Need help and advice for a new disability

[Lizzards]

Hello all!

My husband just broke his heel and can’t walk. We leave for our WDW trip in 2 weeks!!! We have had the trip planned for a year. What do we do?
I rented an Electric Scooter. He is using a knee scooter at home ,but I can’t see this being comfortable for a full day in the park. I am sure there are tons of posts already, but I am panicking!! what is the best way to manuver the parks...restaurants...rides...restrooms? I really appreciate any advice you guys can provide!! Thanks so much!

 

[ttintagel]

I broke my foot AT WDW, and with an ECV, crutches for transferring, an orthopedic boot, and pain medication taken on schedule, I had a great time.

 

[gap2368]

Hello all!

My husband just broke his heel and can’t walk. We leave for our WDW trip in 2 weeks!!! We have had the trip planned for a year. What do we do?
1 I rented an Electric Scooter. He is using a knee scooter at home , 1b) but I can’t see this being comfortable for a full day in the park. 2 I am sure there are tons of posts already,2b) but I am panicking!! 3 what is the best way to manuver the 3b parks...3c restaurants...3d rides...3e restrooms? I really appreciate any advice you guys can provide!! Thanks so much!

I am so sorry he broke his foot,

1 this is the best thing you can do for him, 1b you are right kneeling all day is not fun easy at home might be easer but at disney not so much

2 yes there are you can look in the search box for some post or here https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...disabled-1st-trip-next-trip-wish-trip.595713/.

2b Do not panic disney is so accessable to people in wheelchar ECV you and he willbe fine.

3 the best thing you can do is take it slow untill he gets use to the ECV if you are renting of sight take a few minutes at the resort to rive the ECV around to get use to it ( 5 or so minutes )

3b go slow try not to be in the middel of large crowds ( I know not posable all the time)

3c they will accomidate you he might be asked if he can transfer to a set ( will be easer) and they will park the eCV off to the side untill he is done. if he can walk some a few step then this will help if he can not them bring churches so that he can go a few steps to a chair or the ride vehical

3D for most rides you will do them just like before he can take is ECV in the line he will transfer to the ride vehical and his ECV will be at the unload area ( even if it is in a differentplace) there are a few rides that do not let ECV in so he will need a wheelchair even less that he can not access at all there he will get a retrun time and go inthe Exit ( if he does not have a FP) a few have steps fair enougth in the line they will pull him out before to get on the ride. ( it really is not that hard you can ask the CM at the rides what he need to do most of the time he wil just use what ever line)

3E. he can take is ECV inthe batheroom but is is very hard and can be very tight or use the family bathroom this is also where churches will come in handy so he can park his ECV and just hobble in the botheroom.

One thing to rember arbout ECV is they should last all day if you turn it off ( take the key out a little bit) when not moving like the lines stops for 15 seconds turn it off, trying to decied what to do where to go turn it off and so on..

charge it ever night when you get back.

if you are going to be at the park for a very long day ( 15+hours) you might want to bring the chairging cable with you you can plaug it in at the parks, but you really should not need too.

Have a great trip.

 

[Lizzards]

I am so sorry he broke his foot,

1 this is the best thing you can do for him, 1b you are right kneeling all day is not fun easy at home might be easer but at disney not so much

2 yes there are you can look in the search box for some post or here https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...disabled-1st-trip-next-trip-wish-trip.595713/.

2b Do not panic disney is so accessable to people in wheelchar ECV you and he willbe fine.

3 the best thing you can do is take it slow untill he gets use to the ECV if you are renting of sight take a few minutes at the resort to rive the ECV around to get use to it ( 5 or so minutes )

3b go slow try not to be in the middel of large crowds ( I know not posable all the time)

3c they will accomidate you he might be asked if he can transfer to a set ( will be easer) and they will park the eCV off to the side untill he is done. if he can walk some a few step then this will help if he can not them bring churches so that he can go a few steps to a chair or the ride vehical

3D for most rides you will do them just like before he can take is ECV in the line he will transfer to the ride vehical and his ECV will be at the unload area ( even if it is in a differentplace) there are a few rides that do not let ECV in so he will need a wheelchair even less that he can not access at all there he will get a retrun time and go inthe Exit ( if he does not have a FP) a few have steps fair enougth in the line they will pull him out before to get on the ride. ( it really is not that hard you can ask the CM at the rides what he need to do most of the time he wil just use what ever line)

3E. he can take is ECV inthe batheroom but is is very hard and can be very tight or use the family bathroom this is also where churches will come in handy so he can park his ECV and just hobble in the botheroom.

One thing to rember arbout ECV is they should last all day if you turn it off ( take the key out a little bit) when not moving like the lines stops for 15 seconds turn it off, trying to decied what to do where to go turn it off and so on..

charge it ever night when you get back.

if you are going to be at the park for a very long day ( 15+hours) you might want to bring the chairging cable with you you can plaug it in at the parks, but you really should not need too.

Have a great trip.

Thank you so much!! This is the kind of info I was looking for and does ease my mind. I appreciate you taking the time to reply and encouraging me!!

 

[gillep]

Hello all!

My husband just broke his heel and can’t walk. We leave for our WDW trip in 2 weeks!!! We have had the trip planned for a year. What do we do?
I rented an Electric Scooter. He is using a knee scooter at home ,but I can’t see this being comfortable for a full day in the park. I am sure there are tons of posts already, but I am panicking!! what is the best way to manuver the parks...restaurants...rides...restrooms? I really appreciate any advice you guys can provide!! Thanks so much!

I am sorry your husband broke his heel, I hope he gets better quickly. My husband broke his foot at Disney a few years ago we rented him a knee scooter and it was horrible, especially at AK where the ground has so much texture, and because the break was so recent and painful, if he had been a few weeks out it would have been a different situation entirely. We ended up storing the knee scooter at the ECV rental in the parks and renting him an ECV in the parks, it was towards the end of the trip so this was fine, but if we had more days left I would have returned the knee scooter and rented an ECV from an offsite location. He did really well with the ECV, although he found it exhausting as it takes a lot of attention to drive one in WDW crowds, we just took it a bit easier and stopped a little more often to grab a snack and rest a bit but he was way more tired at the end of the night than usual. He really had no other issues navigating the parks, everything was quite accessible, bathrooms are tight, I agree with a pp that if he can bring crutches those would make navigating the bathrooms much easier, although again if we had gone a few weeks after the break my husband would have been able to hobble using his boot with no issue and wouldn't have needed the crutches for the bathroom, but when we were at WDW he was in way too much pain to put any weight whatsoever on the boot/foot.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Hello all!

My husband just broke his heel and can’t walk. We leave for our WDW trip in 2 weeks!!! We have had the trip planned for a year. What do we do?
I rented an Electric Scooter. He is using a knee scooter at home ,but I can’t see this being comfortable for a full day in the park. I am sure there are tons of posts already, but I am panicking!! what is the best way to manuver the parks...restaurants...rides...restrooms? I really appreciate any advice you guys can provide!! Thanks so much!

one thing I would do before you arrive even though your call goes to call center I would call and have noted that you now have an ECV with you so you need first floor or an elevator. as others have said I would have crutches with you and either have him use by self if he wants or use the handicapped where you can go in with as needed. if using buses drivers have been very helpful to me when getting on and off the buses. same goes for larger boats but you will not be able to use smaller boats. I would bring knee scooter for in the room but I would use ECV for resort and parks. there are a few rides Pirates is one that do require and change to wheelchair to ride. they have chairs at the ride for this. at any ride just talk to first CM you meet to tell you how they handle ECVs at that ride. ECV may be new to you guys but they see many each day.

 

[gap2368]

Thank you so much!! This is the kind of info I was looking for and does ease my mind. I appreciate you taking the time to reply and encouraging me!!

You are so welcome

a few other things.

People will walk right infornt of him when he is using the ECV ( some people like me have a vision problems and only see out of one eye at a time and we/I never see you but this is a small number of people most are just not looking to much into they need to get to the ride one person faster becuse they might get one 5 second faster) the fact that people do not see his ECV can be nice becuse you do not get as many rude comits as before.

anothething you can do to help in in the park is walk infront of him in crowds and it seem like you have a 10 and 8 year old have them walk next to him and have them help him watch side to side for peole coming. You really do not have to do this all the time just when it is crowded, and if you can just wait 10-15 minutes like after the fireworks nigth time show to leave that helps a lot too.

if you are useing the bus this is not too hard ( he can pratice what he will need to do a the resort before he dose it) but he will need to drive up the bus ramp mke a shart 90degree turn drive firther up then where his is too park the ECV ( the bus driver will have the set up where he is too park then back in like you d when you parralle park a car). most river will help by saying this like pull up a little more turn this way a little things like that some will put the ECV in manul mode and do it for him. I owuld then tranfer to a set as ECV are top heavy and can tip with someone on the ECV.

bring a poncho for the rider and ECV a shower cap can cover the controls from the rain. it more then likley not be too hot but a towle from the hotel can keep the set from getting to hot. if he wants to he can get a fun sign that he can make for his ECV I have seen some really fun ones, this will make finding it a lot easer if he can walk or church around some or whenhe is on a ride where he has to use a wheelchair and has to park the ECV ( or you can buy a bandana really cheep to tie on the ECV get a few incse they get lost/ stolen) also do not leave anything that you do not want lost in the ECV most peole will not tuch anything but you never know ( also the squallers will get into any food left in anything) make sure he taks the key with him if the CM need to move the ECV either to make room or to move it when he is on a ride they can do this ( and make sure you know how to do this as most of the time they will put it back but some times they forget, you can aks just about any CM and they should beable to show you)

finaly or at lest for now disney really is accomidating to people with Disabilities with this said it will not be what it used to be it will be different. some things will be better some not so much but you and your family will have fun will you do everything that you would have may not ( depends on your truing style but it should not make that much of a differents)

have fun go slow and if you ever he ever gets stressed just remind your selfs your at disney and not at work.

 

[Lizzards]

I am sorry your husband broke his heel, I hope he gets better quickly. My husband broke his foot at Disney a few years ago we rented him a knee scooter and it was horrible, especially at AK where the ground has so much texture, and because the break was so recent and painful, if he had been a few weeks out it would have been a different situation entirely. We ended up storing the knee scooter at the ECV rental in the parks and renting him an ECV in the parks, it was towards the end of the trip so this was fine, but if we had more days left I would have returned the knee scooter and rented an ECV from an offsite location. He did really well with the ECV, although he found it exhausting as it takes a lot of attention to drive one in WDW crowds, we just took it a bit easier and stopped a little more often to grab a snack and rest a bit but he was way more tired at the end of the night than usual. He really had no other issues navigating the parks, everything was quite accessible, bathrooms are tight, I agree with a pp that if he can bring crutches those would make navigating the bathrooms much easier, although again if we had gone a few weeks after the break my husband would have been able to hobble using his boot with no issue and wouldn't have needed the crutches for the bathroom, but when we were at WDW he was in way too much pain to put any weight whatsoever on the boot/foot.

Thank you so much! Okay adding his crutches onto our packing list. Sounds like it will be best to have those for him for the restroom and such.

 

[Lizzards]

one thing I would do before you arrive even though your call goes to call center I would call and have noted that you now have an ECV with you so you need first floor or an elevator. as others have said I would have crutches with you and either have him use by self if he wants or use the handicapped where you can go in with as needed. if using buses drivers have been very helpful to me when getting on and off the buses. same goes for larger boats but you will not be able to use smaller boats. I would bring knee scooter for in the room but I would use ECV for resort and parks. there are a few rides Pirates is one that do require and change to wheelchair to ride. they have chairs at the ride for this. at any ride just talk to first CM you meet to tell you how they handle ECVs at that ride. ECV may be new to you guys but they see many each day.

Thanks! I am feeling better from all the advice. Our trip will be different now but we will still have fun!!!

 

[Lizzards]

You are so welcome

a few other things.

People will walk right infornt of him when he is using the ECV ( some people like me have a vision problems and only see out of one eye at a time and we/I never see you but this is a small number of people most are just not looking to much into they need to get to the ride one person faster becuse they might get one 5 second faster) the fact that people do not see his ECV can be nice becuse you do not get as many rude comits as before.

anothething you can do to help in in the park is walk infront of him in crowds and it seem like you have a 10 and 8 year old have them walk next to him and have them help him watch side to side for peole coming. You really do not have to do this all the time just when it is crowded, and if you can just wait 10-15 minutes like after the fireworks nigth time show to leave that helps a lot too.

if you are useing the bus this is not too hard ( he can pratice what he will need to do a the resort before he dose it) but he will need to drive up the bus ramp mke a shart 90degree turn drive firther up then where his is too park the ECV ( the bus driver will have the set up where he is too park then back in like you d when you parralle park a car). most river will help by saying this like pull up a little more turn this way a little things like that some will put the ECV in manul mode and do it for him. I owuld then tranfer to a set as ECV are top heavy and can tip with someone on the ECV.

bring a poncho for the rider and ECV a shower cap can cover the controls from the rain. it more then likley not be too hot but a towle from the hotel can keep the set from getting to hot. if he wants to he can get a fun sign that he can make for his ECV I have seen some really fun ones, this will make finding it a lot easer if he can walk or church around some or whenhe is on a ride where he has to use a wheelchair and has to park the ECV ( or you can buy a bandana really cheep to tie on the ECV get a few incse they get lost/ stolen) also do not leave anything that you do not want lost in the ECV most peole will not tuch anything but you never know ( also the squallers will get into any food left in anything) make sure he taks the key with him if the CM need to move the ECV either to make room or to move it when he is on a ride they can do this ( and make sure you know how to do this as most of the time they will put it back but some times they forget, you can aks just about any CM and they should beable to show you)

finaly or at lest for now disney really is accomidating to people with Disabilities with this said it will not be what it used to be it will be different. some things will be better some not so much but you and your family will have fun will you do everything that you would have may not ( depends on your truing style but it should not make that much of a differents)

have fun go slow and if you ever he ever gets stressed just remind your selfs your at disney and not at work.

Thanks for all of the great tips!! I will make something for the ECV..I wasn’t thinking about having to find it back again in a crowd I am feeling much less stressed about it now and really appreciate the help. We are still going to have a magical time!

 

[gap2368]

Thank you so much! Okay adding his crutches onto our packing list. Sounds like it will be best to have those for him for the restroom and such.

Yes if he can not put weight on his foot chutch will help so much. He might find parking his ECV out side some of the smaller shops and using his crutches better and he might need to stretch his legs some

 

[JenLovesMM]

Here are a few ECV threads I have commented on in the past. They may also contain info that could be useful to you:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/ecv-and-the-mk.3671435/#post-58977739
https://www.disboards.com/threads/ecv-in-park-rentals-vs-outside-company.3685800/#post-59299968
https://www.disboards.com/threads/u...uestion-about-scooters.3706122/#post-59740592
https://www.disboards.com/threads/p...-safe-place-to-park-it.3706467/#post-59798460
https://www.disboards.com/threads/identifying-your-scooter.3659551/#post-58740095
https://www.disboards.com/threads/scooter-speed-question.3658966/#post-58703130

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Yes if he can not put weight on his foot chutch will help so much. He might find parking his ECV out side some of the smaller shops and using his crutches better and he might need to stretch his legs some

most ECVs seat back folds down when not being used if leaving in sunshine fold seat down if able. also have a poncho to cover both husband and back of seat not just husband. don't ask how I know this one.

 

[musicmom3331]

To add to all of these wonderful replies, I tied a bandana to the handlebar. In some of the darkened areas, and at night, the lights on the control panel bothered me, I could drape the bandana over the lights and that worked great! It's also useful in finding your ECV easier in a crowd. Walmart had Disney bandanas for $2 last spring.

 

[ttintagel]

There were two of us using ECV's on the trip where I broke my foot; we got Jolly Roger flags from the Pirates of the Caribbean gift shop and stuck the poles down the pockets on the backs of our setas. The flags flew behind and just above our heads.

As far as attractions, my experience has been that most of the time, there is a cast member posted outside the queue for each attraction. They are on the lookout for people using wheelchairs, ECV's, and nobility devices, and after asking about your ability to transfer, walk a few steps, etc., they'll instruct you where and how to enter.

 

[Chip_Dale]

If renting from a 3rd party vendor mention that you require a crutch holder.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I fought needing a scooter until around 2 years ago. Now, I wonder why I waited so long. Everything is so easy-many queues allow you to take your scooter right through the line with you and have it waiting when you get off the ride. I haven't yet found a restaurant that has scooters in it-most everyone leaves their scooter outside. That is, until a few months ago-for the first time I saw someone on a scooter in Yak and Yeti restaurant. Have I missed it-are scooters in restaurants? If he's unsure what to do anywhere, people are very helpful.

 

[Talking Hands]

I fought needing a scooter until around 2 years ago. Now, I wonder why I waited so long. Everything is so easy-many queues allow you to take your scooter right through the line with you and have it waiting when you get off the ride. I haven't yet found a restaurant that has scooters in it-most everyone leaves their scooter outside. That is, until a few months ago-for the first time I saw someone on a scooter in Yak and Yeti restaurant. Have I missed it-are scooters in restaurants? If he's unsure what to do anywhere, people are very helpful.

Usually people using an ECV are able to walk so can leave them outside. I use a powerd wheelchair and usually remain in it if parking will not be undercover. Last thing I need is for it to get wet and damage the tiller.