day that we visit them?
imagineersrock
New Member
daisygeorge said:
You can choose to either rent a wheelchair or stop by any guest services location where you can pick up a "Guest Assistance Card." These cards are customized to your specific needs, and tell Cast Members all over property how they can help you when it isn't immediately obvious that someone in your party has special needs.
So if you don't neccesarily need/want a wheelchair, a GAC is the way to go. :wave:
supapampam
Member
there is a great book 'PassPorter's Walt Disney for Special Needs' you can get it at any bookstore or there site passporter.com
thank you all very much for your help... and we look forward to my sixth visit to wdw and the children's first
Mickeyman819
Member
Like other people have been saying just stop in at guest relations and they will be able to give you a "Disabled Guest Card." The card is about 5x7 and I highly recomend getting a clear sleeve to put around it so it will be safe or even a ziplock bag. All you have to do is show castmembers that card and they will help in the way they are directed to.
imagineersrock
New Member
Have a great trip!daisygeorge said:
just one quick last questions would we be able to get this card at guest services on arrival at our hotel we are staying at Disney's All Star Movie Resort and do we have to bring any paperwork from the uk to confirm what his condition is as we do not have a "disabled blue card" as he is under 3...thanks again in anticipation of your help....
barnum42
New Member
If the only effect of condition is that he is in a wheelchair, then the chair is the only "pass" you need.
If you want to park in the disabled bays with signs on posts you would need an official disabled parking permit. This is a state thing, not a Disney thing. If you are in one of the bays with a disabled sign on a post, the police will book you. However there are many bays close by you can use without a disabled badge - before my mother was issued hers we would tell the parking CMs that we were travelling with a wheelchair. Apart from one surly CM they all happily pointed us in the right direction. One even came to recognise us
Remember though that wheelchairs are not short cuts to the front of lines or guaranteed best seats in the house and you will sometimes have to wait longer or be denied access when limited spaces are filled. There are special free guide books for all the parks that detail how each attraction copes with wheelchairs.
I have made a thread of the experiences I had with my mother and her wheelchair: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=42507
Hope it helps.
If you want to park in the disabled bays with signs on posts you would need an official disabled parking permit. This is a state thing, not a Disney thing. If you are in one of the bays with a disabled sign on a post, the police will book you. However there are many bays close by you can use without a disabled badge - before my mother was issued hers we would tell the parking CMs that we were travelling with a wheelchair. Apart from one surly CM they all happily pointed us in the right direction. One even came to recognise us
Remember though that wheelchairs are not short cuts to the front of lines or guaranteed best seats in the house and you will sometimes have to wait longer or be denied access when limited spaces are filled. There are special free guide books for all the parks that detail how each attraction copes with wheelchairs.
I have made a thread of the experiences I had with my mother and her wheelchair: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=42507
Hope it helps.
thanks for your help... but my son is not in a wheelchair.. but he has two medical problems one being his foot turns in and one concerning his hips and I just wondered if we had to provide medical evidence to use the disabled facility if necessary.
we do not want to misuse this facility and are not doing it to get "short cuts to the front of lines or guaranteed best seats in the house" we just want our son to have the best holiday ever and unfortunately we may need to use this service from time to time and just wondered as only his foot is a visable disability if we needed to bring medical evidence.to prove both his medical problems. As for driving thanks for your advice but we are using disney transport so will have no problem with parking..
p.s glad to hear you had a good holiday with your mum!!!
we do not want to misuse this facility and are not doing it to get "short cuts to the front of lines or guaranteed best seats in the house" we just want our son to have the best holiday ever and unfortunately we may need to use this service from time to time and just wondered as only his foot is a visable disability if we needed to bring medical evidence.to prove both his medical problems. As for driving thanks for your advice but we are using disney transport so will have no problem with parking..
p.s glad to hear you had a good holiday with your mum!!!
Mickeyman819
Member
I do not believe that they will ask for any proof of this condition. I think it is actually against ADA laws to ask about this condition.
There are people that do "cheat" the system and they get away with it. I say go, and have a great time.
There are people that do "cheat" the system and they get away with it. I say go, and have a great time.
robynchic
New Member
I would think that the visual verification of her son's condition would suffice. The question I would specifically ask is what kind of SPECIFIC accomodations do you want? If it's just to have that kind of access, they may not provide you with a GAC. I'm not an authority, but I can imagine that a difficult Guest Services cast member may be disinclined to assist.
we do not know what assistance he will need on holiday as yet as he has never been, but with all the walking etc although he will have a stroller.... we know what he needs at home on a day to day basis but just wondered what help there was for him should he need it...and we had heard about this... thank you everyone for your comments...
barnum42
New Member
Is this your first trip to Disney World?
The parks are stroller friendly. But many attractions will not allow you to bring the stroller into the queue lines or preshow areas - there are parking areas to leave them outside. If your son is OK standing in a queue or in some cases negotiating a comparatively long queue line then you should be OK without having to worry about special assistance.
If there is more to it than that you may wish to email Disney Guest Services and they will be able to advise you directly:
WDW.Guest.Communications@disneyworld.com
The parks are stroller friendly. But many attractions will not allow you to bring the stroller into the queue lines or preshow areas - there are parking areas to leave them outside. If your son is OK standing in a queue or in some cases negotiating a comparatively long queue line then you should be OK without having to worry about special assistance.
If there is more to it than that you may wish to email Disney Guest Services and they will be able to advise you directly:
WDW.Guest.Communications@disneyworld.com
Hello again, thanks for your message...no it is my son's and daughter's first time being 2 1/2 and 4 1/2 and my husband's second and my sixth... my son is unable to stand for long periods because of his condition with his foot and his hips and we do not want to use a wheelchair and there are more deserving people out there and we can always pick him up...I have e-mailed disney guest services, thanks for that tip and we will see what they say. As I said before it is not to get to the front of the line or the best seats, we are just doing this because my son deserves a brilliant holiday after all he has been though and we do not want to see him have any more discomfort than he needs to....any anything that just might assist him on this holiday the better as far as I am concerned...
thanks for your comments and help on this matter...
thanks for your comments and help on this matter...
barnum42
New Member
Well as you and your husband are repeat visitors, you will have a good idea of the layout of the parks, so to some degree will know what to expect.daisygeorge said:
I don't know what the disabled guest card grants, but if it lets you use the pushchair as a wheelchair then you will find that it may be advantageous for some of the longer queue areas. Wheelchairs are let in without a question, but because there are so many push chairs they can't let them through. Maybe the disabled guest card will let you do so.
The thread I mentioned earlier: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=42507 will give you an idea of how such things work and may be of use to you. I imagine that holding a two year old for a thirty minute queue is going to sap your energy quite quickly, so being able to tour ala-wheelchair would help everyone in your party.
imagineersrock
New Member
Hey again---The stroller will not be an issuse.daisygeorge said:Hello again, thanks for your message...no it is my son's and daughter's first time being 2 1/2 and 4 1/2 and my husband's second and my sixth... my son is unable to stand for long periods because of his condition with his foot and his hips and we do not want to use a wheelchair and there are more deserving people out there and we can always pick him up...I have e-mailed disney guest services, thanks for that tip and we will see what they say. As I said before it is not to get to the front of the line or the best seats, we are just doing this because my son deserves a brilliant holiday after all he has been though and we do not want to see him have any more discomfort than he needs to....any anything that just might assist him on this holiday the better as far as I am concerned...
thanks for your comments and help on this matter...
"Using stroller as wheelchair" is actually one of the GAC options. They simply put a special tag on the stroller, and that is all that Cast Members will need to see. The stroller will be considered and treated as if it is a wheelchair at shows, parades, attractions, etc.
Hope this helps!