When making magic for guests, Disney Parks incorporates different accessibility tools, such as Braille, to bring the experience to life for everyone. In honor of World Braille Day, held annually on January 4, we wanted to explore how the parks utilize Braille every day to make the parks more accessible.

What is Braille?

Created in 1824 by Louis Braille at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris, Braille is a writing system that incorporates raised dots so blind or low vision individuals can read the material. Braille works by using groups of six dots in two columns and three rows. The configuration of dots creates letters, punctuation, musical notes, or numbers.

Braille in the U.S. Disney Parks

Braille and other assistive resources are available at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts. Both resorts offer things such as Braille guidebooks and stationary and portable maps. Guidebooks and portable tactile maps are available at Guest Relations with a $25 refundable deposit, which is returned to the guest when the book or map is returned on the same day.

The stationary maps provide Braille for each of the attraction names. Whereas the portable tactile maps demonstrate more detail with boundaries, walkways, and landmarks in each park.

Disney Parks also offer audio description devices. These handheld devices provide descriptions for select attractions and entertainment. Similar to the guidebooks and maps, these devices are also available at Guest Relations for a $25 refundable deposit returned when the device is returned the same day.

Braille in International Disney Parks

Accessibility tools like Braille are also available at the international Disney Parks. For example, Disneyland Paris has the AudioSpot app for audio descriptions. The availability of the tools and the parameters around them differ from park to park, however, so be sure to check with Guest Relations when you arrive.

For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.