jerrysboy40
Hello! First of all it is nice to meet you. I have MD too. I have only flown once and I will never do it again. There are 3 electric wheelchair users is our family who are all assisted by my Dad and Grandma. We have varying degrees of severity. My mom's power chair is the most basic-standard back (no head rest), standard seat, footplates, armrests, etc. She can still walk around the house and do all her own care but can't get things off the floor, shelve, etc. and has little stamina. She uses her chair anytime we leave the house. I am on the other spectrum. In a very everything-is-specialized-wheelchair-

, tilt/recline chair, along with trach, 24 hr. GJ tube feeds, and host of other meds and problems. My sister is like me minus the trach and GJ tube feeds. Anyway, I digress because at the time we flew I had no trach and GJ tube. I am guessing your ability is closest to my mom's with less walking ability.
The airport experience:
You must arrive 2 hrs early. Once you get there, they make you transfer to a standard push chair. They then proceed to take apart your chair. They take off the batteries and put them in a seperate box. They disconnect every wire. They take off the armrests and anything else that will readily disconnect. I think they asked if you needed pushed but I would speak up (they are liable to do this by law). Once you get to the airport terminal, you transfer to a very skinny chair that can fit through the aisle. **There are 2-3 steps to board the plane. I don't know how they get the chair up them as my Dad just carried me and helped my mom step up.** The seats are very cramped and it is hard to swing your legs around. The seats are hard to balance on and we were often kinda thrown about. The bathroom is NOT wheelchair accessible. There is a curtain that can be drawn. Once you land the same process occurs and they bring you your chair. The battery is in but the process stopped there. The wires were disconnected (or connected improperly). The chairs were out of gear. Every else was haphazardly thrown on. All our controls were bent and had to be fixed. My mom's footrest was broken. My headrest was bent. The battery wasn't connected to the wires. Grrrrrr...Thankfully, my Dad was there to help us. gimponthego.com has the laws on what airlines are required to help with. Transfers are nearly impossible. Needless to say, we never flew again.
That said, have you thought about getting to your things in your room? Plugs are almost always behind things. I am presuming that you can't reach the floor (sorry if I am wrong

) I would be afraid that the valet wouldn't put the suitcase where I could reach it. I imagine that it would be tough trying to unlock the door and pull it open. I don't know where the thermostat is or towel racks. I would be concerned about falling and getting stuck

Yikes!
Sorry if I sound negative. Traveling in an electric wheelchair with muscle weakness is hard, let alone-alone. You don't need to prove anything. I've learned that my "independence" is unique. My brain is independent and someone else has to be my arms- writing etc. You are obviously still able to function independently with minimal assistance from equipment, which is great! But traveling is a whole other world. If you still want to try, ditch the plane and try Amtrak. Your chair is never seperated from you. Also, I found two websites that hire travel companions-licensed nurses and care attendants-for people with mobility disabilities. There prices are kinda steep and I have never used them but I thought you might be interested.
http://members.tripod.com/~Travel_us/index.html and
http://www.disabilitytravel.com/index.html
You could always take a friend along too. WDW is always more fun with someone else!
Hope I was helpful (and not discouraging

). When you plan your trip, I would be happy to tell you the rides that you can drive your chair on and ride in your wheelchair. All the shows you can stay in your chair. You can PM me anytime!
Take care,
Christamae
