“There’s no tired like Disney tired!”
— Anyone who’s ever spent a full day at Walt Disney World
When Aadam and I first started going to Disney World, we stayed off property to make the trip as economically as possible. He was more ambulatory for those first few trips, so we would rent a car and a portable scooter for him to use in the parks. Each day we would load up the scooter, head to the park, unpack the scooter, walk through the parking lots (we didn’t have handicap parking back then either), visit the park, then do the whole thing in reverse at the end of the day. Because the battery had to be charged overnight, we would either bring the full scooter into the hotel, or carry the 40 lb battery by itself and leave the rest of the scooter in the trunk.
If you were to ask me what I remember most about those trips, I’m going to tell you about the dreaded end of every park day, when I knew I had to walk all the way to the car, disassemble a heavy scooter, and load it into a car when I was exhausted and had sore feet after a long park day. It was awful, and it honestly came close to ruining the trip. When you spend thousands of dollars on a vacation, this isn’t the memory you want to hold on to.
Back then, I wasn’t always 100% responsible for the scooter. Sometimes Aadam had the strength to help me — or even do it himself. And other times we were traveling with family and they might help me out. But after his spinal cord injury, as a incomplete quadriplegic, Aadam cannot help with the scooter anymore.
Becoming a #quadwife has taught me a lot of things about setting priorities and being realistic. I’ve learned about the importance of simplification, delegation, automation, and elimination in the management of our new normal. And I knew if I was going to enjoy travel again, I had to simplify our hotel experience and eliminate that darn scooter assembly!
Disney makes transportation easy
When you stay at a Walt Disney World hotel, proximity and easy of transportation are some of the biggest perks. At a minimum, each hotel has accessible bus transportation for both scooters and wheelchairs to each park and the Disney Springs shopping district. Some hotels offer additional transportation options to certain parks, including the Disney Monorail, ferry boats, and my personal favorite, the Disney Skyliner gondola system.
Using Disney’s transportation means you never have to worry about finding directions, or parking. It’s significantly harder to get ”lost” when a Cast Member is driving you around. You also never need to worry about finding a designated driver if you decide to ”drink around the world” at Epcot.
More importantly, for us, this free transportation offers a degree of independence for Aadam. If we are out at park and Aadam is tired, his natural inclination is to tough it out and stay longer than he should because he doesn’t want to ”ruin everyone else’s fun” by making us leave early. It doesn’t matter that there is a decent likelihood that if he’s tired I wouldn’t mind a break either — he’s going to keep pushing and suffer the consequences later. But when we stay at Disney, he can leave on his own. He can say ”I’m going to go take a nap while you wait in line at Pirates… see you at dinner,” and take off without anyone else needing to change their plans. That freedom and independence alone is worth much more to us than the few dollars a night we would save by staying offsite.
Disney guarantees their accessible rooms
Anyone who has, or cares for someone with, a disability requiring room accommodations knows the anxiety, frustration, and sometimes outrage that comes with booking a hotel room and arriving to discover that the accommodations you were promised were not provided.
For the uninitiated (lucky you!), imagine you arrive at your hotel late at night after a long journey and discover that your room doesn’t have a bathroom — at all. And when you try to find someone to rectify the situation, they tell you that they thought you didn’t need one — or should have called ahead a third time to make extra sure that the room you reserved had access to a bathroom. That’s what it’s like trying to get an accessible room at some hotels.
Disney offers multiple types of accessible rooms, including options for roll-in showers, tubs with grab bars, hearing accessibility features, and even a hybrid room type designed for people who have some mobility challenges but aren’t dependent on a wheelchair. You (or your travel agent – hint hint!) can search for availability among the accessible rooms, and book the exact room type you need. Many hotel chains make the accessible room option a ”special request” – which ultimately means it’s not guaranteed. But with Disney, you know you have an accessible room because you booked it that way. And I can tell you from experience that in the rare instance that they make a mistake, they will do EVERYTHING within their power to fix it, immediately.
The Disney experience is unmatched
When you enter a Disney hotel, you immediately know that you are in a very special place. The customer service provided by Disney Cast Members is generally top notch — of course, there will always be people having a bad day, but you will find that everywhere. In our experience, Disney Cast Members have always gone above and beyond to help – especially where accessibility is concerned. As a bonus, the Disney hotels are just fun! Whether you are staying at a value resort or treating yourself to a stay in a deluxe villa, being inside the “Disney Bubble” lets you extend the magic and completely leave reality at home.
