wheelchair and basic disability questions

[hrmom26]

hi all

ok so i have rheumatoid arthritis which means standing in line and walking long distances is not easy for me and some times very painful so i have every intention of one getting a wheelchair and two getting that card the cm told me about when i book the trip


so how does it work if i am in a wheelchair and go to go on a ride? i mean do i have to leave it out side? or do i use threw the cue but then what happens to it? i can't take it on the ride so where does it go and how do i get it back

i know this may seem like a stupid question but i have never used a wheelchair before ,my disability has gone down hill fast this last year and i am still making sense of it all and getting used to everything that goes with it and i want to make this trip as simple and easy as possible mostly because i do not want to worry my kids i want them to think this is normal you know? and the best way for me to do that is to have as much knowledge as i can on how everything works

also what do other people do with the card? do you wear it around your neck in a lanyard thing so its easily noticed or do you just show it to everyone?

 

[Monty]

The vast majority of rides will accommodate your wheelchair in the regular standby queue. When it won't, the card will give you access either via the FastPass queue or an alternate entrance. When you get to the ride load area, you transfer to the ride then they will take your wheelchair and move it to the unload area and it'll be waiting there. Some rides have wheelchair vehicles where you can ride in your wheelchair.

Guest Relations can provide you a list of rides and how they each work for you.

 

[hrmom26]

The vast majority of rides will accommodate your wheelchair in the regular standby queue. When it won't, the card will give you access either via the FastPass queue or an alternate entrance. When you get to the ride load area, you transfer to the ride then they will take your wheelchair and move it to the unload area and it'll be waiting there. Some rides have wheelchair vehicles where you can ride in your wheelchair.

Guest Relations can provide you a list of rides and how they each work for you.

thank you!!! like i said i really want to make it seem like all this is no big deal for my kids in my experience when i give off the vibe that i am ok with and calm about what ever is happening my kids feel that way too and since this will be the first time they see me in a wheelchair i want to make it seamless i guess

thanks so much for the info

i appreciate it
Heather

 

[bjlc57]

let me recommend renting a scooter..

I would, if I were you, to rent an electric scooter instead of using a wheel chair.. we rented from an off base site.. they deliver to your hotel.. and the Disney buses are all wheel chair accessible.. even the ones that have "steps"..

Disney charges $50 per day and has a limited amount of scooters.. we paid $210 for 7 and a half days .. and our scooter was faster.. we had next to no problems on any of the rides zero..

I highly recommend doing this instead of putting someone to push you around.. now you are your own person..

there are numerous places in Orlando that rent these devices. .

I wish you well. have a good trip..

 

[Micksmaster]

Get a scooter

We just returned from DW this week. We got a scooter from Care Medical. They delivered it to our hotel (the Pop Century) and I left it with the hotel when I left. Most rides that have you go through the whole queue have you transfer to the ride and leave your scooter near the exit. When you are done with the ride, the scooter (or chair) is waiting for you. We used one of Disney's wheelchairs to travel the whole queue on Pirates (because you cannot take the scooter in) and it was a challenge for my husband to push me the entire way. I would have hated to have him push me through all of the parks. There are rides where you take a completely separate route that bypasses the entire queue (like Great Thunder Mountain Railroad). Pretty much every attraction has a handicapped accessible sign to indicate where you are to go to ride. Some attractions you ride the queue with everyone and then near the end you branch off a different direction (like Toy Story Mania) because everyone else is going up steps. The only ride I would not go on again was Winnie the Pooh and not because of the queue but because they have so little room to put your feet that I barely was able to sit in the seat. I was apprehensive before we went and came away feeling like I was able to do everything.

 

[Micksmaster]

Don't need the card

BTW, you don't need to get the card if you are in a wheelchair or scooter. It is intended for people who have a special need that is not readily noticeable and clearly the chair or scooter are visible. I too have a hard time standing and walking distances. I can give you lots of good information if you would like to send a PM. Definitely plan to do everything and don't let the idea of a chair or scooter discourage you.

 

[MissM]

BTW, you don't need to get the card if you are in a wheelchair or scooter. It is intended for people who have a special need that is not readily noticeable and clearly the chair or scooter are visible. I too have a hard time standing and walking distances. I can give you lots of good information if you would like to send a PM. Definitely plan to do everything and don't let the idea of a chair or scooter discourage you.

Yes and no. If you don't have a Guest Assistance Card, you can NOT use the wheelchair entrance and typically will just go through the normal queue and they'll have you park the scooter at a designated space. It will require that you can stand/walk through parts of the queue. If you can NOT stand/walk through parts of the queue - typically going through part of it and then standing the remaining distance after parking the scooter - you will need a GA card to use the wheelchair only access.

Love's parents rented scooters as his mom had both knees replaced and his dad had no feeling in his feet due to diabetes. They can both stand and walk but not all day. They were told without the GA card they could not use the wheelchair-only entrances. For example, on HM, you can take your scooter part way in the queue, then park it, then walk the rest of the way. You spend about half the queue on your feet. With the GA card, you go in through the "exit" technically and don't stand for half the queue. For them, they could do it but it was tiring.

It really depends on your stamina and which attraction you're talking about as mainly, without the GA card, they parked before the queue and stood the rest of the time. It may be too much for you personally.

(My mom has RA and Lupus so I know her day-to-day functionality and mobility really varies. Perhaps getting the card as a "just in case" would be in order but trying to experience the queues as much as possible would be the ideal solution.)

Good luck and have fun!

 

[hrmom26]

Yes and no. If you don't have a Guest Assistance Card, you can NOT use the wheelchair entrance and typically will just go through the normal queue and they'll have you park the scooter at a designated space. It will require that you can stand/walk through parts of the queue. If you can NOT stand/walk through parts of the queue - typically going through part of it and then standing the remaining distance after parking the scooter - you will need a GA card to use the wheelchair only access.

Love's parents rented scooters as his mom had both knees replaced and his dad had no feeling in his feet due to diabetes. They can both stand and walk but not all day. They were told without the GA card they could not use the wheelchair-only entrances. For example, on HM, you can take your scooter part way in the queue, then park it, then walk the rest of the way. You spend about half the queue on your feet. With the GA card, you go in through the "exit" technically and don't stand for half the queue. For them, they could do it but it was tiring.

It really depends on your stamina and which attraction you're talking about as mainly, without the GA card, they parked before the queue and stood the rest of the time. It may be too much for you personally.

(My mom has RA and Lupus so I know her day-to-day functionality and mobility really varies. Perhaps getting the card as a "just in case" would be in order but trying to experience the queues as much as possible would be the ideal solution.)

Good luck and have fun!

your right my mobility changes from day to day i am on the fence with renting a scooter one because the buses i am taking the disney buses from asmovies and isn't it a huge production when you have one? how do they deal with it?

also how does it fit in the hotel room? is it a major pain?

standing in the queue worries me a lot walking up stairs and standing still are not good things for me on a good day but a short queue would not be hard because with RA changing positions is good even if it hurts a bit other wise you get stiff and kind of stuck in a position

if i am on a ride that you can not use the scooter for the queue will i have to stand ? i am going april 14th to the 21st and i think it is going to be packed that time what kind of affect will that have on all this?

 

[Rob562]

standing in the queue worries me a lot walking up stairs and standing still are not good things for me on a good day but a short queue would not be hard because with RA changing positions is good even if it hurts a bit other wise you get stiff and kind of stuck in a position

if i am on a ride that you can not use the scooter for the queue will i have to stand ? i am going april 14th to the 21st and i think it is going to be packed that time what kind of affect will that have on all this?

My sister is in WDW right now. She has a problem with one of her knees and sometimes wears a knee brace. (While she hasn't rented a wheelchair or scooter, this is her third day chaperoning high school students, and she's re-thinking that...)

She's fine walking on ramps, but has a problem with stairs. At my suggestion, she got a Guest Assistance Card from Guest Relations that allows her to bypass any stairs in the queues. (Really there's only a handful that I know of... Space Mountain, Splash, Midway Mania, Dinosaur, and it got her into the handicap seating in Fantasmic.)

On attractions where an electric scooter cannot be accommodated but a wheelchair can (Universe of Energy, for example) they have standard wheelchairs at the attraction for you to transfer into for the attraction.

You can check out the pages on AllEars that talk about mobility and other special needs:
http://allears.net/pl/special.htm

The Passporter guidebooks have also put out a Disney guidebook called "Open Mouse" that talks about all different Guest issues in the parks.

-Rob

 

[Babylon Control]

your right my mobility changes from day to day i am on the fence with renting a scooter one because the buses i am taking the disney buses from asmovies and isn't it a huge production when you have one? how do they deal with it?

also how does it fit in the hotel room? is it a major pain?

standing in the queue worries me a lot walking up stairs and standing still are not good things for me on a good day but a short queue would not be hard because with RA changing positions is good even if it hurts a bit other wise you get stiff and kind of stuck in a position

if i am on a ride that you can not use the scooter for the queue will i have to stand ? i am going april 14th to the 21st and i think it is going to be packed that time what kind of affect will that have on all this?

Unless you have something physically on your body to tell a cast member that you can't stand or walk for long periods of time, they WILL make you leave the ECV/Wheelchair and go through the regular line. I saw it happen. When I was there in December I rented an ECV as I had a walking cast on my foot. I was waiting for a CM to write me a return pass for Buzz Lightyear when a guy pulls up on an ECV and figured since I was sitting just outside the fastpass line on an ECV, he could ride right in. He wasn't going to listen when the CM tried to tell him to park the ECV and go through the regular line. The CM had to tell him 2 or 3 times that he had to park his ECV and go through the regular line.

If you can't walk/stand for long periods of time, and you don't have something like a cast on your leg, then definitely get the Guest assistance card, that will let you use the handicapped entrances.

Also use the CMs working the lines, they'll be able to assist you with telling you where you need to go and what you need to do in regards to your ECV.

Definitely rent one from off site. It's much cheaper and much more convenient. I rented mine from Walker Mobility. They delivered it the day before we arrived and I picked it up from the concierge. It fit easily into the room without issue and I never ran into any trouble with it running out of power during the day because I always charged it over night. As for the buses, you will load first and offload last. You will not have to wait in the normal bus line with everyone else as the driver needs to load you first. This will annoy people but they'll just have to deal with it. You have just as much right to ride the bus and enjoy Disney as every one else.

If you need any more help, feel free to ask :wave:

 

[Micksmaster]

CM's make the difference

Interesting that you say they had to walk through the line in Buzz Lightyear. We (my hubby and me - in my ECV) were taken through the fastpass line without question. Whenever we got to an attraction, we checked with the CM manning the Handicapped entrance. Usually we didn't even have to say anything, they just signalled us to come on over and as they opened the entrance, they indicated whether to stay to the right or the left or what particular directions we needed. We had to switch to a wheelchair on Pirates and either Peter Pan or Winnie the Pooh (I can't remember which, we rode them one after the other). I did find that the CMs working the handicapped entrances during EH were less friendly than those working the rest of the day.