Talk to me about: broken leg and doing Disney

[madisonwi]

We have done Disney many times- but this will be our first trip with a 10 year old in a wheelchair with a broken leg. I've never paid much attention to what we need to do there- can most lines fit wheelchairs? Do I need to get a special medical pass? Thanks!

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

More info on the Dis"abilities" board. You do NOT need a special pass if using a wheelchair.

Wheelchairs can fit through most of the newer lines. You will need to know if he can transfer: get out of the chair and get himself onto the ride.

If the wheelchair does not fit, you will receive a return time ticket and return to ride exit at the designated time.

The CMs will help with the parking of the wheelchair and let you know where to find your chair.

 

[disnut8]

We have done Disney many times- but this will be our first trip with a 10 year old in a wheelchair with a broken leg. I've never paid much attention to what we need to do there- can most lines fit wheelchairs? Do I need to get a special medical pass? Thanks!

Absolutely not.

All areas of Disney World are wheelchair friendly. I had to push my husband around in one when he found out two days before the trip he had gout so his ankle and leg were swollen immensely. I was also pushed around in a wheelchair after a not so great accident. And my father was in a wheelchair in the last years of his life.

As a previous said, you will be kindly directed by Cast Members when you push him up to the attraction queue. Most times, you just join the regular queue. The only place I remember my father (and us) being directed to another queue was at the Safari at Animal Kingdom and I was prepared for a long wait. But, the way Disney did that impressed the daylights out of me. I wouldn't worry about a thing with your son.

 

[gatormom2tots]

We went in 2011 with my 6 year old in a wheel chair with 2 broken legs! Thankfully we were at the tail end of recovery so he was able to transfer pretty easily from wheelchair to ride. We also had a 9 month old in a baby carrier and a 4 year old at the time!

Still had a fabulous trip and you will find that there will be some shortened wait times using the wheelchair entrance. TSM allows for a special cart where you can push the button instead of pull a trigger to hit the buttons- that was my son's favorite!

You will have a great time!

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

Still had a fabulous trip and you will find that there will be some shortened wait times using the wheelchair entrance. TSM allows for a special cart where you can push the button instead of pull a trigger to hit the buttons- that was my son's favorite!

This really depends on the time of year. When we had a wheelchair trip, it was very low crowd, we often waited longer for certain rides. For instance, Small World was about an 8 minute wait, but because the handicap boat was already full, we had to wait for it to come back around so I think our wait was 20 minutes. Toy Story Mania fast pass was also about 5 minutes longer for us.

 

[Accident]

Some rides you must transfer from the chair to the ride (and back off). That's really the only thing you need to look out for. All CMs know exactly what to do with a wheelchair so just ask when you get there or check out the disabilities forum for much more information on wheelchairs.. You need nothing special, just the wheelchair.

Also if your not bringing your own, the only way to have a wheelchair with you at all times and no walking is to rent it from a third party. Check the disabilities forum for info on that as well.

 

[perkinsrose]

DH had a knee injury and surgery and then complication so I pushed him in a wheelchair with a brace on his leg (extension out for his leg) most of trip. (Watch out for people not watching! Many people nearly and often bumping DH's chair and knee)

DH did need to occasionally get up (not much) with crutches. We purchased a crutches bag that attached to back of wheelchair for ease of carrying them. We did rent chair from outside company so we could have it to/ from resort and not have to pay daily rate at parks ---most important though to be able to use to and from resort. Yes, as others have said---check out DisAbilities forum; lots of helpful people and info.

We had this experience a few years ago before changes in special considerations at Disney...
For the most part, our trip was fine even good /considering and DH was able to ride everything he expected to and wanted to. (did not expect to ride Everest, Space Mountain)

Hope everything works out the way you want--it will be a trip to remember!

 

[gatormom2tots]

This really depends on the time of year. When we had a wheelchair trip, it was very low crowd, we often waited longer for certain rides. For instance, Small World was about an 8 minute wait, but because the handicap boat was already full, we had to wait for it to come back around so I think our wait was 20 minutes. Toy Story Mania fast pass was also about 5 minutes longer for us.

It was Spring Break/Easter weekend- for the whole week so typically a higher crowd. I think the fact that he could transfer out of the chair at that point definitely helped in terms of not having to wait for specific boats/cars, etc. We just kind of lucked out with TSM in that they put us in that one with the button instead of a trigger. If I recall, Small World was longer. Space Mountain was shorter, though it was like a maze of elevators and such after the ride. Spaceship earth I think was longer as well.

For Fantasmic we were seated before anyone else and got to pick wherever we wanted- unfortunately we didn't know any better, picked right up front, and ended up wetter than we expected! We still laugh about it though!

 

[minnie mum]

Here's a link to the disABILITIES forum:
http://www.disboards.com/forums/disabilities.20/

Have a look at the DisAbilities FAQ sticky. It contains answers to most commonly asked questions. And there are lots of people there to answer other questions you may have.

Does he have a short or long cast? If he has a long leg cast with his knee in extention, you may find there are some rides that he will not be able to ride due to the lack of leg room. But if it's a short cast, he should be fine. If it's a plaster cast, bring something waterproof to cover it with in case of rain.

 

[Davey Jones II]

My g.f has bad knees and can't walk all day, so we always rent a wheelchair. No need to drag one around with you, you can always rent one when you get to each park (however, if the park is very busy, they might run out of chairs later in the day. We've never had this problem ourselves, but we usually go in Oct.) You can buy a length of stay ticket for the wheelchair, by telling them how many days you will be at WDW, and that makes it a little less expensive per day.

 

[Ariel8676]

We have done WDW twice with 2 different kids with broken ankles.. we rented a wheelchair from Walker Mobility and they delivered it right to our resort and it was MUCH cheaper. Most lines are wheelchair accessible and its not bad at all. Use your Fastpasses and you will have no issues..good luck!!!

 

[ALostBoy]

My daughter hurt her ankle and was in a cast, below the knee and told not to walk on it. We went at Christmas 2014,
rented a wheel chair from off site so we would have it for around the resort, we stayed at OKW. We treated the wheel chair as
an adult stroller. We took her crutches and rigged a bag on the wheel chair to carry them until she would get out to go into a
line for a ride. We had no special pass or anything just went into the line as normal. This worked really good for us.
Good luck

 

[mickeyluv'r]

One word of advice...on different trips, I've sometimes pushed a stroller, and other times pushed a wheelchair. Pushing a wheelchair was quite a bit more challenging. It was heavier, harder to turn, and the footrests were a challenge.

Otherwise, I mostly second what others have said.