Wheelchair Questions from a Partially Disabled man

[peteywarren0829]

In 2013 I was injured at work resulting in permanent partial disability in my right leg. I can usually stand and walk for around a half hour before needing a break. I can extend this if walking with a cane, but I am certainly not perfect.

My family and I are planning our first WDW vacation in early June, and I am trying to make plans on how I am going to need to go about getting around. For those with experience with wheel chairs in the parks,

How difficult is it to transfer from the wheel chairs to the rides?
How difficult is it to navigate the parks in a wheel chair?
Are the Disney wheel chairs good, or should should I inquire elsewhere about renting?

Thank you in advance for any info!

 

[anonymousegirl]

Do you currently use a chair at home? I ask because manually propelling yourself in a chair if you are not used to it is very tiring. Add in the heat in Florida in June, and it can be brutal. WDW is deceptively hilly. Will you have someone able to push you?

You might consider an ECV. You can rent at the parks each day but they can run out. You could also rent off site, cheaper, and then have it for exploring the resort and the long trek to the buses or parking lots.

Renting a wheelchair off site usually gets you a better maintained chair. The companies have different sizes too.

Most of the parks' queues are wheelchair and ECV accessible. I understand that certain rides (Jungle Cruise, Small World and Pirates) are hard to step into as it is a downward step into the boat and an upward step out of the boat.

 

[Goofy14sure]

We cover 3 to 4 miles in a lite day in the parks, and I would have to stay home without my ECV. You would need a pusher for a wheelchair unless you use one at home and are in pretty good shape. Like anonymousegirl said you just ride your ecv or wheelchair through most of the lines whether standby or fastpass. At pirates you will have to take quite a walk or transfer to a disney supplied wheelchair to go through the line. Bring your cane, mine lets me be able to step into the boats and steady myself on the moving walkways. It also helps the castmembers recognize that you need assistance.

I could not even think of a trip to Disney World with out my ECV.

Hope you have a Wonderful trip!

 

[cmwade77]

Even if you do use a wheelchair at home, consider this, on average a person walks about 4-5 miles per day at Disney World. Granted, it's not 4-5 miles all at once, but generally in fairly large chunks at a time. This is often done up and down hills. As a general rule most people walk about 1-2 miles at home. So, please ask yourself if you can handle doing that in a wheelchair.

As others have stated, an ECV may be your best option and if you rent one from offsite, it will often be cheaper than renting a wheelchair from the parks. Plus then you have the ECV to get to and from your room. Transferring to the busses is fairly easy and most of the drivers will help you. As for the rides, most have specially designed transfer vehicle and some even have vehicles that wheelchairs and sometimes ECVs can be taken on the ride without the need to transfer. But you will generally get on faster if you are willing to transfer and that frees up the space for someone who is completely unable to transfer.

 

[peteywarren0829]

Thank you all for your responses! I do not usually use a wheel chair, I usually walk with a cane. My wife will be with me to help push the chair if needed, and I have used one alot over the last year, so I am some what used to manually pushing myself through crowded areas, but nothing even close to the size of Disney. The only problem I really have with getting an ECV I suppose is the principle of the thing. Since I usually can walk with a cane, I hate to take a fully motorized vehicle from those who definitely cannot.

I am trying to get myself in "Disney shape" but I know that I won't be able to walk the full day at the park. I may reconsider an ECV if the terrain is as rough as you all are saying though; this will be my first trip and I definitely cannot know for sure how bad it will be. Thank you all again for your suggestions.

 

[lanejudy]

... The only problem I really have with getting an ECV I suppose is the principle of the thing. Since I usually can walk with a cane, I hate to take a fully motorized vehicle from those who definitely cannot. ...

Think of it this way -- if you needed glasses, would you squint and strain your eyes refusing to get glasses so that someone with "worse" vision could have them? The ECV is just as much available to you as anyone else. I'd suggest renting from offsite, that way you'll have it to/from parks and around the resorts, which can be quite a bit of walking excluding parks. It will cost less, plus you won't need to feel you are "taking" it from someone else. I believe you can even rent a cane-holder to carry the cane with you. You are welcome to park the ECV and walk with your cane whenever you wish.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[SMD]

The only problem I really have with getting an ECV I suppose is the principle of the thing. Since I usually can walk with a cane, I hate to take a fully motorized vehicle from those who definitely cannot.

A day of activity in a Disney park is not the usual physical activity for most people. I don't usually walk 6 miles spread out over 5-8 hours with frequent starting and stopping.

To answer your earlier question about getting on a rides. There are some rides that have vehicles where you can stay in a manual wheelchair. I know that there's info on accessibility on their site, so I assume WDW does this too. Be aware that some rides that don't have those vehicles load below ground level will require climbing in and out of the vehicle, without any assistance from the CMs.

 

[lanejudy]

Regarding transfers, I suggest you check out the disABILITIES FAQ sticky pinned near the top of this forum. The page numbers need adjusting but the thread numbers are accurate -- post #2, #11, #18-21 might all be of interest to you as well as others.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[ttintagel]

If you're renting from offsite, you don't have to worry about taking equipment away from someone else - there's more than enough at the outside companies to go around.

However, if you DO make the decision that an ECV isn't for you, you can always try the manual chair for a day, getting in and out as you need to. You can walk until you need to rest, then your wife can push until she needs to rest, then you can walk while leaning on the wheelchair for support, lather, rinse, and repeat as needed.

However, one thing I learned when trying to tour in a manual wheelchair after I broke my foot is that WDW has FAR more hills, ramps, inclines, and uneven surfaces than I had realized. After one day with the manual chair, I had to call the rental company and ask to switch to an ECV. So, if you decide against using an ECV from the start, I would still keep the numbers of a few rental companies handy in case you get there and Plan A doesn't work out as well as you had expected. Most of them are pretty quick to deliver.

 

[peteywarren0829]

Alright, you've all convinced me, I'll go with the ECV, ! I've favorited Wheeler's website, so I'll contact them as soon as I have everything officially booked. Thank you all for taking the time to answer me.

 

[powellrj]

I think many of us fight the thought of using an ECV for the first time, but once you do, you will be amazed at how much easier your trip will be that you will be sorry you didn't do it sooner!

 

[SueM in MN]

A day of activity in a Disney park is not the usual physical activity for most people. I don't usually walk 6 miles spread out over 5-8 hours with frequent starting and stopping.

To answer your earlier question about getting on a rides. There are some rides that have vehicles where you can stay in a manual wheelchair. I know that there's info on accessibility on their site, so I assume WDW does this too. Be aware that some rides that don't have those vehicles load below ground level will require climbing in and out of the vehicle, without any assistance from the CMs.

Regarding transfers, I suggest you check out the disABILITIES FAQ sticky pinned near the top of this forum. The page numbers need adjusting but the thread numbers are accurate -- post #2, #11, #18-21 might all be of interest to you as well as others.

Enjoy your vacation!

Post 2 of the disABILITIES FAQs has information about renting ECVs and wheelchairs, including names and contact info for places that rent them.

Posts 18-21 have information about boarding ride vehicles and include the information SMD mentioned.