parkinsons, gac etc

[clori]

My sil has just been diagnosed with Parkinsons last week. I'm sad and still learning about it so if anyone has info to share that would be great. In terms of Disney I was asked to find out about Gac. They are going during the busy Faebruary school vacation week (already planned). At this moment sil gets ocasional tremors and can't get up/down quickly. What can she do for rides that don't stop in order to help get on/off. Her favorite rides are rides like Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean etc. She doesn't do thrill rides anyway. I'm hoping by February she will still be at the same level but I haven't a clue how fast parkinsons progresses. I know if she needs it she can rent a wheelchair since they already do for her elderly mother and her sister and husband will be there plus the kids who will be 10&18 so no strollers. I can't believe my niece will be 20 (in college).
Thanks for any advice.

 

[SueM in MN]

Your message got missed. Sorry!
Anyway,
if you go to the disABILITIES FAQS thread, you can get more info about renting wheelchairs (which I know you know about renting in the parks, but there are other options besides that you might not be aware of.) She might be interested in renting a scooter/ecv. That way no one would have to push her and she can be more independent.
Even if she is still able to walk quite well at that time, renting a wheelchair or ecv would probably be very helpful. With the tremors and balance issues that come with Parkinsons, she is going to be expending more energy than the avarge person, so will probably tire more quickly.
If she is using a wheelchair or scooter, she probably would not need a GAC (Guest Assistance Card), unless she has other needs that are not met by having an accessible entrance.
Here's a link to a past thread about boarding. The moving walkway can be slowed or stopped for most rides (not Peter Pan), but you have to baord at the exit for them to do that. She will have to be proactive about her needs - the CMs don't know if you need the walkway stopped or just slowed unless you tell them. On our last trip, when we got on Spaceship Earth, they were just going to slow it. i said I could not get DD on without a full stop, so they did stop it. With the stop, we were actually able to get her on and off much faster than if we would have needed to deal with the walkway (even if it was slow).