PDA

View Full Version : Our experience with a wheelchair



kakn7294
03-16-2009, 01:42 PM
I never thought I would be posting here about something like this but... you never know! We just returned from a short trip to WDW and my mom had to use a wheelchair - she had a recent knee injury and can walk short distances but struggles to walk very far. While she wasn't with us the entire trip - she traveled earlier in the week with some cousins and stayed at a different resort with them - we did spend some time with her. We happily discovered that the folks at Disney are pretty great about handling guests in wheelchairs. These are a few of the highlights: My DD marched in the pre-parade on Thursday at MK. We were seated in the WC designated section and once the CM there learned about my DD, he refused to put anyone else in the section immediately next to my mom so the rest of us could have front-row seats to watch as well. That said, if someone had come along who really needed the space, we would have gladly moved back but it worked out well that no one else came along to need it. We had lunch scheduled at CP and I asked about what to do with the WC. We had to wait a few extra minutes but they seated us as close to the buffet as possible so she had less distance to walk. At the end of the last night, she stayed at MK with us to watch Spectro and they allowed us to take the WC all the way to the bus stations to let her get on the bus. She stayed in it until the bus arrived and was able to walk right onto the bus and get a seat. I drove her back to her own resort from ours. She was treated well at all the attractions too - not one CM gave her a problem about the WC although I'm sure it helped that she could transfer. All in all, it was a good experience.

Mickey'sGirl
03-16-2009, 02:06 PM
All in all, it was a good experience.
That's terrific Kathy. I'm so glad that your Mom got to enjoy her holiday!

Hayden's Dad
03-16-2009, 02:49 PM
That is fantastic to hear! Hopefully you won't have to use it in the future but if you do you will be less worried about the experience. :mickey:

DakandZakMom
03-16-2009, 03:01 PM
That is great!! :thumbsup: My mom has the same issues, she cannot make long distances. The 2 years that I took her with us everyone from Disney was great. The only issues we had were from not so understanding guests. :mad:

BamaJenn
03-16-2009, 03:34 PM
I'll second that the folks at Disney are really great about how they handle guests in wheelchairs. We took a trip in August 2005 and I was a few months pregnant. Not enough for it to be "obvious" but enough for me to be incredibly weak and have the heat of the day really just wear me out. We didn't use a chair our first 3 days (MK, Epcot and AK) but by the time we made it to our 4th day at DHS I was beat. I was in the chair pretty much the entire day and never once had an issue (other than people walking in front of me who decide to stop dead in their tracks and get hit :D). This is definitely one thing Disney has a great process around.

DawsonAR
03-17-2009, 10:13 AM
That is wonderful. Disney does do a wonderful job at making accomodations for people in wheelchairs. It makes the trips so much easier.

heatherb
03-18-2009, 01:36 PM
How much did the wheelchair cost each day?

kakn7294
03-18-2009, 05:17 PM
How much did the wheelchair cost each day?I'm not entirely sure as we were never with her when they rented the WC. I think it's $10 per day but there's a multi-day discount. You can get a replacement WC free at your new park if you park hop - just keep your receipt and show it at the new park's rental location.

beksy
03-28-2009, 11:23 AM
I'm so happy it all worked out for you! This trip I'll be using an ECV and so will my Mom so it is nice to hear that things went well (I'm a little nervous!). Like your mom, we can both walk short distances and can transfer so that should help. We won't have to worry about stores, since we can just part outside. We both have Rheumatoid Arthritis and need to move around some so this gives us a good excuse to shop! Also, we'll be able to walk through most lines using FP or if they're short so hopefully that will cut down on the nasty comments! Thanks for making me a little less nervous!