Wheelchair with no disabled permit question

[clarefb]

Hey Disers

We have a trip planned (a year in the making), leaving on Saturday this week, however, my husband just got a major knee injury - he actually has to have surgery the day we get home & can barely walk

He has finally accepted that there is NO WAY he will be able to walk the parks (we are there for 12 days) & we will have to rent a wheelchair. He is reluctant to burden me, as we have 2 small kiddos & so we were looking at the electric rentals at WDW. At $50 a day, this adds a significant amount to our trip, so we looked at the off site rentals, however, he obviously does not have a disabled parking pass for the car, as this is a temporary thing & I was wondering how easy getting a rental from the parking lot onto the trams & into the parks would be?

Does anybody have any advice or experience? We are so new to this & any advice is really appreciated - while I appreciate its really small fry, its thrown us a spanner in the works at the last minute

He is able to walk a little, just not far & not up & down steps & realllly slowly

We are not staying on property if that helps!

thanks so much

[Michigan]

Have the doctor that is doing his surgery sign the paperwork for a temporary (red) handicap parking pass

[clarefb]

Originally Posted by Michigan

Have the doctor that is doing his surgery sign the paperwork for a temporary (red) handicap parking pass

We live in CA though & I believe would also have to apply for an out of state temp pass, we leave on Saturday early morning, so unless I am misunderstanding the DMV website (Which is quite possible!) I don't think I have time?

[SueM in MN]

Originally Posted by clarefb

Hey Disers

We have a trip planned (a year in the making), leaving on Saturday this week, however, my husband just got a major knee injury - he actually has to have surgery the day we get home & can barely walk

He has finally accepted that there is NO WAY he will be able to walk the parks (we are there for 12 days) & we will have to rent a wheelchair. He is reluctant to burden me, as we have 2 small kiddos & so we were looking at the electric rentals at WDW. At $50 a day, this adds a significant amount to our trip, so we looked at the off site rentals, however, he obviously does not have a disabled parking pass for the car, as this is a temporary thing & I was wondering how easy getting a rental from the parking lot onto the trams & into the parks would be?

Does anybody have any advice or experience? We are so new to this & any advice is really appreciated - while I appreciate its really small fry, its thrown us a spanner in the works at the last minute

He is able to walk a little, just not far & not up & down steps & realllly slowly

We are not staying on property if that helps!

thanks so much

First - if you have not looked at the disABILITIES FAQs thread, post 2 in that thread is about ECVs and wheelchairs. You can find that thread near the top of this board or follow the link in my signature. Post 2 includes information and links for rental of ECVs and wheelchairs.

ECVs don't get put on the trams - the parking lot trams are not accessible.
You may still have time to get a temporary handicapped parking permit - depending on if California actually issues them at their DMV website or requires applications to be handled by mail.

If you can't get one, you have several options.
1) if you are staying on site, you can use WDW transportation. All of it, with the exception of small boats, is accessible. All the monorails and buses are accessible.

2) if you drive, tell the parking lot CMs (each one you get to) that you have an ECV and do not have a handicapped parking permit. They will direct you where to park. Do NOT park in any parking spots that are divided by blue painted lines. Guests parking in those who do not have a handicapped parking permit may get ticketed.

3) all parks have a drop off /pick up point. So, you could drive there, drop him and one or more of your children off, then go park and meet up in front of the actual park entrance or way the tram drop off.

Originally Posted by clarefb

We live in CA though & I believe would also have to apply for an out of state temp pass, we leave on Saturday early morning, so unless I am misunderstanding the DMV website (Which is quite possible!) I don't think I have time?

Here is a link to the website.p information for application.
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures...ts/ffvr07.htm#

You don't want an out of state temp pass. You want to get a California temp parking permit, which you can then take with you to Florida and use. Each state recognizes the handicapped parking permits issued by each other state, so a temporary California permit will be recognized in Florida.

You should be able to have the doctor (surgeon or other) sign the paperwork. They may already have the form or could download it or you could print it out and take to them to sign. Here's a link to the form.
http://apps.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg195.pdf

Some states will allow you to bring the completed form to the DMV office and will issue it right there and then. Others won't and either require the application be sent in the mail or will only mail the permit to you. So, whether you can get it before you travel or not will depend on whether they will issue it at the office or not.

[purple figment]

I'm in California and when my father needed a handicapped parking placard I was able to download the application, have his doctor sign it, then go to the local DMV office to get the placard immediately.

[peemagg]

Unless you are going to push him all the time in the chair and don't need strollers for the kids, then the ECV is the way to go.

Being that he is not a full time user of a wheelchair there is no way he could self propel himself around Disney for a day, let alone 12. If you have a stroller for the kids, who is going to push that when you are pushing him?

I would rent from an off site company. Most of them are around $20-30 per day instead of $50 like Disney. They are easier to use, and are guaranteed to be there for your use. At Disney their ECV's are first come/first served basis, and can run out quickly. You also can't take them from one park to another. You are also not guaranteed that if you go to another park that there will be one there for you to use once you get there.

Just be aware of your husbands weight and the size of the scooter you rent if you rent from off-site. If your husband is a big guy (300 lbs +) you will need to rent the heavier duty scooter. These will not (from my understanding) be able to break down and travel in a car. You are going to want one that breaks down to put in a car, if you are not going to use the buses. These come apart easily in 4-5 pieces and fit in a trunk, with the heaviest piece weighing under 40 lbs. I figure a 50 lbs under the scooter weight limit is a good idea as to the batteries lasting. This gives a bit of leeway if (and we all do) put other things on the scooter. The more weight on the scooter and the closer to the weight limit, the harder it is on the batteries.

[dawnball]

Originally Posted by clarefb

however, he obviously does not have a disabled parking pass for the car, as this is a temporary thing & I was wondering how easy getting a rental from the parking lot onto the trams & into the parks would be?

You should be able to get a pass from CA in time. However, if you can't...

You won't be able to put an ECV on the trams. We usually walk instead of using the tram, and you could walk while he rides on the ECV (or you can take the kids on the tram and meet him where the tram unloads).

I believe all the parks also have "medical" parking that's near the handicapped parking, but doesn't require a permit. We've also been put on the ends of rows when we asked for extra assistance in the parking lots.

[MulanMom]

Originally Posted by dawnball

You won't be able to put an ECV on the trams. We usually walk instead of using the tram, and you could walk while he rides on the ECV (or you can take the kids on the tram and meet him where the tram unloads).

I believe all the parks also have "medical" parking that's near the handicapped parking, but doesn't require a permit. We've also been put on the ends of rows when we asked for extra assistance in the parking lots.

Currently, my DH is handicapped and has his own ECV. However, before his condition was diagnosed, I broke my ankle midtrip at WDW. When we drove to the parks, showed the crutches, explained what happened and the CMs placed us either up front near the handicapped parking or at the end of a row, close to where the tram picked up. My DH also had a double stroller to contend with while pushing me in a manual wheelchair until we could get into a park and obtain an ECV. Didn't know about off-site ones at the time. There was no question about my injury since the parts of my foot that did show were lovely deep shades of purple. ;-) What was nice were all the good samaritans among other WDW guests who helped my husband by pushing my wheelchair to the entrance at MK.

Ask the CMs. They've probably seen everything and can help you.

Have a great trip!

[CarolineB]

I've been going to the 4 parks regularly since April 2012 by car. I have a wheel chair but I don't have a disabled sign. The CMs in the parking lots have generally directed me to a specific row near the handicapped section as soon as I let them know that I have a wheel chair.

I say generally because this past week, I arrived around 1:00 p.m. and was asked to park in a regular section (although I was given a parking spot close to the tram boarding area.) I then had the choice of walking in to EPCOT or taking the tram after I folded the wheel chair and lifted it on to the tram.

Getting the wheel chair on and off the tram was a bit of a pain pain (especially getting it off the tram when I wanted to get off on the side that the wheel chair was on.) That being said, next time I will take the help that was offered when I was getting the wheel chair on and off. Also, I think the end tram seats that have 2 rows facing each other would have been easier to maneuver the wheel chair.

[winnie1274]

1) see if his doctor will get him a temporary parking permit
2) most of the hotels have shuttles to the parks
3) rent a scooter from Walker Mobility
4) as long as you notify the hotels shuttle service 1 day prior to your park trips most of them can send a special bus to accommodate the scooter. the people at the front desk may not be aware of this, but have them give you the phone # of their shuttle service & make the request.