Should I bring my own wheelchair?

[G69ina]

Hi! first time on dissabilities board, we are going april 14-21. My mom would be going with us and we are really exited. She can't walk for long periods of time due to arthritis. Wondering if I should I bring my own wheelchair from home or rent it on disney? How much is the charge for the wheelchairs? Will be also traveling with our 2 DD ages 5 and 2. Can we all go in with her on the rides or does she has to go aside from us. Sorry for so many questions never travel on this conditions. Any suggestions will be apreciated

 

[teri]

Bringing your own from home assures that you will have it at the airport, and at the resorts. If you decide to rent, your best bet is to rent from one of the companies like Walker Mobility for the whole length of stay. If you stay onsite, there are a limited number of wheelchairs available for resort guests, first-come first-served. If you wait and reserve at the parks, the charge will end up being $7 per day, all day even if you park hop - but you can't take it with you. The distances to the park and within the resorts can be quite substantial, so having a wheelchair in between is a big help. You should also make sure to tell the reservations folks that you will need an accessible room.

You should take a look at the new FAQ - the wheelchair section isn't ready yet, but there might be some good information in there for you. You should see if the GAC would be useful to you. Just click on the link in my signature below... and feel free to ask questions.

DIS disABILITIES Discussion Board FAQ under construction!
"My brain takes a vacation just to give my heart more room..."
teri@iluvdisney.com

 

[Wheelsie]

as always..Im with Teri on this one

Wheelsie Co-Moderator of disABILITIES
and
**********
wheelsie@mail.wdwinfo.com

 

[SueM in MN]

Welcome. I don't have much to add to what teri and Wheelsie had to say.
If her wheelchair has any special modifications to make it fit her, you should bring hers. You can get wheelchairs in the airport to go from place to place, but it might be more convenient to have hers.
Click here for a thread about gate checking a wheelchair.
The lines for most rides are now Mainstream, which means wheelchair users wait in the same line with everyone else. If there are steps or something similar that a wheelchair can't go thru, your whole party will stay together. They say a party of up to 6 can go with the person in the wheelchair, but if you have 7 and several are small kids, they won't make you split up. All the Fastpass rides/shows have mainstream queues. For some shows, like the American Adventure, there are limited seats in the back row where wheelchairs sit, but most of the time you can be together or at least close by.ˇ

SueM in MN
Co-Moderator of disABILITIES