A couple of rookie questions

[Dacky619]

Hi, DW and I have been to WDW many times, but this will be the first time with our son, who has Osteogenesis Imperfecta type 3. He is very small for his age (currently almost 17 months and is about 24" long and weighs 16 pounds, so even though we aren't going until this summer we expect him to be the size of a 9 month old even though he will be almost two. If you are unfamiliar with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, his bones are very brittle. He has broken his arm and leg just trying to roll over and has even cracked a rib from a rough sneeze.

Our biggest concern right now is transportation. He is just big enough to fit into the convertible carseat (we have an orbit, although we haven't used it yet), but he still fits fine in his infant carrier too. We fully expect him to fit into both comfortably this June. So, if you were us, would you be looking at flying or driving? We have the SW credit card and tons of points, so we would most likely fly SW out of PHL or BWI. We also have thought of renting a minivan for 2 weeks (trip is 10 days) and take our time heading south. We are specifically thinking about the Magical Express ride and the park busses at WDW. We are staying at BLT, so we will walk to MK and monorail to Epcot, but we'd like him to see DHS and AK this trip too, we just aren't comfortable with the thought of him on a crowded bus.

We have an appointment with our mobility clinic in a few weeks to start setting up his first wheelchair, but we aren't sure if we would want to bring something like that with us anyway. Maybe if we drive we could bring it to have at the resort, it would depend on how well he is doing with it.

Right now we are leaning towards flying using his infant car seat/stroller combo for the convenience, but any thoughts/questions/wisdom would be welcome to help us make our decision. Thanks.

 

[Mum23]

If the stroller and car seat combo would be more useful, you can get a tag at guest services to use the stroller as a wheelchair and then can just take it in with you to lines. As far as transportation, you could get cabs but that could get costly. I am not sure that the stroller/wheelchair tags work on busses but I'm assuming it wouldn't which means you would need to hold the child on the bus. They won't let you use a car seat on ME or on the busses (would be stowed under the bus).

 

[2tinkerbell]

What about the idea of flying and then renting a vehicle once there? I would definitely get him a seat on the airplane and use his car seat. You would then have the car seat for the vehicle rental. If he is using his wheelchair great when you go, I would take his wheelchair along with you. If not, take your stroller along so that you can use that in the parks with the "stroller as wheelchair" tag.

Have a great trip!

 

[disney david]

If the stroller and car seat combo would be more useful, you can get a tag at guest services to use the stroller as a wheelchair and then can just take it in with you to lines. As far as transportation, you could get cabs but that could get costly. I am not sure that the stroller/wheelchair tags work on busses but I'm assuming it wouldn't which means you would need to hold the child on the bus. They won't let you use a car seat on ME or on the busses (would be stowed under the bus).

No the stroller as wheelchair tags only work in the parks. The dot requires all strollers to be folded so they will have to hold the kid while on the bus.

 

[spacecanada]

That also being said, a wheelchair would give him more room on the bus because he would be parked and locked into the wheelchair seating area. Just don't take the bus during extremely busy times (early morning, supper time, park closing) when there may be crowds standing on the bus.

The fly/rent a car option seems like a very reasonable and effective one to me - and then you can choose whichever mobility option for in the parks that is best for you.

 

[Dacky619]

What about the idea of flying and then renting a vehicle once there? I would definitely get him a seat on the airplane and use his car seat. You would then have the car seat for the vehicle rental. If he is using his wheelchair great when you go, I would take his wheelchair along with you. If not, take your stroller along so that you can use that in the parks with the "stroller as wheelchair" tag.

Have a great trip!

We are considering renting a car after flying, but it is just the expense of it. We will definitely get a stroller as wheelchair tag though. We don't think we'd use the wheelchair in the parks as he seems better protected in the stroller. We might just want him to have it around the resort (we will have cousins staying at BLT, so I'm sure we will spend a fair amount of time at the resort).

No the stroller as wheelchair tags only work in the parks. The dot requires all strollers to be folded so they will have to hold the kid while on the bus.

That is our concern. We know we'd have to hold him, but at least it would only be for 2 parks. Maybe we'll just rent a car on property for a few days and do all of our DHS/AK trips then. The other people that we know that have been to Disney in the last few years with their Osteogenesis Imperfecta kids have all been make a wish trips, so they had private transportation.

 

[pednurse]

Due to the fragility of his bones due to the **, and knowing how jostled around you can get on the buses, even when you're trying to be careful & protective, I'd go with the car option. The kids I've worked with who've had **, like your child, have broken bones with very minor impact. Even on less crowded buses, I've been jostled hard enough accidentally that it would be concerning to me to take an ** child on the buses. I'd hate for your trip to be impacted negatively by him ending up with any broken bones. This would give you the ability to keep him as safe as possible in his stroller as a wheelchair or in his new wheelchair while in the parks, and to continue that safety during transportation. Even the monorails can cause jostling & impacts.