World on Wheels Home Page
Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Sea World, Cape Canaveral
By Betty Ziska
My husband and I along with the faithful service dog (I'll call Woof) spent a week in Orlando in early January. We found this a most accessible place.
Thursday, arrived Orlando airport, after the usual wait for the wonderful aisle chair exited the United flight, rolled through the terminal to the train, rode to the baggage terminal. There is also a walk way for the ones who want to enjoy the sunshine this is accessible as well. Called the folks from Wheelchair Getaways and waited for them to come pick us up. Found a handy spot for Woof, that flight from Denver was his longest one and he was ready for a tree.
Rode over the Wheelchair Getaway offices, signed the paperwork, got a map, instructions on the toll ways and headed off for the Sheraton World Resort on International (since they were in the middle of remodeling the accessible rooms were torn up but the regular room was workable, no shower but could get to the toilet and sink). The grounds were all accessible, well-lit paved walkways, dining both formal and informal, inside and out were available.
Sea World visit on Saturday, they were most friendly, they did however suggest we not take the helicopter tour to the Arctic exhibit, their experience is that the dogs don't care for it but the walk through exhibit is just as wonderful. The video is the same as the helicopter entrance you just miss the bouncing and jerking. All exhibits inside this area were wonderful; we enjoyed watching our polar bear twins from Denver and how very much they've grown. We spent the entire day here, the only disappointment was that the Shark exhibit where you walk under the exhibit was too narrow for hubby's chair, (his manual is an old old old E&J tank it was 1 inch too wide). So we did go through and see what we could, which was most of it just not from underneath.
The Dolphin exhibit was very special, we caught a trainer's attention and they were more than happy to arrange for a personal visit from a dolphin so that hubby and Woof could get a close up view. The walls around this pool are high enough that from a chair you can't see well when they get close. The trainer brought one up on the wall so an eye to eye intro could be made. We did wait until most of the crowd was gone before they did this.
All of the food locations were self-service but were very proactive in providing assistance.
We did have a tire go during the visit here, their service people were more than helpful in providing a hard front tire off of one of their scooters that fit the old E&J tank and changing the tire for us. They even attempted to patch our tire but to no avail. Unfortunately the bead on the tire had popped and kept pinching the tube. We sent a special letter to the service maintenance folks as recognition.
The Shamu exhibit was excellent as well. The wheelchair seating is at the top of the stadium, well out of splash range and unobstructed view. Woof did not enjoy this since the loud speaker was definitely loud. But for us the view was excellent both eyeball view and jumbo tron.
Sunday, headed off for Cape Canaveral. This was about an hour drive from the hotel, they had a lift equipped bus brought up within 20 minutes. Again everything here is accessible. Wandering through the 3 exhibit buildings and just looking at the sheer size of the shuttle, hangers and old Saturn rockets is awe inspiring. We did skip the video of the last Apollo launch; again the sheer volume would be uncomfortable for the pooch. The cape is set up with 3 different buildings with bus service between them, you stay as long as you want at each place and then catch the next bus to the next stop. Along the route between stops you drive past the hangers where the orbiter is stored and where it is assembled. You also get to see the crawler (the transporter of the assembled orbiter & rocket that takes it to the launch pad) a massive vehicle.
Monday off to Epcot
This was our first stop of the Disney properties. Everything was fairly accessible. We did not go into each country exhibit, but of the ones that we did enter were very workable. Like many locations there is still room for improvement but on the whole very doable. Our areas of interest for this first visit were Norway, United States and just strolling through the park. Norway's exhibit was somewhat limiting as far as the entertainment part; in that the ride was not accessible but the food and gift area was well done. In the United States exhibit area the entertainment was most accessible, food was what we call early cafeteria but edible. The rest of the day we just wandered and enjoyed the sights and the weather.
We did have an opportunity to meet the Disney Characters during this stop. Minnie Mouse was most accommodating (while getting her picture taken with my husband she was goosed by his service dog) she just took it like a pro and knelt for a picture with the dog.
If it's Tuesday it must be Animal Kingdom.
This one was a must stop on our list. This new park is wonderful for accessibility. Our first stop was the Kilamanjaro Safari. The access was excellent, just drive the chair on, tie it down and off for the drive. Even had a up close visit with a giraffe who came over to see what that strange animal was in his territory. No hint of aggression just curious and had to check it out and say hello. Of course I was too excited to take a picture.
The Tree of Life is spectacular, we spent a couple of hours just sitting and looking at the various animal carvings. Just wish there were a way to get closer to this man made creation.
Walking around this property was great, a lot to see every where you look. Seeing gorillas in a much more natural habitat was great and watching the various animals look at our animal and the various species try and figure each other out.
Having the dog with us gave interesting impressions. Not only watching him look at the various creatures but also watching them look at him. The majority of the species were very accepting and wanted to check things out a little closer. Which for us was fine - we got a closer look at them. And our creature seemed to enjoy watching his wild counterparts; he even seemed to want to play with the lemurs. The opportunity to go behind the scenes for doggy potty stops is also an experience, and an opportunity to talk to various cast members, any of them are happy to take you to the designated areas and spend the time necessary to get the job done.
Wednesday we flew back home to a snowstorm, what a way to end a few days in the sun. This little taste of Orlando certainly makes us want to go again. Definitely allow more time and a nicer day for the space center and much more time for Epcot. But we at least got to see what was available and do some basic scouting out of the area this short visit was well worth the trip.