ECV Availability

[ChallengerHK1]

I'm still working on making things as perfect as possible for my girlfriend's first Disney trip. I think I'm going to need to get her an ECV for our park days. Based on the experience here, do you think ECV availability will be good for the second week of November?

 

[kashzan]

They have them in the morning, but depending on crowds, they can be gone early. It is cheaper if you rent one from offsite. They deliver it right to your resort, and it will be waiting for you when you arrive, Have a great trip

 

[mamabunny]

WDW has a fleet of ECVs that are available for rental at the front of each theme park. Current rate is $50/day, and you can "hop" your daily rental to another park - provided that park has a scooter available. There is also a deposit required that ranges from $20 - $100 depending on location.

It is true that the theme parks will often run out of rental scooters fairly early in the day. As people go back to their resorts, or to another park in the afternoons, more WDW units are available then. The WDW scooters have just recently been replaced; they are designed to be a heavy-duty workhorse unit (like the ones you see at grocery stores, minus the giant wire cart on the front).

Many people prefer to have an ECV available to them all the time. Some of the Resorts are HUGE, and the walking there alone can add up really fast! Not to mention if you decide to visit another Resort, or go to Downtown Disney/Disney Springs (which is growing in size daily!)

Walt Disney World has a list of "Featured Providers" (found on this page)

All of these companies are reputable - and they are the ONLY Orlando companies that can drop off and leave an ECV at your WDW Resort Hotel, so that it is waiting for you when you arrive.

These "Featured Providers" are also the only companies that you are allowed to simply leave the ECV at the WDW Resort hotel at the end of your stay, and walk away, knowing that it will be picked up.

All of the other scooter rental companies MUST meet you to both drop off the scooter, and pick it up when renting on/for WDW property. They are NOT allowed to leave the scooter for you, and you are not allowed to just walk away from it at the end of the rental. Add extra time as appropriate if you are going to use a non-Featured Provider for your rental, for both drop off and pick up.

All of the non-WDW scooter rental entities in Orlando can typically beat Disney's rate by a significant amount, when you look at a multi-day rental. You can rent for any amount of time - from one day to one year.

Hope this helps!

 

[ChallengerHK1]

It all helps, thanks.

The girlfriend can walk fine, but just not for long hauls. My plan is (or was) to have an ECV for her at, say, Epcot, but not to have to move it with us when we hop to another park. So what I'm really looking for is a rough idea of the likelihood, assuming average mid-November crowds, that we'll be ale to leave the Epcot ECV there when we leave and still be able to pick one up somewhere else. It sounds like you guys are telling me it's a crap shoot.

 

[ttintagel]

Yeah, it’s pretty chancy. I mean, crowd levels the second week of November are lower than, say, late December, so your chances of doing what you’re planning are higher than they would be at Christmastime or during the summer. But you’d still be taking a gamble.


The convenience or inconvenience of having your own ECV for the duration of the trip can depend on the mode of transportation you’re planning on using and where you’re staying. If you’re using Disney transportation (buses, boats, monorail, etc.) and staying at a Disney resort, then taking the ECV with you when you hop shouldn’t be an issue. And there can be a lot of long hauls to walk back at the Disney resorts, too.


However, if you’re driving everywhere, have a smaller-size vehicle, and are staying offsite at a hotel where you can park close to your room, I can see where it might be more bother than it’s worth.

 

[mamabunny]

Yeah, it’s pretty chancy. I mean, crowd levels the second week of November are lower than, say, late December, so your chances of doing what you’re planning are higher than they would be at Christmastime or during the summer. But you’d still be taking a gamble.


The convenience or inconvenience of having your own ECV for the duration of the trip can depend on the mode of transportation you’re planning on using and where you’re staying. If you’re using Disney transportation (buses, boats, monorail, etc.) and staying at a Disney resort, then taking the ECV with you when you hop shouldn’t be an issue. And there can be a lot of long hauls to walk back at the Disney resorts, too.


However, if you’re driving everywhere, have a smaller-size vehicle, and are staying offsite at a hotel where you can park close to your room, I can see where it might be more bother than it’s worth.

@ttintagel is exactly right about all of that... Plus, don't forget Downtown Disney/Disney Springs. It just keeps growing, and there is so much to see (and so much shopping to do!) there, not to mention all of the great new dining venues... DTD/DS is another location where you can rent a Disney ECV, but unlike the parks, the deposit there is $100, and last time I tried to rent one there (several years ago) they had a much smaller inventory than the parks do.

An average healthy person can easily walk 3 to 8 miles per day at WDW. If she can use the ECV, and get out and truly enjoy WDW with concern for stamina or pain, I think you both might find it beneficial.

 

[kam23]

To the OP, I just return from WDW last night. The crowds should be even smaller in November, prior to T-day. I arrived around 11:00am in Epcot and did not have a problem getting a ECV. I don't believe you will have an issue.