For Christmas, our family went to Disney and as you know we have a son who is mobility impaired to an extent. He walks with the aid of crutches and leg braces. This was our first time to Disney with the exception of Chris who has been several times. My concern as a mom was that all of the kids would have fun and be able to get around but most of all be happy.
Since we have a handicap parking pass, we were able to park at the front entrance of the park. At Magic Kingdom (which was Day 1 and this post will be about), there is a wheelchair waiting in the parking area for your use. We were able to transfer C to the wheelchair and put his crutches on the back of the chair to push him down the walkway to get to where the wheelchair rentals were. The price isn't bad. $10 day or if you rent for 3 or more days, then the rate was $8 a day. We paid for a 5 day rental.
Going to the monorail was easy. We went up the ramp with the rest of the patrons and when the cast member saw us, we were ushered to the handicap entrance where they provided a ramp for easy boarding. Once all of the wheelchairs, strollers were on, the the rest of the patrons were able to get aboard and find a place to rest for the 10 minute ride.
We went during week 50 for this year and the most we waited in line was about 10 - 15 minutes. The cast members were always polite and asked if he needed to stay in his chair or could we transfer him to the ride. We transferred C on all of the rides and he had a blast. His sisters also had a great time and enjoyed the interactions with the characters.
The characters were awesome. They would engage C and make him feel especially important. His sisters were also treated with big hugs and autographs. Since the crowds weren't huge, we were able to maneuver C around easily and he enjoyed talking to the cast members and touching noses of the characters he met.
The kids were ecstatic to meet their favorites; B - loves tinkerbell so she traded pins to collect a good supply of tinkerbell pins and she loved meeting the Princesses, K loves Cinderella and I thought she was going to pee her pants with excitement when Cinderella arrived at our table during the princess dinner. C loves Pluto. He told him "I wub u" a bunch.
We also had purchased tickets to Mickey's Merry Christmas Party. 20,000 tickets were sold and we all had to wear wristbands. We had a blast and when we arrived at the Character Dance, Chip and Dale (the chipmunks) made C's night. They took his hands and danced with him so he could be with his sisters and the rest of the kids.
A cast member came by and asked if the characters were paying enough attention to him and I said that everyone was doing an awesome job. It still brings tears of joy thinking about him dancing with the rest of the kids.
So if you are planning a trip to Disney and have mobility issues, don't worry. This is the year of a million dreams and Disney will make your dreams come true as they did for us.
Here's to your dreams,
Beamer 319
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