parking a chair outside an attraction?

[MMmomto5]

My mom has rheumatoid arthritis and can walk and function normally, but on our last trip in November we all knew that by the third day she was in pain. We tried to convince her to rent a wheelchair, but she refused and pushed on without ever slowing or complaining. Well the day after we got home she had to go to the rheumatologist to have steroid shots in her knees and he gave her a real talking to about not pushing herself to the limit if she wants to keep her mobility. We leave next week for a 4 day trip and I think I have finally convinced her to rent a wheelchair, but because she is able to walk easily, she doesn't want to have to go through the lines in the chair(she feels funny and like she is taking advantage of something others need more than she does), so she is was wondering if there is a place to park the chair outside the attraction( like stroller parking) while she uses the regular lines to wait in and walk on or is this not possible?

Also, are there any suggestions on making her feel better about needing to use a wheelchair? She feels awkward about it and never wants to admit when she needs help. I don't want to force her into using a wheelchair, but I know it would be so much better for her not to come home in pain again.

Thanks for the help and for listening.

 

[merryweather20]

Make her take the chair in line with you. The lines can be very long, it is not easy to detrmine the length of the line from the entrance. There is no where to sit in line!

In theory she could park it with the strollers, but don't let her!

I have rheumatoid arthritis myself and I can't give you any advice on getting your Mom in a wheel-chair. My arthritis got to the point where I was only making it into work 3 days a week and I was literally screaming all the way from my car in hobbling in or crutches and not eating before, i got a wheel-chair and parking pass.

I think the big thing with arthritis is that your Mom is in so much pain on a daily basis thats shes used to it. So its difficult for her to see how much its wearing her out and how much damage its doing.

 

[Piper]

Make her take the chair in line with you. The lines can be very long, it is not easy to detrmine the length of the line from the entrance. There is no where to sit in line!

In theory she could park it with the strollers, but don't let her!

I have rheumatoid arthritis myself and I can't give you any advice on getting your Mom in a wheel-chair. My arthritis got to the point where I was only making it into work 3 days a week and I was literally screaming all the way from my car in hobbling in or crutches and not eating before, i got a wheel-chair and parking pass.

I think the big thing with arthritis is that your Mom is in so much pain on a daily basis thats shes used to it. So its difficult for her to see how much its wearing her out and how much damage its doing.

Good advice! If you can get her to do it, renting an ECV offsite would be even better. It puts her more in control! I've done it all the different ways--walked and exhausted myself, rented a WC, brought my own WC--much more comfortable, rented an ECV and brought my own ECV. Having the ECV wins hands down!!!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Don't forget that almost all of the lines at WDW are mainstreamed, so the lines are able to handle wheelchairs and ECVs. This is true for all attractions at AK and DHS, most attrractions at EC and many attractions at MK. Where the lines are not mainstreamed there are alternates. Some attractions, such as Small World, Splash Mountain and Haunted Mansion you go through a lot of the queue until the sport where wheelchairs or ECVs are pulled out, so the wait time is about the same.

Please ask the following questions. Here are the suggested answers to go with them.

1. Are you disabled (even temporarily)? Yes.

2. Do the people you are traveling with, such as your family, know you are disabled? Yes.

3. Do you expect to meet anyone you know during this trip who may not know you are disabled. Probably No!

4. Do you expect to meet a bunch of people who you will probably never meet again in your life? Probably yes!

5. Is there any reason at all that you should care what these people think about you? Absolutely No!!

6. Will using a wheelchair or ECV make for a better vacation for you and your family? Absolutely YES!

 

[gardener14]

The answer for the original poster seems to be to keep the wheelchair and use it as much as possible which helps the person needing it and avoids the question about where to park it. However, I have a question similar situation to the original poster in that my mother can stand just fine and walk normally for shorter distances, but due to a knee condition, she cannot handle the long duration and distances required at theme parks.

She would be very comfortable walking around an individual attraction or waiting in a line, but I would like her to use a wheelchair for traveling from one attraction to another, especially at the larger parks like Epcot and Animal Kingdom. It would prevent her from exacerbating her knee problem and avoid pain and inflamation from walking. Is there a safe place to park the wheelchair at each attraction, show, ride, or, in the case of Epcot at each pavillion? How does one secure their chair from being stolen by someone who wants to use it or by kids playing a prank? Is it safe to leave it in stroller parking areas?

 

[mechurchlady]

gardener14

Make the wheelchair unique so that people do not accidently take the chair. This could be a decorative seat cover, towel on the chair or clothing left on the chair. Most of the time it is a person in a hurry who grabs what looks like their chair and this is rare.

Each place is different but generally you park in the stroller parking area. If the cast member (CM) feels that an ECV, stroller or wheelchair is in the way of traffic then they will move it. Just ask the nearest CM if you cannot find your chair. Some people prefer to find an out of the way shady spot. You can lock the wheels but cannot lock anything down like chain a chair to a tree or fence. They will cut the lock if they need to move the item. If you do not see a parking area then ask the CM and they will help you.

I understand how she will need it for long hauls only but do not stop yourself from saving energy by using the chair.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

And don't forget that some of the lines are designed so you actually have no idea how long they are.

 

[mamaloya]

I have RA and did this last trip in a w/c. I am 36 btw. I tried to walk the lines a couple of time. DON'T!!! I would have her walk to each attraction and then stay in the chair for the line. If she is walking from attraction to attraction, she can always decide to ride if she needs to. Once you are in line, you cannot get the chair w/o starting over. If you get into a line that says 10 min and then there is a delay, she could be standing for a while. Some have a shor wait, but a LONG walk. For me, the standing still is harder than the walking. My knees and back "lock up".

I totally understand how she feels about the chair. I had a love hate relationship with mine. I hated to be in it, but loved not spending my trip in pain.

Also, she may ask her doctor to write a prescription for a chair. Mine wrote a 3 month prescription. I was able to pick it up at a mobility store near my home, get used to it and how to fold it, etc, even added a cup holder and cane holder to it. I then had it around the resort and parking lots. My insurance covered the cost and I did not have to worry about getting to and from the resort.

 

[gardener14]

I'm getting the impression it would be advisable to have the wheelchair with us even in line so that it is available when needed. However, if my mother feels like standing or walking instead of being chairbound all day, it would still be ok to have the "empty" chair with us even in line. Does that sound reasonable? I know it doesn't matter what other people think, but would we get strange looks from people wondering why we have an empty chair or why someone who "can clearly walk ok" from their perspective would be using a wheelchair? I wouldn't want people to think we are trying to take advantage of services by having a wheelchair just because they see my mother get in and out of it and walk at times. As I said before, she can stand and walk, but she's not up to what it takes to get around and enjoy a theme park.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

A lot of people will stand up and use a wheelchair as a walker once in a while. And since most of the lines are "mainstreamed" she will be waiting in line just like everybody else.

 

[gardener14]

Thanks again guys and gals.