Has anyone traveled to Disney with child with a back brace?

[disney_5]

My 9 year old son just started wearing a back brace for Scoliosis. I am wondering how he can wear his brace at the parks. This will be our first trip of any kind with the back brace. I am wondering if there are any rides we should not do? He does not do the big kids rides like Space Mountain but some of the ones he does like have a lot of twists and turns . I knwow we will have to avoid the rides where he can get wet as we can't get the brace wet, but is there anything else we would need to avoid?

And are there any accomidations we should bring with us or use at the parks. He will have a stroller or wheelchair for gettting around because he gets tired easily and we don't want him to get too tired at the parks.

Thanks,

Jessica.

 

[Daydreamer64]

This is how we handle the parks, especially in the summer heat:

My oldest son has a 44 degree curvature in the upper area of his back and a 25 degree on the bottom, an "S" curve is his problem.

I'm not a doctor, just a Mom. You have to decide what you are comfortable doing as far as any advice you get on the boards.

If your child's lungs and heart are not involved yet, and he has "just" started with the brace, I wouldn't have him wear it to the parks.

He's going to be very uncomfortable with the heat and crowds if he wears it all day.

I would make sure that he showers when you get back to the room and then have him wear his brace all night.

Our doctor said that this isn't ideal, but that the kids had to have a little freedom, you don't want rub spots or bruises as your son will suffer and so will the family.

 

[LavenderPeach]

DS3 has had a back brace for scoliosis for about a year and a half. We live near Disneyland so we take him there about once a month. He isn't tall enough to go on any of the big rides but I wouldn't think that riding any of the rides with a back brace would be a problem unless your son finds it uncomfortable. If he literally just started wearing the brace then I agree with PP that you should think about leaving it off when you go to the parks or just having him wear it for part of the day if you're going back to your hotel for a rest in the middle of the day. Like PP said, getting red spots from the brace rubbing will be the biggest challenge. I know DS gets really hot wearing his brace even if it's not that hot outside and his undershirt gets sweaty. If you decide to have your son wear his brace to the parks maybe bring an extra undershirt for under the brace so he can have a nice clean, dry one at some point during the day. Hope that helps!