I'm going to need some help and some questions answered.

[Piglet]

My DH, DD and myself scheduled a trip to WDW for October 24 - 31 (our third). I was telling my Mom about it and she and my Step Dad would like to go along. My Step Dad is on oxygen 24/7 and uses a wheelchair most of the time because he can not walk any distance. He has emphasemya (sp?) and is pretty fragile, but I think he will do fine as long as he doesn't over do it and he takes his time and does his neb treatments and rest when he needs to.

We are driving so will have a mini van.

My Mom was worried that they would slow us down, but I really think we would be okay. My DD also has health issues so we don't normally go full speed and try to do and see everything. We take a lot of afternoon breaks and naps. I also told Mom that they could go back to hotel when they needed and we could always take the bus back.

So anyways, anyone have experience with oxygen at WDW?? Tell me everything, we would like to be as prepared as we can. We are planning on renting Step Dad a ECV in the parks, but will bring along his wheel chair.

How is handicap parking at the parks?? At MK do you still need to ride the monorail to get there or because of handicap parking would we get to park right at MK??? Is riding the monorail in a wheel chair difficult???

My Mom was concerned about getting an oxygen concentrator??? Any experience with this?? I know we can contact some suppliers listed. But I told Mom to check with his local supplier for some info.

I am sure I will have tons of questions, but as of right now just really looking for first hand experience from others.

TIA

Melinda

PS - We are staying at AS Music. Any tips????

 

[Nanajo1]

I don't know the answers to the O2 questions other than Walker Med has supplied others with O2.
I do know that it is much easier taking Disney transportation to MK than to drive. You must either take the ferry or the monorail to the entrance after you park your car. The bus drops you at the entrance. The ramp to the monorail is very steep. It is challenging to push someone in a manual chair and even in an ECV it can be daunting. You may want to consider renting an ECV for your stay. It would give you parents freedom around the resort and DTD. JMO.
Have a great trip.

 

[Talking Hands]

Rent an ECV from offsite from the same people that you rent the oxygen concentrator. There is no guarantee an ECV will be available at the parks. The ECV can be used on the buses from ALL STAR MUSIC. You will love ASMU. Ask for rooms in Jazz tp conserve ECV power.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The following are able to not only provide ECVs, but also other medical equipment and oxygen. You are probably much better off renting the ECV from an off-site company. This way it will be available at all times. Sometimes, especially if changing parks during the day an ECV might not be available.

Walker Mobility:
1-888-726-6837
www.walkermobility.com

Care Medical:
http://www.caremedicalequipment.com/

Colonial Medical
http://www.colonialmed.com/about_cms.html

I have used Walker a few times. They will ask for a credit card and charge it the day before arrival. They will deliver the ECV to your hotel bell services before your arrival and pick it up there after your departure. Their rates, especially for longer than a week, are much better than Disney's. Also, their scooters are much better than Disney's.

The ECVs break down into five pieces, the heaviest about 39 pounds. They take about a minute or so to take apart and about two minutes (once you are used to it) to put it together.

Going to MK only, the medical parking is at the TTC and so you would have to use either the ferry boat or monorail, neither of which is any real problem. However, we will generally recommend that, at least for the Magic Kingdom, you take the bus which comes very close to the actual park entrance. For the other parks you would be better off using the van. Note that you MUST have either HP plates or a hang tag to use medical parking -- they ticket.

 

[Piglet]

Thanks so much for all the information and replying. I really would love for my Mom and Step Dad to be able to go and enjoy themselves, it has been very hard on my Mom to take care of him and she doesn't get to get away.

Another question - ECV's - There will be 5 of us in the mini van. If we rent one offsite would it fit in the van to haul around? I don't think that my Step dad would be willing to take the bus to any of the parks. We could fold or even take out the back seat in the van.

Also-- can anyone give me an idea of what it would cost to rent the ECV and/or oxygen concentrator for 8 days???

Melinda

 

[SueM in MN]

You already got a lot of good info from some ecv (scooter) experts, so I'll only add a little info about that. One of the sites that Cheshire Figment listed (I think it's Walker, but every time I try to open their site it crashes my browser) has a little picture explanation about folding and stowing a scooter. That might help you decide how well it would fit into your van.
I agree with the others that it is strongly recommended to take the bus to MK. The bus drops you off right by the turnstiles. If you drive, you will still need to take the boat or monorail to the park and the handicapped parking is not right by the boat or monorail stations. Plus, as Nanajo mentioned, the ramps to get to and from the boarding area for the monorail are steep - you are basically going up to the second story (because the station is that far in the air).
I also have some oxygen information from the standpoint of a nurse - hopefully someone with first-hand information will post too before you leave. You don't need a prescription or a doctor's letter for the scooter and you can rent them from any of the places that Cheshire Figment listed.
Not all full service medical equipment places handle oxygen, so, like Talking Hands said, find out where you will get that before deciding who to rent the ecv from.
Your Step dad will need a specific prescription for the oxygen, detailing exactly what equipment he needs and what the flow rate of the oxygen will be. The easiest way to deal with that is to contact the company that supplies it at home. They may have dealt with an Orlando area company in the past or be part of a chain with a branch in Orlando. They should be able to coordinate his needs to the Orlando company (professionals who speak "Oxygen" will be able to explain his needs much better to other professionals who speak "Oygen"). They can also make sure that the proper prescriptions and documentation are where they need to be so he gets what he needs and any insurance has what they need to authorize payment.
Also, I don't know how far or long you will be traveling, but you want to line up oxygen suppliers for your entire route. If you need supplies, it will be arranged before you leave home and if you don't need supplies, you will have information on who to call if you have any problems (here's some pixie dust for a problem-free trip). His current supplier should be able to help him what that too.
If the current company is not helpful, you can also try contacting WDW Resort Special Reservations:
(407) 939-7807
(407) 939-7670 [TTY]
They deal with special requests at the resort, like getting an accessible room, but they can also help hook you up with local Orlando companies for equipment and supplies.
Also, if he gets tired and wants to take a small break without going back to the room, you can go to First Aid in any of the parks. The staff there are very nice and they have cots in individual cubicles in a restful environment. We find that a lot easier than going all the way back to our resort with our DD.

 

[Nanajo1]

I just found my Walker ECV receipt for March of 2002. 8 days rental for a total of $224.50. I think it is $30/day at the parks.