Disability?

[sharon-o]

Hi we are going to florida for 3 weeks in july, my son has learning difficulties and mobility problems eg.. he can't walk for long periods without getting very tired and frustrated.
We have hired a car and we have a blue badge so parking may be easier?
My question is.. can we hire a wheelchair in the parks or is there anywhere else you can hire from?
Is it expensive to hire?
Do you need to pre-book?
Do you need any documents to prove the disability?
Is there disabled access to the rides or do you que along with the crowd? Any help would be very useful.
Many thanks

 

[KayleeUK]

Sharon

Not sure on this but have you checked out the disABILITIES Board

 

[Haitch]

They drop off and pick up at your hotel or villa at a pre-arranged time, you can book on the internet.

http://www.randysmobility.com/

some villas have them to use free of charge, the one we rented last year had one but we did'nt need it.

The Americans are very good at looking after people with disabilities.

Haitch

 

[SueM in MN]

Hi we are going to florida for 3 weeks in july, my son has learning difficulties and mobility problems eg.. he can't walk for long periods without getting very tired and frustrated.
We have hired a car and we have a blue badge so parking may be easier?
My question is.. can we hire a wheelchair in the parks or is there anywhere else you can hire from?

How old is your son. If he is adult or adult size, you can rent a wheelchair in the parks or from one of the outside medical equipment companies for him. If he is small, you might be better of using a stroller - the WDW strollers will hold up to a small 12 year old. You can request a Guest Assistance Card at guest Services in any of the parks to use the stroller as a wheelchair. If you are using an actual wheelchair, you don't need a card unless there are other "invisible" needs.

Is it expensive to hire?
Do you need to pre-book?

It's about $7-8 a day. It's less expensive, in general to rent by the week from one of the off-site companies. If you follow the link in my signature to the disABILITIES Board, you can find a lot more info, including a disABILITIES FAQs thread.

Do you need any documents to prove the disability?

No, none is required; although if he has an invisible disability, it might make things a little easier for you to ask for assistance if he has some documentation.

Is there disabled access to the rides or do you que along with the crowd?

All of the fastpass queues and most of the regular queues are wheelchair accessible, so for the most part, you will be waiting in the same lines as everyone else.

 

[alisonbestford]

Firstly, have a fantastic holiday and, secondly, don't hesitate to use your blue badge to it's full extent You have it for a reason and never fail to under estimate how valuable it is ;-)
I struggled for many years not using my husband's blue badge, because he didn't like it and didn't have a 'visable' disability'! ;-), but now I've learnt better ;-)
We used the blue badge for parking last year when we stayed in Orlando and might take advantage of being able to hire a wheelchair this time. From what I understand, however, you need to be at the parks pretty early to be able to hire the onsite wheelchairs.
There are several off site companies that look a far better option, price wise, but we've only rented a small car so I doubt we'd be able to fit any sort of wheelchair in it............
I can't think of the sites off hand but, if you put them in a search engine........
Good luck.
Alison