Riding safely question

[JillyFish]

We will be taking my DS8 to DW in January. He has CP and is in a wheelchair full-time. The ride he most wants to go on is BTMRR. I'm pretty sure he's tall enough. But he doesn't sit up well by himself and I'm just wondering if it's safe for me to sit him against me and just hold on tight to him. Also, when he gets excited, he "turns into a board" as we say at our house. So I'm concerned about that too. Any advice???

I SO want him to be able to go on this ride....but I won't do it if it's unsafe!

 

[twinmum]

Jillyfish, I don't have an answer for you because we don't have the WDW experience. But I did want want to write and say I can understand your concern. We are taking our first family trip to WDW in November, with our twins sons, also 8. One of the boys has CP. There is definitely a difference in his ability to sit independently in an optimal environment. You know the phrase "I nearly fell over I was laughing so hard...?" Well, sometimes it happens to him!!!

Once a year we go to an amusement park near us because they both love the rides so much. He is small for age so we're just getting onto the bigger thrill rides. There are now some rides where the torque caused me concern, but was fine in the end.

The ride I'm worried about at WDW is Space Mountain, because the riders are single file.

I hope you find out that BTMRR is OK for your son...and mine too! Have a wonderful trip!

Twinmum

 

[SueM in MN]

My youngest DD has cerebral palsy (spastic quad). She goes into an extension pattern when she's excited (which sounds like your son going into a board). She actually has pretty good sitting balance (she can sit by herself on a bench).

BTMRR and Space Mountain are 2 of the rides we have never felt would be safe for her. Space Mountain, as you mentioned has seats where each person sits by themself, so we felt that would make it unsafe for her. I've only been on Space Mountain once, but my DH has been on it lots of times.

For BTMRR, you do sit 2 people to a seat, but the seats are flat and the backs are pretty low. Here's a picture of the ride car from allearsnet.com:

That ride has a lot of sudden changes of direction, some of them while you are going up or down. My DH and I have been on it lots of times, but have not felt it would be safe for DD because of those reasons and also because the ride is relatively long. She has been on Goofy's Barnstormer, which is also a roller coaster, but doesn't have such severe of turns. It's also much shorter, so DH (who was sitting next to her) was able to control her.

I would not suggest either of them, but if you want to try, I'd suggest having someone else in your party try it out first (hopefully not one who is totally fearless). And, I would also suggest trying Barnstormer first.

 

[twinmum]

Thanks for the helpful info. I have a follow up, if I may. I agree with your suggestion of having someone in our party try the ride first. We actually did this at the local amusement park a few weeks ago. However, this was possible because (due to bad weather) there were no lines.

How should we handle the line-up situation at WDW when we aren't sure if our son can ride (for BMTRR, SM or other rides)? I don't want to abuse any privileges we may be offered when we roll up to the line-up with our DS8 (in w/c) and his twin DS8 (duh, I guess you knew that!). Should my DH and able-bodied son stand in the usual line, check it out, then report back to us? Or, if we would otherwise be directed to an alternate waiting area, is it OK to go there, explain we need a "ride tester", give it a go and then either ride or not?

[I wouldn't want anyone to think we were taking advantage of our son's disability to use an alternate line-up, then having only able-bodied riders.
I have a hard time with the dirty looks we sometimes get when we accommodations are made for our son's needs. A while ago I posted about some abusive behaviour we experienced at our local (big) Santa CLaus parade. Don't these people appreciate that courageous kids like ours deserve to have something made a little easier, a little more special now and then? Would they face the challenges of disability with such dignity and grace?]

Usually we split up and each take one of the boys when we need to ride different rides due to mobility/safety. But we had hoped to stay together as much as possible, it's just the 4 of us in a HUGE place, after all.

Any advice, please?

 

[eternaldisneyfan]

For rides that you are unsure about I would grab FP for everyone. When all of us rode Soarin' we did rider swap because my Dad had to help support both my sister and I. Above all, do NOT tell the CM that you are going to hold/support your son. They won't let your son ride if they know this. When I was given questioning glances and concerned remarks on Soarin' (Dad's arms in front and behind me and Grandma holding my elbow) I simply said, I will be okay.

 

[Karalynn]

My dd 6 has cp also and those are two rides I did not take her on! Besides the other obvious, we didn't do splash mountain either. I think we would have tried that but the line was long and it was colder day so we decided to skip it.

I know she is a couple years younger than your boys, but I agree with the reasons that SueM stated. I was too worried. I don't have any advice re: the line waiting, but fast passes sound good to me.

I will also tell you, that there are TONS of other rides they can go on, so don't worry about him feeling left out. (I know this is how I feel when we go to a regular amusement park, but its getting better now that she is a little older)


Have fun and good luck!!!

 

[tiggerUK]

hi

is it possible to ride 3 to a vehicle at WDW? i know at DLRP you can have 3 to a cart on BTMRR so you can wedge you child in between 2 adults and support between the 2 of you.

have a great time, i hope you can find a way to ride.

hth

 

[Lillypug]

My son has spastic quad cp and BTMRR and Space Mountain is definitely not safe for him. Brad , my dh , and I were talking about Space Mountain after we got off and said we could not see NOah being able to ride it at all. He can not sit unsupported and we could just envision him flying out. Space MOuntain also rides single file so there is noone next to them the help support them when sitting.
I agree with the above suggestion about riding the ride yourself first. My son is very involved and uses a wc full time also, and except for a very small handful of rides, he could ride 95% of everything else. We either sat next to him or he rode in a wc accessible car. BTW, he rode Splash Mountain with me sitting next to him. Her LOVED it and it was not bad at all. The only part that is fast are two drops, which one is small and the other is large but I never had a problem with Noah almost falling out of it with me sitting beside him, supporting him. Oh! He even rode Test Track! The cars are 3 seaters and Brad and I sat on either side of NOah and hung onto him like the dickens and we had so much fun. It uses a seatbelt restraint so his butt was planted in the seat but BRad and I were his lateral support.

Don't be nervous about your trip because you guys are going to have the time of your lives. The cm are the best people I have ever come across and they always treated Noah like they were HONORED that he was there. I tear up everytime I think about our trip.

 

[MightyMom]

I can really understand your concerns. On our first trip to Disney in 2005 I was afraid my son Jordan (7) wouldn't be able to ride on many things. He has quad cp but has mixed tone..... a low tone trunk and spasticity in his legs. Big Thunder Mountain is one of his favorite rides and he rode it 11 times on our last trip in June of this year. Of course, I am holding onto him for dear life...... and he has his hands in the air screaming with joy!

We will NEVER allow him to ride Space Mountain. He needs too much support and could never ride in a single rider attraction.

Good luck!

 

[Karalynn]

ok, I am following this thread and you are all making me WANT TO GO BACK!!!

 

[D L and K's Mom]

has trouble sitting up also. My husband takes him on all the rides except Space Mountain becasue he would not be able to sit with him. I kept saying are you sure David likes the rides. I don't think he likes the rides. I think YOU like the rides so you want him to like the rides. I know he does not like the rides.....Well, Hubby started buying the photos taken on the rides. DS has a huge, huge smile in every photo. He likes the rides even Mission Space.....YUCK!!!!! I know he like BTMRR because I took him on that one. I just put one arm around his shoulders and held him up it was fine.

 

[SueM in MN]

BTW, he rode Splash Mountain with me sitting next to him. Her LOVED it and it was not bad at all. The only part that is fast are two drops, which one is small and the other is large but I never had a problem with Noah almost falling out of it with me sitting beside him, supporting him.

My DD has been on Splash Mountain a lot of times. The biggest problem there is getting in and out. It's a really hard ride to lift someone into (especially if they go into 'stiff as a board mode' as soon as they get excited.)
Also, keep in mind when reading people's comments that something that may be OK for someone who has trouble sitting up, but can stay fairly still may not be OK at all for someone who gets stiff and 'board-like'.

Oh! He even rode Test Track! The cars are 3 seaters and Brad and I sat on either side of NOah and hung onto him like the dickens and we had so much fun. It uses a seatbelt restraint so his butt was planted in the seat but BRad and I were his lateral support.

Test Track is one of my DD's favorite rides. We do hang onto her (and it is hard and tiring work hanging onto someone who is in an extension pattern). The seat belt does help hold her butt down, but we still get quite a work out.

The rides my DD has not been on because we didn't feel they would be safe for her were:
Space Mountain
BTMRR
Mission Space (we may take her on the 'tamer' version on our next trip)
Rock N Roller Coaster
Expedition Everest

She has been on everything else over the years (even TOT - which I don't really like).
There is one ride I feel was highly dangerous and she will never go on again. That was Primeval Whirl at AK. It looks fairly tame from the ground, but it turns quickly and unpredicatably (even if you are not making it turn). She could not use her legs to braces herself and even sitting between my DH and her sister, she ended up slid down in the seat belt with it around her chest by the end of the ride.

 

[LindaDVC]

RE:When all of us rode Soarin' we did rider swap because my Dad had to help support both my sister and I.


How was soaring for someone with balance issues
My husband is a quadraplegic and bil lower ext amputee-- basicly no balance.
The transfer looks managemable but wasn't sure how much the seats moved during the attraction ??

Linda

 

[SueM in MN]

RE:When all of us rode Soarin' we did rider swap because my Dad had to help support both my sister and I.


How was soaring for someone with balance issues
My husband is a quadraplegic and bil lower ext amputee-- basicly no balance.
The transfer looks managemable but wasn't sure how much the seats moved during the attraction ??

Linda

The whole row of seats lifts up as a unit and then leans slightly back (so you are leaned back into the seat). It feels to me like a lawn chair -slightly reclined.
During the ride, the movements are slow and gentle. There is some banking or slow sideways feeling, but everything is pretty slow and gentle. The one thing we noticed is that everything is in a slightly reclined position so your body is held back into the seat.
We used the additional crotch strap with DD just for a little extra security because we were afraid she's go into extension and pop out of the seat. The ride is gentle enough that even though she loved it and got excited, she never went into extension.
You could always ask to try it and see what you think before your DH rides it.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

Are these available if you ask for them or was this on your DD's chair? Is it already on the ride? I have never heard of these. Thanks in advance.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Are these available if you ask for them or was this on your DD's chair? Is it already on the ride? I have never heard of these. Thanks in advance.

That is already on each seat. There is a height indicator, and if the rider (usually a child) does not come up to that mark you are asked to run the seat belt through the strap for extra safety. It is designed to keep a small person from possibly sliding forward under the seat belt as it come up from the seat between the legs.

 

[SueM in MN]

That is already on each seat. There is a height indicator, and if the rider (usually a child) does not come up to that mark you are asked to run the seat belt through the strap for extra safety. It is designed to keep a small person from possibly sliding forward under the seat belt as it come up from the seat between the legs.

Agreeing with Cheshire Figment.
You can see them on this picture from allearsnet. They are the kind of light color loop that you can see toward the front of each seat in this picture. The red arrow is the mark Cheshire Figment mentioned. The loops are on each seat, but most people are probably so focused on getting in and looking around the show area that they never notice them at all.

 

[eternaldisneyfan]

I have no balance outside of my wheelchair due to severe weakness. I even need help balancing on the toilet. I also used the between the legs strap. If you are beside him to help support, I think he will be okay. Soarin' was the only ride I transferred to.

Christamae