WDW with an electric wheelchair

[blizzard]

I wanted to do a short write up about our trip to WDW. Although my husband and I are seasoned WDW travellers, this was our first time travelling with someone with special needs. For anyone else who is looking for travel tips for someone travelling with a wheelchair - I hope this helps.

Background
This was MIL and FIL's first trip to WDW. We are DVC members and had a trip planned with them in December 2004. Unfortunately, MIL had a stroke in October 2004, so they were unable to travel with us. MIL was in the hospital until March 2005, and still is unable to move her right arm and leg. She has an electric wheelchair (Jet3) which is very small and extremely manouverable. The electric wheelchair has allowed her to regain some of her independance. She is also able to transfer herself from her chair to another chair, or to use the toilet (if it is completely accessible). She can take a few very small steps if she has something to hold on to. She has fallen a few times, so was afraid to use the restroom by herself in case she had a problem.

Plan
We decided to bring the electric wheelchair, and a push wheelchair of our own. This was for several reasons. We thought it would be more comfortable to have her own wheelchair in the airport after the electric one was checked. We thought it might be useful if the electric chair needed a power charge at mid day for getting around. Finally, we thought a spare wheelchair might come in handy for my FIL if the walking was too much for him. (he qualifies for his own handicap parking permit, so there was a good chance of this happening.

We were planning to use Magical Express to transfer from the airport to WDW and back. We also rented a minivan for a day trip to Kennedy Space Center. Our hope was that by folding or removing a seat we might be able to lift the chair into the van for the trip. Our plan was to utilize resort transportation for all the moving around Disney.

We were staying at Old Key West in a 2 bedroom unit. I had confirmed an accessible room.

How thing went:
The airplane trip was uneventful. Before checking the wheelchair, we removed the console control, as it was slightly damaged on a previous trip. We gate checked the push wheelchair, which worked well. On arrival into Orlando, the electric wheelchair was brought up to the gate as well, which was an unexpected surprise. So we took a few moments at the gate to reinstall the batteries and the controls so that MIL could travel without assistance.

When I checked in for Magical Express, they did not have the wheelchair noted (although I had told them when I requested the service). Even though they were not prepared, they were able to make arrangements quickly. The bus driver had some difficulties operating the lift (although he mentioned that a lot of the bus lifts are tempermental) Unloading again was an issue, but the driver fixed it by "rebooting" the bus.

MIL and FIL were very happy with the room. They specifically commented on the height of the toilets and the roll in shower being "done right". (believe it or not, the hospital that MIL was recovering in did not have roll in showers) From an able bodied person perspective, I had heard many complaints about accessible rooms and how people hate them. The only difference that I noticed was the roll in shower, which I found too narrow. The only minor items that were noted by MIL were that the diameter of the grab bars is very big, and that they are not grip bars. (they are a smooth finish) This made it a little difficult for her to pull herself up.

At the parks, our plans were to hit the highlights with the exception of the thrill rides. We were very pleased to find out how many rides do not require a transfer. The biggest problem we ran into here was that some cast members were skeptical of the manouverability and size of the electric wheelchair. I am not exagerrating to say that the dimensions are smaller than a rental push chair. Unfortunately, some cast members lump any electric wheelchair in with a scooter. Fortunately, we only made one transfer to a push wheelchair that we shouldn't have made. This was on the first day at the Winnie the Pooh ride. We were told that we could not take any electric wheelchair on the ride, so would have to transfer. After that point, we realized that we needed to be a little more informed and a little more forceful if we knew that it was an accessible ride. All attractions that take a standard wheelchair drive on were able to accomodate MIL's electric wheelchair. IF your electric wheelchair is the same size (or smaller) than a push wheelchair, be sure to tell the cast members that, so that they won't make you transfer unnecessarily. (as an aside, I can kind of see their side of it when someone driving a scooter insists that it will fit, and then gets stuck, causing a nightmare for everyone)

The Disney transportation was all very accessible, with only a few minor glitches. I would recommend something I read here, but we didn't do, which is to temporarily mark the best anchor points for the harnesses on the bus. This would have made it easier for everyone I think.

As it turned out, the van we rented worked very well to transport the wheelchair, so we used it for a few of our park days as well.

For Kennedy Space Center, the busses were very well equiped for wheelchairs. The wheelchairs are loaded mid cabin. The only other comment I have about KSC is that in the restroom, the baby change table is in the handicap stall, which is frustrating for me as a mother of a baby in need of a change, and for MIL who needs the handicap stall. It should never be laid out that way in a place as busy as that.

My final comments are about Disney and the Disney Cast Members in general. First of all, it is wonderful to see how many rides are completely accessible. I had never really noticed before, as many of the vehicles either convert, or are put into use for disabled passengers and then filled with others. We also were impressed with the accessibility of Soarin', which allowed us to drive up to the seat and then move the chair less than 6 feet away, waiting for our return. Having spent a fair amount of time with MIL, out shopping and doing various things, I noticed that a large number of the Disney Cast Members would smile or say hello to MIL. I am used to clerks averting their eyes, or pretending not to see her, so it was really touching to see how many people offered to help, or just to smile and say hello.

As it turned out, part of the goal of this trip was to show MIL and FIL that they could still take vacations and do some fun things after her stroke. Disney helped us make that a reality.

(I am planning to write a longer letter to Disney to tell them how wonderful our trip was (and also to let them know about the few minor problems we encountered so that they can best serve guests with all types of disabilities)

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Thanks for the comments. I know if you had come though my gate at Epcot I would have definitely told your in-laws (sternly) that racing was not permitted. This is usual for me so people in wheelchairs or ECVs know that they are not (at least to me) invisible.

Actually, as I said in another post, my 91 year old mother was visiting with me last week and she also commented about how friendly everyone in the parks, both CMs and Guests, were to her.

Glad a good time was had by all.

 

[BCV23]

What a great report. Glad it went so well.

Cheshire Figment, someone told my daughter no racing/speeding when we were at the World in January. Wonder if it was you? Can't remember where we were.....

 

[Forevryoung]

I know if you had come though my gate at Epcot I would have definitely told your in-laws (sternly) that racing was not permitted.

I know that this is OT but we actually did have a race one night out of Epcot I was pushing a wc and this older guy was pushing a wc next to us with another older gentleman in it (both probably had one too many at the Rose and Crown). The other pusher was like "look they are gaining on us" and we wound up racing (and beating ) these two 60 year olds out of Epcot.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Thanks for the comments. I know if you had come though my gate at Epcot I would have definitely told your in-laws (sternly) that racing was not permitted. This is usual for me so people in wheelchairs or ECVs know that they are not (at least to me) invisible.

Please keep in mind not everyone who using a wheelchair finds these comments amusing. I would much rather a CM not say anything to me than something like that. I find it annoying and patronizing. A simple "hey how are you? Enjoy your day," or something is good enough.

 

[Schmeck]

I like the no racing comment, because it does remind people to take it easy, and not go too fast at the parks!

Could the weight of the electric wheelchair be the reason why it was not allowed on the Pooh ride? It might be small, but it could be too heavy for the system to handle.

 

[blizzard]

I like the no racing comment, because it does remind people to take it easy, and not go too fast at the parks!

Could the weight of the electric wheelchair be the reason why it was not allowed on the Pooh ride? It might be small, but it could be too heavy for the system to handle.

If weight is a concern, it wasn't mentioned in the guidebook for guests with disabilities. Also the wheelchair is quite lightweight (considering). With MIL in it, I doubt it is over 300lbs.

(Also, the accessible car on WtP does not bounce or float like the others)

I think the cast member just thought that it was too big, without actually looking at it or asking us. On the first day, I was still on the learning curve. I was on the lookout for CM's wanting her to transfer to a seat when there were accessible cars available, but thought there might be something special about the car that required a standard wheelchair. (There was not, it was standard harnesses - the same as the bus)

 

[SueM in MN]

If weight is a concern, it wasn't mentioned in the guidebook for guests with disabilities. Also the wheelchair is quite lightweight (considering). With MIL in it, I doubt it is over 300lbs.

(Also, the accessible car on WtP does not bounce or float like the others)

I think the cast member just thought that it was too big, without actually looking at it or asking us. On the first day, I was still on the learning curve. I was on the lookout for CM's wanting her to transfer to a seat when there were accessible cars available, but thought there might be something special about the car that required a standard wheelchair. (There was not, it was standard harnesses - the same as the bus)

The WDW Guidebook for Guests with disABILITIES is pretty quiet on the subject of power wheelchairs. In general, if it says the ride is accessible for wheelchairs and ECVs, it is accessible for power wheelchairs.
I was curious about her power wheelchair, so I did look up the Jet 3. One of the problems I could see is that the midwheel power wheelchairs with a standard seat resemble an ECV (especially to young CMs who are used to seeing a lot of ECVS - other posters have had problems with that sort of chair). Also, those kind of chair are deceptive, they don't look like they can turn in as small a space as they can and the arrangement of the wheels has sort of an optical illusion appearance that makes them look longer than they are. The last thing is that those types of wheelchairs don't have any readily obvious places to attach tiedowns, so if a CM can't easily see what to do, they are likely to just say you need to get out.

For the tiedowns, the rides that have them seem to have standardized to the same type as the buses use (which is good, when we first started coming to WDW, there was quite a variety, even on the buses). That helps a lot because if you know where the safe tiedown places are on your wheelchair, you can help the CMs better.

 

[Talking Hands]

I like the no racing comment, because it does remind people to take it easy, and not go too fast at the parks!

Could the weight of the electric wheelchair be the reason why it was not allowed on the Pooh ride? It might be small, but it could be too heavy for the system to handle.

No the weight has nothing to do with it as I take my Jazzy through the Pooh line all the time. It was probably a clueless new college programmer. They seem to take the rules as unbendable and are not taught to recognize the different between a power chair and a scooter.
I think if a CM calls my wheelchair an ECV one more time I am going to hurl. And I inform them that it is not an ECV and there is nothing convenient about it

 

[Talking Hands]

(Also, the accessible car on WtP does not bounce or float like the others)

Yes it can. It is a choice and not all CMs remember to give you that choice. There is a button to change it between modes.

 

[MommytoMJM]

(Also, the accessible car on WtP does not bounce or float like the others)

[\QUOTE]

Actually, the WC car can bounce or not bounce, you get your chice.....MJ rides inthe WC car at times and we always bounce it or she gets very upset (she knows how the ride is supposed to go)

 

[blizzard]

Yes it can. It is a choice and not all CMs remember to give you that choice. There is a button to change it between modes.

Thanks for letting me know. I guess the cast member did not give MIL and FIL a choice. I asked afterwards if they bounced, and they said no. (There was also a bit of complication in boarding that put us about 10 cars behind them)