Disneyland with a cast?

[lisachrystine]

My DD(5) just broke her arm. We leave in 2 weeks. Anyone have experience with being at DLR with a broken arm? I know she'll be able to do most everything, but I'm curious about your personal experience and suggestions to make things easier on her.

 

[Ausdad]

My DD(5) just broke her arm. We leave in 2 weeks. Anyone have experience with being at DLR with a broken arm? I know she'll be able to do most everything, but I'm curious about your personal experience and suggestions to make things easier on her.

Oh that just plain sucks. I haven't done it in a cast but as you said she will still be able to do so many things it won't ruin her trip.

I'm guessing most water rides will out but just in case it rains make sure you have something to keep the cast dry.

 

[CassieF]

I did a bunch of trips while my dominate arm was in an above the elbow cast. There are no ride restrictions specifically for a cast (Knotts will barely let you ride anything) so no rides should be off the table. I found that sitting on the opposite side of the ride vehicle worked best for me, so my cast was on the inside, somewhat protected, and for Screamin, it gave me more room.

Get a nice, comfy, lightweight sling if needed. I got a mesh type one from CVS which helped with overheating, plus it had build in pocket for cards and such.

Since she's little, have fun with the cast! Decorate it or just leave it plain and bring a Sharpie for characters to sign it. I did my first cast as ironman, my second (and favorite) was Buzz's chest plate.

Here's Buzz


Here's Iron Man

 

[Mary484]

My daughter had a cast four our 5 day trip last October. It had also been about 2 weeks after the break. By then, the pain is all gone. The only rides the doctor said were off limits were Splash Mountain and GRR. She was able to do Pirates, we just covered her arm with a hoodie and put her in the middle of the row.

Characters are no longer allowed to sign casts. We had fun, I don't think it really affected much. Just watch them like a hawk and don't let them hold anything small. My daughter dropped a coin in her cast while she was crushing pennies. That right there is a day lost in the ER getting a new cast.

 

[CassieF]

Speaking of water, for home bath/shower use I HIGHLY recommend the Curad Cast Protector...I'm not sure if they make it in a kid size but it was the best way to stay 100% dry in the shower, no extra care needed beyond putting it on. That would work well for water rides as well, since it will be warm.

 

[CassieF]

Oh, I found it. And they do make kid arm ones!

http://www.amazon.com/Curad-Cast-Pr...5402&sr=8-2&keywords=curad+cast+protector+arm

 

[Malcon10t]

If she has not had the permanent cast put on yet, ask for a water proof one. My son's was $20 more out of pocket, but so worth it.

 

[NiceOneSimba]

Yes, the waterproof cast is TOTALLY worth it!

Our DD broke her arm DAYS before our trip (and her birthday). It was right at the elbow, so her cast went all the way up her arm. It didn't inhibit our trip at all, and frankly, the attention she got from the characters and other CMs more than made up for anything she couldn't do (which wasn't much).

As you can see, the cast went all the way up her arm. (It was Super Bowl weekend, and we're from Seattle....hence the crazy cast!)



Suzy and Perla were VERY concerned. She got lots of hugs and kisses from the characters. This was pretty typical of the interactions we had.



The only rides I completely nixed for her were Goofy's Sky School and the Matterhorn. I just wasn't comfortable with the jerky side-to-side motion on those. I figured that if my arms hurt after I got off a ride, it was a no-go for her. On Mater's, I made her sit so the cast was next to a person instead of the side of the car, because that one has a LOT of side-to-side, too.

Space Mountain was her most favorite!



Splash was down on our trip, but I would have let her ride (waterproof cast). It was only in the mid-60s when we were there, so no one wanted to ride GRR.

Honestly, she did EVERYTHING she wanted, even Jedi Training. It was a little hard with just one functional hand, but she had a great time!




I was totally freaked out when it happened, and very concerned about how it might impact our trip, and it was really a non-issue. We had a great trip!

 

[NiceOneSimba]

Oh, and we did BBB on our trip. We did the castle package, and our Fairy Godmother in Training clearly had experience getting the gloves over a cast! They're really stretchy! And the photographers in the photo session had a few poses to hide the cast. They were great!

 

[lisachrystine]

Thanks everyone! She still has the ER splint, not the permanent cast yet, so I will definitely ask about waterproof. If not, I'll buy some of those protectors. She wants to do Splash, but GRR will be closed when we're there, so I will ask about that at the orthopedist. She will miss swimming, but overall, I don't think she'll miss out on too much.

Good idea keeping the broken arm to the inside on the rides. I will remember that.

She wants to do Jedi training - I hadn't thought about the complications of only using one arm! I will tell her to start practicing with her brothers now.

We are doing BBB, but luckily she's going to be Belle with a short sleeves, so I think we'll be good there.

Mary484 - I'm bummed characters won't sign anymore, do you know why? We were planning to do that! Though I know she'll still love all the extra attention even without the signatures.

Anyone else have ideas? This has been super helpful! She is the first in our family to have a cast. Neither I nor DH has ever had one either, so I know nothing about it.

 

[Malcon10t]

If you get the waterproof cast, she can swim (if she knew how before....)

 

[mom2tinkandmickey]

DS has been in a cast on 2 different trips. Thanks to the waterproof casts, he had no problems riding anything. I suggest bringing her a sling just in case. DSs only complaint was the cast got heavy by the end of the day, and the sling helped. Have a great trip!

 

[SpacecadetNZ]

My husband is in a waterproof cast at the moment for a broken wrist. It's a great development in casts - he can shower and swim with no problems. The water just drains out. It's weird And he has it in black and yellow, his sports team's colours.

I suspect the policy about characters not signing casts is a precaution in case of further injury. It's probably not a legal risk Disney wants to take.

I love the idea of decorating the cast in a Disney way. Very clever. Love the Buzz panel!

 

[CassieF]

Decorating the cast (especially buzz) was the best thing I could have done. It made it fun, and gave me a lot of interaction with all sorts of people, and I'm normally one who keeps to myself. It was very easy, we just used acrylic paints and my dad just followed the picture. It did make the cast slightly less breathable (iron man was worse because it was 100% painted vs just the front for buzz) but not bad. Also, they make glow in the dark acrylic paints, so the green on buzz also glows, and under black lights (in many disney rides) it practically beams!