Wagons?

[thesaurinis]

I am trying to decide which to use for my son on our upcoming trip to Disney. Should I push his wheelchair around and carry his walker or pull a wagon and stick the walker inside?

Not sure which is the best and am turning to all of you for some advice.

Story behind my son: He has brittle bones and had to have surgery back in February. He spent 10 wks in a body cast then 2 months in a brace and now he is walking with a walker. He can't walk to far or for to long before he gets tired out, and then at night he is up with pain in the leg. So I am trying to figure out what will be easiest.

 

[Hannathy]

You aren't allowed to "pull" anything in Disney only push, so no wagons.

 

[W.E.D.]

My story: I have twin step-daughters with Cerebral Paulsy.

I'd go with the wheelchair, personally. We were at WDW in '06 with the girls. Everyone was very polite and would clear a path for us to get through with the chairs. Some of the restaurants were a pain to get seated at with wheelchairs, but otherwise it went as smoothly as it could go.
I just have bad visions of you pulling a wagon. I would think it could get...messy.

 

[Robo]

You aren't allowed to "pull" anything in Disney only push, so no wagons.

Correct.

 

[chartle]

Officially you can't take anything into a park that you pull behind you such as rolling backpacks and wagons.

Though it maybe allowed with Guest Assistance Card.

Your best bet is to post in the disABILTIES forum.

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=20

 

[W.E.D.]

And remember, CMs can't help you load your son on or off rides. They can do everything in their power to make it easier on you (ie. stopping rides like HM), but I believe for insurance purposes they can't actually assist you.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the disABILITIES! board. The experts here should be able to answer all of your questions.

 

[SueM in MN]

A wagon would not be allowed even as an accoomdation.
As other people posted, things pulled behind are not allowed for safety reasons. It's too easy for someone not to see them and get tripped. The lines are also not condusive to using anything pulled behind.

If you want more information about Guest Assistance Cards, follow the link in my signature to the disABILITIES FAQs thread. Post 3 of that thread is all about Guest Assistance Cards.

Now, for the walker question -
my DD no longer uses a walker, but when she did, we strapped it on behind the wheelchair. She was not very steady in it and we found that Epcot was the only park we really felt comfortable with her using it. MK and the Studio are very busy compared to the size. They also have lots of areas with curbs. AK has very marrow paths which are themed to be rough hardened mud paths with ruts and tree roots. We also found that it was just easier for us if she got her daily walking done at the resort. If you want to bring the walker with, but not carry it, eqioment like that may be able to be stored at First Aid.

 

[thesaurinis]

Thanks for the advice. I guess never having a child with a disability before this is all helpful info. Just trying to figure out what else I need to ask before we go in September. I know I need to request a ground level room and close to the bus stop. Are those normally accomodated?

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for the advice. I guess never having a child with a disability before this is all helpful info. Just trying to figure out what else I need to ask before we go in September. I know I need to request a ground level room and close to the bus stop. Are those normally accomodated?

Request them for medical reasons.
The ground floor is generally not a problem - many people want higher floors for a better view or because they thing it will be quieter.

The 'close to a bus stop' is a frequent request and is not really medically necessary, so it will all depend on what requests people made who check in before you.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Here is a link to the Theme Park FAQs on the official Disney World site:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/common/helpFAQ?id=HelpFAQThemeParkPage

And here is what is says you cannot bring in:

Q. Are there any personal items I should not bring with me into the Theme Parks?
A. Items that you may not bring into the Theme Parks include, but are not limited to:

* Items with wheels, such as wagons, skateboards, scooters, inline skates, shoes with built-in wheels, two-wheeled or three-wheeled conveyances, strollers larger than 36" x 52", suitcases, coolers, or backpacks with or without wheels larger than 24" long x 15" wide x 18" high (coolers required for medication may be stored in a locker or at Guest Relations), and any trailer-like object that is pushed or towed by an ECV wheelchair or stroller
* Alcoholic beverages
* Weapons of any kind
* Folding chairs
* Glass containers (excluding baby food jars and perfume bottles)
* Pets (unless they are service animals)
* In Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park (for the safety of the wildlife), balloons, straws and drink lids are not permitted.

 

[irish dancer]

I'm not sure how old your son is but another option would be to rent a special needs stroller form an off-site company. You would then have the stroller for outside the parks if needed. We've used one for my son with Autism and it was very comfortable, he is a tall 8yr old and fit easily. They accomodate up to 130lbs. There is info in the FAQ thread about companies. I think it is around $50/wk to rent and the deliver/pick-up from your resort Bell Services.