The tour started by the railway station in by Main Street, went in the arcades and shops, into Frontierland, Adventureland, by Sleeping Beauty's Castle, Fantasyland and then ended at Discoveryland. The tour lasted 2 hours and was amazing as we found out a lot of things we wouldn't have noticed in the park, or known about. I won't spoil it for anyone but it's definitely worth booking and details on how to book can be found on the Disneyland website. I was a bit worried about how accessible it would be but I managed it all on my scooter, apart from the lift in Walts but I was aware before going that the lift is small (as the doors open inwards) so didn't attempt it (although our guide did offer for me to try).
The tour may be a bit much though if you have mobility problems and are walking as you do virtually walk the whole park in 2 hours and although you do stop it's not for long.
Accessible Toilets
Before we went I was a bit worried about accessible toilets as I couldn't remember what they were like when I went previously. Online I read that most disabled toilets are inside the male and female toilets, although there are a few 'companion' disabled toilets dotted around. In Florida most of the disabled toilets are within the male and female toilets and have handrails on both sides (which was fine for me) but the Disneyland Park disabled toilets only have one handrail on the right (from the ones I visited) although sometimes this goes round the back of the toilet too so if you need a left handed rail you can turn sideways on the toilet. I don't really like disabled toilets within the 'normal' toilets as theres not much space to get in and out, and you have to queue still and hope no one uses the disabled toilets. Also the doors to go into the ladies were really heavy and I was unable to open them myself in my scooter (and double a wheelchair user would be able to either).
My favourite (yes I had a favourite) toilet was in the Liberty Arcade. No-one ever seemed to be there when we went and it was big and clean. This was a 'companion' disabled toilet so it would have been ok if I was there with my husband. There was also another 'companion' toilet quite near by City Hall. I didn't see any other companion toilets while in the park but mainly used the one in the Liberty Arcade.
In the Disney Studios however there is only one companion toilet......this is under the stands are the Motors stunt show and is only open while the show is on. This is really disappointing as if I was on holiday there with my husband I would have had an issue getting into the normal toilets to accessthe disabled toilets. I thought that as they had added the Ratatouille area recently (with toilets) they would have included a companion toilet here also.
Character Meet and Greets
Before we went I really wanted to meet the characters as this is one of my favourite things in Disney. I prefer the masked characters like Chip and Dale (my favourites), Mickey, Minnie, Donald etc as they are usually the most fun. I don't really like the princesses much as the don't always look much like the characters and conversations can be a bit weird with them (when you're grown up lol).
We saw a lot of characters around the park, mainly in the morning/early afternoon. The first character I met and had a photo with was Spider-Man. He was in the Studios and we went straight after the Motors stunt show (which isn't advised as this is the busiest time). The queue said 1 hour wait but with my green access pass we were given a 15 minute wait. We were given a slip of paper and waited by the exit and were called up when it was our turn. There is a ramp up to Spider-Man with no hand-rail which was a bit tricky as I'd only just got out my scooter. He gave me and my sister a hug and then we had a photo with him, my sister and Dad.
On Thursday (our 4th day) I got up early with Mum and Laura to go in for Extra Magic Hours. My Dad had a cold and didn't feel great so stayed at the hotel for a bit.We went straight into the park about 8.30am and queues up to see Minnie Mouse. As I had my green access pass we went to the exit and were advised it would be a 5 minute wait. I got our my scooter for Minnie but I'm always worried with their big feet that I'll trip over or they'll not see me and knock into me. Minnie was lovely (although I got hit by her ear lol)
Next we went to wait for Goofy and Pluto who were in the centre of the roundabout at the start of Main Street. I don't have the photos at the moment (they're on my Mum's camera).
We then walked up Main Street and saw Chip and Dale. I've had such funny interactions with them before and know how naughty they are so I decided to stay in my scooter. Dale looked in my basket and grabbed my stick (which was folded up) and decided to dance and jump with it. Chip then saw my camera and started taking selfies, photos of Dale and then passed it to the cast member who took photos of Dale with my stick (and then our photos)
This was the best interaction ever. My Mum was also taking photos and videoing it and Chip ran up to my Mum and gave her a cuddle (while she was filming).
As we left they waved.
We then went over to Donald and Mickey for photos. I stayed in my scooter (due to their big shoes) and Donald gave me kisses and held my hand.
We had such amazing interactions with the characters and we were really lucky as I've seen some people say that there are only so many disabled spaces a day and some people have been turned away.
We did see other characters (from Alice in Wonderland, Aladdin, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan and Brave) but didn't queue up to see them as I only really wanted the 'main' character photos.
Rides
I didn't go on any rides through choice. I don't really like many rides apart from Small World and Buzz Lightyear, but we had so much fun doing other things, taking photos and discovering things that I didn't feel the need for rides. On previous visits I've used a wheelchair and have been able to go on these rides in a wheelchair (in special ride vehicles) and I was told that I should be able to get on them in my scooter while in City Hall but decided not to.
While my family went on rides I loved going round the park taking photos and just sitting at the side of the paths waiting for it to clear to take photos like this.
Val D'Europe
Near to Disney (if you fancy a break from Disney....or you need a pharmacy or retail therapy) there is a shopping centre and designer outlet. This can be accessed via train (the next stop), shuttle bus, taxi or by walking. We didn't go ourselves, we had planned to but prefered to spend our time in Disney. Also, as I was using my mobility scooter I was unsure of the best way to get there and back. Having spoken with the hotel I was advised that there was a free shuttle bus to the village however it was a mini bus and I didn't think I'd be able to climb into it. The hotel suggested taking a train and asking at the station about accessibility but we decided not to as the only shop I really wanted to go to was Sephora and my Dad goes to Paris a lot and always offers to pick me up anything I want. If we were there longer I may have walked/ridden my scooter to the village but I didn't feel I was missing out by not going.
No comments:
Post a Comment