Disabled Guests vs Ride Load and Unload

[One Lil Spark]

Hi All! :wave:

I might possibly be making a trip to The World in very early January (keep your fingers crossed) with my mother and sister. My mother will be going through a very extensive knee surgery the week before we head down, which will leave her wheel chair bound but still very excited about doing all she can within WDW. We will not be carrying crutches around, but she can get in and out of the chair and into a ride vehicle with the help of both my sister and myself, but not on her own.

That being said, I have heard personally from a current CM that having a wheel chair in your party can actually sometimes hinder your ride experience at certain points. She's still up for all thrill rides and is quite a thrill junkie, but it's just a matter of getting her in/out of the ride vehicle and in/out of the wheel chair with support on both sides from my sister and myself.

I was wondering from personal experience if there are any rides we should avoid within all 4 parks that are less easily accesible for the disabled. Also, are there certain rides that she'll have no problems? Are there any rides as well that are especially accommodating to our disabled friends?

Any advice or personal stories from experience will be helpful.

Thank you all and have a magical day!
Jenn

 

[Robbie40]

Hi

My DD has Dyspraxia & ASD and has always used a wheelchair when we have visited WDW. We have never found it a problem and sometimes (as she has a red card) it can be a help, in that she can by pass the queues. It greatly reduces the stress of being in busy places with an exceptionally fatigued child who either "flops" on the floor or want to be carried.

I work with people with disabilties and we encourage people in wheelchairs to visit Disney as we have always found the CM's & co to be very helpful

Good luck

Robbie :animwink:

 

[donniedisney]

I've had to use a wheel chair at the parks and i found it to better an advantage, people are a lot more curtious than they are with stroller people and you get to go to the front of a lot of rides. especially fantasy land ones. rides like splash you wait in line to a certian point then you go to the end of the ride and get on.

i had a broken foot and it was not a problem loading or unloading

 

[Delswife]

Oh don't avoid any rides in Disney. They will take very good care of your mom.

My last trip I spent part of in a wheelchair. I have RSD and my feet hate my guts. I have to wear a boot to walk.

They treated me excellent. I've gone to Disney several times and can't think of anything on this last trip that I feel I missed out on.

You'll have a great time, I can promise you that!

 

[Rob562]

The only attractions I'd suggest your mother skip would be if there's any rough rides that would aggrivate her knee. (Her doctor should be able to give her an idea of what to avoid) Other than that, she should be fine.

There are some attractions that she'd even be able to ride without getting out of her wheelchair at all. Others, like Test Track and Expedition Everest, have test seats so that she could practice getting in and out of the seat if she wanted.

-Rob

EDIT: Oops... It was his Mom having surgery, not his sister... Fixed my text.

 

[One Lil Spark]

Thanks for the feedback all! :wave:

Will it be necessary for us to go to Guest Services in the park and pick up some kind of pass to say she's temporarily disabled?

 

[One Lil Spark]

The only attractions I'd suggest your sister skip would be if there's any rough rides that would aggrivate her knee. (Her doctor should be able to give her an idea of what to avoid) Other than that, she should be fine.

There are some attractions that she'd even be able to ride without getting out of her wheelchair at all. Others, like Test Track and Expedition Everest, have test seats so that she could practice getting in and out of the seat if she wanted.

-Rob

My mom can get in and out of the chair just fine with the proper meds. Plus my sister and I can help her get in and out of the chair (just not on her own). She loves thrills and she expects that even attractions such as Dinosaur! will be okay on her pain wise, but we didn't know if there were any places that were less wheel chair accommodating.

 

[TiggersPooh]

Thanks for the feedback all! :wave:

Will it be necessary for us to go to Guest Services in the park and pick up some kind of pass to say she's temporarily disabled?

Yes go to guest services to get a Guest Assistance Card...if you don't have that pass you will not be able to enter through the handicapped entrance. (most lines can accommodate wheelchairs)

 

[Mickeyman819]

If you can get your hands on one of the guest with disabilities maps, that will tell you everything you need to know, and how to experience all the attractions with a wheelchair. Some attractions you can wheel the chair right on. Other attractions have certain vehicles, or trains that might be easier for guest to access with disabilities. ask for that vehicle.

 

[seabee1]

My husband is a quadripalegic, and can't ride anything that requires transfering out of the chair. However, we have never noticed a problem with getting the chair around the world. AK says that they are not easy for WCs to navigate, but we have always been fine. In fact we feel Disney is the most accomidating park that we have ever been too.

The only thing I can think of that you might have a problem with is how your mom's leg needs to be placed. When I had my knee surgery I had "pirate leg". Depending on how much time has passed between the surgery and the trip, she may not be able to bend her leg to get into some rides. But that will probably just take trying it out to see what will work and what won't. Just remember, even if she can't get onto every ride, there is still a TON she will be able to do. My husband never feels jilted(except he would like to ride SM). Enjoy your trip!

 

[PyxiiDustt]

I had knee surgery recently and went to the World afterwards, and had no problems with my wheelchair. I didn't even realize I had to get one of those temporarily disabled cards, we just went in wheelchair entrances and had no problems. CM's are very willing to accomodate if they can tell you're truly hurt or disabled (and not just using the wheelchair to cut lines) and you shouldn't have any problems.

 

[JimboJones123]

I actually got very frustrated at Peter Pan a few years a go. Mother in Law went with us and has a Bum Knee. So she can't step onto the moving platforms. They wouldn't stop it for her to walk on. LORD KNOWS I have been on dozens of times when they have "accomidated" handicapped guests without losing a breath. We watch the shadow fly off 12-14 times or watch Wendy with her nose in the air waiting on the plank for a few minutes, then the ride continues. But not for her. I was REALLY ticked. So she didn't get to ride with her granddaughters because there was a grand total of 10 boats that actually had people on them (this was a Wed morning in Sept) that couldn't be stopped for 30 seconds. We stayed on property and felt so bad she didn't even try to get on another ride for the next 6 days.