General Travel Tips

Below are some helpful travel tips for your experience getting to and around Orlando, Florida for this year’s national convention and beyond. 

Air Travel

Below, we provide air travel tips for white cane and service animal users.

White Cane Users

In accordance with Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 121.589, air passengers are permitted to store white canes in an overhead compartment or storage closet. Furthermore, Section 121.589(g) permits the following additional methods of stowage specifically for travel canes:

  1. Under any series of connected passenger seats in the same row, if the cane does not protrude into an aisle and if the cane is flat on the floor.
  2. Between a nonemergency exit window seat and the fuselage, if the cane is flat on the floor.
  3. Beneath any two nonemergency exit window seats, if the cane is flat on the floor.

Service Animal Users

The Air Carrier Access Act permits airlines to require passengers traveling with a service animal to complete an attestation form from the Department of Transportation when flying with your guide dog. At this time most airlines are requiring this form to be completed. While the official form can be downloaded directly from the DOT, airlines will often offer their own versions of this form using their own letterhead. Some airlines require you to email them the form, others require you to upload it to their website, and others still ask you to bring the printed form with you. In order to minimize the possibility of being refused boarding, it is essential that you follow your airline’s specific procedures regarding the service animal attestation forms, including turning the forms in in advance by the specified deadline.

If you have access to the internet, you should be able to learn the procedures and timing for your specific airline by doing an internet search for “service animals” and the name of your airline. You may also be able to learn the procedures and timing requirements by calling your airline’s reservation line. If you have difficulty after attempting those options, you may call NAGDU at 346-439-7444 or email the NAGDU board at [email protected]. To complete the attestation form, you will need to know the name and phone number of your guide dog’s vet, the date of your guide dog’s last rabies vaccine and the date it expires, and the name and phone number of your guide dog’s training program or individual trainer.

If the airline staff at the gate give you issues, ask for a Conflict Resolution Officer (CRO), which all airlines are required to employ.

Rideshare Services

Rideshare companies, such as Uber and Lyft, are required under the Americans with Disabilities Act to transport service animals. If you or someone you are traveling with experience a denial by a rideshare driver, and you believe it to be because of a service animal, there are three things that should be done:

  1. File a complaint with the rideshare company, giving them as many details as possible about the ride in question and the denial.
  2. Visit the Rideshare Discrimination Survey that the National Federation of the Blind developed.
  3. File a complaint with the Department of Justice, giving them as many details as possible about the Rideshare denial.

Paratransit Services

The Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority operates a program called the ACCESS LYNX Paratransit Partnership which allows disabled Americans who are eligible for Paratransit services in their hometown to temporarily apply for Paratransit services in Orlando and the surrounding counties. To apply for the ACCESS LYNX program, please follow the steps below:

  1. Submit ADA Paratransit Certification of Eligibility document via email to [email protected] or fax it to 407-849-6759 at least ten (10) business days prior to the visit.
  2. Contact the ACCESS LYNX Eligibility Department at 407-423-8747, option #6 (open Monday to Friday, from 8 am – 4 pm, Eastern time) to confirm receipt of your document and provide the following information before you arrive in our service area:
  • Full name and date of birth
  • Emergency contact information
  • Dates of your visit
  • Exact address of your stay (including the city and zip code)
  • Phone number where you can be reached during your stay.
  • Mobility device used if applicable (cane, walker, scooter, etc.)
  • If traveling with a Personal Care Attendant (PCA) and/or service animal.

Once your eligibility is established, you can reserve a trip by contacting the Reservation Department at 407-423-8747, option #4. They are available seven (7) days a week from 8 am – 5 pm (Eastern time).