need some info for my father in law please

[surfergirl602]

Hi All!!! ::

My father in law (and my mother in law) will be joining us on a week long trip in October. He's getting a full knee replacement, but has chosen to wait until after our trip.

He will most likely be in need of an ECV and/or wheelchair for our trip to the parks. He can only walk very short distances on his knee.

I am trying to find info on what will be available for him, how he's to do rides (parking, etc?) and prices for rentals.

Any info you could help me with would be great so I can pass it along to them.
Thanks so much, I appreciate it!

 

[SueM in MN]

Check out the disABILITIES FAQs near the top of this board, or you can follow the link in my signature for an easier way to get there.

Post #2 of that thread has information about renting ECVs and wheelchairs - from the parks and from off-site companies. DIS posters usually recommend off-site companies for several reasons;
- less expensive
- you will have the ECV or wheelchair for use at the resort as well as the park
- you don't have to worry about the parks running out of ECVs to rent before you get there (this is a problem with ECVs, but not generally a problem with wheelchairs).

For most attractions, he will be able to use the ECV until close to the boarding area, if not all the way to boaring. For shows, he will be able to drive it right into the theater and stay seated in it during the show.
If he chooses to park the ECV and walk in line, ECVs and wheelchairs can be parked with the strollers. Some attractions may have a short wait posted, but will still be a long way to walk (such as Soarin' is 1/4 mile from the queue entrance to boarding and an equal distance out).
There is more information about this in the disABILITIES FAQs thread.

When he arrives at the parks, he will find a special park map for guests with disabilities, which gives a little more information on attraction entrances (in general, most attractions use the 'regular' entrance for wheelchairs and ECVs).
There are attractions where he will need to transfer from the ECV to a ride car. Those are marked in the park maps with an icon of someone getting up from a wheelchair. For some of those ride cars, it is much easier to get in than to get out. Some are quite low and are quite a step down (Pirates for example).

 

[surfergirl602]

Check out the disABILITIES FAQs near the top of this board, or you can follow the link in my signature for an easier way to get there.

Post #2 of that thread has information about renting ECVs and wheelchairs - from the parks and from off-site companies. DIS posters usually recommend off-site companies for several reasons;
- less expensive
- you will have the ECV or wheelchair for use at the resort as well as the park
- you don't have to worry about the parks running out of ECVs to rent before you get there (this is a problem with ECVs, but not generally a problem with wheelchairs).

For most attractions, he will be able to use the ECV until close to the boarding area, if not all the way to boaring. For shows, he will be able to drive it right into the theater and stay seated in it during the show.
If he chooses to park the ECV and walk in line, ECVs and wheelchairs can be parked with the strollers. Some attractions may have a short wait posted, but will still be a long way to walk (such as Soarin' is 1/4 mile from the queue entrance to boarding and an equal distance out).
There is more information about this in the disABILITIES FAQs thread.

When he arrives at the parks, he will find a special park map for guests with disabilities, which gives a little more information on attraction entrances (in general, most attractions use the 'regular' entrance for wheelchairs and ECVs).
There are attractions where he will need to transfer from the ECV to a ride car. Those are marked in the park maps with an icon of someone getting up from a wheelchair. For some of those ride cars, it is much easier to get in than to get out. Some are quite low and are quite a step down (Pirates for example).

thank you thank you!!!!!

 

[LMC]

We rented from Apple scooter two weeks ago and were very happy. We got the larger 3 wheeled scooter and it maintained a charge all day/night. It still had a very high charge at the end of every night. One thing to consider and we didn't think about it with DH is the rides can be bumpy. DH has a very bad injury to his leg with skin grafts so it is very tender. He rode a ride and was out of commission the last three days. He went to the parks on the ECV but refused to ride anything else due to the pain. I never even thought about the jerking and jarring motions but it did him in.

 

[mickey&minniealways]

My inlaws joined us for our 2005 trip. FIL has a heart condition and tires easily. They came in a couple of days after us. We were staying at OKW. We had asked them previosly is they wanted us to rent something for FIL. They said no. Said it made him feel to old. I think it was her feel old. (he has a hair piece and would rather not wear it, she get mad so now they get it woven in) Anyway after being in the parks the day before we decided to it would be to much for him. So DH called HH and got the phone # of an outside company. He called and rented it for the week. I went up to the HH. It was there in the lobby waiting for me. I drove it back to our unit. When they arrived an hour later FIL wanted to try it our much to his wifes charin(spelling). He loved it. When it was time for them to leave at the end of the week we called the company. They picked it up at the HH. Couldn't have been simpler. FIL tell everyone that the trip wouldn't have been half as easy if we didn't have the scooter. Said he had the best vacation he had had in years.