What types of assistance does WDW offer for the blind?

[mla973]

I am a volunteer with the Make a Wish Foundation, and I just had a wish interview with a second family with at least one blind family member.

Never having been to WDW, they are worried about how to handle things like transportation as well as reading menus, maps, etc.

Are there any sources of information or sites that have information that I could print out to give to these families? I know that Disney is excellent in providing resources for persons with disabilities, but I do not know many details. Anything you could point me to would be a big help to these families.

Thank you!!!

 

[ducklite]

Let me see if I can help at all.

I've accompanied a visually impaired friend to WDW. he has glaucoma, and has less than 10% vision remaining, and most of that it peripheral.

He took the buses with his service dog with no problem. He never went anywhere alone, so it wasn't an issue.

At all of the show, he let the CM know that the rear disabled seating wasn't going to work for him, he needed to be up front to see at all, so we were taken in before everyone else to get situated.

Many restaurants had braille menu's, there are also braille park guides. You have to leave a deposit for them, after the first day he decided it wasn't worth lugging them around and relied on us to tell him what was going on.

The CM's were wonderfully accomodating, at Alien Encounter they held the dog so we could all "ride" together, which they aren't supposed to do. We only had one snippy and less than helpful CM--that was at Peter Pan's Flight.

Let me know if you ahve any specific questions.

Anne

 

[Reyasmom]

At all of the show, he let the CM know that the rear disabled seating wasn't going to work for him, he needed to be up front to see at all, so we were taken in before everyone else to get situated.

Anne

This is interesting. DD is legally blind in one eye. She gets around amazingly, with her glasses she's seeing 20/30 in her right. I've wondered about special seatings for the shows. Or if she even needs it kwim? She's always been blind in that eye so she doesn't realize that she can't see out of it! We generally sit pretty close when we take her to a movie, but she's never been to a live show. Any suggestions?

 

[SueM in MN]

Here's a link to the official WDW page about visual disabilities.
You could also go to Guest Services inside one of the parks to see what suggestions they would have. I know some people have gotten a Guest Assistance Card that says to let the guest sit in the front. That might not be necessary if the person has a cane since the CMs coulds see the cane and (hopefully) recognize that the person using it has limited vision and needs to sit near the front.

 

[ducklite]

Absolutely get a GAC and use it to have the CM's help you get seated where ever makes the most sense FOR YOU! It's not always the disabled section.

Anne

 

[SueM in MN]

Absolutely get a GAC and use it to have the CM's help you get seated where ever makes the most sense FOR YOU! It's not always the disabled section.

Anne

That's for sure. A lot of times the wheelchair area is in the back row.
We actually saw someone arguing with the CM at Cranium Command once because the family was insistant that they follow us (we have a DD with a wheelchair). The CM was trying to explain that if they stayed with us, they would be in the back row, but they were not listening and kept saying to her that they had a right to be in the area with the wheelchairs. She kept coming back with "the wheelchair area for this attraction is the back row" and they would come back with "we have this GAC that allows us to sit with the people in wheelchairs." When they actually walked in and saw they were in the back row and it was very difficult to move up, they huffed off, making comments about how they were not being accomidated.

 

[MomOf2DisneyKids]

Absolutely get a GAC and use it to have the CM's help you get seated where ever makes the most sense FOR YOU! It's not always the disabled section.

Anne

I have a question somewhat related to this....hope nobody minds if I ask it in this thread. Along the lines of where to sit that makes sense...do you think that CMs know (or if there even ARE) different areas to sit that would be more QUIET than others. My ds5 (on autistic spectrum) has a LOT of auditory sensitivity, and I'm wondering if they might be able to help us NOT end up seated right under speakers, etc... anyone know? Thanks!

 

[Lives4Disney]

I have a question somewhat related to this....hope nobody minds if I ask it in this thread. Along the lines of where to sit that makes sense...do you think that CMs know (or if there even ARE) different areas to sit that would be more QUIET than others. My ds5 (on autistic spectrum) has a LOT of auditory sensitivity, and I'm wondering if they might be able to help us NOT end up seated right under speakers, etc... anyone know? Thanks!

I don't have a child with the same problems that yours has, but my daughter is vision impaired - she can see, but not in the dark and has extremely limited peripheral vision. We have had no problem at all when we approach the CMs working the attractions when we have asked for special seating or boarding... They have been very accomodating - if you told them what would work for you, I bet they would be helpful. It is worth it to speak up for what you need for your child.

We had problems getting the GAC, so we just asked at the rides for what we needed without an issue.

This is an interesting thread for me! I don't see many low vision/blind threads.

Lives4Disney

 

[MomOf2DisneyKids]

IThey have been very accomodating - if you told them what would work for you, I bet they would be helpful. It is worth it to speak up for what you need for your child.

We had problems getting the GAC, so we just asked at the rides for what we needed without an issue.

thanks for the reply! Glad they were able to help you at the rides, even if you had trouble getting the GAC (and sorry to hear about that!)

 

[SueM in MN]

Actually, explaining what you need to the CM at the attraction might be more useful than having a GAC. The CM can tell you which direction to go to get from the preshow area to the front of the theater.
They should also be able to give some info about quieter areas in the theater, although because of the way they have the speakeds set up, there may not be a quieter place.
But, they can make sure that you are as far as possible from some of the special effects. For example, for the Muppet 3D, you may think that being in the back would be good because it would put you away from the screen, but that may not be the best spot because at the end of the show a cannon comes out of the wall to shoot toward the stage.

 

[MomOf2DisneyKids]

They should also be able to give some info about quieter areas in the theater, although because of the way they have the speakeds set up, there may not be a quieter place.
But, they can make sure that you are as far as possible from some of the special effects. For example, for the Muppet 3D, you may think that being in the back would be good because it would put you away from the screen, but that may not be the best spot because at the end of the show a cannon comes out of the wall to shoot toward the stage.

great...thanks for the info, SueM

 

[alabamaalan]

My thoughts were wondering how many in a party they would allow to accompany the visually impaired person to front seats. For example, if I am traveling with my visually impaired wife, our daughters and two friends, would they allow all of us to go forward or just her and a companion?

In our case, the point is moot because her blindness is too complete for it to matter anymore but I was curious.

On our trips, she has not taken her guide dog because she wants to be more with the group and since it is a family event, she likes being on my arm.

The only time we mention her vision to a CM is for constantly moving vehicles that she has to board quickly. So far, we haven't had a problem.

 

[Talking Hands]

Most GAC allow up to 6 people including the person the card is for. Be specific as to the total number in your party even if they are not with you at that point. Right now my card is for 2 people as my daughters rarely travel with us any longer. Before I would ask for 4 as they were with us part of the time.

 

[SueM in MN]

For some shows, it won't matter that much how many are in your party. For shows like the Indiana Jones Stunt Show and the Festival of the Lion King, people do want to sit in the front and they do limit the front rows to people with disabilities somewhat. For other shows, like Little Mermaid, the Muppets 3D and Honey I Shrunk the Audience, the theater is often quite full, but not that many people want to sit in the front row (the "choice" seats are the middle of the row, 1/4-1/3 of the way back in the theater.
And, then, there are the shows like American Adventure that are seldom completely filled and people don't usually want to sit in the front anyway.

 

[MarieS]

For example, for the Muppet 3D, you may think that being in the back would be good because it would put you away from the screen, but that may not be the best spot because at the end of the show a cannon comes out of the wall to shoot toward the stage.

Sue,
Thank you for mentioning this. My sons have lots of auditory sensitivities too and we will try to avoid this area.