Walt Disney World With Kids (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [49]
If you’d like a little less togetherness, book as many rooms as you need at a resort, but ask for adjoining rooms.
Transportation can be an issue, especially if there’s a wide variation in the ages, stamina, and risk tolerance of the family members. Older kids will probably want to stay at the park all day, while the toddlers and grandparents might be burned out and ready to rest by noon. Either way, stay on-site so you can use the Disney transportation system at your leisure, or, if you’re driving, bring more than one vehicle to the parks so that family members have the option to leave early.
Bring your cell phones to the theme parks. Large groups tend to scatter and you don’t want to spend half your time trying to get the group reassembled.
Have everyone wear the same color T-shirt or hat each day. A tour operator passed along this tip, which makes it easier to spot “your people” in a sea of faces.
Tips for Guests with Disabilities
Special boarding passes allow people with disabilities, including Down syndrome and autism, to enter their own queues, which are often shorter than the general lines. Attendants are on hand to help. You can pick up a pass at any Guest Relations window. The passes—not unlike the birthday buttons you can also pick up at Guest Relations—guarantee you a little special treatment. One mother of a special-needs child wrote that her 4-year-old son was nervous about meeting Captain Hook but she told him to show the villain his “special card.” Hook rose to the occasion, dramatically blowing his nose on the card before returning it to the child with great ceremony. “Andrew was laughing by then,” the mother said “and didn’t worry about meeting characters for the rest of the trip.”
Download a copy of the official Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities at www.disneyworld.disney.go.com when you book your room. It offers detailed information on how to approach each attraction. You can also get the guidebook at any Disney hotel and Guest Relations window, but having it in advance will help you know what to expect.
You can rent wheelchairs ($12 per day or $10 per day for multiday use) and ECVs ($50 plus an additional refundable $20 deposit) at or near any stroller-rental booth.
People with disabilities give the Disney resorts high marks for convenience at reasonable prices. The All-Star resorts, for example, have several wheelchair-accessible rooms that begin as low as $109 a night. Most of the on-site resorts offer rooms with specially equipped bathrooms and extra-large doors, and if you request it, you can have a complimentary wheelchair waiting for you upon check-in. Plus, life jackets are available at all the pools and water parks.
The monorail, buses, boats, and other forms of transportation are all wheelchair accessible.
You can refrigerate insulin and other medications at first-aid stations, all on-site hotels, and most off-site hotels.
Guests with visual disabilities should be aware that guide dogs are welcome at all parks and many area hotels. You can also rent a tape recorder and cassette describing the attractions at each park and a braille guidebook with a refundable deposit. Just visit Guest Relations.
Guests with hearing difficulties can pick up a handheld captioning device at Guest Relations. This device works on many attractions.
Guests with hearing disabilities can rent listening devices that amplify attraction music and words through Guest Relations with a refundable deposit. TTYs are available throughout Disney World and guests can also contact Disney Reservations via TTY at 407/939–7670.
For more detailed information on hotel options for people with disabilities, call Central Reservations at 407/934–7639 (407/W–DISNEY) and ask for the Special Reservations Department.
Finally, not a tip, but a word of reassurance. If you’re traveling with someone who has a chronic health problem or disability, rest assured that the Disney World cast members will