Overall Assistance from Arrival to Departure

Guest · 16 Sep 18, 01:47 AM

Hi everyone,

I'm a 34 year old woman and I'm still coming to terms with whats happened to me. I required emergency spinal cord surgery, twice, and this has left me with neurological pain in my lower limbs, pain, spasms and inability to stand for long periods of time. I have trouble when I have been sitting for prolonged periods of time as well. The hospital have tried me with a wheelchair but it hasn't been succesful so I have to just stop and start all the time. The 46 tablets and morphine patch provide slight help.

Now my initial hurdle to get over is to forget caring about what other people think of me, that will be my biggest hurdle but I have little to no experience of what assistance is out there for me in terms of my physical health?

I'm worried at the moment of how long a wait time I will have at Immigration. I'm also already anxious about speaking to the parks regarding the standing issue as well. I am having treatment for my mental health so my anxiety is sky high. I know it has to happen and I'll take along all my documentation.

Any help re. assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you kindly

sasperella · 16 Sep 18, 10:03 AM

Hello,
You have had a rough time of it! Hope your health improves.
As to your question I'm sure someone with more knowledge than me will answer but from what I know if you have mobility issues they recommend wheelchair/EVC as most places are accessible such as ride queues etc. Evidently now in immigration you join general line in wheelchairs too.
I know what you mean about people looking!
I've had one knee replacement and my other is " "bone on bone!" ( needs doing) So I walk for a while to keep joints going and then DD pushes me in wheelchair. I worry and feel very self conscious but like all of us have paid a lot and want to enjoy!
Good luck and enjoy!

Scaramouche · 16 Sep 18, 10:05 AM

Hi

First of all - I am so sorry for what has happened, you are amazing for trying to carry on and overcome this

I don't know where you are flying from/who with but contact your airline and ask for special assistance as they can help in the airport

. When we last flew from Heathrow (2015) they noticed me on my crutches (I didn't really know about SA then so I didn't tell anyone) and put us in a golf buggy as Heathrow is massive. The airport is in London, the gate might as well have been in Reading for all we knew!

In the parks, go to guest relations and speak to them. They should be able to offer a DAS pass. You will probably get told by many people that this is not for those with mobility issues and this is largely the case. However when there are other issues thrown into the mix, it is perfectly acceptable to ask for and gain a DAS pass (Read my response to the thread on this forum about the mild DAS issue from yesterday if you want - it goes into detail about my condition and the DAS)

If you are doing Universal - go to guest relations - I have never had any issues with them

If it's easier to have a hotel room on the ground floor etc - speak to Disney (assuming you are staying there) - this doesn't matter to me as if we're in a hotel block I can use the lift, if we're in somewhere like POFQ/CBR/CSR/POR then they only have 2 levels and I can manage the flight of stairs (Just about!).

MCO - This is a trickier one, they used to be brilliant and have a separate line. It seems that this has changed, but speak to ground staff when you land and see what they can do to accommodate you. Someone on here suggested talking to them on their facebook page - and he got a great response - I got no help at all.

Hope this helps

Scaramouche · 16 Sep 18, 10:07 AM

Originally Posted by family4

Hi everyone,
I'm also already anxious about speaking to the parks regarding the standing issue as well. I am having treatment for my mental health so my anxiety is sky high. I know it has to happen and I'll take along all my documentation.

Any help re. assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you kindly

Try not to be anxious about speaking to them at the parks - mention your anxiety to them as well as this will help with the DAS pass as primarily this is what it is for - unseen disabilities/anything that is not purely mobility related.

Guest · 16 Sep 18, 03:21 PM

Folks thank you so much, I feel more confident now. I am flying from Glasgow and its quite small so I will manage to the gate myself with a few stops on the way for a rest.

So overall its staff at MCO re. immigration ( I also have probs with using a wheelchair) and then guest relations for the parks and I will contact the hotel and advise them of my health issues.

I am also looking into the point of whether I need to apply for the equivalent of a blue badge in Florida. I see there is a post on that too, I'll have a look.

Can't thank you enough for your replies, its really helped me out.

Grace2007 · 19 Sep 18, 11:05 AM

Hi, we are in the same position as you really. My husband has a heart condition and related fatigue issues plus he has a back and knee injury. Normally he would just get by with walking a little and talking lots of rest breaks - we fly on the 16th October and have booked electric scooter - it took a bit to convince him but at least he can take a break when needed. We have applied for and just received our temp disabled parking permit from george woody - just follow the steps previously posted - really easy to do and no issues at all. What I am worried about is MCO immigration - he couldn�t stand in a queue for up to an hour so going to have to organise wheelchair assistance so that�s my next thing to sort - so if anyone has any advice I would really appreciate it.

**zingy** · 19 Sep 18, 02:31 PM

We arrived at MCO on the 16th. Told to wait for wheelchair before getting off the plane. None arrived then told to collect the chair in the immigration hall, the walk from the plane was very long and exhausting. My autistic daughter found this very difficult and just wanted her chair.I complained and was placed into a shorter line The wait for the wheelchair took over 40minutes. Apparently the airline do not fetch personal wheelchairs to the plane. Ambassadors very few seen.I struggled through to transportation with no support. This is despite contacting MCO via Facebook before travelling.

Guest · 20 Sep 18, 05:08 PM

Sorry to hear about your problems. I've had both knee joints replaced and walk with a stick. Standing for more than a few minutes is rather painful so the last time I went to Florida via Manchester and Orlando I booked special assistance with my airline, Virgin Atlantic. I was greeted at arrivals at Manchester and offered a seat in a wheelchair which was pushed through security right to the departure gate. I boarded first. At Orlando as soon as I left the plane there were many people with wheelchairs to assist me through to immigration. Disabled have a separate queue which is shorter and the assistant remained with me all the way to my hotel bus departure point. He even collected my luggage for me.
For my two week's holiday I hired an electric scooter delivered to my hotel, and this meant that "waiting in line" was no problem. In fact, some attractions allow you to remain in the scooter right up to the end of the queue.
Don't worry about standing around for too long. Within a bit of planning, you shouldn't have to.

**zingy** · 20 Sep 18, 10:27 PM

At MCO the special assistance line no longer exists. All wheelchair users are expected to wait in line with everyone else.I was advised via facebook from someone at MCO to provide all relevant details before departure.I did this as requested but someone must have forgotten to pass my daughters details to the appropriate department. Resulting in a no support at all.

Guest · 21 Sep 18, 11:33 AM

Originally Posted by zingy

At MCO the special assistance line no longer exists. All wheelchair users are expected to wait in line with everyone else.I was advised via facebook from someone at MCO to provide all relevant details before departure.I did this as requested but someone must have forgotten to pass my daughters details to the appropriate department. Resulting in a no support at all.

I'll struggle when I go through MCO in January as I travel alone and rely on a terminal assistant to push me from the aircraft right through to my hotel minibus departure point. If we've got to queue in the standard lines the assistant will be tied up for a lot longer and his/her tip will go up considerably!
I can't believe that an airport in the USA would take away such a facility. I wonder if they've also removed the diplomatic and crew queues?

16 Sep 18, 01:47 AM	#1
	16 Sep 18, 01:47 AM Guest Guest
Guest Guest	Overall Assistance from Arrival to Departure Hi everyone, I'm a 34 year old woman and I'm still coming to terms with whats happened to me. I required emergency spinal cord surgery, twice, and this has left me with neurological pain in my lower limbs, pain, spasms and inability to stand for long periods of time. I have trouble when I have been sitting for prolonged periods of time as well. The hospital have tried me with a wheelchair but it hasn't been succesful so I have to just stop and start all the time. The 46 tablets and morphine patch provide slight help. Now my initial hurdle to get over is to forget caring about what other people think of me, that will be my biggest hurdle but I have little to no experience of what assistance is out there for me in terms of my physical health? I'm worried at the moment of how long a wait time I will have at Immigration. I'm also already anxious about speaking to the parks regarding the standing issue as well. I am having treatment for my mental health so my anxiety is sky high. I know it has to happen and I'll take along all my documentation. Any help re. assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you kindly

16 Sep 18, 03:21 PM	#5
	16 Sep 18, 03:21 PM Guest Guest
Guest Guest	Folks thank you so much, I feel more confident now. I am flying from Glasgow and its quite small so I will manage to the gate myself with a few stops on the way for a rest. So overall its staff at MCO re. immigration ( I also have probs with using a wheelchair) and then guest relations for the parks and I will contact the hotel and advise them of my health issues. I am also looking into the point of whether I need to apply for the equivalent of a blue badge in Florida. I see there is a post on that too, I'll have a look. Can't thank you enough for your replies, its really helped me out.

20 Sep 18, 05:08 PM	#8
	20 Sep 18, 05:08 PM Guest Guest
Guest Guest	Sorry to hear about your problems. I've had both knee joints replaced and walk with a stick. Standing for more than a few minutes is rather painful so the last time I went to Florida via Manchester and Orlando I booked special assistance with my airline, Virgin Atlantic. I was greeted at arrivals at Manchester and offered a seat in a wheelchair which was pushed through security right to the departure gate. I boarded first. At Orlando as soon as I left the plane there were many people with wheelchairs to assist me through to immigration. Disabled have a separate queue which is shorter and the assistant remained with me all the way to my hotel bus departure point. He even collected my luggage for me. For my two week's holiday I hired an electric scooter delivered to my hotel, and this meant that "waiting in line" was no problem. In fact, some attractions allow you to remain in the scooter right up to the end of the queue. Don't worry about standing around for too long. Within a bit of planning, you shouldn't have to.