Wheelchair vs Scooter?

[Grim Grinning Ghostie]

I am having surgery on both legs in October, and have purchased MNSSHP tickets for shortly after that date (just happened to work out that way, unfortunately!).

I'll still be in recovery and am not supposed to be walking around too much on the date we'll be going. I won't be doing any rides, so we won't have to worry about transfers -

How hard is it to navigate the parks in an ECV? I am Autistic and tend to hurt myself or break things when in meltdown, and definitely don't want to be behind the wheel of a rented scooter if that happens (which driving around the parks in crowds in a machine I'd be using for the first time certainly would induce).

Is it difficult to navigate the parks in a wheelchair? My husband has a bad arm and would be in pretty severe pain if he had to push me all night, so I'd like to self-wheel, if possible. Is that doable, or will my husband end up having to push me due to the layout of the park?

Would you recommend biting the bullet and going for a scooter, practicing beforehand with a family member's, or is the landscape pretty forgiving for wheelchairs?

Apologies if this is a stupid question. I've never had to use mobility devices before outside of crutches.

 

[jo-jo]

Will you be cleared for travel that quickly?

With your husbands issues, I don't see how he could push you. I think the avg. person, just can't suddenly self propel without being in pain the next day. It seems like hard work.

If you are going, I think scooter is your only option.

 

[lanejudy]

Either option I suggestion practicing beforehand.

Self-propelling a manual wheelchair around the parks can be challenging if you don't have the shoulder/arm/hand strength from doing it regularly, and there are more hills than you may realize walking.

As for an ECV -- do you drive? That would mean you are familiar with paying attention to the pedestrian traffic around you, staying focused on driving instead of distracted by something going on off to the side, etc.

Honestly, my first preference would be to either reschedule the MNSSHP or the surgery, whichever is easier to reschedule.

 

[Grim Grinning Ghostie]

Will you be cleared for travel that quickly?

With your husbands issues, I don't see how he could push you. I think the avg. person, just can't suddenly self propel without being in pain the next day. It seems like hard work.

If you are going, I think scooter is your only option.

I am, I live only 2 hours away so not much travel, fortunately.

I may just end up seeing if I can move the dates for the party. Not sure if they'll let me but it's worth a shot.

Thank you for the response!

 

[SteveMouse]

The wheelchairs that are typically available for rent are not typically easy to self-propel, especially for a day or night (across the room? sure! But not across a theme park).

Depending on the nature of your surgery, you may need your legs to be elevated. That is really hard and unsafe to do well in/on an ECV. I have never seen an officer attachment to hold a leg up for an ECV. Leg holders are available for many wheelchairs.

Safe travels!

 

[voxparse]

I've been self propelling a wheelchair for 40+ years and I have much a stronger than average upper body. All that said, Disney parks are tough. There is a lot of variety in the surfaces, a lot of hills that don't seem bad until you're half way up them, and probably 100 other little things that someone without experience is going to get tripped up on with a manual chair. All of that is before you add the other several thousand people and their strollers/wheelchairs/ecvs. I would HIGHLY recommend an ECV for anyone that isn't an extremely experienced wheelchair user unless you have a dedicated crew that is going to push you through the park.

 

[LoveToDisney]

Be careful about needing to elevate your legs after surgery. Not sure I would attempt sitting that long with my legs down due to less blood circulation needed for healing if you plan to stay long at the party.

 

[Grim Grinning Ghostie]

Thanks, all. I will check with Disney tomorrow to see if the ticket date can be moved. I appreciate the input!

 

[jo-jo]

Hope you have a good outcome to your request.

 

[Grim Grinning Ghostie]

Hope you have a good outcome to your request.

Thank you! They were able to move the date for me.

 

[jo-jo]

Glad it worked out for you. Maybe I'm chicken, but a short time after surgery on both legs seemed rather quick to be in a theme park with chance of being bumped.

 

[Artuitus]

I use a scooter ONLY at Disney World (for now). It isn't hard to navigate-but watch for the 'legs' who just don't pay attention while walking and will walk right in front of you. And be mindful of children. it helps if you have a tall person walking with you-they may not see you but they will see them. Otherwise they are a trip-saver for sure.