My husband and I, along with my sister and brother-in law were planning on doing a “Disney Emersions Vacation” (if you will) next year in the fall. My hubby and I live in San Diego and have annual passes to Disneyland, so we have a good idea of how some things work. We’ve started doing a little research to see how WDW differs from DL and what we were all interested in seeing and doing. Beings that I’m in a wheelchair due to a spinal cord injury, knowing how to navigate the park and the rides is a big concern for us. We’ve been finding a tremendous amount negativity towards WDW online with regards to crowds (which seems to be a major issue), unpleasant experiences with Cast Members, food poisoning, how the parks have really gone downhill over the past years, low moral levels with Cast Members and the list goes on. Now I know that when people have had a negative experience, it’s very difficult for them to focus on anything positive and that’s why I’m coming to Laughing Place for help. I want straight forward honesty…good, bad or indifferent. I would like as much insight and experience sharing as I can get because I have a very difficult time believing that WDW is as bad as we’ve been reading! So please, please help!! Share your experiences, your advice, your wisdom and your “Disney Know How” with us so we can determine if this worth doing or not. As a DL pass holder for 10+ years, you get to know the ins and outs of things, what to avoid, what’s worth doing or seeing and what’s not. If you have knowledge or experience of how to navigate the park and rides in a wheelchair, please share. In DL, we enter thru the exits and if lines are too long, Cast Members give you a “return time” and like a fast pass. You simply go entertain yourself doing something else fun and nifty and then return at your appointed time. We’re all pretty adventures so pretty much anything goes, with the exception of what my brother in-law and hubby call “Spin and Barf rides”…big sissies! We’re all really wanting to do this but we just want to make sure that it’s going to be an adventurous trip filled with lots of laughter, lasting memories and fun for everyone. As we say in San Diego…”No bad days!”
Sorry I have no wheelchair advice. I can say, as a DL regular (or at least a southern Calufornia resident 22 years) that our trips to WDW in 2010 and 2012 were wonderful and I did not find the parks that crowded (but we went in Oct and Jan). The parks were not as magical, and huge, but fun. Best of luck!
I would say that November is the ideal month for visiting WDW: the weather is (by Florida standards) both cool and dry, and the crowds are fairly thin. If you're a DL passholder, or even a former DL passholder (like myself), visiting WDW for the first time, prepare to be disoriented, especially in the MK. The WDW MK looks just enough like DL to lull you into a false sense of knowing where everything is, and then you suddenly find that a given attraction is not where you expect it to be, or you find things that aren't there at all in DL. For example, the WDW HM is in Liberty Square, near the Hall of Presidents, while the WDW PotC is in Adventureland. The Town Square Parade Gate is on the opposite side from where it is in DL; the other end of the route passes through Frontierland, rather than Fantasyland, and both ends of the route lead back to the barn, so that any given parade always runs in the same direction. The Monorail doesn't have any in-park stations. When you pass under the Berm into Town Square, you'll find a side-tunnel leading into a locker facility with an inside stairwell to the train station. Lots of little things like that. Oh, and beware: 1900 Park Fare, in the Grand Floridian Hotel, may seem like an ideal place to stop for lunch on a 2-park day, but 1900 PARK FARE DOES NOT SERVE LUNCH. (Instead, they have an afternoon children's tea party, which seems rather odd, given that I don't know too many kids who drink tea.) If I remember right, all WDW buses are wheelchair accessible, as are the Monorail trains. I have always stayed at the All Star Music, arguably the most adult-oriented of the "value" hotels; very immersive for not a lot of money. This has bus transportation throughout the complex.
All of the resort buses are equipped for wheelchairs. The last time I was at WDW (a couple of years ago) we shared a ride w/ multiple people utilizing wheelchairs, and it didn't seem to be an issue for anybody involved. The one thing that truly differs from DL is the amount of planning involved for a WDW vacation. Dining reservations need to be made as far ahead of time as possible (especially for the popular destinations like Be Our Guest), and FastPasses can run out quickly for the newer rides as well.
Yes. Book well in advance, note down park (and individual attraction) closing times, book your dinner reservations as soon as you know which parks you'll be visiting at dinner time on which days, and book FP+ as soon as they'll let you. That said, if you number American Adventure, CoP, and Ellen (all non-FP) among your favorite attractions, all you really need to know is the closing times.
