I'm just returning from a week long trip to Disney with most of my extended family. That included two grandfathers using rented scooters for the first time and me in my powerchair (used it the last 2 years). One of the grandfathers is in poor health with ALS and has limited hand control or stamina. He flew down Sunday from Columbus, OH to Orlando only to find the airline took his
scooter apart and lost some of the parts. He was limited to a borrowed manual chair for a day and a rented scooter for the week.
The other grandfather (actually my dad) has generally good health but leg pain and limited walking ability. We rented a scooter for him for the week and had to figure out how to load it and my powerchair in the same minivan. Our car is a lowered floor rampvan, but squeezing a scooter and powerchair in was a tight fit.
My dad and I also travel by car from Maryland to Orlando and back again. We do no more than 400 miles per day, stop and stretch when we need to, and stop for the night at hotel chains with accessible rooms. Often, we make little side trips on our stops to sight see, eat at a new restaurant, etc. We stopped at the World Golf Resort in St. Augustine day before our arrival and took in 2 IMAX movies plus dinner at the CaddyShack. And we checked out a new roadside diner with lots of Southern charm in Rocky Mount, NC. Along the way, we load up the 6 cd changer with music (Disney music on the way down and warm summer music on the way back). Some folks listen to books on cd. My sibs load up DVDs in portable DVD players or laptops for the kids to watch.
In Disney, nothing really went wrong for our group (22 members strong with some in their 70's and others in their temperamental youth). The grandfather with ALS had some trouble steering his scooter around tight turns. Scooters are harder to maneuver than powerchairs as they have a bigger turning radius. He ran into several curbs, railings and walls in the entry queues. My dad went slower and only ran into clueless people who cut into his path unexpectedly.
All the shows in MGM and Animal Kingdom are scooter and wheelchair friendly. The tamer rides can handle powerchairs without transfer, some may require transferring to a borrowed manual chair. All rides can be stopped so disabled riders can transfer to a ride vehicle with no rush.
Only issues we did run into came when the younger, adventurous set wanted to do thrill rides. The grandfathers passed on the thrills and ended up waiting for us to finish. 2 hours later, when they were pretty well baked in the sun, you can imagine their frustration. If you're gonna do things that take longer than 20 minutes, split up into smaller groups. Send the thrillseekers on their ursuits and take the tamer set to a nice show. (In EPCOT, tamers can go see Universe of Energy or Living Seas while thrillseekers do Test Track and Mission: Space.)
Also, appoint at least one walker with your MIL for hard to navigate scenarios and help run interference. The exodus from Epcot after Illuminations always involves people cutting in front of you and giving you a dirty look for not stopping quick enough. Traveling with groups of a people, walkers tend to forget us riders often have to brake, swerve or slow down as pedestrians cut in front or cross over our path and separate us from our walking posse. Riders also ned to give and extra 6-10 inches distance between our wheels and walking feet. It's just too easy to roll over a toe when it's placed closer. To some walkers, that 6-10 inches looks like prime open space for cutting in.
The best bathrooms have no doors to enter. The worst have heavy doors, tight entryways, and handicap stalls that do not allow one to turn a wheelchair and lock the stall door. Make sure a walker is present to help hold doors, or wheelchair watch if your MIL needs to use a stall big enough for just her.
(SIDE NOTE: Moms, if you must take your small kids to the bathroom and use that large handicap stall, LEAVE IT and wash your hands or groom outside like everyone else. If I had a dime for every time I had to do the happy dance while a mom instructed her 3 kids to "wash your hands well" "tie your shoes" "tuck in your shirt" etc. while I waited for them to exit the only stall I could use...! I take small kids to the bathroom with me but never let them use that stall.)
Lastly, do a stamina check for your MIL. Your family may be able to do sun up to sun down non-stop, but she may not. Half days are good, or a day off between full days.
J
