Kid can walk, but not all day

[Jolimont]

Hello everyone, first day on board, thanks for the good stuff I've read already.

My 6yo has Juvenile Rhumatoid Arthritis (JRA) and she can walk just fine most of the time (with a bit of a limp first thing in the morning which usually goes away) but she can't walk for very long. A 1-hour visit to the mall can cause her a lot of pain, so I think she would do poorly at Disney if we let her walk much. And JRA is hard to predict, she mostly has good days where she acts like any 6yo, but sometimes she's in pain and would rather not move at all. We're thinking of renting her a wheelchair or stroller, but she's big and tall for her age, so I don't know if Disney strollers would fit.

1. Will people look at her funny if they see her get out of her chair and walk normally? Should we use a stroller to avoid that? Even then, how do people react to a child without visible handicaps cutting to the front of the line?

2. A mom whose child also has JRA told me I should go to the Guest Relations Office and ask for a VIP pass rather than a regular handicap pass. Do you know about that?

3. How large are Disney strollers? We'll try to buy an unbrella stroller, but I doubt she'll fit in one of those any more. Where do you recommend we look?

Many thanks everyone!
First time at Disney World EVER, we're excited!!!

 

[SueM in MN]

Originally posted by Jolimont
And JRA is hard to predict, she mostly has good days where she acts like any 6yo, but sometimes she's in pain and would rather not move at all. We're thinking of renting her a wheelchair or stroller, but she's big and tall for her age, so I don't know if Disney strollers would fit.
.......
3. How large are Disney strollers? We'll try to buy an unbrella stroller, but I doubt she'll fit in one of those any more. Where do you recommend we look?

First of all, the Disney strollers will fit large kids and you will see a lot of older kids in strollers at WDW. I've been told they actually will fit a small 12 year old, so I don't think you will have trouble with a 6 year fitting, even a tall one. Some people who are using a Disney stroller for a larger child rent a double stroller. allearsnet.com has pictures of all the strollers.
if you won't be going for a while, you might be able to get a Special Needs stroller. They are basically larger versions of umbrella or jogging strollers that are made for larger kids who have special needs. You can see what they are at www.adaptivemall.com
Do a search for "Special needs stroller" and a lot of different ones will come up. Your insurance company may pay for one (or a pediatric wheelchair) since she has medical needs that affect her mobility.
You can also check with her Physical Therapist at school or where ever she goes for care. They may be aware of a local "lending closet" for equipment like that.
The third option would be to rent a wheelchair. You may want to contact one of the off-site places (you can find the information on the disABILITIES FAQ above). From what someone recently posted, none of the places DIS posters frequently rent from have child size wheelchairs. You might want to check with one of the places that rent baby beds, strollers. The last I had heard, it appeared that at least one of them rented special needs strollers.

1. Will people look at her funny if they see her get out of her chair and walk normally? Should we use a stroller to avoid that? Even then, how do people react to a child without visible handicaps cutting to the front of the line?

You may get some people looking at you, but you know what your needs are. So, you kind of have to just decide to ignore it. There are people who will judge, but that is their problem.

Most of the lines are wheelchair accessible and wheelchair users do not cut to the front of the line. There are some lines where wheelchair users needs to board at the exit; for most of those lines, you will wait in the regular line with everyone else until just before the regular line gets to the boarding area. At that point, wheelchair users are pulled off and routed to the exit.

You didn't say when you are going, but if you are not going at a busy time, you may be able to have her ride in the stroller or wheelchair to go between attractions, but get out and walk in line. In non-busy times, the lines may not be that long. By getting fastpasses, you would also be able to limit your wait in line to 10--15 minutes.
Even if she can't walk very long without pain, you might find that the time in the stroller is enough for her to recover before she gets out to wait in line again.

2. A mom whose child also has JRA told me I should go to the Guest Relations Office and ask for a VIP pass rather than a regular handicap pass. Do you know about that?

The only VIP Passes that I have heard about are for famous people who would have problems with fans waiting in line. Several WDW CMs who work in Guest Relations have posted in the past that the only "Front of the Line" passes are for people on Make a Wish or similar trips or people who are on life support or have similar very fragile health conditions.
They don't have passes for people with disabilities (that implies going to the front of the line, so they changed the name of their card about 5 years ago). The card is called a Guest Assistance Card (we call them GACs for short, on this board).
GACs are not meant to (and usually won't) shorten or elminate the time spent waiting in line. In general, it's a tool for CMs to know what sorts of assistance are needed by people with invisible disabilities. That might be things like needing extra time to board rides or needing a quieter space to wait. The GAC is individualized to the needs of person it is issued to; so someone who needs to wait out of the sun will have a GAC with something like "allow to wait in a shaded area when the queue is in the sun for extended periods of time." In your case, if you have a stroller and want to bring it in line, you can ask for a GAC that allows a stroller to be used as a wheelchair.
GACs are requested at Guest Services in any park.

 

[Jolimont]

You didn't say when you are going, but if you are not going at a busy time, you may be able to have her ride in the stroller or wheelchair to go between attractions, but get out and walk in line. In non-busy times, the lines may not be that long. By getting fastpasses, you would also be able to limit your wait in line to 10--15 minutes.
Even if she can't walk very long without pain, you might find that the time in the stroller is enough for her to recover before she gets out to wait in line again.

That's great information, THANK YOU SueM! We are going late January, slow time, right? I think she fits the description above, unless she's having a really hard day, then she pretty much won't want to get out of the chair. Those days are rare, thank goodness! Thanks for the link on the special needs chairs, that's extremely helpful. I've never needed one before since we get by with mall strollers, but she's getting too big for those, so I will look into buying something, especially if it's light and folds. I'm very glad we won't be cutting the line. I mean, she has a rare childhood disease, but there are lots of kids with JRA and other issues who are much worse off than she is (so far, touch wood!) We don't want to take advantage of the situation, but we do want to help her have an enjoyable time with as little pain as possible.

If I understand correctly, you park the chair or stroller at the entrance of the ride and stand in line for however long it's going to take, correct? Standing around is not good for her either since it puts weight on her inflamed joins, is there any way she could sit while we stand in line? Waiting is not an issue, but standing or walking is.

Thank you so much for your help, I'm glad the board is back up so I can read and learn!

 

[SueM in MN]

That's great information, THANK YOU SueM! We are going late January, slow time, right? ....
If I understand correctly, you park the chair or stroller at the entrance of the ride and stand in line for however long it's going to take, correct? Standing around is not good for her either since it puts weight on her inflamed joins, is there any way she could sit while we stand in line? Waiting is not an issue, but standing or walking is.

Thank you so much for your help, I'm glad the board is back up so I can read and learn!

January is a slow time, so you should find it very easy to get thru the parks.
If you have a stroller, I would probably still suggest getting a GAC that allows you to use your stroller as a wheelchair. (You don't need a GAC to take a wheelchair in line.)
That way, you have the choice of taking the stroller in lines or not. If you don't take the stroller or wheelchair in lines, it gets parked with the strollers outside the line. There is usually a board outside each ride that tells what the current wait is. One thing to keep in mind is that the wait is usually from the point of where the sign is. So, if there is a long line that continues out past the line, the wait is whatever the sign says plus the time to get even with the line. The CMs at the entrance can tell you how long the actual wait is likely to be, and I would suggest asking before you get into the line. In many lines, you are not really standing still; the line is continually moving slowly forward. There usually is not a place to sit down. For some shows, there are limited numbers of seats in the preshow/waiting area, but they might already be full when you get in.
If you have any concerns about her ability to stand in lines, just take the stroller/wheelchair in the lines. It's easiest, if possible not to bring it into stores though. The aisles in the stores are a lot better than they used to be, but some are still tight if the shop is busy. Besides, you do want her up and walking around some, or she'll get stiff from sitting in one position too long.

In the disABILITIES FAQs thread, there are 2 links that I'd suggest looking at. One is a link to the official Disney site's disability information. It has information (very basic, but information anyway) about the rides; which ones have moving walkways, ones with steps. You can print out the information. There is also a list of rides where someone can stay in their wheelchair for the entire attraction. Since she can walk, she would be able to get out and transfer to the ride cars for those rides. For people who can't get out and need to wait for a wheelchair ride car, there is almost always an extra wait time.
The other link to look at on the FAQs is a link to a past thread about boarding.

 

[LuvN~Travel]

Our daughter has endurance issues too, so after the first half of the first day we were there, she was in a wheelchair. She can get up and walk around, okay, and can transfer with no problem (well maybe a helpful arm or two). She got no funny looks the entire time we were there. Even when she had a seizure on Tuesday before Thanksgiving, people were very accepting of her. Disney management was very great then, too. They helped us get her into air conditioning until she could be checked over and brought us wet rags and such. I think most people are beginning to realize that there can be many hidden problems.
Definitely let your daughter use a wheelchair or stroller. It can make the difference in your trip!
Kim

 

[swilshire]

You don't need a GAC to take a wheelchair in line.

We always get a GAC, even with a wheelchair. We have been ask for it many times, possibly because DS's wheelchair looks a bit like a stroller. We were treated rudely a couple of times before we started getting these, and told by more than one CM that we should have one.

I wish WDW would standardize their practices regarding the disabled. It seems to vary a lot by the individual CM and maybe what kind of day they happen to be having.

Sheila

 

[SueM in MN]

We always get a GAC, even with a wheelchair. We have been ask for it many times, possibly because DS's wheelchair looks a bit like a stroller. We were treated rudely a couple of times before we started getting these, and told by more than one CM that we should have one.

I wish WDW would standardize their practices regarding the disabled. It seems to vary a lot by the individual CM and maybe what kind of day they happen to be having.

Sheila

If you have a standard wheelchair, it isn't necessary to get a GAC. But, if your wheelchair looks like a stroller (ie, has 4 small wheels and is being used by a child), like you posted, you are best off to get a GAC that allows a stroller to be used as a wheelchair. Even though to us they look like wheelchairs, to someone who is used to seeing strollers, it looks like a high end stroller.

Some of the inconsistency in how they handle things would be helped by more education to the CMs, but some of the inconsistency in how they do things IS because of time of day and how busy it is. That's why it's really hard for many rides/attractions to say exactly what will happen. Some things that impact what the CM tells you to do when you come are:
- How many people with special needs are already in the attraction. Because of fire/evacuation rules, they can only have a certain number in the area at one time.
- How big the waiting area is.
- How recently they had to stop the ride for handicapped boarding.
- Staffing; if the CM has to leave their position to assist you, is there another CM available right away, or will they have to call for help.