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Category Archives: Tips and Tricks
How To Tour the Parks – Visiting Epcot in a Wheelchair
Epcot is a great park to visit if you are a wheelchair user. Most of the attractions are accessible in some form and many allow you to stay in your wheelchair thanks to accessible ride vehicles. Here is a look at the accessibility of the major attractions.
Spaceship Earth
Spaceship Earth is one of the few attractions that you enter through the exit. When you arrive let the Cast Members know that you need the accessible ride vehicle. The ADA ride vehicle has a wider door. It was at the same level as my wheelchair so I was able to slide in and out pretty easily. The Cast Members can also slow down or stop the attraction if you need extra time entering or exiting.
Ellen’s Energy Adventure
Ellen’s Energy Adventure is located at the Universe of Energy. The pre show is in a theater but there is no seating. I recommend hanging out in the back since the floor is sloped. Once the movie is over you enter the room with the ride vehicles. The ones located in the back have a ramp that folds down so you can remain in your wheelchair. Cast Members will help you into the ride vehicle if you need assistance. Keep in mind that this attraction lasts about 45 minutes so plan accordingly.
Mission: Space
Mission: Space is another attraction that you have to transfer to experience. One of the simulators has a bench that makes transferring from your wheelchair a little easier. The bench rotates out allowing you to transfer onto it and then it rotates back into the simulator. Once the ride is over the bench will rotate back out allowing you to get into your wheelchair. I’ve tired it with and without the bench and using it really does make the process easier. Just alert a Cast Member that you need to use it before entering the pre show area where you see the safety instruction video.
Test Track
I don’t know if this information will change after the Test Track refurbishment but this is how it worked before. If you are unable to step in and out of the ride vehicle you can load in the seat belt check area. A Cast Member will take you to a small lift that will take you down to that area of the attraction. You can then pull your wheelchair up to the car, sit on the side, and then lower yourself into the seat. Getting out was a little more difficult but my husband just helped me up onto the side of the car and then I was able to get back into my wheelchair.
The Seas with Nemo & Friends
The Seas with Nemo & Friends has a wheelchair access vehicle so there is no need to transfer. Just let the Cast Members know when you get to the loading area that you would like to stay in your wheelchair. You will probably have to wait a few minutes for the accessible ride vehicle to cycle through. Once its there, a Cast Member will lower a ramp for you.
Living with the Land
Living with the Land has a separate wheelchair entrance that is to the right of the standard queue. There is a special boat that allows you to stay in your wheelchair. Loading and unloading is really easy.
Soarin’
You have to transfer to experience this attraction but it is pretty easy. Make sure to let the Cast Members know that you need to sit in the front row. The seats sit higher than my wheelchair so my husband usually helps me. There are arm rests on each side of the seat if you need to use them.
Journey Into the Imagination with Figment
Journey Into the Imagination has a wheelchair access vehicle. A Cast Member will lower the ramp for you and help you up if you need it.
Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros
The Gran Fiesta Tour has a wheelchair boat almost like the ones at it’s a small world. But on this boat your wheelchair sits higher than the seats next to you. Make sure your breaks are working properly on your chair because they don’t put any sort of bumper behind your tires.
Maelstrom
I haven’t ridden Maelstrom in a while. The disability guide says that a transfer device is available. I would just speak with Cast Members about the process. I am going to attempt to try out the transfer process in June. I’ll let you know what I find out.
If you have any questions or advice you would like to share just leave a me a comment below.
Related articles
- How to Tour the Parks – Visiting the Magic Kingdom in a Wheelchair Part 2 (chipandco.com)
- Accessible Attractions – The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (disneyonwheelsblog.com)
- Can you use a Stroller as a Wheelchair? (chipandco.com)
Disney World Souvenirs – How Do I Decide?
You don’t want to leave Walt Disney World without souvenirs. You’ll always have your magical memories and for me, the best souvenirs is the hundreds of photos I bring home on my memory card. But how do you decide, amongst a myriad of souvenir choices, what to bring home with you? This decision is particularly difficult when you have children along. Of course, they want everything, right?
Every time we make a trip to The World, we come home with something. However, we try to base our decisions on a souvenir that will last, more of a memento from that trip. Some of my favorites include:
1. Etched glasses from Arribas. You can find Arribas Brothers at Downtown Disney. It’s a shop full of glass, so keep that in mind if you have littles shopping with you! Each member of our family has his or her own etched glass mug from this shop. Our name is on the front, and a favorite character on the other side. They also do glass blowing and glass cutting demonstrations during the day. They have many collectibles of crystal and glass that can be personalized.
2. Christmas ornaments from Disney’s Days of Christmas. Two trips ago, we purchased Christmas ornaments at Downtown Disney. Each of our children chose an ornament with either a Mickey or a Minnie on it, and my husband and I got one as well. If you’re a return traveler, perhaps you can add to your Christmas decor with an ornament or other collectible from Disney’s Days of Christmas.
3. Picture frames. I take a TON of pictures at the parks. I make sure that at each park , we get our family picture in front of the icon of the park. You know, Cinderella’s Castle, Spaceship Earth, The Tree of Life, and the Sorcerer’s Hat. When we return home, I have a 5×7 of my favorite picture made and it goes in my Disney frame. On our upcoming trip, another frame (or two) is on my “souvenir list”.
4. Disney jewelry. At the World of Disney, you can find beads for Pandora charm bracelets. I have a Cinderella coach and this year I’m hoping for a Minnie/Mickey head.
5. Mickey ears and autograph books or pin lanyards. Of course, the kids want something fun. So, monogrammed Mickey ears and autograph books have become some of our kids’ favorite mementos. Also, older kinds may enjoy pin trading. I know our nine year olds are already talking about the pins they’re willing to trade and ones they hope to get this summer. Why not add a new medal to their lanyard? Pin trading can be a fun, ongoing souvenir.
Of course, clothing, stuffed Disney friends, and a Pirates of the Caribbean sword are super fun. You’ll come home with a few “frivolous” souvenirs that eventually don’t last. I want to look back at our souvenirs, knowing that they were chosen for the fun memories they’ll conjure up in the future.
What is your favorite souvenir at Disney? Do you have any long lasting souvenirs from trips?
Magically Yours,
Carrie
Keeping Diabetes Under Control at the Parks
As a Diabetic (or a parent of a diabetic child), you know that keeping a routine helps control blood sugar. But you may also know that any vacation is far from routine! And although you might be on vacation, it doesn’t mean you get a vacation from your Diabetes. In fact, you will need keep a closer eye on your blood sugar levels as Walt Disney World can wildly throw you out of your routine, which can cause major blood sugar upsets to occur. Here’s some helpful tips for Type 1 Diabetics on keeping blood sugar in good control (Type 2 Diabetics – most of these tips are applicable to you too!):
Test often and wear a CGM if you have one. Walking will lower your blood sugar, eating will obviously raise it, and sun exposure can lower your blood sugar, especially if you don’t typically live in a warm Florida-like climate. Testing more often is key! Carry your glucometer with you at the parks! Yes, it’s one more item weighing down your park bag, but it’s one of the most vital things to have! Pack twice as many lancets and test strips as you think you may need.
If you wear in insulin pump and have the Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM), please WEAR this invaluable tool at Disney! A CGM will send blood sugar readings to your pump every 5 minutes and alert you if you’re going too high or too low. When you’re walking all over the parks and distracted by all of the excitement, it’s easy to not recognize the initial warning signs of going low. A CGM will alert you before you’re too low to help yourself.
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Diabetics need MORE water than the average park tourist. Water helps insulin absorb and be distributed more evenly throughout the body. If a diabetic is dehydrated, or close to it, insulin absorption is touch and go. With all of that walking and being in the hot sun, dehydration can happen quickly! Carry a water bottle with you. Yes, it’s another item to weigh you down… but it will keep you going strong!
Always have a source of sugar WITH you (even at night!) Exercise (even just 30 minutes a day) can affect your blood sugar levels for 24 hours following physical activity. If you increase walking from 30 minutes a day, to suddenly walking for 6 – 10 hours a day, your blood sugar dropping is almost inevitable! Keep glucose tabs, juice boxes, or another source of sugary snack with you at all times. Your blood sugar can drop so quickly you may not have time to wait in line to purchase a sweet drink or snack to give you the boost you need.
Keep a source of sugar on your nightstand as well! Many times I’ve woken up with very low blood sugar during the night after having an active day in the parks. Having a juice box right there on the nightstand is easy access to a quick fix.
Consider setting a temp-basal on your Insulin Pump, or decreasing your insulin-carb ratio. To help avoid blood sugar lows, consider setting a temporary basal rate on your insulin pump, this may help you avoid going low too quickly, or may eliminate low blood sugars completely! If you’re not a pump wearer, consider decreasing your insulin-to-carb ratio, especially if you know you’re going to be doing a lot of walking. Consult with your Doctor on what your temp-basals or adjusted carb-ratios should be. If you feel comfortable adjusting your own settings, try it out. If you don’t feel comfortable adjusting your own pump settings – you can learn! Ask your Doctor’s office if they hold pump education seminars or know of a group that does. Many pump manufacturers will hold free classes on how to use the different functionalities on an Insulin Pump.
Try to Stick to your Diet! Disney if full of sweet treats, good food, and temptations left and right! But I’ll say it again, YOU may be on a Vacation, but your Diabetes is NOT. Type 1 Diabetics, if active in the parks, get a little bit more wiggle room here. Indulging in a treat here and there, combined with all the extra walking, may not affect your blood sugar much at all. Type 2 Diabetics may need stick to more closely to their prescribed diets, as they don’t typically have the blood sugar fluctuations that Type 1’s have.
When you keep your Diabetes under Control, you’ll have more control over your WDW Vacation! Keeping your blood sugar within Target Range is key on any vacation! If your blood sugar drops too low, you’ll need to stop everything for a quick snack or drink until you feel fully recovered. On the other hand, if you eat too much or stray from your diet, your blood sugar may rise too high, resulting in headaches, tiredness, crankiness, possibly nausea – who wants to feel that on vacation? Remember, it takes longer to recover from hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) as it does to recover from hypoglycemia (low blood sugar.)
Bottom Line: Test often, drink plenty of water, keep snacks with you for emergencies, and try to stick to your diet!
Terri is a Type 1 Diabetic, wears an insulin pump, and enjoys touring Disney World with little to no Diabetic “distractions.” The advice in this article is just that – advice. Please talk with your Doctor about making any insulin or medication adjustments that would best match-up with your specific needs. If you have any questions for Terri, feel free to contact her via her Facebook page WDW Hints.
Related articles
- Planning Ahead for Allergy-free Dining – Now more frustrating than ever – Or is it? (chipandco.com)
- Vacationing at Disney World with Special Needs: ASD/ADHD (chipandco.com)
What Not to Miss at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
Our family had the pleasure of staying at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort last June. Coronado Springs is a very large resort, and we found some fun (aside from the pool) tucked in our resort. Spending the day at your resort can be so much fun, and it is worthwhile to work a resort day into your trip. If you find yourself staying at Coronado Springs, I hope you’ll take some time to explore the following:
1. Lago Dorado. This is the HUGE lake around which the resort is situated. As you stroll the .75 mile path around the lake, you’ll come upon some hammocks. These are such a nice touch to the resort. We found ourselves relaxing on the hammocks in the sand, enjoying the lake after a long day at the parks.
2. The Dig Site. The pool at Coronado Springs is not “just a pool”. It has a huge, awesome Mayan pyramid with water trickling down as the centerpiece of the pool area. The slide here is awesome. It’s one of the longest (123 feet) on property, and our kids absolutely loved it! While our older boys were having a blast on the pool, I found myself relaxing with our young daughter in the small sprinkling/splash pool beside the slide. The small child pool area has small fountains to play in and just enough water to keep the little ones happy. Another fun part of the pool is the huge water fountain in the middle of the main area. It is not only pretty to look at, the water coming out of it adds a nice touch.
3. Sand volleyball and ping pong. Next to the snack bar of the Dig Site, you’ll find a sand volleyball court and ping pong tables. There were families and friends on the volleyball court all the time! Such fun!
4. The Explorer’s playground. Behind the slide of the Dig Site, is the Explorer’s Playground. Here, kids can play, climb, and dig for archaeological treasures.
5. Quiet pools. The big Dig Site not your thing? Want to relax with your family in a quieter area? Coronado Springs has three quiet pools located in each of the guest room sections of the resort.
6. Enjoy the landscaping. One thing that stood out to us at Coronado Springs was the gorgeous landscaping. Not only is the lake beautiful, but there are topiaries, huge flowering plants, and lush green everywhere. It’s one of the prettiest resorts in my opinion. Just outside the entrance to Pepper Market is a fun topiary of the Three Cabelleros!
I hope you’ll take some time to enjoy your resort. Or, if you’re out resort hopping, check out Coronado Springs.
Magically Yours,
Carrie
Related articles
- Planning some down time with your kids? Use the Resort Playgrounds! (chipandco.com)
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Disney Photo Travel Tips & Techniques
This helpful post comes to us from the phenomenal Disney Photographer Tom Bricker of Touring Plans & Disney Tourist Blog. He shares some tips and techniques on shooting beautiful Disney photos as seen on his site and in the Unofficial Guide to Disney World & Land.
As a travel photographer focusing on Disney theme park photography, I’m often asked about getting the best vacation photos. As a landscape photographer, I can recognize and appreciate the difficulty a lot of people have in capturing good family vacation photos, because I have struggled with it, too. It can be tough to get great family photos on vacation that are more than just the typical “stand in front of a landmark and snap a shot” style photos. Creating fun and frame-worthy family vacation photos is actually quite easy, so long as you have the right mindset. Learning more about the technical side of photography is key to great photos, but if you don’t have the time for this, there are a few simple fixes anyone can quickly make for better family vacation photos. I’m going to focus on simply technique rather than on technical settings, but if you have the time and desire, try to learn a bit of both.
That said, here are my tips for great family vacation photos, with examples from Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
1. Generic Posed Shots Get Old.
One of the most common pitfalls of family vacation photos is the tendency to to only take posed shots in front of landmarks. These are what I call the “proof we were there” photos. These photos generally just involve standing in front of the landmark, with no engagement in the environment whatsoever and a pretty standard pose, and smiling. Photos like this don’t really capture the emotion or feeling of the vacation. This practice can also get old very quick for your party. This type of shot is not all that representative of your experience, and will not prove that interesting for folks to whom you show your vacation photos.
Think about it. Unless your vacations are starkly different in nature from mine, the substance of your trip generally does not consist of you going up to various objects, standing in front of them, and engaging in “arms-crossed, hair-combed, smiles-full” activities. When I see vacation slideshows like this, I often think to myself, “Wow, these folks have a real knack for standing in front of things!” These shots just get boring after a while. Essentially, they are the exact same shot of the people in the photo, just with different backgrounds, green-screen style. This is not to say that this type of shot should never be used, it just shouldn’t be the de facto “go to” for family vacation photos. The tips that follow will help you minimize this style of family vacation photography.
2. Mix It Up With Fun Poses.
I have an uncanny knack for foolish poses. However, I see this as a good thing, at least most of the time. When I’m photographed, I often like to let loose, making a pose that fits the subject and theme of the photo. For fun shots, try to think of clever poses that fit the background and area in which the photo is taken. For instance, if you get a photo near the Seas pavilion at Walt Disney World’s Epcot, posing like something from the sea would be a good option. It’s unlikely that you can illustrate “boat,” “submarine,” or “giant squid” through expressions or poses (if you can, I want you on my Charades team!) but you can certainly pose like a fish by puffing your cheeks and putting your hands to the side of your face as fins or pose like a shark by placing your hand atop your head. It’s okay to act like a kid in some of your photos!
With regard to Disney vacations, character shots are another area in which I think it’s necessary to have some fun to achieve a good shot. If you just awkwardly go stand next to the character as if they’re a living prop, the picture might not be as good, but more importantly, the experience will not be as good. We always go into character pictures with a plan. Something we’re going to say something to them (e.g., in jest calling Goofy by the name “Pluto”) that will rile them up. From there, we proceed with the interaction and have a good time. If you have young kids, I would recommend indoctrinating them to the world of the characters in a manner that allows them to play and interact with the characters, rather than treating the characters like a photo prop or autograph machine. If you want the whole family in the photo, hand off your camera to the PhotoPass Cast Member (or purchase a PhotoPass CD or prints) or Character Attendant, and let the Cast Member capture the interaction and whatever pose we’ve thought up for the experience.
Much like the “proof we were there” style from tip 1, the fun pose style shouldn’t be overused. Although just as posed as the “proof we were there” photos, this type of photo is a nice cross between an almost candid style and a pure pose-driven style of family vacation photos.
3. Capture the Moments with Candid Photos.
There are a lot of great candid moments that go un-photographed simply because we don’t think to capture the moment with a photo. These moments can make for some of the best photos, so it’s critical to break this mentality and capture these moments! Technical perfection is unimportant with these photos, so don’t worry if the lighting isn’t the best or something isn’t perfect about the scene. Candid photos are simple photos that are, quite simply, snapshots in time. When they work well, it’s not because of anything technically perfect or imperfect about the photo, it’s because they capture the emotion in a particular moment in time.
Capturing candid moments can be extremely difficult. People “doing things” make great subjects. When on vacation, children being captivated by their surroundings can make for great candid photos. For example, when at Walt Disney World or Disneyland, when a child first approaches a character, capture their expression and mannerisms as they see the character for the first time or approach the character, rather than waiting until they pose to take the perfect photo. Once you get in a rhythm of capturing this type of photo, you will see more and more candid photo opportunities. Like I said above, this type of photography is difficult at first, but once you develop an eye for these moments and get in the habit of taking photos when you normally wouldn’t, it becomes easy.
4. Use Scenery to Layer Photos.
This won’t always be possible, but when you’re in a location that has some visual foreground and background layers, some to position yourselves between some of those layers to make the photo more interesting. This can be a difficult one with some subjects where there isn’t much you can put in the foreground to give the photo layers.
At Walt Disney World, World Showcase in Epcot is one of my favorite places to layer shots because there are so many rich visual details and beautiful architecture. It’s easy to compose a beautifully layered shot in World Showcase.
One of the things you’re looking to accomplish by layering the shots is to avoid that “green screen” look to which I alluded above. You don’t want your vacation photos to merely appear as you standing in front of a bunch of things, so any way you can immerse yourself with your environment that may demonstrate an interaction with your surroundings will not only make for a more interesting shot, but also will make it seem like you had a more enjoyable trip. Instead of people viewing your vacation photos thinking that your family just begrudgingly went somewhere and stood in front of things, they’ll think you went somewhere and did things! At least, I know I think these types of things when I look at vacation photos.
5. Take as many pictures as you can while still having fun!
Remember, you’re on vacation. Relax. The entire trip should not be about playing family historian or setting up photo shoot after photo shoot. Just as you may get sick of taking pictures, yet feel obligated to do so, your family may get sick of being in pictures (but yet feel obligated to do so). Do what feels natural or is right for your family. That might mean getting as few as 20 family shots in a weeklong trip or as many as 2,000. Only you know what the magic number is for your family.
So there you have a few of my tips for better family vacation photos. By following these tips, anyone can easily achieve family vacation photos that are more interesting and fun, without learning a lot about the technical side of photography!
Tom Bricker is a published travel photographer specializing in photography of Walt Disney World and Disneyland. His photography has been published in the The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, Popular Photography Magazine, Celebrations Magazine, the Huffington Post, and numerous other travel publications around the world. You can find more of Tom’s photography on his website, DisneyTouristBlog.com.
Related articles
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