Couple of questions...

[Emimy]

Hi, me & my BF are going to Disney late November/early December.

I've got a couple of back problems which make it very difficult for me to walk too much or stand up for too long. I'm thinking of renting a wheelchair just for EPCOT because I think that's the park I had the most trouble with last time I went. I just wanted to ask whether it would be better to rent from EPCOT itself or from an outside company? We'll be visiting EPCOT sometime between the 3rd and 6th of December, which I understand to be a quiet time for Disney? Does anybody know if EPCOT has many wheelchairs or not?

I was also wondering, the rides where you can stay in your wheelchair, is it ok if you want to get out and just ride it the normal way? I'm so paranoid about people thinking I'm "faking" my disabilities, especially because I'm young and my disability is "invisible"

TIA anyway for any help

Emily xx

 

[Mrsjvb]

my personal opinion..if you need it at one, you will need it all ALL of them. I lasted half the day at AK, and that's the smallest of the parks IIRC. I never had a single issue getting one at any of the parks, but we were always there right around park opening.

don't feel guilty about using it as needed. most the lines are mainstreamed anyway and they ask you if you can transfer in fact I transferred for all the rides, even the ones that have RA options.

we got the multi day tickets and received a discount. any unused portion is refunded. or you could opt for an off site and have the chair available to you at ALL times in and out of the park( esp. usefull when trying to get from point A to point B)

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

True, if you need it at one, you'll need it at all.

Renting on site has the risk of running into a 'we're sold out, sorry!'. And then what? Do you want to run that chance, is it worth it to you? If the answer is even a small or doubtfull no; rent off site! See the sticky on top of this board for more info on rental places.

Yes it is ok to get out of the chair if you can and wish. You know, people will think something of others anyway. That is their problem, not yours. You know, think of it from the positive side instead of the negative. Each time you transfer when you can (remember; when you CAN); you'll not use up a accessible vehicle or wc-seat for another person that can't transfer. By doing this you are helping out another person. Forget about what negative thoughts there may be, focus on what is right for you and the positive you can do for others.

Have you used a chair before? Not only are the parks a long distance to walk, but it's also a long way to roll!! Not everybody is upto that challenge, especially with it requiring you to use other muscles than you are used to for 'walking'. And you'll notice that some parks are, well,..... challenging. Epcot has bridges that can be a pain to get up. Down can be either a pain or a thrillride. AK is allways a pain with the 'themed' tiles. MK makes you go up a hill. Most don't notice when walking, but when rolling (or pushing), you will notice more quickly.

If you do find rolling to be too challenging; rent yourself an ECV. If not sure if you can drive it through crowds? Practice at your local Wallmart or something. Once you get the hang of how these things work, you'll be a lot more at ease in crowds and actually have the time to deal with the crowd instead of focussing on 'how does this thing work'.

 

[SueM in MN]

Another thing to think about is the distance you might have to walk in line. It may not be a very long wait, but the distance might be very long. Some attractions I can think of with a long walk include It's Tough to Be a Bug at AK, the Safari at AK, Pirates at MK and Soarin' at Epcot. Some (like Soarin' and Test Track, have pretty steep ramps in the queue.
Also to think about, some attractions have moving walkways. THose might not cause you any problem if you just become fatigued, but if you also have balance problems, those might cause difficulty.

And, a final thing to think about......
there are people who will think bad things no matter what you do. Some may think you don't need the wheelchair because they see you in it in the line and then see you get out to transfer to the ride car. Some might think you don't need it because you get out, park it and then walk into the ride. We've heard comments before because someone saw our DD sitting on a bench next to her wheelchair - and she can't even transfer herself out of her wheelchair to get onto a bench. So, there are some people who might 'complain'. Some of them would complain no matter what. YOU know that you need it and your opinion is the only one that counts.

 

[Emimy]

Hi everyone, thankyou for the replies

I think I will just rent one from the parks, if they've sold out I guess I'll just have to suffer it.

Goofieslonglostsis- You're right, thats made me feel better that in getting out of it to get on a ride I won't be taking up space that somebody else could use.

Thanks for helping me out, I'm such a stress head about everything!

Em xx

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

Em, breath in and out and think happy toughts. Stressing out is such a waste of energy. Either you'll find you've been stressing out over nothing (what a waste would that have been) or you find you were right stressing out (but still will have let it negatively influence more days than absolutely needed). It wont change a thing. If you read the stickys on here and take some time to read some of the topics on this part of the board, you will know so much info, you should be fine with most basic things while at WDW with a disability.

Still feeling unsure? Get yourself a copy of the Open Mouse. This is the passporters version for those with a disability. It explains a lot of basic info about resorts, parks, restaurants and rides all on an individual base. It explains all kinds of stuff for different disabilities.

But seriously; WDW is not the place to worry about these things. It will be harsher in 'real life'. Forget the unknowing and/or uncaring knitwits and focus on yourself and WDW. Overall it's a very friendly place for those of us with some extra needs.

And if you still stress out once you got there? Just look around you and notice there are enough people out there very willing to help. CM's and others visiting WDW, including us with some more needs. Seriously. If I focussed on the negative; yeah they were there on a few occasions. But there have been dozens of CM's helping me out (wanting to) during my last trip, either at my request or of their own offering, and having some nice chats with a number. The same goes for the 'regular WDW-visitor'.

 

[SueM in MN]

One 'warning' about the Open Mouse book - it is a very large book with small print, so it looks overwhelming to some people. I'd suggest looking at it the first time just to kind of figure out in general what is in it. Then, look at the things that are of more interest to you. Take a final look with either post-it notes or a highlighter to mark the things you want to remember.

 

[Emimy]

Wow, I didn't realise there had been more replies!

hehe goofieslonglostsis, I could do with you coming with me to calm me down! I noticed you're going around the same time as me too! Thats cool

I think I'll be ok in the end, I'm just very nervous naturally & there's only myself and my boyfriend going this time, which is scary if you're a worrier like me

Thanks again anyways!!



Em xx

 

[BETTYDISNEY]

Wow, I didn't realise there had been more replies!

hehe goofieslonglostsis, I could do with you coming with me to calm me down! I noticed you're going around the same time as me too! Thats cool

I think I'll be ok in the end, I'm just very nervous naturally & there's only myself and my boyfriend going this time, which is scary if you're a worrier like me

Thanks again anyways!!



Em xx

Have a wonderful time sending you some