Guest guest Posted January 16, 2004 Report Share Posted January 16, 2004 , I am HOH and my fiance's is DEAF and our daughter is HOH. We have always wanted to go to Disney but never knew how they could accomadate our needs. Thanks for ur story as I will pass it on to my fiance' and see when will be a good time for us to go. All ur info help me out alot and to be able to figure out how to go about this trip. Once again I am thrilled ur son had a blast there. This makes me feel better that he was able to enjoy himself there. As I hope we will too. Cammy On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 23:25:26 -0500 Borhegyi wrote: It's so wonderful to listen to him talk and express his memories and thoughts. Stay warm, Jen Sign up for Internet Service under $10 dollars a month, at http://isp.BlueLight.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 16, 2004 Report Share Posted January 16, 2004 Jen that's wonderful. Andy my older son just got approved for Make-A-Wish and our first choice is Disney world. It still has to be approved and all, but we are really excited, they said they take you to the air port in a limo and give you VIP passes to everything. They have a special hotel for these kids called Give Kids the World. They give us money for lunch (breakfast and dinner are included in the hotel) spending money, and souveneer money for everyone in the family. So because we will have VIP passes and obviously front row seating for everyone since Andy has a wheelchair (he can walk but not long distances), will be able to enjoy the show also. I don't think we will choose the ASL interpreters, only because only knows a little and probably won't pay attention to them anyway, but I think he will have a wonderful time also. It's nice to hear your experience too, and that Ben had a good time, it makes me feel like it will be great for both kids. Disney Report Hi all, We all had a great time at Disney! Here are the details on the special access pass we received and a little story... When we picked up our park passes (you can do this at guest relations of the first park you go to) I told the woman at the counter that my son was deaf and uses a CI -- what types of accommodations did they have for him? She mentioned some captioning options, but he can't read yet. Then she gave me the ASL schedule. The way it works it that each day of the week the interpreters are at a different park. In that given park they have a schedule for what they're interpreting (i.e. Saturday a might be Animal Kingdom with 10am Lion King show, 11:30am Tarzan show, etc.). She also gave me a special assistance pass card which essential gave Ben handicapped access. She stamped it with a stamp saying " Use stroller as wheelchair " and before I could say " it's his ear, not his legs " she said " I know children with any disability feel more comfortable in familiar places like their stroller. " She also said that " I know that people who are hearing impaired do better if they can see the stage and see facial expressions. " She then asked how many people were in our party. I told her 8 (us, my mother-in-law, and my sister-in-law's family) and she said there's a limit of 6 and put 6 on the card. So, here's how it worked. At each attraction I showed the pass to the staff working there. They would read it over and allow us to enter in the handicapped line (usually the same as the fast pass line) and bring our stroller up to the loading area for the ride/show. At the shows we sat in front row, in the handicapped seats. Lots of attention was paid to Ben and his cousins and it was really nice. There were usually a couple of other groups in the section as well, but the sections weren't filled. (I personally wouldn't want to take there seats from others that need them, but given the empty seats and how much Ben was able to see and enjoy it, I'm glad w did this.) This was a slow time at Disney and no one seemed to notice or mind that we were 8 instead of 6 (and 1 of the 8 was just 18 months and sat on a lap). Parades were also great with pass. Normally at Disney you need to line up on the parade route about 30 minutes before the start in order to see. With the pass we were able to be in the handicapped viewing area (which never filled up) and just arrive about 10-15 minutes before the parade start. Keep in mind for all these things that January is a slow time Now for a story. Ben loves animals so we stayed at the Animal Kingdom lodge. We had a room with a balcony overlooking the Savannah where the animals from the Animal Kingdom park live. The way it's set up, the animals can actually come quite close to you, but you're pretty high up over their heads. The first night we arrived late and quickly checked in and went to dinner. Around 9pm Ben was getting tired of sitting so I took him up to the room. We went out on the balcony and looked at the view (which was well lit). In the distance I could see a kudu (they give you a animal guide) so I tried to point it out to Ben -- " Look way out there at the animal with horns, by the trees, do you see it? " Ben looked and then said " Giraffe! " I said " No Ben, it's not a giraffe, giraffe's are tall with long necks, this is like a buffalo way far away. " Ben said " Giraffe, giraffe! " and finally grabbed me and pointed right below us, maybe 20 feet away at a beautiful giraffe that I didn't even see. From then on each day he would look for the giraffes and I'm convinced that he thought they were sleep right along with him outside the room. Ben got to see all types of animals and loved the Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. We got home Monday and on Tuesday we were having lunch at home looking out the window at snow and cold here near Boston and Ben turned to me and said " Mommy, no giraffes in window. " How right he is in this -4 degree weather! It's so wonderful to listen to him talk and express his memories and thoughts. Stay warm, Jen Mom to , born 2/21/01, N24C 3/1/02 jborhegyi@... All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright restrictions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 17, 2004 Report Share Posted January 17, 2004 In a message dated 1/15/2004 8:54:45 PM Pacific Standard Time, jborhegyi@... writes: She also gave me a special assistance pass card which essential gave Ben handicapped access. She stamped it with a stamp saying " Use stroller as wheelchair " and before I could say " it's his ear, not his legs " she said " I know children with any disability feel more comfortable in familiar places like their stroller. " She also said that " I know that people who are hearing impaired do better if they can see the stage and see facial expressions. " Sounds great. We went to Disneyland last week (we live an hour away and have annual passes, so we go often) and found out they changed their special assistance pass rules. The always gave us a pass to use the diasbled entrances before, but with their changes, Neal did not qualify. They have never mentioned anything about preferred seating at shows or parades to us at guest relations. They also don't have assisted listening devices for any rides. Not that I'm going to stop going to Disneyland, but it's interesting how different they are than Disney World. ~Rhonda~ Mom to Audrey, 6, hearing & Neal, 4, CII 6-11-02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 18, 2004 Report Share Posted January 18, 2004 <<They have never mentioned anything about preferred seating at shows or parades to us at guest relations. They also don't have assisted listening devices for any rides. Not that I'm going to stop going to Disneyland, but it's interesting how different they are than Disney World.>> But it doesn't have to be! I hope you plan to take this a bit further, especially since you visit so often. Just because they don't mention the possibility of preferred seating doesn't mean it isn't available. (Perhaps you should " mention " the ADA.) Also, the fact that Disney World has their act together should help; I'd point out what's available in Florida and ask why the policies aren't the same for California. It doesn't hurt to ask. Also, I've gotten very good at not accepting the first turn-down at any facility. You're usually talking to someone who doesn't make the actual policies or decisions when you're only at the counter. Asking for the manager may also help. Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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