Fridge for meds? Handrails in tubs?

[HaleyB]

Can you all tell me if WDW will give us a larger size fridge for med's? Those tiny ones I have heard they loan will not fit everything we need to keep cold, at least I don't think it will. We have a box about as big as a 1/2 gallon of milk that we need to refrigerate after it is open. Then we have 3 regular sized med. bottles too. Is it out of line for me to request one? Should I just bite the bullet and pay for one?

I also have another question. I have a mobility problem (which is a bit of an understatement, I broke my back in 3 places 16 years ago). But I do not use a wheel chair. I have a lot of trouble steping over the sides of tubs to get into hotel showers. Do any of you know if all the bathrooms have handrails for the showers/bath tubs, or if this is something I need to request. I don't need or want a roll in shower.

Last. Any tips for not wearing myself out too much? Any tricks you use. I am planing on afternoon rests, sit down eating, and using shows as resting times. I am a little nervous as this is more than I have ever tried to do- a week+ in WDW. Oh and is it a shorter walk to use the buses, or to use handicap parking? Should I ask for a room that is closer to the main areas, (at AKL, and PC) or just not bother? I have done many one or even two day things that involved lots of walking, but it always wipes me out. If I do find it is too much, how hard is it to rent a wheelchair (do they run out?)?

 

[Figaro]

Hi, Haley!

The fridge in the accessible room at Pop Century while smaller than a dorm fridge (and no freezer) did a fine job with my medications which sound like they are pretty close to the size of yours. The door has very narrow shelves that are just the right size to hold vials or bottles of medications. And while there should be plenty of room for what you describe as a 1/2 gallon of milk, that will pretty much fill a large portion of the bigger compartment of the fridge. But with the space on the door available, you should be all set(smile).

One of the things that we did (because we travel quite a bit and generally hotels other than WDW don't provide fridges), was to buy a portable plug in cooler. It is plenty big enough to hold everything you describe and plugs into the car lighter when we are driving and has an AC adaptor for the room. Plus I'm pretty sure that all of the WDW resorts have a fridge in the luggage area that you can store something bigger. When we checked out, I left my medications in a bag with them and they put them right into the fridge for me. (We had left our luggage and headed out for a last day at the parks before heading home).

Many of the resorts have grab bars for the tubs, but since I need a roll-in shower, I'm not an expert on that. Hopefully, someone will be along with the WDW special services number, as the people there are great at helping get that kind of stuff set up.

The distances to the rides are what cause people with mobility problems the difficulties, and renting an ECV and then parking it outside the ride is one of the ways to deal with that sort of thing. But I know that the parks rent ECV's and wheelchairs on a first come, first serve basis and if you park hop you can't take it with you and there is no guarantee that the park you hop to will have any available later in the day.

This is one of the reasons a lot of us here recommend renting from an outside provider. Plus the less pain you are in and the less energy you use up getting to and from places, the more energy to enjoy WDW(smile)!

Hope this helps and hope you have a great trip!

 

[cupcake]

When you make your reservations, speak with the special needs people and tell them that you need grab bars but not a roll in shower. Most times, we then get a bathroom with a low wall tub w/ grab bars and a higher toilet w/ grab bars. The rooms are also configured so that if you have a wc or ECV, it will fit. We just stayed at the WL and the room even had a space to park a wc, which was nice (but would have been better if it was by an outlet as I needed to recharge). In my experience, if they don't have any of these rooms available, you will get a roll in shower room if that's all they have. But you will at any rate always get grab bars.

Thinking about it, I believe that the buses tend to be about the same distance as the hc parking. You will very likely not have a problem getting a wc at a park, although it may not be in the best shape or configuration. The park ECVs go fast and are harder to manage than the rental 3-wheel ones. You can borrow a wc from your resort and take it with you. I have had decent luck getting a wc in better shape than the parks wcs, but others have not. Once it took 2 days for the CB to get me one though (had to borrow from another resort). The back support on the WDW wcs is lousy (the seat is like a sling w/ no support) plus you can't adjust the footrests. This concerns me bc your back is an issue, but maybe this is OK... Just wanted to mention it as I found there was a huge difference in the comfort level of the WDW & Walker (the offsite company I use) wcs.

Overall, the parks are huge, there's a LOT of standing/walking, and I think you'll be able to enjoy yourself more if you don't have to constantly focus on mobility. Personally, based on your note, I'd recommend renting a wc or ECV from offsite. I have done this instead of using a WDW wc ever since I found out about this option from this great group (thanks!) & have never looked back.

Have a great trip!

Cupcake

 

[SueM in MN]

Tubs and Refrigerators:
Here's the phone number for WDW Resort Special Reservations:
(407) 939-7807
(407) 939-7670 [TTY]
They can help reserve the type of room that is right for you. They are the department that takes care of special needs for all the WDW resorts (except for DVC resorts when staying on points). Explain to them about your need for a tub with grab bars and the amount of room you need for refrigerating your meds. It seems that many of the wheelchair accessible rooms do have a dorm size refrigerator that is part of the room, but for the other resorts, what you get will vary. I have heard of people at the same resort getting dorm size and those little shoebox size refrigerators. So, I think what you get depends on what they have available at the time.
Wheelchair rental:
As was mentioned, you probably can get one loaned to you by your resort, but people have reported variable luck in this. Some have had good luck and others have found that what was available didn't fit them or wasn't in good condition. It's not usually a problem to find one at the parks, unless you are going during a busy time. ECVs are in short supply though. Here is the information about the off-site rental places that DIS posters report renting from:
Care Medical:
http://www.caremedicalequipment.com/
Phone (407) 856-2273 • Toll Free U.S and Canada (800) 741-2282

Walker Mobility:
1-888-726-6837
www.walkermobility.com

RANDY'S Mobility is in Kissimmee 407-892-4777
http://randysmobility.com/

Colonial Medical
http://www.colonialmed.com/about_cms.html
(800)747-0246

http://www.scootaround.com/ Not much feedback. Several people who reported they had no problems.
Even if you are not planning on renting, you might want to take these numbers along in case you change your mind.
Buses vs parking:
Mk is the one park you should always take the bus to because the bus stop area is very close to the park turnsiles. If you drive, you will have to take a monorail or boat from the TTC to the park. The regular lots have tram service from the parking lot to the TTC. The handicapped parking area doesn't and it is a bit of a walk. Once you get to the TTC, you need to walk up a long steep ramp to the monorail station or down a path to the boat.

At AK and the Studio, the bus will get you a little closer to the park entrance than using the handicapped parking, but overall, the distance would be pretty equal. For Epcot both are quite a hike to the entrance.
Actually, if you don't have a wheelchair or ecv and can ride the trams, you might be better off parking at the regular parking area at Epcot and using the tram. You can tell the parking attendents that you have mobility probelms and would like to park close to the tram stop. They are usually very good at accomidating that request.