Need Help With Wheelchair Advice

[ilovemky]

I broke my foot and may still be in a cast or at least limping around in october for a long planned WDW vacation. Thinking of cancelling but do not want to disappoint my family so need some advice. I will be flying from LAX to Orlando and staying at Saratoga Springs. I had planned on taking DME to the resort and the busses to the parks. I think i would do better renting a wheelchair--should i rent one in California and bring it with me or rent one there? I am afraid of trying to hobble through the airports, etc so thinking it would be easier to bring one with me. Please give me any advice you have--I have never had a broken bone before so am TERRIFIED of trying to get around the parks on a crutch!

thanks so much!

 

[Disney_Villain]

I'm in the same position as you, with broken bones in my right foot and I'm heading to Disneyland soon. Crutches will NOT do for the parks!

We usually go to WDW. You're better off renting a chair or an ECV from the WDW than bringing one with you. Airports can provide a temporary chair to get you about if you can't bear the crutches too long during your travel days.

Give some thought to an ECV for park/resort getting around. The parks are big and there are 4 of them, not to mention SSR. You could exhaust yourself (or the person pushing the chair) during your stay. ECV's can get onto all the park busses taking you between them and your resort.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Hi and to disABILITIES!

If you click on where it says "disABILTIES" at the top of this page it will take you to the Index. One of the top items is the "disABILTIES FAQ" which will gives lots of useful information. You will probably find posts 2 and 4 most useful.

Or, if you want an easier route, click on the link in my signature.

When you get to the airport, at the entrance you can be given a wheelchair which will take you all the way to the aircraft door, and the airline will arrange for you to be met on arrival, again at the aircraft door. (If you have to change planes, you will also get a door to door wheelchair connection.) There is no charge for this service, but you are pretty muich expected to tip the person doing the pushing.

We tend to recommend here that you consider renting an ECV for the length of your stay. One big thing is it will allow you a lot more freedom than a wheelchair. If you are staying at SSR it is very close to DTD and having an ECV to get back and forth would be very useful. If you rent from an off-site vendor it is possible to get a crutch holder installed on the ECV if you will need crutches to get between the ECV and the ride vehicle.

 

[Nanajo1]

My experience with getting a wheelchair at the airports is mixed. I had trouble several times departing MCO. Even when the ME driver called ahead requesting a w/c for me, it never arrived.There were none at the entrance. My DH helped me to a bench then he had to run all over the terminak looking for one. Since that time I bring my own w/c or scooter.

 

[hematite153]

There can be a lot of walking in airports. My DW and I have decided that it is better (and often cheaper) to rent a w/c from home so that she doesn't use up her walking power on boring airports and saves it for the parts of wdw that are a pain with a chair.

However, we also have developed a flow with the w/c; she enjoys getting pushed around (by me) and I enjoy the added workout of pushing. But, for many people these issues would be a problem. You have to have a lot of trust to let someone push you around and wdw can be a lot of walking without adding an additional workout. So, you might prefer an ECV which would be a lot easier to rent in FL (I'd still rent from an offsite company though).

 

[mechurchlady]

I am working on my LAX, Dallas/Fort Worth airport, and San Antonio report but stopped by to give you LAX info.

Most shuttles have disabled vans and will drop you off at the door but check. Otherwise family will drop you off at the front door of the terminal. If it is off hours then you will have to sit there and wait for the family to find a rare skycap.

I got to LAX at 3 am for a 6 am flight and had to wait an hour and a half. I followed a male management type American Airlines employee who was showing this dude how things worked. THERE WERE NO WHEELCHAIRS, SKYCAPS OR ANYTHING. Finally I got a woman to talk to me and she said get inline and pay the hidden $15 per bag charge. Then the clerk took my money and told me to TSA.


Now this is the third person I asked for wheelchair assistance and now am told to go over there and to TSA. They are closed so I asked the fourth person and they just said go to the other TSA in the next terminal so I drug my luggage two blocks. They do not work for American Airlines so go back and find someone with a wheelchair. Then I talked to another clerk who said something to the effect that it was not her department I think. Then the first woman blamed me for moving around. then I sat for 15 minutes and was the only fat lady and person needing a wheelchair. I asked a women if I could speak to a manager and she told me they wore brown shirts. Finally at almost 5 am I got a wheelchair.

The arms on American Airlines and most planes DO NOT GO UP. Stewards and whomever all say they cannot get the arms to go up on 757 and other planes. The same thing happened on a prior trip. You cannot use crutches in a plane unless you are good at walking sideways. They do have for fat people the extender belts.

www.seatguru com is a great guide and check it out.

Returning to LAX was easy as there was people there to pick you up in a chair then take you to the baggage area or your next flight. He helped me get my bags off the carrousel then would have drug them to the curb along with me but I was trying to get a care rental shuttle.

Overall LAX stinks as far as Anerican Airlines departures go. Cannot talk about other airlines. I like Delta though, they were nice ot me. Dallas has wheelchairs but also carts and you can get on and off as needed. Very nice drivers and excellent service.