1st visit w/mom in an electric wheelchair....any advice??

[mrsscooter]

We are going in December to WDW w/the kids and we are taking my mom as a surprise. She is in an electric wheelchair and she is nervous about getting around in Disney with it. We will be staying at the Shades of Green, and they have buses, so no problem there. Her concern is that while she is "scooting around the world" her battery will die, and she will be stranded.....are there places to plug in? are there very many dining places that are scooter friendly....etc....any and all advice is welcome!

 

[BroganMc]

We are going in December to WDW w/the kids and we are taking my mom as a surprise. She is in an electric wheelchair and she is nervous about getting around in Disney with it. We will be staying at the Shades of Green, and they have buses, so no problem there. Her concern is that while she is "scooting around the world" her battery will die, and she will be stranded.....are there places to plug in? are there very many dining places that are scooter friendly....etc....any and all advice is welcome!

Relax. You'll have a blast. I've been doing Disney for 8 years in my power chair. Multiple trips per year too. Never ran out of power but I have pushed it. This last NYE I plugged my charger into a lamppost to watch the fireworks in the Studios.

Tell mom to go read some of the trip reports in my blog. Then you'll have an idea how to do Disney on wheels.

I'll be there December 5-12 btw

 

[mrsscooter]

Thank you so much for sharing your blog....I will definitely point her in your direction..LOL I am sure that I will pick your brain over the next few months...that is, of course, if you don't mind.

 

[BroganMc]

Thank you so much for sharing your blog....I will definitely point her in your direction..LOL I am sure that I will pick your brain over the next few months...that is, of course, if you don't mind.

Nope, don't mind at all. PM me or post a comment on my blog to exchange e-mail addresses.

If you or your mom have specific questions, let me know. I average about 3 trips to Disney a year for around 50 days worth. Made a lot of friends there over the years. My dad (known for the purple mohawk he gets in the MK barber shop every trip) is a bit of an infamous regular too.

He drives a scooter and I use a power wheelchair. It's kinda hard NOT to catch us speeding through the parks. We go other places but Disney has become our home away from home. If we didn't have so many connections up north I think we'd each be happy living in Orlando working as cast members.

 

[pugdog]

Make sure a few months before you go you get new batteries in her chair. That will help with battery life and not having to worry about running out of power.

 

[SueM in MN]

I would suggest getting the batteries checked before you go (not necessarily get new ones because your old ones may still be fine and hold a charge just fine).
Also, check in the manual to see what the battery life is - as far as the distance you can go one one charge (range). For most power wheelchairs, it is listed in miles and the miles on one charge will depend on things like the weight of the person plus whatever else is on the chair, terrain, speed and hills.
You also should check out how long it takes to do a full charge. My DD’s power wheelchair has a high speed charger which gets to almost full in the first 4-6 hours of charging and then switches to a trickle charge. So, 6 hours will almost always be enough to take hers from dead battery to full.

I have read manuals of some other chairs and scooters that take 12 to even as long as 16 hours. Someone using one of those may never get their wheelchair or ECV fully charged at WDW. If they are in the room and out of the chair by 10 pm and then are up by 8 am the next day, they won’t have enough time to bring it up to full charge before using it again. That can run into a problem if the range is 10 miles and the person is going 9 total on day 1. On day 2, they won’t be able to start with a full charge.

Also, I’m not quite sure from your question if she is using a power wheelchair or a scooter. That mostly makes a difference in whether she will need to transfer. There are quite a few attractions with ride cars that are manual and power wheelchair accessible; those cars are not scooter accessible. There are also some attractions where the line is wheelchair accessible, but scooter users will need to transfer to a wheelchair.

 

[BroganMc]

You also should check out how long it takes to do a full charge. My DD’s power wheelchair has a high speed charger which gets to almost full in the first 4-6 hours of charging and then switches to a trickle charge. So, 6 hours will almost always be enough to take hers from dead battery to full.

I have read manuals of some other chairs and scooters that take 12 to even as long as 16 hours. Someone using one of those may never get their wheelchair or ECV fully charged at WDW. If they are in the room and out of the chair by 10 pm and then are up by 8 am the next day, they won’t have enough time to bring it up to full charge before using it again. That can run into a problem if the range is 10 miles and the person is going 9 total on day 1. On day 2, they won’t be able to start with a full charge.

Here's a tip I learned for my overseas London trip.

My powerchair came with an old Lester electronic 2amp charger. A huge bohemoth device that did not work on anything but 110 volts (not the European 220 volts).

I found I could buy a travel charge that is designed much like a laptop power brick. You can get different plugs for different countries and have a unit that automatically converts voltage (or does it with the flick of a switch). best part is you can get a charger that is lighter and faster.

I then invested in a couple chargers over the years. All from Electric Rider (http://www.electricrider.com/chargers/index.htm). My chair uses an XLR plug so I'm able to buy off the rack. I have an 8amp charger than can do a full charge in about 4 hours. I have a 6amp charger that can do it in 6-7 hours. The 6amp is a bit quieter and lighter to transport. It gets packed up in my wheelchair backpack and can go where I do. That's how I was able to top up in the parks.

The only thing you want to be careful of is the polarity of pins on your wheelchair. I rented a different model one trip and the pins were different. Blew my charger out. Check with your wheelchair supplier to see unless you have someone with the skill to test the polarity of pins on your chair and charger. My cousin is a whiz with that so takes care of me.

Oh, Electric Rider also sells their "off the rack" parts on Amazon. I got my last 6amp there in December: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001M0THQ/ref=oss_product

 

[SueM in MN]

I have an 8amp charger than can do a full charge in about 4 hours. [/url]

DD’s is an 8amp charger and I have not timed it, but it probably can charge full in 4 hours. Hers doesn’t make any noise at all.

It’s a good idea to check the operator’s manual or buy a charger designed for your chair just to make sure it will work correctly (unless you know someone who can check it out as you did).

 

[mrsscooter]

WOW! Thank you both for the charging info. I never really thought of that, and I am sure my mom hasn't either. I will be letting my hubby read your suggestions and have him figure it out, since he is the more "electronically inclined"....lol....

My mom is in an electric wheelchair (the control is on the armrest, and she has no steering wheel). So, hopefully this won't be a problem. She has the senior bus take her places and she uses the lift and then the wheels get buckled down for the ride, so again, I hope there won't be a problem.

 

[SueM in MN]

WOW! Thank you both for the charging info. I never really thought of that, and I am sure my mom hasn't either. I will be letting my hubby read your suggestions and have him figure it out, since he is the more "electronically inclined"....lol....

My mom is in an electric wheelchair (the control is on the armrest, and she has no steering wheel). So, hopefully this won't be a problem. She has the senior bus take her places and she uses the lift and then the wheels get buckled down for the ride, so again, I hope there won't be a problem.

No, that will work just fine.

I was not sure if you meant a power wheelchair or not since many of the people who post power wheelchair here actually mean ECV. When you mentioned “scooting around the world” I was not sure.