HELP...Broken Leg

[WDWCPAlumni]

OK,
So my stepdad broke his leg. He is doing much better now, but he will need to rent a scooter for the time we are there.
Should he pay the money to get it at each park? or should we have a company deliver it to us for while we are there??
We are staying at beach club and have a rental minivan (6 of us)
we are talking $300.........

 

[minkydog]

I broke my lower leg at Thanksgiving and we leave for WDW Jan2.. In fact, I just got out of the cast today. I'm wearing a brace for the next 4wks and there is NO WAY i'm going to be able to walk the parks in less than 3wks.Just judging from what my ankle and foot look like I'd say rent a scooter. He's going to want to be able to get around the resort easily and keep up with the kids. I rented mine this morning from Randy's--they're gonna deliver it to me right at my room at the Poly Jan 3.

 

[Luv2Roam]

I have a friend who her and her DH come a few times a year for a week each. (DVC @ OKW) She requires a scooter or wheelchair when a lot of walking is involved, due to arthritic knees. (WDW = LOTS of walking)
She has rented WDW scooters. But finds it best to have scooters delivered to her at the resort. They cost less.
But they also use their own car, so it is easier to get the scooter around too.

 

[petrymom]

OK,
So my stepdad broke his leg. He is doing much better now, but he will need to rent a scooter for the time we are there.
Should he pay the money to get it at each park? or should we have a company deliver it to us for while we are there??
We are staying at beach club and have a rental minivan (6 of us)
we are talking $300.........[/QUOTE

how did he break his leg

 

[makinorlando]

Must be the season for broken legs. My 82 year old mother broke her femur on 11/4, and will be flying to visit me at my home in Orlando on 12/24. With her age and her injury, I know we will not spend much time in the parks, at least until the holiday crowds are gone. We are having b-fast in MK XMAS morning and dinner at Beach Club on NYE! If needed for MK I will get a wheel chair once we get to the park, since we will not be staying for too long with the crowd. She is using a walker, but I am nervous that the crowds might make it difficult to navigate!

I think if we were going to be doing multiple park days, I would rent her a scooter from an outside firm rather than from Disney. This way you would have it for the resort, and if you do anything outside of the parks - JMHO!

I hope he heals quickly! My mom can't wait to get here to my house - she is pretty "house bound" in her apartment which is on the second floor and she can't do the steps as of yet by herself!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I will suggest going over to the "disABILTIES!" forum. The first thing to do is look at the "disABILTIES! FAQ" which has lots of useful information. Then ask specific questions in that forum, you will get answers from people who need and use them.

 

[SueM in MN]

Must be the season for broken legs. My 82 year old mother broke her femur on 11/4, and will be flying to visit me at my home in Orlando on 12/24. With her age and her injury, I know we will not spend much time in the parks, at least until the holiday crowds are gone. We are having b-fast in MK XMAS morning and dinner at Beach Club on NYE! If needed for MK I will get a wheel chair once we get to the park, since we will not be staying for too long with the crowd. She is using a walker, but I am nervous that the crowds might make it difficult to navigate!

I think if we were going to be doing multiple park days, I would rent her a scooter from an outside firm rather than from Disney. This way you would have it for the resort, and if you do anything outside of the parks - JMHO!

I hope he heals quickly! My mom can't wait to get here to my house - she is pretty "house bound" in her apartment which is on the second floor and she can't do the steps as of yet by herself!

During that time period and knowing what the crowds are like then, I would recommend getting a wheelchair - either from the resort or from one of the off-site rental companies; don't take a chance on the parks not having one, because they do sometimes run out at the busy times of year. You can find information about how/where to rent in the disABILITIES FAQs thread that Cheshire Figment mentioned.

When we have been at WDW during that time period, we literally could not reach our arms straight out without hitting someone. Trying to use a walker in that kind of crowd would (at least IMHO) be very scary and probably dangerous. It is also difficult to use an ECV in that sort of crowd. You literally have to be creeping along and be ready to stop quickly at any time.

For all of the posters with broken legs/feet/ankles, one thing to think about is whether or not you can have your leg out in front of you on a platform, which is how it will be on an ECV. If your leg needs to be elevated, then a wheelchair with a footrest that can be elevated would be best (the ones in the parks don't elevate). If you have crutches, you can rent crutch holders to attach the crutches to the wheelchair or ECV if you rent from one of the off-site companies.

Also, it can be a very long walk from the bus stop or parking to the place where wheelchairs can be rented. Haing a wheelchair that can be used at the parks and at your resort will save a lot of pain and effort.

 

[makinorlando]

During that time period and knowing what the crowds are like then, I would recommend getting a wheelchair - either from the resort or from one of the off-site rental companies; don't take a chance on the parks not having one, because they do sometimes run out at the busy times of year. You can find information about how/where to rent in the disABILITIES FAQs thread that Cheshire Figment mentioned.

When we have been at WDW during that time period, we literally could not reach our arms straight out without hitting someone. Trying to use a walker in that kind of crowd would (at least IMHO) be very scary and probably dangerous. It is also difficult to use an ECV in that sort of crowd. You literally have to be creeping along and be ready to stop quickly at any time.

For all of the posters with broken legs/feet/ankles, one thing to think about is whether or not you can have your leg out in front of you on a platform, which is how it will be on an ECV. If your leg needs to be elevated, then a wheelchair with a footrest that can be elevated would be best (the ones in the parks don't elevate). If you have crutches, you can rent crutch holders to attach the crutches to the wheelchair or ECV if you rent from one of the off-site companies.

Also, it can be a very long walk from the bus stop or parking to the place where wheelchairs can be rented. Haing a wheelchair that can be used at the parks and at your resort will save a lot of pain and effort.

Fortunately (?) we will only be in MK early in the am (9am) for breakfast, and then most likely just leaving. I live locally, so we don't need and ECv for our stay - most likely this will be the only day we venture into the parks during the busy time. I plan to get to MK plenty early, and will assess what we need to do from there. I offered to cancel b-fast, but she really wants to go. She has been couped up in her apartment for a month now with very few outings, and is usually a very active 82 year old.

I will drop her off at the TTC, and then go park (with her placard) in the handicapped area.

I have not seen her since she had the accident, so I don't have a clue how it is she uses the walker and how much bending range she has at this point.

Thanks for your tips.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I will drop her off at the TTC, and then go park (with her placard) in the handicapped area.

If she is not in the car with you do not park in handicap parking. That area is patrolled by Orange County Sheriff's Office and they have been known to ask people to show ID and comnpare it to the tag. If you do not have the correct ID the tag can be confiscated and you will be hit with a $250 ticket.

She is using a walker, but I am nervous that the crowds might make it difficult to navigate!

It will not be difficult with a walker; it will be impossible.

My suggestion is to park in handicap parking with her. Usually there are "loaner" wheelchairs near the entrance area to the handicap parking; you can use one of them to get to the shop at the right side of TTC and then rent a park wheelchair there. If there are no loaner chairs in the parking lot, you can walk over to the rental area and bring a chair back. On the way out you turn in the park wheelchair at the shop and get a loaner to get her to the car.

 

[Mickiethepooh]

I use a scooter myself and my husband needs one for Long walking such as Disney. I bring my own on the Plane and we rent one delivered to the Hotel for him. it is much better to have it as the distances into parks, from hotel etc. can be daunting.
I rent from Scootaround.com also Walker is another company I have heard good things about in the past.

From the Beachclub you can get to almost anywhere on scooter, you can take boat or the walkway to MGM, you can go to world showcase and Epcot and from the Epcot monrail you can go to the trans and ticket center and from there to MK. you can take the scooter on the busses to get other places but it involves a lot of waiting sometimes for another bus and it takes some skill in manuevering the scooter.

Getting one that will fit in your car if possible gives you that option.

 

[makinorlando]

If she is not in the car with you do not park in handicap parking. That area is patrolled by Orange County Sheriff's Office and they have been known to ask people to show ID and comnpare it to the tag. If you do not have the correct ID the tag can be confiscated and you will be hit with a $250 ticket.


It will not be difficult with a walker; it will be impossible.

My suggestion is to park in handicap parking with her. Usually there are "loaner" wheelchairs near the entrance area to the handicap parking; you can use one of them to get to the shop at the right side of TTC and then rent a park wheelchair there. If there are no loaner chairs in the parking lot, you can walk over to the rental area and bring a chair back. On the way out you turn in the park wheelchair at the shop and get a loaner to get her to the car.

I will drop her and park in the normal lot.

 

[mrmagicmph]

OK,
So my stepdad broke his leg. He is doing much better now, but he will need to rent a scooter for the time we are there.
Should he pay the money to get it at each park? or should we have a company deliver it to us for while we are there??
We are staying at beach club and have a rental minivan (6 of us)
we are talking $300.........

A few answers from someone who was down at the Beach Club in the beginning of October and who uses a cane daily to get around because of an ankle problem. First of all... I would STRONGLY recommend renting an ECV (if his leg can be positioned in such a way as to make the ECV appropriate for him) from an outside company that will deliver it to the Beach Club. The Beach Club is a pretty decent sized hotel and, depending on which room you're in, he may well use up all of his available energy for the day just using crutches to get from the room to the lobby, much less to the bus stop!

Next, you cannot be certain that each park will have an ECV available for rent at the time that you arrive at the park (especially true if you park hop). MUCH safer to KNOW that you'll have one available for him. Also, the off-site ECV's tend to be better (better speed control, better price, better comfort too at times). The one advantage that the Disney ECVs have that the ECVs from off-site that I've rented do NOT have is a light (think headlight for the ECV) which can definitely be useful at night at times. But, with the money you can save, you can probably buy a cheap flashlight & a couple of wire ties to attach it to the basket of his ECV.

Finally, just one secret that he may find useful. With the off-site ECVs that have not just a bar for forward/backward that you push to go (& have some limited control of speed with) but also a dial or other control to more finely control the ECV's speed, he can (with practice in a SAFE environment, please!) learn to "jockey" the speed dial for inclines/declines so that he can maintain a comfortable, constant speed to stay with the walking members of your party.

Any questions, ask away! Enjoy the Magic!