We just got back from Orlando (flying Northwest) with a gate checked wheelchair.
We ended up waiting until everyone was off the plane, mostly becasue there were so many gate checked strollers and car seats that I could not get to the wheelchair to "fix" it for DD to get back in. Waiting also meant we didn't have to contend with any people who were getting impatient that DD was taking so long to get down the aisle. Even with waiting, we still got to baggage claim well before our bags did at both Orlando and coming back to Minneapolis.