Temporary handicap parking pass

[SusanDK]

My 94-year old mother-in-law is visiting from abroad and we will be visiting the parks. We do not have a handicap sticker and since she is from Europe, she does not have a doctor here where we could request one. Does anyone know if Guest Relations might be able to allow us some type of temporary (max. 2 weeks) option to park in the handicap lot for our visits. Or if we ask when we enter the parking lot, would cast members be able to allow us to do this even with no sticker in our window?

 

[lanejudy]

Does she have any kind of "blue badge" or HA parking from her home country? If it has the universal HA symbol (the wheelchair) it will be acceptable.

Disney cannot grant any temporary HA parking permit, it would need to be done through (I think) the county. And unfortunately what I've read is that it can be a challenging process to get approved, though I don't have first-hand experience.

A the parks you can ask for "medical" parking without an HA tag, that is next to the official handicapped lot. Do not park in the blue lined HA spots without an HA tag or you could be ticketed/towed by the county sheriff. You will not be able to utilize HA parking spots at the resort without a tag.

 

[jimmymc]

Does MIL have a tag from her home country she can bring? Florida accepts tags from other countries as long as they have the wheelchair logo.

https://www.flhsmv.gov/motor-vehicl...-person-parking-permits-for-florida-visitors/

If not, see if she can apply for a hangtag in her home country.

 

[SusanDK]

Thank you both. She doesn’t actually have a sticker at home - where she lives it isn’t necessary because distances to walk from car to shop, for example, aren’t long. But here is a little daunting for her. I might look into the “medical” parking. Thank you for the idea. We don’t know yet if we’ll get a wheelchair for inside the parks - playing it by ear for now.

 

[lanejudy]

Thank you both. She doesn’t actually have a sticker at home - where she lives it isn’t necessary because distances to walk from car to shop, for example, aren’t long. But here is a little daunting for her. I might look into the “medical” parking. Thank you for the idea. We don’t know yet if we’ll get a wheelchair for inside the parks - playing it by ear for now.

Would you be able to drop her off and then park? HA (and I think Medical) parking generally doesn't have a tram. Or if you are staying onsite, you might want to use WDW transportation -- at least to MK which can be a hike.

 

[SteveH]

Without getting it from your home county/doctor it's very unlikely you'll get one here. My suggestion would be as you pull in let them know you need to drop her off up front due to her disability, then you'll need to park in the regular lot, then you can swing around to pick up.

 

[TCRAIG]

Honestly, it’s generally less walking to park in the general lot and take the trams than parking in the HA spots and walk from your car to the entrance. The trams drop you right off by the entrance.

 

[SusanDK]

Thanks all. We are local so not staying on site. I think asking to drop her off up front and then us swinging back around to park in the regular lot would work best in most cases. They are now talking about maybe only doing one actual park day (HS) and it's pretty easy. Otherwise, we plan to eat at a resort or two (Sanaa at AK and maybe go to WL).

 

[gottalovepluto]

… We don’t know yet if we’ll get a wheelchair for inside the parks - playing it by ear for now.

What? My goodness if the parking is going to be an issue the parks could wreck her. People walk an average of 7-10 miles at Disney World each day. Budget for the wc.

 

[SusanDK]

What? My goodness if the parking is going to be an issue the parks could wreck her. People walk an average of 7-10 miles at Disney World each day. Budget for the wc.

As a local AP holder, I'm well aware of how much one walks at WDW. I do it all the time. She has been an avid walker her whole life and can manage a lot, she walks daily.

I was merely asking to see if there were any options that would help us help her keep the walking to something she can manage. I honestly don't think she'll want a wheelchair, and it is not a matter of budget. We can easily afford to do it, so I'm not sure where you got the idea that we didn't want to budget for it. It is more a matter of what she'll want to do and how she'll be most comfortable being in the park.

She may prefer walking but then we'll want to find small ways to assist to keep it manageable for her, e.g. not zigzagging in a park, choosing a smaller park with more seated attractions, etc. Geesh, sorry I even asked.

 

[starry_solo]

Like another poster said, handicapped parking passes are handled by government agencies, not Disney.

Have you considered paying for the upgrade to preferred parking? It's closer to the front. You already get parking as part of your AP, so it's just a $15-25 upgrade fee, right? That might work for you.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

As a local AP holder, I'm well aware of how much one walks at WDW. I do it all the time. She has been an avid walker her whole life and can manage a lot, she walks daily.

I was merely asking to see if there were any options that would help us help her keep the walking to something she can manage. I honestly don't think she'll want a wheelchair, and it is not a matter of budget. We can easily afford to do it, so I'm not sure where you got the idea that we didn't want to budget for it. It is more a matter of what she'll want to do and how she'll be most comfortable being in the park.

She may prefer walking but then we'll want to find small ways to assist to keep it manageable for her, e.g. not zigzagging in a park, choosing a smaller park with more seated attractions, etc. Geesh, sorry I even asked.

If it's just about mitigating how much walking she does that's like a lot of people. I was actually going to suggest just like another poster just dropping her off and picking her back up. My husband did that for me at DHS in May 2022 when my feet were just unable to handle it and I can walk just fine and a lot, just how the Disney parks can go.

Still though I would also recommend keeping a wheelchair in mind for her at the parks even at one park a day, she's used to short distances you mentioned but you know the Disney parks can be quite a lot to traverse. That walk for example at DHS (the park you mentioned) from the entrance to the back part where Galaxy's Edge is at still feels like a lot and unfortunately that lack of shade really can hit ya (DHS is bad for not having much shade) AK getting around the Tree of Life always feels like an eternity to me lol, Epcot getting around World Showcase can be a lot though the Friendship Boats can help(also bad for lack of shade) and MK can be like that as well going from area to area. Epcot however does have the advantage IMO of having some movies (though I don't think the China movie is seated from what I remember, the France one is) and has a decent amount of dining options that could allow for a more broken up day.

I too personally look for those shows or rides that give you a break on your feet (as well as get some a/c if it's during hot months).

I'm not sure when you're going but to maybe help you narrow down which park(s) might be best for her you might look at the construction schedules as 2025 has quite a lot of that going on.

You shouldn't be sorry you asked, just that asking about a foreign handicap parking ability led to different responses because people were thinking she was considered handicap in her home country and thinking you were asking about an equivalency here (which initially you did ask).