visual disabilites

[smidgy]

wow. none of them are anywhere near us. rats. I'll have to get in touch with those mentioned and see if there are any other chapters nearer.

thanks!

[SueM in MN]

Originally Posted by smidgy

wow. none of them are anywhere near us. rats. I'll have to get in touch with those mentioned and see if there are any other chapters nearer.

thanks!

You're welcome.
I would probably pick the nearest chapter and then ask if they have anything or any resources in your area. The places listed are probably the main location for that general area, but they probably have wider coverage.

[smidgy]

thanks! with all you have on your plate, you are a real sweetie to concern yourself with our issues. much thanks.

[SueM in MN]

Originally Posted by smidgy

thanks! with all you have on your plate, you are a real sweetie to concern yourself with our issues. much thanks.

[Mickey&JoshNut]

Originally Posted by smidgy

thanks Elaine and/or Dorrie! I really appreciate someone telling me they understand. I feel for your mom. and you.

I was going to ask you what CNIB was, but I remembered a previous poster using that acronym, and see it is in Canada. We live in Illionis. out in the boonies. I'll have to do some research to see where we could get any training and/or a cane.

the bigger hurdle will be broaching the subject with hubby.

Sorry about the CNIB - you are correct it is the Canadian Institute for the Blind and they have been fabulous.

I also understand your husband and how difficult it is - my Mom was in denial for quite some time and I encouraged her to visit our local CNIB office here in town, just to see what items are available and when we finally went she saw all the items that were available and the staff reassured her that she would still be able to do the things she loves, just differently. Our local chapter is great...they provided her with a cane and a lady came to our house to show her how to properly use the cane to get around and also to identify obstacles such as stairs. She also taught me how to "lead" her. They also arranged for another lady to come to the house to help with items that could be added/purchased for our home to make life easier for Mom...who knew that there was a "quick button" on the microwave that could be programmed for the time most used? We had the microwave for years and never knew - the button has been a great help to my Mom - the CNIB also has "identifier" adhesive buttons in different shapes that can be placed on items - like our quick button on the microwave has a round raised button and the reset button has a raised square button - these are things my Mom can feel on the microwave since she has a hard time seeing the microwave. They also have magnifiers and lots of other items to make life easier. We still have to go to this appointment but it was delayed since my Mom was hospitalized after a fall.

I hope you are able to connect with your local chapter and they are able to help you out. They may be able to also help you with talking to your husband.

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions or need any additional information. I have been on your journey so I know what you are going through.

[A Mickeyfan]

Originally Posted by smidgy

thanks sue, for the detailed lesson for leading those who are blind or visually impaired. it was very helpful!!

I will talk to hubby about a foldable cane. I will also be checking out lighthouse.

as I stated in my first post, we aren't trying to cut lines. we're willing to wait our turn. just difficult to navigate for us, and was looking for advice from those who also have low vision.

thanks!

Hey sorry I didn't see this sooner, I was in Disney last weekend.. with friends. Yes, Sue is correct, we need the wheel chair line however, they won't give it to us! They will give us a different stamp concerning line entrances, but not the wheel chair line.. They are not the same on all attractions, and Haunted Mansion is one of them! For some reason, they cannot see that we with low vision can "see" but yet "cannot see". There seems to be no gray areas as you stated with them, it is either you have vision or you are totally blind, there is no in between which is what we are. Yep, we can sit in the front rows, that they understand, but they don't understand that we cannot navigate in the dark turn after turn in massive crowds. I admit, I can do the Haunted Mansion with friends if there are very few guests in there, but when there are massive amounts of people pushing and shoving, I cannot do it. I cannot get to the wall to guide and hold it as I walk to that narrow walkway. I cannot walk slow without getting banged or pushed.. or even knocked over. There are times we even loose our footing due to not having good balance in the dark.. but yet Disney doesn't understand this.. sure a cane would make them see this, but will it get us the wheelchair entrance??? I was told by the CM's that to have access to that entrance, I would have to have a wheelchair or a walker??? and that I do not need What should we do, lie and cheat the system and rent one? No, that isn't what we should do, but Disney is leaving us no alternative and I am getting to the point of maybe possibly doing that the next time I am alone there.
Oh, I have purchased a small keychain flash light too.. figured I would actually use that too.. if anyone comments I will just explain that my eyes do not adjust in the dark and need that to help guide me. As long as I point it down on the floor, people should not complain too much. After all, you have children flashing their light up toys right why not a visual aid for me

[KPeveler]

Originally Posted by A Mickeyfan

Hey sorry I didn't see this sooner, I was in Disney last weekend.. with friends. Yes, Sue is correct, we need the wheel chair line however, they won't give it to us! They will give us a different, but not the wheel chair line.. They are not the same on all attractions, and Haunted Mansion is one of them! For some reason, they cannot see that we with low vision can "see" but yet "cannot see". There seems to be no gray areas as you stated with them, it is either you have vision or you are totally blind, there is no in between which is what we are. Yep, we can sit in the front rows, that they understand, but they don't understand that we cannot navigate in the dark turn after turn in massive crowds. I admit, I can do the Haunted Mansion with friends if there are very few guests in there, but when there are massive amounts of people pushing and shoving, I cannot do it. I cannot get to the wall to guide and hold it as I walk to that narrow walkway. I cannot walk slow without getting banged or pushed.. or even knocked over. There are times we even loose our footing due to not having good balance in the dark.. but yet Disney doesn't understand this.. sure a cane would make them see this, but will it get us the wheelchair entrance??? I was told by the CM's that to have access to that entrance, I would have to have a wheelchair or a walker??? and that I do not need What should we do, lie and cheat the system and rent one? No, that isn't what we should do, but Disney is leaving us no alternative and I am getting to the point of maybe possibly doing that the next time I am alone there.
Oh, I have purchased a small keychain flash light too.. figured I would actually use that too.. if anyone comments I will just explain that my eyes do not adjust in the dark and need that to help guide me. As long as I point it down on the floor, people should not complain too much. After all, you have children flashing their light up toys right why not a visual aid for me

Generally if you go back to Guest Services and tell them exactly what you told us, especially the HM story, they can amend or replace the GAC. If the first CM is not helpful, ask for their lead. Usually this is something they will fix. They may not have understood the first time what you needed but now that you know exactly what you need, I would go back and explain it to them. I hope this helps!

ETAL "Wheelchair lines" exist almost only in MK, so if you asked at another park, they would not have understood and may have even thought they were helping more by giving you the stamp they did. All the other parks have mainstreamed lines (almost entirely), so wheelchairs go in the regular line and need no GAC or special entrance. If you need to access a different line in MK, you may end up needing to speak to City Hall specifically, or just ask at the ride and simply tell them what you need. If you tell them that it is dangerous for you to go through the Stretching Room and can they please send you through the exit like if you had a wheelchair, they will usually do that. The key word there is "dangerous." Safety is the first Key, and that is a big warning to CMs.

[ttintagel]

You may have to go back to Guest Services a couple of times, then, because both CM's I talked to at Guest Services said that it was totally at the discretion of the CM's stationed at the attraction whether or not to let you in another way. And the last CM I dealt with at the HM repeatedly denied that there even WAS another entrance, even though I had been through it before with a family member using a wheelchair.

[disney david]

The problem at wdw hm is their accessible entrance is the regular que since wheelchairs ECV can go through the main entrance after them removing the turn styles and they can use the stretching room then they directed towards the exit. But people with low vision can't go through the stretching room or even the short cut since it dark unless they have someone to help them. The easy fix is letting those guest use the exit and and not have to go through the front then the cm could stop the ride like they do I guest in wheelchairs then they be able to ride the ride safely.

[disney david]

Originally Posted by ttintagel

You may have to go back to Guest Services a couple of times, then, because both CM's I talked to at Guest Services said that it was totally at the discretion of the CM's stationed at the attraction whether or not to let you in another way. And the last CM I dealt with at the HM repeatedly denied that there even WAS another entrance, even though I had been through it before with a family member using a wheelchair.

Yes their is another entrance that you have to go through the stretching room to get to or before but still have to go in a dark building to get to the separate entrance they stopped letting guest use the exit after removing the turn styles. Now you have to go through the que and either go in the stretching room then your see the entrance that take you to the exit side to be loaded. Or before you enter the stretching room their a door but not marked so a cm will have to help you then your be brought out to the same entrance n the exit side. It just getting the cms to understand that you need to use the exit side from the out side because to get to the separate entrance you have to go through a dark building.

[dawnball]

Originally Posted by A Mickeyfan

I admit, I can do the Haunted Mansion with friends if there are very few guests in there, but when there are massive amounts of people pushing and shoving, I cannot do it. I cannot get to the wall to guide and hold it as I walk to that narrow walkway. I cannot walk slow without getting banged or pushed.. or even knocked over. There are times we even loose our footing due to not having good balance in the dark.. but yet Disney doesn't understand this.. sure a cane would make them see this, but will it get us the wheelchair entrance??? I was told by the CM's that to have access to that entrance, I would have to have a wheelchair or a walker???

I was at Haunted Mansion last fall with a wheelchair. We still had to go through the graveyard queue, and then through the stretching room before we were pulled aside, went out the exit to park the wheelchair, then back in. It was a lot of transition from dark/light/dark, and more turns than the regular route.

We stayed near the wall (instead of moving to the 'dead center' of the stretching room), and then were the last group out of the stretching room, with a CM using a flashlight pointed at the floor to guide us.

I don't think that the wheelchair route would help you at all at Haunted Mansion - but a CM should be able to help you find a stable/safe place to stand in the stretching room, and then light your way to the hallway.

[Cassandy]

[QUOTE=A Mickeyfan;47595587 For some reason, they cannot see that we with low vision can "see" but yet "cannot see".

I was told by the CM's that to have access to that entrance, I would have to have a wheelchair or a walker??? and that I do not need [/QUOTE]

People with low vision DO have a symbol to show that they have low vision. It is the identification cane. When you have low vision, you can go to any organization for the blind (CNIB in Canada), and register, and if you have low vision they will give you an identification cane.

When you bring your identification cane to WDW, the CMs know what it means. They will know you have low vision. They will understand that. It is an internationally recognized symbol for someone who has vision issues.

I cannot recommend using one enough. If your vision issues are so high that you cannot navigate alone, then you really, really need to look into services for low vision, and an identification cane in particular so that people know.

[disneymarie]

Originally Posted by bidnow5

I met someone that was visual impaired in the dark she put both hands on her husbands shoulders in the lines. She usually holds his arm but because of the sharp narrow turns she stays behind him

I hate having to do this. I always enjoyed room at the Haunted Mansion but now it is too dark without being held by an elbow or shoulders. I wouldn't want the family to miss it, so I close my eyes instead of the irregular figures and flashes. I don't use a cane as I need a rollator due to injuries in an accident, it left me with double vision and I have a cataract. That is a slow guided walk. Day time is much easier. After I park before entering the ride, i am okay with elbow support on and off.

I hope you have better accommodations next visit.

[gilesmt]

Originally Posted by KPeveler

The key word there is "dangerous." Safety is the first Key, and that is a big warning to CMs.

I have a whorped sense of humor, I read this and thought problem solved, just ask for a different enterence because me with a cane can be dangerous, I often hit people's ankles with the cane I. Lines since I don't see them and we are all squished. But I usually now have my dog.

But I really had to laugh at this comment, when my dd was in jr high, abnoxious age she was asked to help a blind student to classes since she had a blind mother she knew what it was like. So I thought finally she is becoming responsible, until I got a phone call from the principal because dd was telling the blind girl when to stick out her cane to trip the boys they liked, hurting more than one of them.

DISNEY open your eyes giving a blind person a cane in a crowded, mob like queue is DANGEROUS, we need a different enterance and not a legal weapon. Lol, honestly to me this is funny, sorry if you can not laugh with me, I fully understand if you have not been on the journey long enough.

[smidgy]

I can totally laugh at that story, and hubby would too. if you ever read his trip reports, he laughs at himself and his vision problems(and the merry mayhem it causes) all the time.
yes, Kpeveler meant danger to the vision impaired person trying to traverse the line. but I could understand how a person with a cane in the same cattle pen lines could be a danger to others! hhmm. maybe that approach might get more response from CMs. we really should look into getting a cane.