WDW after hip surgery...

[gap2368]

May I ask what they did for him at First Aid? Was he able to lie down or is it just a comfy place to sit and rest? I have a wonky back and the standing is the worst, so I take frequent breaks.

they do have beds that you can lie down and some OTC meds ice packs

 

[gillep]

May I ask what they did for him at First Aid? Was he able to lie down or is it just a comfy place to sit and rest? I have a wonky back and the standing is the worst, so I take frequent breaks.

He was able to lie down completely, and he said the cot they had was quite comfortable for his needs. He has gotten ice from first aid in the past, but since his surgery he is well past needing ice, and just needed to lie down to take the pressure off his spine. He went a few times a day and had a pleasant experience each time, he was really impressed with first aid and how helpful it was for him. Sitting is actually the worst for him, so having a full cot to lie down completely was necessary.

 

[shelly3girls]

I never thought of the boats being an issue. Thank you for the heads up! Depending on her recovery, we might just end up seeing shows but we’ve booked fastpasses for the calmer rides just in case.

 

[acertaingirl]

I never thought of the boats being an issue. Thank you for the heads up! Depending on her recovery, we might just end up seeing shows but we’ve booked fastpasses for the calmer rides just in case.

Just take your time going into and out of the ride vehicles and remember, they can always stop the ride to allow you to get off at the end (my knee locked up at the end of Spaceship Earth and they were great about it).

 

[SuperJ]

We just navigated the parks this week with a wheelchair, stroller, and ECV. I had the ECV (recovering from a broken ankle and still in a boot) I really didn’t want the ECV, but I’m now really happy I had it. The biggest problem is people cutting you off and/or not looking AT ALL. You should practice controlling your speed and making sure she gets used to applying the right amount of pressure to the handle to avoid jerking forward. Also recommend practicing turns because some of the lines are tight. Have her go first in the line and you walk behind - leave a bit of space (need wider radius ahead for turns and if no one is behind to “block” people would try to basically pass on the inside at the corner (seriously, people can be so rude!) and sometimes they can roll back a little if stopped on an incline before locking into place (ramps at Smuggler’s Run and Test Track were places where I rolled back slightly before fully stopping when on an incline). Also, if she’s not certain about an ECV, you can make it fun with some easily removable decorations - we picked up some battery operated Christmas lights from Wal-Mart and some small decorations (we held them on with zip ties) to fully Christmas-ify the scooter for Mickey Christmas and people loved it so much, we left it on all week.

No problems parking the ECV and using wheelchairs at the rides that required them in the line (more of this required at MK than the other parks. At the other parks you can drive ECV through the line at most rides). parking near bathrooms was also fine but not sure you could get an ECV up to the door at companion restrooms or into some of the bathrooms. I tried to stick to using the larger ones (mostly the newer ones) so there’d be less chance of a wait or at least not a long wait because my biggest issue was standing.). If she has trouble with big steps, I would caution about the boat rides and things that can be very low to the ground - I rode, but had a tiny bit of trouble stepping down to get into Test Track (big step down), Frozen, and Space Mountain (even riding in the front seat - only place I could go with the boot). Jungle Cruise has a wheelchair boat but, since we had both, the person in the wheelchair in our party used the wheelchair portion of the boat and I transferred in, but the step there was actually easiest because the boat’s design has plenty of places to hold onto to get down into the boat.

No issues with CMs out front of rides being able to answer any questions we had. Some, like Spaceship Earth, have a ramp you need to walk up (about 30ft) so let them know if you have trouble with inclines. They’ll let you push the chair as close as possible and remain in it until loading at most rides if you explain you can’t stand for long - at one ride, we were next to load so I was standing but then there was a short (10 min approx) technical delay so I asked to sit and they brought the chair back over for me to sit during the wait. Just be as specific as possible about what you can do and make sure your questions to CMs are as specific as possible. Good communication is key.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[sewdisney]

I have MS and some serious hip problems and I've walked with a cane since I was 28 years old (I should have started using one earlier but you know...pride!). Even with the cane, I can't walk very far or stand for very long so I have had to use a wheelchair or scooter on basically any vacation we've been on. From our experience: DO NOT GET A WHEELCHAIR! We've tried a wheelchair - once - and we will never go that route again. My husband is a pretty strong guy and I was petite when we used the wheelchair and my husband couldn't make it through the entire day pushing me. He was so sore the next day that he was in no shape to push me again. So now we go with the scooter.

When I was younger (oh, how I miss those days!) when we were in Disney, some people would see me on the scooter and then some would make a snide comment about how young I was so I must be "milking the system". It hurt, yes, but I knew I needed it and I figured I was never going to see those jerks again so they can go jump in a lake. I also knew my kids would not get to see much of Disney if I were walking it and I didn't want them to miss out so I sucked it up and used the scooter. Funny, when we've been on a vacation that was not Disney (gasp), no one has ever made a snide comment when I'm on a scooter. In fact, I've heard some people say how bad they feel that I was so young and needed a scooter.

Make sure your daughter is very careful on the lower seated rides. About 10 years ago, when I was in Disney without my hubby, I thought I was doing well and I pushed my boundaries. I was on Space Mountain and I could not get back up to a standing position and out of the ride. I felt like everyone was looking at me and judging me. The CM are not allowed to help in any way (liability). Thankfully there was a large man who came and picked me up out of the ride and got me to my feet. I don't know who he was but I would probably still be sitting in that darn rocket if it hadn't been for him! I was horribly embarrassed but when something like that happens, you can't help it.

It can be hard to accept the facts that we can't do things "like other people". So no matter what, your daughter is going to feel like EVERYONE is looking at her and judging her and yes, there will be some who judge her but they are doo-doo heads! Tell her to hold her head high and know that she deserves to be at Disney and if needing a scooter is the way for her to do Disney, so be it!

I love the idea of "dressing up" the scooter with lights, etc. I wish I would have done that before!

I wish your daughter a speedy recovery and I hope both of you have an AWESOME time!

 

[shelly3girls]

I want to thank everyone for all of the replies. Due to an unexpected conflict, we ended up taking this trip only a week after surgery (booked 24 hours before check-in) which was right before Christmas. We ended up just using a wheelchair since my daughter could not spend long periods of time in the park. We focused on seeing the holiday decorations and events. It was an amazing trip that we will cherish for a lifetime. The benefit of moving the date was that my other daughter was able to come. Thank you again for all of your valuable advice. I truly appreciate it!