Getting Around Gimpy - Need tips for managing a knee injury

I have no advice. I think renting the EVC for the week is probably smart. You don't know how you are going to feel. Even with great knees, my feet and legs get very tired from walking around the parks all day.

Def. wear comfortable, supportive shoes. I am sure you were already planning on that though.

Right before our 2013 trip, my DH twisted his ankle something awful and toured on one crutch. Have you had your knee looked at yet, because if it needs more than a rest, you don't want to cause further damage, and then an ECV would be the way to go. But, if you go with the crutch idea, lots of breaks and rests. We found lots of nice places to just sit for a bit. On an interesting note, he did try and do BTMR, but the jostling really hurt his ankle. You might experience this with your knee, too.

I never realized until that trip, how steep the ramp is from the monorail. Thank goodness he didn't opt for a regular wheel chair. I don't think I could've pushed him that long. The ramp from POTC is also pretty steep. TTA ramp is also steep, but great to just sit. His favorite that trip was Mickey's Philharmagic. Nice comfy seats, no ramps or stairs. I think we hit it as a walk on. Oh, and Little Mermaid? That que is surprisingly long, even the FP+ side. Not fun for him, at all. I'm sure there were other things that we were surprised about, but those are the ones that stand out.

Lots of trips to the ice machine for ice when we got back to the room. And prescription pain killers, as needed. Good luck!

According to my research you can end up walking upwards of 6 miles a day at WDW, and most likely more. An ECV sounds like the right choice.

I actually went on one trip with a broken knee in a hip to ankle Velcro cast (I was not able to have surgery b/c the hospital did not have any blood in my type). I had crutches. I was pretty adept with them. They are handy at moving people out of your way! I was fine most of the time with one crutch and used it on the side with bad knee mostly as a buffer from people banging on it. I was not able to move at speed. I opted just to be slow and not rent a wheel chair. My husband ran as a blocker for me a lot of times and most CMs moved me into the Handicap Queue to keep me out of their Standing lines.

The Haunted Mansion, Tomorrow Land People Mover and rides with similar loading were very hard for me and Dave would have to help me get on the ride. (The CMs can not help you and wont always stop the belt for you unless you are in a wheel chair)

Take a suitable pain killer and load up before you head for the parks. (I was fine with Advil but had prescription ones just in case). I did got to the Doc's Office in EPCOT once to take off the cast and clean underneath it. I wore a good pair of sneakers but you will have to wear what is best for you.

If you don't have one get a good brace with metal supports that bend at the joint. It is worth the money for the support of your knee. Wear the brace on the outside of your long pants if you can.

Does that help?

I agree with wearing the brace on the outside of your pants. It signals others as to why you may be moving slowly or awkwardly and it gives the CM's a visual cue that you may need additional assistance. If you rent the ECV for the whole trip, can you take it on the ship with you, too?

Until your trip, make sure that you are keeping your knee elevated as much as possible to help take care of swelling. If you can safely take an anti-inflammatory, do. If you've been using ice for awhile and it's not helping, consider heat. One of my knee caps used to slip at the slightest provocation when I was teenager and it would cause my knee to swell. I found that for that particular problem, ice always made it worse. Heat was the key to relaxing the muscles and ligaments around it and getting the knee back to normal. Also, the stiff brace with metal supports was always awesome for helping to correct that problem.

Most days this past November we walked anywhere from 8 -13 miles per day.

I had a torn meniscus and a few other knee problems ahead of our 2010 trip, and I put off surgery until 2011. I used a knee brace, and I also had a gel pack specifically for my knee that I used to ice it during down times. And much as I hate to take any pills, I started loading up on ibuprofen about a week before the trip and took it until after I got home. And I had a 3 shot series of something called Orthovisc about a month before the trip.

I like the idea of a single crutch as well - I was an uncoordinated mess with 2, but one seemed easier for me.

I've traveled a lot using a 4-wheel scooter, even a week at WDW. I own my own, so didn't have to rent o ne. There are a limited number of them at WDW, so you might look into renting one at home and bringing it along. The airlines have to transport them free and it makes the trip a lot easier. Of course if you are driving, you'd have to have a larger vehicle. (We flew in and rented a Chevy HHV.)
I've never used it on a cruise, tho, but they have to accommodate you. The cabins on the Disney ships are large so you shouldn't have too much of a problem.

Good luck.

Other than the awesome advice already posted, the only other thing I can suggest is to elevate it at night once you are "done" for the day, get mousekeeping to bring extra pillows. Also anytime you can safely do so, elevate it during the day.

For the cruise portion of the trip, have you considered a regular old-style non-powered wheelchair? They fold up so one would fit in your room. You could keep it on hand for when walking was wearing you out or the ship's motion was making it difficult to walk, and your daughter could help push it if you found maneuvering on your own difficult.

I didn't see anyone in an EVC the few times I took the boat between DTD and POR in October. When my mom and I were there in November 2013, we took the boat from OKW after breakfast at Olivia's to DTD and there was a woman with an EVC.

When we took the boat from Saratoga Springs to Treehouse Villas and then over to DTD, a group of people using wheelchairs and/or ECVs boarded the boat at Treehouse Villas. I don't recall the details of their boarding, but I think the boat pilot pulled out a ramp so some of them could board while in their chairs.

Depending on the types of boats that run that route, you could possibly need to wait for a specific boat that can handle an ECV. I THINK the regular boats on that route can take ECV's because if I remember correctly, there is a specific area designated as handicapped on the boat; however, I don't ever recall seeing an ECV on those boats. I know that the route between MK and Wilderness Lodge/Fort Wilderness runs two different types of boats. One type accommodates an ECV and the other does not. I believe that the issue on the smaller boats is that it is not a level entry and you can't take the ECV down the two steps to get it into the boat. Can anyone confirm that the Port Orleans-->DTD boats have a level entry?

The boats I took to / from POR did. Here's a picture of one.

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I'm sure we saw ECV's on the boat from POR to DD. I also seem to remember Joe (Subvet) posting photos of Jan on those boats, with her ECV.

Yes those boats can take ECV's.

My mother uses crutches and we have managed to bling a pair out reasonably well.
We masked off or removed any of the handle/armgrip parts then used a car paint (in a colour of her selection).then once it was nearly dry sprinkled glitter over them.Once that dried fully we then laquered them.
I will try and get a picture for you later

Oh and be aware if the crutches are aluminium you need a special primer before the paint to help it adhere

Hope the picture isn't too bad.
there is a purple sparkly pair
a silver sparkly pair
and tucked away at the back a custom red pair ordered from somwhere online.

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SPARKLY!