Glad to hear you had a great trip and thanks for your complete report. I'm going to add some additional information that should be helpful.
Thanks. Without the ECV, I didn't have a chance of doing the parks commando. DW would never have been able to wheelchair me around all day. The ECV really does give you freedom to move around without the pain of propelling a W/C. Obviously, doing the parks with crutches is not even an option. So far, the recovery is good. Cast is off after 5 weeks and now I am in a walking boot for 3-4 weeks.
To address your points, we found that the attractions requiring transfer from an ECV to a W/C usually had Disney W/C's available for use near the ECV parking. I can't speak for all of the rides requiring W/C use, but it seemed like most did. There is a great summary of mobility accessibility on wdwinfo
HERE.
Attractions that require a transfer from the ECV to a wheelchair for the line should have a wheelchair available. Occasionally, the attraction wheelchairs are all in use or someone kept it instead of returning it after use in line.
Just ask the CM at the entrance to the attraction.
You can find a lot more specific information in the disABILITIES FAQs thread. There is a link in my signature or you can look near the top of this board. These posts will be most helpful (with 18-22 and 28 the most helpful)
- Post 2: Wheelchair, ECV, Equipment and Accessible Van Rental
- Post 4: Riding WDW Buses with a wheelchair or ECV
- Post 8: Parking, WDW Boats, Monorails, Specialty Cruises at the parks
- Post 11: Basic accessibility lists for each park. Includes Mobility Access entrances from WDW Disabilities park maps, attractions requiring a transfer from wheelchair or ECV.
- Post 18: MK attractions and Accessibility. Lists which have a difficult step on and which have a wheelchair car
- Post 19: Epcot attractions and Accessibility. Lists which have a difficult step on and which have a wheelchair car
- Post 20: Disney Hollywood Studios and Accessibility. Lists which may be difficult to board and which have a wheelchair car
- Post 21: Animal Kingdom and Accessibility. Lists which may be difficult to board and which have a wheelchair car
- Post 22: Attractions where guests must stand unless they have mobility device
- Post 23: Attractions with Warnings
- Post 28: Attractions with moving walkways and stairs
- Post 34: Mobility seating for shows - list of shows/theaters are the location of mobility seating
With regards to walking form the ECV to an attraction, I agree, it can be a challenge. I used crutches and for the rides I was able to go on, I could keep the crutches with me on the ride. I believe a CM can take crutches from a guest after they transfer to a ride and keep them at the end of the ride for use upon return.
Depending on the attraction, you will either bring crutches with you on the ride car or the CM will take them and store them for you while you ride.
The rides with a moving walkway can be slowed down (except for Peoplemover), which helps, but it still requires a fair bit of coordination to manage the moving walkways with crutches.
post 28 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread lists those that have moving walkways.
Peoplemover (AKA Tomorrowland Transit Authority) and Peter Pan can't be slowed or stopped. In general, they try to slow rather than stop them.
For the buses, you can still sit in your ECV while on the bus. They have a seatbelt that they strap around your waist. I did this several times, particularly in the evening when the buses were crowded. I hated to take up a seat when I could just sit on the ECV.
It is actually recommended to not sit on the ECV while on the bus. They are not meant for riding on during transport and are more likely to tip if someone is on them, even if they are properly tied down. This is less of a problem for the 4 wheeled ones than the 3 wheeled ones, but DIS posters have reported their ECV tipping on the bus.
So, don't feel guilty taking a seat - there are even signs on the bus telling people they should transfer.
Your last point is the biggest reason why I skipped most rides; I was not able to put any weight on my casted foot, which made it virtually impossible to step into, and out of, the cars on coasters, etc. Additionally, those rides are so rough and bumpy, that even if I could get in, I did not want to chance bumping the cast and causing pain! Some of those rides are painful enough without a cast!!
Posts 18 - 22 have more info about the exact stepping to get on or off a ride car. If you are using an attraction wheelchair, you can use the wheelchair accessible ride car for those attractions that have them.
Attractions with warnings are listed in post 23.
OP, if you are non-weightbearing, I would very seriously consider renting an ECV. In your case, your sprained ankle is still going to be tender and somewhat unstable when you get there next week, which is going to make getting in and out of a W/C difficult, particularly on the buses. Transferring to and from and ECV is easy, as it is stable and the chair can be positioned with the armrests out of the way. The freedom that you will have when everyone else is riding rides will be well worth it.
I agree that getting out of a wheelchair can be more difficult than getting off an ECV.
The rental wheelchairs do not have swing away armrests or footrests. You need to make sure to lock the brakes and fold the footrests up out of your way. With the brakes locked, a wheelchair is as stable as any other chair.
With an ECV, it is heavier, so more stable. It is important to realize that a 3 wheeled ECV is less stable than a 4 wheeled one and you need to be more careful about tipping when getting off.
Guests DON'T need to get off of a wheelchair on the bus unless they choose to. Wheelchairs can be securely strapped down and with 4 wheels, they are not going to tip. Guests can choose to get out of the wheelchair and hold it on the bus, but don't need to.