four hours

[redberyl]

my 5 year old has heart, lung and liver disease with a feeding tube and trach. At the local amusement park on her best days she can only manage 2 hours in the am followed by a long rest then another 2 hours in the evening. Even with the rest, avoiding the worst heat and using her stroller she'll be worn out and need oxygen at night. Will she qualify for the new das card? If she does can you do enough in 4 or less houts to make the expense worth it? I know she would love disney, but csnt see goingif she can only do 2 or 3 things a day.

 

[Coonhound]

I don't see why she wouldn't qualify for the DAS, but what you'll need to do is explain to the CMs why she can't wait in a traditional line, saying she has a trach etc is not what they need to hear, what they need to hear is why the trach makes it hard to for to stand in line, etc does that make sense? It's not the actual diagnosis she has, but rather it's the specific need she has (can't tolerate heat, etc)

As to the other question I'm not sure how much you can really get done in two hours. I'm guessing not a lot. Lines are usually long and you're only allowed one return time at a time (you get a return time for a ride only after your previous one has been crossed off). However you can schedule rides that you can use fast passes on to do in between your DAS return times, which should help you do more things at one time. You could also get a return time for a ride that you'll do later in the day- meaning , get a return time for a ride, then go back to the hotel and rest, later when you return to the parks you'll use your return time.

Good luck

 

[Unas]

The DAS is not a front of the line pass. Not time to do much, especially if it includes the time getting through the entry lines and to the attractions.

 

[lanejudy]

I strongly suggest that you plan to use her stroller and request a stroller-as-wheelchair tag. Generally, strollers must be parked outside attractions, the tag will allow you to use the stroller through the lines as well, helping her to conserve her strength and energy.

As PP mentioned, for DAS you will have to discuss her "needs" as specifically related to waiting in lines and not the diagnoses. Mobility/stamina concerns will be addressed by the stroller-as-wheelchair so you'll want to think what other issues might create challenges in line.

How much you can get done in a 2-hour period may depend on the crowds, time of year, arrival time in the park and other factors. Keep in mind that if you stay at an onsite resort and use buses, it could take up to an hour to get from your resort room to the park entrance. Even staying offsite, you'll need to plan time for travel, parking and getting through the entrance before you can begin to enjoy the park.

If you haven't done so already, please check out the WDW Disability Access Service Card sticky near the top of this forum. You don't need to read the full thread, but the first page has the details of the DAS program.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[Nanajo1]

Using the DAS and FP+ should increase the number of things you could do. The DAS doesn't expire so if you miss a time you can go later.

 

[Coonhound]

Requesting to use her stroller as a wheelchair is a great idea, as a pp mentioned, because she will not be required to get out of it to enter the lines for rides, and staying seated in the stroller will cut down on a lot of standing and walking she would have to do while in the line (lines are slow moving so it is mostly just standing and very slow walking, inching forward lol) but yeah staying in the stroller in line will help her spend less energy.

Someone also mentioned a good point- if most of her issues can be remedied by using the stroller as a wheelchair (not having to get out the stroller to enter lines) then they may not give you a DAS, because DAS isn't for mobility issues, it's for issues that cannot be helped by a wheelchair/scooter.
So you'll need to think about what her needs are and how to address it with the CM to make them understand that that the stroller-as-a-wheelchair alone isn't enough.

Also remember to schedule a return time for a ride right before you leave the park so that when you come back to the park later that evening you'll be able to get right in the fastpass line to ride that ride.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I'm wondering if your DD might be able to last longer at WDW by working in some of the shows (Finding Nemo at AK, Voyage of the Little Mermaid at DHS, etc) in between rides. Also, you might want to check out the First Aid stations in the parks. They would allow her to get out of the heat for a little while and rest.

 

[infopurposesonly]

If you're staying onsite, you should consider taking advantage of the morning Extra Magic hour. We just returned and found many rides at MK were walk-on during that first hour and very short waits for most of the morning. The park that has morning EMH usually becomes very busy later in the day, but by that time you would be leaving.

 

[clanmcculloch]

My 16yo doesn't have any physical disabilities, but she can't handle touring for more than 3 hours, 4 hours max, in a single day and on top of that we have to take every 3rd day and stay at our resort to decompress (she's autistic). We do PLENTY in the parks. Our last trip, while we did get a DAS we never ended up using, not even once. We accomplished this with a solid touring plan coupled with FP+. Sue made a good point about transportation though. I'm not including transportation time in this. If the 2 hours at a time includes transportation time then you're going to want to drive to the parks to save time.

Here are my touring plans from my MK days from our most. Yes, we did manage to ride all of these. As you can see, we did a lot more than 2-3 things each day. We were done around 11:45 am both days.

Day 1 9:00 am - 11:45 am
Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Mad Tea Party
Journey of the Little Mermaid - Under the Sea
Enchanted Tales with Belle (FP+ 9-10)
Mickey's Philharmagic
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (FP+ 10-11)
Monster's Inc Laugh Floor (FP+ 11-12)

Day 2 9:00 am - 11:45 am
Peter Pan
It's a Small World
Jungle Cruise
Pirates of the Caribbean
A Pirate's Adventure ~ Treasures of the Seven Sea
Magic Carpets of Aladdin (FP+ 10-11)
Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom
Haunted Mansion (FP+ 11-12)

 

[EvangelineG]

Our two DS's are on the autistic spectrum along with some other issues, and could not do more than a couple of hours at a time in the parks when they were younger. What worked best for us was as PP's have mentionned-choosing a lower crowds/cooler weather time of year to go, starting at rope drop and having a good touring plan. It is amazing how many rides you can pack into those first two hours of the day with a good plan!

Good luck!