Sailing
Disney with Dis-Abilities
You may be thinking you can’t do a
cruise, Disney or not due to physical limitations. I’m telling you that is most
likely not true. Most disabilities can be accommodated on all Disney cruise
ships. If you’re physical disability requires ongoing medical care or excessive
amounts of oxygen it is possible Disney will say no to you sailing with them.
Medical facilities on Disney and all
cruise lines are limited to basic first aid and short-term emergency care. They
do not carry equipment or medications that you would find had land based
facilities. Therefore, if the cruise line feels they cannot adequately ensure
your medical safety and comfort while at sea they will deny you boarding.
If you use a wheelchair or ECV have
a mobility issue you can request a handicap cabin. These cabins have larger
doors, 32 inches, walk-in showers, more floor space for moving around and
conveniently located electrical outlets for charging your ECV. There are no
wheelchairs were ECV’s available to rent on the cruise ship.
At
the pool you can request the lift to help you get in and out of the pool if you
cannot do it by yourself. Just be aware there are no lifeguards on duty at pool.
All public areas of the Disney ships
have Wheelchair access. Dining rooms, theaters and any other area staging a
performance have wheelchair/handicap seating. These special seating areas are
conveniently located and are good seats not back in the house or sitting in the
corner. They also have a limited number of regular seats located with a
handicap seating so guess companions can sit with them.
The one problem that gas with
mobility issues may face is getting off the ship while in port. At most ports
Disney tries to get direct access to the port without tender boats involved.
That is not always possible so sometimes you must be able to go down and up
some steps by yourself or with the aid of your companions, not ship crew to get
into and then out of a tender boat. If you cannot do that you will not be able
to get off the ship at that port. Even if you can’t get off the ship there is
plenty to do on board while in port.
For
those with hearing disabilities assisted listening devices are available for
all shows and performances. For the cabins there are also devices to let the
hearing impaired know if the phone rings, someone is at the door, or some
shipboard alarm goes off. These devices can flashlights in the room or even
shake the bed waking you if you are sleeping giant fire alarm goes off.
If
you have medications that need to be refrigerated all cabins have coolers in
them capable of holding your medications. You
can request a mini refrigerator if you medication needs to be kept cooler than
the in cabin coolers can handle.
Here
is a list of special equipment the Disney cruise line offers for guests with
disabilities the following is available upon request for use in any stateroom.
I suggest that you make the need know before sailing. I would make the request
when I book and then clarify and confirm the request again before sailing.
These items are available, it board, Israel, portable toilet, raised toilet
seat, shower stool, transfer bench, refrigerator, state room communication kids
containing door knock and phone alerts, phone amplifier, bed shaker
notification, strobe light smoke detector and text typewriter (TTY).
Disney’s
private island Castaway Cay is specially designed to accommodate everyone! Starting
with the fact the ship pulls right up to the island where you can walk or whole
right off the ship onto the island everything is accessible. There are a
limited number of sand wheelchairs available free to use on the island. All the
pathways are designed to accommodate both ECV’s and wheelchairs. There are
shuttles can also accommodate that will take you from one side of the island to
the other. Of course not every activity can accommodate everyone. Use wisdom
when choosing Port Adventures.
Children
with disabilities can also be accommodated in these activities on the ship.
Youth activities are open to children ages 3 to 17 that are fully potty
trained, able to interact comfortably within the counselor to child ratio
groups and with peers of their own physical size. Teen and tween activities are
available in separate areas away from younger children.
Parents
can make a request with the youth activities team for a child with disabilities
to partake in modified participation for limited time during the cruise.
Ability to fill requests will depend on the child’s needs, availability of
counselors, program participation and other applicable considerations. Not all
special requests can be accommodated.
Those
with contagious disease or who show symptoms of illness cannot be accommodated,
children that require one on one care, a child or adult wishes to participate in
an age group much younger/smaller than the physical age/size, children who need
attention of counselors with special training, or children who needs counselor
assisted medical attention cannot be accommodated.
If
you’d like on each request accommodations for guests with disabilities discuss
your needs that time booking.
You
can get more information by calling (407) 566–3500 (voice) or (407) 566–7455
(TTY).
Disney
has an electronic brochure for those with visual available by the link below:
I
sailed with my family, a group of 15 with three of the family being elderly and
severely mobility limited. We had three ECV’s in the Disney Cruise Line went
out of their way to make sure we were fully accommodated. Those with the ECV’s
had cabins is larger doors and easy access walk-in showers. Our tables in the
dining room were located in such a way to make it easy for the ECV’s to come
right up to the table.
My
family members had bicycle squeeze horns on their ECV handlebars and would
squeeze the horns signaling back and forth to each other so they knew they were
still together. The ship’s crew saw this in joined in the fun and would come
running down the halls or across the dining room talk of horns as they escorted
us down the hall, seating in the theaters or shows or to our dining table.
None
of those with physical limitations felt in any way limited or left out any event.
The only problem we had was at one port when we had to tender in to the island.
Normally Disney pulled up to the dock book could not due to storm damage after
hurricanes Francine and Janine 2004.
With
those traveling with children or even the adult with ADHD consider this. On a
Disney cruise, unlike most the parks where the constant noise and activity can over
stimulate it is hard to find a quiet spot to refocus. You often must leave the
park to find. On a Disney cruise all you need to do is take a short walk to
find an empty lounge or other quiet spot. Also going back to your cabin is an
easy alternative. This was a blessing for both my daughter, age 10 and ADHD on
her first cruise and my severely ADHD husband would also need to find a quiet
spot to refocus and calm himself.
Once
again I say that a so-called “limiting disability” is no reason not to enjoy a Disney
Cruise!
