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[momof4kids]

My weight now is 394. My highest weight was 465 so I have lost quite a bit and am planning to continue to lose. My trip isn’t until next November. By then I am hoping to be in the lower 300’s at least. I’m having second thoughts about this trip. I’m afraid I still won’t be able to ride attractions even in the lower 300’s. I have bad knees so will be using a scooter. That worries me too...I’m afraid I’ll have trouble transferring onto rides due to my knees. Any thoughts?

 

[MidWax]

My weight now is 394. My highest weight was 465 so I have lost quite a bit and am planning to continue to lose. My trip isn’t until next November. By then I am hoping to be in the lower 300’s at least. I’m having second thoughts about this trip. I’m afraid I still won’t be able to ride attractions even in the lower 300’s. I have bad knees so will be using a scooter. That worries me too...I’m afraid I’ll have trouble transferring onto rides due to my knees. Any thoughts?

Congratulations on your fantastic weight loss. I can’t say if you will be able to ride more attractions on your next trip, but I’m absolutely positive you’ll enjoy that trip much more than your last. Maybe you can create situations at home where you can test how much your knees can handle. Space Mountain would probably be out - even people with good knees talk about having trouble there. There are rides that have special cars for people who can’t transfer. Actually, I think you’d have to transfer from your scooter to a Disney wheelchair, then you’d be wheeled onto your ride. I avoid a lot of rides because of my health, but I’ve never regretted a trip to WDW because of what I was missing - I was having too much fun enjoying the things I COULD do.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I don't typically recommend other unofficial sites, but this https://allears.net/walt-disney-world/wdw-planning/walt-disney-world-at-large-2/ might alleviate at least some of your concerns.

 

[mamabunny]

My weight now is 394. My highest weight was 465 so I have lost quite a bit and am planning to continue to lose. My trip isn’t until next November. By then I am hoping to be in the lower 300’s at least. I’m having second thoughts about this trip. I’m afraid I still won’t be able to ride attractions even in the lower 300’s. I have bad knees so will be using a scooter. That worries me too...I’m afraid I’ll have trouble transferring onto rides due to my knees. Any thoughts?

I'm a self-confessed "3L" - Large Lovely Lady - and I can tell you that in the lower 300s you will be fine. I'm currently just a bit ahead of you on that same path, and hope to be well down into the mid-200s by this time next year.

However, I too have bad knees (and many other ortho & spinal issues to add to the "fun") and some of the rides I will likely have trouble with regardless of my weight, simply because of my knees. Mostly boat rides - those tend to have the lower seats that you have to step down into and then climb back up out of, and that's just a no-go for me and my cartilage-free knees!

One thing that has been enormously helpful to me in terms of building stamina, and also conditioning my core, and training my legs/knees has been water workouts with my PT team. Aquatherapy (where you exercise in a heated pool) 2 to 3 times a week has literally kept me (so far) from being wheelchair bound; I can still stand and walk
because I am keeping those muscles as strong as possible. My sessions typically last an hour in a 96 to 97 degree pool, so it's like being in a nice warm bathtub, supported by the water. I can do things in the pool that I have not been able to do for years on dry land! It's just a suggestion, obviously, but it's been so very helpful to me. I even take along my swimwear to WDW and get in the pool and do a little workout on vacations so that I don't lose my progress!

Congratulations! I know how hard it is to do what you are doing, and I promise you will be fine!

 

[SueM in MN]

Congratulations on your weight loss. I agree that your next trip is very likely to be better than the last!

I don't typically recommend other unofficial sites, but this https://allears.net/walt-disney-world/wdw-planning/walt-disney-world-at-large-2/ might alleviate at least some of your concerns.

I agree that site will be helpful to you and I’ve got a couple of other resources to suggest:

The disABILITIES FAQs thread has information about rides with moving walkways, stairs or difficult transfers. That thread is located near the top of the thread list for this board or you can follow the link in my signature. The first post is an index that tells which post has which info.
There are Posts on page 2 about attractions with moving walkways and attractions that may be difficult transfers.
The date for the thread may look old, but the date reflects the date it/each post was originally written and doesn’t show edit dates where they are easy to find.

Pammie Plus Size on YouTube. She has good videos that show an overview of the ride and show the queue, boarding process, ride car and at least part of the ride. At the beginning of each video, she tells her height, weight and clothing size to help viewers get an idea of how they compare to her.

Big Fat Panda on YouTube. His more recent videos are more general, but he has some ride videos that show the entrance, queue and boarding as well as the ride.

Search the Disboards or the internet in general for ‘Pooh sized’. A lot of people use that term for being a larger guest at WDW.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

My weight now is 394. My highest weight was 465 so I have lost quite a bit and am planning to continue to lose. My trip isn’t until next November. By then I am hoping to be in the lower 300’s at least. I’m having second thoughts about this trip. I’m afraid I still won’t be able to ride attractions even in the lower 300’s. I have bad knees so will be using a scooter. That worries me too...I’m afraid I’ll have trouble transferring onto rides due to my knees. Any thoughts?

I was able to ride a lot of things when I was at my heaviest, about your current weight. I think had I been better healed and more mobile i would have been fine on most things.

Exactly how bad are your knees? Can you get in and out of a bathtub without assistance at home? go up a few steps? step down into something? If so, I think you will be fine transferring on most things. Will you have someone there to help you? I would suggest searching youtube for videos of the loading process for rides to get an idea of where you might be ok, and where you might need accommodation or assistance. there are a lot of things you can stay in your EVC for. Some things will want you to transfer to a wheelchair. I found that the transfer wheelchairs were not wide enough for me, so be aware of that. It kept me off of some things, but for others, we got it sorted.

Have you ever been with a scooter before? WDW is remarkably scooter and wheelchair friendly. There was a lot I could do.

I too hesitated to go at my highest weight. I had fallen about 6 months before and really injured my knee. I was pretty close to immobile for a long time afterwards and gained. I was getting some mobility back, but nowhere near 100% and didn't trust my knee at all, particularly with the extra weight. I still couldn't climb in and out of the tub to shower. I went anyway and just didn't ride anything i wasn't sure my knee would hold up for. I had been once before on a scooter, just after I got hurt so I had an idea of what to expect.

I will likely still be in the scooter for our upcoming trip. My knee is a lot better, but I am still having some back issues from my fall that make walking long distances extremely painful. I have also lost a good bit of weight so that helps.

 

[momof4kids]

I can climb in and out of the bathtub, but we have a lower tub. I can climb up the 3 steps into our house but I have to hold onto the rail, same with going down. We rented a beach house last year and I climbed those 14 stairs but had to hold onto the rail. My knees are pretty bad...no cartilage.

 

[gap2368]

I can climb in and out of the bathtub, but we have a lower tub. I can climb up the 3 steps into our house but I have to hold onto the rail, same with going down. We rented a beach house last year and I climbed those 14 stairs but had to hold onto the rail. My knees are pretty bad...no cartilage.

The fact you can walk up and down a few step will help you get in and out of some ride vehicle ( some you have to go over a small lip Then you can step on the set then on the ground) if you can get up from the ground or small stool with your knee bent more then 90 degree you really should be fine on most rides and some rides the set is not that low. I would ask to avoid steps for attraction ( splash at the MK has then in line and two of the tracks at TSM at Hollywood has then). As other said YouTube has some great video on load unload area. Also spreading out harder rides that are harder with easer ones might help out a lot. And do not forget each park has a first aid where they have some OTC ice and a place to lie down they have all been very helpful for to me

 

[Lizgistix]

We recently returned from our trip to Epcot and DHS. Mom has bad knees and for many rides, we were able to take the scooter all the way to the loading area. Spaceship Earth had a separate entrance at the exit where we could transfer to a wheelchair to go up a ramp and onto the moving platform.
What gave her the most difficulty was stepping down into boats, as there wasn't much to grab on to, and I went first to help her down but didn't have enough room to scooch past to get out first to help her up out of the boat.
Any ride with a moving platform can be slowed or stopped to accommodate people.

I'm personally Pooh sized and was amazed at how long the seat belts were on rides like ToT and Soarin. Never had a problem buckling in. Midway Mania, too, with the lap bar was totally fine. I could finally enjoy rides without having to worry about doing the walk of shame.

 

[gap2368]

Any ride with a moving platform can be slowed or stopped to accommodate people.

Peter Pan and the people mover are the only two rides that can not be stopped or slowed all the rest can be

 

[eeyoreandtink]

I can climb in and out of the bathtub, but we have a lower tub. I can climb up the 3 steps into our house but I have to hold onto the rail, same with going down. We rented a beach house last year and I climbed those 14 stairs but had to hold onto the rail. My knees are pretty bad...no cartilage.

I think it's going to depend on your pain level then. I find doing things that are going to be challenging early in the day is best for me, before I tire out.