3. Wheelchairs or mobility scooters may not be the best option

Image: Arctic_Whirlwind, Flickr (license)

If you’ve harbored secret fantasies of touring Walt Disney World in a mobility scooter, an injury is a great excuse to make that dream a reality. If an injury or disability inhibits your ability to walk, mobility scooters are a serious godsend at Walt Disney World and a great way to tour the parks without exhausting or further injuring yourself. Wheelchairs are an option as well and are much cheaper to rent. You don’t need any sort of special pass to board rides if you’re on a scooter or wheelchair as cast members are well-trained in helping those in wheelchairs or scooters navigate lines (you just wait in the line with everyone else—wheelchairs and scooters do not jump the line, contrary to popular belief).

However, mobility scooters and wheelchairs aren’t always the best option, and it was not an option I personally took advantage of.

Mobility scooters are large and difficult to maneuver through crowds and lines. They are also expensive. I almost caved at one point during our trip and considered renting one, but I’m a stubborn sort. I was far enough along in my recovery that I wanted to utilize a day at Disney to see where my limits were and do some much-needed physical therapy to get mobile again. It meant a bit more patience and exertion on my part, but I’m glad we avoided the hassle of scooters and wheelchairs. If you’ll be visiting Walt Disney World with an injury, it’s really up to you if you would like to utilize a mobility aid like a wheelchair or scooter but be aware that the latter may provide all new maneuverability problems.

4. You may think twice about certain attractions

Image: Disney

On a normal day, there is really not anything at Disney I won’t ride—perhaps with the exception of rides that just don’t match my personal tastes. We love thrill rides in our household, and I had previously never been in a situation where I couldn’t ride one due to mitigating circumstances.

After my knee was injured, I found myself really questioning what attractions we could and couldn’t ride. You would think this would be as simple as avoiding thrill rides, but it wasn’t. For my own injury, the biggest cause of pain was lateral movements, particularly any situation where my knee might pivot from vertical to horizontal orientation. While something obvious like Mission Space was definitely out with its cramped quarters and constant lateral movement, I didn’t realize how many other attractions this limit affected. Soarin’, for example, is a pretty tame attraction, but the prospect of my legs hanging off the seat and swaying side to side with no way to stabilize them kept us away.

The biggest risk we took was a trip on Test Track. I had been doing well so far during the day and decided I wanted to try it during a moment of over-confidence. I generally grin all the way through this ride, but on this occasion, I spent much of the ride chiding myself for my stupidity and praying that I didn’t seriously damage my already-messed-up knee. The jostling on the ride was noticeably uncomfortable, and I had to brace my knee with both hands during sequences with sharp lateral movements. Everything turned out okay in the end, fortunately. Interestingly enough, it was an entirely different issue with Test Track that caused the biggest scare of the day.