Free Wheelin' ???

[tinker-kyle]

hope you'll can help me ...

i remember seeing an article on an unoffical WDW website written by a guy in a chair ... you know accessibility info and helpful hints, etc...

i also remember thinking that this would be good info for when my para nephew and his family where ready to do disney .... well they're planning a trip for next summer and i cant remember where i saw this "great" article.

anybody???

if not that exact info ... any info re navigating the parks/resorts for a 15 year old wheelchair user and family would be appreciated.

thanks!

 

[SueM in MN]

Welcome to disABILITIES
It's possible that you saw a report on the Trip Reports Board. You can search on that board for wheelchair.
To help us give more assistance, does he use a power wheelchair or a manual one?

 

[BillSears]

Hi,

I'm not the guy you're looking for but I am a para and I made my first trip to WDW 28 years ago at the age of 18. I had a blast and still do.

This thread has a ride by ride breakdown of accessibility. My posts in there are from the perspective of a T8 level paraplegic:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=818020&highlight=transfer

I hope he enjoys his trip. WDW is probably the most accessible place I've been for a vacation. It's not perfect but it is magical.

 

[tinker-kyle]

hi ... thanks for the replies

my nephew is a manual wheelchair user ... i think he's T7
very adept at transferring ... also his two older brothers will be on the trip with us ... if he needs help getting into or onto anything they're the best

(its funny but he wouldnt be caught dead having his mom/dad pick him up, but brothers are cool)

i printed out the thread re ride transfers ...
and Bill i read you're very dated trip report. i hadnt noticed the date ... but the "castle-cake" gave it away.

my family is doing WDW this month (i'm already planning for Aug 06 - gotta love APs) so i will pick up disney's guidebook regarding mobility assistance.

any other resources you can think of, things to get, read, etc...?

this is their once-in-a-lifetime trip ... they want to do it right... and i'd like to help make it special

any input on resorts? what do you think about accessible rooms?
we're recommending renting DVC points and getting 2bedroom (they have 4 kids ages 22-8) SSR has accessible pool, so we're thinking that might be good ... or BCV.

thanks for any help

 

[SueM in MN]

my family is doing WDW this month (i'm already planning for Aug 06 - gotta love APs) so i will pick up disney's guidebook regarding mobility assistance.

any other resources you can think of, things to get, read, etc...?

You can also find the Disney Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities on the internet. There is a link to the page on the disABILITIES FAQs thread near the top of this board.

any input on resorts? what do you think about accessible rooms?

A lot depends on what he needs. if he needs a rool in shower (which it sounds like he might), then he needs an accessible room. Other than that, a lot depends on their preference of the "look" and "feel" of the resort. If they are in one of the resorts with more than one bus stop, they should request close to the first bus stop.
Another thing to think about is which park they plan to spend the most time at. The Boardwalk area resorts allow you to walk or roll to 2 parks, but have (shared) buses to get to MK and AK.

we're recommending renting DVC points and getting 2bedroom (they have 4 kids ages 22-8) SSR has accessible pool, so we're thinking that might be good ... or BCV.

thanks for any help

SSR would require using a bus for all parks.
DH and I went to SSR without our wheelchair user (DD) last year in July. We were disappointed. Although the pool has a zero entry and a "bump step", as far as I could tell from being in the pool and moving around the entire pool, it is only 3 feet 6 inches at the deepest point. That is too shallow for a lot of people who would use the zero entry to get in.
The pools at and whirlpools at BCV do have bump steps.

 

[dj2]

hope you'll can help me ...

i remember seeing an article on an unoffical WDW website written by a guy in a chair ... you know accessibility info and helpful hints, etc...

i also remember thinking that this would be good info for when my para nephew and his family where ready to do disney .... well they're planning a trip for next summer and i cant remember where i saw this "great" article.

anybody???

if not that exact info ... any info re navigating the parks/resorts for a 15 year old wheelchair user and family would be appreciated.

thanks!

i think i remember seeing periodic articles entitled "free wheelin" in one of the disney-related e-newsletters i get, either from the passporter site or from deb wills' site, i can't remember from which...maybe that's what you're remembering.

-dj

 

[tinker-kyle]

dj .... that's what i remember too!

now i just need to find out where ...i could not find it on allears. i'll try passporter

thanks !

 

[patchchild]

You might want to look into the new book by PassPorter. They're putting out a giude to Disney for those with all types of disabilities. The regular PassPorters are great so I'm assuming their guide will be just as useful. I believe it's due out mid August.

 

[dj2]

dj .... that's what i remember too!

now i just need to find out where ...i could not find it on allears. i'll try passporter

thanks !

http://allearsnet.com/pl/mev/mev_chet1.htm

there was no space between free and wheelin. search engine are SO literal!

 

[DramaTech]

hope you'll can help me ...

i remember seeing an article on an unoffical WDW website written by a guy in a chair ... you know accessibility info and helpful hints, etc...

I'm that guy!!! My name is Chet McDoniel, and I've written several articles for AllEarsNet. They are all under the same name, FreeWheelin' Disney. A listing of the articles is available at my website:

http://www.freewheelintravel.com/articles.html

From there, you can view them on Deb's site. Please feel free to email me with any questions! I'll be glad to help! (That goes for everyone, of course!) I do try to check the boards as often as I can, but email or PM is probably faster.

-Chet

 

[tinker-kyle]

Chet - so happy i found you and your work!

and thanks to everybody who helped

i'm printing out the articles right now ... will read and share with my nephew and his family as we begin to plan out August 2006 WDW trip

i'm sure i'll need lots of advice over the next 12 months

thanks again

Have a magical day!