looking for tips : P

[mom2cookies]

hi , I am faced with something new..... we are taking my Dh's 80 yr old mother to WDW this Christmas for her first ever trip. She does good but we will be renting a wheel chair. Going to WDW isn't new but we've never taken anyone in a wheelchair before. Any tips would be greatly appreciated... but please PM them to me as i lose my posts . Thanks

 

[Plantlady]

No advise on your mother in law, but, if you click on User CP, you will find all of your posts.

If it's not highlighted, you just click on view all subscribed treads, and it will be in that area.

 

[mytwinklestar]

Will you be staying at a Disney Resort? If so, the resort will lend you a wheelchair for your stay. No need to pay to rent one. (Unless the resort doesn't have any left to loan) We made a trip with family in 2004. (Mom and Dad had not been in more than 30 years) My mom is a cancer survivor and had several major surgeries since 2002. She could walk but not for any length of time and standing for short periods was okay. We borrowed a wheelchair at Pop Century for the week. It worked perfectly. The parks were great. Most of the attractions let us stay together as a group and escorted us to an area for those in wheelchairs. There were only a few times that, due to the size of our party, Mom would be taken with one of us to the reserved area. (The parades - for example) We had some reservations about utilizing the wheelchair but quickly those feelings disappeared. Mom had a fantastic time. This trip was extra special for all of us but for me personally, it was magical to see my parent's faces light up like little kids. Soooo sweet. I hope you all have as great a time as we did. I am sure you will. Take care.

 

[katymae]

Why don't you post this on the DISabilities board as well. There are lots of very friendly folks over there who will be able to answer all your questions about wheelchairs, etc.

 

[mamax2]

When we went with my Oma and Opa in the ninties, the staff was amazing at handeling wheelchair guests, and the rest of our party. There were 8 of us total. I don't know if this is still applies, but we always bypassed any lines, and the cast members were so good at not making them feel like they were an "inconvience". We all had a great time.

 

[SueM in MN]

When we went with my Oma and Opa in the ninties, the staff was amazing at handeling wheelchair guests, and the rest of our party. There were 8 of us total. I don't know if this is still applies, but we always bypassed any lines, and the cast members were so good at not making them feel like they were an "inconvience". We all had a great time.

That was true in the 1990s (especially the early 1990s). The reason was not to give a 'perk' to people using wheelchairs, but was because many of the lines were not wheelchair accessible. Pretty much all the attractions in AK and the Studio were built with what is called "Mainstream Lines", which are wheelchair accessible.
MK and Epcot were built before accessibility was thought of, and do have some attractions with lines that are not accessible. Newer attractions or renovated attractions had Mainstream Access added if possible.

Having a wheelchair or ECV, you will probably get in about the same time as people not using those about 50% of the time, you may get in faster about 25% of the time and will wait longer (sometimes quite a bit longer) in the other 25% of the time.

A 'group' is considered to be 5 people plus the person using a wheelchair or ECV. Often, if your group is larger than that, the 'extra' people will be asked to go separately.