Advice for a couple with back injuries

[indigo]

Having recently been struck by a drunk driver and saddled with a permanent back injury I have a few questions about my upcoming honeymoon trip to WDW. Luckily our therapist is also a WDW nut and is giving me the lowdown on which attractions I will be able to handle. However, I still wonder how some of this works...

First walking long distances: We're trying to walk a little bit each day. We've been told to expect to walk about 3-5 miles each day we're there. Right now, I'm not sure I'll be able to do that without some long rest times inbetween. So I'm planning in lots of visits to sit-down attractions and shows.

I've thought about getting a motorized wheelchair? But sitting for long periods of time bothers my back, not to mention all the bumps of going over the different textured paths. I've done that here in Disneyland and it's just too jarring to my back.

What I'm worried about is having to stand for a painful hour in queue after walking. If I ask a CM will I (and my wife) be given a place in the shade/ac to sit down instead of waiting in queue? Do I need a GAP for this, if so, what stamps do I need?


Thanks for your help,

Indigo

 

[SueM in MN]

Glad to see you here. I've seen some of your posts on other boards.
You could rent an ecv (scooter) and share it between you and your wife. That way, neither one of you will get too tired from walking or too stiff from sitting. Power (electric) wheelchairs are harder to drive and need to be individually set up, so the medical equipment companies only rent them for people who already use one. Here's the places that DIS posters have posted renting from:
Care Medical:
http://www.caremedicalequipment.com/

Walker Mobility:
1-888-726-6837
www.walkermobility.com

RANDY'S Mobility is in Kissimmee 407-892-4777
http://randysmobility.com/

Colonial Medical
http://www.colonialmed.com/about_cms.html

As for how bumpy they are, our experienced disABILITIES Board ecv experts can let you know about that one. I do know that AK is the bumpiest park because all the sidewalks are "themed". I wonder if your therapist might have some suggestions, like maybe you could bring a ROHO cushion to set on the seat or something to cushion your ride a little more.

For the waiting, Fastpass will help you a lot to minimize waits. Except for using fastpass, you wouldn't be able to wait somewhere else and sit down without having a GAC (Guest Assistance Card). You can ask for one at Guest Services. Basically tell the CM that you and wife have problems with standing in line for more than "x" amount of minutes because of your recent back injuries from your car accident. Ask for the ability to wait in the shade somewhere that you can sit down.
You might find that the queues are not as long as you fear. When DH and I went on a trip without kids in July 2001, we expected long lines, but we seldom waited more than 15 minutes. The lines for shows tend to keep you standing in the same spot for quite a while, but the ride lines actually keep moving along at a pretty steady rate. The CMs can help a lot with giving you accurate information on how long your wait in line would be.

 

[JudithM]

Indigo, sorry to hear about your back injuries. I cannot beign to imagine the pain.

Sue has a good point about renting one ECV to share between you & your wife (to-be).

My initial GAC a couple of years ago was to be able to sit down & wait while my husband goes through the que. Well, I'll tell you ... that didn't work well as there are not many places near the ques for a guest to be seated.

I would explain the circumstances to a Guest Services CM when you first enter the first park. If after trying the GAC with whatever they put on it, you don't feel it helps, go back & try again. I know that sounds like a nuisance, but you want to enjoy your honeymoon/vacation!!

 

[indigo]

Hi,

Thanks for the good advice.

One thing... sitting down by myself while my DW goes through the queue is not acceptable. We're there to spend the honeymoon together. Do they still make couples do this at the attractions? We're willing to sit and wait together, or come back later together, but not wait apart.

If there is no place to sit in the shade or A/C we'll ask for FP access or backdoor access on those attractions.

Also, the ECV is out. My DW (to be!) gets naseus riding over all that cobblestone and textured pathways. We'll have to do with walking with rests whenever we need it. (Plus the doc says it's better for us to walk a bit.)

Hopefully we'll be feeling much better in a month and we won't even need a pass, but the Doc says not to count on it.

 

[tammyh-oregon]

Sorry to hear of your back injuries.

I think the trick to get the GAC in your case will to be persistent.

I have back problems that cause me pain with standing. I can walk around fine and prefer to do that so that my husband and I can be together rather me sitting in the wheelchair and him pushing behind plus it is better for you healthwise in some cases. You just lose that togetherness feeling. We got a GAC 2 years ago that allowed for alternate entrances and had no problems it was a great trip. I went back last year for DISCON and requested a GAC, explained what I had the year before and they refused said I should rent a wheelchair. Finally they relented and gave me a GAC that allowed for using the wheelchair entrances when I was using my cane (takes the pressure off to be able to lean on something.)

Well as most of the people here know, the lines are mainstreamed so that didn't help much. Luckily I was there for DISCON and so used my wheelchair and thank god for everybody that helped push when the going got rough. I had two days by myself after everybody left and I lasted about 3 hours each day standing in the lines. I had to go back to my room, the day shot.

This year, I intend to stand my ground. Let us know how you do and I hope your honeymoon is fantastic.

 

[SueM in MN]

You might want to try to get both your names put on the GAC, since both of you have a problem. In most cases, they will let your entire party stay together (unless it's more than 6 people). We've sometimes had a problem with getting a GAC because they see that our DD has a wheelchair and they say she doesn't need the GAC because she is using the wheelchair entrances anyway. With mainstream lines, the wheelchair entrance is quite a long wait and she has s lot of problem with waiting because of other invisible disabilities. As someone else mentioned, if you get a GAc and it doesn't do what you need, go back to Guest Services and explain why it is not helping you. They can't really ask you for "proof" of your disability, but in your case, you might want to take something along from your doctor or therapist since it sounds like they won't be able see your disability. You might also want to ask about having a GAC that would let you avoid stairs since I imagine stairs might be painful for you.
Another thing that will help you is to talk to the CMs at the status boards. There is one at each park and the CMs there keep updating the boards to indicate how long the wait is. We have found those CMs to be very knowledgable about when different rides are shorter waits. For example, at Epcot, Spaceship Earth might have over an hour wait in the moring, but in the afternoon, it's a walk on ride.
And, you will be able to find benches for resting at fairly frequent intervals. My FIL has knee and hip problems and really doesn't have problems finding benches for resting. There are very few (like almost no) lines that have benches for waiting in line. Some of the shows have benches in the preshow or waiting area, but the benches are up for grabs by anyone who gets there first.

 

[travelitis]

Just wanted to add that the 3-5 miles a day is way off. It's more like 13-16 miles per day.