From the beginning, I wanted Access the Mouse, and anything that came from it to be free.
This blog is a passion project for me, as a massive Disney Parks fan, advocate, and a person impacted by the issues that I discuss on this blog. I’m a spoonie, a homeschool parent, and have a “day job” that takes a lot of my energy and time. This blog started as a way for me to engage with my fandom and a community that I love, while spreading info that helps others have the most amazing trips possible to my favorite place on Earth.
The concept was dreamed up in May 2017, when I was interacting in a Facebook group for plus-size parkgoers. I was on an adults-only anniversary trip with my wife, and we just so happened to be at a certain park when a certain, controversial, ride opened to the public, and it became clear that we had a problem I hadn’t expected. From there, I began sharing about my experiences at other attractions, as a fat theme park enthusiast. This blog was the evolution: where I could talk about all of the ways that Disney was accessible and inclusive, from the wonderful allergy chefs, to the Disability Access Service (now not-so-inclusive), to the ride vehicles that accommodated a wide range of bodies.
Current and Future Access the Mouse Projects
RTQ Database for Disabled Guests
Currently updated weekly, this database provides insight and experiences from disabled park guests without the Disability Access Service about how the “Return to Queue” and attractions-based “Alternate Accommodations” are working in practice, via the surveys on the RTQ Menu page. More responses are collected and documented weekly, and a conversion to a multiple-page table format is in the works.
Fat-Friendly Parks:
The Series
The original Access the Mouse project, Fat-Friendly Parks: The Series, in its current form, covers the four main Orlando parks and only documents my (and in a couple instances, my wife’s) personal experiences at them. A planned expansion is in the works to document more diverse experiences of other parkgoers with bigger bodies.
Matrices Around
the World
This project has been planned and worked on since last year. It’s a big one for guests with food allergies – a look at the top allergens on the park restaurants’ menus in an easily scannable format. This project must be updated regularly, as ingredients can often change, and users MUST ALWAYS ask the allergy coordinator at each location to make sure something is safe, but gives helpful insight about what foods MAY be an option for you when planning your days.
Adjacent Projects
Access the Parks
An upcoming expansion of Access the Mouse to include other theme parks across the United States. The “Access the Parks” project has a similar goal to Access the Mouse: park planning tips and information for LGBTQIA+, disabled, and fat/plus-size readers, and those with food allergies and special diets.
Theme Park Coalition
This project is centered around social-media based community-building for mutual advocacy and changes that promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility within the theme park industry.
Future Goals
- general accessibility database focused on entertainment venues, museums, and other buildings
- advocacy for changes in regulations to promote inclusive ride vehicles at theme parks across the U. S.
- advocacy for stronger restaurant industry regulations, requiring online publication of allergen & ingredient information and allergy protocols for restaurants with online or delivery app presence, as well as display of common allergens & allergy protocols in each physical location.
Support Access the Mouse
Has this resource been helpful? Do you want to contribute toward helping it go even further?
The link below takes you to a donation/tip platform that accepts donations in $1 increments.
Do NOT feel obligated to contribute, but I 100% appreciate any and all donations.
Can’t donate financially, but want to help by contributing to any of the listed projects? Have another idea you’d like to see come to life? Want to collaborate on a project? Hop over to the “Contribute to Access the Mouse” page. There you can choose from three forms for specific projects (the Fat-Friendly Parks Series, the West Coast RTQ Survey, and the Easy-Coast RTQ Survey) or scroll down the the General Contribution form for feedback, contributions, or collab requests. I’m also accepting photos of ride restraints and vehicles, theatre seating, restaurant allergy menus, restaurant seating, and accessible hotel rooms over at accessthemouseinfo@gmail.com.
Access the Mouse 