son with broken leg

[Bobrow]

On the other boards they said I should post here so hope someone can help. My 7 yr old son broke his leg yesterday and we will be leaving for WDW in less than 2 weeks. I am having one of those waterproof casts on so he can go in freshwater pools. We will be arriving in Orlando on a Friday,going to SeaWorld,Saturday at Universal,Sunday Discovery Cove and checking into Beach Club Sunday after that. What rides will he be able to do? I guess he can get a wheelchair at all the parks. Has anyone done DC with a broken limb? My other son broke his leg a couple years ago and we put this vacuum seal thing over it and he was able ot go in the ocean. I'm hoping he can still do the dolphin swim. Any tips or advice would truelly be helpful. Thank you.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

You seem to have a good handle on what to do. A couple of years ago we went with some friends, one of whom had her leg in a cast. She was able to get an interesting souvenier of the trip.

She had the person who was going to be removing the cast draw a line along where the cast would be cut when removed. She carried a "Sharpie" type pen with her. She had the characters autograph the cast, making sure when they signed they did not cross over the drawn line. Afterwards she was able to glue the cast back together and have an interesting momento.

He should pretty much be able to do all the rides. The only ones which might be a problem would be something like Space Mountain, getting into and out of the bobsleds.

However, I would also strongly suggest checking with his doctor about any rrestrictions or limitations related to shaking and vibration.

 

[Bobrow]

Thanks for that tip. I'm sure he'll like that. Believe me we weren't going to do space mountain anyway! I think of all the cocerns I have the Discovery Cove one is the biggest. I really want him to experience that.

 

[SueM in MN]

Sorry to hear about your son's misfortune.

Dolphin Swim: I'd suggest you contact the Dophin Swim people and also your doctor about that one. It obviously won't be fresh water, so the doctor may not want him doing it even with the vacuum cover. I don't know if the dolphins would have any objection to the cast, but I'm sure the people who care for them would know.
They have probably run into the question before.

Park with a leg cast: As Cheshire Figment said, you should contact your doctor to see if there are any special things your DS should avoid. But, if you go to the
Official Disney Website, Disabilities Page, there is a FAQ about rides you can go on with a leg cast. That site won't let me link that page directly, so here's how to get there. Follow the link above, then choose WDW. On the next page, choose FAQs. One of them is a listing of which rides/attractions have enough room for a full leg cast. Some might not be appropriate for your DS because of his particular injury (like they list Star Tours and Body Wars), but at least you know there won't be trouble fitting into the rides. You can always ask the CM at the rides. Since your DS is only 7, he may fit in some rides where an adult with a leg cast won't fit. If your DS has only a short leg cast (to the knee), there are more things he will fit into. There are FACs listing which rides you can stay in a wheelchair for, which you have to transfer out, etc. If you go back a page, choose an individual park and then List of Attractions. That will give you more (not a whole lot more, though) information on descriptions or rides and whether boarding is by a moving walkway. They can stop the moving walkways (or at least slow them to a crawl) on all rides except Peter Pan.

Wheelchairs You shouldn't have a problem renting a wheelchair from the parks, but here are some other things to think about:
Distance: It's usually quite a long ways from parking or bus stop to the rental area.
Size: The wheelchairs they rent in the parks are adult sized. The seat length is too long for most kids, so they end up slouching down in them to get their knees to come at the edge of the seat. The armrests come up near shoulder height for most kids, which looks pretty uncomfortable to me. He may need to actually use the armrests to help push himself out of the wheelchair when he needs to stand and they will be too high for that.
Resorts: Getting around the resorts also includes a lot of walking and if you rent a wheelchair at the parks, you won't have one for other trips and at the resort.

There are medical equipment rental places that will rent a wheelchair for your entire trip. They will deliver to the resort and should be able to deal with your needing to have delivery at one resort and pick up at another. They would also be able to rent you a wheelchair that is more appropriately sized to a 7 yr old. Here's a list:
Care Medical:
http://www.caremedicalequipment.com/

Walker Mobility:
1-888-726-6837
www.walkermobility.com

RANDY'S Mobility is in Kissimmee 407-892-4777
http://randysmobility.com/

Colonial Medical
http://www.colonialmed.com/about_cms.html

http://www.all-about-kids.com/main.htm

You might want to look into renting in your home area and bringing the wheelchair with you. That way you can would have one in the airport. You can gate check a wheelchair so it would be available until you board. A wheelchair doesn't count as a piece of luggage - no extra charge for transport.

Also bring whatever pain relief your doctor recommends. DS might not have a problem with pain, but it's better to be safe than sorry. First Aid in any of the parks is a great place to go if he needs to lie down for a little while to rest (easier than going back to your room). There are RNs at First Aid who can help with questions.

Good luck and ask anything else you can think of.

 

[Talking Hands]

Depends on how long the cast is and whether he can weight bear on how much he will be able to do. My trip in June there were few rides I could do only because I could not weight bear at all. There was still plenty to enjoy.
I took a Sharpie and got the characters and my interpreters to sign my cast. I still have the cast although it is no longer on me. Next trip is in a walking cast in 5 days.

 

[Bobrow]

Thanks for the help. I contacted the resort concierge and they are arranging for a wheelchair for him. I'm sure he's not the 1st and Disney seems to accomadate those with disabilities