Tips for first timer with wheelchair

[SusanDK]

My 95 year old MIL will be visiting from abroad and she plans to get the 14-day UK based ticket for WDW (DH and I are local AP holders). While she is in good health and with good mobility for her age, we do think a wheelchair inside the parks might be a good idea. She is taken through the airport in a wheelchair, so think this will be similar.

As I research this option, I have a few questions and also would be grateful for any tips that I may not have considered.

I understand that it will be $12 per day to rent a wheelchair in each park, first come basis, and if we park hop, we leave it at the park we collected it and can get another one at the next park. This raises a couple of questions:

1. She is not an early morning person so we won't be arriving early. I know that ECVs often 'sell out' but is this also the case for wheelchairs? Or do we have a good chance getting one regardless of the time we arrive? FYI, renting offsite isn't really an option because I don't think we could get one in our vehicle (even folded).

2. I understand it is required to return it at the same park as rented, but I wondered about HS / Boardwalk / Epcot. If we park at HS and rent a wheelchair there, can we roll her out of HS in it, either walk or take the Skyliner to Epcot (also spending time in Boardwalk), as long as we then still return back to HS to return it? Or will someone stop us from exiting HS with it?

3. None of our group are thrill riders, so I think she will most enjoy the shows like Beauty & the Beast, Frozen, Villains, Lion King, Little Mermaid, Philharmagic, Monster's Inc, etc. Do most of those allow us to wheel her all the way in, or do we park it and get in the regular queue?

4. I think she would enjoy the Candlelight Processional. Will we need a dining package and how will seating work whether we have dining package or use the standby line. We will be a total of four people (MIL in wheelchair, DH, me, and sister-in-law who is traveling with MIL). Will we be able to sit together?

5. She can most likely walk shorter distances so where it makes sense to park the wheelchair and walk, she can probably do this. Are there some attractions where it makes most sense for her to park it and transfer, and some attractions where it is easier (better viewing?) for her to remain in the wheelchair?

6. How does it work at Fantasmic? Fireworks at MK and Epcot? Is there a best place to position her/us?

7. Is there an easy way for us to drop her off close to the entrance at each park and then loop back around to park ourselves?

Any other tips to make her visit smooth and enjoyable are most welcome!

 

[lanejudy]

Yes, in-park wheelchair rental is $12/day or you can pay upfront for the length of visit and it's $10/day. Just bring the receipt with you each day.

1. Unlike ECVs, wheelchairs rarely if ever sell-out. You should be fine whatever time you arrive at the parks.

2. No, the in-park rentals are not allowed to leave the park.

3. She can take the wheelchair all the way through most queues. There are only a couple attractions which require one to be ambulatory -- PeopleMover is one (I'm drawing a blank - someone else will answer).

4. I forget how the accessible seating is for Candlelight Processional but you should be able to sit together, or maybe 2+2 in front of each other. Whether or not a dining package may depend on your dates, the scheduled reader and whether you are will to wait standby.

5. As noted above, the wheelchair can go through most all queues. The question becomes about the transfer as not all attractions have an accessible ride vehicle. It may be a longer wait if you need/want to wait for a wheelchair accessible car. I'll let others chime in about accessible ride vehicles.

6. We stake out our spot early. There are wheelchair viewing locations for parades and Fantasmic! Maybe for fireworks. Others will share their experiences. You may need to split up with 1 person accompanying the wheelchair user.

7. You can drop off at the TTC for MK (she still needs to take the ferry or monorail to MK). If you are staying onsite, the WDW buses will be a better/closer drop-off at MK. The other parks you can drop-off near the entrance.

 

[SusanDK]

Thank you!

Ooh, love the People Mover and I'm quite certain she'll be able to manage it.

We are local, so not staying at a resort on property. Good to know about TTC drop off vs. MK. Probably best just to park together and take the tram.

 

[Mamabun]

Completely agree with lanejudy above.

About the Candlelight processional, most nights (depending on the presenter) it's not necessary to have dining package, but it guarantees seating in a specific show and makes it so you can get in line closer to show time and wait less. There is a separate line for wheelchair seating, but it fills quickly and then you will need to get in the regular line (with your wheelchair). There is typically still wheelchair seating available even when the stadium is mostly filled, or they will allow you to take the wheelchair to a seat and then someone in your party can park it off to the side (which sounds like it would work for your MIL). You will all sit together. I was nervous about wheelchair seating at the processional, especially because our wheelchair user was small with a short wheelchair and I was worried about being able to see, but it was absolutely fine and we went on a very popular presenter night (Neal Patrick Harris).

 

[SusanDK]

Thank you. We are there during the first two presenters (Constance Wu and Jordan Fisher), so not sure how popular they will be.

 

[Bete]

For 14 days I would consider buying a folding, transport wheelchair. You can get one I believe for $150 to $200. Check on Amazon. You can go to a mobility store, and they should have one for you to look at and even buy but will cost you a little more doing retail. The body weight limit on these wheelchairs is around 300 pounds. If she wants to bring it back home with her then there shouldn't be a charge on her air flight back home for it. These transport wheelchairs are lighter than the Disney rentals which make them easier to push. They weigh in the neighborhood of 15 to 20 pounds. Having your own wheelchair, you will never need to worry about having one. Also, you can use it anywhere including your resort proper. If you have a larger car the wheelchair will fit easily in the truck or the back of an SUV. If your MIL doesn't want to bring it back home, I'm sure you can donate it to a nursing home or to someone you know that may need one.

You can do a wheelchair rental from an outside vendor, too. Then, you can have it all the time that way, as well. You should be able to get them to deliver and pick up to your resort. If you have a car that fits one, you can pick it up yourself and drop it off when you're done, as well.

We have personally used a folding, transport wheelchair for my mom and she was in her eighties when we did it at Disney. I would get a seat cushion, too.

For shows, parades, fireworks and such there are handicap areas that you are allowed to use. For any rides, you can bring her to the ride and then park it until you get off the ride and retrieve it. There are a few rides where you can take a wheelchair on the ride like the Safari in Animal Kingdom.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I haven't read thru the thread, yet.
My first tips would be:
* Make sure the wheelchair has feet rests. It is so much more comfortable for the person in the chair.
* Think of bringing a seat cushion ( the kind you would take to an outdoor venue)
*Whomever is pushing really needs to pay attention always to what is in front of them. You have to always assume no one else is paying attention to you!

 

[SusanDK]

For 14 days I would consider buying a folding, transport wheelchair. You can get one I believe for $150 to $200. Check on Amazon. You can go to a mobility store, and they should have one for you to look at and even buy but will cost you a little more doing retail. The body weight limit on these wheelchairs is around 300 pounds. If she wants to bring it back home with her then there shouldn't be a charge on her air flight back home for it. These transport wheelchairs are lighter than the Disney rentals which make them easier to push. They weigh in the neighborhood of 15 to 20 pounds. Having your own wheelchair, you will never need to worry about having one. Also, you can use it anywhere including your resort proper. If you have a larger car the wheelchair will fit easily in the truck or the back of an SUV. If your MIL doesn't want to bring it back home, I'm sure you can donate it to a nursing home or to someone you know that may need one.

You can do a wheelchair rental from an outside vendor, too. Then, you can have it all the time that way, as well. You should be able to get them to deliver and pick up to your resort. If you have a car that fits one, you can pick it up yourself and drop it off when you're done, as well.

We have personally used a folding, transport wheelchair for my mom and she was in her eighties when we did it at Disney. I would get a seat cushion, too.

For shows, parades, fireworks and such there are handicap areas that you are allowed to use. For any rides, you can bring her to the ride and then park it until you get off the ride and retrieve it. There are a few rides where you can take a wheelchair on the ride like the Safari in Animal Kingdom.

Thank you for the suggestion. We would not be able to fit even a smaller, folding one in our car. We are local so not staying at a WDW resort. I had actually seen one on sale at Costco last week and joked to my husband about buying it but it just wouldn't be practical.

I'm trying to be as prepared and knowledgeable as possible so all the tips and advice here are really helpful but I do know a lot will be playing it by ear to see what is needed. She still lives in her home and tends gardens all summer, so she can handle limited walking.

I'm thinking Epcot and MK might be the two places the wheelchair will be most helpful (similar to in airports). But we also won't race around the parks or do long days.

 

[KPeterso]

I would also consider the purchase of the wheelchair. It is nice to have at all times including in the parking lots and for park hopping. What kind of car do you have that cannot fit a wheelchair? I put ours in both our Honda Accord and Honda Civic with no issues. On the Civic, I do need to remove the foot rests, but otherwise it fits folded with no issues. And it is a full size wheelchair with the bigger back tires.

 

[SusanDK]

I would also consider the purchase of the wheelchair. It is nice to have at all times including in the parking lots and for park hopping. What kind of car do you have that cannot fit a wheelchair? I put ours in both our Honda Accord and Honda Civic with no issues. On the Civic, I do need to remove the foot rests, but otherwise it fits folded with no issues. And it is a full size wheelchair with the bigger back tires.

We have a Tesla 3, and we keep a Dometic cooler in the trunk for cold drinks and such. We will be four in the car, so won't be able to fold the seats down.

I'm fairly certain that we will be fine using trams in the parking lot and/or dropping her at the entrance, visiting resorts for meals, going to water parks, etc. It's primarily the larger parks like Epcot and MK where I think it could be useful so knowing that wheelchairs rarely sell out, I think it would be easier to just get one when we feel we need it.

Appreciate the suggestions from everyone and it's good to know options in case things are different once she is actually here. For her age (95) she is in good shape - we just don't know her endurance level!

 

[Becky2005]

I am going to add getting fingerless padded gloves (I got mine at Walmart in the athletic department) for whomever is pushing her. That definitely helped as well as the cushion (my DH just ended up using a pillow at one point for a cushion).

We rented ours from an outside vendor so I can't really help you with the renting at the parks questions.

We took ours into every line, we tended to ask where we were supposed to wait because sometimes it is at the exit, etc... Most let him stay in his wheelchair but he could transfer as long as it wasn't a long walk. Pirates was a tough one because they have nothing, just tell you to use Row 6 as it is the closest one to be able to get in & out of the boat.

I know at the Lion King show, he had to transfer because all the wheelchair seats were taken (although once we got to the show that made no sense because his wheelchair was just sitting on the edge, not folded, so why he had to transfer to the bench seat made no sense to us but that's what we were told to do).

Most the other shows he just stayed in his wheelchair if I recall correctly and they told us where to go.

One thing is take your time and FOLD the feet rests up before attempting to get out of the wheelchair (my DH tripped & fell a couple of times because he would *not* take the extra 2 seconds to flip them up! -- which then caused us more issues/time than if he had just done that in the first place).

 

[elvispursley]

Add g to the above that besides flipping the footrests up, I would swing the leg rest to the side and ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS LOCK BOTH BRAKES FULLY! I can’t tell you how many times I’d see famili s not lock brakes and or not swing the leg rests and the wheelchair user would trip or fall.