advice please for 1st visit w/ disabled friend

[anonymousegirl]

Hi all,

My friend is considering coming with me in Sept for a week. She has bursitis in both hips and says that she sometimes rents a wc at Disneyland as she is unable to walk a lot or stand for long periods. Here at home she doesn't use a wc or an ECV.

Luckily, Sept often has lower crowds and queues, but I am wondering if we should get an ECV since I am unused to pushing a wc and don't relish doing so in the usual Sept humidity.

Thing is, that except for the walking at the parks part, she won't need an EVC for getting to the buses, walking at the hotel, etc. I really don't want to get one offsite since it will tie us down outside the parks, slow us down on buses, etc.

I fear the tremendous distances at WDW are going to really affect her, esp. since she says she often uses a wc at DLR.

Any advice to offer? I have never traveled with anyone with a mobility issue.
Thanks!

 

[pudge the fish]

well depending on where you stay you can have a LONG walk to the buses or food courts..Like a LONG walk

it's also even a hike from riding the Disney buses to the entrance to the parks.

ECV's are the way to go and if your friend is in need then by all means have her rent one

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Wheelchairs are a lot less expensive, and I believe at one point you could even pay for the week (or however long) up front and they would give you vouchers for the other days. Not sure if this is still the case. The downside to wheelchairs is there are a quite a few hills in the World. That means that she will probably need help being pushed, but it's really not terrible. We did that for my mom and then my friend. It sounds like she can still walk a bit, so she can even get out and push it if her/your arms are tired. That's what we did a lot (or used it for our stuff).

The ECV is good if you don't think you are going to be able to push it, but on property it is a lot more expensive and you have to put down a deposit. That being said, you have the benefit of not having to deal with the busses or making sure your room is accessible.

I have travelled with my mom who has arthritis in her legs/hips, and a friend who had leukemia and the subsequent steroid treatments to treat the resulting graft vs. host (a sort of form of rejection of her bone marrow transplant) ate away both her hips so at the age of 21 both have had to be replaced. In both cases we rent a wheelchair at the parks. Neither one has ever had a problem walking around the resort, but the parks would have been too much.

It will all depend on what your friend is capable of/comfortable with.

 

[janiejake]

Thing is, that except for the walking at the parks part, she won't need an ECV for getting to the buses, walking at the hotel, etc. I really don't want to get one offsite since it will tie us down outside the parks, slow us down on buses, etc.
I would recommend she seriously consider renting an ECV. It will cost more if you rent from WDW on a daily basis, but that is what we did this last trip. A wheelchair can be handy, but it is a lot of work for the 'pusher'. We did note that at times you can get lucky. At Epcot, for instance, they have wheelchairs meant for getting from the gate to the bus and vice versa. If someone has left one after loading on the bus, feel free to use it. They will not make her get out of it at the gate, either. They would let you push her to the ECV rental spot. These chairs are specially marked, and are not the ones that they rent out for the day. Most days I did fine til I got to the Rental counter, but on a bad day, I was very grateful to see that W/C!

 

[chaospearl]

Wow, this is a tough one.

Your friend has a right to enjoy her Disney vacation despite her mobility issues -- but keep in mind that YOU have the same right. Because you say that you don't relish the idea of pushing her in the wheelchair, I think that it's probably a bad idea to go that route. Particularly if you've never traveled with a mobility-challenged person before. The last thing you need is to end up feeling resentful of your friend, or feeling that she's a drag on your vacation, etc. Trust me, even bestest best friends with all the patience and caring in the world can sometimes still reach a point where you just don't want to deal with her disabilities anymore. It happens to the best of us! You don't need to show it or say anything, just keep on being your smiling patient self... but also don't feel like you're a bad person for thinking it. You're not.

Anyway, the biggest question here is: Is money an issue? As someone pointed out, it's definitely more expensive to rent an ECV at the park each day than to rent one offsite for the duration of the trip, so it's up to whomever is paying (her, I assume) to decide if the extra cost is worth not having the hassle of the ECV at your hotel and on the buses. Offhand I don't know anything about the actual rates for ECV rental in the Disneyland area but I'm sure the information would be easy to find before you leave for your trip.

I would not recommend doing the wheelchair unless your friend is prepared to push herself, and even if she insists that she is, after a long hot day you don't want HER to begin resenting YOU for not wanting to push her. As I said, it can be draining and stressful to spend long days with a disabled person (or someone with minor mobility\stamina problems, I understand she doesn't consider herself disabled, it's just quicker to type!) especially if you're not used to it. Heck, sometimes it's annoying to spend an entire vacation with your best friend even when both of you are superstar athletes in perfect health! Disney is magical and wonderful but it also has a tendency to bring out the grumpy stress in us all, and if you want to ensure a truly magical vacation I'd try to avoid anything that is likely to cause friction between the two of you, no matter how unintentional.

I hope I did not offend anyone by saying this.

Jenni

 

[RN4Babies]

I don't use a w/c or ECV at home, but I knew I'd need something for our trip this past February because of multiple medical issues in my life. After reading advice here, I rented an ECV from Walker Mobility (offsite). It was one of the best, wisest decisions I've ever made.

The ECV allowed me to be very independent, instead of relying on either my ds18 or my sister to push me in a wheelchair. It didn't slow us down at all (to the contrary; I had to adjust the speed so I didn't get too far ahead of my family! ). The transportation at Disney and the surrounding area is well equipped to deal with ECV's and wheelchairs; they must do it hundreds of times a day. As a pp said, depending on where you're staying, your friend may or may not be comfortable walking. Some of the resorts are HUGE, and I know that humidity makes my walking much more difficult.

If you rent an ECV offsite, they deliver it to your resort and pick it up when you leave (mine was there waiting for me when I arrived). You can park hop with it, and you don't have to worry about availabilty like you do if you rent onsite. It's also much less expensive to rent offisite. I think renting an ECV will allow both you and your friend to have a fabulous time together!