A Day With Disney

By Sarah Yates

It’s 5:30 on an April morning in Winnipeg, MB. The sky is growing light. With 70 children and 50 adults, we’re preparing to board Flight AC6091 for a day at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL.

All year, the Dreams Take Flight volunteers have prepared for children who have disabilities or are dealing with other difficult issues. Now they help the kids, many using wheelchairs, to move through customs, put on T-shirts and board the plane. Many of the children are flying for the first time.

The challenge of taking a plane full of children to Disney World is daunting. We arrive at the airport at 4:30 a.m. and we won’t be back until after midnight, but the buzz of excitement banishes any thought of sleep. It’s the beginning of a day of new experiences.

Our flight to Florida is three-and-a-half hours of fun: pancake breakfasts, Disney movies and an ice-cream break before 9 a.m. In the cockpit, the pilots show us the horizon line as dawn breaks. Then a cheer goes up and we land. There’s an awed silence, followed by shrieks of excitement. We de-plane down an enormously high set of stairs, with strong-armed volunteers carrying many of the children. The temperature is a dazzling 89 degrees Fahrenheit.

We take a bus along a freeway lined with three-dimensional billboards, feathery Florida pines, palm trees and tropical flat-roofed buildings. A pale blue sky and parched grass leads one boy to wonder, "Does summer live here?"

Under pink arches, the buses head into Disney World. A monorail offers an alternative route inward. Banks of manual wheelchairs are free for use in the park; all Disney buses bear the blue-and-white wheelchair logo. After the bus, it’s a ferryboat ride across a mile-long waterway flanked by white sandy beaches and luxury hotels. The ramps onto the ferry are steep, but they’re negotiable and, from here onward, every destination is flat or ramped and many curbs are cut. Where there are stairs, the ramps run alongside. The washrooms are easy to reach and spotless with a sink and an automatic faucet at wheelchair height, but the towels are a stretch and out of 25 stalls, only one accommodates wheelchair users.

Mainstreet USA, leading off the town square just inside the Magic Kingdom, is lined with shops and other places to eat. The park is clean and lush with a series of mini-islands linked with bridges and boardwalks. Disney characters, movies and books are represented in rides, arcades, shops and mini-lands. Larger-than-life characters appear almost randomly, always clowning for the ever-present tourists’ cameras.

At the Time Machine in Tomorrowland, Art Deco decor is punctuated with plexiglass columns of bubbling clear liquid, a meld of past and future. The sensorisound cinematic ride through time is guided by a lively plexiglass droid with frizzy hair and narrated by Robin Williams who takes us from dinosaurs to da Vinci with H.G. Wells in between. Lean rails are provided for non-wheelchair users.

A colourful map of the Magic Kingdom clearly marks the various attractions, with symbols indicating whether wheelchair riders must leave their chairs to take part. In the Haunted Mansion, for instance, riders have to get into a chariot. Its upright seats offer plenty of room for two, and an automatic bar holds you securely. It’s a gentle ride through a darkened house filled with skeletons that rise from the grave and disembodied heads that glow in glass jars, a cast of spooky characters and spider-web covered furniture frighten and fascinate.

In Peter Pan’s Flight, pirate boats take flight under darkened skies with Peter Pan, Wendy and Captain Hook visible from below. Space Mountain sets you up for the five-story drop by taking you through a darkened mountain interior along a series of mini-falls, passing crocodiles and cartoon characters who seem intent at getting a bear with an enormous bottom into a very small space. You lose track of up and down. Suddenly with only a warning to hang on tight, we’re dashed to the bottom in a huge splash of water that cools our adrenaline-heated bodies. Parents, heed this warning: hang onto your children carefully, especially those with exaggerated startle reflexes.

A knowledgeable guide, whose daughter has a disability had tested the rides and determined their suitability. However, all rides are coded and employees are experienced and offer capable assistance.

The leisurely Liberty Belle Riverboat accommodates wheelchairs. Donald, Mickey and others perform in front of the Magic Kingdom Castle, and a parade further congests the crowd. Shaking hands with Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger or Minnie Mouse for a photograph can be overwhelming for kids and even for adults as you will probably have to queue for at least 25 minutes.

In the heart of the theatrical setting, the foliage and bird life is gloriously real. Purple bougainvillea in bloom is a sensory delight; there are ibies in the trees and great blue herons casually watch us pass on the boardwalk. The setting sun is stunning. There are dozens of fountains, and ducks swim in the waterways.

It can be tiring to trudge through Disney World as there’s a gentle undulation across the island. Luckily, there are benches everywhere and cool spots to rest. You need plenty of bottled water, comfortable shoes, good humour and a strong back. But seeing the world through the eyes of children has made my memories of it brighter.

Sarah Yates is a Winnipeg writer whose daughter Gemma was among the children on the trip.