Accessibility on Castaway Cay

[moosecrouse]

Have my 6th stop on my 5th cruise to Castaway(gotta love the DD). My mother uses a Scooter and has no problems getting around the island itself and even walking on beach and into the water. What she has a hard time with is finding somewhere to sit when shes not in the water. Due to 2 hip replacement surgeries she has an extremely hard time getting in & out of the low chairs & loungers on the beach. This means she's pretty much stuck with sitting on the scooter which puts her away from rest of the party. Wondering if anyone else has had this experience & any remedies to the problem. TIA

 

[moosecrouse]

Have my 6th stop on my 5th cruise to Castaway(gotta love the DD). My mother uses a Scooter and has no problems getting around the island itself and even walking on beach and into the water. What she has a hard time with is finding somewhere to sit when shes not in the water. Due to 2 hip replacement surgeries she has an extremely hard time getting in & out of the low chairs & loungers on the beach. This means she's pretty much stuck with sitting on the scooter which puts her away from rest of the party. Wondering if anyone else has had this experience & any remedies to the problem. TIA

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Have my 6th stop on my 5th cruise to Castaway(gotta love the DD). My mother uses a Scooter and has no problems getting around the island itself and even walking on beach and into the water. What she has a hard time with is finding somewhere to sit when shes not in the water. Due to 2 hip replacement surgeries she has an extremely hard time getting in & out of the low chairs & loungers on the beach. This means she's pretty much stuck with sitting on the scooter which puts her away from rest of the party. Wondering if anyone else has had this experience & any remedies to the problem. TIA

Well, they do have sand wheelchairs, but someone would have to be able to push her. And I've heard their fairly hard to push in the sand.

 

[joyjanet]

They have wheel chairs that can be pushed onto the beach. They are made for this. They don't cost anything. You just need someone to push it. She could sit in one of these.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

They have wheel chairs that can be pushed onto the beach. They are made for this. They don't cost anything. You just need someone to push it. She could sit in one of these.

That's what I said on the other thread:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/accessibility-on-castaway-cay.3529103/

 

[joyjanet]

I guess there are two of them and I did not pay attention to the other one! LOL. Guess one needs to be deleted

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I guess there are two of them and I did not pay attention to the other one!

That's OK. I asked the mods to merge them.

 

[AquaDame]

I have merged the two together~!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I have merged the two together~!

Thank you. Makes for less confusion.

 

[belac]

Well if they allow the family to have the beach wheel chair just on the beach to sit in, it would be better than the low beach chairs. The wheel chair could be pushed on the beach without a person in it, so easier, as OP stated mom could walk a bit on the beach, it wouldn't be too bad and in case she needed to be pushed as the day went on she would have the chair, if she needed. Just don't know if they would allow it, but if there were enough available where those that needed to have one full time did, I don't see why not.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Well if they allow the family to have the beach wheel chair just on the beach to sit in, it would be better than the low beach chairs. The wheel chair could be pushed on the beach without a person in it, so easier, as OP stated mom could walk a bit on the beach, it wouldn't be too bad and in case she needed to be pushed as the day went on she would have the chair, if she needed. Just don't know if they would allow it, but if there were enough available where those that needed to have one full time did, I don't see why not.

Why wouldn't they allow it?

 

[belac]

They only have limited Beach wheel chairs, and could have various people with mobility needs, therefore if needed for persons requiring one to get to and from beach they may not have enough. So maybe better stated as Not Available as a chair to sit in on the beach, more so than not allowed.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

They only have limited Beach wheel chairs, and could have various people with mobility needs, therefore if needed for persons requiring one to get to and from beach they may not have enough. So maybe better stated as Not Available as a chair to sit in on the beach, more so than not allowed.

I was under the impression that the wheelchairs were similar to the wagons - first come, first served. I don't know they limited the time you could use them.
They had them at the same place on the family beach side of the island


Also available at Serenity Bay

 

[belac]

no meant they have a limited number of the actual chairs. I was waiting at GS when someone inquired to reserve, and they person said well we only have a limited number of them but let me see. I stopped listening as we were attended to. If they are first come then anyone who may not actually need one, can take one and those that need them are stuck without if they are late getting off? seems odd, I would think they would be reserved for the Pax that need them, no? Not that anyone in their right mind would take one for kicks but still I know people that have HC placards, that don't need them at all, pull them out to park closer to the store....

 

[PrincessShmoo]

no meant they have a limited number of the actual chairs. I was waiting at GS when someone inquired to reserve, and they person said well we only have a limited number of them but let me see. I stopped listening as we were attended to. If they are first come then anyone who may not actually need one, can take one and those that need them are stuck without if they are late getting off? seems odd, I would think they would be reserved for the Pax that need them, no? Not that anyone in their right mind would take one for kicks but still I know people that have HC placards, that don't need them at all, pull them out to park closer to the store....

Don't know if any proof of necessity is required to get them. But I'm thinking that DCL is expecting those who have no real need for them to not ask for them. But, OP is saying that her mom does use a scooter on occasion. I think that use of one of the sand wheelchairs on Castaway Cay would be OK.

I'll also mention again that pushing said wheelchair in the sand can be quite difficult. And, possibly, after using it for a while, they might return it. And just do without.

Maybe get several of the floats to layer on a lounger that would raise the height?
Or use the tubes (don't know - would they fit in one of the beach chairs)?

 

[belac]

don't think the tubes would fit in the chairs, but that is an interesting problem, because my mom and I have had issue getting up from the beach chairs. Sitting that low for a long while can really mess up my back.
We don't even go to the beach here because of the little beach chairs that are sold are just as low..

 

[GatorGal1]

My adult daughter is in a wheelchair and we have used a beach wheelchair on our last five visits to Castaway Cay. It is the only way she is able to go on the beach. I’m not sure the beach wheelchair will be a comfortable solution for your mom. It’s tricky to get in and out of, and the chair leans back quite a bit. My daughter says she feels unsteady in it. We don’t have the issue with the low chairs because my daughter is not able to transition and stays in the chair. And yes it is VERY difficult to maneuver in the sand! My suggestion would be to pick up a lot of towels when you leave the ship and fold them to raise the seat up to a comfortable height for your mom. I wish you well. I hope your family has a Magical vacation!

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Bring a thin pillow off the ship to prop up behind your mother's back if you plan to use the sand wheelchair. We use one in my mother's regular wheelchair and it helps for support.

 

[ndavis]

This may or may not work (I work with older adults so I understand what you are saying) without seeing her it's hard to tell, would a wheelchair cushion placed in one of the beach chairs give her enough height to push off of? That's if she didn't want to sit in the beach wheel chair all day. I'd recommend calling a rehab facility, talking to a PT and see if they have a solution.

 

[elvispursley]

I'm an OT and I wonder if stacking a couple of the chairs onto of each other would raise the height of the seat enough for your mom to get out of easily (how tall is she)? The wheelchair cushion could work (or even regular pillows would, for that matter) but if you get too much in the seat, there won't be any back rest, it'll be too low and just hit her in the lower back). I think it's really ridiculous that Disney has only those lower chairs, knowing that there are people with mobility issues. Heck, even I have a difficult time getting myself up out of those low chairs after a while. I don't know why there can't be a taller chair, the shorter chair, and the lounge chair as options. Maybe more of us should leave that feedback for them.