Water Parks & Spina Bifida

[johno86]

Advice Needed Please!
Hi, me and my fiancee are traveling to Disney next year and Im unsure about the waterparks clothing & footwear rules. Sorry for the long post below but I would like to be sure Im getting the right answers.

I am 22 years old and have Spina Bifida, which requires me to wear AFO's (plastic leg braces below the knees), and I also need to have footwear on over them (there made of plactic which makes the bottom of the braces to slippery to walk on without some kind of footwear).
I can walk barefoot, but because my lower legs are so thin and my feet being smaller then usual, I can't walk very far without the braces and my balance is not good without them, I have to hold onto something while standing still.
I also never wear shorts, I only wear long baggy pants so they conceal the braces from view, I know you might say Im too self-conscious, but people and kids can be pretty starefull sometimes, so rather then deal with the embarrassment of that infront of my fiancee I just keep them covered.
Basically what I need to know is, if it would be possible for me to wear the leg braces into the water and onto the rides, if so what foorwear would be acceptable to have over them? Also is it possible for me to wear long pants & t-shirt on the rides and in the water?

Thanks for your patients ad your help in this matter,
John.

 

[SueM in MN]

People with more experience will probably post later, but my best is that you would not be able to wear pants and a shirt in the water. Maybe a shirt, but I'm pretty sure not pants unless they are of a special type meant to be worn in water and you get an OK first. Maybe even then not.
They are careful even with what types of swimsuits are worn on some of the slides because metal snaps or pieces can scratch the surface of the slides.

In the disABILITIES FAQs thread, there are in links in post #3 to the Guidebooks for Guests with Disabilities for each park, including the water parks. The FAQs is located near the top of the thread list on this board or there is a link in my signature.

The Guidebook for Blizzard Beach says:
Certain restrictions apply to Guests using a prosthesis at some of our water slides. A separate information sheet is available at Guest Services to provide information specific to these needs.

I don't know, but imagine they might handle your AFOs like they do prosthesis. It might also depend on what type of shoe you are able to wear. I know when we took my DD into the lazy river, she was able to wear water shoes (kind of nylon stretchy shoes that are meant to go in water).

 

[WheeledTraveler]

I don't have any water park experience, but have you done a lot of things with getting your AFOs soaked already? I've never had AFOs, but have several friends with them, all of whom take them off before getting anywhere near as wet as one would on a water slide. They find that getting them wet makes them extremely uncomfortable and causes them to rub in bad ways when having to walk around in them afterwards.

Good luck!

 

[Mary976]

As far as clothing, you can get a "rash guard" tshirt to wear, no problem (they are the kind of tshirts that surfers wear, and they sell them at sporting goods stores). I don't know of any long pants options, except for something like a wetsuit, or a full body bathing suit (like swimmers wear in the olympics). I would also think water shoes would be a good idea, especially because it can be really hot and it's easy to scrape your feet. If the regular style water shoe doesn't work for you, places that sell scuba gear have these "boot" style water shoes, too. One place that offers pictures of lots of suit styles and water gear is www.kiefer.com.

I'm not too sure about the AFOs, although if you're up for using a wheelchair to get around, you can check out a waterchair at the park. The parks are bigger than they look, and the chair might help you get from place to place. Just so you know, most of the slides have stairs, although the crush n gusher (the fruit slide) at Typhoon Lagoon has an elevator. The wave pools are zero depth, so you can walk (or roll) right in, and the lazy rivers have a few steps to get in, or there are also bump steps, where you sit down on the top step and the boost yourself down to the water. I think there's a photo around somewhere...I didn't get what they were until I saw them! Maybe another poster knows which post the photo is in.

Good luck! I hope you have lots of fun.
Mary

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

At the 6 Flags near me, we often see Muslim women and girls wearing what appears to be bathing suits designed to accomodate their cultural need for modestly. Essentially they're wearing what looks like pyjamas, only made of rash guard fabric, with a tunic over that disguises the "curves" of their body, and a head scarf. They all seem very comfortable and unrestricted in the water. Frankly, I've often looked at them and thought "I got to get me one of those", both becuase I burn in a heartbeat. Anyway, I wonder if you could google "Hijab bathing suit" and see if there's something that meets your needs.

As to the AFO's I don't know -- I agree that they would probably uncomofortable on wet skin -- but maybe you could put moleskin on the places where they'd rub? Do you have feeling in your lower legs, or would you run the risk of the AFO cutting/blistering you without you realizing it?