bad back please help leaving on the 7th of december 01

[britigger]

i have degenerative disc decease and osteoporosis i have very fragile bones and im 11 i was wondering if anyone knows what rides might do more damage also would it be better if i use a weelchair,what is a good park to go to and would i be qualified to use an ecv?is there a certain park that would be better then another.(also in one of the replys someone had said if i was about 5 feet tall i might ecv be qualified i am 4 11)do you have to order a ecv from outside of the park a certain amount ahead of time i am going on december 7th. thank you.

 

[lisapooh]

If you have your own electric wheelcahir you will be able to use it. If you are talking renting one, they onlt rent ECVs to adults 18 and over. Under that age must use a manual wheelchair. Rides to avoid would be those with signs indicating that those with abd backs should not ride. Roller coasters, Tower of Terror, etc. At your age I assume you will be with your parents so they will determaine what you may ride I suspect. Which park. All of them are great.

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm glad you came here to ask your questions and I think I can help you out with some of them.
First, the WDW parks don't rent power wheelchairs, only something called an ecv or scooter (not the kind of scooter you are thinking of, more like a golf cart). I'm sorry to say that you won't be able to rent an ecv for a few years. WDW says you have to be at least 18 years old to rent one at the parks.
You would probably be more comfortable using a wheelchair if it you get sore or tired from walking or stading in one place. The wheelchairs they rent at the parks are for adults. That would be OK if you are pretty tall, like close to 5 feet tall. If you are shorter, there is a place that your parents can rent a child size wheelchair for you. Here's how to contact the place:
http://www.all-about-kids.com/main.htm
rent children's equipment (including children's wheelchairs)
Phone: (407) 812-9300
Toll Free: 1-800-728-6506 (outside 407 area code only)
Fax: (407) 812-4648
E-mail: AAboutKids@aol.com

A Physical Therapist might be able to help you borrow a wheelchair if you work with a therapist at school or someplace else.

Some rides are kind of rough and probably would not be good ones for you. Rides like Space Mountain, Dinosaur, Body Wars and Star Tours. They are marked with a little triangle on the park map to let you know they might be a problem. Even if you can't ride some of the rides, there are still a lot of cool things that you will be able to do.

I hope this helps. Write again if you have more questions.
I started writing this before lisapooh answered, but I was slow typing. I'm glad lisa answered to because you can see we have lots of people who cna help you out.

 

[britigger]

i have degenerative disc decease and osteoporosis i have very fragile bones and im 11 i was wondering if anyone knows what rides might do more damage also would it be better if i use a weelchair,what is a good park to go to and would i be qualified to use an ecv?is there a certain park that would be better then another.(also in one of the replys someone had said if i was about 5 feet tall i might ecv be qualified i am 4 11)do you have to order a ecv from outside of the park a certain amount ahead of time i am going on december 7th. thank you.
bri

 

[SueM in MN]

I might have confused you. You can't use an ecv from the parks or any of the other rental places unless you are over 18 yrs old. You can rent a wheelchair that you push from the parks, but I think they are all adult sized. You can't reserve a wheelchair ahead of time.
Where will you be staying? I have some other advice if you will be at one of the Disney Resorts.
If you have a physical therapist, you might want to ask about the size of wheelchair that would be best for you. If you use an adult sized one, you might want a pillow to put behind your back to support it since the back of the wheelchair might be too far away for your back to rest on it. You can rent a wheelchair for the whole time you are at Disney World from the place I mentioned before. They rent children's sized wheelchairs too (but I think they will only rent one you can push too).
In my opinion, the worst park for using a wheelchair is Magic Kingdom. It is very busy there and most of the rides are very short. You just get into the ride and you need to get out again because it is over. Save that park for a day when you feel like you have a lot of energy.
The Studio is a good one because most of the things are shows and it won't matter if you are using a wheelchair. There are still lots of things to do at each park, so you will have fun whereever you go.
The rides that you should be careful of with back problems have a little red triangle marked by them on the park maps. Here's a list for each park:
Magic Kingdom
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Tomorrowland Indy Speedway Cars
Space Mountain
Epcot
Body Wars
Test Track
Animal Kingdom
Kilimanjaro Safari
Dinosaur
Kali River Rapids
Disney MGM Studio
Star Tours
Rock N Roller Coaster
Tower of Terror