DISNEY WORLD WITH HEALTH CONDITIONS: 911 & medical emergency situations

Of course the plan is to have a care free trip. However if you should have an emergency situation while on Disney World property, here's what you need to know. Reedy Creek is Disney’s on-site 911 emergency medical service, and they will work with the Orange County and Osceola County area hospitals. They’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and the service is free of charge. If a person is transported from Disney property in an ambulance, it’s also free of charge. For all emergencies on Disney property, you can either alert a cast member and/or call 911 from your cell phone or a park phone.

A Reedy Creek 911 Communicator explained the phone routing process to us. If you call 911 from a land line anywhere on Disney property, your call will immediately be routed directly to the Reedy Creek emergency service line. However it may take longer to reach Reedy Creek 911 of you're calling from a cell phone. The Communicator explained that if you call from a cell phone, your call should hit a Florida tower and will be routed to either the Orange County 911 communication center or the Osceola County 911 center. You’ll need to tell the operator that you’re on Disney property. They will then forward the call to Disney’s Reedy Creek emergency responders who are already on property. So if you’re on a personal cell phone, be aware that you’re call will never go directly to Reedy Creek. If you have an emergency, you can alert a cast member who can call 911 from a Disney property land line. If you prefer to speak directly with the 911 Communicator yourself, you can choose to use your cell phone.

Reedy creek only deals with medical emergencies, and Disney also has its own fire department. They don’t have their own police force. If police are needed, 911 calls will be routed to either Orange County or Osceola County.

We recently had a need to call 911 on our cell phone while we were on the border of our home town, because of a car incident. The 911 operator was having trouble determining which town she should notify. She finally picked one and it was the wrong one. No one showed up for nearly an hour. We finally found a local phone and called the police from there. They said they had never been notified. Although it may not be this drastic inside Disney World, we experienced having to discuss our location with the operator in the middle of an emergency, and that in itself caused a delay. If you’re not 100% certain about where you are, it might be best to call from a land line. However, if there isn’t one easily available, use your cell.

Emergencies on Disney property are handled as discreetly as possible. Cast members will actually form a human wall facing outward, to give the person in trouble some privacy. Never worry about being embarrassed at Disney by a medical or other emergency, and never hesitate to call for help if needed.

Even for non-emergency situations, if you find yourself in trouble, alert a cast member. EMTs can bring a wheelchair to escort you to First Aid. If you are not positive that you can safely walk there, don’t try. Cast members are happy to assist.

If you have a special need while in the parks, you may wish to call in advance and confirm that they can help you. The main number to the parks is (407) 824-2222. The operator will try to answer any of your questions, but they may not know how First Aid deals with your specific needs. They can call and check it out for you while you're on hold, or they can transfer your call to a First Aid Station in one of the parks.

If you wish to talk with First Aid directly, request a transfer to the First Aid Station in the park in which you will need assistance. You will find that some of the operators are more helpful than others. If you get someone who is not so helpful, call again until you can get the information you need.

Of course we expect that you'll have a healthy and wonderful vacation with no need for any of this information!!!

To read more about Walt Disney World with Disabilities click here or:

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