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DL Guide - Disabled

Below is information to help you plan on your visit if you have a disability. If you need clarification or more information on any of the items mentioned below, call Disneyland Guest Relations at (714) 781-7290.

Guidebook
 Disneyland offers many tips to the disabled guest with their "Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities." This informative guidebook can be picked up at Guest Relations in either park. Inside you will find some very specific information not regularly printed in the regular guidemap.

Parking and Transporation
The Disneyland Resort reserves spaces for cars displaying a handicap plate or placard (in state or out of state). A tram is required to get from most Disneyland parking lots to the main entrance. If for any reason you are unable to use the tram, a van is available for transportation to and from the main entrance. Just notify any parking lot Cast Member and they will summon it for you. If you are wheelchair bound we recommend taking the van even though the tram can accommodate wheelchairs.

Wheelchair Rentals
Wheelchair rentals are available in both parks just inside the main gates. Standard wheelchairs are $7 with a $20 deposit required. Electric wheelchairs are $35 with a $50 deposit required. You must be 18 years or older to rent or operate an electric wheelchair. You will not be allowed to take Disney wheelchairs outside the parks, but you can use your receipt to rent in the other park if you're moving between parks. Guests may also bring their own wheelchairs or electric wheelchairs into Disneyland.

Note: Wheelchairs are not guaranteed to be available for rental. Electric wheelchairs are often all rented out on busy days. Plan to arrive early if an electric wheelchair is required.

Special Assistance Passes
Special Assistance passes are available at Guest Relations for guests who do not need a wheelchair but are unable to wait in attraction lines. Passes can be obtained for the disabled guest and up to five additional guests.

To use the pass with most attractions, show it at the exit of the attraction. If that's not possible, inform any Cast Member working the attraction that you have the pass and they will direct you to the proper place to enter. Follow the same procedure if you are on crutches, use a cane or have a visible brace.

Note: A special assistance pass does not insure you won't have to wait for an attraction, only that you'll be able to wait without standing.

TTY Phones and Phone Numbers
A TTY telephone is available inside Guest Relations in both parks. When trying to contact one of the Disneyland Hotels to inquire about special equipment and facilities for guests with disabilities, you can use the following numbers listed below.

Grand Californian Hotel:

  • Operator: (714) 999-0990
  • TTY: (714) 956-6496

Disneyland Hotel:

  • Operator: (714) 635-2300
  • TTY: (714) 956-6496

Disneyland Pacific Hotel:

  • Operator: (714) 778-6600
  • TTY: (714) 956-6496

Medication
In both parks you can find assistance for your medical needs and a place to store any medication requiring refrigeration. These locations are:

  • Disneyland - First Aid: Located at he north end of Main Street, U.S.A. near the Plaza Inn.
  • Disney's California Adventure - Firs Aid: Located near the Mission Tortilla Factory in the Pacific Wharf

Entertainment Concerns
Disneyland provides many special viewing areas at thier entertainment venues. Along the parade route, there are several areas designated for disabled guests only. However, these seating areas are on a first come first served basis and can not be reserved. To find these locations, consult your Disneyland Guide Book.

Attraction Concerns
Many queue lines at Disneyland and all at Disney's California Adventure are wheelchair accessible. Attractions that are not have an alternate entrance for wheelchairs, usually through the exit. A complete list of attractions and the location of the wheelchair entrances is available in the Disablility Guidebook given with the wheelchair or available at City Hall. Up to five guests can accompany the disabled guest through the wheelchair entrance.

Note: If you are disabled but not in a wheelchair, see the Special Assistance Pass section for more information.

Guests with Service Animals
The Disneyland Resort welcomes service animals in most locations throughout the park. Guests with service animals are required to keep thier animals on a leash or harness at all times. There are some attractions that service animals are not allowed to ride, however a Cast Member will be assigned to the service animal while the guest is on the attraction. Also, there are some attractions service animals can ride, but are not recommended to ride.

The complete list of which rides are accessible to service animals is available in the Disability Guidebook.

Guests with Visual Disabilities
Disneyland offers many options to guests with a visual disability. Some of these options include an Audio Tape Tour and a Braille Guidebook. The Audio Tape Tour can be picked up from Guest Relations. Guests wishing to use the Braille Guidebook should also go to Guest Relations. A refundable deposit may be required for these items.

Guests with Hearing Disabilities
There are many programs for guests with hearing disabilities throughout the Disneyland Resort. Some of these options include Assistive Listening Devices, Written Aids, Sign Launguage Interpretation, Reflective Captioning, and Vidoe Captioning.

Assisted listening devices are devices that allow guests to get an amplified signal through special ear pieces. This device is recommended for guests with mild to moderate hearing loss. The system is available at Guest Relations. Disneyland offers this service in the following attractions:

Disneyland

Disney's California Adventure

Reflective Captioning is also available at several theater style locations throughout the park. A reflective panel is placed in front of the guest, and through an LED display located in the theater, the caption is displayed on the panel. Guests should ask a Cast Member at the following locations to use this system:

Disneyland

Disney's California Adventure

Closed Captioning is available in many of the preshow areas throughout the park. These monitors are designated with the "CC" logo and can be activated by remote control. You can pick up a remote control for these monitors at City Hall, located on Main Street, U.S.A.. A refundable deposit may be required. Video captioning is currently available at the following locations:

Disneyland

Disney's California Adventure

Written Aids which contain attraction dialogues and narration, pencil and paper, and a flashlight are available at some attractions. To inquire about the attractions that support this program, just go to Guest Relations. There will be a list of all attractions that have these services available.

Reader Tips and Comments

Below are tips and comments from readers on
Visiting Disneyland with a Disability

Note: You must be registered to enter comments.
Click here to login/register.

DS trip with 20 year daughter in wheel chair – GAC and other info

I just returned from one of the best trips of our lives at DS. My daughter is 20 years old and in a wheelchair all the time. Mom and twin daughters traveled together. Our trip was planned 6 weeks before travel. Our experience with DS was awesome! I want to share with you how our trip was wonderful – particularly regarding my daughters disability challenges. I hope this information will help you plan and have a great trip too.

First off I want to qualify what I am going to say by explaining a few things about our attitudes with travel. We have traveled a considerable amount over the years with my daughter. We are experienced with wheelchair travel and do not get “bent out of shape” easily. We expect things to go wrong and especially are aware that others often do not understand our needs. We are strong advocates for making things work out but also anticipate problems every time we travel.
We always thank everybody who takes extra time to help us and I mean everybody. I can not over emphasize the value of kindness, patience and appreciation towards those that are assisting you with the challenges of traveling with a disability. This is the absolute key for having a good experience:

1) DS gave a second connecting room for FREE! We were blown away! I called ahead to arrange a room and found one at POR for $96 a night for 5 nights for the three of us, the week before Christmas. They had no accessible rooms available at that resort and I didn’t want to pay more for another resort. I talked with the agent for 30 mins. I told him we would take a non accessible room but could it please be on the ground floor near the lobby. When I arrived we had two connecting rooms, one of which was accessible with a roll in shower and a low king bed. The second room was free! We were in building 14 (rooms 1403 and 1404). This building was very close to the lobby building and handicapped parking was right outside the door.
2) We rented a car and brought our placard for the parking and were directed to the front row or two of every parking lot (at MGK you take a monorail too). We just zipped in and out of very park. Most days we did two parks a day.
3) GAC: We went to the MGK guest relations as soon as we arrived and were given a pink pass with TWO ARROWS stamped on it. The two arrows indicated that she could not walk at all (or transfer out of her chair unless we carried her) and thus sent us through an “alternative” entrance. We had no doctors note. We never waited in a single line. We bought a lanyard and a clear plastic card holder. We put the pass in the holder and she wore this around her neck. Every time we approached a ride (or show) we showed them the pass and went up the “Fast Pass RETURN” lane. If no one was there we just went right up the fast pass return lane until we bumped into an employee. In a few cases they asked us to take the pass out and they looked to make sure it had two arrows on it. She rode every roller coaster!
4) Getting on the rides: Most of time she could swing herself onto a ride. Sometimes my other daughter and I had to lift her on. Some rides have a special car we had to wait for that the side opened up on(Rock and Roll Roller Coaster). On a few of the rides her entire chair could go into a special car. The staff were incredibly helpful! They were amazing at every ride and we did not have a single negative experience with rides. No one ever challenged us about her health or ability to safely ride (which is something we often have to deal with other places).
5) Park map and guide for the disabled: At every single park we stopped at guest relations and got a map and guide for that park for the disabled. This was very HELPFUL. We studied each one before navigating each park. The map details where the special disabled seating is for wheelchairs for the parades. Since the seating is reserved we could come 15 minutes before the parades or events happened, and thus continue seeing the park while everyone else secured their spots and hour ahead of time.
6) Shows: We saw most of the shows including several special Christmas shows. At Hollywood studios we went to the stunt shows too. We were able to arrive fairly close to show time (15 mins) and were escorted to the wheelchair seating through a special line. Again the employees were fantastic and went with us to the seating making sure we were all set. We did not have to get in the long lines. Although this may be because we showed up closer to show time when the other people were mostly seated already. We usually had to sit in the back row (except for a few special Christmas concerts) but that was no big deal and we saw everything just fine.
7) Dinners/Eating: We ate at a few on the nicer restaurants and had no problem getting a great table. They sat us right next to the belly dancing show at the Moroccan restaurant. DS upgraded up to a front row table at the ALOHA dinner (which was more expensive) because they had no accessible seating in tier three which we had bought. The Brown Derby gave us on the spot seating one night despite being unable to get a reservation after several calls. They had to take us around the outside through a side door to get us in.

I hope this helps others. We have never had such a hassle free vacation. I will sing DS praises for years to come. (12/22/09)


-- lizmom (12/22/2009)

I am planning on going to disneyland for my birthday next week. I dont know if i should rent a wheelchair because i don't want people thinking im abusing the system. I broke my ankle two yrs ago and didnt have insurance which left me in county hospital hands... and we know how free medical treatment is... so no physical therapy til this day i cant wear high heels and im a 25yr old gal... sucks i know. and to top it off 2yrs later its starting to effect my knee... I cant walk for more than a 1/8 mile without it killing me and feeling like its gonna go out on me. I still dont have insurance so i havent seen a doctor since i dont feel like sitting in county hospital for 24+ hrs... i hope people dont look at me like im trying to abuse the system. I plan on renting a chair but leaving it outside and standing in line. Because i cant stand in the line i just cant walk from one side of the park to the other without literally falling apart.
-- txsocalgyrl (7/11/2009)

On both of my most recent trips to DLR/DCA I had not one single problem while I had rented the Electric Wheel chairs. Except for one where the chair battery died, but they quickly brought me a new chair.
The Cast were friendly and extremely helpful, which makes mme kind of doubt the vercaity of some of the stories I have read here. I have been to DLR roughly 2000+ times and have never seen any of the attitudes described here. Both times I rented the chair for 3 days and had no trouble getting a chair, using it in either of the parks, and gettingthrough lines was great at DCA they have designed it so you can take your chiar through most of the lines I find this way cool (remember sitting down is a little easier on the feet). As a disabled person I dont expect privelege but was shown great courtesy and helped everywhere one would think they should be helped at.

At the same time I should mention, nowhere did I see the oft reported teenagers renting a wheelchair to get through the lines faster. The cast at the rental tents. are more than capable of spotting a faker (I ad even asked them about this).
Anyways just my two cents, I want to make sure both sides of the story are here for those who read this an shudder at the horror stories, any other questions? writeme at Bronztiger@usa.com
-- bronzetiger (1/26/2008)

Every year my family makes the venture to California to go to Disneyland. Every year, my parents rent a wheel chair for my brother who is mentally handicapped and they also have a special assistance pass. Which works wonders. Last year, I had to rent a wheel chair due to a twisted ankle and a torn achilles tendon. It was a chore trying to walk. Some of the cast members where great about the two wheel chairs others where a pain in the butt. Some made me park my chair outside the exit line and walk into the ride, even though I had a bandaged ankle. It didn't matter. To this day, I'm still having problems with my Achilles Tendon.

-- ImTinkerbellsfan (7/17/2005)

In 2004, Disneyland got reid of the"Special Assistance Pass." They now have assistance passes that are specific to your need. It no longer guarantees entrance through the exit, unless you are unable to climb stairs and the attraction requires stairs in the main entrance. If you don't like the change, cast members rudely suggest you get a wheelchair. Funny, if your doctor doesn't think you need a wheelchair, who is a cast member to say you need one? Further, they rent the chairs to anyone willing to fork over the $28 rental fee, including teenagers that obviously have no need for a wheelchair.

If you are in a wheelchair, you don't need the pass. The City Hall people have become quite rude about this change, so if you ask for a special assistance pass, expect to be treated curtly.

Additionally, Kudos to those who have stuck up for themselves when they may not look disabled, but truly are, I'm in the same boat, keep up the fight! From reading other reader's comments, Disneyland doesn't know what their policy on wheelchairs is. Pretty disgusting if you ask me. Perhaps an ADA complaint would clarify some of the confusion.
-- gimpygimpalo (3/16/2005)

Here are some tips if you are traveling with a wheelchair-bound guest --
1) Show your disabled parking placard to the parking attendant who takes your money. He will put a paper on your car that signals the rest of the attendants to wave you into the disabled parking area.

2) There is a shuttle van to take you to and from the parking lots, but the parking tram has a ramp and special loading and anchors for wheelchairs. You don't have to transfer to a tram seat, just wait at the top of the ramp for the tram to stop and the attendants will help you.

3) Don't bother with the special assistance pass if you have a wheelchair from home. This is especially true at DCA, which is designed so that you just go through the regular lines with everyone else.

4) Be patient and forgiving. It helps the cast members immensely and you will get better treatment. Remember you aren't supposed to be seated on the ride any faster than the rest of the guests, but it usually works out that way. If you are obnoxious, they can make you wait your turn...

My son is 8 and has a youth wheelchair. The only problems I usually encounter is when cast members refer to his chair as a stroller, which upsets him a little.
-- puppycats (1/12/2005)

my mom uses the electric wheel chairs, cause she cant walk vary far with out gettin pain in her knees. so that helps us keep a pretty go pase now. but some ppl just dont understand that the chairs arnt vary easy to navigate some times, and ppl wont move one time we got stuck behind some ppl and the wouldnt move there wasnt anyone in front of them, but the wouldnt move that just burned me that ppl dont have any comom sence to move. and those little horns arnt loud enough. get like a fog horne on there LoL.
-- Dark_Disney_Princess (9/5/2004)

Hi, I just want to say that I am a young woman of 32 and I can walk only very short distances. My knees have crippling pain if I try to walk very much. To look at me visually you might think nothing was wrong with me- but physically I suffer a great deal of pain, and not just in my knees but also most of my joints. I know there are people who may abuse the system with wheelchairs, but you cannot accurately make that assumption just because a person doens't LOOK disabled. My last experience at Disneyland was wonderful because I had a wheelchair, and I can't say how happy it made me and my small family that I could actually participate in the fun. (Unfortunately, I would get nasty stares at times from people who didn't know of my physical afflictions, just because they couldn't see them) Let's try to give people the benefit of the doubt a little more. Warmest wishes to all who suffer with disabilities.
-- alohalady (5/3/2004)

I brought my 8 year old son to Disneyland. He has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair. The employees of Disneyland were awesome to us. One employee even bought my son a tigger! Eyeore and Pooh took extra time for him, even though they were sopposed to go on break. This place was truly magical for us. When Make A Wish Organization asked what his wish was, it was to return to Disneyland. I think this speaks volumes for what our time spent at Disneyland was like. I DID see teenagers and a group of grown men using rented wheelchairs and in fact, when we went to Who Wants to be a Millionaire, they were going to take the last wheelchair accessable spot. They were kind enough to give it up...and then climb the stairs clear to the top to sit down! I was so angry! Don't they realize that some child (or adult) with a real disability could not have a spot because they took it? When I don't have my son with me, I don't park in handicap. It's a priviledge. It's unfortunate that people abuse it. I wonder if people had to bring in their disabled sticker/placard, a letter from their physican with ID, bring in their own chair, or have a visable disability how many malingerers this would prevent from abusing this privledge.-The Dept. of Transportation makes us do this to get our placard, why not?
-- aertman77 (4/11/2004)

I would like to see more people understand that not all disablities are readily visable. Mine is not. Yes the special assistance pass is wonderful. Though I am waiting until word gets out and people begin to abuse it as they now do the wheelchairs. I know first hand also that very few visitors to Disneyland have common courtesy/decency to show to those in wheelchairs. I have been there too. All in all, the best time for those of us who cannot climb, run & jump to go is a low volume day.
-- mouse4me43 (6/10/2003)

The cast members have always been very accomodating of my disability and even being wheelchair bound (my own) and carrying a cane, I have been made to return to City Hall to get a Special Assistance Pass, which is ridiculous since it is obvious I require assistance and a shame since so many teenagers abuse the special assistance pass. How many times have I seen a group of teenagers going around the park and a different teen in the wheelchair each time! But the hardest thing is when it gets crowded and people just push past me and it is almost impossible for me to navigate, I have even had people lift their leg and climb over me as if I were invisible! I don't like being in a wheelchair, but it is my only mobility, and I do not abuse the priviledge that Disney extends to its disabled guests, it would be really nice if other people weren't so rude!
-- PoohBunniesHutch (4/16/2003)

Even tho they say you don't need a special assistance pass if in a wheelchair, We have 2 boys in a wheelchair and after standing in line for a while, we were sent back to city hall to obtain a pass. We had to show it to many of the cast members so wee could use the handiacap access. Also, on some of the fantasyland rides where you enter the exit, it was difficult to get the attention of the cast member because theere are many people waiting for their children to exit the rides. Get to the Fantasmic area early and be prepared to not be able to stand with your child. Every time we rode a ride or went to a parade, the handicap "rules" changed, depending on who was in charge of the ride at the time. Overall it was a pretty godd experience, but they need to get some training for the cast members so the procedures are the same every time.
-- Gayle (7/29/2002)

Greetings,

I recently visited Disneyland over the Thanksgiving Holiday, the park was beautiful and for the most part, in spite of the huge crowds, things went very well.

I took my Mother who is disabled and uses a wheelchair. Upon leaving The Park at closing on Saturday night, we arrived at the tram loading area at 12:20 AM to take one of the "white courtesy vans" for persons in wheelchairs. We were not picked up untill 1:10 AM.

This is not the worst part. There were two other groups waiting before us. Or so I thought. Waiting patiently as the first group departed on a van, 20 minutes later the same van returned (I saw at least two other vans driving around. They were not picking up guests.) Once our van arrived, about 12 teenagers rushed up and piled in. This concerned and angered me, there was a family with a VERY frail looking elderly man and my Mother and I still waiting. The regular trams were loading just 10 yards away and no longer had a wait. It was now 12:40 AM and VERY cold. I approached and said through the van window to the castmember "Excuse me, I thought these vans were for persons in wheelchairs?" One of the teens, leaned forward and said "call my lawyer."

This set off an exchange where I kept my cool, though really wanted to let this young "woman" have it. Apparently the teens had one friend who had a twisted ankle or something, so they felt entitled to appropriating a wheelchair van.

At this point the driver and another castmember asked them to get out of the van and take the tram, the teens refused. This argument went on for about 10 minutes in front of the VERY frail elderly man shivering under a blanket and waiting to board. A couple other male cast members approached to ask the teens to get out and it nearly broke into a fist fight. Finally a couple of the teens managed to get their friends to back off and the elderly man and his family went in the van. The cast members apologised.

20 minutes later at 1:10 AM; after seeing two other "white courtesy vans" drive by without offering to pick us up. The same van returned for us. I found out from the cast member driving that the teens had asked to ride the vans and were told that they must wait untill the van returned with the current wheelchair rider and if no one els with a chair was waiting they could ride. When the van returned, there were of course people waiting.

I expressed my concern to the cast member that we had been waiting for nearly an hour in the cold and the other family had a frail elderly man who had waited at least as long. I asked why only one van was operating on such a busy Holiday weekend? The cast member explained that there was one other van on the other side of the park exit, for the Mickey and Friends parking structure, and her, on the Lion King side. Again I asked why so few vans on such a busy Holiday weekend? I could understand on a very slow day, I saw other vans though! She explained that some of the vans are used to transport castmembers and that many of the wheelchair vans were currently broke down.

This made me angry all over again! I told her I wouldn't accept any other apologies, that Disneyland makes a great deal of money and could easliy afford to fix the vans and/or replace them. Furthermore, it seemed wrong for cast members to be riding around in wheelchair lift vans when guests with disabilities were waiting an hour, after midnight and in the cold, to get a ride back to their cars. Disneyland should use regular vans for cast member transport!

The cast member apologised again, I said to her to save the apologies and please let her manager know that this is not acceptible. She stated she would pass along the complaint and stated that it has been stressful for her as well, dealing with so many guests alone without the extra support.

I have written to Disneyland concerning this.

I love Disneyland and have been going regularly for almost 30 years, since I was a child. If Disneyland going to have parking lots this far removed from the park main entrance, they need to provide an adaquate support infrastructure to move guests. This includes guests with disabilities.

The next day, we parked in the Disneyland Hotel lot and paid $15.00 for the day, double the cost for the regular theme park parking. We took the monorail so we would not have to deal with the "courtesy vans".


-- ashermel (12/14/2000)

For the most part, being in a wheelchair (scooter) has been an excellent experience. The only problem I have had (more than three times) is that the same person detains me as I attempt to leave the park. Since I have put Disneyland Bumper Stickers on my scooter, the idiot keeps telling me I can't leave the park with their scooters. I finally went to the City Hall and told them to show the cast members what the Disneyland ECVs look like...mine looks NOTHING like theirs!
-- Disneygirl (11/2/2000)

Second thought! Visibility at night is a problem. We wound glo-strings around my daughter's cap so people could see her and not trip over her.
-- pmhartman (9/25/2000)

Since my daughter is able to leave her wheelchair and get on and off the rides, this didn't hamper us very much. Newer attractions allow wheelchair users to experience more of the themed queing areas.

The only problem we ran into one time was that when we got off It's a Small World, our wheelchair was missing! (We bring our own.) The cast members were very helpful, and had security bring us a wheelchair to use until we could locate ours. We spotted it a few yards up Small World Mall, with another party who had mistaken it for theirs. A luggage tag on the chair was a lifesaver for us, enabling us to identify it quickly!
-- pmhartman (9/25/2000)

Note: Information in reader comments is sometimes based on rumors or incorrect information and should not be assumed true. Reader comments do not necessarily reflect the opinion of LaughingPlace.com or its editors.


-- Last Updated May 14, 2003 (except reader comments)

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