WDW Disabilities List About This Page:

[Rolling_Elf]

our families special needs.
PKU, extra tall king size, cancer, and mobility issues.

[lonereb]

We are going to WDW in December. My mom has Rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatoid lung disease and is on oxygen most of the time and needs a wheelchair to get around (because of the lung problem). She is very excited about this trip, she has helped plan some of it. We have gotten a number for a medical supply in Orlando that delivers to the DW resorts. We will be getting a motorized wheelchair and an oxygen concentrator and oxygen bottles from them. The other "problems" in our family that are going is---asthma, flat feet, allergies, lactose intolerance, and high blood pressure. Most taken care of by the marvel of modern medicine.

But we can't wait to go and have the times of our lives.

[EmpressLizBunny]

i have been diagnosed with autisim spectrem disorder/aspburgers (docs cant make up thier minds wich) manic depresion, some sort of anxiety disorder, add, and morbid obesity. my mother with whom i will be traveling is a cancer survior(colon), had a stroke a long time ago, is overweight though not obese, has arthrightis in her knees, and is also diagnosed with depresion

[lisag38]

hi, i am going to disneyworld august 2005.
my 14 year old son has adhd,depression and oppisitional defiant disorder.
i have highblood pressure,recuring kidney stones,
ilove going to walt disney world.
mom of three teens

[pita]

I am Bi-polar and my DH has barrett's esophagus and high blood pressure....I just have never considered these to be diabilities. We have been to Disney the past 2 years and are going this year with no problems. We just take our medications with us.

[Frogso]

I will be visiting Disneyland by myself (since poor hubby will be working) and was concerned with lines because of my hypertension and osteo-arthritis. Is it possible to get a special assistance pass without any documentation or do I need a doctor's note?

[Rorympb]

Hi,
My 12 year old son was born with a genetic disorder
called Prader-Willi syndrome. It causes excessive
weight gain and low muscle tone. PW kids can also
be slower mentally and exhibit some autistic-like
traits (some do, some don't). He also has asthma!
We hope to visit WDW next year. We were at WDW
3 years ago and CA last year while visiting friends
in LA.

[SueM loves WDW]

[ QUOTE ]
I will be visiting Disneyland by myself (since poor hubby will be working) and was concerned with lines because of my hypertension and osteo-arthritis. Is it possible to get a special assistance pass without any documentation or do I need a doctor's note?

[/ QUOTE ]
What you are asking about is a Guest Assistance Card (to avoid typing all that, I'm calling it a GAC)
Go to Guest Services in the park and talk to the CM there about your problems and needs. The diagnosis is not really that important because people with the same diagnosis can have very different needs and sopmetimes one person with a particular diagnosis might not have any special needs at all, while someone else with the same diagnosis has many needs. The GAC is not given based on diagnosis at all (for example, there is not a "list" of appropriate diagnosis for a GAC); the GAC is given based on needs and what accomidations are needed to meet those needs. You don't need a doctor's letter.
For people with endurance or stamina concerns (things like not being able to stand in line or difficulty with walking distances), Disney's official suggestion is to rent a wheelchair (which won't really work for you if you are alone) or an ecv (also called scooter).
A few other things
- the GAC is not meant to be a pass that gives immediate access. It is meant to provide appropriate accomidation for the needs of the person it was issued to. It says right on the card that it will not shorten or eliminate waits in line.
- think of the GAC like an insurance card, not necessarily needed or used all the time, but there for when you need it.
- even on the same attraction, the GAC is not handled the same each time. Exactly what happens depends on how busy it is, how many other people with special needs are there at the time and staffing. Some times you may be sent thru the fastpass line; sometimes you might be given a slip and told you can come back at the time written on the slip; sometimes you might be taken right in. It depens on what they call "attraction considerations" (which is basically the things I listed in the second sentence).
-One way to shorten waits in line is to use fastpass. When you report back to the ride at your fastpass return time, your wait will be 15 minutes or less.

[Lissy]

My daughter is multiply handicapped. She has had scoliosis and spondylolithesis surgery so most of her back is rods. She is legally blind and lost her left eye to premature retinapothy in 1997 - just before our first trip to Disney. She is developmentally delayed, in a wheelchair, mentally retarded. She does not speak but usually manages to get her point across just fine. She has the most beautiful smile in the world and she LOVES the Disney Characters. We're trying the Disney Cruise this year. Can anyone give me any advice about the cruising with a wheelchair?

[Lissy]

My daughter doesn't use PECS, but before our first trip to WDW I created a picture board for her with characters pictures I downloaded - so she could point to who she was seeing - and food choices, etc.

[trindadsth]

This is a great list. I have two special needs kids.

My son, age 8, has ADHD and ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder) and my daughter, age 4, has both of these and is also Cyclothymic (a form of bipolar disease that means her moods cycle many many times in a day). We have travelled with both to WDW numerous times.

My question for others is, the types of meds that ADHD kids take wear off in about 12 hours (at the most). What does everyone do at night in the parks? Once the meds wear off, my kids get extra hyper, almost out of control, which is exhausting after a day in the parks for us. I hate for them to miss out on nighttime activities (we are going on 10/2/05 to the MNSSHP). Any ideas?

[ryansmum]

MY four year old was just diagnosed with PDD. He began to exhibit a language delay around age 2, but progressed enough that it was not clearly evident he had a problem until age 3. He has been in our public school systems preschool program since January (private speech therapy prior to that). He's been to WDW three times, and has loved it. No real issues with overstim...he just enjoys himself. We'll be trying for another trip maybe next fall.

[JoanW]

My oldest had this problem (she's 24 now). I got an RX from her dr. for a what I called a "short", like a 4 hour regular Ritalin instead of her all day Ritalin. That way she could enjoy herself and we did too. She actually did that through high school because of sports (school was over at 3, but with sports, her school day ended at almost 7:00 pm). There was no such thing at a 16 hour slow release med!

[MommytoMJM]

This is my first post...I mainly came here for this board...here are ours:

MJ: Autism (classic but hypersocial), Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), Feeding Tube (G-Tube), Epilepsy, Asthma, Hallucinations (Dr's are leaning towards and early schizophrenia dx), Triplegic Cerebral Palsy, Heat and Sun sensitivity, Allergic to corn, uses a wheelchair, but can walk some, Poor Immune System, Fundoplication (stomach wrapped around esophogus and stapled, makes throwing up hard and dangerous)

Bonny (Me): Fibromyalgia, Auto Immune Arthritis (all of the pain and swelling without the joint deteriation), Migraines, Sun and Heat Stroke Sensitive, Multiple Allergies (Food, enviro and drug), ECV User, Panic Attacks, BiPolar Disorder, Poor Immune System

[Las17]

I was diagnosed last year with IC(Interstitial Cystitis). It means freqent trips to restrooms and a very strict diet that I haven't quite figured out yet! It turns out I had it already on our last trip but didn't know it, so the foods I ate left me in pain.

If anyone out there has IC, please send me a private message. I could sure use the support!

Thanks, Laura