Suggestions for WDW with a larger party?

[Momelie]

I usually go to the World with my family, DH, myself and two DDs. We've got it down to a science with my disabilities and know when/how to navigate just about everything (with the notable exception of Buzz Lightyear in an ECV, LOL!).

In a couple of weeks, though, we are meeting my sister and her family for a five day visit. None of them have mobility issues, and for a while I thought that my biggest problem was making sure we eat at places that will accomodate their vegetarian diet. Then I started thinking....

We will be a party of 8, 4 adults and 4 children under 11, IMO way too big to go through the handicapped entrance at rides and wheelchair accomodations at parades, fireworks, etc.

Any suggestions for how to handle rides like Peter Pan, POC, HM, Buzz, etc.? Can I just get a wheelchair instead of an ECV and go through the regular line? Are the corners too tight or anything for that? I can transfer just fine, as long as I have my cane. What about the parades and fireworks? How do you handle wheelchair seating like Mickey's Philharmagic and Country Bear Jamboree?

In one way, its very important to me that we all be together, rather than have to split up because of my mobility problems; but I know from experience that if I try to hoof it, I will regret it for days! I'm also trying to think about DH's back, having to push me all over the place - I have bad memories of one Disney trip when his back went out!

How do y'all handle it?

Thanks in advance!

 

[taximomfor4]

some shows only let us have one person sit beside the person in the wc, and everyone else sat up a few rows.

That said, anything that required a separate WC entrance only let the wc plus 5 of us go in that way -- the other 2 people had to go through the regular line. It was fine -- whoever got done with the ride first found a nice bench near the exit, and had a delicious rootbeer float or something while waiting!!

As for parades,etc, we just chose our viewing location early, and chilled there till the start. We didn't even try the WC viewing areas, after the first day, because so many wc's need to fit sometimes, they asked the rest of us to stand in the back of the section. That was just fine with us, but we didn't try that area anymore -- we preferred to watch together along the route somewhere else.

I must add that often, to ride things all together, mom would get up and walk the queue. We just avoided attractions that had really long waits, or fastpassed them early in the morning.

Beth