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Have you been wanting to go to Walt Disney World but have only been to Disneyland and don't know where to start? That was me 3 years ago. During the pandemic was the first time I went to Walt Disney World. I have lots of Disney disability info and resources to share with you!
With Walt Disney World, your Disney disability access and DAS questions, your hotel and food questions, and transportation options, I am going to answer those for you! If you have more leave me a comment and I can try and get to those.
Let's start with disability access and DAS. Since they have reopened a lot has changed with DAS at Walt Disney World. You can now register for your DAS virtually 30 days before your trip! It's so exciting AND you can get advance DAS reservations for attractions!
Let's talk about registering first. You can still register at the Blue Umbrellas with Guest Services or at the main Guest Services building in each Park. I want to make that clear. You don't have to pre-register.
If something happens and you can't pre-register you are GOOD!!! Just go to the Blue Umbrella people and ask to register for DAS. They are so nice and will help you out with registering and get you going!!
If you want to pre-register then visit the Walt Disney World website and click on register for DAS . Make sure you go in and accept the Terms and Conditions 1st!! This will save you time once you are ready for the interview. The interviews are 1st come, 1st served and are available 7 am-10 pm ET. I highly recommend being on right at 7 am. Doing this my wait hasn't been long and I have gotten it done.
You will need to have the dates of your trip, the person who needs DAS and be able to explain why you (they) need DAS. I am going to talk a little bit here about what you need to say. They don't want or need your diagnosis. So saying I need DAS because I am autistic will get you nowhere. If you understand this before you try and get the DAS it might help with avoiding frustrations. What you need to say is "I need DAS because crowds make me anxious and I may have ____ reaction (fill in the blank with what the anxiety does to you)."
"My child needs DAS because if they are around too many people they may start to scream so waiting in another space is beneficial to us." If you think of DAS as an alternate waiting area it helps form a better picture of what DAS is. You can wait outside the normal queue area and just go into the Lightening Lane for a shorter queue.
Once you get on with the Cast Member they are going to ask why you can't wait in a normal queue line. My conversation goes like this, " I have a bladder condition that requires I have quick access to a bathroom. I also use a mobility scooter so I get stuck in lines and then can have accidents."
Please note and understand that mobility problems such as standing, walking and such will not qualify for DAS. They will instruct you to get a wheelchair or ECV. The queue lines are mostly accessible and IF they aren't they have alternate access ways at the attraction.
If you have been to Disneyland the DAS stuff is pretty similar so this should be something you should be familiar with!
Ok so now we got that out of the way let's talk about hotel accommodations! Walt Disney World has SOOO many hotel options. What hotel you choose will depend on a lot of factors. Budget, activities, and experience.
At Disneyland, we normally stay off-property at a budget hotel down the street. At World, you can still do that BUT it's not as easy. We tend to stay on property at one of the Value hotels. We have stayed at moderate and deluxe though!
Basically, your 1st question needs to be how much do we want to spend. And stick to your budget because it can go way out of hand!
Disney has roll-in showers and disabled bathtubs with handles as well as hearing disability rooms. So whatever your needs are they have something to cover it. If you aren't sure what to book you can call 407-WDW-DISNEY and they can answer questions and try to help you figure out what they have to accommodate your needs!
Now when you are ready to book we suggest Get Away Today! If you book a qualifying package you can save $10 by using our promo code DIS10!!
Once you figure out your budget you can decide on the hotel. We have stayed at Disney's Pop Century, Disney's Yacht Club and the Cabins at Fort Wilderness.
We love Disney's Pop Century. It's a value resort and it's very cute Disney characters everywhere!
They have standard rooms and preferred rooms. The preferred rooms are closer to the main building and cost a little more. You will also need to decide if you want to pay for a preferred room to be a little closer to everything.
Pop is HUGE!! So if you want something a little cozier you might want to look at moderate or deluxe resorts. They tend to be on the smaller side and the rooms are a little larger and you can find more amenities.
If having a kitchen is important you will want to stay at either Art of Animation or the Cabins at Fort Wilderness or a DVC Deluxe Villa room.
If an amazing pool is important the best pool on property for us is the one at Yacht and Beach Club. It's 2 resorts that share a pool and it's amazing! Sand bottom pools, a lazy river, there's a slide, hot tubs its THE best!!
They do have lifts for mobility disabilities at the pools as well! Disney also has life jackets for little ones at all the pools!
Walt Disney World has so many resorts to choose from but if you want to stay at a Good Neighbor Hotel they have those too! And you can book them through the Walt Disney World site or our preferred way is through Get Away Today! Using our promo code DIS10 will save you $10 off your package!
The food options at Walt Disney World are really good! All the Parks have some amazing options for you. Each hotel has a main restaurant or dining area and some have room service. Most hotels have a Pizza delivery option and you can have groceries delivered by your favorite app to the hotel. Bell services will hold it if you aren't there and even keep cold stuff cold! You can also ask for a microwave in your room.
So what we do is plan for 1 meal in the Parks, normally lunch or dinner unless we want to do a character breakfast. And we order food we can make in the room such as bread, peanut butter and jelly and easy microwavable things and snacks, bottled water and bottled soda and take food and drinks with us. Disney does allow this!
If you have food allergies Disney is amazing with them. Just like Disneyland, you can talk to a chef if needed and just always explain your food allergies to the cast members. They are also expanding vegetarian and vegan options.
Storytime: my hubby is a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. But due to his heart issues we are trying to get him to eat more plant-based stuff. There is a restaurant in Magic Kingdom called Liberty Tree Tavern and the whole concept is Thanksgiving dinner year-round! I wanted to go. He doesn't really like Turkey. They have a plant-based Impossible Meatloaf so he decided to get that. He LOVED it!!
Ok so you have your hotel let's talk about the Parks. Walt Disney World has 4 Parks and 2 Water Parks, a golf course and Disney Springs.
They are requiring Park Pass reservations just like Disneyland and after 2 pm you can hop if there is availability. To find out if there is availability you can call 407-560-5000. I have never had an issue with hopping but we don't normally buy Hoppers and just stay in 1 Park because with World it takes so much longer to travel between Parks.
Magic Kingdom is going to have your classic Disney attractions like "it's a small world", Peter Pan's Flight, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and they have a pretty amazing coaster called Seven Dwarves Mine Train.
Disney's Hollywood Studios is where you can find Galaxy's Edge and Star Wars-themed attractions, Rock N Rollercoaster featuring Aerosmith and Tower of Terror and yes theirs is still themed to Twilight Zone. This is also where you will find the Toy Story-themed attractions because they have a whole Toy Story Themed land!
Disney's Animal Kingdom is where you can find Dinosaur which is the same attraction as Indiana Jones Temple of the Forbidden Eye and Kali River Rapids which is very similar to Grizzly River Run. This is also where Expedition Everest and of course the main reason to go is all the animals! We love Kilamnajaro Safari which takes you through the African savanna! This is also where you can find Pandora the world of Avatar!
EPCOT is the last Park and this is where you can find Spaceship Earth, Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind, Journey Into Imagination with Figment, Living with the Land and Remy's Ratatouille Adventure! It is also where World Showcase is and all the drinking around the world happens!
We haven't been to the water parks or golf courses yet.
Lastly, Disney Springs is the dining and shopping area! This is where the World of Disney Store is and its a must-visit. It is so much larger than Downtown Disney. If you are looking for something non-park to do this is a great option!
There are so many ways to customize your Walt Disney World vacation, you can add on some Universal Studios days if you like. you can do a split Walt Disney World/Universal stay and go to both! Best of all Get Away Today can help you plan your dream Florida Get Away! Just go online or call 855-GET-AWAY and let them know that Disabled DISventures sent you! Use the promo code DIS10 for $10 off your package!
Coming up next will be Disneyland tips for Walt Disney World people!