WDW at Christmas with a motorized wheelchair

[peacefullm]

I know it will be very crowded, but for very complex reasons some of our extended family is planing a trip during this time. We're planning to go but I thought I'd ask if anyone has used a chair in the parks at this busy time. Our son is 16 and has been ''driving" a chair for over 13 years. He's been in many crowded situations and usually does quite well. We will be taking our time so he can travel among the crowds. Will the crowds be so overwhelming that he won't be able to manuver around them?

Thanks to anyone who can give us first hand info.

peacefullm

 

[BCV23]

I bet he'll do just fine!

Our daughter just finished her junior year in HS and didn't get a power chair until she was a freshman. Even now some semesters she uses her walker if her classes are close enough. So she isn't as experienced as your son.

We were at WDW from 12/23-1/3 this past year and she did just fine. This was the first time we took her chair and we will never go without it (or renting one) again. The crowds were very heavy and some people were thoughtless and others just plain rude and cut her off but she handled it with aplomb. We went to the parks early and left midday. We didn't go to any park NYE. Did Hoop de Doo instead. It sounds as if Epcot might be the most manageable park on NYE??

My daughter assured me that if she could handle the halls of her crowded HS she would do fine at WDW and she was right. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[Talking Hands]

He will do fine. een using mine for 5 years now and never had a problem in crowds except for a few incidences of idiots trying to cut it too close walking in front of me.

 

[Andrew Bichard]

A couple of years back I was at WDW from Christmas to New Year.

Most of the time the crowds were manageable, with care. You might find lights on your wheelchair after dark a help. I was staying at the Boardwalk, and had to exit Epcot through International Gateway after Illuminations several nights. This meant travelling in the 'wrong' direction from from the Future World end of the lake through Canada & UK when everyone else was going the other way.

My powerchair is street legal in the UK complete with headlights, tail lights & turn indicators. By selecting 'hazard' I was able to set all four turn indicators flashing at once and the crowd magically opened up in front of me. Moses would have been proud of me. My wife who was following behind could see exactly where I was and could folow in the gap I had opened up.

If your son's powerchair doesn't have lights, he might try waving a Darth Vador sword over his head, or buying one of the other toys that light up.

Andrew

 

[SueM in MN]

Wow, Andrew. If they don't see you, they are not paying any attention whatsoever to their surroundings.

Someone suggested getting some snake lights to put on the wheelchair. These are flashlightes with a flexible bosy so they can be attached around an object. I was going to get some for our last trip, but forgot until it was too late.
We haven't talen DD's power wheelchair yet. She's only been driving it for 3 years, but she does well in Christmas shopping crowds at home. If your DS can handle that, he's have little problem at WDW.