Guests with Disabilities: Disney Parks Disability Accommodations

Perhaps one of the most frequently asked questions when planning a Disney vacation is what accommodations are there for guests with disabilities? Well, we are going to bring you some guidance for beginning to consider a Disney vacation for a guest with disabilities. While many may be more familiar with transportation, lodging and dining systems, this is a topic for which there are not a lot of resources. So, here we are going to bring you some recommendations along with the most Frequently Asked Questions for guests with disabilities, and Disney’s answers and services.

To begin planning a vacation to accommodate for guests with disabilities, we will need to try to plan for the specific difficulties which may be encountered while in the parks.

To begin, we will talk about preparing for guests with cognitive disabilities, who may require more preparation than others.

Some of the most important things to do to prepare someone with a cognitive disability for a visit to a Disney theme park might include showing a visual map, showing them videos, studying park/location maps, choosing a meeting location, practicing waiting in line - preparing them for the experiences they will face upon entering the parks rather than waiting until the vacation.

Some items Disney suggests you bring with you on your trip are a safety bracelet/nametag, ear plugs or headphones, a favorite device or activity, positive reinforcements for good behavior and/or a sensory toy.

Disney also has helpful guides for each of its theme parks to help you navigate the parks. These can also be found online at Disney’s website.

Disney also has urgent care service, first aid and video visits for your convenience on property.

For guests with hearing disabilities, Disney has in place hotel amenities (such as equipment for door knock and phone alerts, phone amplifiers, bed shaker notification, strobe light smoke detector and more), assistive listening, handheld captioning, video captioning, sign language interpretation and accommodations for service animals throughout most Disney properties.

For guests with mobility issues, Disney offers access to attractions in four main categories: Must transfer to/from wheelchair/ECV to ride vehicle, must transfer from ECV to wheelchair, must transfer from ECV to wheelchair and from wheelchair to ride vehicle and ambulatory.

For guests with visual disabilities, Disney has services such as audio description, braille guidebooks, portable tactile map booklets, stationary braille maps and info about service animals.

As for Frequently Asked Questions, we’ll begin with the most broad:

What does Disney provide to accommodate guests with disabilities?

Some things include: rental wheelchairs, rental electric conveyance wheelchairs(ECV’s), accommodations for service animals, assistive listening systems, reflective captioning, sign language interpretation, text typewriter telephones, handheld captioning, video captioning, audio-description devices, braille guidebooks, and digital audio tours.

What accommodations are there for guests with disability that can’t tolerate long wait times/queues?

Disney actually has a Disability Access Service(DAS) - similar to the old fastpass idea for traditional guests - which works to allow a guest with a disability access to the attraction by returning to it at an similar time to the standby wait time, but you don’t have to wait in the queue. This service can also be used in addition to Genie+ service.

You can also use DAS for advanced planning - once you have registered for DAS, a cast member can help you select a 2-hour return window for up to 2 attraction per day of your trip.

What accommodations are there for guests with hearing disabilities?

Disney has numerous systems in place to assist guests while still experiencing Disney to its fullest, including assistive listening systems, reflective captioning, sign language interpretation, text-typewriter telephones, handheld captioning, video captioning and written aids.

What accommodations are there for guests with mobility disabilities?

Rental wheelchairs, rental electric conveyance wheelchairs(ECV’s).

What accommodations are there for guests with cognitive disabilities?

Some examples of available services include rider switch (the ability to switch out parents/guardians/caretakers directly after one rides an attraction so you do not have to wait in line twice) and break areas for guests who become over-stimulated. The Disney company also offers suggestions and tips for planning a successful vacations while accommodating for guests with disabilities.

What accommodations exist for guests with visual disabilities?

Audio description devices, braille guidebooks and digital audio tours.

Does the Disney bus systems accommodate for guests with disabilities?

Yes, the system does accommodate wheelchairs.

What accommodations are there for guests with disabilities at Disney resort hotels?

Some examples include wheelchair accessible bathrooms, wheelchair accessible ramps and elevators, rooms designed for the hearing-impaired guests and rooms that accommodate service animals.

Those are some of the most frequently asked questions for guests with disabilities! We know you may have many more/specific questions, and we encourage you to ask your travel agent or get a hold of Disney themselves.

We thank you for joining us and reading along this brief overview of planning a Disney vacation for a guest with a disability.

You can request a free quote here from Once Upon A Time Travel, and get a professionals’ help with planning your next Disney vacation, with all the guidance and expertise of a Disney specialized agency.

Until next time!

-Shae