Resort Help Needed and other 1st timer questions

[Sarasein]

We are in the very early stages of planning a trip. We are a family of 5. My youngest has Cerebral Palsy. She is fully mobile, but does wear an afo, and wears out easily. She is currently 6, will be 7 when we go next summer. She has gone to 6 Flags and does well for a day.

We are looking at getting one of the 5 people rooms in Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside. Do the rooms have shower shower bars? She has a hard time getting out of the tub when she is all wet and slippery. I don't want a roll in shower, cause she prefers the tub. But when I was looking I can't find how to book that. Or do all the rooms have bars and I don't need to worry? Is there closer rooms for disabled people or are they all extra money?

We have disability parking from TX. I though I read that we can use this in FL without having to do anything special, right? Is is better to drive our van around or take Disney transportation? And if we drive is there enough disability parking for us to be able to park up close for her? What about if we go to another resort for dinner? Like I was looking at going to the Grand Floridian one night for dinner and looking around.

Should I get her a rental stroller? I worry that after a few days she will be really worn out. I found some bigger ones that would work and then I would have a spot for her to sit. Do they still have the Stroller as a Wheel Chair?

 

[aaarcher86]

We are in the very early stages of planning a trip. We are a family of 5. My youngest has Cerebral Palsy. She is fully mobile, but does wear an afo, and wears out easily. She is currently 6, will be 7 when we go next summer. She has gone to 6 Flags and does well for a day. We are looking at getting one of the 5 people rooms in Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside. Do the rooms have shower shower bars? She has a hard time getting out of the tub when she is all wet and slippery. I don't want a roll in shower, cause she prefers the tub. But when I was looking I can't find how to book that. Or do all the rooms have bars and I don't need to worry? Is there closer rooms for disabled people or are they all extra money? We have disability parking from TX. I though I read that we can use this in FL without having to do anything special, right? Is is better to drive our van around or take Disney transportation? And if we drive is there enough disability parking for us to be able to park up close for her? What about if we go to another resort for dinner? Like I was looking at going to the Grand Floridian one night for dinner and looking around. Should I get her a rental stroller? I worry that after a few days she will be really worn out. I found some bigger ones that would work and then I would have a spot for her to sit. Do they still have the Stroller as a Wheel Chair?

Welcome.

If you want a room closer to the main areas you'd need to book a preferred room. As far as the handles, I *think* there is a bar in the shower standard! but if not you should be able to have them request that at the time of booking. They do have handicap accessible rooms that still have tubs, so they may put you in that to get one but it wouldn't be much different than a typical room.

If you have a handicap placard you'll be able to use the handicap parking spots. I personally drive versus the busses just for our convenience. The only place it's less convenient is MK, because you park at the TTC and then have to monorail or boat to the park. I don't know how many handicap spots they have specifically, but I'm sure there is the potential they can fill up. Resort parking would work the same way.

Getting a stroller would be up to you. You could wait to see how your daughter does and then rent, but it's a big place and lots of walking. If you rent ahead of time you could look through some outside companies and get something that might be more comfortable. The strollers at the park are hard plastic. My kids needed strollers here but didn't typically use one at home.

They do still issue stroller as a wheelchair tag at GR which would last for your length of stay.

 

[Lisa71]

Our son has CP too and we have been twice. He can walk but tired and loses balance ..especially when super tired. He has some other delays too..we rented strollers and it was great. We stayed at WL and then BCV...both very nice. Have fun!! We are hoping for another trip this summer...booked and planning!!

 

[stitchlovestink]

We are in the very early stages of planning a trip. We are a family of 5. My youngest has Cerebral Palsy. She is fully mobile, but does wear an afo, and wears out easily. She is currently 6, will be 7 when we go next summer. She has gone to 6 Flags and does well for a day.

We are looking at getting one of the 5 people rooms in Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside. Do the rooms have shower shower bars? She has a hard time getting out of the tub when she is all wet and slippery. I don't want a roll in shower, cause she prefers the tub. But when I was looking I can't find how to book that. Or do all the rooms have bars and I don't need to worry? Is there closer rooms for disabled people or are they all extra money?

We have disability parking from TX. I though I read that we can use this in FL without having to do anything special, right? Is is better to drive our van around or take Disney transportation? And if we drive is there enough disability parking for us to be able to park up close for her? What about if we go to another resort for dinner? Like I was looking at going to the Grand Floridian one night for dinner and looking around.

Should I get her a rental stroller? I worry that after a few days she will be really worn out. I found some bigger ones that would work and then I would have a spot for her to sit. Do they still have the Stroller as a Wheel Chair?

Handicap vehicle placards and license plates are reciprocating in all 48 lower contiguous states.

If visiting a deluxe resort, valet parking is free but you should still tip accordingly. More often than not we found the HC spaces to all be occupied. Not that we haven't ever found one but many times they have all been full.

There are handicap rooms that have bathrooms that have a tub with the grab bars. That said...I don't know for FACT that there are any in the section that accommodates 5 in a room. HOWEVER I would THINK that they would have to have one or two as they are required by law to have them across all categories. The problem may be that they only have one and it may already be gone or not available for even one of the nights you need. I am not speaking from direct experience with this resort but from experience with the booking system and another resort. The system works pretty much the same for all of them.
Good luck with planning your trip!

 

[gilesmt]

Hi, my dd has co also. We always were able to ask our doctor for a prescription for a w/c for our trips and the. Did not have to pay for them, but at times she also had a w/c but out grew them fast, don't know if that made any difference but I liked that our insurance always paid for the rentals.

We stayed at POR before, ask for building 14 or 15, it is close to the food and buses. Ask for the tub you would like they have them, I think you need to call a special number to request an accessible room but maybe no, POR has a special number request you can call. We are at pofq now and called directly to ask for what we needed.

A few tips on afo, make sure you have cotton knee socks, to absorb the sweat it helped a lot but are very hard to find at least when my dd wore them. Yeah she finally does not she graduates from college this year, that is why we are on this trip. Make sure the shoes are well broken in. If he can go an hour or two at a time without afo's make sure to bring another pair of shoes that are light weight and easy to fit in back pack, sandles or crocs work well. Even though they are use to afo and they may not be new, if he is walking a lot check his feet every two hours, blisters from the sweat of the afo and the heat can happen fast and they hurt. My dd got one with an afo she was wearing for six months. If he is walking, ask for a DAS and explain the balance issues. Try the hot tubs at the resorts every night, it helped my DD's muscles relax and her to make another day of walking. My dd never made it walking the parks until she was 12 yo, so don't be afraid to use a w/c if needed. Another suggestion for a w/c is if he is on any of the state caseloads like DDD or such, ask his caseworkers a lot of times they know of w/c's to borrow. I use to donate all my DD's w/c to them when she out grew them just for cases like yours, in my state they had a storage shed full of them for people to borrow and use.

Have fun. Can't help on car, we always took the resort buses and have never had trouble with them.

 

[WheeledTraveler]

If he is walking, ask for a DAS and explain the balance issues. .

With the current DAS set-up, for balance issues/concerns about too much walking in AFOs, they're going to suggest a wheelchair or stroller as a wheelchair instead. It's not something that would fit in the scope of the DAS.

 

[Sarasein]

Welcome.

If you want a room closer to the main areas you'd need to book a preferred room. As far as the handles, I *think* there is a bar in the shower standard! but if not you should be able to have them request that at the time of booking. They do have handicap accessible rooms that still have tubs, so they may put you in that to get one but it wouldn't be much different than a typical room.

If you have a handicap placard you'll be able to use the handicap parking spots. I personally drive versus the busses just for our convenience. The only place it's less convenient is MK, because you park at the TTC and then have to monorail or boat to the park. I don't know how many handicap spots they have specifically, but I'm sure there is the potential they can fill up. Resort parking would work the same way.

Getting a stroller would be up to you. You could wait to see how your daughter does and then rent, but it's a big place and lots of walking. If you rent ahead of time you could look through some outside companies and get something that might be more comfortable. The strollers at the park are hard plastic. My kids needed strollers here but didn't typically use one at home.

They do still issue stroller as a wheelchair tag at GR which would last for your length of stay.

Thank you for your info. I think I will get her a stroller rental for the time we are there.

Our son has CP too and we have been twice. He can walk but tired and loses balance ..especially when super tired. He has some other delays too..we rented strollers and it was great. We stayed at WL and then BCV...both very nice. Have fun!! We are hoping for another trip this summer...booked and planning!!

Your right, I forget about her balance issues also. She struggles more when she is sick or tired.

Handicap vehicle placards and license plates are reciprocating in all 48 lower contiguous states.

If visiting a deluxe resort, valet parking is free but you should still tip accordingly. More often than not we found the HC spaces to all be occupied. Not that we haven't ever found one but many times they have all been full.

There are handicap rooms that have bathrooms that have a tub with the grab bars. That said...I don't know for FACT that there are any in the section that accommodates 5 in a room. HOWEVER I would THINK that they would have to have one or two as they are required by law to have them across all categories. The problem may be that they only have one and it may already be gone or not available for even one of the nights you need. I am not speaking from direct experience with this resort but from experience with the booking system and another resort. The system works pretty much the same for all of them.
Good luck with planning your trip!

Thank you for all your info. If a regular room has the bars, then that will work, other wise, I am not sure. She uses the soap bar at home to get up, but they did not look like they even had that.

Hi, my dd has co also. We always were able to ask our doctor for a prescription for a w/c for our trips and the. Did not have to pay for them, but at times she also had a w/c but out grew them fast, don't know if that made any difference but I liked that our insurance always paid for the rentals.

We stayed at POR before, ask for building 14 or 15, it is close to the food and buses. Ask for the tub you would like they have them, I think you need to call a special number to request an accessible room but maybe no, POR has a special number request you can call. We are at pofq now and called directly to ask for what we needed.

A few tips on afo, make sure you have cotton knee socks, to absorb the sweat it helped a lot but are very hard to find at least when my dd wore them. Yeah she finally does not she graduates from college this year, that is why we are on this trip. Make sure the shoes are well broken in. If he can go an hour or two at a time without afo's make sure to bring another pair of shoes that are light weight and easy to fit in back pack, sandles or crocs work well. Even though they are use to afo and they may not be new, if he is walking a lot check his feet every two hours, blisters from the sweat of the afo and the heat can happen fast and they hurt. My dd got one with an afo she was wearing for six months. If he is walking, ask for a DAS and explain the balance issues. Try the hot tubs at the resorts every night, it helped my DD's muscles relax and her to make another day of walking. My dd never made it walking the parks until she was 12 yo, so don't be afraid to use a w/c if needed. Another suggestion for a w/c is if he is on any of the state caseloads like DDD or such, ask his caseworkers a lot of times they know of w/c's to borrow. I use to donate all my DD's w/c to them when she out grew them just for cases like yours, in my state they had a storage shed full of them for people to borrow and use.

Have fun. Can't help on car, we always took the resort buses and have never had trouble with them.

Thank you for all your info. She is to always be wearing her AFO, but I will have to find something for water rides. Last time we tried, crocs did not work for her. I will have to get her some sandals that can get wet. And that is a good idea. I will go in the boys section and get her some long socks. She just has thin girl ones. She is still on the waiting list for help. Texas is horrible for disabilities. She got on wait list at 2 years old and we may start getting help when she is 10.

With the current DAS set-up, for balance issues/concerns about too much walking in AFOs, they're going to suggest a wheelchair or stroller as a wheelchair instead. It's not something that would fit in the scope of the DAS.

As long as they still have the stroller as a wheelchair, that will work. She has Sensory issues also, so I will get her a stroller.