Solo Disabled Traveler Stayed at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. She Says It’s Not Accessible: ‘I’m Not Gonna Get a Full Shower in My Chair’
She said she stayed at cheaper, yet better hotel rooms.
Andrea Dalzell (@andreadalzell), a disability rights activist and disabled solo traveler, put her Walt Disney World Resort hotel room on blast. Dalzell claimed that the room’s layout was inaccessible to disabled persons and that a comment by one of the hotel staffers set her off.
The rights activist alleged that an employee at the resort told her that “Disney doesn’t expect solo disabled travelers because they need help.” Then, Dalzell admitted to crashing out before dismissing said employee.
“I came to Disney with the thought process that at the very least, they were at the bare minimum of the ADA,” Dalzell said on social media. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires certain buildings to meet accessibility standards for people with disabilities. Places of lodging, like hotels, must abide by these standards. However, Dalzell claimed that her Walt Disney World Resort hotel room is not accessible.
“The fact that you have this huge thing in front of your curtains, and your curtains are manual for a wheelchair user or a wheelchair room? Wild,” she commented, panning her camera to the window. A large structure was blocking the bottom of the window. The block made it difficult for someone in a wheelchair to open the window or adjust the curtains.
Dalzell further alleged that the coffee pot was placed at a high television console and she had to move it down. “If I wanted to make tea, I would burn the living [expletive] out of myself,” Dalzell claimed. But when she placed it on a nearby table, she said there were no outlets to plug the coffee pot.
“Why are these things so high? Why do I have to reach so much?” She asked in the video. Dalzell had more concerns to raise.
Inaccessible for a disabled person
She pointed to the room thermostat. The controls were on the side of the bed and on a wall. In a wheelchair, Dalzell said she would have to overextend herself to reach the buttons. But her bigger concern was with her closet, which did not have an adjustable rack.
“Why is it that your closet… Doesn’t have racks that come down? I cannot reach that, and I am not stretching,” Dalzell said. She claimed she has stayed in other cheaper hotels, but the Walt Disney World Resort room has left her flabbergasted. Paying a hefty price for a hotel room won’t always mean it’s convenient. Another man who went on vacation to Albania was even prohibited from going up his $5,000 because he had a hot dog on hand. Nevertheless, Dalzell hoped for better in her Walt Disney World Resort stay.
She continued her tour and pointed out that even the shower was inaccessible. Dalzell rolled into the shower, showing the knobs for the water. She claimed she needed to roll in with her wheelchair and manually adjust the lever to determine whether the faucet or showerhead would flow. She could get soaked in the process.
“No, I’m not gonna get a full shower in my chair. That’s crazy,” Dalzell commented. Her clip went viral on social media. One commenter who claims to work for Disney wrote, “I am so sorry, this was extremely ignorant of all your needs.”
Nevertheless, Dalzell said that she has been moved to a different room. She was also given a complimentary gift bag containing a flamingo plush, handmade chocolates, and a deck of Disney-themed playing cards.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
Follow The Mary Sue:
