since there are no stupid questions--wc on plane?

[cupcake]

I have never taken my wc on a plane with me-- I always rent a wc or ECV at the destination. It's occurring to me that if I am going to use a wc, I may as well bring my own, save some $$$ and not have to deal with picking it up & dropping it off... I will have it the whole time! It's foldable.

(1) Any info I need to know for taking it on a plane? I assume I would gate check it? Are there any issues I should know about?

(2) Any ideas for making it look identifiable? It is purple but my dh thinks I should put my name on it or something so it looks like a personal wc. I know I have told people not to worry about the wcs when they are not in use as they are in a secluded area (eg Haunted Mansion) and no one has ever touched mine (rentals) but I confess to being a bit paranoid with my own wc as opposed to a rental where they factor this in. Any personalization tips or other hints would be appreciated. My dh suggested the letters that casn be ironed or sewn on, I could tack my name on inside of the back rest where my back goes and put my initials on the back. Am I being paranoid? Feel free to tell me!!! Should I rent? I would be totally traumatized if something happened to my wc.


Neurotically yours,
Cupcake

 

[Figaro]

Hi, cupcake!

I am assuming that your wheelchair is a manual one that folds? If not, just ignore what I've written as I only know about flying with manual wheelchairs(smile). Whether or not the wheelchair will be stored on the plane in the first class closet depends on a bunch of things. First of all, if the plane is one that has people on it already and is continuing to another stop you almost for sure won't be able to put it into the closet, as it will be filled and wheelchairs aren't allowed to displace stuff that is already in a first class closet.

When you make reservations, tell them you are travelling with a wheelchair. Call 48 and 24 hours before your flight to tell them again that you have a wheelchair with you. Technically, you don't have to, but it seems to cause less hassles if you notify them repeatedly(smile).

Get to the airport early and tell them when you check-in and at the gate itself that you would like to try and see if the wheelchair will fit into the first class closet. When you pre-board (and you may have to remind them), what usually happens is that I get settled into my seat (need the aisle wheelchair) and then my spouse folds up the wheelchair and tries to fit it in. Depending on the size of the closet it will either slide right in, or it won't fit at all. If it fits, put in the parts you removed with it if they will let you, or put them at the very back of the overhead bin, as they are HEAVY and you will want to have other bags in front of them.

If the wheelchair doesn't fit, then you will gate check it. They will give you a tag to put on the wheelchair and then take it right at the entrance to the plane to put in the luggage compartment. It will then be brought up to the jetway after the plane lands. DON'T gate check the removeable pieces, as they are the most likely ones to be broken or bent, but bring them in and store them either under the seat (if you aren't in bulkhead seats) or at the back of the overhead bins. None of your medical equipment counts towards your carry-on limit, so don't worry about that.

If you have to make a connecting flight, make sure that the flight attendants know when you board and remind them before the plane lands that you need to have your wheelchair to make the connection. The wheelchair will be brought up right into the jetway outside the plane door and there will be someone who works for the airline who will push it to your connecting flight. We usually tip them about $5.00 and it is worth every penny, as they can sometimes push for what seems like miles(smile).

Hope this helps! And if not, ask again and I'll try to write a better explanation(smile).

 

[SueM in MN]

First, here's a link to a summary of the Air Carriers Access Act (airline travel is not covered by the ADA, but by this act).
And here's a link to some travel hints (which actually cover most of what Figaro mentioned, but it's always good to have things more than once).
As Figaro mentioned, you do have the right to store your foldable (or taken apart) wheelchair in the on board closet, if there is a closet and if the wheelchair fits. One additional constraint is they only have to provide for one wheelchair, so if someone else beats you to it, you are out of luck. As Figaro mentioned, if it's a continuing flight and the closet is full, you are also out of luck. BUT, if you request to preboard and the closet is already full with first class passengers stuff, the wheelchair gets the closet. Even when the closet is empty, the first class flight attendent is not usually your friend - she wants to keep the closet empty for her first class passengers. The Gate Agent will be your friend (can you tell we have used the closet before?).
If we gate check the wheelchair, we usually remove everything that can be removed without using tools and bring it on board. If you have a seat belt or any straps, fasten them tightly. A large plastic or rip stop nylon bag is helpful to contain all the removed pieces so you don't drop anything getting on. We have occasionally run into passengers who did not like the looks of DD's wheelchair headrest and footrest in the overhead bin. One passenger demanded they be removed as he felt they were a hazard, so we put them in the closet (Hello! What about the carry on bag that needed 2 people to lift it up there?).

The first year that DD had a wheelchair, we brought a lock with us for when she was out of it. We stopped locking it the first day because it was in a protected place and it was such a hassle to lock and unlock. If you feel a need to lock it, you can run a lock thru in a way that will prevent anyone from folding it, but will still allow you to use it. At least that way, no one is going to be able to put it in a car trunk to take it away.
To mark the wheelchair, we put an address label (the kind you use on letters) on a bottom part of the wheelchair frame and then covered it with clear packing tape. We also put a luggage tag on the wheelchair. It's not likely that someone will take your wheelchair by mistake - it won't look like a rental one. But, if you want to decorate it, go ahead. I personally would not put a full name on it in a readily visible spot, but I've seen people with nicknames. Just keep in mind that the letters might get rubbed as you get in and out and might get kind of raty looking after a while. DD has decorated her wheelchair with stickers on some of the plastic parts (clear packing tape protects those too) . Before our last trip, I go some stick on glow in the dark stars from the party favors area at Target. They were inexpensive, fun and made people notice her a little in the dark. She has mag tires and we put them on the flat black plastic pieces of her tires. That looked really cool and we got lots of comments.

 

[cupcake]

A big thank you to both of you. This information is perfect! I really appreciate you both taking the time to explain things so well.

Cupcake

 

[AngelStar]

Hi all,

I found this thread to be very informative.

Just to clarify a few things, I am bringing along a manual folding wheelchair on my trip to WDW and on the cruise ship - I need it to go throughout the park distances (since using crutches for long distances is really hard), as well as a place to sit, so I don't need to be on my feet for long periods of time, since this is very painful and next to impossible. My questions is: for the rides/attractions that don't allow a wheelchair, we have to leave them in the entrance, in the boarding/loading area, ro some other place to which I can get to easily immediately after the ride/attraction is over. Where is this place usually, and is the wc just left out in the open, meaning there is a chance that someone could take it, move it (or even steal it!). Would any Disney person be watching it?

This is not my own wc, as I usually do not need it around here but for such a vacation, I do, so my parents are renting it for a week and taking it along with us on the trip (which is what our wish coordinator recommended). I'm just mentioning this to let you know that I won't be able to "decorate" it to make it easily identifiable.

Any info would be great!!

 

[Figaro]

Hi, AngelStar!

Most of the rides at WDW have mainstream queues and you will just stay in the chair all the way until you get on the ride. On some rides they will fold the wheelchair up and tuck it in with you, on others there will be a wheelchair car and you can stay right in the wheelchair and for the rides that don't have mainstream queues you will usually enter at the exit and your wheelchair will be right there waiting when you get off of the ride.

If you are worried about someone possibly taking it (since it isn't your own wheelchair), I would suggest a cable bike lock so that you can lock one of the back wheels to the frame. That way the CM's can move it if they need to, but no one will be able to steal it very easily. I have a backpack on the back of mine that pulls off easily to go onto the rides with us and that would be where I used to store the lock.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[cupcake]

Also, at the rides where you need to transfer, your wc will be in a secluded place by the attraction exit which is often right by CMs. Sometimes they will fold your wc and have it ride with you in your ride vehicle. If you leave it, it is *NOT* in the main areas out in the open with the strollers. I confess to some paranoia about taking my own wc, but I have to say that I used WDW rental wcs for years (at least 10) and no one ever touched my wc when I left it to ride an attraction.

You can lock the wheel to the frame to make it moveable with some effort but you cannot lock the wc to something as the CMs may need to move it.

Have a fun trip!!!!!! How nice that you are going on a cruise, if it is the Disney Cruise, we are especially jealous!

Cupcake