Disney with a Power wheelchair

[Marie14625]

Hi

I am new to the boards, but not new to a WDW vacation. I will be traveling to WDW in November with a friend who uses a power wheelchair. She IS able to transfer out of it, with my assistance.
We do have a question though. When reading over the accessability info for some of the attractions, it says a person may need to transfer from an ECV to a manual chair, or a seat. Would her power chair fall into this category? Kim says she is fine if she has to transfer, but wonders just which ride she can get onto using her own chair.

What have been your experiences? Most of our questions will be posted by me, but I will be sharing all the responses with Kim. I work as her personal assistant...go to her job with her, help her with personal needs, etc. So.alot of my time here will be spent while I am at work with Kim.

 

[Talking Hands]

It will depend on the size of her PWC for most rides. For Pirates she will need to transfer. For Peter Pan they do not stop the moving sidewalk but you can request it at any of the other rides. My Jazzy 1103 goes through all the lines but Pirates.

 

[shovan]

I am wondering about this also. My DH has recently switched from a ECV to a power WC. Will the CM's treat the WC differently than the ECV? Lately they made him transfer for practically everything. He had a smaller scooter & is an excellent driver & could put that thing almost anywhere. But even on rides that would have been easy for him (Great Movie Ride comes to mind) they would make him transfer. Well transferring these days is getting pretty difficult, so I'm hoping his new (rather small) power chair will give him more access. Anyone know?

 

[Talking Hands]

I am rarely asked to transfer to a manual wheelchair and will refuse if asked even though I can. It is a personal issue since a manual chair cuts off my circulation. My chair was made to my size and needs and is proabably smaller than a manual WC.

 

[shovan]

I am rarely asked to transfer to a manual wheelchair and will refuse if asked even though I can. It is a personal issue since a manual chair cuts off my circulation. My chair was made to my size and needs and is proabably smaller than a manual WC.

They let you on the rides when you refuse? No problems? I know my DH has put up a fuss before, but has been told either he transfers or doesn't ride.

 

[Marie14625]

Thanks. I am familiar with the Jazzy chair..a friend of Kim's has one. Kim's is just your standard, garden variety power wheelchair. Not too fancy. Of the attractions Kim is interested in so far, just Small World and the Movie ride mention transfering to a manual chair. In others, (Haunted Mansion for example) she will transfer to the seat.

I will be checking back often for more information here.

 

[SueM in MN]

We have not taken DD's power wheelchair to WDW yet, but all the research/reading I have done is that it really depends on the size of the power wheelchair.
You will be able to go on everything that is listed as wheelchair accessible (the ones that don't say ECV users must transfer to a wheelchair). For the ones that say ECV users must transfer to an available manual wheelchair, if your power wheelchair has the same "footprint" as a manual one, it should probably fit.

Also, if you check out the disABILITIES FAQs thread, there are some links there that will be helpful to you. They are in the 3rd post on that thread - there are links to the official Guidebooks for Guests with Disabilities near the top of that post and there are some links to past threads about travel to WDW with power wheelchairs near the bottom of that post.

 

[Talking Hands]

I always ask for a supervisor and when they see the size of the chair I am allowed to ride it through the line and then transfer directly to the ride vehicle. The Jazzy 1103 is the smallest of the Jazzy series and in a mini in size. This chair has a smaller footprint than a manual WC

 

[Marie14625]

WOW, between my two posts in this section, I am getting some great information. I can;t wait to share it all with Kim tomorrow.
In fact, we are taking a day off from the office next Tuesday, and will be doing a Disney Planning Day at her house.

I weill check the FAq'S. Having just discovered these boards today, I am rather excited, and want to learn everything at once.. . I am just glad I will be able to help Kim as much as possible.

 

[lovespoohbear]

small word she should be able to ride. she just drives on the boat and then up to the row she wants to sit in(thats if you have a boat to yourself like i did during mvmcp. i was able to ride about 8 rides. i have a permmobile. the only ride i couldnt ride was buzz i was 2 inches to long stupid wheels lol.

 

[Marie14625]

poobear..Kim would like you, Pooh is her favorite character, also.

 

[shovan]

I always ask for a supervisor and when they see the size of the chair I am allowed to ride it through the line and then transfer directly to the ride vehicle. The Jazzy 1103 is the smallest of the Jazzy series and in a mini in size. This chair has a smaller footprint than a manual WC

Thanks, I'll guess we'll just see what happens. Maybe we will follow your example & ask for a supervisor, when DH is sure he can fit.

 

[BroganMc]

I use a Quickie V-121... the foldable power chair. Anti-tip to front caster is 26 inches. There's another 12 or so for the footplate and hanger.

I'm able to ride all the wheelchair accessible rides save one... Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride. The CM made me switch over to a manual chair and then pushed me on it.

Buzz can be a bit tricky with some powerchairs. The ramp is steep and a tad short. Everytime I try to get on, my anti-tips get hung up at the bottom and it needs a good push from the CM. I just warn them of the trouble and we handle it together (me gunning my joystick and them pushing, with me quickly laying off the power before I ram the front wall).

In my experience, when cast members see you in a powerchair they tend to assume you can't transfer or won't be. It's pretty much never a problem though.

When you get there, tell your friend to look for the entry queue in the new Finding Nemo ride in Epcot. It's one of my favorite powerwheelchair rides... a dark room with about 30 sharp twists. Makes for a great obstacle course when empty. Last trip, we had a 3 man race between me (and my pwc), my dad (and his scooter) and another lady (and her manual chair).

 

[BroganMc]

Thanks, I'll guess we'll just see what happens. Maybe we will follow your example & ask for a supervisor, when DH is sure he can fit.

Only problem with scooters is that they are not as maneuverable as wheelchairs. That's why many rides are forbidden to them. Only ones I'd try are the boat rides.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

When you get there, tell your friend to look for the entry queue in the new Finding Nemo ride in Epcot. It's one of my favorite powerwheelchair rides... a dark room with about 30 sharp twists. Makes for a great obstacle course when empty. Last trip, we had a 3 man race between me (and my pwc), my dad (and his scooter) and another lady (and her manual chair).

And the best story I've got is racing a CM who was on a Segway

 

[Marie14625]

The mention of the Segways brought a thought of a chat I had with another member of our group who is going. I think I mentioned there will be the two ladies who use wheelchairs...and two of us accompanying them. We are all co-workers.

Anyway....the new Birnbaum book has a coupon for a % off rental of Segways..for up to 4 people. So Lyn and I thought we could rent them, and have a Segway vs wheelchair race through Epcot or something.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Now that, I'd like to see!

 

[shovan]

Broganmc,

My DH has recently switched from the scooter to a power WC. An Invacare Pronto M61. It's overall size is about 24x38. So while not a huge chair, it's much larger than yours!

 

[pugdog]

The mention of the Segways brought a thought of a chat I had with another member of our group who is going. I think I mentioned there will be the two ladies who use wheelchairs...and two of us accompanying them. We are all co-workers.

Anyway....the new Birnbaum book has a coupon for a % off rental of Segways..for up to 4 people. So Lyn and I thought we could rent them, and have a Segway vs wheelchair race through Epcot or something.

They don't rent Segways. Only the tour in EPCOT before the park opens to the public.The coupon must have been for the tour.

 

[SueM in MN]

They don't rent Segways. Only the tour in EPCOT before the park opens to the public.The coupon must have been for the tour.

I agree that the ramp for Buzz Lightyear is pretty short. The space inside for a wheelchair is also fairly short. If this works right, it will be a picture of the ramp open, ready for a wheelchair to pull on.