A Disability Guide To Navigating Walt Disney World’s Most Popular Rides.

Disney World claims to be the “happiest place on earth,” and for the most part it’s pretty darn jolly. I think the only time that I wasn’t happy at Disney World was my first visit when I was five and my parents tricked me into riding  Space Mountain, for no other reason than they wanted to ride it. I cried, I screamed and by the time I got off, I wanted more, and thus began my addiction to roller coasters. Ah, but I digress. Anyways, Disney World is pretty awesome, but what about for older people who have mobility issues, is it really that happy of a place for them too? On our recent trip to Florida, we had 48 hours to find out and we were surprised about what we discovered.

Before I go any further, I think it would be helpful if I give you a little background about how this guide came to be. This was a huge trip for Beth’s family and me, because it was their first big vacation together in eight years and my first with the whole Salvon clan. But this trip was so much more than an overdue family adventure, it was a celebration! We were celebrating a return to normalcy after several years of health scares, which culminated with Beth’s father, Bob, losing his right leg to diabetes in 2012 and her mother’s breast cancer diagnosis in 2013.

(Photo above shows the scooter and also the scooter being put on a Disney bus going to the parks – the driver will take care of everything for you. )

To help with Bob’s mobility in the parks, we got him a scooter. Finally, unchained from his canes for the first time in a year, Bob took to the scooter like a 16-year-old in a Porsche. His new found mobility gave him some much needed freedom and proved to be invaluable for going between the parks and our room at the Animal Kingdom via Disney’s bus system. Beth’s sister, Bridgette, booked it through Buena Vista Scooter Rentals, which will deliver and pick up the scooter from your hotel. Plus, at $30/day, it was significantly cheaper than renting a scooter at each of Disney’s parks.

We rented a minivan for our 10 day trip through Holiday Autos and got a great price on a loaded Chrysler Caravan from the Orlando Airport for $35/day, which is a pretty sweet deal considering it seats seven. I never imagined myself as a minivan man before, but I did really enjoy driving this one. If you’re going to Disney World, I definitely recommend checking out their site to see what kind of deal you can get. They also have an excellent video for navigating the Orlando airport, which can be helpful for first-time visitors to the international airport because it is rather large and contains multiple monorails.

Now that I’ve got you up to speed with everything, here is our Disney World Disability Guide. I hope you find it helpful and if you have any questions at, feel free to let us know in the comments or shoot me an email: randy@beersandbeans.com.

 Magic Kingdom

The Magic Kingdom opened to the public on Oct. 1, 1971, nearly five years after Walt Disney’s death. The park was an immediate success and during the next four decades, the always ambitious Disney Company opened more parks in Orlando, such as EPCOT and the Animal Kingdom, as well as international destinations in Tokyo, Paris and Hong Kong. For this guide, we’re going to be focusing on a handful of attractions in the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT and Animal Kingdom that we experienced firsthand.

Disney Factoid: Cinderalla’s Castle in the Magic Kingdom was based on the Neuschwanstein Castle built by Bavarian King Ludwig II above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany.

Haunted Mansion

This was our test run, and it proved to be a good example of what we’d encounter on other rides, since the moving carriage is a popular formula in the Magic Kingdom. The Haunted Mansion is Disney’s imaginative take on a haunted house. However, instead of walking, guests get a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called “Doom Buggies. For people with disabilities: you’ll enter through the front entrance and follow the queuing path that sets the tone for the attraction by leading guest through a mausoleum, a pet cemetery, and skeleton organ (think Goonies) among other things.

Before getting on the ride, you’ll go from the line into the Mansion via the octagonal portrait gallery, which can accommodate scooters. When it’s time to exit that room, a cast member (Disney employee) will lead your party out the back to the exit, where you’ll be asked to park the scooter/wheelchair just outside of the exit tunnel. While the scooter is being parked your party can make its way through the exit to the ride, which runs on a track. Riders get into the moving carriages by walking on a slow moving walkaway. Disability information: Tell the attendant before you get on (in line and when getting on) that you need a full stop or else they will only slow it down more. Once you’re on the moving walkaway, it’s about 1 step up into the carriage.

Disney Factoid: Look for the headstone of Mr. Toad in the back (top left) of the pet cemetery. It was placed there as a tribute to Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, which closed in 1998.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

One of the Magic Kingdom’s rare thrill rides, Thunder Mountain has been dishing out adrenaline rushes since 1980. This roller coaster disguised as a runaway train is a bumpy affair with several good drops and turns. Set in America’s Gold Rush era, the coaster draws its inspiration from the rising buttes of Utah and Arizona’s Monument Valley. Disability information: Thunder Mountain has a separate entrance for riders with disabilities, just ask a cast member at the entrance of the ride to point out where to go. To get into the ride, you’ll have to climb into the coaster’s bucket seat, which requires riders to lift their leg up approximately seven inches and then down 1o inches.

Pirates of the Caribbean

From its addictive song “Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me)” to the entralling animatronic sea battles that occur around your slowly moving boat, Pirates of the Caribbean is probably the most famous of all Disney rides. Opening in 1973, the ride is housed in a Spanish fort called Castillo Del Morro, which was inspired by Puerto Rico’s Castillo de San Felipe del Morro in Old San Juan. Disability information: Scooter riders will have to transfer to a wheelchair for the line. Once at the boat, riders must be able to take two  steps down to get into the boat and then two steps back up to get out. Unfortunately, there are no bars or railings to help with getting in and out of the boat.

Disney Factoid: The pieces on the chess board along the queuing path were carefully arranged by animator and imagineer Marc Davis. He carefully arranged the pieces so that any move will result in a stalemate, meaning that the skeletons have been playing the same game since 1973.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
This was my first time on Buzz Lightyear and it’s now one of my favorites. Fans of the Toy Story movies will definitely want to add this their must-ride list. Even if you’ve never seen the movies, I still recommend this ride as it’s one of the more unique ones in the Magic Kingdom. You and a passenger are seated in a carriage that’s equipped with two infrared laser guns and a centrally located lever, which allows you to spin the car at will to get the best angle for blasting the array of targets that you’ll encounter during your ride. Like the Haunted Mansion, this attraction runs on rails and features a moving platform for riders to get on and off. Disability information: Guests must transfer to a standard wheelchair before going through the line. Employees will slow the ride for disabled passengers, but if needed, you can ask them for a full stop. To get into the carriage, riders have to lift their leg up 6-8 inches.

Under The Sea – Journey of The Little Mermaid

A new addition to the park as part of the New Fantasyland expansion, The Little Mermaid takes guests under the waves for a musical adventure, which showcases many of the famous scenes from the animated movie. Disability information: This is another Omnimover ride, but because it is newer, the ride enables standard wheel chairs to be placed into the carriage. The queuing path for this ride has a lot of switchbacks, so if you’re on a scooter make sure to go slow, because it’s easy to get hung up on the faux rock formations surrounding the path. At a certain point in the line, you’ll be directed to an alternative path, where you’ll have to switch from your scooter to one of the park’s wheelchairs.

It’s a small world

This lighthearted boat ride takes guests on a colorful journey through all seven continents as nearly 300 traditionally dressed children serenade you with “it’s a small world in their respective language. The original “it’s a small world” debuted at 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair. Walt Disney had personally overseen its creation and following the fair, the ride was shipped back to Disneyland park and reopened in 1966. Five years later, “it’s a small world” was recreated as one of Walt Disney World’s opening day attractions. Disability information: Despite it’s age, the ride is extremely friendly for people with disabilities. Guest can enter through the exit, where they’ll then have to transfer to a wheelchair if they’re on a scooter. The wheelchair can then be loaded directly on to the boat.

Disney Factoid: Disney seamstresses sewed every inch of clothing, using authentic materials for each region, to create a faithful portrayal of each nation’s traditional attire. 

Carousel of Progress

Before I met Beth, I visited Disney World twice. Once when I was five and then again when I was 11. I’m pretty sure that I had no idea the Carousel of Progress even existed. Why? Because I craved action, and this carousel is anything but. A few years ago, though, Beth introduced me to this delightful ride and it’s now one of my favorites. Guests sit in a small auditorium and as the carousel rotates it showcases America’s progress through they eyes of a man and his family throughout the 19th & 20th century. The whole package is wrapped together nicely by the ride’s classic song “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow,” which was written and composed by the Academy Award-winning team of brothers Richard and Robert Sherman.  It doesn’t get much fanfare these days, but back at the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair it was all the rage. Walt Disney personally created the ride for the fair and wowed audiences with his use of  audio-animatronics. Disability information: The auditorium has spaces reserved specifically for guests using a wheel chair or scooter.

Disney Factoid: When the Carousel of Progress moved from Disneyland to Disneyworld in January 15, 1975, the ride was rewritten and re-staged with a new theme song, “The Best Time of Your Life.” However, in 1994, the show as reworked–as a tribute to nostalgia–to its original incarnation complete with “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.

Epcot

Walt Disney had originally envisioned Epcot, or “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow,” an idea city, where people from all nations can live in harmony and reap the benefits of technological achievements. Unfortunately, Walt died before he could turn this dream into a reality. Building on some of his ideas, Disney executives created Epcot Center. The park opened in 1982 and focuses on celebrating the world’s cultures, rather than being an experimental community. With its two distinct realms and excellent entertainment, Epcot is proof that educational theme parks can exist and be successful. Like the Carousel of Progress, I didn’t have much interest in Epcot as a kid, but Beth re-introduced me to the park and now I love it just as much as the Magic Kingdom.

Disney Factoid: All of the employees at the World Showcase pavilions are actually from the countries that the pavilions represent.

Living with the Land

Like something ripped out of an episode of The Simpsons, this canopied boat ride takes guests on an educational journey through artifical biomes and a working experimental greenhouse. For me the greenhouse, which showcases innovative ways that food could be grown on our planet as well as in outer space, is the real highlight of this ride. You’ll get a first hand look at a “tomato tree”, which yields thousands of tomatoes from a single vine and is the first of its kind in the United States, among other experimental developments that The Land’s science team is working on with U.S. Department of Agriculture. Disability information: Guests using scooters or over-sized wheelchairs will have to transfer to a standard wheelchair, which can be placed directly on the ride.The boats are equipped for audio-description and handheld-captioning devices.

Disney Factoid: The plants (including the aforementioned tomatoes) and fish that grow in the greenhouse are often used in the The Land’s restaurants.

Soarin’

If you’ve ever had the urge to go hang gliding, then you’ll want to check out Soarin’. Disney uses motion-based technology to lift guests 40 feet into the air in front of a 180-degree IMAX projection dome, which plays footage that reproduces a hang-glider’s flight path soaring over California. You get the thrill of flying over the Golden State’s diverse landscape–rolling waves, ski slopes, orange groves (you can actually smell the oranges)–and familiar landmarks, like the Golden Gate Bridge. Disability information: Guests in wheelchairs or scooters must transfer to the ride system. Service animals are not permitted. Soarin’ is equipped for video-captioning devices.

Disney Factoid: The music for Soarin’ was created by Jerry Goldsmith, who’s best known for his work on Mulan and Star Trek. As for the film itself, it’s projected at twice the speed of a traditional motion picture, which adds to the films realism.

Spaceship Earth

When I was five, the Spaceship Earth scared the hell out of me. Why? Because some kid at our hotel told me that what happened in that giant silver looking golf ball was a hundred times crazy then Space Mountain. At the time, Epcot had just opened and I had no reason to doubt his expertise. So just like Space Mountain, I put up a fuss about going on Spaceship Earth. Of course, I quickly figured out the kid lied and that this was a pretty tame, if not a bit boring ride. Years passed and I re-discovered Spaceship Earth again with Beth. For those who’ve never been, it’s a slow moving ride where the carriage swings around and descends slowly as you journey through the history of communication. Disability information: Ask the attendant at the ride’s entrance where to go. They’ll direct you to a side exit door. Guests in scooters must transfer to a wheelchair, which can then be taken to the moving walkway. From there, you have to transfer to the carriage. Like other similar rides, they’ll slow the ride down and if you can’t make they’ll stop the ride.

Disney Factoid: On clear days, Epcot’s silver geosphere can be seen from an airplane flying down either one of Florida’s coast.

Animal Kin gdom

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is proof that theme parks and wildlife parks can coexist together in an educational and thrilling way. Stepping in to the park, you’ll quickly find yourself surrounded in a world that blends recreated landscapes from Africa and Asia into a magnificent world. The Animal Kingdom is the largest of all Disney theme parks, and for good reason: it houses a lot of incredible creatures as well as some really spectacular rides.

Kilimanjaro Safaris

I haven’t been on a safari yet, so I can’t compare the attraction to the real deal. With that said, I’m pretty sure that Disney went that extra mile to make this attraction as authentic as possible, since that’s how they roll. The ride features open-air safari vehicles, complete with illustrated game-spotting guides above the seat, that shake and lurch on the bumpy dirt road. Along the 100 acre journey, which lasts about 20 minutes, you’ll have the chance to see an array of wildlife, such as hippos, lions, giraffes, elephants, antelopes. Disability information: The ride is wheel chair accessible and guest with disabilities will enter the ride through the exit. People in scooters will have to transfer to a standard wheelchair. The vehicles are equipped for assisted-listening and video captioning devices. If you have a service animal with you, check with a staff member for boarding details.

Expedition Everest

Until otherwise noted, this is my new favorite ride at Disney.  If you love roller coasters, then this, in my opinion is the most thrilling, that Disney has to offer. The coaster features nearly a mile of track, an 80 foot trip, twist and turns through the recreated Himalayas. Even the buildings look they were ripped from a National Geographic story on Everest and feature artifacts, totems and prayer flags from Nepal and Tibet. Disability Information: You have to transfer from your wheelchair to the ride.  They have special carriages that open up larger to make it easier to get on.

Know Before You Go: 7 Tips To Make Your Trip A Success

Did we miss something? Let us know, we’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Disclosure: The good folks at Holiday Autos helped out with our minivan rental for the trip. As always though, our thoughts and opinions are our own.