Final Wheelchair question...re leaving it til we need it (I promise)

[Cora]

We're planning on renting a wc for my son. He will only need it if his heel is painful. I imagine this will be mid-late day when he will have the pain. Someone had mentioned that First Aid at WDW will keep the chair til we need it. I'd really prefer not to have to push it around all day. I called WDW today and was told no...anyone have any thoughts or experiences with this?

Also, I plan on getting a GAC in case he can't stand and we need the chair in line. Is it correct that I don't need a note from his Dr.

Thanks again so much for indulging me...
Cora

 

[SueM in MN]

You don't need a GAC to use a wheelchair in line. Most lines are wheelchair accessible and you just bring the wheelchair in line with you. If there is a special boarding area for wheelchair users (like some lines have steps you will need to avoid) the CMs will see the wheelchair and route you toward the correct place. If you see a gate or chain with a wheelchair symbol on it, wait there and a CM should be along soon.
You don't need a doctor's letter to get a GAC (and won't need one if you have a wheelchair). You should stop in Guest Services in any of the parks and ask for a Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities. There is one for each park. They don't give a lot of information, but do give general info about boarding.

If you want to limit your wait in line, use Fastpass. You can send another member of your party ahead with all the park passes to pick up fastpasses. That way, your son can avoid some walking. To get a fastpass, you put your park passes into the fastpass machine at the attraction. You'll receive a Faspass Return Pass with a return time printed on it. When it's your return time, you come back to the Fastpass Return line and get on the ride with little or no wait.

 

[Cora]

SueMN thanks so much for the info...I love FastPass it's the best thing since sliced bread! Glad you had a great trip...
Cora

 

[cupcake]

Sue and others, if you were renting offsite or borrowing from a resort, do you think that First Aid would say that you could not stash the wc there until it was needed in the afternoon? They have always been so nice. I would totally think that they would be fine with it. Does anyone have any thoughts? I guess in a worst case scenario, you could use it all day, but I don't see why First Aid would not hold it if you told them your ds could walk in the morning and prefered to do so. But I have no direct experience.

Cora, this sounds like a great decision for your ds. As Sue said, you don't need a GAC w/ a wc. The GAC is so you can be assisted with non-obvious needs, and all your DS needs is to use the wc in line which is obvious.

Cupcake

 

[SueM in MN]

My guess is that First Aid does not have the space to store big things like wheelchairs. It's different if it's a small item that can be stored compactly and you would not need for most of the day. Wheelchairs are much bigger and the assumption is that if you have one, you will be using it.
If you don't want to push it all day, you could use it to get to a general area, park it with the strollers and then pick it up from that area before going on to the next. That way, you would have it for the long walks and could have him walk for the shorter walks.

 

[clkelley]

When we have needed to stash our personal ECV for part of the day, wheelchair services was always happy to hold it for us.

Also, on one trip we had a companion that had a manual wheelchair from the resort, and she rented an ECV from the park each day. Wheelchair services happily held the manual for us all day.

If you are renting from WDW parks each day, they rarely run out of standard wheelchairs. You could probably wait until later in the day to rent it, or rent it, then turn it in, then show your receipt to pick one up later in the day. You only have to rent once per day. Your rental is good for all day at all parks.

Carol

 

[Cora]

Carol,
Thanks for the info. We're going to rent for the week, this way we have use of it leaving the parks.
Cora

 

[McCall]

Hi just wondered who you plan to rent from, want to suggest walker I rent scooters from them regularly and can't say enough good things about them.

 

[Cora]

I was considering Walker. We're now thinking we may wait and call while we're down there since we may not need it for a couple days. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[swilshire]

Pushing it around all day might not be as bad as you're thinking. We find our son's very convenient for hanging backpacks, purses, and even a small cooler. You just have to be careful not to weight it down so much that it turns over if you lift him out of it. If nobody is sitting in it, you could just throw a bag in the seat.

That would be much better than going to fetch it when the time comes that you do need it. Even able bodied folks in the group might want to sit down in it once in a while to rest those tired feet. I know I search out every shady bench if I'm waiting in one spot for long.

Sheila

 

[pampam]

You didn't say where you were staying. If you are on site, you can get a wheelchair from guest services at your hotel, usually no charge. You are free to use it anywhere in Disney world.

 

[Cora]

Thanks everyone for your info, advice, good thoughts! We are staying at BWV and I think we may try getting it from them if it is a problem...
10 days and counting...
Cora

 

[McCall]

at the resort they are first come basis and often in not that great shape just so you are fore warned.

 

[SueM in MN]

I think I remember from another post that your child was 10 or so (or maybe that was someone else).
Anyway, I wanted to mention that small or pediatric size wheelchairs are in shorter supply than larger ones from the parks and resorts. You might want to take contact information for all the equipment rental places with you in case you need it. Not all of them rent pediatric wheelchairs. I know that Care and Colonial are both full service medical equipment suppliers and indicate (or at least used to) on their sites that they rent pediatric equipment. Walker does not have anything on their site that indicates whether they do or not.
Care Medical:
http://www.caremedicalequipment.com/
Phone (407) 856-2273 • Toll Free U.S and Canada (800) 741-2282

Walker Mobility:
1-888-726-6837
www.walkermobility.com

Colonial Medical
http://www.colonialmed.com/about_cms.html
(800)747-0246