Would you bring your own wheel chair?

[6gr8kidz]

I have a 9 yr old daughter who has Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and she is having a really difficult time right now. She has developed and allergy to her medication and now has to wait to get into to see her Rheumy. SO I am pretty sure she is really going to be hurting when we do a 2 day trip just for her and her friend May 24-26. When we go with the family we usually bring the stroller and she sits in it when she is tired. She is tiny because of her disease.

Anyway, she told me she didn't want to bring the stroller but wanted her wheelchair. I am sure she doesn't want her friend to see her in a stroller. I know I have heard of people stealing strollers and I very worried that her wheelchair will get stolen. I don't want to put a $315 deposit on a rental and worry someone will steal that too and then not get back the deposit.

So has anyone ever had any trouble with their own wheelchair getting stolen? It is a junior wheel chair. Not to small, but too small for an adult. KWIM??

Thanks!

 

[mykidsintow]

My DD also doesn't like to be in a "stroller". We have taken her power wheelchair. When you take a wheelchair (or stroller as wheelchair) you take it right on into most rides. The chair is left right by the people working the rides. There are a few exception (Pirates, Nemo is by a worker, but its left around the corner, etc). Mostly they are where they can be seen.

We always have a backpack on DDs chair. We keep camera, CCs, money, valuables in our pockets so we don't have to worry. If they want to take anything they may get a jacket, clean pair of panties, water bottles, dog treats or doggie potty bags. Nothing anyone would want but us.

While I know DDs power chair would be much harder to take than a push chair, its not something I would be overly worried about. Strollers are left in pins out for everyone walking by and you don't often hear of people deciding they like a different stroller better and leaving with it. At least the chair is not in the stroller pin.

Good luck! I say take whatever makes her most comfortable. I hope you guys have a blast!

 

[LauraVV]

We've taken Katie's Convaid Cruiser to Disney twice. I also took a scooter this year. No problems at all. I've seen people leave lots of stuff in their chairs. We've left our sweaters in our chairs and have never had a problem.

It's funny because our Katie wanted her Cruiser to be called a stroller when she got it at age five. Now, at age 10, it's her chair. She's too old for a stroller. I take it to the store with us and she gets in and out. When she doesn't need it I use it as a shopping cart. When she does need it she sits in it.

 

[mechurchlady]

She is starting that age between a child playing with dolls and an adult with makeup, dating, and peer issues. Online I see girls more than boys having trouble with this long transition. One minute they are teen like in their socialization skills and having fun in chat then boom they are having hissy fits and acting like a three-year-old.

Let her have the wheelchair as she is growing up and does not want to be a baby any more. It is rare these days to give a kid something free that makes them happy so let her have the chair. You can use a thicker bit of paddiing and make other adjustments for her size.

Generally in parks stroller and wheelchair theft is because they all look alike. Got to get to that show in 5 minutes, hurry honey. You cannot lock stuff as they will take bolt cutters to anything that gets in their way or is not safe like in a walkway. I never have had to have rental ECV's at seaworld and WDW stolen. I also tend to deck out my ECV so that people go OOOHH yuk. lol. Make sure it is unique in some way like covering the seat back with a t-shirt or other cover. Lots of ideas out there and do not worry about them stealing.

Good luck on the next 9 years of her growing up and roll with the punches and enjoy her as a kid as long as you can.

 

[KPeveler]

definitely bring your own - i brought mine and never had a problem. The rentals there are VERY uncomfortable, and it may actually cause problems for your daughter to sit in them (i know they actually make me feel worse)

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Recently I was talking to the owner of one of the off-site rental companies. He told me that they have never had one of their ECVs stolen from the parks.

If you bring a wheelchair and are nervous about someone taking it, bring along a lock or cable and lock it only to itself. You can lock a wheel to the frame, or lock two wheels together. This will not stop a CM from moving a chair when straightening out stroller parking but it will stop someone from taking and using it. As mechurchlady said, if you lock it to something there is a very high probability that the lock will be cut or broken so it can be moved.

And as far as leaving things in or on a wheelchair or ECV, don't leave anything that would make you very upset if you lose it. I will ocassionally leave a poncho or sweatshirt in the basket, but am sure to remove anything I had bought that day and any medicines when I park my ECV.

 

[Mrsjvb]

I am curious: what regimen is she on? I too had major issues from Age 5 til about 12 when the disease leveled out( or the docs figured out what they were doing, we're not sure). Pick an NSAID,I was on it..and developed some sort of adverse reaction to all of 'em. Did DMARDS for a while but am currently on Humira and it seems(knock on wood and 6 weeks later) do be doing some good.

I say bring the chair and be done with it. For one, the only chairs at Disney are Adult size and they are uncomfy to say the least..I am not a large adult and they were too big for me..Not sure if you can get a peds one from offsite. there are very few places where the WC will be an easy target.

 

[merryweather20]

I agree with taking her own chair. It will be that much more comfortable for her, and less likely to get stolen since, it won't look exactly like anyone else's.

Personalize it a little and put her name on an out of the way area, that way it will be easier to identify it if it does wander off.

 

[6gr8kidz]

I am curious: what regimen is she on? I too had major issues from Age 5 til about 12 when the disease leveled out( or the docs figured out what they were doing, we're not sure). Pick an NSAID,I was on it..and developed some sort of adverse reaction to all of 'em. Did DMARDS for a while but am currently on Humira and it seems(knock on wood and 6 weeks later) do be doing some good.

She started out on Naproxen but gave too much tummy trouble and I was having to give her 2 different tummy meds to give one med, so we moved to Methotrexate with little improvement, so onto Enbrel and it worked great for about 2 yrs and then she had a real bad flare and started breaking out in a rash only on her legs but she itched everywhere after getting her Enbrel. So Dr. told me to give Benadryl with the enbrel and up until last Tuesday she had been doing great with Celebrex and Enbrel. Tues her Enbrel itching and rash broke through the benadryl. A few days later she ended up with Chest pain, blurry vision, blue hands, sleepiness, need for oxygen in ambulance and then was fine later the next day only to have the tummy pain return with blurry vision and fever that comes and goes.

We go Wed to see her Rheumy and find out what the next step is. I have a feeling it is going to be remicade which scares the **** out of me.

How are you doing on the Humira?? How bad are the injections??

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Just wanted to agree with everyone who said to take her wheelchair. If it could be mistaken for a stroller, it would be wise to stop at Guest Relations at the beginning of your trip and get a "Stroller as wheelchair" GAC (see the FAQ for details on this).

When you get to a ride entrance, ask the CM where you should go with a wheelchair, they will then direct you to the appropriate entrance (most of the time, this is the normal entrance line). When you get to the wheelchair boarding area (often the ride exit), there will be somewhere out of the way to leave the chair. I doubt many people even notice the chairs, as they are too busy trying to get out of this attraction and go on to the next one. Also, no one would know whether the owner of the chair was just behind them, so it wouldn't be easy to take it unnoticed. As people have said, if you're still concerned about it, you can use a bike lock to lock one wheel still, as it would make it pretty obvious if someone tried to take it.

 

[merryweather20]

She started out on Naproxen but gave too much tummy trouble and I was having to give her 2 different tummy meds to give one med, so we moved to Methotrexate with little improvement, so onto Enbrel and it worked great for about 2 yrs and then she had a real bad flare and started breaking out in a rash only on her legs but she itched everywhere after getting her Enbrel. So Dr. told me to give Benadryl with the enbrel and up until last Tuesday she had been doing great with Celebrex and Enbrel. Tues her Enbrel itching and rash broke through the benadryl. A few days later she ended up with Chest pain, blurry vision, blue hands, sleepiness, need for oxygen in ambulance and then was fine later the next day only to have the tummy pain return with blurry vision and fever that comes and goes.

We go Wed to see her Rheumy and find out what the next step is. I have a feeling it is going to be remicade which scares the **** out of me.

How are you doing on the Humira?? How bad are the injections??

I'm on Remicaid right now and I love it. Humira stopped working for me, and I literally remember sitting at work and being in so much pain that I couldn't pick up the telephone on my desk. Remicaid got everything back to a manageable level. Its actually alot easier planning to be at the clinic every other montn for a couple of hours for the Remicaid IV, then trying to find someone to be home for the Humira (ours came by UPS).

 

[Mrsjvb]

Self injecting is easy. A little burning when it goes in, but it fades almost immediately. Right now my issues is my Rheumatologist is based out of NNMC in Bethesda, but all my labs are done down at Ft Meade, and this last time they failed to perform all the right tests. and I am a HARD stick. Scar tissue up the wazoo( comes from 35 years of regular testing) and the poor veins roll and collapse if you even pass by the lab in the hall.

I can't drive( every joint is affected and the neck doesn't move at all,) so my hubby has a POA to pick up my drugs. Luckily I can get them at ANY of our base pharmacies although only Bethesda keeps it in stock. It only takes two days to have it sent to Ft Meade. Plus I can have it mailed if (when) he deploys

So far, I like it, I was having a major flare up in my right hip that lasted a good month, and by the second injection I was back to being able to use stairs almost like a normal person. I may or may not be adding Methotrexate or something else in a few months. he wants me six months Monotherapy before we do anything else.

I balked at Cortisone and the like. Remicaid was not offered to me as of yet, and I dunno, I am not sure I could arrange to get the treatment regularly. between his schedule and the total inability to predict where he will be at any given time, It would most likely be a last resort for me.

Naproxen played havoc with my digestive system too. nasty nasty side affects that made any benefit almost useless. Liked Metho on its own, although I also was on Relafin at the time. I too noticed it was about every two years or so that whatever I was on stopped being affective. Do they not use Tolectin any longer?

 

[6gr8kidz]

I have never heard of tolectin...Rheumatology is a hard specialty to find. I have to drive an hour each way to see one.

I really hate this disease, I wish they could find a cure...

I pray you get your flare under control. hugs

 

[SueM in MN]

The first few times we took DD's wheelchair, we were quite concerned about it. After all, she was not quite 3 yrs old and if someone took it, she would not have been able to sit in a stroller and the wheelchairs to rent were all way too big for her.
She's now 22 and we have been traveling to WDW one to 2 times per year with the wheelchair since she was 3. I can say in all that time, no one has messed with her wheelchair.
I might be concerned a little bit, if the wheelchair was parked in the stroller parking. Strollers sometimes get taken, but most often it is a mistake - someone takes a stroller that looks like theirs or takes someone else's rental stroller because those all look alike.

If she uses the wheelchair in line, she will be able to stay in the wheelchair until boarding the ride. For some rides, she would have the option to stay right in the wheelchair and ride (especially nice if she is in pain when transfering). For other rides, she would board at the exit (usually after waiting in line until just before the 'regular' boarding area). The wheelchair would stay at the exit and be waiting for her when she gets off.

When you get to the wheelchair boarding area (often the ride exit), there will be somewhere out of the way to leave the chair. I doubt many people even notice the chairs, as they are too busy trying to get out of this attraction and go on to the next one. Also, no one would know whether the owner of the chair was just behind them, so it wouldn't be easy to take it unnoticed. As people have said, if you're still concerned about it, you can use a bike lock to lock one wheel still, as it would make it pretty obvious if someone tried to take it.

I can tell you for sure that most of the wheelchairs waiting at the exit are 'invisible' to the people getting off.
Last October, when we rode Haunted Mansion, I was in the doombuggy in front of DH and DD. After riding, I got off, but they didn't. Since I was in the car ahead of them, I had no way to get back on and make sure I would be able to help them get off, so I waited for them to go thru the whole ride again. During that time I was at the exit, lots of people got off. DD's wheelchair was off to the side and I was alongside of the exit moving walkway (most people don't even know there is a half wall with a little hallway right next to the moving walkway). I had expected people to notice me standing there and make some comments to each other, but no one seemed to notice me at all!
There I was, in full view, but totally invisible as far as the people getting off were concerned. I could see DD's wheelchair the whole time and it was 'invisible' too.
As OneLittleSpark mentioned, they are so focused on getting off and getting to their next attraction that they don't even see the wheelchairs.

 

[Piper]

I have never heard of tolectin...Rheumatology is a hard specialty to find. I have to drive an hour each way to see one.

I really hate this disease, I wish they could find a cure...

I pray you get your flare under control. hugs

Tolectin DS was a drug I took about 25 years ago. It worked better for me than a lot of the other NSAIDS. Then, like all the others, it quit working. I had completely forgotten about it until I read it here. I don't even know if it is offered any more!

 

[DisneyWheeler]

We've always taken my own manual wheelchair to Disney World without any problem of it being stolen. (We would've probably had a hard time with the insurance company in getting a new one if that happened because of my power chair they consider to be my "primary use wheelchair".) Although it's a regular adult-sized wheelchair it was made to fit someone 5',4" or shorter because the seat width is 18", and the seat depth is 16". I'm 5',5" and I can still fit into it because of the seat width and also because I'm very slender in body size.

If she feels more comfortable in her wheelchair than her stroller, I'd definitely take it. I feel more comfortable in my own manual wheelchair because of the fact it has a supportive cushion and a seat belt to help keep my hips and thighs straight.

When my mom, godfather, DH, and one of my mom's friends went to Disney World in January of this year. I took my wheelchair tray for the first time, for back support for my severely-affected scoliosis back. My back had never felt so "happy" (pain-free) during the six days we were there. My manual wheelchair doesn't have the seating support in it like my power chair does (headrest, chest posture belt, etc). Although, I did bring the headrest adapter bracket along so that my headrest can work for my manual wheelchair. So, having the tray, and the headrest was a relief. I can't support myself when sitting upright because of the way my curve goes. So, I tend to lean over/lean forward more than straight.

The only hard part about taking my wheelchair tray was carrying it on, and off the plane. It's very big in size. My mom was worried that it wouldn't fit in the overhead bin, or the airline closet, and it would have to be gate-checked with my wheelchair. But, it did fit in both of them very nicely.

One of the greatest things about bringing your own wheelchair, is that you can go anywhere around Disney World, or any of the resort hotels without worrying about having to rent one at the parks, or from the hotel you're staying at. Especially when they're first-come, first-serve. Also, if yours has a special seating system in it that makes you feel comfortable in it than having to sit in one of the park's wheelchairs (standard sling-type) all day.

Samantha

 

[danalee]

My mom comes along with us and we bring her a wheelchair from home, like the above poster said she could go anywhere on disney property and always have her chair.