DisneyLAND works a bit different than WDW.
WDW is more accessible because it is newer and most of the lines at WDW are wheelchair accessible, with no special wheelchair lines.
Because DisneyLAND was built later, there are more places that have to have wheelchair entrances because the regular line is not accessible.
California Adventure Was built with accessibility and has mostly "Mainstream Lines", where people with wheelchairs wait in the same line with eveyone else.
I'll try to answer your questions quickly with what I know and hopefully people who have been to DisneyLAND will add to it and correct what I might have wrong:
Here's a
link to download a copy of the Disneyland Guest Guide for People with Mobility Disabilities. That should help quite a bit; it does list information about which attractions are wheelchair accessible and how to access them (like do you go to the exit or where is the access gate).
I was told by a CM about where to pick up the w/c and abut a different line to wait in.
Does the whole family (9) enter this line or does the person in the w/c wait for the other family members to get to the front of their line?
If we all wait in the w/c line together does the whole party of 9 enter @ same time?
There is no guarantee that a wheelchair will be available when you get there, plus they can't be moved from the park where you rented. Cheshire Figment had some good
specific information about DisneyLAND on this thread, including where he rented an
ECV from off-site.
At WDW, a party of up to 6 (5 plus the person with a disability) can use the wheelchair entrance (if there is one). I think DL is similar. Mostly, it's a space issue, that there is not a lot of space for large parties.
He is ambulatory for short periods of time. If we park the "rascal" outside a ride or to sit and eat will it be safe?
"Rascal" as in the brand of ECV/
scooter called a "Rascal"?
ECVs have a key and if you leave it somewhere, just take the key with you. That way, it can be put into a freewheeling mode and pushed if necessary, but no one can use it.
If he wants to walk in the lines, before leaving the ECV, he should make sure how long the wait will be (so he's not ending up in a longer line than he planned).
Should we bring a note from his MD. If so, what does the note need to cover.
You don't need a doctor's note to rent a wheelchair/ECV or to get any other type of accomidation. If all he needs is acessibility, he should not need anything besides the wheelchair/ecv. In fact, they won't want to see one if you do bring one. What he needs to be able to do it explain his needs to the CMs at Guest Services.
