wheelchair decorations at parks...

[dis2cruise]

my dd has a leg brace on and she will need a wheelchair. my mom had a light weight one from her mother who has past on....

do you decorated your wheel chair so no one takes it??? any suggestions???

also, how does this work with the airport we will be on southwest.

thanks

 

[OneLittleSpark]

As your chair isn't a park rental (and therefore not identical to half the other chairs there) it's not that likely that it will be taken. If all you want is security, you could put a bike lock through the back wheel and around the chair. Just don't lock it to anything, as this will stop CMs from moving it if it's in the way.

If you want to, however, decorating the chair can be fun! Last Christmas I went for tinsel in the wheel spokes and around the footplates, which was good and festive. You could also use ribbons, strings of beads, scarfs, strips of fabric or anything else long and thin that could be woven around parts of the chair (just make sure there's no chance of things getting tangled around the wheel axles). Quick warning, fabrics will absorb rain, so be warned that they will mean you'll go around dripping for a while, and that it'll make your pushrims wet and slippery until they've dried.

Another option, to do instead or as well, is to put something on the back of the chair. You could get a picture of a favourite character, a nicely patterned piece of fabric or beach towel or whatever else takes your fancy. One idea I just had ( ) is to print off a Disney-related picture with lots of white space around it, and put it in a clear plastic wallet on the back of the chair. Then, when you meet characters, you can get them to sign in the white space on the paper. That's if she's into meet and greets with the characters, of course.

Another, rather extravagant option is to look for some cheap battery powered fairy-lights to strap to the chair for night-time stuff. Just make sure that everything is waterproof, before you attach it! They sell lots of light-up stuff in the parks, but it would be a lot cheaper to buy it at home.

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

Decorate your chair after your flight and undecorate it before your return flight - that will make it easiest on getting through security and the airline storing the chair on the plane.

For my friend's (rented) ECV, I printed up a couple of signs and had them laminated (and then I hole-punched two holes in each of the upper corners). We only ended up using one, which we hung on the inside of the front basket (to ensure it didn't fall off - I forgot to bring string, so all I had to hang it with were safety pins). It definitely made the ECV quick and easy to spot after a ride! Also, nobody could say they thought it was theirs.

The sign had her favorite character (albeit a non-Disney character, but it was Hello Kitty on the teacups ride, so at least it was sort of Disney-related) and the handicapped symbol (she looks healthy, so I didn't want ppl thinking she was an AB abusing the system - she has MS and a handicapped parking card [which she only uses when she really needs to]) on a funky background.

I had it laminated at my local office supply store. They didn't do it on the spot (especially since I had six total pieces to be laminated, since I laminated my park maps from the PassPorter book [with stickers I added for the dog potty spots], too), but they did do it the same day. I don't recall the price.

 

[dis2cruise]

thanks everyone....

now i have a full size car rented grand prix do you think it would fit inside
of the trunk..

we are 2 adults and 2 teens i am also a light packer so maybe this helps
the wheelchair we have is a light weight one aprox 20 lbs.
should i change my car ressie???

 

[SueM in MN]

You need to find out how big the wheelchair is when it's folded. Some will fit into a trunk very easily, others won't. Once you know the size of the wheelchair, look at the website for the rental car place to see what types of cars they rent in that size range. (Oh, I just saw that you know it's a Grand Prix - look at the website for the car company for the size of the trunk. Some people have even gone to a car lot to look at the trunk).

My DD's wheelchair has some glow in the dark star stickers on various places on the wheelchair - on the wheels (the supports, not the tires) and on the back. They decorate it up a little, were inexpensive and also make it more visible at night without worrying about anything with batteries. If you are bringing the wheelchair into lines with you, it will be waiting for you at the ride exit if she needs board a ride car.

For the airplane, let the airline know ahead of time that you have a wheelchair. You will be able to gate check it, which means that you keep it until you actually get onto the plane. After you have gotten onto the plane, the baggage handlers will put it in the baggage compartment for you.
Here is a link to the Southwest Airlines information about wheelchairs.
Airlines are required to transport wheelchairs and things like crutches without charge (and they don't count toward your baggage allowance).