Broken Foot and Disney.

[SnowWhiteMomma]

My husband has a broken foot. It will likely need surgery. He broke a very uncommon bone and the Doc said it will likely be a year before it fully heals. My daughter calls him Daddy Tigger, because he hops on one foot.

Anyhow, within that year, we are going to Disney. grrr. What do we do abot wheel chairs and all? How does this effect him waiting in line? Does he have to go to a different line?


I have never been to Disney unable to walk. Please let me know the best way to travel to Disney with a broken husband. Thanks

Courtney

 

[disneygirl1]

So sorry to hear about your husband's foot. That really stinks! As far as wheel chairs go, I believe you get them at guest services at each Park entrance. I am more then positive that there is a separate ride entrances for people in Wheel chairs. Sorry I can not be more help, but you can always call Disney directly to verify. Hope you and your family have a magical trip.

 

[donniedisney]

Most of the new rides are built so the wheelchair can go through with everyone else.

Most of the MK rides though they take you to the exit and let you cut.

 

[WDWTrojan]

There is a seperate stroller/wheel chair rental area at the front of each park. You should stop by Guest Relations who will issue you a pass with a stamp on it. Most likely, that stamp will read "Please allow guest to use wheel chair entrances, where available."

When you arrive at an attraction, show the cast member out front ("greeter" is the technical term) the pass you were issued. MOST attraction queues at Walt Disney World are wheelchair accessible nowadays -- meaning he/she will direct you to the normal entrance or give you further instructions (e.g. Space Mountain will tell you to go through the normal queue until about halfway through, when you will be directed to a separate ramp).

Some attractions do have completely separate entrances for guests in wheelchairs. If this is the case, your group will be directed by the cast member to the appropriate entrance.

Hope this helps.

 

[The Mom]

First, don't forget to check with your airline if you're flying. He may be able to hop OK at home, but it's a different story when you're rushing to get a flight; you'll definitely want to be able to ride the tram.

If you're staying at a WDW hotel, they sometimes have a FREE wheelchair available for your whole stay. That's what I used when staying with my mother (and before I purchased her own wheelchair to use all the time) You can rent one at the parks, but they all have to be pushed, which may or may not be a problem for you. (I was able to push my mother, but she was pretty tiny by the time she died.)

You might want to consider renting a ECV, but please have your husband practice at home first! Our local grocery stores, big box stores, etc usually have free ones available. That way he can practice backing up, getting around people, etc in a less crowded situation.

Unless you are travelling with a large group, you will be able to stay together. Many attractions have "lines" which easily accomodate a wheelchair; those that don't have a different entrance, and a CM will direct you towards it.

He will have to determine how much walking he can do. The first time I went with my mother, she was able to walk far enough to get out of her chair and board. She only needed it to keep from getting overtired and putting too much strain on her heart. The next time, she was too weak and unsteady to walk even a few feet without a walker; getting down into a boat, etc was beyond her (even with my help), so we had to limit ourselves to rides that were "level" unless there was a wheelchair boat/car available. (Such as "Listen to the Land" the boat in Mexico, etc)

 

[MAGICFLOP]

If he gets an electric chair, just tell him to follow the MK Indy rules.
"No bumping the chair ahead of you":ROFLOL:

Don't worry he be fine, wdw specializes in accomidating people in chairs. You will remeber this trip over all others (at his expense of course) :sohappy:

 

[RiversideBunny]

Be sure to get him a Park Hopper ticket.

 

[Kamikaze]

Be sure to get him a Park Hopper ticket.

Bravo, sir, bravo.

 

[wdwmomof3]

Be sure to get him a Park Hopper ticket.

:ROFLOL: And an air horn!:kiss:

 

[xsupaxmanxsfnex]

hahah Park Hopper

To add onto this question, what are the red passes I see people turning into CMs before they get on rides. I thought it was if you had a handicapped member of you group or something? Am I wrong?

 

[smk]

I went in 1997 with my foot in a cast, well I had just had the cast removed and graduated to an air cast, and went three days later. I still could not walk well and had a ton of swelling in my foot and ankle etc...so I used an ECV and one day (only) a wheelchair. It was frustrating to say the least! The good side was we got to go in the exit of most rides and board a ride together, this particular trip I was there alone with three kids (we were there for a sporting national event). So, at least we all got to stay together. The bad side was I was there (alone with our three kids, I say again!) and they were in charge of pushing me around and weaving in and out of crowds! It was an adventure! That's the reason I rented an ECV the other days we were there. It was at least under my control but still not a good time. People would walk right in front of me, those things have no brakes, and I can't tell you how many bad looks a I got. I didn't mind the looks but it is slow going at times, esp. right after and around parade areas. Have him practice a lot at stores while he can and then go and have a good time!

 

[Nansafan]

You might want to consider a rental of an ECV for the duration of your trip. There are companies in Orlando that will drop off the ECV at your resort so it is available when you check-in until the day you check out whereby you leave the chair with baggage services at your resort. There are a couple threads on this site that give company names but you could also Google ECV rentals in Orlando for the same information. The buses are equipped to handle both chairs and ECV's. Being that many of the resorts are quite spread out, you might want a chair/ECV for there as well. We needed a chair a few years ago for my niece who sprained her ankle mid vacation.

 

[Tiggerfanatic]

hahah Park Hopper

To add onto this question, what are the red passes I see people turning into CMs before they get on rides. I thought it was if you had a handicapped member of you group or something? Am I wrong?

Those red pass cards are timers so the CM can see how long the line is....

 

[xsupaxmanxsfnex]

OHHHHHHHH That makes sense ok, thanks!

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

Be sure to get him a Park Hopper ticket.

:ROFLOL::ROFLOL::ROFLOL:
Seriously...just tell the CMs and they will help you.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

If your husband requires the use of a wheelchair then your party will be able to accompany him - you will not be split up when riding / viewing attractions

 

[colliera]

Limited mobility information

You will want to get an actual Disabilty Guidebook from Guest Relations at the park but here's the link to the text version that will answer many of your concerns:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/common/Plain?id=PlainMobilityDPage

 

[TinkerbellK]

I feel that I should say that while in some MK attractions you go in th exit (such as IASW), you do not usually have any shorter a wait... most CMs make you wait there the alloted amount of time, or you may wait that long because there is someone with a disability ahead of you. they can only allow so many people with disabilities on at a time for safety reasons, and so you may be waiting longer than the posted times.

In many MK rides, almost all EPCOT rides (only one that comes to mind is SE), all DHS and all AK, you will wait in the regular line.

if your husband is in a park rental, you will have to push him the whole time. it will be too heavy for him to push, and they are heavy and old (50-60lbs). there will be no cushion on the seats, and the footrests will not be adjustable. if he needs his foot elevated, you will not be able to do that in a rental chair.

my suggestion is to talk to his dr at home about renting a chair there. trust me, you never guess how much walking there is in airports til you are on crutches... if you rent from offsite in orlando, you will have the chair the whole time (it is sometimes up to a mile of walking from your car to the tram, up the monorail ramp, down the monorail ramp and to wheelchair rental at the park - it is on the other side of the entrance from the monorail/boat... i dont think Daddy Tigger wants to hop that far)

also, if you talk to your doctor, your insurance may cover the cost of the rental. this may also make using an ECV more manageable. i think your husband will become very sick of being pushed all day long. also, if you are pushing him, you cannot hold your daughter's hand or push her in a stroller. this may be a problem for you, so i would definitely look into a scooter for your husband.

if he is going to be injured for as long as you said, you may be able to purchase your own scooter and have insurance cover it, cause he may need it at more than disney

PM me if you want more details of life in a wheelchair at disney - i have done it before!

 

[MAGICFLOP]

I have to laugh,

In here everyone is so sorry to hear about his foot, then when were all at disney, they will run him over trying to get into monorail.:ROFLOL:

 

[TinkerbellK]

magicflop - that wasnt very cheerful!

I should say that it is difficult to get into and out of the monorail, so i would ride it once for the experience, and then take the boat over to the Magic Kingdom!