Don't know where to start...

[jjsmom]

Here's the deal; my mother (age 67) is partially disabled (walks with cane, uses wc for more crowded areas,never used a MS). She is also recovering from double breast cancer. She would like to go to Disney mid-august to see her granddaughter in law's dance company perform. I (healthy, age 43) have been to WDW about 20 or so times. I know my way around. My mom believes we can stay at a beach front condo in Cocoa (free, belongs to friends) and commute to WDW . I am doing everything in my power to convince her to stay onsite at least a couple of days (they are not oil-shiek wealthy, but not poor either). I think I can convince Dad to pony-up for us; he refuses to go. I have some issues. First of all, I could use some "therapy" working through this issue.

#2 I have no idea how to get around WDW with a disabled family member. I know you can rent wc's at guest services, but I should think that would get pricy day after day. What do I do? Where do I go? How do I NOT infuriate other guests?

#3 If you've travelled with older (stubborn), disabled family; how have you convinced that your plan is best?

#4 She has been to WDW in OFFSEASON (cooler) before her disability, most of those trips, she did indeed stay at this friends condo at CB. I'm sensing she's dealing with a little denial.

#5 Assuming that all of this works out; what type of bag should she carry? Comfortable for her, nothing that can be swiped off the back of a WC.

Love in All Things Magical,
Shelly

 

[Piper]

First of all--I am thinking you are using MS for ECV (scooter.) If you can get her to stay on property, this would be her best option. If she has difficulties using her arms because of the double mastectomy, that wouldn't work. You can rent them from off-site for a lot less than in the parks. This goes for wheelchairs, too.

You should probably go to the FAQ sticky at the top of this forum and read the entries. It should answer most of your questions (as well as give you the info on some off-site rental places.

Others will be along shortly to give you more info. I just wanted to point you to the FAQs so you could start researching!

 

[SueM in MN]

#2 I have no idea how to get around WDW with a disabled family member. I know you can rent wc's at guest services, but I should think that would get pricy day after day. What do I do? Where do I go? How do I NOT infuriate other guests?

I think the first thing you need to find out is how she would feel about an ECV compared to a wheelchair. Some people are afraid to use an ECV, especially older people who don’t drive. You do need to stay alert to drive one and be ready to move quickly because people tend to pop out in front of you. An ECV does give more independence, but some people are willing to give up a bit of independence to not have to be watching where they are going all the time.

Piper pointed you toward the resources that will help.
If you are staying on site, you can bring a wheelchair or ECV on the WDW transportation.
If you are staying off-site, you need to think about how you will get to the parks. A manual (push) wheelchair will fit in the trunk of many intermediate and larger cars.
When renting an ECV, let them know if you will be transporting it in a car - some can be broken down into smaller pieces for transport, but you need to let the rental company know so that they send one of that kind to you.
For attractions, all are wheelchair accessible, but some require a transfer from the wheelchair to a ride car. With an ECV, she may have to transfer to a wheelchair at times, since all lines are wheelchair accessible, but not all are ECV accessible. Most lines are wheelchair accessible, so in most cases, she will be waiting in the same lines with everyone else.

I’m not sure what you mean by not infuriating other guests.
There are people who just don’t like people who are using ECVs and wheelchairs. You can’t do anything about those people except ignore them.
Then, there are others who get upset when people with ECVs are either behaving in a dangerous or inconsiderate way or don’t seem to know what they are doing. You can do something about that - if she uses an ECV, have her practice so she is comfortable going backward, forward, stopping quickly, and turning in either direction going forward or backward.

#3 If you've travelled with older (stubborn), disabled family; how have you convinced that your plan is best?

Instead of trying to convince her that your plan is best, I’d suggest realizing that you and she may have very different ideas of which idea is ‘best’. If you push yours, she will probably just get more entrenched in proving why hers is best.
What I would do is make a list of each plan and then list pluses and minuses of each. That will help you each to understand more why you feel the way you do. And, laying it out that way, you may be able to each see the middle ground and compromise or even come up with a different plan that neither one would have thought about.

#4 She has been to WDW in OFFSEASON (cooler) before her disability, most of those trips, she did indeed stay at this friends condo at CB. I'm sensing she's dealing with a little denial.

My guess is that she is also dealing with the familiar - that is how she did it before and it worked out.
I think the first thing you need to find out is what she wants to do. If she only wants to go to WDW from the condo once, that might be doable. If she wants to do it multiple times during the week, not so much.
Setting out the pluses and minuses will help with this too - one big minus will be the travel time. Laying out the pluses and minuses may help her to see whether the plusses outweigh the minuses.

#5 Assuming that all of this works out; what type of bag should she carry? Comfortable for her, nothing that can be swiped off the back of a WC.

Love in All Things Magical,
Shelly

A lot depends on her and what she feels comfortable carrying.
Some people put a bag on the back of their wheelchair. If someone is pushing the chair, no one is going to be getting close the swipe the bag. You would bring the bag with you when you leave the chair to go on a ride, but it could stay there most of the time. Regular backpacks work well, and she could put her purse in a backpack if you want.
Other people use a shoulder purse of a cross body purse and just keep it on while they are in a wheelchair or ECV.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I had looked at Mapquest last night and saw that from Cocoa Beach to MK is 70½ miles with an expected driving time of 1¼ hours. When you consider gas costs, tolls and parking at WDW you are looking at a commuting cost of almost $50 per day.

And staying on property also gives the opportunity to go back to the room for a midday nap very easily.

 

[minkydog]

All I can tell you is my own experiences. We took my mother to WDW about 10 years ago. She was 66 at the time and had really bad knees and feet. She would NOT rent an ECV or WC, so she forced herself to walk(and the rest of us to slow down with her.) Within a day or so, she was utterly miserable but still refused to go into a WC or ECV. She had to stop about every 20 yards and sit down. Thankfully, she didn't mind if we took the kids off on our own and let her rest on a bench. Otherwise, the vacation would have been completely ruined.

Another time it was my DH. He had just been released from CCU after a nasty bout of pericarditis. His doctor approved him going(barely) and only if he used an ECV. DH was mortified! Whatever. I told him we could absolutely not go to WDW without it, that it would be unfair to the children to be held back by him when he could easily keep up if he had a scooter. He reluctantly agree. We stayed at the Poly that time, so it was very easy to get to MK and Epcot with the ECV. The very first day(!) he drove up Main Street in his ECV and when we got to the main crossroads he turned to me and said..."I'M SO GLAD YOU MADE ME GET THIS SCOOTER!" He realized in just that little span of time that he was not up to walking all day.

I can't tell you how to get your mom on board with that. But perhaps if you appeal to her sense of compassion for the others in the group,maybe she'll see the light.