?? regarding wheelchairs and rides at DW??

[Shelly]

I have a friend that just returned from disney and she asked if I knew anything about the wheel chairs. Can anyone get one? do you have to have some sort of
proof of need or handicap. She was frustrated by the large groups(6,8and 10) that would go to the front of the line with a wheel chair person, and the person did not appear to need the chair. I didn't know anything about this so I thought I would ask everyone.

 

[cometzero]

there is a great disability board furthur down the list here, I just found it nd they have been very helpful. they tell you all about wheel chairs and which rides are better ect, Lyn

 

[rkmassa]

I have a friend that just returned from disney and she asked if I knew anything about the wheel chairs. Can anyone get one? do you have to have some sort of
proof of need or handicap. She was frustrated by the large groups(6,8and 10) that would go to the front of the line with a wheel chair person, and the person did not appear to need the chair. I didn't know anything about this so I thought I would ask everyone.

Anyone can "get" one, but they are not cheap, especially the ECVs. There are plenty of people that may "appear" to not need one, but looks can be deceiving. My mother has severe arthritis in her knees and other joints. Long periods of walking are very hard for her, but short walks for short amounts of time are not as big of a problem. She rents an ECV at Disney and probably appears to not need one.

I, myself, would never be frustrated at others using a wheel chair. I would just thank God that I am healthy and so are my children, and we do not need to use a wheel chair.

 

[pugdog]

There is NO head of line for wheelchairs. Just about all rides require you to go through the line just like everyone else. And they limit you to only 6 people total in the party to go with the person in the wheelchair.
Unfortuneatly ther are people who think they can get by and abuse the syatem and rent wc even if they don't need them.

 

[Grammyof2]

You don't need proof to get a wheelchair. If you don't bring your own you must rent them. I have Multiple Sclerosis and don't appear to need a wheelchair, but I usually can't make it around the parks without one. I usually travel with all my own (canes, walkers, wheelchair, etc) but have traveled to WDW in the past and rented a chair because my chair was damaged in flight and took awhile to be fixed.
There is a limit to the number of people that can use the handicap entrance. My husband and I usually use the entrance then wait for my very extended family(sometimes 10-12) to go through the line and we meet up then so we can ride together.
I know there probably are those that abuse the system, but mostly they are needed. WDW is sooooo.... handicap friendly that it is a joy to be able to travel with my family and not hit barriers. I would give anything to never use a handicap entrance again and I am sure that others feel the same.
Mainly, I am glad WDW accepts us as a natural part of the world.

 

[grumpymakesmehappy]

My father's arthritis tends to flare up rather badly after long periods of walking on concrete. On our last vacation to WDW, we had to force him to rent a wheelchair. He was in terrible pain. We finally convinced him he needed a wheelchair and he enjoyed the parks a lot better.

 

[Tigger714]

We just returned today from a ten day trip, on two occasions I rented an ECV to use, I am getting close to delivering our third child and found some days were much harder than others, I am sure I didn't look like I need one but believe me, I did. We waited in most lines with everyone else and in the case of the Safari Ride in AK, we had to wait for a single truck that only takes those in WC & ECV's. In many shows, wc's & ECV's are seated in the back and your children are not as able to participate. I would guess that there are those who might try to abuse a system but in general I think the con's negate the pro's and that would stop most people (not to mention the price).

 

[eeyore45]

I also used an ecv in Oct, the only time i went to the head of the line was when there werent any lines - we got there very early (MK) and did Fantsyland, so there truly wasnt any lines to speak of... everywhere else we were to either get a FP (which we did ) or wait in the general line... in Splash we had the FP before you go on the stairs you are then given a CM who takes you thru to the exit so no stairs... But each CM always checked for FP - for Buzz Lightyear, its still the FP lane, and its difficult to manuever, but it is wide enough to handle!!

 

[Poohs Pal]

I will be taking DS to disney in a wheelchair for the first time since he has been in a chair and I believe there may be a seperate entrance but our group will still need to wait our turn. So many people in your group will go with you and the rest remain in line and then you ride the ride together. There are many rides he can't ride because he is in a wheelchair and as a full grown adult who is unable to assit himself we wouldn't possibly be able to get him into the ride or we'd need a chair ourselves,no taking advantage here. Have been trying to get DM who's 70 something and had a heart attack and other health issue's to rent an ecv(i'd even pay) and because she's concerned that she doesn't look like she needs a chair, people will stare. Me and DSis just tell her , we know your HOT but get the ----chair it will make us feel better. Nope nothing doing. Susan

 

[Skroops]

We recently brought my Mom who needs a wheelchair, and although you enter the attractions a different way, many people think you go right on at that point. We still had to wait in line with the rest of the guests.
Funny, I saw a wheelchair on my last visit that was abandoned in the middle of the park. I thought that it was probably someone under the impression that using a wheelchair would get them ahead of the lines, and then gave up the idea when they saw the reality. Not a "great deal" to be in a wheelchair. I feel bad for the people who need them permanently.

 

[DWorldObsessed]

I had read the disablity board before we left and was prepared to use regular lines but I found several times that when we got close to the line, a CM would direct us elsewhere. Sometimes we used the regular line halfway and then we waited longer in a different line. The safari is the worst for this because it only has one bus for those in wheelchairs. I did not see any wheelchairs or motorized chairs that seem to be used by someone who does not need it. I saw very few in fact in June. Over all we had a great experience with CM's. We ended up getting the disabilty card (sorry don't know what it is called) because we were ushered to the fast pass line sometimes and exit line sometimes and were told to use the regular line sometimes. The CM at city hall did not ask for any proof and was very helpful. She said use the fast pass line when available or the exit gate. We did not feel we were getting special treatment using the fast pass lines after this because sometimes the wait was quite long