W/c ?

[wdwmickey]

How soon do I need to let POFQ know that I need a ground floor room due to medical reasons(w/c). Also can I take my folding w/c to use at the airport and on the transportation busses (on the days I need it) and then rent an ecv at the parks and store my w/c where I rent the ecv? Thanks

 

[SueM in MN]

You should include your need for a ground floor room in your requests when you make your reservation. If your reservation is already made, just call and ask that to be a request. Be sure to specify that it is needed for medical reasons. Those requests are filled first before general requests would be.

Your wheelchair will be transported by the airline at no additional charge. You can keep it with you in the airport until the plane loads, then take it to the gate and fold it securely. It will be picked up by the baggage people at the gate and brought back to the gate when the plane lands at your destination. This is called "Gate Checking" and you should ask about it when you check in for your flight. The agent may tell you to check with the gate agent about gate checking. You should do this as soon as you see an agent at the gate; don't wait until boarding begins. The agent has to make a special tag for the wheelchair so that it is handled correctly. If you wait until loading has begun, the agent is busier and there is more chance of mistake.
Some planes also have a closet that may be large enough for a folded wheelchair. If you would like to do this, ask ahead of time and again when you check in. The closet is first come, first served and they may only have room for one wheelchair, so if someone else asked before you, you will be out of luck.

You can bring a wheelchair on the DME and the regular resort buses. THere is information in the disABILITIES FAQs thread about the resort buses.
For the DME bus, you can ask for a wheelchair accessible bus with a lift and ride up on that. If you don't, those buses have a rather steep set of stairs.
Here are some pictures.
DME Bus lift in action at its highest level:

DME Bus stairs:

 

[Cheshire Figment]

They will store a personal wheelchair at the locations where you rent an ECV.

However, if you know you will be using an ECV, you might want to think about renting one from an off-site vendor for your length of stay. They are less expensive than Disney's and a more maneuverable (three wheels instead of four) and can easily fit in your room. The FAQs, which Sue mentioned, discouss rentals in Post #2.

 

[Matt'sMom]

Do you need a wheelchair accessible room, or are you simply requesting a first floor (ground level) room? Any room requests should be noted when initially making your reservations--be sure to have them note that this is needed for medical reasons. If you already have made eservations, then call back asap (or, if you used a TA, have them call) to add the request for first/ground floor. To reserve an actual w/c accessible room (roll in shower, lower bed, etc.)... you would need to go through "special reservations" in order to have that specific type of room blocked out for you.

As for having your personal w/c stored for you...

Nevermind. LOL! I see that Cheshire Figment has already answered this for you.

 

[mechurchlady]

I have only once since 2000 not used a wheelchair in an airport. Idiot friend's idea, lol, and she ended up having me skip breakfast then hike to the end of the airport, LAX. You should be able to get a wheelchair to meet you at passenger dropoff at the airport. At your resort you wil find an ECV. It is much easier to have the ECV and freedom to get around the resort. You will need every ounce of strength for enjoying the resort and parks.

Read some of the trip reports for some good info on the good and bad sides of using a wheelchair in parks compared to using an ECV. I wish I had woke up to an ECV when I was at WDW last time instead of all the walking. For me it is like being able to walk 5 miles and going on a hike in the woods. After 4 miles you get tired and rest while having a snack. Revived you turn around and head back to the trailhead only to find yourself unable to go any further and still 3 miles from the trailhead. At WDW in the morning I was raring to go but at the middle of the day I was so tired that I got an ECV and from then on had lots of fun.

 

[wdwmickey]

Thanks everyone! I used the w/c on our December trip but I had DH to help push. It will only be DD (12) and me so if the need arises I will obviously need an ecv since DD won't be able to push for long periods of time

 

[thomasclan85]

My daughter has William's Syndrome (causes her to be somewhat mentally & developmentally disabled) and scoliosis. She is also afraid of elevators and staircases. We have reservations with POFQ in Dec. 2008 too and requested a ground floor room. The lady who did our reservations was GREAT; so understanding. She said they'd have no problem accomodating Nikki and even asked if we needed a room with wheelchair accessible bathtub. I have to help her with bathing and the extra room would have been great but I know that people with wheelchairs would need these bathrooms so I told her no. Still I was glad she thought to ask. Maybe we'll see ya there! If not, have an awesome trip!

 

[SueM in MN]

She said they'd have no problem accomodating Nikki and even asked if we needed a room with wheelchair accessible bathtub. I have to help her with bathing and the extra room would have been great but I know that people with wheelchairs would need these bathrooms so I told her no. Still I was glad she thought to ask. Maybe we'll see ya there! If not, have an awesome trip!

Glad you got what you needed and had a great time.

Just for clarification, the handicapped accessible rooms with bathtubs are not really that different than a non-handicapped accessible room at that resort. The room and the bathroom are the same size as the other rooms. The difference is that the bathroom in the handicapped accessible room includes a raised seat toilet and grab bars by both the toilet and tub.

The handicapped accessible rooms with roll in showers are the same size as a regular room, but the bathroom is arranged differently to make room for a roll in shower. Because the room is the same size, the 'extra' room needed by the bathroom means that the sleeping area is smaller.