Christmas and Disabilities

[calbertson81]

I'm not sure where I post this , so I thought I'd ask under tips.

I was wondering when Disney World puts up their decorations for Christmas. We are going at the begining of December, so I was hoping they'd be up by then. That's the main reason I'm going

Also, we'll be traveling with my 10 y/o son and my dad who will need a wheelchair in the parks. Is there any advice there? Should we wait and rent a wheelchair in the park, or bring our own? Has anyone dealt with this before? Thanks

 

[minnie mum]

First of all:

Yes, the Christmas decorations will be up in the parks and resorts when you are there.

Second: re your father. Is he in a wheelchair at home? If so, then bring it with you.

If not, then you have 2 choices: you can rent a wheelchair each day in the parks. But this is only in the parks, so if he needs one at the resort, this will not help you. If he will need one at the resort as well, then you can rent a wheelchair from an off-property company. They will deliver it to the resort so that it is available when you arrive, and will pick it up when you leave. They also tend to be less expensive than renting daily from the parks. All Disney resort busses are wheelchair accessible.

If you go over to the DisAbilities board, they have oodles of information about vacationing at WDW with mobility issues. There is a FAQ sticky that is very helpful, and a list of off site rental places.

Just as an aside: I have been to WDW MANY times using a wheelchair, and want to reassure you that Disney is very careful to make everything as handicapped accessible as possible.

 

[katrina1122]

Either bring the wheelchair with you or rent one and have it delievered to your resort. It'll be cheaper than renting each day in the parks, if you hop to another park you don't repay, but they may be all rented for the day, you'll have it at your resort, at DTD, etc.

My dad was wheelchair bound. We took him to the airport in his manual chair, he boarded the plane, etc using that. We had a power chair waiting for us in our room when we arrived. Carried a cord around so we could recharge in restaurnts during the day. I think its $150 for the week or so, it was several years ago, but soooo worth it to have it right there.

In the parks my dad couldn't transfer to rides, so they'd let the rest of us go to the handicap entrance anyway so he wouldn't have to wait as long, or do a ride swap thing where some of us would be in line, others would be with him and we'd switch. It would depend on the ride and the line lenghts. Sometimes they'd take him into the control room so he could see things behind the scenes while we rode. He liked that more than when he could still ride the rides, lol. There's ramps everywhere, even at mini golf, so he could go everywhere. We did have an issue one night leaving TTC trying to get to our resort. Tons of buses came by full and the bus drivers didn't make guests get up from the handicap section for his wheelchair to fit, or the bus didn't have a lift (I think they all do now). His battery pack was dying and he was in pain so after the 5th bus or so I got in the stairwell and wouldn't get off until the bus driver did something. He called in for help for us after some of the guests on the bus started grumbling that I wouldn't move. Within in 5 minutes a bus showed up with VIP Only (our last name). They let only us on the bus and left everyone else at the TTC waiting since they could squeeze onto the next bus. They took us right to our hotel and gave us a phone number to call the rest of the week should we ever have a problem again. We didn't, but it was nice to have just in case.
The handicap seating for parades was great, the characters often stop by, the Queen of Hearts gave my dad a quick kiss on the cheek, it was hysterical. CM's really go out of the way to help, but don't expect automatic front of the line access either, it's not a 'meal ticket'. When he rode It's a small world with us, we went to the handicap entrance but waited the full 15 minutes everyone else waited, and then got on the next accessible boat that showed up.

As to decorations, they'll be up.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Would it be possible for him to use an ECV, he might enjoy the parks more like that. I have to use one because of my knee and torn ligaments in my ankle and it is so much nicer not having to have someone push me.

If you are worried about something happening to his personal chair, you can rent them at the park each day for $12, or you can do a weekly rental for like $11/day, or you can rent from off site so you have the chair at the resort, not sure about their pricing, but I always use Walker Mobility, you can check out their website and make a decision.

 

[calbertson81]

My dad isn't wheel chair bound. He has some bad problems with his back and legs. He can walk, but not for long. He has a regular wheel chair we could take. But I thought space wise, it might be better to rent one there. If he didn't have something, there is no way he'd be going. He wouldn't be able to walk it.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I would recommend renting from somewhere off site, then you wil have it at the resort, since they are huge. I use Walker Mobility, they have great customer service and the best prices.