Disney Park Tip| Wheeling Around the Parks

We never want anything wrong to happen on our Disney vacations. We pray for just one perfect week. But life happens, weather doesn't cooperate, and ankles break. No matter what happens, it's essential to learn to roll with the punches and go with the flow when it comes to a vacationing. It helps the unexpected changes not derail your entire trip. I say this because I've learned through experience.

Our first time back at Disney after years of not being able to go was the Christmas of 2012. We couldn't wait to experience all the updates we'd missed throughout the years, including the new Fantasyland! We had a great arrival day, we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside, and we enjoyed walking around our favorite resort, and exploring the newly designed Royal Rooms. Our first full day was spent at the Animal Kingdom and ended it at Hollywood Studios.

For our second morning, we had planned on eating breakfast at 1900 Park Faire, and we worked hard to get a last minute reservation. Proud of ourselves we went to bed after a fun first day, tired and excited about the next morning. But remember things don't always go as planned. We were running very late to breakfast, we came off the monorail, and headed to the elevator, but I didn't want to wait on it, so we took the stairs. Mom and Annie were behind me, and all of a sudden I heard a nasty, stomach dropping crack.

The crack was mom's ankle. What happened after that held a lot of tears, arguing, and poor mom in severe pain as her ankle began to swell to the size of a golf ball. She was trying to be brave and didn't want to stop our trip, so she decided to keep going, but we finally convinced her to go to the front desk and ask for help. An hour later, after being told they couldn't do anything, a manager finally came, it was the poor girl's first day, but she was extremely helpful. Though there were ways, the service could've been better we were taken care of and ushered out of the Grand two hours later to a nearby Med Express.

Mom's ankle was confirmed broken, in two places, and the doctor advised surgery. Mom, being the super mom she is, decided to tough it out and we all decided right there to make the most of a terrible situation. Thankfully, we had asked for the first floor at the resort, before the accident, so God had has covered there, and Annie and I tried our best at driving mom around in her wheelchair. Needless to say it's not easy to push someone around Disney World, at Christmas, in a wheelchair.

We did make the most of the trip and made a lot of amazing memories. We also have tips to share on how to do Disney in a wheelchair.

1. Be Patient

The crowds are hard to navigate walking, they're even harder to navigate with a wheelchair. People will hopefully be patient with you, but you're most likely going to have to be the bigger person and show patience with the impatient.

2. Watch Out for Trolley Ruts

Main Street U.S.A in the Magic Kingdom is well themed for its Victorian era, including the Trolley Tracks. When you're trying to get across the street quickly, you tend to forget about them and can end up in a mess.

3. Be ready for stares

Sadly people aren't always understanding, especially if you're taking up their time by waiting on the bus ramp. Ignore their stares and focus on having a magical time.

4. Know Your Rides

We knew the rides we would usually ride wouldn't be an option for mom, but we didn't know which ones were wheelchair accessible and which ones you have to transfer. There are more wheelchair available rides than we imagined and mom got to ride in a unique clamshell to travel under the sea with Ariel.

*If you're visiting Disney with a wheelchair in your party, you can visit WaltDisneyWorld.com and plan your rides by seeing which ones are easily accessible for you.