Wheelchairs and WDW... About This Page:

[All Ears]

Since my brother's accident and his paralysis, he is in a wheelchair. He is able to transfer himself in/out of a car to drive, in/out of bed, etc. So my question is... how does WDW handle mobility issues with rides?
He would LOVE to go back to WDW, but fears he will be unable to ride the rides. (he loves ALL rides)
I know WDW is very good at assisting people, but does anyone have any specific information on rides and transferring and limitations?
Thank you soooo much!
Michelle

[imported_Carole]

I'm in a similar situation with a brother-in-law this trip and have found lots of info on the official Disney site (they have printable info fo all the parks) and on Deb Wills' site, wdwig.com.
I've been with my mom who used an ECV after knee surgery, and though she could walk short distances, we soon found out where the ramps were, where the bumpy places were, and how fast those darn things go!! It was a lifesaver for her, and did nothing to diminish her, or our, enjoyment of WDW.
Encourage him to go...he'll find the magic will still be there for him.
Carole

[Dave Marx]

Michelle,

Disney is great about this. There are basically a few variations on wheelchair accessibility, depending on the attraction. We note these differences in PassPorter, in each attraction description. As already noted, Disney has guides to guests with disabilities for all the major parks, and those can be downloaded from Disney's official site or obtained by phoning the WDW Informtion phone number 407-824-4321. Also as noted, Deb Wills' site has great coverage of this topic.

Here are the principal variations:

Wheelchair Accessible: Attraction can accommodate a guest in a wheelchair.

Must Transfer From Wheelchair to Ride: In many cases, the guest must be able to walk a few steps to enter the ride vehicle. In a few cases (Test Track comes to mind) there is a special loading area for wheelchair-bound guests, where they can slide from the wheelchair into the vehicle while out of sight of the general public. In other cases, a wheelchair can be brought directly alongside the ride vehicle for transfer.

A very few attractions are not wheelchair accessible at all, including Swiss Family Treehouse and Tom Sawyer Island. Come to think of it, I can't think of any others offhand.

There are also attractions that can handle an ECV as well as a wheelchair, and in other cases, a guest must transfer from an ECV into a wheelchair in order to ride.

Note that the resort pools with "zero-entry" areas (AKL, Poly, GF) have special pool wheelchairs.

[Cruella]

I just wanted to add that you, or someone traveling with you, will have to assist your brother in transferring from the wheelchair to the rides. CM's are not allowed to do this. Other than that they will do everything they can to assist you with your mobility issues. By all means, tell him to go for it! The magic will still be there for him! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[All Ears]

Dave, Cru, & Carole,
Thanks for all the encouragement and responses. I am definitely going to share my Passporter with him -- to show him what he can do. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] That is great that it lists out what is accessible/etc.
He typically uses a scooter when he will be in a place for a L-O-N-G period of time (like WDW [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] ) -- as it is just too exhausting for him to use the wheelchair. So it is great to hear that he should still be able to experience sooo much magic.
Thanks, again.
Michelle

[cesstrelle]

When we went in Feb, my Grandfather who had just turned 80 couldn't walk long distances. We rented a wheelchair and it worked out great. I remember in "It's a Small World" you actually go 'in' the 'exit'...they have a special boat that the wheelchair rolls right into... it's pretty neat. AT first my Grandfather wasn't too happy about the wheelchair idea (but he'd never make it past main street without it), and then as he realized he sort of got 'special' treatment and bypassed the HUGE lines...he started to really enjoy himself. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Here is the pic from that trip... Grandpa is second from right...

[Diz]

My FIL had cancer and heart problems and could not walk for WDW. He had been to WDW when it first opened and never made it back. He really wanted to visit WDW before he died and we debated the same thing as your brother. Would he be able to do anything? Would he feel out of place? But one day he was saying how he regretted not getting back to WDW. So we decided we're just going to do it. We flew from PA to FL. We stayed both on and off Dproperty. We rented a wheelchair every day.

He had the time of his life and so did we! My kids didn't look at the wheelchair as a hindrance. They took turns pushing and keeping "PopPop" entertained. He was not treated as a second-class guest. He was treated with respect and patience by the CMs.

He was able to go on all the rides he wanted and into all of the shows. We ate at the best restaurants...wheelchair and all! We had a glorious dinner at CRT. We enjoyed character meals and have wonderful photos of him and my kids with various characters. As a matter of fact all of my kids (3) have a photo hanging on their walls that they chose to frame of them with PopPop.

Now that he's gone, we are so happy we took this trip together. It was no doubt our most magical trip at WDW.

[All Ears]

Diz9 and cesstrelle,
Thank you for sharing your experiences. I am glad your trips were extremely magical, and I am soo glad to hear that the wheelchairs were so easily accomodated. That is excellent news.
Diz -- how special that your children could share such wonderful memories with their "pop pop." How sweet.
Michelle

[DisneyDreaming]

Diz, your story brought tears to my eyes as it also brings memories.

I took my sweet mom [img]graemlins/love.gif[/img] to disney in 92. She had to use her mobility cart and was scared to death at first. Once I showed her how easy it was to get around and how great the cast members were at helping she relaxed and had the time of her life. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] Then it was myself that had trouble keeping up, those things can go fast. [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

She also has died of cancer and some of my most precious pictures I have hanging around my house are the ones we took at Disney and the two we had taken with the character images. What a wonderful memory. [img]graemlins/love.gif[/img]

Michelle take your brother have a great time and take lots and lots of pictures of the two of you have fun in the most magical place in the world.

[img]graemlins/usa.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img]

Marylee

[pennylynn2]

One other thing that no one mentioned is that at Epcot they have a reserved viewing area for the light show. And everyone in your party gets to go into the reserved area. I was there with my cousin and his wife who was using a wheel chair. I figured that I would just meet them somewhere after the show but a cast member told me to stay with them for the show.