Wheelchair etiquette?

[pwoodham]

What's appropriate for a large party with one person in a wheelchair? My MIL is going with us and while she CAN walk, she's in her 70's and tires easily. I don't think she could stand in line for any length of time, either. We figure she'll be able to make it to the parks, but we plan on renting her a wheelchair once we arrive. We'll be a party of 15. For rides with lines Grandma can handle, we'll just all wait, but if the line is long, would it be poor manners of us to take the whole party through the handicapped entrance with Grandma? Will the CM's let all of us accompany her? We could split up, but since we have several small children with us, I'd rather not. What's a good strategy here?

 

[CarolMN]

If you ask your question on the disABILITIES Forum, you will get answers from the experts. Maybe one of the moderators will be kind enough to move this post over there.

FWIW, my understanding is that many of the lines will accomodate a wheelchair. For those, you can just all wait together in the regular line.

I would recommend that you reconsider splitting up your party. Speaking from experience, 15 is too many to get much done. Someone will always need to go to the bathroom, get a drink, need a short rest, etc. When I traveled with a group of 11, we soon realized that we would need to tour in smaller groups, or resign ourselves to missing most of the rides. JMHO.

Wishing you a wonderful trip!

 

[DancingBear]

In many attractions the wheelchair patrons go through the line with everyone else and only when they reach the front are they given special directions. On others, such as Spaceship Earth or Haunted Mansion, there are separate entrances.

There is an official limit to how many can come in with the wheelchair family member (I think around 5), although if not busy the CM may allow more. I think 15 would be pushing your luck. As Carol said, it's probably not a great idea to plan on that much togetherness anyway.

A couple of tips: If you are staying at a WDW resort you can try to get a free chair at the resort which you can keep for your whole visit and take with you to the parks and save the rental charges. There is a limited number, first-come, first-served, but we've never had a problem getting one--if they don't have one on your first day, keep checking.

If you do rent a chair at one park and hop to another park on the same day, keep your receipt to show at the second park and you'll get a chair with no additional charge.

 

[pwoodham]

Thanks!! Maybe someone could move this for me???

 

[Mackey Mouse]

I am moving this now for you.. Have a great day..

 

[teri]

For most attractions, you will all enter together through the mainstream line. At attractions where there is an alternate entrance, up to 5 other people in your party can accompany the guest in the wheelchair.

Many rides will not appeal to your GM, and given that you are a party of 15, there will certainly be times when you will all have to split up. You should definitely take 2-way radios or cell phones to help with logistics.

There is information about traveling with elderly, and tips for wheelchair use, plus links to companies that rent wheelchairs on the Disabilities FAQ . Feel free to ask questions!

 

[SueM in MN]

You've gotten a lot of good advice already, so I'll just explain things a little more.
Even the rides with alternate entrances, like Haunted Mansion, usually have wheelchair parties wait in the regular ("Mainstream") line until close to the boarding area. Often wheelchair users board at the exit, and there is not enough room for a large party (sometimes 5 people is really crowded). If there are other wheelchair parties waiting, it gets REALLY crowded. That's a problem for rides like Spaceship Earth that have a separate area for wheelchair parties to wait and board. There is a fairly large area for waiting, but then you are taken into the exit area, where there is little space and there is a steady stream of people coming off the ride.
For shows, there are a limited number of "wheelchair seats" for each show (for example, Little Mermaid can take 8 wheelchairs). When there are only one or 2 wheelchair users coming to that show, you will be able to have a larger party sitting with the wheelchair user. When it's "full" for wheelchair guests, they may need to limit the number of people able to sit with the wheelchair user. Sometimes only one person can sit with the wheelchair user. Sometimes that's the way the theater is set up - with alternating spaces for wheelchairs and seats next to the wheelchairs. If it's not busy, you may be able to have 2 people sitting one on each side of the wheelchair. If the show is full for wheelchairs, only one seat is alloted to each wheelchair.

We've traveled with a party of up to 9 and found it's much easier with a smaller party. With a big party, you spend a lot of time just making sure you are all still together and a lot of tim e waiting for someone in the group who needs to use the bathroom or get something to eat. I agree with teri about using 2 way radios and split into groups. You can always meet up later, but it's easier to have several small groups than one huge one.