We're leaving in two weeks and I somehow have broken a toe. It hurts like all git-out and I'm wearing a boot/shoe thing and the doctor says I have to use a scooter in Disney. Walking on my foot is 100% out of the question as the pain is breath-taking. Hobbling on that shoe thing is out of the question so a scooter is it.
How is that going to work with weaving lines in and out? Do I drive the scooter through the line? Surely they don't bring me up to the front. How would that be fair? How does this work?
I broke a toe a couple weeks before a work trip out of town. The walking boot was very helpful, as it let me get around, but it has its limitations.
Will you be flying ? If so, some tips for wearing a walking boot:
- seriously consider requesting wheelchair assistance from the airline; I did and with one of the airports I had to navigate it was so huge and so far from gate to gate doing it without the wheelchair would have been a Very Bad Idea.
- if your boot has air bladders in it: THEY WILL INFLATE MORE AS ALTITUDE INCREASES. So, this one I discovered the hard way, not thinking about it beforehand. Air expands as the plane gains altitude. Air trapped in those bladders has nowhere to go unless the bladder breaks. We were still in the climb up when my foot and lower leg suddenly were in great and rapidly increase pain from the air bladder suddenly expanding [keep in mind it was already inflated to the "proper" level before getting on the plane]. It took a moment to realize "physics!" and I had to scrambled in the cramped seating to bend down, find the valve, and let all the air out. I then waited until we were at cruising altitude to inflate it again. Once we landed, it needed inflating once more to get to the proper "ground level" inflation level. For the return flights I: preboard the plane [you will take longer getting on the plane and settled]; keep it inflated until you are seated on the plane, then deflate it [but keep foot in the boot]. Once at cruising altitude inflate it. Once back on the ground, inflate it a bit more as the air bladder will have shrunk.
As for using an ECV at WDW. Consider renting from an outside vendor -- this lets you have the ECV at your hotel as well, and for going to and from the parks; it is also cheaper, and you know you will have a scooter [the parks sometimes run out during the day].
Driving it takes a bit of getting used to: keep it on the slowest speed you can/need [think turtles]. Although I have rented one several times now, once I pick it up I always do a bit of riding around my resort to get used to using it again.
For buses, if you are uncomfortable boarding it with the ECV, tell the bus driver. The first time I had to do it, I explained to the driver it was my first time using an ECV and I have never loaded on a bus before. He talked me through it, patiently and very nicely.
For attractions, you can take the ECV through most lines, as others have noted. If you don't want to go through the line with it you can park it nearby and walk through - but note that some lines are pretty long due to switchbacks, even if at first glance it doesn't appear too bad.
SW
