Looking for KSC advice

lucifie

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
We're going in 3 weeks for a rocket launch and this time I'm traveling by myself with my 4 kids. My oldest will be turning 15 before we leave. She has both physical and cognitive disabilities. She is mobile but she doesn't doesn't do well with long distances, especially if it's hot (which I'm not anticipating, but I know it's possible). We're also flying this time and none of the kids have ever flown.

The last time we went to WDW we used a wheelchair and it worked out great, but the last time we went to KSC (different trip) she walked, so I know she's capable. I'm seriously considering getting a wheelchair for her because it will make it so much easier to navigate the airport and to keep up with my other kids at KSC. What I can't decide is whether we should bite the bullet and get her her own wheelchair - we found out the last time we went to WDW that it cost almost as much to rent one as it would to buy one (we don't need anything fancy and if we have enough time, I'm certain her doctor would be willing to prescribe one if we ask him to), rent one when we get there or just use the ones available in the airport and at KSC. The advantage to getting her her own is that we will always have it and we don't have to worry about finding one everywhere we go. We'll also have it other times that we need it. The major disadvantages I can see are having to take it on and off the buses and the amount of space it will take in the rental car.

So my two major questions are whether it would work better to bring our own wheelchair or rely on chairs that are available at the various places we go and is there wheelchair accessible seating at the VIP launch viewing areas at KSC?

Thanks for any advice!
 
we are taking my husbands manual.. he has a PWC but we just dont want the airlines to mess it up.. we could rent a PWC in CA. But that wont help us at the airport.. we get an escort at the ticket counter and we usually have a stress free passage to the gate..

If you feel that its minimal difference between renting and buying I would buy one.. that way you have it going to and forth. something you cant do with the parks ones.. and if something happens to a rental,, you are in for paying for that..


Hope you all have a great trip.
 
See if any Service Organization (here it's the Masons, but Elks, Knights of Columbus, etc.) or your church has a wheelchair you can borrow. Or buy from Amazon, or even Walgreens.
 
Since you are flying, the good news is any wheelchair you take with you flies for "free". Having the wheelchair at the airport can be very helpful, since concourses can be long - and waiting means standing, which I presume becomes increasingly difficult for her as time passes as well.

Let the airline know as a courtesy - and try to arrive a bit earlier than normal at the airport. Let the gate agents you work with know that she will take her chair down to the door of the plane, and can walk to her seat from there. Ask for the wheelchair to be gate checked, and stress that she will need it at the door of the plane when you disembark at your destination. The gate agent will place a gate check tag on the chair, and should give you a stub with numbers that match. When boarding for your flight begins, typically you will board first, a few minutes ahead of everyone else. You will leave the wheelchair at the door of the plane and it will be put into the gate check hold for transport.

When you arrive at the airport after your flight, the chair will be brought back up from the hold, and should be waiting for you at the door of the plane. Ask a flight attendant nicely to let you know when the chair is outside the door - there is no need for the family to stand in the jetway waiting for it to come up.

One tip: Most wheelchairs are black and chrome. To help the chair stand out, buy some colorful grosgrain ribbon, or inexpensive bandanas (Wal-Mart and Hobby Lobby typically have them for $1 each) and tie them on the handlebars or armrests of the chair. That way, if you have to park the chair with other wheelchairs, it stands out easily.

Have a great trip!
 
Thank you! So we went ahead and ordered her a wheelchair. It's a fairly inexpensive basic chair and I don't anticipate needing it often but I think it will make the airport easier. I'm just not sure how it will work with the buses at KSC, but I'm sure they deal with it all the time and I'll assume they know what they're doing.
 

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