I am deviating from my four series on the rides of the World’s Fair to shed some light on an issue that plagues my family on every trip, and since we have one coming up, now seemed like a good time to mention it.
My husband and I both served in the Marine Corps, playing in their active duty bands. Today, he still plays, but now for the Army. I have given up service to my country to be at home with our daughter and pursue other endeavors that keep me happy. I don’t know how many of you have seen a military band perform in person, but there is one word that describes all of them: loud. The level of sound varies by how many people are playing, whether you are inside or outside, and so on and so forth, but the fact remains that no one who plays in a band at all can escape the inevitable hearing loss. Before you go off to write to your Congressman to complain about protecting our hearing, some bands get issued custom ear plugs and some do not. In the one I served with, the study determined that the decibels reached were not sufficient to warrant them. My husband was issued a set with his first band, and at his third, it was required for everyone stationed there to carry a set on their person at all times.
Back to the issue at hand. It probably goes without saying that my husband and I suffer from significant hearing loss, his being worse than mine. Because of this, when we go to shows at Walt Disney World, particularly the live shows, he mostly hears mumbles, and both of us are victims of simply hearing what is loudest. The movies are a little easier to handle because we can generally see lips moving on the screen to better make sense of said mumbles.
We found that the problem was worst at Fantasmic! in Hollywood Studios. The actors are too far away to help with some lip reading, and adding in the music makes it very hard to understand what they’re saying. Twice now, we have tried to obtain a Guest Assistance Card stating that my husband in particular has some difficulty hearing. The first time, the Cast Member looked at us like he didn’t know what we were talking about, and the second time we were told that the card didn’t exist anymore. Fear not, though, because the CMs at the theaters throughout the parks are quite willing to help those who simply cannot hear. Reflective Captioning is our favorite. The words scroll across a screen in the back of the house, and you are given a small, shiny piece of plastic with a convenient stand to hold it, so you can simply read the words reflected onto the screen. It makes it a little more difficult to watch the show when you have to divide your attention, but it certainly makes the show easier to understand.
There are two other options available for the hearing impaired. They are Assistive Listening and Handheld Captioning. With Assistive Listening, you are given a set of headphones that will amplify the show or feeds the sound directly to you from a closed loop broadcast. The Handheld Captioning device is available for a refundable $25 deposit, and broadcasts the captions directly to the device, especially in places where Reflective Captioning isn’t practical. My husband is thinking about giving at least one of these options a try on our next trip, and if he does, I’ll be sure to give you a follow up to let you know how we fared this time around. I hope this information helps to bring at least a little bit of Disney magic to those who suffer one of those invisible disabilities, like us.
The Adult Side of Disney 