[kphil89]

On this trip my DM will be with me and she will be in a manual wheelchair. Is it relatively easy to navigate around the different lands? She is very excited about this trip and I wanted to make this a memorable one for her. That being said...anyone know what the crowds will be like in EPCOT the Friday after Thanksgiving? We are not going to be doing FW just WS. Thanks in advance.

Kim

[craziebabie1]

Yes, Disney is very Wheelchair friendly. There are ramps everywhere for easy access. The week after Thanksgiving is low attendance. You shouldn't have crowds at all.

[jo-jo]

I'm no expert on this subject, but I read somewhere if you are not used to pushing a wheelchair around all day, be sure to wear gloves. It seems you can develop blisters on your hands very easy. If I'm way off base, please someone correct me. When I read that, it seemed like one of those things you wouldn't think of until it was too late.

[hiner]

As Craziebabie1 said, WDW works well with wheelchairs. You shouldn't have any problems. Between the CM's and tourists, everyone is very helpful too.

[Amneris]

I don't know about the gloves thing, but it IS quite a job pushing a wheelchair all day if it isn't something you're used to. I'd suggest renting an ECV if you can. If you show up to the park early enough, it won't be a problem to get one. It will give your DM more of a feeling of independence. If you're driving, you could have a member of your party run back to the car w/ the manual wheel chair after renting an ECV? Either way -- ECV or manual -- Disney is very wheelchair friendly and you will not have any problem getting around. I don't even recall any odd entrances -- you know, places where the ramp is somewhere around back so you feel like you're going where regular guests shouldn't be going. The only difficulty you may encounter is within the shops in each country. They mainly all interconnect w/in a country, so you can start at one and go through them all without going outside again, but because of this configuration they have very narrow aisleways (and because of the nature of the goods they sell, very breakable displays blocking parts of the aisleways!), so you will need to be extra catuious in shops -- having to let other tourists go by so as not to risk bumping into something. If it's very crowded in the park, it might be a bit of a pain. :( This doesn't mean don't go, just warning you that the shops will be a bit tricky and require patience, that's all! :) But it IS totally doable. :)

[EmpressJenny]

I think it's very nice of you to take your mother to Disney with you. I hope the two of you have a great time.

I only wish MY mother would come with me!

[mrsmouse]

My mother is 70 and has knee problems. So rather than her feeling bad for not keeping up with us, we get her a wheelchair in DW. In 2002, our last time there we made out fine. No gloves were necessary as 13 of us took turns pushing. She is able to walk short distances so we really didn't have a problem with the shops and getting on an off rides. The chair also gave her a feeling that she had her own space. She hates crowds where people push her around. She is only 4' 10" so she gets bounced around like a pinball. It was funny because last time she fought us saying she wasn't getting in a wheelchair - sense of getting old. We leave in 23 days and she has already asked if we can get a wheel chair...funny how those things work out.

[kphil89]

My mom is 78 and can only walk if she is using her can or walker. She is all of 4' 8! I am hoping that the crowds are not so big that we will have difficulty pushing her around the WS. Also I am wondering about the temperatures that evening incase she feels up to seeing Illuminations. This will be her first trip to Florida and WDW. I just hope she has a good time. Thanks to everyone for your responses.