Rides with a broken ankle? Help

[Sandyincanada]

Oh boy, looks like DS15 might have fractured his ankle. He is now in a temp cast and will go to a specialist next week to be re X-rayed and possibly recasted. We leave in 2 weeks and coming from Manitoba, this would be a very hard trip to reschedule.

Any idea what rides he will not be able to do? He is a thrill seeker, loves the coasters and we had planned Busch as well this trip. I would assume any hanging rides (like the Hulk) would be out?? I tried a search as I could have sworn I saw posts like this before but nothing came up.

Any ideas/help/suggestions...anything???

thanks

 

[phamton]

Sandy, I think he'll be able to ride anything he feels up to riding. They usually don't restrict you from riding as long as you can fit in the restraints. I've seen lots of people hobble onto rides with casts. If he gets a cast where his knee can't bend, he might not be able to fit on some rides like the Mummy though.

 

[Sandyincanada]

Phantom, I think I love you, lol

thank you so much, phew. Its the ankle so they shouldn't cast past the knee, its not casted now. Its not a hugh deal to push him around or go slower or whatever, it was just the thought of him sitting there looking at rides he couldn't go on...that would have been terrible for him.

It happen the last 11 seconds of the soccer game last night, sheeeeeesh.

thanks again

 

[spewey]

Some parks allow people with casts/on crutches use the exit ramp to board the rides, thus eliminating a potentially painful wait in the queues. I am not familiar with the US/IOA policy, however. (This doesn't necessarily translate to a shorter wait - at parks such as Cedar Point, you are "supposed" to wait - i.e. while sitting - for roughly the estimated time it would take to walk the regular queue. Friends/family can wait with the injured party as well). I would certainly suggest checking at guest services. Who knows? You might catch a break when it comes to the lines.

OK, that was bad.

As far as getting on the rides themselves, I would echo the phantom (who is much more in-the-know than I). And the "hanging" ride is actually Dueling Dragons - not Hulk (which is a standard sit-down looping coaster) - and not only should someone in an ankle cast be able to ride, I believe in the past they have allowed (knowingly or not) at least one person with a prostetic leg on board. And that leg, ladies and gentlemen, now rests at the bottom of the lake beneath the ride ...

 

[phamton]

And that leg, ladies and gentlemen, now rests at the bottom of the lake beneath the ride ...

Yes, that is a true story.

I suspect your son will need a wheelchair as most people don't have a walking cast at only 2 weeks. Most of the rides have a wheelchair entrance. He can enter the ride area with his wheelchair but he will have to be able to manuever himself into almost all of the cars in order to ride. A few rides like MIB have a wheelchair seat (ADA) but most don't.

 

[Immelman]

is it true or false there is also a guideline to height on DD due to the near misses? I've heard Shaq was denied access, but it could be just another rumor.

 

[phamton]

is it true or false there is also a guideline to height on DD due to the near misses? I've heard Shaq was denied access, but it could be just another rumor.

My son didn't think it was true because on the Mummy they did test runs with super tall "dummies" and he assumed they did the same with DD. But I don't really know for sure. You might ask that at IOACentral as I know there are a few DD ride ops who post there. That would be interesting to find out.

 

[rascalmom]

Sandy - I just wanted to drop by your post. I broke my ankle in October, so I know what your son is going through. I was never placed in a fixed cast. I had a walking "boot" cast right from the beginning. I could take it off, for showers, sleeping, etc. It was heavy, but I do think I could have gotten myself onto the rides while I was wearing it - and I'm a little older, chubbier & less athletic than your son. I think he'll be fine.

 

[Sandyincanada]

Thank you all so much. We always joke about someone breaking something before holidays but you expect it to actually happen, lol I'll make sure the casters/doctor know what we are up to before the 2nd cast goes on or with tons of luck, he'll be ok.

I thought I remembered my feet dangling in the Hulk but after the take off I was damn scared, the rest was a blur LOL.

Oh well, at least we can get express plus passes, if necessary to make up for lost time pushing him around

Thanks for your concern and all your help. Off to work now, DH gets to play slave today, hehee.

 

[spewey]

As far as Shaq being unable to ride Dueling Dragons - I could very well imagine that to be true, but more because of his height rather than the length of his legs. Over-the-shoulder restraints - any restraints for that matter - cannot safely accommodate everyone, and very tall people may have difficulty fitting ...

 

[ktglads]

I broke my tib/fib about 10 days before my trip over the summer, so I kind of know what your son is feeling - consider him lucky for not having to go through the surgury of getting some hardware in there. Gotta love my rod and screws holding my bones together. Some things you may want:
-if he is in a normal cast, get the protective cover - it is only $20 and is money well spent.
- rent a wheelchair. You can get one at home and bring with you if you like or rent one day to day. I rented one at home so that I had one to do things like go shopping before I left

I went on every ride at the studios with my cast on. Mummy was a little rough for me since I could not bend my knee all the way due to the recent surgury and incisions. I didn't try Dueling Dragons or Hulk since I knew I would be back in 3 months and didn't need to chance moving the bones around. I did see signs outside Dueling Dragons that said no casts, so it is possible that entry could be denied. It depends on how comfortable your son feels with the cast on. Mine felt like it weighed 20 lbs so a hanging coaster was out for me. Its funny that it really weighed like 1 lbs when off. Hulk is a normal sit-down ride where your feet should be on the floor. Again, I didn't do this since it would have been tough to get over the barrier and with the lack of knee bending, not too easy.

I also went to Disney on my trip, so if you need any more hints or tips, feel free to PM me!

 

[Figment22]

A couple of years ago my husband had foot surgery a couple of weeks before our trip and he was able to ride anything he wanted to as long as he could hobble out of his wheelchair. Everyone was very accommodating.

Speaking of wheelchairs, I don't know if you're aware that there are several rental companies in the Orlando area. We rented a scooter from Walker Mobility. I believe it was about $35 a day (which is comparable to the price of renting an ECV at the parks) and it was delivered directly to our hotel and DH was able to use it wherever we went, not just at the parks. It's nice to have at CityWalk and we even took it on the boats to the Universal Hotels, where we ate a few meals. Here's their website if you're interested:

http://www.walkermobility.com/

Have a great vacation!

 

[Sandyincanada]

ouch, ktglads. I guess we won't know alot until the swelling goes down and they can see the X-rays better but I'm sure it won't be as bad as you went through. You can guaratee that I'll PM you if he gets a perm cast on, lol

Thanks Figment, no I didn't know but its a great idea. Even just to save time every morning.

He'd love a scooter but I think he would make one into his own thrill ride and we would find ourselves as the topic of another I HAte Scooters post, lol

thanks for your help, you have no idea how much better I feel since I posted.

 

[SueM in MN]

First of all, most of the parks and the outside rental places will not rent an ecv (scooter) for use by anyone under 18 years old (due to liability), so I would count on a wheelchair for him.

Also, the Universal Website has a disbility info page where you can download a copy of their Riders Guide for people with disabilities. It indicates information about things like which rides can actually be ridden without tranferring from a wheelchair to a ride seat. They actually have a little icon of a stick figure with casts that shows if a ride is not recommended for someone wearing a cast.

Because Universal was built after the ADA came about (Americans with Disabilities Act), the lines are pretty much fully wheelchair accessible. This is called Mainstream Access. Parks that were built before the ADA and have not been renovated (or that ride could not be renovated to allow Mainstream Access) are pretty much the only ones where people with disabilities gedt access thru the exit.

 

[Sandyincanada]

Thanks Sue. I actually found that yesterday, what great information although it does say you can't ride the Hulk or DD with a cast, hmmm..will have to think about that one. We find out tomorrow whether the cast goes or stays...judging by the size and color of the part of the foot I can still see, I would guess stays . Oh well. I couldn't find very much info on Disney on casts (lots of wheelchairs) so if he gets recasted, I'll be posting all over the place for help, lol. Guess I better call Busch Gardens as well because if te HUlk is out, he may be out of luck there as well...sheeeeeesh, what timing.

thanks again

 

[phamton]

I'll ask one of my friend who works at Hulk if he can ride. I really think he can though. My son said when he first was trained they told him they had loosened up on the rules for casts. I'll talk to my friend though and get back to you.

 

[Figment22]

I actually found that yesterday, what great information although it does say you can't ride the Hulk or DD with a cast, hmmm..will have to think about that one.

After my husband had his foot surgery, he wasn't in a cast, but we did go to IOA while he was still wearing the surgical "boot". You know, one of these things:

Anyway, his foot was wrapped in an Ace bandage and he was wearing one of these boots and they let him ride the Hulk coaster. I'd think that if they let him on with one of those, they'd most likely let someone on with a cast too. DH isn't a big Dueling Dragons fan so I can't comment on whether or not they might have let him ride that.

Good luck!

 

[phamton]

I just received an answer from my friend who is a "lead" (like a manager) on the Hulk.

"Simply put, the rule states that a cast below the knee is acceptable on the Hulk. The only casts that are not allowed are full leg casts (because they can't comfortably ride and because they can't bend their knee), or hard arm casts because they might bang against the person next to them.

So, yes that person can ride."

 

[Sandyincanada]

Great news! Thank you so much for the information, guys...its really, really appreciated.

thanks again