7 yo with broken ankle

[harmonium]

Most of the time the extra wait is for people who need to remain in their wheelchairs and either need to wait for a special wheelchair car or need to wait for space in the wheelchair car (since many will only hold one wheelchair). So you are correct that often someone who can get out of their wheelchair will not have to wait longer.
The 2 exceptions that come to mind are Spaceship Earth and the Safari at AK. Those have separate wheelchair entrances for anyone using a wheelchair or with mobility disabilities and the wait is often considerably longer - like we have waited for 40 minutes for the Safari at a time where people in the regular line were basically walking on as quickly as possible. We have also waited at Spaceship Earth for over 1/2 hour when the regular line was also walking right on.

As some people have said, most of the queues are what is called Mainstream Access, where people with wheelchairs and ECVs wait in the same line with everyone else. There are very few attractions where wheelchair users have a special entrance or get any "advantage" (mostly older ones at MK that could not be updated). AK and MGM were built with Mainstream Access and all the Fastpass lines are wheelchair accessible, so get Fastpasses or go to the parks early in the day if you want to avoid waits. Getting to the front of the lines is an exception, not the usual.

Most of the wheelchairs available at the parks and at the resorts are adult size. For an average 7 year old, the armrests will be closer to shoulder height, the width of the sling seat makes it difficult to stay sitting securely in the middle of the seat and the seat is too deep; if the child sits all the way back so their back is supported, the edge of the seat will come about mid-calf and they can't bend their knees. If they sit farther forward, so the knees can bend, they will be too far forward to have any back support. The footrests of an adult wheelchair will also be too far down for her to rest her feet on them. You are more likely to get a wheelchair that is comfortable by renting from one of the off-site places.

I suppose wait time also varies per experience. When DW had to use the wheelchair we rode both Spaceship Earth and the Safari. For the Safari we used the wheel chair access and walked straight to the ride entry without waiting more than 3-5 minutes. As for Spaceship Earth I forget what the line was like. I'll take your word for it just in case someone in any future party of which I am a member needs a wheelchair. Thanks.

 

[SueM in MN]

I suppose wait time also varies per experience. When DW had to use the wheelchair we rode both Spaceship Earth and the Safari. For the Safari we used the wheel chair access and walked straight to the ride entry without waiting more than 3-5 minutes. As for Spaceship Earth I forget what the line was like. I'll take your word for it just in case someone in any future party of which I am a member needs a wheelchair. Thanks.

You are right; wait time varies by how many other people with special needs are there at the same time as you. You may come to Spaceship Earth at a time when no one is waiting or arrive at the Safari just when they are finishing loading a car, so have a short wait.
But, there have been times when there were too many at the attraction we were getting in line for and we were given a slip (sort of like a handwritten fastpass) and asked to come back. That has happened to us at Haunted Mansion and at Little Mermaid (where the wheelchair seats were already "spoken for" when we arrived to use our Fastpasses.
There are only a few attractions with specific wheelchair entrances. In most cases, you are waiting in the regular line until a point just before the regular boarding area. After waiting in line until that point, guests with special needs/wheelchairs are pulled out to the alternate boarding/waiting area. Sometimes the wait is the same, sometimes a bit shorter and sometimes longer (sometimes a lot longer). Sometimes the CM will board people with special needs faster for reasons that are not visible (like no one is waiting at that time and the CM knows someone is going on break so they will have less staff by the time you would get there in the "regular" line.
Anyway, I just wanted to make the point that any special treatment for people who are using wheelchairs is extra pixie dust, not the usual, to be expected treatment.

 

[johnvree]

My seven year old daughter just broke her ankle and will be in a cast for the next six weeks, and we are going to WDW over Easter.

Anybody out there been though a similar situation that can give us some ideas? I know she will not be able to use crutches for the whole trip.

We are trying to put a good spin on this, but any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Time to sell the kid and get another. Ok, sorry.

I broke my leg when I was about that age right before we went on vacation. It was in the winter and we were going to a snowy destination. I had a great time and after a while forgot that my leg was broken.

I agree with everyone else, get a wheelchair. Here's the one piece of advice I'd give you. Before you leave, figure out how to keep the cast dry. Last thing you want to do is get it soaked on Splash Mountain or something. Talk to your doctor. She can probably rig something so that she can even go in the pools. The reason I say this is that I managed to complete wreck my cast (plaster) by getting it soaked in the snow. My doctor was not very happy about that. Good luck and have fun.

 

[Peter_noPan]

Thanks for all your ideas.