Tell me about WDW in a walking boot.... (fractured foot)

[DisneyAnytime]

My parents decided to join us this year for our WDW vacation which is great. However, on April 3 my DMother (very active 65) tripped and fell crossing the street in front of Union Station on a family trip to D.C. As a result, she has 2 fractured bones in her foot and will be in a very large walking boot for about 6 weeks. We check in May 23. If you do the math, that is exactly 7 weeks and 1 day from the date of her injury and 6 weeks and 5 days from the date she went to the doctor and was put in the boot. The orthopedic told us she should be fine but might have to be in a smaller boot/shoe/walking splint for the trip.

Have any of you wonderful people been to WDW while in a slightly incapacitated state such as this? If she starts having problems walking, are there wheel chairs or something we could rent? She will not stay in the room and miss out on anything and will insist on being part of the fun no matter what.

 

[FSU Girl]

I would recommend getting a wheel chair for her if her foot is still hurting/in a boot. Disney is very large and requires a lot of walking. I know I wouldn't want to do that on a hurt foot. I think you can rent a wheel chair when you get to the park, but not entirely sure about that.

 

[supersnoop]

Have her talk to her doctor. A walking boot is a terrible idea when walking as much as you do at Disney. It can cause the body to heal the wrong way. A soft brace would probably be a better idea while at Disney, but, again, talk to her doctor.

 

[Dawnywog]

My sister was in a boot a few years ago. We ended up renting a wheelchair after the first day. She was in a fair bit of pain after our first full park day. There are plenty of wheelchairs to rent at the parks, or several 3rd party companies that will deliver them right to your resort. We just used the ones in park because we didn't want to deal with bringing them on the Disney buses.

 

[Petey134]

My most recent October trip had me in a boot for all 8 days, no part of that was fun. After walking so far it begins to hurt your back and hips since your steps are extremely uneven. I managed to walk the whole trip in it during the day and was at least able to walk without it at night when our mileage wasn't very high. There is always the option of renting a wheel chair as it does get to be quite tiring. Good luck!

 

[dreiwhit]

I've had to walk around in a boot twice and since I wasn't using my normal stride, it really wore me out.

There's no way I would even think about walking around in a boot at WDW. I would rent a wheel chair.

 

[anonymousegirl]

I would hate trying to walk 5-8 miles a day in a boot. One day, maybe do-able. But I'll guarantee the next day my back and hips would be hurting! If you go the wheelchair route, then bring along a pair of biking gloves. They will protect the hands of the pushers. Or there are the ECVs that Disney rents by the day. They might give your active mom a sense of independence.

 

[jlw29]

Rent a scooter! I had crutches / boot for a 10 day family reunion vacation and would not have survived without a scooter. I recommend renting one from off-site. Having someone push you in a wheelchair wears them out too. I also didn't like the dependence of needing someone to have to be responsible for me. With a scooter, I didn't have to rely on anyone else, I could steer and move on my own. It was 10 years ago, and I don't remember who we rented from, but I'm sure you can find recommendations on the boards. A tip just in case - you can charge your scooter at the First Aid stations.

 

[stenmarks]

I had foot surgery last October so I wore a walking boot for our December trip. My husband pushed me in a wheelchair most of the time, though, because the boot will wear you out!

 

[mamabunny]

I recommend renting an ECV; our daughter tried to do WDW in a boot a couple of years ago, and as a healthy 18 year old, she still couldn't keep up.

The *average* Guest at WDW walks 5 to 10 miles PER DAY. You don't realize it... it kind of sneaks up on you!

Just remind her that using the ECV is no different than using a tool to accomplish a job - if she needs glasses to see better, she uses them, right? If she needed a calculator to do math, she would use that tool, correct? An ECV is just a tool to be able to keep up with your family, and let your family move at their "normal" speed.

Search on the DISabilities forum (using that "Search..." box in the upper right hand corner - works just like Google for DISboards) for posts about "First time ECV user". You'll get a TON of information!

 

[AquamarineSteph]

I'm going to be the odd person out here, but I have done Disney in a walking boot without any issues. I had trouble getting on/off a couple of rides because it had to be done quickly, but that was because the boot is bulky compared to a normal foot/shoe combo. One cast member at one of the rides where I had that issue suggested that I could use the wheelchair entrance, but I felt badly doing that since I wasn't in a wheelchair.

I'd recommend just going at a slower pace if she still has issues at that point. Carry along some ibuprofen (or preferred pain medicine) and water. Plan some breaks where she won't feel like she's holding up the party, and worst case scenario there are wheelchairs to rent. I hope you all have a wonderful trip!!!

 

[DisneyAnytime]

Thanks all! Mother will hopefully be down to a smaller splint/shoe by the time we leave. She is on week 2 with the boot and isn't letting it slow her down in her everyday life. I hadn't really thought about the ECV but it definitely sounds better than a wheelchair and may be something we have to look in to before the end of our trip. We have been very blessed to make multiple trips to WDW and will have many more in the future so if we go a little slower this time, it will be ok. It will most likely be the parents last trip as they aren't as -- we'll say enthusiastic -- about WDW as the rest of us. They mainly wanted to come along because 1) Mother doesn't like to miss out on anything and 2) Since the grand children are getting older (17 and 15), it is potentially the last full family trip to WDW until DH and I are the grandparents (!!!!!).

 

[Nevada Jen]

Try it without a chair or ECV but my 11 year old son, who is an elite athlete, went a week after the boot was off and after a day he really needed a wheelchair. If you figure it out in the parks, you can just rent one for the day there but if it is early in your trip, it is worth having one delivered from offsite because it will be way easier to push and much cheaper!

 

[happymommy]

My daughter uses a wheelchair at Disney (she has EDS Hypermobility type, so her joints can dislocate and she has severe joint pain if she walks long distances). I rented one from the parks one trip, then from an offsite vendor twice, then found the same chair that I had rented offsite available on Amazon for like $150. So we bought it, and have used it for two trips (much cheaper, and it was NEW and nicer).

ECV is a different story - we find a wheelchair nice & easy (but I grew up with an older sister in one, so I'm used to pushing one, and it helps my daugher enough).

Good luck!