Walt Disney World - Orlando, FL Review

My mom, who has multiple disabilities and has been really sick, announced a few weeks ago that she wanted to take me to Disney World for my birthday. Having planned to fly down to Florida for my birthday anyhow, and not wanting to refuse my mom anything, I agreed. Who am I kidding? I've always wanted to go to Walt Disney World! Of course, the fact that my mother needs a wheelchair to get around for anything more than a few steps was a concern of mine: a day ticket to The Magic Kingdom is $70, and I hated the idea of her spending that kind of money if there would be nothing for her to do at the park. I also felt I wouldn't want to get on any rides or see any attractions that I couldn't share with my mom - the whole point of going to Florida for my birthday was to spend time with her. I needn't have worried.

We arrived at the theme park early Sunday morning - my mom, my sister, her two-year-old, and myself. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring Mom's disabled parking placard with us, so we couldn't park in the accessible parking area, which meant we had to board a train to catch the monorail to the park entrance. The train was less than disability-friendly, but I can't fault the Disney folks for that: had we remembered our parking placard, we would have been able to wheel my mother a few short feet to the fully-accessible monorail.

The monorail was a breeze to get on with the wheelchair, and there was an attendent to help us get on and off, safely.

Once in the park (where my mother got a discount, on account of her disability) I was pleasantly surprised to find the place really well-designed for wheelchair users. The sidewalks are wide and uncluttered, and there are curb cuts everywhere. For those of you who don't know, a curb cut is one of those dips from sidewalk to street, which make it easy to move about with a wheelchair, stroller or cart.

The next pleasant surprise had to do with the rides, many of which have been modified for accessibility.  Every ride is clearly marked for accessibility: some are fully accessible for people with large, electric scooters, while others are accessible for people able to shift from scooter to wheelchair. The rides where wheelchair users need to be ambulatory (in other words, they need to be able to stand up and get in and out of a ride) are also clearly marked. Many of the rides have one or more wheelchair accessible seats. I was able to push my mother's wheelchair directly on to the following rides and attractions:

• It's A Small World After All
• Alladin's Flying Carpet Ride
• The Disneyworld Express Train
• Buzz Lightyear
• Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor
• Mickey's House/ Meet Mickey
• The Riverboat

Other rides, such as Tom Sawyer's Raft, were also accessible, but we chose not to wait on the long line. Something that really impressed me was the attendent at the Flying Carpet ride : when the ride was finished, she came over to us and said that we were welcome to stay on and ride again. She said that, since not every ride can take a wheelchair, they make every effort to offer wheelchair users multiple rides on those that are accessible, whenever possible. I found this to be really thoughtful and, yes, we sure did go for a second spin!

Bathrooms and eating establishments at Disney are also accessible and easy to navigate. I was really pleased to find that a simple fast-food-like establishment was more than willing to cater to my mom's extremely limited diet. Although they specialize in fried chicken, they went out of their way to grill a chicken breast, without salt or other seasoning. This took about twenty-five minutes, but it was worth the wait: we were able to eat lunch together, as a family.

We went to another, slightly more upscale Disney restaurant for dinner - Tony's.  The chef actually came out to us, sat at our table, and asked about my mom's special dietary needs. He completely changed the menu item she was most interested in so that she would be able to eat it. This was no small thing: it meant making a dish that isn't even on the menu. Not only did he prepare the meal to her dietary restrictions, but the serving was large, presentation was beautiful, and it tasted great. (For the curious: he grilled a salmon fillet seasoned with lemon, and made a batch of orzo with roasted garlic, lemon and pepper - a total departure from the cream-and-butter laden original dish, that also included a maple glaze and mushrooms: foods my mother can't eat.) I was really impressed that a restaurant with such modest prices (this dish only cost $13 or so) would go to such great lengths to meet a diner's needs.

Unlike some restaurants, where they expect wheelchair users to wheel up to a table and dine from their wheelchairs, Tony's gave us the option to move my mom onto a regular dining chair, while they stored her wheelchair. This may sound like no big thing, but it's really meaningful to an ambulatory wheelchair user to be able to get up and sit at the table with the rest of the family.

All in all, I was extremely pleased with our day at Magic Kingdom - not just as an overgrown kid, but as the adult child of a person with a disability. They go the extra mile to include all park visitors in as many rides and attractions as possible, and the staff is clearly trained to provide sensitive and considerate service to everyone.