Child with low muscle tone

[Aristomommy]

I wanted to share our experience with our child who uses a wheelchair and has low muscle tone. She can sit up for a while but has poor head control. I was worried about which rides she could do and I have seen it discussed here frequently.

Any ride that was slower speed, (Dumbo, Peter Pan, Ariel ride, Small world, Toy story mania, Haunted Mansion, Pirates etc) I was allowed to hold her on my lap, not next to me as I was worried about. It was great to support her body this way and she loved it.

Many rides had the option of staying in her wheelchair, but as a CM told me it's harder for the child to see as they are designed for adults. For example the Ariel shells at Fantasyland were so high that she would not have seen much during the ride. She did stay in during the Safari ride in AK which was a better decision for us. It's a long time to hold her and her sensory issues may have kicked in by then.

The CMs were great at all rides with moving walkways. I was able to carry her but they were there just in case.

If you have any questions how we did specific rides feel free to ask. Our daughter is 4 and 40 lbs btw.

 

[mistysue]

I'm glad it went so well.
My youngest has low muscle tone. Before he was holding his head or sitting well it was very stressful getting on rides and worrying about how it was going to work out but it seemed to always turn out ok.
Toy story was the only scary one for me. At 18 months they made me sit him next to me and he actually slid down. The bar was far enough back he was lying down most of the ride and we couldn't pull him back into sitting position so DD and I had to use all hands to hold him when the cars moved to stop him from jamming into anything. We went through the regular loading area, if you went through the line with the wheelchair that's probably why you got to hold her... which might be a good tip for the future if she doesn't need the chair but you might want an extra option of offering her support.

 

[Aristomommy]

Yes, for Toy Story we went through the wheelchair loading area, actually we went that way whenever possible. I just worried about feeling rushed and then falling or something while carrying her. Toy story mania has some wild turns as you go from one screen to the next which I wasn't aware of but having her on my lap it worked out! I can only imagine how you felt!

 

[sleepingbean]

Oh, I am so glad you got to hold her on those ride and that you both had a good experience. That is wonderful!