Oh no, my 4 yr old broke her leg!

[cdrn1]

We went with my (adult) sister when her leg was broken and we still had a great time. Some things to consider, though...sometimes people around us were not very careful. Her leg was bumped quite a bit by people who weren't watching where they were going and it caused her a good bit of pain.
Will she be disappointed that she can't swim? That was my 3 year old granddaughter's favorite part of the trip. It will likely be quite a bit more tiring and stressful for all of you...I guess if it were me, I would put it off a bit. But if you decide to go, I am sure you will still have a great time. If you put it off, maybe you could plan something special for her at the time you were supposed to go to ease the disappointment a bit. So sorry this happened to her (and you)!

 

[Belle1962]

I am so sorry. It is my understanding that if you have a guest in a wheelchair you are always ushered to the front of the line.

Thanks for the laugh. Most of the lines at Disney are mainstreamed. Wheelchairs are able to go through them, for the rides where there might be steps, you are pulled aside at that point. And for many rides, the wait is actually longer for a wheelchair party.

 

[Dr. M]

If you decide to go, make sure all the characters get to autograph her cast. I'm sure she'll get lots of special treatment and pixie dust

 

[J3nn78]

I would go. SHe will stil have a blast. I was in a scooter for my last trip because of a ruptured achilles tendon. It was a great trip.
You do get to enter in the exit for quite a few rides in MK, thus "going in the front the line"
We did for Thunder Mtn, Splash Mtn, Space Mtn, SMall World, and a few others.

I would think a 4 year old in a wheelchair and cast would not be too hard to deal with. She would be so sad sitting at home and missing out.

 

[KristiMc]

I'm so sorry for your little girl. My son broke his leg when he was 3 1/2 and was in a full leg cast. After a couple of days he did pretty well. I think kids adjust to these situations alot better than adults. He had the full leg cast on for 6 weeks and then a smaller cast for 2 weeks. As a pp mentioned, after he got the cast off it was a good 6 weeks before he was walking 'normal' again.

If it was me, I would still go. They are little enough, that you will be able to transfer her to rides and she will still have fun.

 

[mmcguire]

We took my Mom 2 yrs ago in a wheelchair, and it was fine. However, she was not in a cast, and she had been to WDW before.

If this is your DD's first time, she may feel like she's watching some things from the sidelines (no play areas, no Swiss Family Tree House, no swimming or playing in sprinklers, etc.) Those kinds of things can be biggies for kids, even if they aren't for adults.

I'd also be a bit concerned about the crowds. If her leg is sticking straight out in front as I'm imagining, I could see clumsy, careless people accidentally tripping over her and perhaps injuring her. With Mom, people would sometimes dart in front of us or stop in front of us, and it's not always easy to stop quickly.

It might be best for your DD's enjoyment and safety's sake to postpone.

 

[Sammie]

The crowds could be less in the Fall than early March, which is Spring Break. I would reschedule, so she can enjoy the trip to the fullest.

Sure it can be done, but you will be restricted to what you can and will want to do. She is going to tire more easily, even without a cast at 4 years old Disney World can be a major undertaking.

Hope she feels better soon.

 

[puzzles]

I agree that you should ask the doctor first and get an opinion from him/her.

Then based on that decision let your daughter take part in deciding.

We went to Disneyland one time with my neice who had a broken leg. She was in a wheelchair, but was older. I think she was 9 or 10. She had a great time. She got tons of attention from the cast members. However, she was old enough to understand WHY she couldnt go run around, and had to stay in the wheelchair. She had also been there a few times already. A 4 year old may realize she has a broken leg, but is too young to really understand the restrictions. I, personally, would think rescheduling to next fall would be a great idea. The fall weather is nice, and supposedly it is not too crowded.

 

[maciemouse]

Thank you all for responding so quickly. My hubby and I are going to decide tonight, so I will let you know. We are driving down to Disney, not flying. We are only 3 hours away. She has been to Disney before. It is just that we have been listening to Disney music, watching movies, and counting down the days until we leave. She is at the age that she is really excited. We usually tour the parks early and come back again at night. I'm not worried about getting to the front of the line or anything. I would like to know that she can stay in the wheelchair until we enter the actual ride. There is no way she could make it on crutches that far. And she is to heavy for me to carry thru lines all morning long. (She is 45 pds plus the cast).
Oh well, I'll let you know our update. Thanks again!!!

 

[ilovecoasters]

Go! Get her some Disney stickers, whatever characters or princesses she likes best and have her decorate her cast. She'll have quite the memorable autograph book too! As long as the doctor clears her medically, don't postpone. I wonder if the temporary tattoos would stick??

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I would suggest going over to the disABILITIES Forum. One of the first threads is the disABILITIES FAQs. On Post #2 we have a lot of information for people about renting wheelchairs or special needs strollers. Post #6 discusses the Guest Assistance CArd. To get directly to the disABILITIES FAQs from here just click on the link in my signature.

In addition, you might want to talk to the person who will be removing the cast. Have a line drawn on the cast where it will be cut for removal. Then bring along some "Sharpies" and have the characters autograph the cast, asking them to make sure their signature does not directly cross the line.

Once the cast is removed and fully dried out, you will then have a very unusual souvenir of the trip.

 

[dward1961]

My daughter broke her leg when she was 8, I would suggest changing your plans. You will all have a better time without the broken leg. I know when my daughter had her full cast she was alot slower and at times uncomfortable.

Best of luck to your daughter and enjoy your trip when you go.

 

[bethclayton]

i feel silly asking this, but is her leg casted straight, meaning she cannot bend it? because if so... won't she not be able to fit on a lot of the rides with the leg sticking straight out? and even on the rides she does fit, wouldn't the leg require support?

i am personally not good with change and i know i would be posting the same question as you because i would really be hoping we could keep our trip, but objectively speaking, i would reschedule. even if her cast is do-able on the rides, she will not be all that comfortable and will definitely miss out on some activities, such as water play. and i agree with the pp's who said that in some cases, the wheelchair-accessible waits are longer than the regular waits. dh's back went out on a recent trip and he had to rent a scooter one day, it was the day we went to AK. i remember we had fp's for kilimanjaro safari, but because he was in the scooter we had to wait for the handicap-accessible safari bus. we watched soooooo many people who had been behind us in line,pass us, before that bus came!

 

[SueM in MN]

I am so sorry. It is my understanding that if you have a guest in a wheelchair you are always ushered to the front of the line.

As was already mentioned, this is not the case.

I would go. SHe will stil have a blast. I was in a scooter for my last trip because of a ruptured achilles tendon. It was a great trip.
You do get to enter in the exit for quite a few rides in MK, thus "going in the front the line"
We did for Thunder Mtn, Splash Mtn, Space Mtn, SMall World, and a few others.

I would think a 4 year old in a wheelchair and cast would not be too hard to deal with. She would be so sad sitting at home and missing out.

Space Mountain has a wheelchair accessible line, so I'm not sure why they would have had you enter thru the exit. There are a few attractions at MK that were not able to be renovated to have the regular line be wheelchair accessible. AK and the Studio were built with wheelchair accessible "Mainstream" lines where everyone waits in the same line. At Epcot and MK, the majority of attractions that were not accessible to start with have been updated with Mainstream lines.

It may seem that you got in faster, but at Splash Mountain, the 'pull off' point for people with wheelchairs is actually right before the regular line gets to a flight of stairs (so you have reached a non-wheelchair accessible area). At that point, people with wheelchairs are taken to the exit. There is a waiting area there, where they actually usually hold your party until almost when you would have boarded if you had been able to go up the stairs.
At Small World, people with wheelchairs do go to the exit for boarding after the second or third turn in the regular line. Waiting to board at the exit may not be faster; in fact in our last 4 rides we waited considerably longer than we would have without a wheelchair - for one ride, we waited 25 minutes longer.
For rides like the Teacups where the line is not accessible, the CM may give you a sort of hand written Fastpass with a time equal to the standby time to come back. Or, they may have you stand by the side (outside of the line) for a period of time. The last time we rode Teacups in March 2008, we stood by the exit with DD's wheelchair for about 20 minutes, which was approximately equal to the standby wait at that time.
If a CM boards your party faster, it is usually because it is easier at that time for them. That happened to us of Buzz Lightyear in October. We were set to enter the Standby line when the CM at the Fastpass line motioned us over and gave us a handwritten Fastpass to give to the CM collecting Fastpasses. If we were not aware, we would have thought we got on much faster. But, the Standby line is wheelchair accessible and the wait there was only listed as 5 minutes when we arrived. Even though it seemed like we got 'special access' there, we actually did not board any faster than the people who walked into the Standby line just before us. Putting us in the Fastpass line made it easier though, since that line was less crowded and is less 'winding'. If we had stayed in the regular line, we would have slowed the other guests down as we went thru all the turns.
So, don't count on a wheelchair 'saving' you any time.

Thank you all for responding so quickly. My hubby and I are going to decide tonight, so I will let you know. We are driving down to Disney, not flying. We are only 3 hours away. She has been to Disney before. It is just that we have been listening to Disney music, watching movies, and counting down the days until we leave. She is at the age that she is really excited. We usually tour the parks early and come back again at night. I'm not worried about getting to the front of the line or anything. I would like to know that she can stay in the wheelchair until we enter the actual ride. There is no way she could make it on crutches that far. And she is to heavy for me to carry thru lines all morning long. (She is 45 pds plus the cast).
Oh well, I'll let you know our update. Thanks again!!!

You would be able to take a wheelchair all the way in the line and to the boarding area in all attractions.