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divinedi
02-13-2008, 03:08 PM
We are doing a GG end of April, which includes my parents, Dad who is 80 1/2 and Mom, 78 1/2. My Dad rents the scooters when he gets to the parks, but doesn't want the hassles of off and on the buses with them, and can walk for short periods of time. He has hiking/walking poles, and uses them at home when he goes for a walk (not now of course, we have about a foot of snow everywhere!:(:snowball::freeze: but gets his exercise with them when the weather is warm.

My question is this, any idea whether he would get through security at the parks with the hiking poles? They aren't any more dangerous than canes, but he really likes these better and feels they help him greatly with walking, he doesn't get tired or have sore legs, they have straps on them for him to hold onto, and they are collapsible, so they could be stored on the scooter when we are in the parks. There is a point on the end for walking on grass, fields etc., but they are covered with a rubber stopper for walking on cement.

I just thought about the plane too, probably not there, but they can be put in his luggage, and we can get a wheelchair there if we really need to.

Or if you have any other suggestions.....?

Thanks!:thumbsup:

TheRustyScupper
02-13-2008, 04:02 PM
1) Shouldn't be a problem getting into the park.
2) The guards see all kids of walking assists.
3) If they give him trouble, tell the guards they are broomsticks from Fantasia.
4) And, they are preparing for hauling water.

divinedi
02-13-2008, 04:14 PM
Thanks RustyScupper :haha:

We'll certainly try that excuse if they get picky about them!!

cjb121879
02-13-2008, 04:28 PM
Just a word of caution regarding airport security- I work for TSA and sometimes assist with our customer service.

A few months ago, I had a lady call us because she was upset that she was not allowed to bring her hiking pole (which she uses indoors in place of a cane) through the security checkpoint. Unfortunately, I had to explain to her that while hiking poles were not specifically on the prohibited list, the list is not exactly exhaustive and we were unable to give it a pass because it has many of the same characteristics of a ski pole (which is in fact on the prohibited list). You are absolutely allowed to put these in your checked luggage, however.

Just wanted to relay this information to you to spare you any unecessary inconvenience during your next trip! Enjoy yourself- I'm jealous!

divinedi
02-13-2008, 06:52 PM
Thanks for the info cjb, I kind of figured as much, it's certainly nice to know ahead of time though! They do twist into themselves, and become quite compact, so not a problem to get into the luggage, we'll do that for sure, and get a wheel chair if it gets to be too much for him. Detroit isn't a really big problem, the terminal we're at isn't that big, but Orlando is huge, lots of walking, so we may get one there.

Thanks for the good wishes for our trip, but I should be jealous of you, you're going twice, fairly close together!!!! I'm the one who's jealous, although if all goes well, I want to do a Christmas trip this year, well a little before Christmas that is, for my birthday on the 11th.

Have fun on your trips!