Accessibility for People with a Mobility Disability in and around Disney World

Disney World can be an amazing vacation destination as evidenced by the over 40 million people that visit each year. I’m sure there are many people confined to wheelchairs who have never visited Disney World and have some questions about how accessible it really is. Last year, I spent two weeks during Spring – long enough to make a decent accessibility assessment – visiting all of the Disney World parks and I would like to report on some of my personal experiences getting around as a C5/C6 quadriplegic in a motorized wheelchair. Hopefully, some of you confined to a wheelchair and thinking about making a trip to Disney World will be able to pick up a few tips while reading this article.

Why Disney World again?

While I lived on the East Coast, I had the chance to visit Disney World a few times both before and after my disabling accident. But this recent trip was special because my wife had never been to Disney World, my brother came over from Belgium with his wife and three kids, and I was able to take enough vacation to go for two full weeks to avoid having to rush through the parks so we could experience everything leisurely. And this time I also had an incentive to pay extra attention to accessibility related issues for this article on DisabledAndProductive.com.

When is a good time of the year to go to Disney World?

My past visits to Disney World have been in the middle of the summer, at the end of September, around Thanksgiving, at Christmas and New Year’s, in February, the beginning of April, and during the middle of May. One may think I’m a Disney fanatic, but I’m really not. It just happened that my first wife loved to go there when my son was a little boy and I didn’t mind going along because I liked the warm weather, it was fun to see my kid having a good time, and I found Disney World quite accessible.

I don’t recommend going to Disney World during the summer because any day it’s almost guaranteed to be very hot and humid, which can make you miserable. If you’re a quadriplegic like me, and you don’t sweat below your level of injury, you can easily get overheated when you have to wait in the baking sun before you are allowed inside for an attraction. Even in the middle of May and the end of September I have experienced 95° weather. Christmas and New Year’s is a great time to go because Disney does a very nice job creating a festive atmosphere with amazing decorations. The weather can be iffy though; if you’re lucky, you can have a long stretch of 75° weather, or you may be unlucky and visit during a cold spell with temperatures in the 40s during the day. Weather wise the same is true in February. Thanksgiving is a good time to go because you have a better chance of having mild and warm – but not too hot – weather and the Christmas decorations are already up. Just be aware that the parks get very crowded during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, and around spring break. When we went during spring break in the beginning of April last year it was fairly windy and chilly with temperatures in the high 50s for the first few days – which we were told is very unusual at that time of year. Then, during the last 10 days of our trip, we had beautiful weather with temperatures ranging between 72 and 83° during the day.

Special Disney World vacation preparations as a disabled person

Traveling to Orlando from the West Coast means flying for me, which is a scary endeavor when you travel in a wheelchair. There is always a chance something might go wrong with my equipment or my paralyzed body might experience discomforts that are hard to deal with while in transit. I‘ve developed a few traveling procedures I follow to reduce the chances of running into adversities based on lessons learned from my past flight experiences. I’ve documented these in the article Flying with a Wheelchair.

For my setup once I arrive at my hotel, I use a Hoyer lift to aid with transferring between my wheelchair and bed. Rather than dealing with the hassle of bringing a clunky Hoyer lift on the airplane, on this last trip we opted to rent one in Orlando. We also decided to rent a scooter for my wife because she was experiencing pain in her knees due to an old waterskiing injury and we figured we would be doing a lot of walking in the amusement parks.

Cost of the two week rental cost for the Hoyer lift came to $150, and the scooter was $350. We were able to rent both of these from CARE Medical Equipment in Orlando (www.scooterrental.com). Their service included delivery and pick-up from the hotel and we were very pleased with the company’s service. Scooters can also be rented on a daily first-come-first-serve basis when you enter a Disney Park, but there is no guarantee one will be available – especially on a busy day – and scooter/EVC rentals are more expensive ($50/day) in the Disney Parks.

Accommodations in and around Disney World

My first inclination when I looked into accommodations was to stay on the Disney property itself to be close to all the action. Several types of accommodations ranging from standard hotel rooms to one, two, and three bedroom living quarters with full kitchens are available on the Disney property. Because we all wanted to stay in a single location with seven people so we would be able to spend more quality time together, we needed a place with three bedrooms. However, the cost of a three bedroom accommodation during the high spring break season on the Disney property ($17,000) was prohibitive and I decided to look into accommodations outside of the Disney property instead. We ended up at the Marriott Imperial Palms in a nice, comfortable, spacey, and accessible three bedroom timeshare type unit only two miles from the Disney parks, which we were able to rent for less than $4,000 for the two weeks. As part of the deal we were allowed access to all the amenities at the beautiful nearby Marriott World Center resort which was less than a five minute wheelchair stroll away.

Looking back, if cost weren’t an issue, it would have been nice to stay on the Disney property. There are some wonderful hotels next to Epcot Center within a three minute wheelchair ride from the park entrance. But our compromise was well worth the huge money savings!

Transportation in and around Walt Disney World

If you stay in a resort on the Disney property you can take advantage of the Disney bus transportation system which can take you to any attraction or hotel on the property without an additional charge. These busses are accessible and run frequently; just make sure your wheelchair can fit in the wheelchair lift space of 32″x40″. I’ve stayed on the property previously and found the bus system to be very convenient if you stay within the Disney property during your entire visit. Just keep in mind that at night, after the fireworks, the lines to get back on the bus from the Magic Kingdom or Epcot Center may be very long as there is generally a mass exodus at that point.

Since we were staying outside of the Disney property and were unable to take advantage of the Disney bus system, we decided to rent a wheelchair accessible van instead. Several car rental companies in Orlando offer wheelchair accessible vans. After calling most of them we picked Florida Van Rentals because they gave me the lowest quote which also included pick-up and delivery at the Orlando airport. I’m glad we chose them and we ended up being very pleased with the van rental. The van was waiting there for us when we arrived at the Orlando airport, and was an almost brand new van. Another plus was that the tie-down system for the wheelchair was fairly simple.

Renting a van offers more flexibility compared to solely relying on the Disney bus system. It allows you to go grocery shopping or to eat in one of the cheaper and less crowded restaurants just outside of the Disney property. And you will be able to easily drive to some of the other attractions Orlando has to offer such as Sea World and Universal Studios. Or you can take a day trip to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, the beaches in Tampa, or even the Everglades.

Parking at the Disney parks costs $12 per day and even though plenty of disabled parking spaces are available, they tend to fill up very quickly in the morning. We usually visited the parks in mid-afternoon when people had already started to leave, and by then we usually were able to find vacated disabled parking spaces.

Another way to get around is by using wheelchair accessible taxi services to transport you from the airport to Disney World. Not only are they plentiful, but they can also be called upon for an outing outside of the park boundaries where the Disney bus system is not available.

Disney World also has a monorail system that connects some of the parks and hotels. The monorail is completely accessible, but just be aware that an attendant has to put a ramp up to let you in and out of the monorail in your wheelchair or scooter. On one occasion the attendants didn’t spot me when I was ready to disembark and my wife had to go tell one of the attendants I needed to get off or otherwise I probably would have been stuck there for another loop around the park system!

Accessibility in the parks

On your very first day in the park, make it a priority to go to the Guest Relations booth, show them proof that you have a disability — if you’re in a wheelchair, it is quite obvious — and ask for a special pass for people with a disability, called Guest Assistance Card. Present this card to the greeter or first host or hostess you come in contact with at each ride and you and your party will be guided gently to the entrance that accommodates your disability. This pass is valid in all of the four major theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios) for the duration of your stay. I found this pass to be the best perk for attending the parks in a wheelchair. It works like a glorified Fast Pass because it allowed me and the other six people in my party to enter many of the attractions through the Fast Pass lane or an alternate entrance that makes it easier for people in wheelchairs to enter, bypassing the long waiting lines without needing to arrive at a specified time. Even if you are not allowed to enter the attraction yourself because the attraction is not accessible given your physical condition, everyone else in my party was still allowed to bypass the long waiting lines. That was a huge time savings and my brother’s kids adored me for that. We were able to enjoy about three times the number of rides as when we would not have gotten the pass.

While you are at the Guest Relations booth, also ask for their “Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities”. Even though the regular park maps are pretty well marked with the accessibility conditions for each attraction, the guidebook provides a lot more helpful detail and it’s free.

The first couple of times I went to Disney World after my disabling accident I was using a manual wheelchair and I was pleasantly surprised that it was really not that hard to push myself around because the parks are so flat. Just know that using a manual wheelchair versus a power wheelchair does not make any difference as far as accessibility to their shows or rides is concerned.

All of the shows are wheelchair accessible, but some of the rides require that you transfer from your wheelchair or EVC into the regular seats or a special wheelchair provided by Disney. Because I feel completely insecure when I am not sitting in my own wheelchair I chose not to transfer and I skipped those rides. The rides that are not accessible to people who need to stay in their own wheelchair are mostly the thrill rides. I had gone on most of those thrill rides before I became disabled; but now, even if I was allowed on those rides, I would not feel safe enough to do that in my condition due to my lack of upper body balance.

Sometimes the ride needs to be stopped to allow someone in a wheelchair to maneuver into position on one of the specially modified ride vehicles. Some of the wheelchair spaces are pretty tight and in one occasion on the Journey into Imagination ride in Epcot it took a couple of minutes before I was able to properly position myself, halting the entire ride during that time.

Disney provides detailed accessibility information on maps they pass out, so I won’t go into depth about accessibility of individual attractions. If you would like to find out more about accessibility before you head out to Disney World, this Attraction Accessibility Link provides you with a good summary – but I did find two inaccuracies compared to what is listed. The site mentions that guests in a motorized vehicle or an EVC must transfer into an available wheelchair for the Kilimanjaro Safari at Animal Kingdom and The Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I did not find that to be the case as I was allowed to stay in my power wheelchair on those rides. If you plan to go on the Safari on a hot day, I recommend you go later in the afternoon when it starts to get cooler because you will be able to see more animals because they nap during the hottest part of the day. Just be warned! The safari ride was probably the bumpiest of all the rides I was allowed on in my own wheelchair because the roads were purposely made rough to simulate a real safari experience.

For some of the rides Disney provides one or two special vehicles that are wheelchair accessible and you will have to wait until that vehicle is available. In some cases Disney has been very inventive in providing accessibility. For example, one of the boats for the Jungle Cruise in Magic Kingdom has been modified so that a ramp can be extended to embark, then it swivels around 90°, and next the ramp is lowered hydraulically to let you enjoy the ride at the same level as anyone else. Just understand that you will be the center of attention because the boarding area is right in front of the normal waiting area.

Special areas along the parade routes are designated for people in a wheelchair or EVC, but plan to arrive well ahead of time because these areas fill up early. If you’re mainly interested in watching the fireworks, you may consider picking a spot closer to the park exit to avoid the stampede when the fireworks are finished.

Favorites and disappointments

Call me a nerd, but one of my favorite rides is in the Land in Epcot where you cruise in a boat between various fruits and vegetables grown hydroponically. I’ve always been interested in learning about healthy foods and this type of cultivation really fascinates me. We even decided to go on a guided “Behind the Scenes” tour, which is completely accessible, where we were allowed to get close to the plants and also were given a few freshly picked fruit and tomato samples.

Of all the parks, Epcot and Animal Kingdom were definitely my favorites. Insert picture 528 here. I loved seeing the animals being well taken care of and seeing them living in an area that looks similar to their native habitat where they have room to roam around. And I always enjoy World Showcase in Epcot where you can get a taste of the featured countries without needing to travel to them. The 360 degree movies in China and Canada are also pretty cool.

I often enjoy the little pleasures in life which many people take for granted. Sometimes I just like to take off on my own to explore new areas. So, one day I decided to cruise around in my wheelchair along one of the golf cart pathways in Disney World and stopped when I heard a noise in the woods. I waited a while to see what was causing the noise and was completely surprised when I saw this prehistoric looking animal coming out of the woods. It was an armadillo and I had never seen one before in real life and certainly didn’t know they could be found in the wild in Florida. The armadillo actually came very near to my chair and I just got the biggest kick out of watching it so closely.

One of my biggest accessibility disappointments was the Spaceship Earth ride in Epcot. I’m sure that everybody wants to find out what the heck is going on in that big silver Epcot ball. Unfortunately, unless you’re able to transfer from your wheelchair to a ride seat, you will never be able to witness it with your own eyes.
Be aware that Disney personnel are not allowed to assist you with the transfer from your wheelchair or EVC to Disney provided seating on a ride. Be sure that someone in your party is able to help you instead.

Unless you enjoy watching other people having fun or if you’re just happy sitting in a bar area sipping a cool drink, you may want to avoid the Disney water parks (Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon) because there’s not much else for you to do if you are unable to get out of your wheelchair into the water. I really think that people in a wheelchair should be allowed in the water parks for free or at least get a huge discount.

A great Disney World disability resource

If you’d like to find out about all the ins and outs regarding accessibility at Disney World, I recommend reading Walt Disney World with Disabilities by Stephen Ashley who visited Disney World many times and performed a complete and detailed accessibility analysis of each ride, attraction, and restaurant on the Disney property. This book actually goes beyond wheelchair accessibility issues since it covers many other health conditions also and all the reports are based on personal experiences and extensive research.

Final note

Even though you’re unable to attend all the attractions when you’re confined to a wheelchair, there’s plenty for you to enjoy in and around Disney World. Disney World is a safe and predictable destination for a person with a disability because Disney has made significant efforts to accommodate the disabled. In many cases you’ll find yourself and your party allowed to bypass the long waiting lines to get into the attractions, which is a big bonus.

If you have enough vacation time on hand, I recommend you go for at least a week because there is so much to do and rushing through the parks takes away a lot of the fun. And, the Park Hopper passes only cost a few dollars more each day after the fourth day.

I hope you find this article useful if you’re planning on visiting Disney World in a wheelchair or an EVC in the near future!