Cousin granted a wish by make a wish...

[stacie_d]

He is a sixteen year old boy with cerebral palsy. I affects only his motor skills (walking is the biggest problem). He has listed Disney World as his first choice, but he is concerned that it will be too "young" for him. I don't think so at all. But, we have been there probably 10+ times, but we have never gone with a teenage boy in a wheelchair.

I'm sure Disneyquest will be great for him, and I was sure to mention that. I think he will have a great time, but wanted to see if anyone had any experience with a similiar disability while at Disney.

He has wanted to ride a rollercoaster for a while. He has never been on one, but I told them he should be able to there.

Any thoughts?

 

[SueM in MN]

He is a sixteen year old boy with cerebral palsy. I affects only his motor skills (walking is the biggest problem).

My DD also has cerebral palsy, but can't walk. She has been to WDW too many times to count.
She has not been on any of the roller coasters except for Goofy's Barnstormer because in many of them she would not be able to sit up and in others, we would not be able to lift her in. She has been on everything at one time or another except for Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Rock N Roller Coaster, and Expedition Everest.
Some of the 'wilder' rides my DD likes are Space Tours, Test Track and Tower of Terror. We went on the more 'tame' version of Mission Space on our last trip and she liked that a lot.
Expedition Everest has a ride car with a wider opening to make it easier to get on.
Some things are tougher to get on than others (like Splash Mountain is very hard because you have to climb in and Pirates is sort of hard because it is a long step down).

If he can walk a few steps, he should be able to ride almost anything he wants (unless his doctor has any restrictions for him).
If you check out the disABILITIES FAQs thread, you will find a lot of information that should be helpful. One of the links is to the official WDW Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities. It's not that detailed, but is at least a starting point. There are also links to unofficial sites and to other threads on this site.

MK is the least handicapped accessible because it is oldest, but some of the least accessible are the attractions that he might feel are too 'young' for him (like Snow White and Peter Pan).
There are things a teenaged boy would like at every park, so I don't think he's too old for WDW. I don't know what his interests are; if he is the 'artsy' type, he may enjoy all the planning and art that went into all the attractions, even the ones aimed more at small children.

 

[Shorty82]

There is no such thing as being to old for WDW. It doesn't matter if you're 1 or 101, there are a number of things to enjoy.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Hear hear! You can never be too old for Disney! Just encourage him to go along and give things a try; if he's with people he can have a laugh with, he may even enjoy IASW! It's also the most accessible place I have yet found, so that shouldn't be too much of an issue.

As Sue said, the FAQ has loads of useful information in it. Just to get you started, here's a few links (they're in the FAQ, but I just thought this would make it easier for you):

The Disney guide for guests with disabilities:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/common/Plain?id=PlainHomePage

A thread on tips for wheeling Disney:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1543998

The Mouse On Wheels (loads of information on the rides and transfers):
http://www.themouseonwheels.com/index.htm

Hope this helps. If you have any more questions, just give us a shout!

 

[shermomof5]

We just returned from WDW with my 12 yr old son affected by Cerebral Palsy. He is in a wheelchair and is unable to transfer. He can weightbear to assist us but thats about it. We took one of his aids with us and did 2 man transfers on every single roller coaster and ride. We did the water parks, Discovery Cove and Seaworld with very few problems. He had a blast and did more rides than us.

 

[Purple Princess]

Congratulations on him getting a WISH granted!! We went to Disney World last November for my daughters WISH trip and had a wonderful time! She has CP too but it affects her in all areas. She is 22 but is mentally delayed.

I can't see how DW could be too young for him. They have attractions for all ages. There is more to DW than riding Dumbo lol. I love Dumbo by the way Since you have been there a lot you already know that.

Since he hasn't rode a roller coaster before I think he should start on the smaller ones such as the Barnstormer. I think they would allow him to ride since adults can ride with their kids. I can't imagine wanting to try say Space Mountain for my first ride. You guys need to see how well he can hold up to the tamer coasters first.

I hope you let us know if he does get approved for Disney and where you may be staying. We stayed at GKTW and LOVED it! I was worried about my daughter looking out of place since she was 21, but they have WISH kids and their families there of ALL ages! He wouldn't feel out of place.

I send you best wishes! Wherever he goes I pray he has the most amazing trip ever, and I know he will if he goes to DW!

 

[SueM in MN]

Since he hasn't rode a roller coaster before I think he should start on the smaller ones such as the Barnstormer. I think they would allow him to ride since adults can ride with their kids. I can't imagine wanting to try say Space Mountain for my first ride. You guys need to see how well he can hold up to the tamer coasters first.

Adults can ride Barnstormer (even if they don't have any kids with them)
That is a good one to start with because it is short and fairly tame. You are also sitting 2 people to a seat. From riding that, wee found out that DD has too much extensor tone when she gets excited to safely ride Space Mountain (where you sit one person per seat, lined up behind each other).
We also decided she has too mcuh extensor tone for us to hold her down on a longer roller coaster (like Big Thunder Mountain).
So, use what you find out from riding one thing to help figure out works and what doesn't.

 

[PatMcDuck]

My daughter has requested a wish, we are waiting for the paperwork to work it's way around. She has had a very rough year, and in fact she just got out of CHoP (childrens in Philly) on Halloween after another long (15 day) stay.

She is 15 years old, and does not want a Disney trip at all! We are DVC members, so she goes every year or so. I think she would maybe like Universal better....... but she wants a relaxing spa stay of some sort, which is easy for me to understand. (she is currently undergoing a series of painful operations that will leave her wheelchair bound for about 6 months)