Can I get some wheelchair advise???

4fromNoCal

Disney Aficionado's
Joined
Apr 10, 2005
Messages
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My 15yr old daughter just tore some tendons in her leg and we are scheduled for WDW in 26 days! The doctor says she can wait till after our trip for surgery, but she needs to stay off the leg as much as possible. So, my question is should we bring her wheelchair with us from California or do you think we'll have no problems getting one at WDW?
Any advise???
 
If you're staying onsite, you can get a wheelchair at the resorts and you can also rent them at the parks. Most of the rides have special entrances for those is wheelchairs and you'll often get to go right to the front of the line. It's a pain getting on and off the bus with one though so if she can walk a little, you might do better to just rent at the parks. BUT there can be a bit of a walk from where the bus drops you off to the front of the park so it would depend on how much she can walk. The rental places are at the front of the parks so she won't have to walk too much once she's inside the park. You can purchase a length of stay rental so you don't have to wait in line everytime.
 
Thanks AUDramaQueen, that helps. She can walk a bit, and bringing a chair on the plane and on and off the buses would be a hassle, but we don't want to over do it. We are staying at the WL, so hopefully we can get a chair there as well.
 
If she has a wheelchair, I'd suggest you bring it with you and gate check it on the airplane. It's long way from the gate at Orlando to baggage claim.

If you gate check a wheelchair, you can keep it with you until you board the plane, all the way to the gate. When she boards, you fold up the wheelchair and the baggage handlers will put it in the plane and then return it to the gate when you get to your destination. Ask about gate checking when you check in to your flight - they need to put the correct tag on it to make sure it gets delivered to the gate.

It is possible to get a wheelchair lent to you by the resort, but there may or may not be one when you arrive and sometimes what they have is not appropriate for your needs (like they may have an extra wide wheelchair when you need extra narrow). There should not be a problem with being able to get a wheelchair at the parks, but keep in mind that if you do that, she won't have one at the resort and many of the resorts are huge with a lot of distance between things. The WDW resort transportation is wheelchair accessible. You can drive a wheelchair right on to the boats and monorails. The buses are equipped with ramps or lifts and tie downs to secure wheelchairs into the bus.

Most of the rides/attractions do not have special wheelchair entrances. Ten years ago some attractions did, but all of AK and the Studio and most of Epcot and MK have Mainstream Access which means the lines are wheelchair accessible and you will wait in the same lines with everyone else (not get to the front of the lines). In some cases (Kilimanjari Safari is one), you will actually wait longer when using a wheelchair.
 

Thanks for the info SueM in MN! DD is definitely making this a trip to remember...
:earsgirl: :earsboy: :earsgirl: :earsboy: :hourglass
 
AUDramaQueen said:
Most of the rides have special entrances for those is wheelchairs and you'll often get to go right to the front of the line.

WRONG!!
 
I also recommend bringing your own wheelchair.
The walk from the gate to luggage pickup to the bus or rental car area is loooong.
RThe wheelchairs that you get from your resort are free but they don't fold up so you have to sit in them to get on the busses, and if you hav a rental car yu can't just pop it into the trunk for the ride to the parks.
The wheelchairs that you rent from the parks are around $7 each day. I haven't rented in years but that money could be used for a great souvenier.
My friend uses his ECV now but I spent many years pushing him in his wheelchair. Most of the parks are flat and it really stinks pushing him on a hot day,but AK seems to be all uphill and incredibly hot. They don't make enough deodorant to cover that park. Make ure the person who pushes or assists the wheelchair is in good shape. Peggie
 
Sorry. I didn't mean to misinform you. I was just posting my experience. We went with my grandmother who was in a wheelchair and we were escorted to a diffferent area and did not have to wait as long on the rides we went on with her.
 
AUDramaQueen said:
Sorry. I didn't mean to misinform you. I was just posting my experience. We went with my grandmother who was in a wheelchair and we were escorted to a diffferent area and did not have to wait as long on the rides we went on with her.
That sometimes happens, but was more common 10 years ago (when less lines were accessible). When it does happen now, it's usually because it's either not busy when you go, or it's convenient for the CMs to route you somewhere else eight then.
 














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