Disney Magic Despite Mobility Disabilities

43-Square Miles! That is how massive Walt Disney World’s surface area is today. 43-square miles is about the same size as San Francisco on the West Coast, or twice the size of Manhattan Island on the East Coast. Disney World is ENORMOUS! We are talking multiple theme parks, water parks, resort hotels, golf courses and green spaces that can make the most fit person feel the pain of a million steps. Despite all that spread out space, Disney does an admirable job of helping all guests navigate the many miles of Mickey’s Florida home; but what’s even more impressive is Disney’s dedication to help those guests with mobility disabilities to have a magical experience.

Regardless, sometimes the mobility challenges and unique variables that must be accounted for make the decision of going to Disney World one that is difficult to overcome. This was the dilemma our family carefully had to think through together. We had a family member who not only wanted to give his kids the magic of Disney, but also wanted to be in the middle of the magic with them to experience it and make those memories together.

That’s when we realized the ideal experience for our family to experience the magic of Disney was to do so on the Magic…the Disney Magic. For our situation with our specific family mobility challenges, trying to figure out how to cover the 43 square miles with tens of thousands of people at Disney World was not as ideal as navigating a 964 foot long and 83,000 gross tons of a Disney Cruise Line ship with less than 2800 guests.

Booking a Disney Cruise allowed our family members to enjoy an amazingly magical experience with their kids in a more contained and manageable environment on the ship. The characters were just as enthusiastic. The food was to die for at every meal, snack and room service. The on-deck parties, movies, special events and Broadway caliber shows in the evening made impressions on our family that will last a lifetime.

If one of the variables your family must consider in planning the perfect vacation deals with mobility challenges, consider a Disney Cruise. Our family did and the smiles that resulted seemed to go well beyond 43-square miles.