Ask a kid one place they’d want to visit, and Disney will be at the top of their list. Adults are no different, and a visit to a Disney park is often somewhere on our bucket list.
In this article, I’d like to share my experience with going to Disney World in Orlando, Florida as someone with IBD and an ostomy. My last visit was in December 2016.
Note that this article applies to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. I don’t know how other Disney parks in other places around the world compare.
Table of Contents
Video (recommended)
In this video, me and two friends (both who have IBD) talk about our visit to Disney World.
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Please check out my friends:
Sara Ringer: Inflamed and Untamed
Dan Sharp: Dan Sharp IBD
Megan “The Front Butt YouTuber”: YouTube Channel
Before Your Visit
Get the App
The Disney app is something that I’d highly recommend installing before your visit. It’s available on both Android and iOS.
This app does everything from buying tickets to seeing the current ride wait times. It made my last visit easier and I would recommend that at least one person in your group have it running during your visit.
Things to Bring
Disney World is really great with their policies for outside food and drink. And there was no problem bringing snacks and my emergency supplies in my backpack.
Because Disney World is made up of several parks, you should prepare to be walking a lot. Comfortable shoes and sunscreen should be at the top of your list of things to bring!
Emergency supplies will also be important to keep with you, especially if you have an ostomy or active IBD. My supplies were stored in my backpack, and I was never parted from them during my visit (more on this below).
A travel kit like THIS one can be useful, especially if you plan to stay for the entire day (and you likely will!).
An extra pair of clothes is recommended if you’ve had any accidents (or leaks), and they should fit easily in any backpack.
Unlike other amusement parks, where I would recommend bringing a stoma guard for the rides, Disney doesn’t have any rides that would warrant wearing one.
Getting Around
I mentioned that there will be a lot of walking. There will also be a lot of bus rides, monorail rides, ferry rides on top of that.
Because Disney World is made up of separate parks that are not that close to each other, you’ll have to take some form of transportation to get from one to another.
We had a ferry take us to Magic Kingdom and a bus to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Keep in mind that these rides may take a half hour or more, and you may not have access to a washroom in between parks.
I would recommend either planning ahead and visiting the parks you want to go to first or visit one park per day if you’re staying for multiple days.
Disability Access Service
As I’ve discussed in a previous article, nearly all theme parks offer ride accessibility passes, and nearly all of them allow people with IBD and/or an ostomy to qualify for the pass.
Disney World offers a “Disability Access Service” pass, which anyone with IBD or an ostomy can qualify for.
Getting the pass was pretty easy:
- You need to find a guest services building.
- Ask for the Disability Access Service pass.
- Answer some questions about your disability.
- Have your photo taken (yeah, this was a bit of a shock to me).
- You’re done.
I’ve seen that some people get a physical, paper card to show ride attendants, but our disability details were put on the plastic Disney pass we used when entering the park.
Once you’re all set with the Disability Access Service pass, you can go to the ride of your choice.
Here’s where things start to become a problem. Usually, a park will offer you a ride time or get you in the express lane without waiting. Disney does both, which makes wait times longer than they need to be.
At Disney World, you’ll talk to a ride attendant and they’ll give you a time to return back to the ride (if the lines are long). This time can be 10 minutes or an hour, and during that time you can simply wait, use the bathroom, eat, etc. You cannot visit another ride or you’ll lose your spot on the previous one.
When you return to the ride at your given time, you are then put into their FastPass line – this can have you waiting another 10 minutes to an hour (or more!), so you may end up waiting several hours to get on a ride when using the disability pass.
Regardless of whether you have IBD or an ostomy, this may pose a huge problem, since you may not be able to wait that long before needing to use the bathroom. And if you use the bathroom, you lose your spot in line.
This became frustrating, and if you plan to visit Disney with the intention of going on rides, then I would suggest using the FastPass+ pass instead (which costs money which is included in the cost of a ticket).
DisneyWorld Provides their FastPass+ services to all ticket holders at no extra cost. FastPass+ allows you to schedule up to three attractions ahead of time, so you simply show up and you’ll be put into a FastPass line (rather than wait in the regular queue). This option can make planning your trip a lot easier, but keep in mind that even FastPass lines may have you waiting quite a long time. More details can be found HERE.
Emergency Supplies and Bathrooms
As I mentioned before, I keep my emergency supplies with me in my backpack.
Unlike other parks, which have rides that require you to put your belongings into a locker or bin, none of the rides at Disney World had this requirement, so I never parted from my backpack (and supplies). This is nice, especially if you have a stoma that’s high-maintenance.
Bathrooms are scattered throughout the park, and you can easily find them by using the Disney app.
The bathrooms are clean and had enough room for me to comfortably empty my ostomy bag.
Food and Drink
As I mentioned earlier, Disney World an excellent policy regarding outside food and drink.
From their website:
Guests are allowed to bring food items—such as snacks or foods that do not require heating—into Disney theme parks. Inform a Security Cast Member of any food items when you enter the park.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/faq/parks/outside-food-and-drink/
I really appreciate this policy for two reasons: 1) Food and drinks can be really expensive. 2) Having access to water and a snack is important for anyone with a chronic illness or ostomy.
Disney World has many restaurants in all of their separate parks. You can get details by using their app, but I’m disappointed to see that they didn’t have a filter option for vegan/vegetarian restaurants anyone on their app or website.
Despite that, I have come across a few resources that can help you find vegan options while visiting any of the Disney World parks!
Check them out:
- 11 Ways to Go Vegan at Disney (Peta)
- Vegan Disney World (an entire website dedicated to this!)
Enjoying the Rides
Disney rides are pretty tame.
The wildest ride I went on was the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This ride was an indoor coaster (mostly in the dark) and had loops and drops. You could bring your bag on the ride, and it had an over-the-shoulder harness that did not interfere with my ostomy at all.
Nearly all the other rides are slow-paced and pretty relaxing.
You really won’t need to bring a stoma guard, and the biggest challenge is going to be the wait time.
I’d say the second biggest challenge is going to be how to navigate through the insane number of people visiting the park!
It’s hard to imagine so many people in one place, but expect the parks to be really full no matter when you visit. Plan what you can through the app and head straight to the rides you want to visit to reduce your time spent walking.
Note: If you’d like more tips on how to enjoy other amusement park rides with an ostomy, check out THIS article.
Closing Thoughts
Disney World is a pretty amazing place to visit, and everyone should visit it at least once in their lifetime.
Unfortunately, their disability pass leaves a lot to be desired and anyone with bowel urgency may have to reconsider going on the rides unless they know it’ll be a short wait.
Question: Got any tips to share? Leave them in the comment section below.
I went to Disney World 3 times before I had my ostomy. I am glad I went then instead of now. I think now it would be too difficult for me. I definitely could not do more then one park in a day and it would be hard to wait in lines. Plus due to the placement of my bag I would worry that some rides would squish or even pop my bag. I don’t think the disability passes sound all that great. If you still have to wait in line up to an hour it is really no better then getting in the line and waiting the regular time. When I went the second and third times I was traveling with a blind friend of mine and she got a pass but it didn’t really do her any good. Plus if it wasn’t for kind people in line she wouldn’t have been able to go on any ride I didn’t want to go on. The park officials wouldn’t break character to help her onto the rides even though I explained to them that she was blind. I remember that for tower of terror. I didn’t want to go on that ride and I tried to explain it to the person running the ride and he wouldn’t give me the time of day. Luckily someone over heard our us talking and offered to help my friend get on and off the ride. The third time I went I got smart and brought along a third friend who could help my blind friend onto rides I didn’t want to go on. I will say it’s not very accessible to people with disabilities. As I said now that I have an ostomy I don’t think I’d want to go back there.
Thanks for sharing, Liz.
Some parks are better than others, when they offer a disability pass. Here at Canada’s Wonderland, I’ve gone to the front of the line when it looked like a multi-hour wait for the regular queue.
Definitely something that benefited me during those visits.
But I think most places in general need to step up their support, especially in situations like ours where even a shorter wait might not even be doable.