Wheel chair rental for knee injury?

[Disnamic Duo]

Hello,
Has anyone ever done this? A few months ago my wife injured her knee - torn cartilage and tendon. The Dr. said it'll take 6 mos - 1 year to completely heal, and that she should walk on it in the meantime (up to a point). She's been walking, but sometimes it gets pretty painful. I'm thinking we may need to rent a wheelchair for our trip in 3 weeks. Again, she can walk on it, but I'm not so sure about all those miles every day.

How does it work? If we do rent one, could we just park it outside rides, so we could walk in the normal queue lines? She won't have any trouble with lines (ones without stairs, that is).

Thanks for the help.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Generally there is a special line for people in wheelchairs and their families, when it gets time to board the ride there is a place to park the wheelchairs.....

[Daisy'sMom]

If her doc said she should walk on it as much as possible, I would walk. Take it slow. If it bothers her to a point, she could always go rent one then. But she might be doing more damage by not using the muscles.
Has she been in therapy?

[disneymom2000]

I have heard several people who have used them for knee, foot, hip etc. I have scoliosis and have had several back surgeries with metal implants throughout my torso and I should use one but I am too embarrassed because you can't see my injury. However, I did order this cane from the Skymall magazine which opens to a little chair so when I have to stand in a long line or stand for a while, I can actually carry around the chair to sit when I need it. I have been using it for about 6 months and it has really helped. So now I can walk as much as I can and then rest a bit without having to worry about finding a close seat. And it is easier to manuver than a wheelchair.

[medic9016]

You should go to guest services at the first park you go to and get a Guest assistance Card(GAC). Tell them you need to avoids stairs. I did this after my knee surgery. You will use the same card during you entire stay.

[faline]

In the last several years, I've had both knee and foot surgery. The first time I went to Disney after my knee surgery, I was surprised by how quickly I got tired. We did spend more time in our resort that trip but I opted not to rent a chair. I was told the same thing after my knee surgery and the time to complete healing was certainly right on the mark.

Most recently, I was recovering from foot surgery and seriously considered renting an ECV for our trip but decided I would make the decision after I arrived. I did better than I thought though I was still a bit slow and we did still spend more time at our resort than might be typical.

If you need to rent, push wheelchairs and ECV's are available at all parks on a first-come, first-served basis. If capable of walking onto rides and only needed to get from point a to b, you can certainly park the chair outside the ride (just as strollers are parked) and walk through the lines.

Best of luck to your wife as she recuperates!

[Disnamic Duo]

You should go to guest services at the first park you go to and get a Guest assistance Card(GAC). Tell them you need to avoids stairs. I did this after my knee surgery. You will use the same card during you entire stay.

WOW, this is terrific advice! I didn't know about this. Stairs are definately the BIG problem. Walking and standing (for reasonable amounts of time) are not bad. Bending the knee hurts.

So, if we get the GAC, how will we avoid stairs on certain rides (like Splash Mtn)?

[Disnamic Duo]

If her doc said she should walk on it as much as possible, I would walk. Take it slow. If it bothers her to a point, she could always go rent one then. But she might be doing more damage by not using the muscles.
Has she been in therapy?

She wasn't told to walk as much as possible - just to walk regularly - which we have been doing. She'll walk even when it hurts. She deals with pain great. So much so, that I'm concerned she'll go too far and re-injure it. That's why I'm planning ahead to do something in case I think she's pushed it too far.

Yes, she been doing therapy too.

[Disnamic Duo]

In the last several years, I've had both knee and foot surgery. The first time I went to Disney after my knee surgery, I was surprised by how quickly I got tired. We did spend more time in our resort that trip but I opted not to rent a chair. I was told the same thing after my knee surgery and the time to complete healing was certainly right on the mark.

Most recently, I was recovering from foot surgery and seriously considered renting an ECV for our trip but decided I would make the decision after I arrived. I did better than I thought though I was still a bit slow and we did still spend more time at our resort than might be typical.

If you need to rent, push wheelchairs and ECV's are available at all parks on a first-come, first-served basis. If capable of walking onto rides and only needed to get from point a to b, you can certainly park the chair outside the ride (just as strollers are parked) and walk through the lines.

Best of luck to your wife as she recuperates!

Thank you! That answers my question perfectly. That's exactly what I'm thinking. She'll want to walk and stand in lines like everyone else as much as she can. I'm thinking wheelchair to get from point a to b (ride to ride, and cross-park).

I think we'll be having a more relaxing than usual WDW trip this time too...which is fine with us. We're used to kinda storming the parks and riding rides multiple times. This time, we're thinking more about seeing all the shows. But, we still won't want to miss our favorite rides.

[5togetherWDW]

WOW, this is terrific advice! I didn't know about this. Stairs are definately the BIG problem. Walking and standing (for reasonable amounts of time) are not bad. Bending the knee hurts.

So, if we get the GAC, how will we avoid stairs on certain rides (like Splash Mtn)?

At Splash Mountain, guests in wheelchairs or with a no-stairs card, will go through the standard queue up until the building. Shortly before the stairs - there is a small wheelchair sign. That leads to an alternate load path - bringing you in the stair free path / loading at the exit. There will be a cast member to direct you.

At times the stair free lines / wait areas can be long -- such as Big Thunder Mountain. There, a line often forms. Because the whole que is stairs - you'll need to use the handicapped / wheelchair entry. I'd recommend staying in the chair while you wait, as this will not change your wait and will take the pressure off your injury.

[Disnamic Duo]

At Splash Mountain, guests in wheelchairs or with a no-stairs card, will go through the standard queue up until the building. Shortly before the stairs - there is a small wheelchair sign. That leads to an alternate load path - bringing you in the stair free path / loading at the exit. There will be a cast member to direct you.

At times the stair free lines / wait areas can be long -- such as Big Thunder Mountain. There, a line often forms. Because the whole que is stairs - you'll need to use the handicapped / wheelchair entry. I'd recommend staying in the chair while you wait, as this will not change your wait and will take the pressure off your injury.

Great info! Thanks very much. This is really good to know. I assume all rides have this type of way of avoiding stairs, right? This is the one thing I was most worried about - bending her knee on stairs is the worst thing for her. (The Dr. told her stairs would be bad.)

[lettripp]

Totally take everyone's advice here. When I went in August with my knee injury, I went sans chair and regretted it by noon!