It’s been a while…but hopefully i’ll be a bit more regular with my posts going into 2020 (she says with optimism)
Last September I went on a fabulous Disneyland Paris break with my lovely friend Yam. I’d been to Disneyland previously and made use of some of the disability services before so thought i’d do a little write-up about my trip. I have to say a huge shout out to my lovely friend who I had a wonderful time with and looked after me when I was more dead than usual!
If you want to get disability help when at Disney, it’s a good idea to e-mail ahead and check how they can help you.
Park Accessibility
Disneyland Paris have a super helpful accessibility guide for anyone needing to check hotel, park and ride requirements. When you get to Disney, head to the town hall to get helped with an disability Access Pass. These passes can help reduce your ride waits and provide timed access to character visits. You’ll need ID and proof of your disability such as a PIP letter, Blue Badge or a recent letter from your doctor explaining your disability. Being overly anxious, I took all three haha!
They also offer a park accessibility guide which will help you plan your day and have a heads up for what rides are going to suit your needs. This map has symbols for various kinds of disabilities and advises which rides have things such as step-free access and strobe lighting.
Character Meeting & Ride Access
The Access Pass made the world of difference to my visit! My friend and I were able to wait in much shorter lines for rides which meant I didn’t have seizure standing (standing too long is a huge trigger for me) and was more able to conserve my energy throughout the visit.
Having one of these passes also grants you access to the disabled seating area for the Parade and Fireworks, which is super helpful.
When it comes to character meetings, most characters have disabled slots which you can sign up to on the day and then come back at a set time for a much shorter wait. These slots still go very very fast though- so it’s no guarantee! The character meets I went to were really fun and I was treated kindly with my stick and encouraged to lean on the characters if I needed to. It was genuinely nice not to feel like a problem!
Backstage Disney
This lead to a very strange blur of an experience where apparently the pirate park attendant was trying to keep me talking whilst a (very buff) First-Aider with a wheelchair made their way across the park. I was helped into a wheelchair and then literally sprinted with across the park with poor Yam running after! Next thing I was really aware of I was in a hospital bed and extremely confused as to where I was. Apparently I was in the Disneyland medical ward- not a part of the park i’d seen before. I was a bit disappointing there wasn’t a mickey Mouse shaped IV or anything though!
The on-site doctors were very kind and understanding and once I was well enough arranged for my friend and I to be escorted back to our hotel. We got to travel out the staff route and, like the nosey people we are, quite enjoyed it.
All in all, I felt very looked after at Disney and was able to enjoy my trip mostly unscathed and would definitely call Disneyland Paris disability friendly!
Laters,
Ruthy xo
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