While, it has taken a hit in recent years because some policy changes it is in my opinion still light years ahead of other theme parks or other public/private attractions in their ability to keep it an immersive experience for ALL of their guests. One of the reasons for the change was the abuse of the former policy by those who were not disabled but just wanted to bully themselves to the front of lines. Disney has what is a Disability Access Service Card (DAS Card) that you obtain at Guests Relations of any of the theme parks. The card is for anyone who cannot wait in conventional queue lines due to a disability (including non-apparent disabilities i.e. autism...). It will give you a time to return to the attraction based on the current stand-by time in order to enter the attraction with no waiting in a long queue line. There are some attractions that allow those in wheelchairs access from a different entrance with less wait.
Wait times are not the only things Disney tries to alleviate for people with disabilities. Special seating areas for parades and fireworks and other performances are also available.
Now I am not saying you won't come across some glitches in the process but I will say WDW does its best to accommodate all of their guests. We have had to convince people at guest relations that Wyatt's wheelchair is NOT a stroller but in the end it all works out.
If you are planning a vacation to Walt Disney World and have a special needs child inform your travel agent or if you are booking it yourself to inform the resort for accessible rooms if needed and also to inform any restaurant you make reservations at of any dietary needs and see if they can accommodate them, they usually can. But most of all do NOT use a special needs child as an excuse to not go to Walt Disney World. We are going to embark on our eighth family trip to WDW in a little over a week (that sounds good to me) and each time we have taken two special needs children one who is autistic and the other who has epilepsy and Cerebral Palsy and has a very limited vocabulary but knows the term Disney and is ready to go...
