Young Wheelchair User

[BrerLizzie]

we are planning a trip to disney we have a 4 year old boy who uses a wheelchair. we were wondering if anyone had any tips or info that would help us plan.

 

[Michigan]

I have 2 girls ages 5 and 13 in wheelchairs the oldest one has been going since she was 17 months and the youngest since she was 15 months.

He will get a lot of attention from the characters because he is in a chair. And while the characters will notices the chair most people at WDW don't so don't be suprised if people run into him or fall over him.

When looking for restrooms look for the companion ones. We always use the one in ToonTown at MK and go to the baby care centers at the other parks and use their big restrooms.

If he has tires that you have to blow up (both my girls do because it's a smoother ride) and you do something stupid like we did once and leave without checking the air in the tires they have air compressors where they rent the wheelchairs that you can use to blow them up.

Most of all have FUN!

 

[SueM in MN]

Welcome to disABILITIES.
Michigan gave you some very good info. It would be helpful to know a little more about the child, since the advice we would give for a chld who uses a wheelchair and has only mobility needs would be a lot different than the advice you would get if he also has other needs in addition.
Things like:
Does he use a manual wheelchair or a power one? Is he able to walk at all? Is he able to sit without support, or does he need a special seat to sit? How does he communicate? What sorts of things does he like? Do loud sounds or dark places bother him? Does he have any back, neck or other health problems that would prevent him form riding the "wild" rides like Star Tours, etc.?

 

[Wheelsie]

WELOME to disABILITIES!!!

I'm sorry I've been MIA but I just wanted to welcome you!

Take it from me and Michie (Michigan) we know of which we speak. I had a hard time keeping up w/ her girls and I glide at the same speed they do. (yeah I know my wheels are from the Stone Age LOL)

DO: Watch out for other b/c they WON'T be watch for you.

DON'T: Forget to post OODLES of pictures when you get back!!

All I'm saying don't stress the small stuff...

Have Fun and Everything will follow the plan!

 

[Megan's Mom]

We took our DD 9 last year for the first time and she is in a wheelchair and we had a great time. Megan is non verbal and she has absolutly no control of head or anything but she loved the characters and all the attention, the music and parades. You will be surprised at the number of rides that you will be able to do either in the chair or have him sit in your lap. I will say that it did take 4 of us to take care of her. My dad pushed her, my mother had the autograph book and was looking for characters, I had the camera and had to identify the characters, DH had the camcorder. WE all had our jobs and it took all of us.

 

[dan-tot]

I was reading this shred and I found out that disney puts out a set of pamphelts that deal with guests with disabilities. It breaks down all the parks and gives a load of information like companion bathrooms, they were a god send for my brother,sister and me my brother and I are taking care of my sister and she needs help when going to the bathroom nowadays. Its just the three of us so it came down to me taking her in the mens bathroom and using the handicap stall but now I don't have to do that at disney or universal. The first aid stations have companion bathrooms inside, it will be nice to get in the cool every now and then. All you have to do is request the information from the Disney customer service all you do is call them and they will send you the whole package. Hope this helps


Dan-tot

 

[SueM in MN]

The pamphlets that Dan mentioned are called "Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities". There is one for each park and you can pick them up at guest Services in any of the parks. If you are staying at a WDW resort, you should be able to get them at the Guest Services desk that sells tickets there (sometimes they are out of them).
You can also download them from the official Disney site. They include very basic information such as a short description of each ride (like whether it is a turbulent thrill ride or a quiet boat ride). It also tells how long each attraction lasts and it does tell whether there is a moving walkway for boarding, but doesn't give a lot of information about the boarding process or what the ride car is like..