Hi Kimberly!
Welcome back to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! Thank you for bringing another great question to us!
I am so happy to hear that you are planning to bring your son to the Walt Disney World Resort! There are size requirements for wheelchairs and those requirements are located in the
property rules. At this time, wheelchairs should not exceed 36" (92 cm) in width and 52" (132 cm) in length. If your son's wheelchair exceeds these dimensions, contact
Services for Guests with Disabilities via email at disability.services@disneyparks.com or 407-560-2547. Talk with a Cast member about the specific dimensions of your son's power wheelchair and the Cast member can best assist you.
Kimberly, check the
Services for Guests with Mobility Disabilities to see which rides allow guests to remain in a wheelchair or electric conveyance vehicle (ECV). Depending on the size of your son's wheelchair, some attractions may not be wide enough to accommodate the wheelchair in the boarding process. If he can transfer to the ride, then you could use the wheelchair to get to the boarding area for the attraction and then he would need to get out of the wheelchair and into the ride vehicle.
Also check the
Services for Guests with Disabilities at Disney Resort Hotels. When my husband used a wheelchair on one of our visits, I noted some of the differences between accessible rooms and non-accessible rooms and can say that I would recommend a wheelchair accessible room. Aside from my concern about the door dimensions in a non-accessible room, when we stayed in an accessible room at Disney's Contemporary Resort, the door had a nice delayed closing feature so that anyone in a wheelchair could get through the door without someone having to hold it open. The room was also more spacious to allow for maneuverability in the wheelchair. Although we gained space in our accessible room at Disney's Contemporary Resort, the room had two double-sized beds and a daybed instead of two queen-sized beds and a daybed. While it does appear that there are accessible rooms with queen-sized beds at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, it looks like none are available for the dates of your visit. Do keep checking!
Kimberly, there are a number of other services provided at the Walt Disney World Resort to support guests with disabilities. We have found the theme park guides for guests with disabilities especially helpful. There are guides for each park -
Magic Kingdom,
Epcot,
Disney's Hollywood Studies, and
Disney's Animal Kingdom. Finally, be sure to make
advanced dining reservations and when you do, note the need for wheelchair accessibility on the reservation - you should see a box to do so under the Food Allergy or Special Requests link!
Magic and memories,
Donyell