1st time booking a trip for my Dad, help!

[HaleyB]

Many Questions

How do I go about booking a room with a roll in shower for my Dad?
Do I book the room, and tell them at that time? For the sake of clarity, he does not use a wheelchair but he can not get in over the side of a tub.

Will I be able to apply a code to the room like any other room?

Do they have rooms with roll in showers and two beds, or are the roll in rooms kings only (we need two beds)?

My sister is also going, and for finical reasons Deluxe is out of the question for her. My parents could stay deluxe or even DVC if that would be better for my Dad, but it would be nice to all be together. It is already like herding cats to get my extended family anywhere. Advice? (Oh and without going into it, no way could we go with everyone in a Grand Villa, someone would end up in jail for assault ).


My Dad is 72, he has two artificial heart valves, a pace maker, and has suffered a catastrophic stroke. He has circulation problems and a host of other 'minor' issues. He refuses to use a wheelchair, except once in an airport (my parents travel all the time). I really want to talk him into an EVC for this trip. It would make it so much more fun for him. Any advice?

Would a GAC be useful to him at all? I don't really know anything about them. He has a real problem standing still. He is ok walking but when he stands still he tires very easily and blood pools in his legs. Right now my plan is to only ride with fastpasses, but that is a tad limiting. Also he can't ride much, and several of the things he can ride don't have fastpass.

Another issue I worry about is that he needs to eat at set times because of the medicines he takes. It is rather complex, but it is basically the some need to be on an empty stomach , some taken with food. He takes so many that to make it work he has to eat in certain time windows. Again, any advice? Can we note something on our ADR's?

Is there a list anywhere of rides without health warnings? I never pay attention to those. Of course all the thrill rides are out. Are there any non-thrill ones I should beware of, for instance ones where it may be hard to get on and off the ride? I am not worried about moving sidewalks, more anything you need to 'pull' yourself up out of- he does not have use of one arm and the other is fairly weak plus one leg is very weak (from the stroke).

I am so excited they are agreeing to go, my Dad loves Disney. He started my addiction. They saved for 2 years to take us to WDW when it first opened and then again when Epcot opened.

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[OneLittleSpark]

OK, I'll do what I can to answer for you.

Firstly, yes, you can get a room with a roll-in shower. You just need to ring up special reservations (I think the number may be floating around here somewhere) and request a room with roll-in shower, Don't just say 'accessible' as they have two different types of accessible room, one of which has a tub.

You should be able to apply any codes you have to an accessible room, as long as you use it within the rules and regs (e.g. you won't be able to use a code for preferred rooms on a standard room). If the accessible room will not accommodate the number of people in your party, when a regular room would, they will make it work without charging you more.

Have you considered renting a DVC holiday from a member? This can work out cheaper than a moderate, depending on where you stay and how much each point costs to rent. It also means you have a kitchen. See the DVC board for more information on renting points. Do be aware, though, that this is not done through Disney, but with an individual, so there can be some risk involved.

One tip people have used to help convince someone that a wheelchair or ECV might help them, is to give them an example in the 'real world'. Pick a place about three miles from his home, then ask him if he could walk there. If he says he could, ask him if he could walk there and back every day for the length of your trip. Chances are, he'll look at you like you're crazy! Most people seem to clock up between 6 and 8 miles a day (so I've heard, never measured it myself) or more at Disney. That's a heck of a lot of walking, even if you're fighting fit!

The Mouse on Wheels has detailed information on boarding the rides at Disney. It's written from a wheelchair user's point of view, but may help you and your father decide which rides could be difficult. Also, AllEars.net has photos of ride cars, which should help you out a bit. Also look at the official guide for guests with disabilities.

I'm afraid I have to go now (back locking, brain fogged), but I hope this helps a bit. I'm sure more people will be along soon to add more advice!

Have a great trip!

 

[SueM in MN]

Welcome to disABILITIES!

First thing, check out the disABILITIES FAQs thread, near the top of the thread list.
The 2nd post in that thread has information about ECVs.

The 3rd post in that thread has some helpful links, including links to the official WDW Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities (the first link on that thread). That is in the first section of links on post 3.
Other links in post 3 include accepting using an ECV and threads about boarding rides (under the un-official links). Especially the one about Accepting using an ECV and Ray Sharpton's experience as a new ECV user.

The 6th post in that thread is FAQs about Guest Assistance Cards (GAC).

The 7th post in that thread is about rooms. It does include descriptions of the different types of accessible rooms and has information about the Special Reservations department (including the number).

Most of the lines where you will actually standing still for long periods are the lines for shows and movies. Because those 'load' large numbers of people at a time, people have to stand waiting for the next show to 'load'. Having a Fastpass or a GAC won't change that - if each show is 14 minutes, you are going to be somewhere for 14 minutes. In many shows, much of the time in that place will be a preshow area. (I don't have this information in the FAQs part about GACs, so I think I will add it).

The general 'answer' given by WDW when people ask about getting a GAC for situations like your Dad is to rent a wheelchair or ECV. That is probably not what he wants to hear, but it is the advice that makes the most sense. What he needs (to not stand in lines) is not available in all attractions and having a GAC would not help outside of lines or other situations where he would be standing in one place. Also, he may be OK walking, but is he going to be OK with walking 3-8 miles a day in the parks (which is a pretty normal average range of walking)? Just to go around the lake at World Showcase is over a mile (staying near the lake - not walking around in the countries).

Something I have suggested in the past for helping someone see the 'need' for an ECV is to pick out a familiar place about 3 miles from their house and ask if they would be able to walk there. If they say 'yes', could they walk there and back. In most cases, at that point, they will look at you like you have grown 2 heads and say no.
Another illustration that often helps is to think about the energy used in the park like an allowance or a checking account. At the beginning of each day, you start out with a certain balance. Each thing you do during the day adds or subtracts from the balance. You can choose to use your energy account doing fun things, but if you 'spend' too much of it just getting from place to place, there won't be as much to spend on having fun. An ECV helps to 'save' energy so you can spend it on more fun things like joining the family on an attraction. If you spend way too much energy, you can get way overdrawn and the next day's 'allowance' may go toward the 'overdraft' instead of being able to be used.
Another thing to point out to him is that just having an ECV doesn't mean he needs to be using it all the time. He can park it and walk around an area and then get back on and move it to the next area when you are ready to move on.

A last thing to think about - if he can't step over the side of a tub, there are some rides where the 'step' over the side of the ride car is similar to stepping over a tub. An example would be the ride boat in Small World or in Pirates. There is about a 6 inch step down to get to the seat of the boat and then another 6 inch step to get your feet down to the foot area. That may be OK for him, but you also have to think about getting out, which involves doing the same action in reverse. Has he ever used a cane? That might be helpful for him when boarding rides.
It might even be helpful when standing still because it would allow him to shift weight off of one foot to the cane, back and forth. There are even canes with built in small seats that flip down for sitting on.

This thread about Epcot is not finished yet, but it has a lot of information that should be helpful. When I have time, I am going to write a similar thread about each park.

 

[SueM in MN]

For the sake of clarity, he does not use a wheelchair but he can not get in over the side of a tub..............

If you got a 1 or 2 bedroom DVC room, they have a shower stall instead of a tub with a shower. There is a small lip to step over, but basically, it would be just a 2-3 inch step into the shower.

The roll in showers have no lip at all. This so you can roll a wheeled bath chair into the shower or roll a wheelchair up to the shower to transfer to bath bench. The roll in showers also have a built in bath seat that folds down from the wall/
That might help you to decide which would be better.

Will I be able to apply a code to the room like any other room?

Yes

Do they have rooms with roll in showers and two beds, or are the roll in rooms kings only (we need two beds)?

The roll in shower rooms are almost always the same size as the 'regular' rooms at the resort. The space is just arranged differently to make room for the roll in shower. There is often one king bed because it fits better in the space and allows a wheelchair to get around.

If you go with a DVC one bedroom, here's what you would have:

• a master bedroom with a king bed
  a living room with a sofa bed that could sleep 2
  a kitchen with a stove, refrigerator and microwave
  a single bathroom with a shower stall
  a whirlpool tub in a 'dressing room' outside the master bedroom

A DVC 2 bedroom would give you those things plus a second whole bedroom that would have either 2 queen beds (OKW) or a queen bed plus a sofa bed. The 2 bedroom would also give you a whole extra bathroom.

Having the kitchen in a DVC room might be helpful with eating since you could prepare some food at times you want to eat it.

 

[HaleyB]

Thanks!

Pirates was the ride I was thinking of when I asked the question- I don't think he can easily get off of it. We might try it really early in the trip if my DH goes with us.

A cane is a great idea, I think I may have an easier time talking him into that. I am thinking he might change his mind on the EVC after a day without one.

It sounds like the DVC unit might be perfect for him, we will have to explore that more.

Off to read the faq!

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks!

Pirates was the ride I was thinking of when I asked the question- I don't think he can easily get off of it. We might try it really early in the trip if my DH goes with us.

The allearsnet site has a lot of ride car pictures, but most of them are taken from the standpoint of how large the seats are for Pooh sized guests.
I do have pictures of many of the rides that show both the seat and the floor, so you can get an idea of the step. I don't have them on the internet yet; my plan is to do photo montages for each attraction similar to the ones in the Epcot thread.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Re: your dad's eating schedule.

Truly, I don't think noting this on your dining reservations will have any effect. If there's no table available at your reservation time, you can't be seated until there is. Plus, being seated and even served doesn't guarantee the food will arrive exactly when he needs it.

Instead, I would talk to his pharmacist and find out EXACTLY what "with food", "empty stomach", etc., entail. Is a protein bar enough food, if he needs to take a med with food? I'd find out the exact definitions and requirements, and be prepared with some type of food based on the drug recommendations.