GAC at WDW water parks?

[DisneyTeacher]

My DS is legally blind but with glasses he functions very well with no special accommodations. His problem comes when he had to take his glasses off to do things like swim. It's bad enough he can't see well but to top it off he has double vision and no depth perception. Last summer he was fine at BB because we limited what he did, we kept him on slides we could go on together (family raft ride and one other). This summer he would like a little more freedom. Is there anyway we will be able to wait for him at the bottom of a slide and help him to and up the stairs? We wouldn't need to catch him as he's a pretty good swimmer he just needs help getting to the right place.

The lifeguards were so wonderful with him last summer in Tykes Peak, the lifeguard at the top sent the hand sign to the lifeguard at the bottom of the side after I explained he couldn't see well. They always made sure he got to me at the stairs. He's now 7 and ready for some bigger slides.

 

[DisneyTeacher]

Anyone have any experience with a GAC for visionally impaired at a water park?

 

[Huggles]

At the risk of causing more expense to you ( or telling you something you know already), have you thought about the prescription swimming goggles which are available? Would they be available in his prescription? They might enable him to be more independent and they wouldn't look out of place in the water park.

 

[DisneyTeacher]

I thought about it after it was too late. We leave in a few days and it hadn't occured to me before since he does fine in our pool at home. I guess this is something I'll look at for next summer. He won't ever wear regular goggles but maybe if he can see better he might give them a chance.

 

[SueM in MN]

The GAC that you use in the parks is not used in the water parks.
The Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities for Blizzard Beach doesn't have anything about visual disabilities. I know for other disabilities, you go to Guest Services in the individual water park (if you want the guidebook for Typhoon Lagoon, there is a link at the top of the link to the other park page).
You should be able to find out from Guest Services at the park how they would handle it. There might be some slides where you could do what you are proposing and others where it would not work.

 

[DisneyTeacher]

Thanks! I guess I'm just worried about getting yelled at by the lifeguard if I try to help him get to the stairs. I know they are pretty strict about getting people out of the way and I understand that (I was a water park life guard in college). I don't want to catch him I just need to help him find his way out the first time down each slide. I would just like for him to be able to enjoy the park like a 7 year old should.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I thought about it after it was too late. We leave in a few days and it hadn't occured to me before since he does fine in our pool at home. I guess this is something I'll look at for next summer. He won't ever wear regular goggles but maybe if he can see better he might give them a chance.

If you still haven't left - if you have a slightly older pair of his glasses, you could take them to an optometrist and ask them to remove the lenses. Then you can clear-glue the lenses inside a pair of swim goggle that you've purchased (ask the optometrist what glues would not damage the lenses). This isn't a perfect solution, since the lenses will be a couple of inches further from his eyes than his glasses, but it might help.

 

[DisneyTeacher]

Thanks for the tip. We are picking up his new glasses today so I will ask while we are there. We have an old pair I was thinking about donating but we may have to hang on to them and see if we can make him goggles.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Hi,
My youngest child isn't blind but she's only NOW starting to learn to swim (after our last trip LOL) yet was old enough to get brave enough to want to ride slides. I don't know your family situation but the way we dealt with it on non-family slides at BB was for me to go first, oldest behind youngest (to keep an eye on her or bring her back down the stairs/etc. if she chickened out after I'd already gone down- which never happened... but just in case) and I did get out but the lifeguards there also did the hand sign to let the lifeguard at the bottom know she's a non-swimmer. They helped her at the bottom.

Wouldn't it be the same with him? That you could just tell the lifeguard he's legally blind (if you didn't want to just say he's a non-swimmer like my daughter) and they'd do the same for him?

Hope it works out well... I'm betting it will without you having to help him. The lifeguards were very helpful and I'm sure they've experienced nonswimmers, legally blind, etc. many times. Even with the hand signal- if you were able to go first you could tell the lifeguard at the bottom and see if they say they can handle helping him out or if they say it's okay to wait for him and help him up the ladder?

 

[SueM in MN]

My DH is not a good swimmer. One year when we went to BB, we had a French foreign exchange student living with us who was a lifeguard in France. She went down the slides before him, ready to help him out if needed. After a few times of this, the lifeguard stopped them and said DH was not allowed to go down the slide again. I don't know if they "cut a little slack" if they are dealing with children who are non-swimmers, or if it was because DH was on one of the biggest slides and I'm prety sure they didn't talk to the lifeguards first.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Why wouldn't he allow him to go down anymore? Is it because he's a non-swimmer and the lifeguard didn't want to be responsible for a nonswimming ADULT? Where as they deal with nonswimming children all the time?

 

[lovethattink]

This is what we did when my son was in kindergarten at the parks. He was a good swimmer, but I was concerned his 1st time on the "big" slides. We used a disney life jacket. Either I went 1st, him 2nd and dh 3rd on the slides or I stayed at the bottom waiting for dh and ds to come down.

The biggest obstacle to overcome, that I see, is on the tube slides since it would be difficult to carry the tube and guide him up all those stairs. People (mostly small children and those not paying attention) often have bumped their tubes into me while climbing up the stairs. A couple times, the bumps were great enough I lost my footing.

 

[SueM in MN]

Why wouldn't he allow him to go down anymore? Is it because he's a non-swimmer and the lifeguard didn't want to be responsible for a nonswimming ADULT? Where as they deal with nonswimming children all the time?

Probably because Amelie (the French student) was needing to "save" him each time he came down. Some of the water slides end up in pretty deep water and you are supposed to be a strong swimmer to go down them. My DH was in over his head (pun intended).