Broken Ankle issues?

[LockShockBarrel]

So I'm at work tonight and some of my regular customers happen to stop in. It turns out the daughter (who's like 8) broke her ankle in a bounce house. Of course they're leaving for Disney in like a month or 6 weeks and the cast won't be coming off til about a week after the trip.

I told her I'd email her some stuff that would help. Right now I've got links for her to rent the daughter a wheelchair, but I wanted to check with you guys about some other things because I've never personally had to deal with wheelchairs (ok I did but like 20 years ago).

Am I correct in telling her that she can let her daughter walk onto buses and just fold the chair up rather than dealing with the lift? The daughter has a boot over the cast right now and is using crutches and the way I understood it she'll be allowed to ditch the crutches after a few weeks. She will definitely be able to walk around at the point of the trip but will still be casted, I just think they'll be happier having the wheelchair for her so she doesn't overdo it on her ankle. As far as rides is there any she really should avoid? I can't think of anything off the top of my head because she can transfer to all of them, but then for something like Small World, would it be smarter to tell her to keep her daughter in the wheelchair and use the accessible boat rather than her trying to step into the normal ones? I was going to tell her to take the chair into ride lines as much as she can just in case the line happens to be longer than they expect and they won't get caught without it that way.

Am I forgetting things? Again like I said, wheelchairs aren't my forte!

 

[disney david]

The old lift buses are almost gone now the new low floor buses have ramps and yes you can walk on te bus and fold the chair. By she can still use the back door to walk up a ramp and wheel the chair on the bus. Then put the chair in front of you folded that if their a seat if their not then I suggest she sit and may be the driver can get them on or at least call for another bus so their boy waiting as long. Or they can go through the front door as long as they okay lifting the chair on the bus already folded that option just ask the driver to kneel the bus most do but some don't if you see the bus pull up and loud beeping hen the driver kneeled the bus.

So their is their options if they find it hard going through the front door boarding then they can use the back door. And exiting they can use the front door. If they get a lift bus very few they will have to use the lift as the front has steps and they are narrow she won't have to stay in once on the bus but it be harder in them to carry up the chair. If they don't want to deal odds the very next bus will be a new low floor bus with a ramp.


Disney now has the youngest and best and most handicap accessible buses out of all the other hotels. So they will be okay regarding the buses as Disney already put them ahead with their buses compared to the off site hotels.

 

[lanejudy]

Yes, the wheelchair can be folded on the bus. And yes, she walk on through the front door (with or without crutches). Or she can stay in the chair and enter through the rear, then transfer to a seat and fold the wheelchair.

For an 8 yr old the mom will want to make sure to rent a pediatric-sized wheelchair. Even then, they might enquire about the dimensions and how well the child will fit. A small 8 yr old may be uncomfortable even in a smaller-sized wheelchair if it doesn't fit at the back of her knees correctly; a taller 8 yr old may be ok. A 12" or 14" seat is probably best for that age, depending on her height; I would think the most common 16" pediatric rental would be big. Another option is to look into a special needs stroller which is designed for bigger kids. Some of the stroller rental companies offer a model, or at least a few years ago some of the medical equipment rental places did too.

As long as she can bend her knee, I don't think there are any rides she would have to avoid. Depending on whether the cast is waterproof, she may want to be careful at water rides that might splash (or downright soak) into the ride vehicle. She will probably have a shorter wait if she plans to transfer. It can sometimes be longer to wait for the accessible ride vehicle to remain in the wheelchair. But actual experience may vary, especially if she happens to get to the front of the line at the same time the accessible vehicle comes around. I would agree with using the chair in lines, though if the line appears short enough and she wants to walk some that's ok too. Walking with a cast will get tiresome quickly at WDW.

Thanks for being such a great friend to help them enjoy their vacation!

 

[JillyBean1899]

I would still recommend bringing at least one crutch, even if she doesn't "need" them. They'll be helpful for balance when getting in and out of the rides.

I'd recommend getting in the bus at the back, that way it's a straight shot to the seats and they will get on first, instead of fighting people getting on up front and trying to maneuver the chair around the bend in the front entrance. Her parents should let the CM at the entrance know she will be transferring to the ride vehicle; keep the crutches with her, the CM at load will take them from her and move them to the unload station (although on some rides like HM they may let her load at the unload area, just because it's less crowded and doesn't feel as rushed).

 

[LockShockBarrel]

Thanks guys! I knew I'd get the right answers from this.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

So figured I'd update this because it's pertinent. I saw the dad tonight and it turns out this kid had to go back to the doctor. The doctor told them the cast was waterproof so she took a shower and the water went into the cast but did not come out. I'm not entirely sure what happened but something with it swelling or pushing on her ankle through the night and she was in severe pain this morning. They went back to the doctor and now there's more soft tissue damage and they are waiting til tomorrow to recast her to let the swelling subside. I expect the mom will be a little clearer about what happened so I'm curious to talk to her again. Also the doctor saw the little girl walking on the crutches and thinks she's too clumsy with them so she might end up in a wheelchair for now anyway!

 

[WheeledTraveler]

The one ride that she can probably transfer into that I'd really worry about specifically due to the cast is Soarin'. I don't know if there's an official policy, but I couldn't imagine being up in the air with no support to hold the weight of the cast (or a boot).

If she happens to have a cast that can be signed, the parents may want to ask the doctor to mark the line where he'll cut to remove the cast. That way she can get characters to sign and as long as they don't sign across that line, she'll be able to keep the signed cast after it's removed as an unusual souvenir.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

I was kind of curious about Soarin myself actually. She's not a super tall kid but I can't really picture how she'd sit..like if she sat all the way back if her leg would be free swinging or if her knee would be back further in the sit and her leg would stick out you know? I've never really paid attention to kids on that ride.

I'm thinking with the weight of the cast if she can sit in a normal seat with her leg hanging off but not touching the floor she'd be ok on the ride. I don't want to get too preachy with these people because like I said, they're just customers I've gotten to know over the past couple years. I don't want to come across like "I sell you stuff and know what's best for you child!"

 

[JillyBean1899]

I was kind of curious about Soarin myself actually. She's not a super tall kid but I can't really picture how she'd sit..like if she sat all the way back if her leg would be free swinging or if her knee would be back further in the sit and her leg would stick out you know? I've never really paid attention to kids on that ride.

I'm thinking with the weight of the cast if she can sit in a normal seat with her leg hanging off but not touching the floor she'd be ok on the ride. I don't want to get too preachy with these people because like I said, they're just customers I've gotten to know over the past couple years. I don't want to come across like "I sell you stuff and know what's best for you child!"

Just let them know you asked around, and this is what people have suggested they might try, because it worked for them. If you frame it as "this is what the park is like, this is how other people have done it", it won't come across as "this is what you have to do".

When are they going? If it's not for a few weeks, I'll try to ride Soarin' (if I get there and there isn't a stupid long line) and see how long the seat is.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

I think they're going like 5 weeks from now?

 

[disney david]

I think they're going like 5 weeks from now?

Not sure this helps but here a pic of the seat in the air. Sorry you can click on the photos to get a closer look.


https://www.google.com/search?q=epc...soarin-flying-free-at-disney-world%2F;900;598

 

[clanmcculloch]

That was our preferred method when taking the bus. It's really nice. It's easier and faster plus I felt less guilty about how much space we took up (no reason to feel guilty; that was just my own personal thing). We always went to the designated wheelchair spot. DD13 is at risk of injury to her ankles or knees if she's standing on a moving bus so I need to know that she'll get a seat. Even though we don't have to wait to get the chair unhooked like we would have to do if the chair was strapped down, I still always made the family wait until everybody else was off the bus before we would get off so that I wouldn't have to worry about accidentally bumping people with the footrests.

DD13 rode Soarin' with a boot on when she was 10. I don't recall any issues at all. She was 4'8" at the time.