can the water park be done?

alohacousin

Disability is a matter of perception. If you can d
Joined
Feb 8, 2001
On our next trip to disney the kids want to go to typhoon lagoon. All the kids can enjoy this park but our daughter who is handicapped cant swim. I always assist her. She looooves the water. I read that they have life vests for the disabled but i need to be holding her. Would this water park be possible?
Renae mom to 6 wonderful kids, next trip may 2002 @ the wilderness lodge :cool:
angelinfo
 
Typhoon Lagoon has a beach and your daughter can sit in the shallow water without coming to harm. You will be able to sit and support her and she will be able to enjoy the water safely. :rolleyes:
 
I understand your concern regarding the water park. I initiated a thread on this last summer when I first started posting to this board.

It seems like the water parks are the last area without across the board accomodations for the disabled. My wife and I visited Typhoon Lagoon last fall (without our kids - while I was at a professional convention!), and we saw twin girls about 13, both in wheelchairs. They had gotten a trip through the Give the Kids the World organization. Their mother was upset in that there was no way to get the girls up the stairs, ramps to the tops of the waterslides. I ended up carrying them up so they could ride (my poor back!) Mom was pleased with every other area at WDW, though.

My two sons, age 4 and 2/3 triplets, have CP, and ambulate with some difficulty with aids. I understand the frustration with the kids wanting to do the slides, with no lift feature to get them to the top of the ride. Some on this board had commented that many of the disabled visitors would not be able to safely swim or ride a slide, so the costs associated with providing accessibility for those others, like my kids, would be excessive.

I think that if someone can swim, with or without aids, they can enjoy several features of the water parks, including the swimming areas, the leisurely tube rides, and maybe even the wavepool. We're leaving for WDW this week, and we are not going to the water parks. When our boys are older and want to go, we will probably give it a try, and I'll take by lifting belt to carry them up the mountain!

I hope this can stimulate some more discussion about accessibility and the water parks.
 
Just don't hurt your back or thigh with the lifting!
We only went to the water parks once with my DD and decided it was not worth the trouble to take her there. She can't swim except with a very large float, almost like a foam mattress. We did take her on the lazy river in an innner tube with one of us walking beside her. We tried the wave pool, but it was too "wavy" for her. In addition, she gets chilled quite easily. Her idea of perfect pool temperature is a hot tub.
On the good side, as WDW is renovating the hotel pools, they are making them more accessible. There is one at OKW that is a zero clearance pool with a gradual entrance you can walk in. We didn't get to check it out on our last trip because it was just too cold. I've heard the Contemporary, Polynesean and Grand Floridian will also be zero clearance. If anyone has been to those pools, please post your comments.

SueM in MN
Co-Moderator of disABILITIES
 
If you go just be careful of the wave pool. I have very bad arthritis and use a cane to walk. I can't kneel on my bad leg. The first time in the wave pool I was standing in water knee-high when the wave came and it knocked me off my feet. The bottom of the pool there is very rough so I was trying to get up with my bad leg and the rough bottom scraping me and before I could get up another wave would come and knock me down again. I thought I was going to drown in two feet of water! My husband and daughter thought this was hysterical and I must of been knocked down about three timees before my husband realized I really needed help to get up. So watch out for those waves even in the shallow end
 

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