Wheelchair Concerns

[DisneyJunkie]

Over the past few trips, and even on a more recent trip to a different type of theme park in Virginia, my wife has had an incredibly difficult time walking, with her feet constantly blistering and causing her a great deal of pain in her legs and knees. She suffers from fibromyalgia. She is dead-set on our upcoming trip in September of getting a wheelchair to move around the parks with. I'm not so concerned over the cost of having to do so as I am over what to do with the thing when we go on the rides. She CAN walk, she just can't walk all over the parks like we had done in the past. So we'll be having to roll up to a particular attraction and leave the wheelchair aside until we exit it. My question is.....how would we go about doing this? I wouldn't want someone else walking off with our wheelchair, so where do the attractions have areas for locking up or holding onto guests' rented wheelchairs? I'm already getting a headache thinking about it and how much of a pain it'll be, but I want my wife to have a good time too, and not have to go back to the room and get off her feet and miss a lot of the fun. Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Monty]

Rent a wheelchair and I believe they put a cardboard card with your name on it. When you go on a ride, the CMs will take the wheelchair to off-load ready for when you need it again. I've never heard tell of someone taking somebody else's wheelchair.

Check with Guest Relations when you arrive at the parks for a list of which attractions handle wheelchairs in what way. Some you go through the normal queue, others have a wheelchair entrance.

 

[MandyJ72]

My daughter has a similar type of problem (Hypermobility syndrome) which causes her problems walking, although not all the time, and we bought a wheelchair last year in the UK and took it with us (was only about £120 which worked out £30 more expensive than hiring one for our 3 week holiday, and means we have it here when she needs it and to take my 90yr old gran out and about!)

When you get to the park, go to Guest Services and ask if you can be given a Guest Assistance Card, they will ask what the problem is as there are different coloured cards for different types of assistance, and will give you the right one (ours was a red one).

There are special wheelchair entrances for some rides which you will be allowed to use, some you will be allowed to just access, others you may be given a "return ticket" which works like a fastpass ticket but you come back in say 30mins time (if the standard wait is 30mins) and use the fastpass entrance, some you will be asked to get a fastpass for and other rides which do not have stairs/ramps in the hold areas you will be directed to just line up as normal.

When you get to the head of the queue a CM will direct you to either a special loading bay (usually the exit!) or let you load the ride as normal and they will then whisk the chair away and it will be at the ride exit for you when you come off the ride (when I say ride exit, I mean where you actually disembark the carriage/car/space rocket etc not the actual exit back to the park).

I was nervous about it all last year as well but I felt that WDW handled it all extremely well and even in area's where you can queue up as normal and access the ride, they will still then take the chair round to the exit side ready for you and they do it automatically, without any fuss or making you feel like you are causing a problem.

For us, the chair was a godsend and allowed us to enjoy our days without worrying about the amount of pain my DD was in - she got out and walked a bit when she could and round the shops and things to stretch out and stop her joints from siezing up but used the chair when she needed to.

Thinks like the Monorail and Boat Ride to MK are easy as well - they have ramps they put down for you to wheel the chair on and if you are staying on site the buses have lifts/ramps as well, although Amy tended to get out of the chair and I folded it up to use the buses, but the drivers still insisted on coming out and helping us to get onto the bus, even though my DH was there!

Try not to worry about it too much, it will all fit into place - when you approach a ride just ask the CM which entrance you need to use and they will guide you quite happily and see to it that you don't have a problem.

Mandy
xx

 

[pcarathers]

My dad uses a wheelchair we took from home. Last year was the first year we used it. We never went to Guest Relations for a card, but never had a problem in the parks. There are always CMs at the ride entrances who direct you which way to go. There were only a couple of rides that we had to stay in the main queue, others we got to bypass. Everyone in your party gets to bypass as well so that you get to ride together. Shows were great because you got really good seats.

Don't worry about someone taking your wheelchair. If you rent one, they give you a name card for ID. You can also add something to your chair to give it an extra way to ID it. Try a balloon or (like we did) tie a carpenter's pouch to the back, so that you have extra pockets. That will make yours stand out from someone else's. Even if someone takes the chair, tell a CM and they will replace it.

Buses are fairly easy as well. They load chair-bound people first, then their family, then everyone else. If you have a large group, this COULD be a problem (with other people's attitude). We had 7 in our party, so 1 of us would get on with dad, and the rest of us would stand in the regular line. Dad would just wait til we got toward the front, then move up to be loaded.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Rent one - if it does get appropriated (in error or otherwise) take your receipt to the rental area and pick up another one

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I feel ya! My mother will be joining us for our upcoming December trip. She has a degenerative bone disorder in her spine which is gradually causing the bones to become misshapen and some are closing in on the spinal cord. She can walk okay just not for long periods of time. In fact, she can't be in any one position for long periods of time. Too much sitting, too much laying down, or too much walking/standing has the same effect. She has to move around. Mom was initially concerned about the wheelchair situation. She is adamant that she does not want an ECV because being able to walk behind and hold onto a wheelchair is as important as having it available to sit in. Renting a chair in the parks isn't an option because I think just getting into the parks could be too much at times. She recently bought her own chair for use in malls, etc. but we don't want to chance it being stolen. Our best alternative is to rent from an off-site medical supply company. One of my aunts requires an ECV when she visits WDW and always rents from the same off-site company. ((She's permanently disabled as a result of a car accident 15+ years ago.)) Basically you make the reservation, the day of your arrival the company will deliver the chair to bell services at your resort, and you go pick it up when you get there. On check-out day you return the chair to bell services and the company will come pick it up. Voila! This way you have the use of the chair at the resort as well as to/from the parks. The rental rates with the off-site companies are very reasonable, too.

 

[shoppingnut]

I would definitely recommend renting one from an outside company so that you have it for around the resort. Depending on your resort, it could be a long walk to your room from the bus stop. Even at the deluxes, your room could be quite a distance from the hotel's center, so it's best to have one on hand if you need it.

 

[lac628]

During a trip a couple years ago, my sister sprained her ankle. My brother in law went to the front desk at our resort (either Pop or All Stars, can't remember) and told them what happened. They gave her a wheelchair to use for the duration of their trip for FREE! She was able to take it to the parks and use it at the resorts. I think my BIL had to give his drivers license and maybe a credit card number in case he decided to steal it. It worked out well and saved ALOT of money!!!

 

[RedBaron]

Over the past few trips, and even on a more recent trip to a different type of theme park in Virginia, my wife has had an incredibly difficult time walking, with her feet constantly blistering and causing her a great deal of pain in her legs and knees. She suffers from fibromyalgia. She is dead-set on our upcoming trip in September of getting a wheelchair to move around the parks with. I'm not so concerned over the cost of having to do so as I am over what to do with the thing when we go on the rides. She CAN walk, she just can't walk all over the parks like we had done in the past. So we'll be having to roll up to a particular attraction and leave the wheelchair aside until we exit it. My question is.....how would we go about doing this? I wouldn't want someone else walking off with our wheelchair, so where do the attractions have areas for locking up or holding onto guests' rented wheelchairs? I'm already getting a headache thinking about it and how much of a pain it'll be, but I want my wife to have a good time too, and not have to go back to the room and get off her feet and miss a lot of the fun. Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated.

I have rented a chair for my mom on 2 visits now. There are places to park your chair/stroller. No one has ever taken our chair and there is a place that you write your name on the back. My mom can also walk for long enough to wait in line for rides, but getting from attraction to attraction is another story. I know she saved some money by getting a multiple day rental for the chair. The only part that was a bit of a pain for me was pushing the thing. It is amazing how many hills there are at WDW that you don't actually notice till you are pushing someone who weighs a bit more than you do in a wheel chair all day. It was worth it though since it made the difference between going or not going to WDW.

 

[kstella]

Maybe a scooter would be a better idea. I always feel so bad for the people who end up pushing a wheelchair around. With a scooter, the person can be self-propelling! A scooter also has a key, so no issue with it being taken.

 

[DisneyJunkie]

Maybe a scooter would be a better idea. I always feel so bad for the people who end up pushing a wheelchair around. With a scooter, the person can be self-propelling! A scooter also has a key, so no issue with it being taken.

We did consider that, and it would be much easier physically.......but cost is a concern and it's $10 a day for the wheelchair and $45 for the motorized scooter.

 

[smk]

During a trip a couple years ago, my sister sprained her ankle. My brother in law went to the front desk at our resort (either Pop or All Stars, can't remember) and told them what happened. They gave her a wheelchair to use for the duration of their trip for FREE! She was able to take it to the parks and use it at the resorts. I think my BIL had to give his drivers license and maybe a credit card number in case he decided to steal it. It worked out well and saved ALOT of money!!!

What a great idea! Glad it worked out so well and it is good to know that may be an option should anyone ever have a need.