WDW with broken ankle

[plucky]

DD(11) broke her ankle a week ago. We leave for Disney on Wednesday!!! She is in a walking cast and crutches. We have rented a wheelchair from Walker Mobility and I have some questions about touring with a wheelchair.

1. After reading much of the information on this board (thanks to those who post and maintain such an informative site!), I understand that for many rides you use the wheelchair in the regular queues. DD can hobble, so she can hop/hobble into ride cars. Where does the wheelchair go? Many rides have a different exit. How do we reunite with our wheelchair after an attraction?

2. We are staying at the POP in a standard room. I'm assuming that her rented wheelchair will fit through the door. She doesn't need handicap access for using the bathroom, and I'd hate to request handicap access room, only to find out she didn't need it. But I'd also hate to not request it and find out that her chair doesn't fit through the door of a standard room.

3. If we leave her wheelchair outside of an attraction, what stops someone from taking it for a joy ride? Or worse yet, stealing it?

I'm sure these questions must seem silly, but having never used a wheelchair before, I'm at a loss.

 

[SueM in MN]

Those are the same questions people who use wheelchairs all the time ask on their first trip, so you are not alone.

For some rides like Test Track where you board on one side of the track and exit on the other, you will board at the regular spot and the CMs will take care of getting the wheelchair to the exit side. For others, you will be routed to the exit side for boarding. The wheelchair will stay at the exit and be waiting in the same place you left it when you get off. There are other attractions where everyone boards at the same spot and your ride car comes back to that same spot when the ride is over. You would leave the wheelchair and it will be in the same spot when you are done. An example of that would be The Great Movie Ride.
In general, people leave wheelchairs alone -there are CMs at the exit, the other riders coming off have no idea when the wheelchair user may be getting off and I honestly think people don't even see the wheelchairs parked at tv exit

 

[SueM in MN]

I had a problem - typing on my iPod so I could not scroll to fix the problem.

Anyway, leaving a wheelchair at a ride exit will not be a problem. If you leave it parked with the strollers there may be some potential for people messing with it

The room doors at the resorts are all the same width, whether you have a handicapped accessible room or not. It won't be a problem getting into the room.

 

[mechurchlady]

The accessible room has grab bars and a place to sit. You can contact reservations and ask for a hand held showerhead and a shower chair if that is all she would need.
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/plain-text/hotels/

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=595713
Post 7 shows a accessible room with the grab bars and that is the normal one. There is a roll in shower also but you will not need.

I just got back from DLR local trip and found out about them hidden lines. I had to go up a spiralling ramp to the boarding area of Star Tours. DLR is the older sister of the parks and has taught her siblings well. They hide lines and some lines have ramps and can be hard to navigate on crutches. Lines only have to be as wide as an ECV or wheelchair. It is better to save her strength. I would not hop around the lines as you never know when you will hop into something slippery. You can get a disabled guest booklet at each park at Guest Services which tell you where to enter rides and which ones a person can stay in the wheelchair like Toy Story and Small World.

You can ask for the rental company to add for a small fee a crutch holder. It is best to have something on the chair that makes it unique. There is nothing you can do about theft or joyriders but usually there are CMs keeping an eye out and I have never had a problem with leaving an ECV at a park. Stroller Patrol will go around the park and move anything blocking pathways, exits, entrances, lines or parade routes. They even will cut locks to move anything chained down. Park in the stroller parking or for restaurants along the store front or around the corner. Parking spots are pretty easy to find.

 

[Coloradomom]

Don't worry, everything will be fine. I had a serious ankle injury two years ago and we still take my wheelchair on our trips because the type of injury I had causes me to need it for long distances or I get really sore. Some tips:
1. even if she is somewhat mobile do not risk her getting worn out. Use the wheelchair entrances -many are just part of the regular wait line. Just look for the wheelchair sign or ask a cast member. They are so willing to help.
2. it will be hard with someone her age, but the more she can use the chair the more she can save her strength for things she really wants to do on crutches.
3. the door room width is fine, you will not have a problem
4. tie something on your chair to make it stand out -we have a brightly colored scarf. Sometimes the cast members move chairs around but it is usually nearby(we've found it moved the most by Haunted Mansion and near Buzz Lighyear)
5. finally, practice manuevering that chair in crowds, sorry to say but people can be very rude , cutting in front, acting like the chair is not there, etc. Last trip, someone's child was running and literally cut right in front of us while DH was pushing me(slowly) and when the chair ran into the child(about 9 or 10)hte parent got very angry at US! go figure.
Have fun, you will be fine.

 

[phisigprincess]

I'm assuming you're in Disney now (as it's Wednesday!), but in case you check back, I wanted to add my 2 cents.

My sister had a broken ankle over the summer and we found there were some rides she had a very hard time transferring into. Pirates, Maelstrom, and Space Mountain were some of hardest to get her into, since the vehicles sat so low.

The ride operator on Peter Pan said they couldn't slow down the conveyor belt for her, so we had to skip that one. TTA was a nightmare to get her into, since they couldn't slow that one down either.

Everything else was fine and the CMs couldn't have been more accomodating. Good luck!!

 

[SueM in MN]

It is true that Peter Pan and the Tomorrowland Transit Authority can't be stopped or slowed

So, you do need to be able to get in and out in the time allowed.

Pirates and maestrom do gave very low ride boats to step into. I would suggest riding Small World or the boat ride in Mexico first. The step down in both of those are similar to Pirates and Maelstrom, but SW and Mexico have a wheelchair boat, so you would be able to ride in the wheelchair and get and idea of the step down at the same time.