Flying and Wheelchairs

[toocherie]

Well, I haven't been on a plane in about 10 years--my Mom hasn't been on a plane in about 12 years (1996 Olympics!) Since then her herniated disc has gotten to the point where she has to walk with a walker and can only walk short distances--so when we go places like Disneyland and Vegas she takes her ECV, then has the walker in the room and she does just great. Thank God for ECV's--

So, now that I'm a DVC member, we are going to WDW! And my question(s) are this: I know you can get courtesy wheelchairs at the airport, which I think will be a necessity because she won't be able to walk from the car or shuttle to the gate without difficulty. How do we go about getting the courtesy wheelchair? Do I have to go into the airport and flag someone down? Or are there people on the curb that can help you? (We will be leaving from LAX.)

I am tempted to take her wheelchair with us so we don't have any issues with availability--would that be a better plan? I would probably want to keep it with us until she boards--would that be allowed? Would she be able to take her walker with her on the plane? Otherwise how would she get to the restroom?

And would we better off trying to get bulkhead seats (but the restrooms would be at the back of the plane) or getting seats towards the back so if she did have a "call of nature" she wouldn't have to walk so far? (I thought about doing first class but the price difference is just ridiculous)

We are planning to rent an ECV in Florida rather than take with because I have read of damage to some units in transit--but we won't have that until we get to the resort (SSR). So once we get that she will be good with the ECV and the walker in the room. Just concerned about how to get her to the resort and what would be the easiest to accomplish this! (And I guess the same questions apply on the way back!)

Thanks everyone! Sorry to have so many questions all at once.

 

[SueM in MN]

And my question(s) are this: I know you can get courtesy wheelchairs at the airport, which I think will be a necessity because she won't be able to walk from the car or shuttle to the gate without difficulty. How do we go about getting the courtesy wheelchair? Do I have to go into the airport and flag someone down? Or are there people on the curb that can help you? (We will be leaving from LAX.)

You would contact the airline ahead of time and they will arrange it.
If they have curbside checkin, you should be able to get one from the skycaps there.

I am tempted to take her wheelchair with us so we don't have any issues with availability--would that be a better plan? I would probably want to keep it with us until she boards--would that be allowed? Would she be able to take her walker with her on the plane? Otherwise how would she get to the restroom?

You can keep the wheelchair with you to get all the way to the door of the plane. You park the wheelchair just outside the door of the plane and then the baggage people put it underneath the plane. This is called gate checking and you should ask the gate agent about it before boarding begins. In some planes, you may be able to put the folded wheelchair onto the plane and stow it in a closet.
The walker can be brought onto the plane and folded to either put into a closet (if they have one) or some walkers can fold small enough to fit in the overhead bin. Because the aisles are narrow, there may not be enough space for her to use the walker to get into the plane. If she is not able to walk in, holding onto the backs of seats, the airlines have narrow wheelchairs called aisle chairs that she could be wheeled aboard the plane on.

And would we better off trying to get bulkhead seats (but the restrooms would be at the back of the plane) or getting seats towards the back so if she did have a "call of nature" she wouldn't have to walk so far? (I thought about doing first class but the price difference is just ridiculous)

Some planes do have bathrooms in the front, but on some airlines, those front bathrooms are reserved for First Class only. There are websites where you can look up the plane configurations.

We are planning to rent an ECV in Florida rather than take with because I have read of damage to some units in transit--but we won't have that until we get to the resort (SSR). So once we get that she will be good with the ECV and the walker in the room. Just concerned about how to get her to the resort and what would be the easiest to accomplish this! (And I guess the same questions apply on the way back!)

Thanks everyone! Sorry to have so many questions all at once.

I think having her own wheelchair might be a good plan. THat gives you the wheelchair for the plane, but also she could use it for getting around the room.

 

[Nanajo1]

I took my own manual W/c the last two trips. It worked out great. I rode it right to the plane door. I can walk short distances so I walked to my seat. The chair was gate checked. The chair was returned to me on landing with the strollers that were gate checked. It was great to have chair available on the return trip. I have had trouble getting the airport courtesy chair when the ME bus dropped me off at MCO. The driver called ahead and requested a w/c be at the stop but on two different trips one never arrived. My DH had to go to the second floor to find one. So I like the peace of mind that I'll have a chair.

 

[toocherie]

Thanks! That was my sense too--I just don't want to chance not having one and the additional stresses that will add. She has a WC, but it's pretty heavy. I was thinking of getting one of those "travel" wheelchairs since we will essentially be only using it from home-airport/resort-airport and it will not have to be heavy duty for the parks--she will have an ECV we will rent then. Does anyone have recommendations for types/brands?

 

[SueM in MN]

I was thinking of getting one of those "travel" wheelchairs since we will essentially be only using it from home-airport/resort-airport and it will not have to be heavy duty for the parks--she will have an ECV we will rent then. Does anyone have recommendations for types/brands?

There is a recent thread on the disABILITIES Community Board about that kind of chair. They are called 'Transport chairs'.