Those who follow our blogs or YouTube channel will know that I am differently-abled – I have chronic pain and issues with my joints. This means that typically on my trips to Disneyland Paris I’m managing through a mixture of braces, painkillers and taking things at a slower pace. But on our most recent trip my body decided to throw me an interesting curve ball and develop a severe rash from my back support! And this led me to using a walking stick in Disneyland Paris for the first time. I’d heard a lot of stories (some good but a lot not so good) about using a stick, crutches, wheelchair or other mobility aid in the parks, so I thought I’d share my experiences in case they help others in the same position.

Always have a back up on hand…

In many ways, the fact I had a walking stick with me in Disneyland Paris at all is a result! I got a folding stick for this trip because I’ve been experiencing a pretty major pain flare and wasn’t sure how I was going to be when we were away. And boy am I glad I did!

Now I’m not going to suggest that everyone, everywhere takes a just in case walking stick with them – for most people that’s not necessary, and it’d be just something extra to pack. However, what I am going to say is that if you’re used to relying on particular supports, or are someone who sometimes needs a mobility aid but not often – take it with you. If you don’t need it, great! But I’m very grateful I had the stick with us this time, I think our trip would have been utterly derailed otherwise.

I will say that you are able to rent wheelchairs at the Disneyland Paris parks – these are manual wheelchairs only though and you do need to pay to rent them (and put down a deposit of €200 per day, although you get that back when it’s returned). So if you’re just a very occasional wheelchair user you might be okay with that. But chances are the Disney chairs are not going to be as comfortable or suitable for your needs as your own chair would be. And of course if you’re used to using a mobility scooter / ECV or electric wheelchair, you can’t hire those onsite at Disneyland Paris. And, probably unsurprisingly, it’s not exactly easy to get hold of something like a walking stick, crutch or rollator onsite either! So if you’re used to using any of these things definitely take them with you. There are also companies you can rent wheelchairs and mobility scooters from that will drop them at local hotels.

But yes, if you think you might remotely need a mobility aid, if you can take it with you – or if you regularly use one and it’s practical, pack a spare! Better to be over prepared than to have your trip come to a screeching halt. Also as a side note, maybe do a test run using it beforehand too. The stick I used was decent but it did hurt my hand after a while, which I didn’t realise as I hadn’t really used it before.

Cast members will help where they can

The first day on our Disneyland Paris trip I used my walking stick we tried out the breakfast at our resort, Newport Bay Club. When the cast members saw the stick they went above any beyond to make sure we could pay quickly and get a table as close to the buffet as possible, and were very apologetic that they couldn’t seat us closer (and we were literally only a couple of metres away from the closest tables)!

While in the parks the cast members didn’t automatically move us to the front of the ride lines or anything (before anyone gets any ideas) – of course they depend on the Priority Passes and Easy Access Passes to indicate guests that need support boarding the rides, not just if someone’s got a walking stick or not. And that’s exactly as it should be – otherwise people who don’t need to use sticks would carry them to get the access and it’d end up causing more problems for genuine mobility aid users! But they were certainly friendly and helpful. As it happened we stuck to rides where we knew I’d be able to get on and off them without any issues, but I’m sure if I’d asked for help (say for slowing the omnimover rides to allow more time for boarding) I think they’d be happy to help. What they won’t do though is physically help in a transfer, as they’re not trained to do so (and wouldn’t want to cause anyone injury).

So if you’re using a mobility aid, the cast members aren’t going to be able to rearrange the entire theme park operations to suit you – but if you ask for support I think they’d be more than happy to help where they can! As a side note here, if you do qualify for the Priority Pass or Easy Access Pass due to your health differences or neurodivergence, definitely use them to make your life easier – those passes exist to help everyone have a good time in the parks! (To learn more about Priority Pass check out our previous blog on the subject, and we’ve also got a blog sharing all the support Disneyland Paris offer the differently-abled).

Most other guests won’t take the blindest bit of notice!

One of the most challenging aspects of any Disneyland Paris trip can be the other guests. Most people in the parks are very focussed on their own trips – which can mean they then complete look past everyone else around them. Which for the most part is absolutely fine! But it does mean they may not notice that someone with a mobility aid is trying to get round them, or that they’re about to cut someone up.

In my experience most of the other guests I doubt noticed I was using a stick. Which is fair enough – using a mobility aid shouldn’t mean anyone stopping and staring, and I can’t blame anyone for focusing on their own holiday! I did have the odd person getting a little huffy trying to get round me as obviously with a stick I take up a bit more space and wasn’t power walking round the parks, but no one shoved past me or anything like that that. I did have one time when the stick was kicked out, but the person who did it was very apologetic when they realised – they just weren’t looking where they were going.

There’s a chance if you’re using a mobility aid you might encounter folks who are downright horrible about it, but I think that’s the exception rather than the rule. What you’re more likely to encounter is folks so in their own world they don’t even notice; so therefore being cut up, stepped in front of etc is far more likely to happen – not through someone being malicious, just through people not paying attention! As such if you’re using a mobility aid then I do think you need to pay more attention to your surroundings to ensure you notice if someone is going to cut you off when walking, or walk past catching the mobility aid on their foot or bag. You’d like to think that wouldn’t be the case but it is, so it’s worth taking notice of what’s going on around you.

I will also add that if you’re going to be slower or stopping with a mobility aid, try to pull over to the side of a path wherever you can – it means you’re not blocking anyone else, and you’re therefore less likely to get walked into!

You can take them on a number of rides

Never having done rides with a walking stick before, I was curious what would happen – I kind of assumed they’d take the stick away as I got on the ride and return it at the end. Which I wouldn’t have minded at all. But actually, I discovered that for many of the rides they’ll happily let you on with a walking stick!

Rides we rode include Phantom Manor, Pirates of the Caribbean, It’s a Small World and Dumbo the Flying Elephant. In all cases I was able to keep the stick with me, and just pop it by my side while riding. So if you’re using a walking stick or crutch, you may not be parted from it as much as you may think! You’ve probably noticed though that we weren’t riding anything particularly intense or rough, and I believe if I’d tried going on a coaster then the stick would have been taken away – and for good reason. No one wants to be clobbered around the head with a walking stick that’s flown out of a coaster car! I also think on rollercoasters in particular there’d be the same concerns with walking sticks or crutches that there is with selfie sticks, if someone holds it out the car it could get stuck in the tracks, damage the ride and more. As with all things, be guided by the cast members with what you can and can’t do.

Of course rollators / walking frames and wheelchairs are a different story – for most rides you will need to leave these at the load area and transfer to the ride vehicle. However there are some rides you can certainly stay in a wheelchair for – these include It’s a Small World and Flying Carpets Over Agrabah. In our Magically Different Overview of Disneyland Paris Attraction Accessibility we share exactly when you can stay in a wheelchair and when you need to transfer for each attraction – and if you subscribe to our blog you receive this for free! (Or you can buy it for £3 if you prefer). For walking frames they simple won’t fit in most of the ride vehicles anyway so it’s not much of a surprise you won’t be able to take them on!

One thing I will say is that because the spaces in rides can be pretty cramped, make a plan for where to put a walking stick / crutch while riding – I found down by my side worked well, as it was out of the way of the lap bar or belt where the rides had one, and I could keep a hand on it to make sure it didn’t move around too much during the ride.

Hotel corridors can be loooooooooong

If you’ve ever been put in a hotel room that’s a long way from the entrance and had to walk there at the end of a long day, then you probably know that hotel corridors can feel never-ending. Add a mobility aid into the mix and they can feel even more so!

We were staying at Newport Bay Club, and were actually in the central section of the building. Thank goodness! That meant that the walk from our room to the lifts and back actually wasn’t too bad (although I’d probably say something different if you’d asked me at the end of the park day). But one of the days with my stick we filmed our hotel tour for Newport Bay (coming to our YouTube channel soon!) – and oh boy is that hotel big!

Newport Bay Club was actually the largest hotel all contained in one building in Europe when it opened – for all I know it might still be! That means if you’re in one of the extreme wings then you’re going to have several minutes of walking once you’re in the hotel to deal with to get to the amenities or doors to the parks. And all the corridors look kinda the same! So it’s easy to get lost. Of course this applies to anyone, but I found that with a walking stick those corridors seemed even longer than they might have done otherwise.

As such if you’re using a mobility aid I’d recommend asking for a room either closer to the main resort amenities, or closer to the theme parks if that’s your priority and the resort amenities aren’t close to the walking path. In the case of Newport Bay Club; Main reception, the restaurants etc are all very close to the path to the theme parks. However when we stayed at Hotel Cheyenne and Hotel Santa Fe this is not the case – their reception areas are quite some distance from their walking paths! So if you can, request a closer room. And double check that where you’re staying has a lift as not all the buildings in all the resorts do! (And of course if you have a wheelchair make sure you request an accessible room that will meet your needs!)

Pick your attractions…

One of the things that Disneyland Paris excels at is immersive walk through experiences, like the Nautilus or the Aladdin walk throughs. Most of these are very accessible, but some are less so…

On this trip we really wanted to investigate and gain some content on the new Pirates Scavenger Hunt on Adventure Isle. And it’s a fun scavenger hunt! But the downside is that Adventure Isle is hardly the most accessible bit of Disneyland Paris – there are a lot of stairs, and walking up and down those with a stick didn’t feel the safest. It also did more of a number on my hand because I was gripping the stick so hard! Plus with lumpier floors and narrow steps, the stick was more likely to get caught as I walked around. So it wasn’t impossible – but it was certainly a challenge.

If you’re using a mobility aid we’d recommend avoiding any of the attractions with stairs if possible. Thankfully that’s not too hard and the bulk of the attractions are fine! We actually did a YouTube video on attractions with stairs. And for some attractions which look like there are only stairs (like the Nautilus or the Sleeping Beauty walkthrough) there is lift access. Just ask a cast member for help.

Having a hand out of action is surprisingly annoying!

They say that you don’t notice how much you use something until you can’t. And I noticed that for sure on this trip! With one hand holding the stick it was a lot more awkward to do simple things like pull my phone out of my bag – and of course you use your phone a lot in Disneyland Paris!

In hindsight I wish I’d had my phone on something on a lanyard so I could get to it more easily. In my case things got more awkward because I was also filming a lot of the time! I did have my walking stick attached to my wrist which helped because in dire straits I could let is dangle as I used both hands, but of course this meant it wasn’t supporting me as I did so. So it was a tricky situation at times!

So if you’re using a mobility aid I’d figure out what items you’re likely to be handling the most often and have a game plan for being able to access them easily. A phone on a lanyard is a really good option, but also think about if you need access to things like glasses, or chapstick. Also if you’re planning to pay by credit card I’d maybe add your card to your phone wallet so you’re not wrestling with a purse and cards all the time. And if there’s things you know might be awkward and you’re travelling with other folks don’t be afraid to ask for their help too – Ken ended up helping with holding a lot of things during our park day!

While I don’t think may people picture themselves in Disney with a mobility aid, there’s no denying they can be very helpful for those that need it. I’m sure I couldn’t have got nearly as much done our recent trip without my walking stick! But I hope if you think you might need one my thoughts here can help with your planning. If you like our content do please subscribe to our blog below, and claim your free copy of our Disneyland Paris attraction accessibility guide while you’re at it! And please come and visit us on our YouTube channel too – we’ve shared some great accessibility content on there too. And if you’d like to support our work we’d love it if you could leave us a tip. Thank you!