How do you think Disney handles special needs? About This Page:

[Laughaholic]

What's your opinion on the way Disney handles special needs in restaurants, parks, entertainment, etc.

I think that they handle it the best they can. They have room for improvement on some things though. But the all around aspect of there view on things to me looks pretty good.

Kristin

[Lotta D'Olwipz]

this is in regards to restaurants...

With one minor exception, the restaurants we have asked for special requests have been extremely agreeable, and did not give any resistance whatso ever.
Our special needs were such that two diners in our party had had Gastric Bypass Surgery, and wanted either a half plate only, or to be charged for the child's portion at a buffet style.
All we did was show up for out priority seating, ask to speak to the manager, and our needs were met.

oh, right--there were actually two issues, not just the one.
One time at Boma, a manager that we hadn't dealt with before was sceptical of our motives, even when we said the other managers at that restaurant said it was ok. He did allow to be charged only for a child's plate but apparently asked the server to "watch" our table to make sure we didn't eat too much. [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]
The server herself told us he said that to her. But she also then joked with us that she didn't have time for such foolishness (meaning that he was being silly, and she didn't care what we ate)

The second issue was at 50's PT cafe, where we got just a piece of meatloaf on a plate-no sides or anything. But on the bill, they charged us for a full meal. That was remedied quickly by the server once she saw what happened.


At the Plaza on main street, the server was quick to offer a plain boneless chicken breast, and said that should be available at most restaurants if needed.

[Shell_of_the_South]

Disney has always seemed to be good about handling special requests. I have one special need that Disney ignores: I wish Disney had resort rooms that slept 5 normal size people at a reasonable price. Even the DVC rooms sleep 4 or 8 - no one in between.

[AKLRULZ]

Originally posted by MichelleC:
I have one special need that Disney ignores: I wish Disney had resort rooms that slept 5 normal size people at a reasonable price. Even the DVC rooms sleep 4 or 8 - no one in between.

<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">HELLO! While certainly not a handicap, I completely agree with you on this Michelle - it's a big complaint of ours for the Disney resorts and DCL. [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img]

[DVC_Don]

I think Disney does very well. I was restricted to an EVC or walked with a cane in December 1999. The CM's & access to everything was wonderful.

[Teresa]

We have traveled to WDW 8 times now with a child in a wheelchair and this month had 2!
The CMs have always been great and very accomidating. In my opinion, Disney does a great job. So many places are TOTALLY inaccessible to chairs and WDW bends over backwards to make it easy. The only place we had any trouble the last time was that they stuck us in rooms 4208 & 4210 in Boardwalk. these are ALL the way down the hall, at the very end Quite hard to get 2 wheelchairs down there over the plush carpet.
we have been to many countries and the US is the best for access. Of course, they just can't make old Italian or Greek ruins accessible (yes, we carried the chair and Samantha through it ALL!)

[RocklandRVers]

When I visited last month and used an ECV to get around the parks, I thought the CMs that we encountered did very well. They smiled politely as they led me through the gate and some were very helpful about giving tips for getting around some of the tight turns or how best to get turned so I was close to the regular seats for DW and DS.

I was equally impressed when I was off the ECV on occasion and getting on a ride. In Dinosaur I had a hard time with the seat belt due my portly stature. The CM was very patient and told me to stand up and pull out the belt all the way and then buckle it before fully sliding down in the tight (for me) seat. It worked like a charm and she kept her cheerful WDW attitude and even said with a smile and little clap "way to go...now you got it!" It took an extra 15 seconds, but nobody else knew the difference. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Of course I often wonder how they are under the pressure of heavy crowds. During the week we were there, we were able to walk on many of the rides including Test Track which I know is very unusual. I don't know if management "pushes" them to move things along faster when the crowds are at their peak, but I would imagine that does happen.

[Jennifer Fisher]

I am especially upset after my phone call to the Grand Floridian's recreation dept today! I have a 5y/o who is not potty trained due to medical reasons. I chose the Mickey's Cooking Adventure since it is short and would not require a bathroom visit. The director absolutely refuses to let her participate even with a doctor's note. Any suggestions?