Our first time traveling with our special needs son.

[Mouse's Shadow]

This is a trip report of sorts, but it will deal with our experiences traveling with our son who is wheelchair bound. I thought about putting it under trip reports, but thought it would better be suited for here. :confused3 I do plan on writing a TR for that board.

This was our first time traveling with our son since an accident left him severely handicapped 5 years ago. I had so many questions as I planned this trip, and I went to multiple sources to find answers. Yet, there was information that was hard to aquire. Some things that we just had to figure out for ourselves. :rolleyes: So this is a record of our experiences; hopefully it will help those who may have the same questions or fears or concerns..

Our first hurdle was the flight. I wasn't sure what it would be like going through security. Things went fairly smoothly. We arrived at Port Columbus around 10 a.m. for a 12:25 flight. Since it was Saturday, the airport was virtually empty. Security scanned Jared and his wheelchair. They went thorough everything. I think they were even more thorough because they weren't busy. My son has a G-tube. I took a bottle of Ensure in the backpack, because I knew he would have to have something in his stomach before we would get our luggage. (I had shipped his food and other medical items down on Monday. but I wasn't sure how long it would take to have them delivered to the room once we arrived.) :scratchin They questioned it, but let it go through. However, I did have a bottle of peroxide that was unopened that they confiscated. Not a big deal. My son has an ear that has a wound that has had a difficult time healing. We actually discovered that you can buy peroxide in small 4 oz bottles at the hotel. We were traveling with 5 carry-ons. Two were filled with medical and related items for my son. TSA officers emptied out all the contents and swabbed the inside of both of these bags ::cop: They allowed everything except the peroxide. I was even surprised that they allowed my Tide Pen through. (I found out later that they confiscated my friend's Tide Pen at the airport in Birmingham, AL.)

I had never seen a handicapped person loaded onto an airplane. So it was very interesting. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures. We were flying on a small commuter plane that was only 3 seats wide. They took our party down the elevator to the tarmac. They had a narrow seat with a seat belt to which we transfered my son into. Then they loaded the chair onto a lift and elevated him to the plane. They turned my son so that he was facing the front of the plane, then pushed him back, just beyond his seat. My husband then transfered him into his seat. My son is 21 years old and is 6'2". yet he was comfortable in the seat. We had taken the footrests off of his chair and stowed them in an overhead compartment. His wheelchair was stowed in the cargo hold. I was amazed at how smoothly everything went. I had nightmares about trying to get this kid on the plane. What was I worried about; of course things would go well. We were on our way to the most magical place on earth, right? :wizard: We were cleared for takeoff. :bounce:

Coming up next: Goodbye 48 degrees and raining - Hello 85 degrees and sunny. :sunny: and Magical Express.

[cymomtx]

FYI - the lastest studies on wound healing have showed that peroxide does more damage then good. Have you talked to a wound care specialist about his ear? The studies show that the peroxide kills the good cells along with the bad cells and prolongs healing of wounds.

[MightyMom]

I'm interested in hearing more! Don't stop now.

BTW.... I was having a debate with a friend recently. I told her I felt very blessed that my son was born with a disability rather than become disabled later in life. For my son it's all he knows..... he doesn't know what it's like to be physically independent.... so he doesn't miss it. He was my first born.... so it's all I knew..... I didn't know what it was like to have a "typical" child.
I think it would be so much more difficult on a family in your situation. I'm just curious, do you agree?

[Mouse's Shadow]

Thanks for the info. Cymomtx. It's all healed up. It was an open wound for two years. I started using peroxide about 4 weeks ago, and now it's all healed up. No more seeping or bleeding :banana: It had actually quit seeping before we left for Disney. I was just taking it just in case. But thanks for the info. We can always use all the help we can get. :goodvibes

[Mouse's Shadow]

Hi Mightymom. Thanks for reading. Actually we have been very blessed. Our son has adusted amazingly well to his condition. He suffered a taumtic brain injury at the age of 16. He is the most positive person I have ever met. He has a great sense of humor and has worked very hard to achieve things that most doctors did not think possible. He has had to relearn how to move every muscle in his body. He started with his eyes, then his left elbow and knee, then moved on to ankle, wrist and fingers. It took two and half years for him to get his neck strong enough to hold his head up for any length of time. He has never had the anger and frustration issues that often accompany a head injury. If things had been different and he had not accepted his condition, and if he weren't so happy, I would have had a much harder time coping with things. We have been very blessed. :goodvibes

I love the picture of your kids. I will be posting pics soon. I have to get my computer fixed first. I'm taking it in first thing Monday. :badpc:

[Mouse's Shadow]

If I had fretted about anything, it was the plane ride. :sad2: Jared, the DS, doesn't swallow well. Stroke damage after the accident has left some permanent muscle damage on the left side of his face. It's hard for him to control his mouth muscles. I was really afraid that the pressure in his ears would make him misserable. 10 years earlier his little sister cried on the flights to and from FL because her ears hurt. His ENT had assured me that the ear itself was flight worthy. (We've had 2 operations and an open wound for 2 years.) I still worried about the pressure changes. (I can find many things to worry about :) )

I thing I held my breath for the first 30 minutes of the flight. But as it turned out, there was no need to worry. He did great. Must be that Disney Magic. :wizard:

Instead, it would be me who would ache during the flight. You see I thought I was ready for all things great and small. I had gotten my son a small DVD player to watch movies on the plane and in the room. I thought I was so smart. But when he got on the plane, the flight attendent took our big bag and stowed it underneath the plane. Jared's DVD player was safely stowed in a backpack in the cabin, but the movies were in the bag that they stowed underneath. So Jared spent the entire two hours poking me in the arm. He thought is was hilarious and laughed hysterically during the entire flight.:lmao: ( He has some short term memory problems so telling him to stop only worked for a few minutes then he was right back at it.) My arm was bruised by the time we touched down at MCO. The moral of the story: Put a movie in the DVD player before you leave home. I would not make that mistake again. :teeth:

After we arrived in FL we were the last to depart the plane. And it takes some time to get the chair and lift in place so the process took awhile. A Delta employee put our big carry-ons on a wheelchair and escorted us to Magical Express. Delta provided fantastic service. It only took about 10 minutes to get through the ME line. I got in line while the rest of the party waited at the side. It took another 25 minutes for an accessible bus to POR to arrive. And then we were on our way. In all it took about 2 hrs from the time the plane arrived at the gate until we were unloading at the hotel. I can not fault Disney for the long length of time. It just takes awhile to travel with the wheelchair. I would recommend using ME to anyone in a wheelchair. I don't think we would have gotten to the hotel any sooner if we would have had to wait for an accessible van to transport us.

Next, Let the Magic begin. OK so there was a small glitch in the magic, but it did show up on our doorstep.

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for the nice trip report and glad things worked out well for you.
(I know very well the poking in the arm or side feeling).

I have to say that now I feel like I'd better write a trip report too.

[BillSears]

BTW.... I was having a debate with a friend recently. I told her I felt very blessed that my son was born with a disability rather than become disabled later in life. For my son it's all he knows..... he doesn't know what it's like to be physically independent.... so he doesn't miss it. He was my first born.... so it's all I knew..... I didn't know what it was like to have a "typical" child.
I think it would be so much more difficult on a family in your situation. I'm just curious, do you agree?

I had my spine injury 1 month before my 18th birthday. From my personal experience I feel I was better off having the injury then instead of at birth. I do know however that life is what you make of it, so there are some who will handle it no matter when they were injured and others who never do adjust.

For me growing up walking let my personality develop fully without one more thing to worry about. Would I be different if I had been unable to walk from birth? Would I be a better person? Would I be a worse person? All I know is I am who I am(thanks Popeye) and I'm happy enough being me.

One thing that is true is that by being a stubborn 17/18 year old during my injury I've been unwilling to accept the "physically dependent" tag. I may not be able to walk, there may be places I can't get to in my wheelchair. But I can go pretty much everywhere accessible on my own. I work and support myself, I do my own cleaning, cooking and take care of everything I can reach in the house. I'm planning a solo driving trip to WDW this December and I'm in the beginning stages of planning a solo 6 week cross country driving trip to celebrate the year I turn 50(2009). We're all different and EVERYONE has problems and limitations but we overcome/adapt to them or we might as well just give up and die.

[SueM in MN]

BTW.... I was having a debate with a friend recently. I told her I felt very blessed that my son was born with a disability rather than become disabled later in life. For my son it's all he knows..... he doesn't know what it's like to be physically independent.... so he doesn't miss it. He was my first born.... so it's all I knew..... I didn't know what it was like to have a "typical" child.
I think it would be so much more difficult on a family in your situation. I'm just curious, do you agree?
My older DD was a very precocious child. She was walking by 10 months and talking in 3-5 word sentences by 15 months. By 3 yrs old, she was using words like "fragile" in sentences and knew what it meant.

So, when my younger DD was born, we sort of were hoping for the same thing, but expecting she might not be quite as "quick" at doing things as her sister was. She did everything within the times she was 'expected' to, but didn't do anything well. (For example, she sat up by herself in the time range that is considered 'normal', but she was unsteady and would fall over easily). She also did some unusual things - she refused to touch blocks (but you could see that she really wanted to play with them) and she would cry when she saw other babies playing with the blocks. She was very social and engaged people. They usually guessed her correct age, but would ask if she had been premature (she was actually 2 weeks late, but was very small at birth). By the time she was 18 months old and was not walking or putting words together, we knew there was something that needed further evaluation. That's when we found out she had cerebral palsy.

The thing I feel blessed about is that we got a chance to know our younger DD for 18 months before we had to deal with her disability. While it is true that she has never known what it is like to not have a disability, even as a baby, she was very aware that other people could do things that she could not (the reason she cried when the other babies could play with the blocks). We have a lot of poignant memories of her as a young child - things like her 'directing' her sister to go on the swings, slide and other playground equipment so she could watch.

[D,L and K's Mom]

Thank you so much for posting. I have a wonderful 16 year old who had a stroke at 6 months. David is a doll. We have gone to WDW many times . I was so happy to hear you had a good expereince with Delta and the flight. We have had 2 terrible flights with Delta (long stories, really bad laoding DS on and off the plane, got him stuck on the lift for 20 minutes etc... :sad2: ). I can't wait to hear more about your trip!!!! Was the flight home as easy with the loading and off loading??

[MightyMom]

[QUOTE=BillSears]
For me growing up walking let my personality develop fully without one more thing to worry about. Would I be different if I had been unable to walk from birth? Would I be a better person? Would I be a worse person? All I know is I am who I am(thanks Popeye) and I'm happy enough being me.
[QUOTE]

I wonder too if my son would be different if he wasn't born with a disability. He is so loving, giving and respectful. He really has a heart of gold. He is also very determined.

The other day he asked if I thought he could be an astronaut. In class they were discussing what they wanted to be when they grew up. One kid told Jordan he couldn't be an astronaut because he couldn't walk.

I told him that in space no one walks anyway..... so if that's what he wants to do he should do it.

Right now Jordan is physically dependent on me because he's young. But the older he gets, the harder it is on me to care for him. It's forcing him to become more independent. Already he's becoming more independent around the house. You should have seen the look of shock and horror on his face when I told him he had to start fixing his own snacks. It was hilarious! I think he was delighted that I thought he could do it...... but scared because he had never done it before.

My goal for him is to go off to college and live on his own. Is it possible? I don't know..... but how will we ever know unless I challenge him to reach his fullest potential.

[MightyMom]

The thing I feel blessed about is that we got a chance to know our younger DD for 18 months before we had to deal with her disability.

My son was born 2 1/2 months premature. He was sick from the day he was born. The day he turned 3 months old he woke up and his eyes were crossed.....not just a little crossed..... so crossed you couldn't see the dark part of his eye at times. We went to the pediatrician... and that's the first time we heard the words cerebral palsy. A month later following an MRI....he was diagnosed.

Now he's 7 years old and he's had more surgeries than birthdays. I try so hard to make his life as "normal" as possible..... it was easier when he was younger. Now he's becoming aware that people stare at him, or "baby" him..... or the worst..... pity him.

[Mouse's Shadow]

I feel like I need to introduce the whole crew to you. (Sorry forgot to do that earlier) There were five of us traveling from Ohio together.
ME - the planner, the worrier, the coordinator, the worrier. did I mention
the worrier?
DH - Not a Disney fanatic, but loves vacation
DS - 21 has a great sense of humor and knows how to make people smile
DMIL & DFIL - Offered to come with us to help with DS so that DH and I
could have a vacation as well. What great In-laws :love:

Friends from Alabama met us
FS - Friend Sharon & FR - Friend Randy We've been friends for over 21 years,
but never get to spend enough time together.

The Ohio crew arrived at POR around 4:20. I went in and checked us in while they waited for the carry-ons. I had heard that the entire party must be present, but they processed our checkin without anyone else being at the window. However, I discovered I had made another error. (How could my planning have gone so awry? :confused3 :teeth: ) Because we were on the meal plan and DS doesn't eat, (He is on a nocturnal tube feed, which I give a bolus suppliment to during the day.) DS was not includeded in the reservation. Instead he appeared as a footnote. I had to purchase his park tickets seperately and pick them up at willcall. Only I forgot that I had to have the confirmation number to pick them up. The book I had written it in was packed in the checked luggage. Just another lesson in life: when you think you're prepared, your probably not. :teacher: So I would have to wait and pick it up at the park. The parks have a master program for such tickets. The hotels do not. No big deal; I'm at Disney. :yay:

Are you ready for the magical glitch?Here it comes! The nice CM hands me a map with our room numbers on it. It's all circled and everything. I rejoin the crew in the rotunda, we go out the backdoors and we're stopped short. There is no wheelchair ramp. The whole central building wraps around the marina. I walk down the steps to see if I can see which of the 20 doors (ok, a small exaggeration, but not by much) on the back of this building is accessible. But those darn Disney landscapers are so clever, they are all hidden from site. So I lug the 3 carry-ons, I'm carrying, back inside. I tell everyone to stay put. I'll ask where an accessible door might be. I go back to the CM that just gave me the wonderful map and asked my (what I thought was a pretty legitimate) question. He got a funny look on his face and asked, "did you try all the doors?" :wave2: Hello, I'm asking you so I don't have to lug these 3 bags to all 20 doors. He offered no other help. So I lugged my bags back out the door and just started waking in the direction of our room until I came upon one of those cleverly hidden entryways. I went back to the rotunda collected everyone else and we were off.

It was a great location. We were in building 14, with accessible room 1401 and connecting room 1402. FS and FR were in 1407. We were close to the food court and the South Depot. Which is the first POR stop. We heard others complain that the other stops seemed to have less busses pulling through. And just when you thought that the magical glitch had passed it pops up once again . :joker:

I opened the door to the accessible room, but it would only open a few inches. :confused3 I squeezed in only to find out that the hospital bed that we had rented prevented the door from opening any further. There must have been grimlins at play. :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: I fail to believe that a real person would have walked out of the room thinking, "I'm sure it's fine, they probably won't use the door much anyway." I called the front desk and told them the dilemma. But by this time, I'm a little tense. :scared:

Within minutes a nice CM came in. We decided that If we took the table, a chair and a nightstand out, we could move the bed over far enough to not only be able to use the door, but also use the connecting door. He also offered to move the bed over, but we decided that it wasn't necissary. We even had room to park DS's chair by the TV amoir. Within 10 minutes 3 other teams of people showed up at the door to offer assistance. The magic was back! :wizard:

Next: Our Vacaton officially begins.

[PaMom001]

Great report. I would've been a little tense by the time I hit the room, too. :thumbsup2

[Mouse's Shadow]

Hi D,L & K's Mom,

Thanks for tuning in. We were very lucky. We had no problems getting him on or off the plane on our return trip either. We did have a glitch, however, it didn't involve Delta. You'll just have to wait to hear about it. :rotfl2:

[SueM in MN]

Are you ready for the magical glitch?Here it comes! The nice CM hands me a map with our room numbers on it. It's all circled and everything. I rejoin the crew in the rotunda, we go out the backdoors and we're stopped short. There is no wheelchair ramp. The whole central building wraps around the marina. I walk down the steps to see if I can see which of the 20 doors (ok, a small exaggeration, but not by much) on the back of this building is accessible. But those darn Disney landscapers are so clever, they are all hidden from site.
::yes::
I know that door. The first time we stayed at POR, it really surprised us and it took us some time to figure out where there was a door we could use too.

The one thing to remember about WDW is that if there are stairs, there is usually a ramp somewhere quite close by.

Can hardly wait for the next installment.

[Mouse's Shadow]

We got settled into our rooms and then couldn't wait to get something to eat. The TSA had allowed me to take a can of Ensure through security. The boxes I had shipped had arrived at the hotel, but they weren't in the room yet, so I was glad to have something to put in Jared's stomach. :cheer2:

We went to the foodcourt at POR. Our experience with the tables were pretty standard to what we experienced all week. Jared is 6'2" and has a Quickie TS chair with a tiltback feature. His tops of his knees are about 29" off the floor. I don't recall any restaurant with tables which would allow his legs to fit under. I don't know how others have handled this situation. It wasn't a big deal for us because he doesn't eat; so we were able to position him sideways to the table. I have never read any comments about table height on the DIS before, but it would be interesting to know how others handled it.

We then found our way to the bus stop for our first encounter with transportation. The first bus that we road, the steps unfolded into a lift. The only trouble with this design is that it makes for a three foot step up for whoever is putting the wheelchair (WC)on board. Again we had no problem, but if a wheelchair user is being accompanied by someone with slight mobility restrictions, I can see where it could be difficult. We arrived at the MK around 7 pm. We headed straight for JC. I figured that would be a tame first attempt. The lines weren't long and there was only one other WC user infront of us, and he was able to transfer. The next boat that pulled up was accessible, and it would be the first of many times that I would marvel at Disney's ingenuity. The lift rose up spun 90 degrees, then unfolded a lift to the side of the boat. So we pulled Jared on backwards, they spun the lift then spun to face him forward in the boat and then lowered him down. It was cool. It was dark and we had a very funny captain. :sail: It was a wonderful introduction to our week.

Next we tried POC. This is were it would really help to have a more comprehensive guide to what transfers are like. There are some very narrow turns in the line. We discovered that this is a ride that you must be able to step up on the side then down into the boat. DS can not make that kind of transfer. If you want to practice a home. I would say that a good way to gauge if it is a transfer that you can make, put a step beside the bathtube. Step up then step down into the tube. DH lifed DS into the boat. I'm glad we were able to do it one time, but it was too hard on DH to try another attempt. The bright side is that DS was able to see Captain Jack at least one time through. pirate: :woohoo: The POC movies are some of DS's favorites

Then we headed to TTRUNM. It was my DMIL request. She had been to MK several times, but never had the tiki bird experience. I love the Tiki birds, plus I had been playing the song for DS for weeks. He did the happy dance through the entire show.

Afterwards, everyone was showing signs of fatique. It was time to make our way back to the hotel. Spectromagic was going on, so we made our way through the stores inorder to avoid the crowded sidewalks. It worked great. We got to the top of Main Street about the time the parade was ending. We called it a night.

It might be a few days before I make it back. Have to drop the old computer off for repairs. :badpc: :badpc: :badpc:

[MarieS]

Thanks for posting! Can't wait for the next installment! :sunny:
Both of my boys use wheelchairs so I am always looking for hints on how others handle travel and the parks. Glad to hear you were able to take the can of formula on the plane. I plan on shipping our stuff down, but wanted to have something with me for travel day.

Marie

[Karalynn]

Lovin the TR!! popcorn::

[SueM in MN]

Jared is 6'2" and has a Quickie TS chair with a tiltback feature. His tops of his knees are about 29" off the floor. I don't recall any restaurant with tables which would allow his legs to fit under. I don't know how others have handled this situation. It wasn't a big deal for us because he doesn't eat; so we were able to position him sideways to the table. I have never read any comments about table height on the DIS before, but it would be interesting to know how others handled it.
It would be nice if they had some adjustable height tables, but I have never seen those outside of schools. I know at the hospital where I work, we have some tables that are considered 'wheelchair accessible height'. The problem with those tables, is that they are too high for other people.
We have noticed the table heights vary a lot. Some were high enough to fit DD's armrests under the table (more than 28 inches). Some were barely high enough to get her knees under the table (about 26 inches). The other thing we noticed was that some tables had legs or pedestals that prevented her wheelchair to go under all the way.
The first bus that we road, the steps unfolded into a lift. The only trouble with this design is that it makes for a three foot step up for whoever is putting the wheelchair (WC)on board. Again we had no problem, but if a wheelchair user is being accompanied by someone with slight mobility restrictions, I can see where it could be difficult.
I'm not quite sure what you mean here.
When we put DD's wheelchair on this kind of bus, DH usually goes on the lift with her wheelchair, so he walks right onto the flat-to-the ground lift.
I can see that there might not be room for someone to stand on the lift with a larger wheelchair, but I'm not sure how that makes a 3 foot step up. Please explain a bit more.

Luckily, the buses with lifts are the older buses that are being phased out. There are more of the ramp buses and those are the kind that the older buses are being replaced with.

[Mouse's Shadow]

:wave2: I'm back and in business. Now I can post pictures. (I just have to figure out how to do it.) :rotfl2:

I will post the next installment later today.

Hi SueMn - I have a picture of loading DS on the bus. His Wheelchair length is too long to allow someone to ride on the lift with him, so DH would step up on the bus before the lift went up. I'll try to figure out the picture posting tonight.

[Mouse's Shadow]

I tried to leave a lot of flexibility in our itinerary. Our first scheduled activity was our lunch ADR at Epcot. I wanted to make sure that DS had plenty of time to recuperate from the excitement of the first day.

DMIL and I had planned on being at the MK for the opening ceremony. Since it was October 1, I was curious to see if they had any special additions to kick off the Million Dreams campaign. If there was anything, we missed it.

We returned to the room, from our whirlwind tour of MK, around 10:30. DS had awoken around 8:00. DH was the first to try out the roll-in shower with DS. It worked well. The rails were on the left side of the shower, which allowed DS to hang on while being scrubbed. However the toilet rails were on the right side, so they were not of use to us. I would rather have the shower rails usable than the toilet rails. I did not make any specific request concerning the rails when we booked the room, so I don't know if they are able to honor that type of request.

We expected our friends at the hotel around 9:30 am, but when 11:00 rolled around they still had not arrived. We left a message for them, then headed off to the bus stop. As we waited I noticed two people coming out of the lobby that looked familiar, even from a distance. It was them, FR and FS. :bounce: I have a big mouth, so I have no doubt that they heard me squealing with glee. They had not made it to their room, nontheless, they decided to stow their carry-on in a locker at Epcot and join us for the fun. (Thank goodness they travel light)

We encountered a new type of bus. With the touch of a button, the whole right side of the bus lowered toward the curb and a ramp pulled out of the bus. We later encountered another bus that also lowered toward the curb, but the ramp folded out. These buses alleviated the presence of the awkward large step for my DH.

When we arrived at Epcot, we got a fastpasses for Soarin, then made our way to Morroco. We had a 1:00 ADR for Resaurant Merrakesh. We had plenty of time to look around the exhibits, before our time to be seated. I was very disappointed to discover that the restaurant was almost empty.

We arrived just before the belly dancer's show began, so we got to see it twice while we were there. My DS loved it. The performer danced her way to him during both performances. She danced for him, gave him a hug and took a moment for a photo. It made DS feel very special. DFIL gave him a hard time during the rest of the week, telling him it wasn't fair, because he didn't get any attention from the pretty girl. It made my son laugh with excitement every time my DFIL mentioned it.

The food was great. In fact it was one of our favorite meals. Everyone loved their food. We had a couple of picky eaters, but they were very satisfied. My DFIL had no problem finding something that suited his needs. He is diabetic, however, he is able to control his diabetes through his diet and with exercise. Even if you have picky eater, try this restaurant it is worth it.

After lunch we still had some time before we could use our fastpasses, so we went to the Imagination pavillion, picked up a time slip for HISTA and found our way to ride Figment. This ride has a wheelchair accessible car. This ride was a walk-on, but we had to wait for several trains to go through until the accessible car arrived. We didn't mind the CMs were very chatty and kept us entertained while we waited. DS's chair was a tight fit, but made it on just fine. I wish we had taken time to do one of the photo ops. after the ride, but we didn't. Maybe next time.

We went to HISTA. I transfered him into a seat, because I wanted him to have the full effects of the show. Honestly, I don't remember if it was necessary; some 3-D shows it is and others it is not. DS loved it. :3dglasses He has very little vission in one eye, so I wondered if he would get the full effect, but he laughed through the whole show. :joker:

We then went to use our fastpasses. I understand now why the elevator to get to the lower level can be a pain. I am glad we were there in the off -season. I would hate to see the line during a busy time. I can understand why some people are frustrated with the single elevator for everyone with mobility issues. However, I must say that Soarin was the easiest ride at WDW to manuver a standing pivot transfer. The floor is concrete, so there is no trouble with DS's feet sticking during the pivot. And there is plenty of room to manuver the wheelchair. This was everyone's favorite ride. :tinker:

By the time we got out of the Land it was going on 5:30. DS was ready for a break and so were FS and FR, who had been up since 2:30 am. so we headed back to the hotel. It was after 6:00 when we arrived. I hadn't planned on staying at Epcot so long. I figured we would head to MK and ride a few rides and watch the parade and fireworks. It was EMH that night so I had planned that DH, FS, FR and I would stay late while the other 3 called it a night. But DFIL had had enough for the day. They decided to keep DS and stay at the hotel while the rest of us spent our evening at MK.

It was a great day, and I am so glad that DMIL and DFIL were with us. It gave DH and I some time for ourselves. It made it a vacation for everyone.

Tune in next time for our up close and personal dolphin experience.

[Scutapipig]

I'm really enjoying this report! Thank you for sharing!

[wide awake]

Great trip report !!!

As to the from birth or later question...DS is autistic...was precocious for the first 18-20 months...he still expects to be that person, and is very hard on himself. I am glad we had the experience of normal development...glad I was smart enough to enjoy everyone of those magical days. Sometimes I read threads on the other boards, and I really wonder what these people are thinking...complaints about this and that when they have healthy children...hello, that is as good as it gets.

[Purple Princess]

I am enjoying reading your adventure. My daughter has a Make A Wish trip in 2 1/2 weeks and she is in a wheelchair due to Cerebral Palsy. I am worried about what she can and cannot do so this is a big help. She isn't tall as your Son but she is heavy. She is 5'1" and 155 lbs. so it's dead weight. She is mentally 4 ish so she doesn't like to help us out much plus she has a lot of pain with her back due to Scoliosis. Can anyone tell me about the family restrooms at each park, where they located etc? My hubby will have to help me with this. I can't lift more than 5 lbs due to surgery complications so it'll be all on him. I read somewhere that there is a room that will allow you to get the wheelchair person out of their chair to relax on a sofa etc. Does anyone know where this is? It would help DD a great deal.
Any info anyone has that may help me please write. This is our first vacation ever, DD is 21 but with all her medical needs we couldn't go anywhere, so we are anxious to make this a dream trip to remember.

Thanks guys! :lovestruc

[Purple Princess]

wideawake, I agree completely with what you said. To have a healthy child is God's biggest blessing. People don't realize how blessed they are. I'd sure trade places with them and all their so called problems with their "normal" kids. That would be a piece of cake!

[PixiePoppins]

I feel like I'm reading a good book and can't wait for the next chapter...thanks for sharing with such great detail and humor! It's especially good reading now as I can't seem to sleep at 2 am...

My experience on the birth vs later disability...we are in the latter category. DD was hit by a terrible stroke at 4 that nearly killed her and left a lot of problems. Before that she was quite the precocious little girl, at 18 months she had well over 100 words and big ones at that. She was so funny and had just discovered a love of dance. She's now 7 and the last 3 years have been overwhelming as she continues to recover. Physically she managed to avoid any problems, but she has many cognitive and ADHD issues. It has been and continues to be a long road, but we are blessed and grateful that she is still with us and making progress. I miss the old kid terribly, it's as if that person had died, but lately I have been seeing a little more of her and that brings a lot of joy. I struggle at times thinking this isn't who she was supposed to be, but then a little voice inside of me says that she is probably exactly who she was meant to be. I wouldn't give those 4 years of "normalcy" back for the world and I sure would trade all the struggles in a heartbeat, but we're making it because there is no other option...with more patience than I ever dreamed would be needed, a lot of love and support, laughter whenever possible, and of course a trip to Disney in 7 weeks!!! DD is a MAW kid as she still has a risk for another stroke...we pray that never happens and will probably be heading for more treatment in the new year...long story.

Sorry for the long reply...just my 2 am ramblings...

Looking forward to the next chapter of this trip! :wave:

[Cheshire Figment]

Purple Princess. First of all, :welcome: to disABILTIES!

Here is a link to the WDW list of Companion Restroom locations (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/common/Plain?id=PlainHomePage#restrooms).

Each of the Parks, including the water parks, has a first aid station staffed with at least two RNs at all times the Park is open. If there is need to take a break they would be able to assist you.

If you click on where it says "disABILTIES" at the top of this page it will take you to the Index. The fifth item down is the "disABILTIES FAQ" which will gives lots of useful information. Item three within the FAQ has a lot of further links.

Please feel free to ask more questions, especially specific ones. However, it would be better to start a new thread rather than latching onto a different topic. That can be done from the Index page; there is a button just above the list of topics.

[MarieS]

I read somewhere that there is a room that will allow you to get the wheelchair person out of their chair to relax on a sofa etc. Does anyone know where this is? It would help DD a great deal.


The First Aid station in each park has cubicles with cots and curtains for privacy. They also have a restroom there. My boys would not have been able to enjoy themselves as much without rest breaks to get out of their chairs. Have a good trip! :wizard:

[Mouse's Shadow]

I want to thank all of you who are reading along, and thank you for your kind words.

Purple Princess, You and your family will have many moments of enjoyment. After making our first trip with DS to The World, it's hard to imagine going to any other destination that could accommodate his medical and physical needs as well as Disney. It will be the measure of all furture trips. (I'm already thinking about the next trip, although, it probably won't take place for three years. We have to save you know. Plus it gives me plenty of time to worry about it.) :lmao:

Pixie Poppins, You seem to have a very positive attitude. That's how we all survive and thrive. Normal is a relative term. I will get to tell my son that I love him, every day of my life, and I will get to feel his kind touch. What more could a mother ask for. ( I know; I ended a sentence with a preposition. So sue me. :teeth: )

Ok, on with the story! :dance3:

My 5:30 wake up call was my trumpet to begin the day I had anxiously awaited for for a year. It was our day with the dolphins. DS has short term memory problems. And not wanting him to forget the big day we were planning, I would entice him with thoughts of interacting with the dolphins several times a week. (Yes, I did this for a year. :fish: I'm sure that deep down he's probably happy to have short term memory problems.)

I had read about the Dolphins in Depth Program in the "Official" Disney guide. Then went on-line to "Deb's Unofficial Guide" to see what comments they offered. (Very complementary) I called Disney to inquire if the program was accessible. We would have to be able to transfer DS and put a wet suit on him. As in the theme parks, CMs can not assist in transfers.They assured me that the program welcomed wheelchair users. I was sold. When we were preparing to book our trip, I told FS about the program, she was sold as well. They only take 8 people a day.

We met at Guest Relation outside the park at 9:30 am. And our adventure began by meeting the 3 CMs that would be hosting the program for the day. They alerted us that all Dolphin interaction is voluntary, and that the dolphins were often distracted by the activity of the construction workers. (Construction was taking place for the new ride that opens soon at the Living Seas) They could not gaurantee that the dolphins would cooperate, and offered a refund to anyone who didn't want to risk the chance. No one took them up on their offer.

The program is wonderful. The whole experience is very interesting. I was afraid that the informational parts wouldn't hold DS's attention, but the information is dipensed while touring behind the scenes of the living seas. DS had a great time seeing the dolphins in smaller holding tanks, and watching trainers work from the top of the aquarium. DH was amazed to learn that a dolphin can toss a 300 lb wieght 18 ft into the air with its nose. It was learning made fun. :bounce: :teacher: :Pinkbounc

The last 45 minutes of the 3hr program is spent in the water with the dolphins. They gave us wet suites to put on. DH said it was surprisingly easy to get DS suit on. He put DS legs in, then stood him up. It pulled on easily. (However, DH said it was a little harder challenge to get it off. None-the-less he had it off of him before I could get mine off and go to the their locker room.) They had a special chair for DS. Since it is a saltwater enviornment you don't want to take your personnal chair in the water. They put diving weights on him to prevent him from floating up, then took him out onto the shallow platform on the third level of the aquarium. :cool2:

All eight of us were on the platform. While there, the dolphins would swim up to us and allow us to pet them. The trainer would have us give hand motions to make the dolphins do tricks. The hand motion that I did made the dolphin make a farting sound from his blow-hole. DS couldn't stop laughing. :rotfl2:
And we got our pictures taken with a dolphin. It was a great adventure. DS loves to look at the picture of him, DH and the dolphin.

A great footnote to this experience. Disney donates all the money paid by the participants to their conservation programs. What great Disney Magic :wizard:

Next up: A full day at Epcot

[Mouse's Shadow]

After Dolphins in Depth, we headed to Sunshine Season Food Fair to meet up with the rest of the clan. Everyone wanted to ride Soarin again, so we grabbed fastpasses, then made our way to see Crush. There is accessible seating on both sides of the theatre. The interaction between the audience and Crush takes this simple show to new heights. The children's reactions to Crush were priceless. Next we were off to Universe of Energy. I love this show. I love the dinosaurs. Wheelchairs drive right onto the boats. :mickeyjum Afterwards it was time to use our Soarin fastpasses. By this time it was after 4:00 and we had an ADR for the Biergarten restaurant. I wanted to try taking Jared on TT. We picked up fastpasses, and planned to use them after dinner. Only FS and I wanted to ride Mission Space, and we wanted to ride before dinner. The rest of the party decided they would begin making their way toward Germany, and FS and I would catch up. I was surprised to find that the wait time for MS was only 10 minutes. FS works for NASSA so, the ride had a theme that she really enjoyed.

The food at the Biergarten was really good, but we had poor seating. There is only one level that wheelchairs can access. We were seated at the very last table on the left side. I understand that with DS wheelchair having to sit sideways, because it won't fit under the table probably made it the most convienent spot for us to sit. However, we couldn't see the stage. Since DS doesn't eat, it would have been so much better if he could have seen the show. We could see the CM that comes out to the end of the stage, but that was it. In the future I would ask to be seated elsewhere.

By the time we left the German pavilion, it was about 7:00. DMIL and DFIL were ready to sit down for the evening. We headed to the accessible seating for Illuminations that is closest to Mexico. DMIL and DFIL found a seat on a bench. While the rest of us manuvered toward TT.

I had no idea, if the ride would be accessible to DS, I told DH we'll just have to go see, what the transfer looked like. This ride is much like POTC. You have to be able to manuver up over a ledge and down into a car. It is an impossible transfer for DS. But DH surprised me when he picked DS up and lifted him into the car. FR jumped in on the right side of DS. Because of the quick turns,it was necessary to have someone on either side of DS to support his head. DH held one side of his head and FR held the other. We were off. DS loved it, but it scared DH. DH was afraid the jerking might hurt DS. At the end of the ride the CM asked if we would like to ride again. DH gave a quick no. It would be DS only thrill ride during our stay. I'm glad he was able to ride, but DH couldn't take any more fun like that.

Then we rejoined DMIL and DFIL to watch Illuminations. This is where I got yelled at. I sat by DS, while everyone esle with us stood near the back. During the show I got up on my knees to point out some of the effects that were happening and give some narration to the show. DS has poor peripheral vission, so I was just trying to point things out to him. My being on my knees blocked someone's vision behind me. They yelled at me. I'm very sorry for blocking the view. If the person I blocked is on the DIS, please accept my appology. :blush:

After Illuminations, we called it a night. It had been a great day. But thank goodness vacation wasn't over yet, so there would be more great days.

The allusive companion restrooms at AK; next time on the "Supper 7 Go Wild"

[SueOKW]

What a fun trip report - - full of great info and excitement. I'd say you did great so far!

Speaking of head control - i think you can see how tightly our best friend Uncle Andy is holding onto my son Kevin's head in the pic below!

[3DisneyNUTS]

what an awesome report thanks :thumbsup2

[SueOKW]

I'm very very sorry you got yelled at... there's really no need for people to do something like that. It can really be a downer.

Hope you didn't let it stick with you!

[allie_to_you]

WOW, great story. I have truly enjoyed reading about your trip experiences. It's always interesting to see how others with disabilities cope with their surroundings and do things that they might have never thought they could do or that others don't think they can do.

My DH is in a wheelchair. He was born with Spina Bifida, so except for a short time as a young child where he walked with braces and a walker, he has been in a wheelchair his whole life.

We both came to Disney for our honeymoon and while I had been to Disney many times, it was his first time and he was hooked. He was so impressed by everything, especially the accessibility for those with disabilities. I will say that I wish there were more rides that were more accessible for those who can't transfer from their wheelchairs. There are still quite a few rides where if you can't transfer, and you don't have someone in your party that can help you, you can't do the attraction (MS, SE, ToT, RnRc, SM, BTMR, TT, EE, PoC, HM, etc). Even still, my husband and always have a blast and it's always a great romantic vacation for the 2 of us. We return to our favorite place in 67 days!

[Purple Princess]

Cheshire,
I am sorry that I apparently posted out of topic. I didn't realize I was out of line. I was hoping Mouse Shadow could tell me where the restrooms were being she had recently returned from WDW.

Mouse Shadow, please forgive me for intruding. I certainly didn't mean to upset anyone. I have enjoyed reading about your trip and hope ours will be just as wonderful.

[Mouse's Shadow]

Purple Princess,
There is no offense taken. Thanks for reading. As for the restrooms, Passporter's maps have the location of companion restrooms marked on them. I tried to memorize them before I left. The only park that I didn't quite get to was Animal Kingdom. Of course that is where we became most frustrated. I do have a guide, if you could use it I could send it to you. If I remember right, I think you have a trip coming up soon. I'm done with it, so if you could use the maps your welcome to it.

SueOKW,
I'm pretty good at taking things in stride. I did feel bad, but we enjoyed the show.

Allie To You,
Disney is great; there is no doubt. But I too am disappointed that when renovating, accessibility isn't addressed more. For instance, why the one elevator issue at the Land wasn't addressed in it's major renovation last year, or why accessible cars weren't added to the PotC during it's renovation. I'm sure Disney has its reasons, but being on the outside looking in, you wish the issues would be more at the forefront of their thinking.

Got to go for now, be back soon.

[Mouse's Shadow]

I just read through my last trip post. Sorry for the spelling. Not sure what happened. :confused3 I'll try to do better this time.

We are now to day 4.

We had had a great night to rest and regenerate for our AK encounter. Taking the advice of the guides and some DISers, we planned on arriving early to go on a morning safari. We left the hotel about 8 am. We were at AK within 20 minutes of arriving at the bus stop.

I just want to take a moment and say that our Disney transportation experience was excellent. On a couple of occasions there were a couple of wheelchair or EVC users ahead of us. The drivers quickly radioed that another bus was needed, and within minutes one would come to pick us up. On one occasion, as we waited at a park for pick-up, a bus driver for another hotel only had a few passengers on his bus and offered to take us to our hotel. He said it was on his way. I know that we were there in the off-season, but I still think it is worth noting. The drivers were wonderful and offered a good measure of magic to our vacation. :wizard:

I love the tansition between the outside world to the lush vegitation and wonderful greenscape that exist throughout AK. Once inside, we watched the opening ceremony. It was the first time we had seen it. then DMIL and DFIL took DS and headed for KS, while the rest of us sprinted off to EE. I love that ride. :woohoo: Then picking up a fastpass for later, we headed to Africa to join the others. When we arrived at KS, the posted wait time was 10 minutes. However, there were several special needs riders ahead of us, our wait time was about 35 min. It was the longest wait time we had for any ride during our stay, but it was worth it. The animals were indeed active. I got great pictures. DS really liked it.

Afterwards, it was time for breakfast. We stopped at Tusker House for a quick bite. But even by this time it was evident that our party was showing a little wear. We trecked on to PFET, which seemed to be quite crowded. On our way to see FoW we ran into Baloo. (I don't know if I spelled that right, but I figure you know who I mean. :teeth: ) After getting his picture taken with him, DS thumb wrestled him. It was fun to watch, DS was loving it.

It was the first time I had seen FoW. It is a cool show, but it was hard for DS to take in all of the tricks. We sat in the front row, on the far right side of the stage. The show's host stands on the left side. It was pretty far away for DS to see. His poor visual acuity, made it almost impossible for him to see the birds flying from the front to back etc. He just can't track and focus that fast. The rest of us enjoyed it.

By this time it was getting close to noon. We headed back toward EE to use our fastpasses. By the time we got there only FS and myself were up to it. I would have loved to go on the MJT, but time and energy just wouldn't allow it.

I really wanted everyone to see the FotLK. I didn't get to see it when I was there last year with my DD's showchoir. I had heard great things about it from others, and I didn't want to miss it this time.

This is when our weariness really began to show. As we made our way across the park, DS had to use the restroom. I had tried to memorize the location of the companion restrooms, from the Passporter Guide's maps, but AK didn't quite stay with me. We found several restrooms, but no compainion restrooms. We asked several CMs, but they really didn't comprehend what we were asking for. I knew there were restrooms at the end of the trail at Camp Minnie, so we headed in that direction with the hope of finding an allusive companion restroom. Those of you who know your parks, know that we didn't find one there. By this time we were pooped. DH discovered that the accessible stall in the men's restroom was big enough to maneuver DS inside and still be able to shut the door. I have to say that the very few companion restrooms offered at AK surprises me. After all it is the newest park. They seem to be so conveniently dispersed through the other parks, but not AK.

In our quest for a restroom, we missed the 1:00 showing of FotLK by 5 minutes. We were all hungry, so we began looking for somewhere to get real food; not just snack food. We all wanted different things, so by the time we got our food and stuffed it down, it was time for the 2:00 show. We had to walk really fast and we just made it by the skin of our teeth.

We were seated in the front row, right inside the entrance. The show was begining as we sat down. It is a great show and I'm so glad we stayed to see it. Timon came up to DS and took a few moments to interact with him and pose for a picture. What magic. pixiedust: Afterwards we were ready for a rest, after all we had a big night ahead of us.

Next up: a special night of food and fun. party:

[Karalynn]

Your trip report is so great!! :woohoo: Thank you for posting it for us!!!

[Mouse's Shadow]

I'm back. It's been a busy couple of weeks. DS started a new job with U-CO Industries here in town. He is packaging parts to be fed to the assembly line at Honda. He's doing great. They say he is a hard worker and that he is very fast. (Just what a mother wants to hear. :goodvibes ) On Thursday he put together over 135 packages in 2 1/2 hours. Not bad for a one armed bandit. I'm so proud. Enough of the sappy mother stuff,now back to the story.

After spending the first part of the day at AK we headed back to the room. It was already after 3:00 pm, so we skipped having fun at the hotel and gladly took naps. Well, I did laundry. I wish there was some way to get out of it, but the thought of wearing dirty underwear is too gross. :laundy:

We still had a big night ahead of us. We met back at the bus stop around 6:30 wearing our Hawaiian regalia. Guess where we were going? To the luau. :banana:

I had read the reviews, but my DMIL had her heart set on going, and I figured DS might like to see the hulla girls. We knew when we booked our trip that this was one show we wanted to see, so I booked our seats a year in advance. Yes, for a year my DS heard of his upcoming luau experience. (Sometimes short term memory loss can be a gift. :teeth: ) It was burned into long term memory months before we left for vacation.

The method for getting the tickets didn't make sense to me. I had ordered the tickets and paid for them, but when I went to the conceirge to pick them up, they wouldn't give them to me. One member from all three rooms had to be present in order to get the tickets. This was a pain. It took me about 45 minutes to track everyone down. We were scattered throughout the hotel property. When representatives from all three rooms were assembled, we got our tickets. Does anyone know why this happens? It was one reservation and all the tickets were paid with one credit card. :confused3

Anywho, we took the bus to MK then caught the Monorail to the Poly. We had plenty of time, so we made a restroom stop. There was actually a compainion restroom in the loby across from 'Ohana. We followed the trail out to the luau. We had our picture taken, then moved into the holding area and waited to be seated. This wasn't fun. It is a small area that is very crowded. We had to stand there for about 15 minutes before we were seated. Our seats were in the front - middle of the stage. It worked out perfectly for DS. He had a great seat to watch the show. :cheer2:

We found the food to be enjoyable. There was plenty of variety, so everyone had their favorites. The show was fun. It kept DS's attention. He did the happy dance throughout the show. :woohoo: If he had been seated further back, he would have had a hard time trying to keep up with what was going on. So if you're traveling with someone who has visual impairments, or who is easily distracted by constant commotion going on around them, book early to get close seats.

It was a fun evening. I'm glad we went. We went to the 8 pm show and it was around midnight before we got back to our rooms. I would suggest going to the early show if you have small children.

Got to go. Next: a very short day and trying to salvage vacation after a huge disappointment.

[SueM in MN]

Cheshire,
I am sorry that I apparently posted out of topic. I didn't realize I was out of line. I was hoping Mouse Shadow could tell me where the restrooms were being she had recently returned from WDW.

Mouse Shadow, please forgive me for intruding. I certainly didn't mean to upset anyone. I have enjoyed reading about your trip and hope ours will be just as wonderful.




Just want to re-assure you that you were not intruding on this thread with your question.
Cheshire Figment's post was not to say you were off topic or that you should not post your question here.

Usually when people post on a trip report thread, it's comments, not questions. So people are not necessarily looking for general questions in this kind of thread.

Cheshire Figment just meant that if you have a question you want an answer to, you will usually get more answers if you make a new thread asking your question.

[terri01p]

This thread really has touched my heart , so many people and so many different situations, my disabled dd was my first born as well as some on this thread and being in a wheelchair is all she's know and it's all we know, so life goes on , the way we know it to be.