Such a thing as a wheelchair swap?

[eeyore_is#1]

There are four of us adults, as well as our grandmother. She's informed us that she doesn't think she'll be able to do the parks unassisted, so she's rented a manual wheelchair from one of the sites. None of us have ever done the wheelchair thing before, especially at Disney.

She's not confined to the chair, so she'll be able to get in and out of anything that she wants to do. Are there special safe spots to put the chair while the five of us ride something? What stops someone from taking the chair, if they're not paying attention?

And of course, there will be things that she won't want to ride. Is there a chair swap, so that two of us can ride while the other two wait with her, then swap? Don't think leaving her alone while the four of us ride is really fair.

 

[celerystalker]

The Disney wheelchairs have (or at least used to) a label on them that shows they belong to Disney. I'm pretty sure they have a piece of paper for you to put your name on.
Maybe make some kind of label for your grandmother's chair?
I think a plastic sleeve designed for a binder (8x11 size) would work well.
I'm not sure about a wheelchair swap.

 

[Earstou]

You can either take the chair into the line, or leave it outside in the stroller parking. If you leave the chair outside somewhere else, the CMs might move it to stroller parking. Just a fyi, in case you can't find it after riding like I did!

You can always take some ribbon and tie it to the chair to "personalize" the chair so no one takes the wrong chair, or mark it in some other way.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

You can do what's called a 'baby swap' with your grandmother (it's just a name, you don't have to dress her up in a bonnet, or anything ). This means that, exactly as you said, some of the party can ride, while the rest wait off to one side with her. When the first lot have finished riding, they stay with her while everyone else in the party rides.

If you decide to take the chair through the queue with you, it will be put in a corner of the room in which you board until you've finished riding. If you decide not to take the chair through the queue, you can park it in the nearest stroller park, to keep it out of the way. Be warned that some queues get fairly long, which would mean a lot of standing for your grandmother if you don't use the chairs in line.

Most of the queues are now mainstream, which means that wheelchairs use the same line as everyone else. Where this is the case, you will often be pulled out of line as you near the boarding area, so you can board at the exit. This gives you more time to board and means that the chair will be waiting for you when you disembark. For those rides that aren't mainstream queuing, there will be a separate entrance, marked by a wheelchair symbol. If you're in any doubt, ask the CM at the ride entrance. Please note that wheelchair users hardly ever get ahead of the queue, in fact, you often have to wait longer to board, as they are only allowed a certain number of disabled guests on a ride at any one time.

For more information on rides, buses and various other wheelchair related things, see the FAQ at the top of the disABILITIES board (this one). You might also find this thread helpful, if you're not used to using a wheelchair:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1543998

Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[eeyore_is#1]

Thanks for the confirmation OLSpark. Was hoping they didn't force swaps to be only for babies. So much of life now is kids only, it drives me nuts. Went to a baseball game, and only kids could get in line for an autograph with the players. I may be middle aged, but that doesn't mean I don't support my team, and wouldn't like a player's autograph.

Not sure we'll want to park the chair unattended anywhere, since we've paid for it and will have to return the exact one, not just any old disney chair that might be around. So I think we'll be taking it into the lines.

I did read the faq, there just wasn't really much in it that applied to us. We won't be asking for a GAC, not using an ECV, we'll have the van and if we do bus, we'll just hop right on, etc.

 

[DisneyFan0304]

We've rented chairs for my mother from off-property companies the last few years and have left them outside attractions, restaurants, stores, etc. and haven't had a problem.

The first time we rented off-property, I asked the woman if the chair came with a lock to prevent them from being stolen, or said something about getting a lock to prevent theft, and she said they've never had a chair stolen at Disney.

It did concern me the first year, but I've relaxed about it since then.

I just hope I'm not jinxing myself by posting this and we don't have a problem this year!!!!

Have a great trip.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

If you are worried about security, you could take along a bike lock and put it around the chair through one of the back wheels. Just don't lock it to anything, as a CM may need to move it slightly if it's on the way. But like I said, you may find it better for your grandmother if you take the chair in lines with you.