Crutches at the World

[mousebit]

I'm recovering after an accident from some pretty extensive leg surgery that has left me with an internal fixation rod at the femur (knee to just below the hip) and a total knee replacement. I have a WDW trip planned for December, but I am thinking I probably will still need a crutch or cane as I still cannot bear full weight. My questions are: 1) Will they allow me to keep a crutch or cane with me on the ride vehicles; and 2) Are there any metal detector security places at WDW that will create a problem for me since I have all that metal in my leg and if so what type of proof would I need (letter from doctor, etc.)?

I would appreciate any help/advice. THANX!

 

[kaytieeldr]

1) Usually; if you can't (due to ride design or safety) you can use all the way to getting into the ride vehicle (e.g. Rock 'N Roller Coaster), then the CM will take it from you and return it to you at the debarking area.
2) No, but if you're flying you should get a letter from your surgeon explaining that (and I think where) you have metal inside your body. The office probably has a form letter for this purpose.
3) Even though you didn't ask you should consider renting an ECV. See the disABILITIES FAQ 'sticky' at the top of the list of threads.

 

[mjkean]

1) The only ride that I rode that I had to leave my cane with the CM was Soarin'. And for that, all I had to do was leave it on the ground, and it was there when they brought us back down. When I am at a park or something like that, I hook my cane's loop onto my hippack. Does that make any sense? I use one of those clips like you see on some hippacks or the small bottles of sunscreen. I hook that to the pack on a loop and then onto my cane. I would show that my cane wasn't going anywhere and they let me keep it. That way I had it to get out of the car. Also, watch the cars unload if you can. That way if you need help out of the car, you will know if your spouse/hunny/parent should enter before you or after. It was important for my husband to be able to get out first, so he could then help me out.

2) My cane is metal, I went off when I went through. It was not a problem. Since we drove, it wasn't a problem at the airport.

3) I had knee surgery last year. I only use a cane when I am walking a lot. I was fine at MGM, I took a pain pill after MK. For Epcot, I wish I would have rented a ECV. It wasn't just my "bad" leg. When you have a bad leg, your good leg takes a lot of your weight. By 8pm, I thought I would die. Both of my legs hurt enough to take a pill. That helped. We ended up staying until midnight, since they had extra magic hours. By that time, just putting one foot in front of the other would have been impossible without a pain pill.

 

[SueM in MN]

Just agreeing with the others, For most attractions, people would be able to bring a cane or crutches right onto the ride. If you decide to rent an ECV (a good idea, since you could be walking between 3 and 9 miles per day at the parks), if you rent from one of the off-site places, you can also get crutch or cane holder attached to the ECV.

There are no metal detectors at WDW (at least not unless they added them in the last few months and no one is talking about them on the Boards).