HHardesty

  When you think of going to Walt Disney World®, the last thing most of us think about is our diet. However, for some, it is absolutely necessary. Many people today are on special diets. Some people are dieting to lose weight, while others may be on a special diet due to allergies, food sensitivities or disease.   None of these dietary needs should stop someone from visiting Walt Disney World®.  Walt Disney World® has not only made it possible for those with dietary needs to visit their parks, they have also made every effort to keep it simple.  Whether you are dining at a quick service restaurant or a table service restaurant, Disney does their very best to meet your needs.   When planning your trip, it is best to plan ahead.  If you are going to be eating at any of the table service restaurants, it is best to make Advanced Dining Reservations (ADR's), which can be made up to 180 days in advance.  I know that some of you are thinking you have no idea where you would want to eat 180 days from now, but if you sit down and starting looking at all of your options, you will find it is much [...]

Special Requests When I think about traveling as a family I automatically start thinking about where we need to sit in a restaurant, what things we need to take with us, what type of things to request for our room, etc. When planning our trip to Walt Disney World those same thoughts go through my mind but I also need to know how best to make sure these needs are met. Before calling Disney,  I sit down and think through what requests I needed to make. I start with what would make our dining experiences the most pleasant. You see, my daughter is developmentally delayed and can become loud at times, have melt downs or exhibit behaviors that may seems strange to others. She can be unpredictable. However, just like every other kid, she deserves to go out and enjoy herself and we, as her parents, deserve to be able to take her out and not have to worry about people complaining about her. This does not mean that we expect people to just deal with her screaming non-stop or having a melt down but a little understanding while we take care of her is appreciated. With all of this in mind we [...]

In this 3rd installment of my series Going to Walt Disney World with Special Needs, I want to talk about wheelchairs and strollers in the parks. As you may already know, Walt Disney World is a big place. It covers 40+ square miles. That is not all park, however, it still makes for a lot more walking than most people are used to. For small children it may be too much and they may need a stroller to ride in part of the time. For the person that cannot stand for long periods of time or walk long distances a wheelchair would definitely be a good thing to consider. You may worry about touring the parks and resorts with a wheelchair or stroller but don't. It's your vacation as much as everyone else's and if you need them to enjoy your time there then use them. Disney does an incredible job of making it as easy as possible for everyone. If you need a wheelchair/ECV or stroller and do not have one personally, there are many local vendors you can rent them from, or on a first come/first served basis, you can  rent them from each of the 4 parks. If you rent from [...]

If you have ever been on the Jungle Cruise® Attraction, then you know that it is the Skipper of the Cruise that makes this ride really great. Although each Skipper has a script that they follow, it’s their individual personalities that makes the difference. On my families last trip to Walt Disney World® Resort we had a wonderful cruise Skipper. She was hilarious and did an excellent job of bringing us into the “Jungle”. She was very engaging, making sure she included everyone on the Cruise in what she was saying and doing. The combination of her personality and the night time atmosphere really made for a fun ride that evening. This also made for a magical moment for my family, one that we will not soon forget. Recently, Disney announced that the Jungle Cruise® Attraction at Walt Disney World® Resort and Disneyland® Resort would be transformed into the Jingle Cruise for the Holidays.  I, for one, am very excited about this transformation. Although I will not be able to make it to Walt Disney World® Resort this Holiday season, this ride will definitely be put on my must do for future Holiday trips.   This is the first time ever that [...]