A few Disney ECV questions...

[wendylovesdisney]

This time of year, how quickly would anyone estimate they would rent out? 10 a.m. ? Later, any ideas?

Does it matter if you are pooh-sized? How long will the battery last?

The first thing that will prob pop up in everyone's mind is to rent one off-site to be certain, but I am going with a family member who REALLY needs it due to stamina and pain issues for a severe health problem, but refuses to get on a bus with one, etc. She is young and fought a disease for a few years and does not want to "mess" too much with the ecv for what is our most likely last trip together. I don't want to say too much.

 

[Lou-Ann]

I would still rent off site for a couple of reasons. If she is Pooh sized as I am, the better batteries in the off site will give her better power and run faster and longer. YOU COULD ALWAYS BE THE ONE TO PUT IT ON THE BUS. MY HUBBY DOES IT FOR ME. They will not care who does it as long as it gets on. Walker's has really good service. If she is really against this, then someone needs to be there early to get it. If you are trying to get to a night event, forget it as the ones that have been used all day will have no battery power left and they should have back up batteries for this but seem to have not been able to figure it out. You could rent it earlier, leave the park with it plugged in and take the key, I guess, but then you are struggling to get to the busses with no transportation...Where are you staying?

 

[fla4fun]

We have pooh sized people in our family who have used the park rental scooters without a problem. We have also rented them as late as noon at times (the last time was last April). But if you don't want to have to keep your fingers crossed that one will be available, then I would go with the off property rental. You are guaranteed to have it whenever you want it that way, and just because she has it doesn't mean she has to use it all the time (she might be able to walk around the resort, but need it for any park time). Plus the off property ones are usually a little smaller, making navigating through the tight spots a lot easier.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Hi Wendy and to disABILITIES!

I would agree with what the others have said. The off-site rentals are much better than Disney's, and always available. Several of the Resorts it is a long way from the bus stop to the rooms.

The newest buses are easiest to use, as they are low with shallow ramps. There is nothing wrong with having you drive the ECV on/off the bus and she would use the stairs.

Also, please ask the following questions. Here are the suggested answers to go with them.

1. Are you disabled (even temporarily)? Yes.

2. Do the people you are traveling with, such as your family, know you are disabled? Yes.

3. Do you expect to meet anyone you know during this trip who may not know you are disabled. Probably No!

4. Do you expect to meet a bunch of people who you will probably never meet again in your life? Probably yes!

5. Is there any reason at all that you should care what these people think about you? Absolutely No!!

6. Will using a wheelchair or ECV make for a better vacation for you and your family? Absolutely YES!

 

[Lou-Ann]

Excellent questions..

 

[SueM in MN]

A lot of people actually have someone else in their party drive the ECV onto the bus for them, so she would not be alone.
I believe that all the Disney park ECVs are heavy duty ones.

If you are going very soon, they may not rent out very quickly. The closer you get to Christmas week, the busier the parks are.

 

[wendylovesdisney]

We leave on Monday.
It is my sister and I for a "girls" only trip. She has been battling breast cancer for 4 years and that in itself is a miracle. However, recently she has had some developements which make me believe this will be our last trip together. We both have children with disabilities. We our leaving them at home and for me this will be truly terrible. I have never left my oldest child before. At 2 years of age I even took her back with us to China (with a helper just for her) to adopt our youngest.
My sister has terrible bone pain.
The problem is the way she has held on is her strong spirit and "not giving up". The part of her that reflects this makes her wanting to use a ecv all of the time (renting off site) not an option. It signals something to her that I just can't bring myself to say. I can't be that person who tells her. Instead she wants to rent on-site.
I am just scared of taking my chances. I hope you see what a pickle I am in.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

We leave on Monday.
It is my sister and I for a "girls" only trip. She has been battling breast cancer for 4 years and that in itself is a miracle. However, recently she has had some developements which make me believe this will be our last trip together. We both have children with disabilities. We our leaving them at home and for me this will be truly terrible. I have never left my oldest child before. At 2 years of age I even took her back with us to China (with a helper just for her) to adopt our youngest.
My sister has terrible bone pain.
The problem is the way she has held on is her strong spirit and "not giving up". The part of her that reflects this makes her wanting to use a ecv all of the time (renting off site) not an option. It signals something to her that I just can't bring myself to say. I can't be that person who tells her. Instead she wants to rent on-site.
I am just scared of taking my chances. I hope you see what a pickle I am in.

Many hugs to you both I have been there with my aunt that had breast cancer and I also have worked with many cancer patients, this is a tough time.

I would definitely recommend renting from offsite, especially this time of year, and also to have for getting around the resort. If I were you, and she was resisting, I would rent one in your name so it would be at the resort when you get there. Sometimes we have to step up and tell our loved ones what to do, in a strong but loving way. I know I have to do that with my mom sometimes. She says she can't go to WDW with us, cause she is too much of a burden and she isn't, so I have to politely tell her what to do.

Good Luck.

Suzanne

 

[Lou-Ann]

I agree. My hubby did this for me and I was so thankful...... It is the quality time that counts.

 

[SueM in MN]

I personally would recommend not renting an ECV for someone else unless you are certain they would be receptive to the idea.
It could work out well, but especially in the situation you are describing where she has a lot of feelings about what an ECV means, renting one and just having it there may turn out badly.
Several people have posted in the past that they did rent one and the person they rented it for was very angry and it made a very unpleasant first few days of their trip. We rented one a few years ago for my FIL; he had rented one at the parks and had been talking about renting from one of the off-site places for a few years, so we thought it would be a nice surprise for him to have one waiting. He was surprised, but it was not nice. He would not touch the ECV we rented and it became like the elephant in the middle of the living room.

I'd suggest instead talking to her in a very matter of fact way - pick a place that she knows very well that is about 3 miles from her house and ask whether she would be able to walk there. Most people at that point will say no, but if she says yes, ask if she could walk there and back every day for as many days as you plan to be in the parks. That 6 miles would be an average estimate of the walking people do each day in a WDW trip. To give a bit more perspective, just to walk around the pathway that goes around WS in Epcot (not into any of the attractions/buildings) is over 1 mile.
I'd express that you want to have a fun time and not have her use so much energy getting from place to place that she has none left for fun. I've used the analogy of a checking account before - if you write out too many checks (use too much energy), the account will be empty before the day is over.

On the other hand, if you are certain you can get up and going to the parks every day before 10 am (9 am for early opening), chances of getting an ECV at the parks are pretty good.
The closer you get to Christmas/New Years week, the more busy it is and the more chance of them renting out quickly. There is no guarantee on having one though, so if you can't take the chance they will run out, then you need to rent from off-site.

 

[kaytieeldr]

On the other hand, the OP could (ostensibly) rent it for herself... and let her sister use it when she wants.

 

[Dedejf]

This time of year, how quickly would anyone estimate they would rent out? 10 a.m. ? Later, any ideas?

Does it matter if you are pooh-sized? How long will the battery last?

The first thing that will prob pop up in everyone's mind is to rent one off-site to be certain, but I am going with a family member who REALLY needs it due to stamina and pain issues for a severe health problem, but refuses to get on a bus with one, etc. She is young and fought a disease for a few years and does not want to "mess" too much with the ecv for what is our most likely last trip together. I don't want to say too much.

We have just returned from a ten-day visit to WDW. This was our first time to use ECV's and we had a good experience with them. In our situation, we felt renting onsite was preferable to renting offsite. My friend and I rented the onsite ECV's because we didn't feel we could lift them from the trunk of our rented car, reassemble them, etc. even though most people feel off-site rental is the way to go. For us, it wouldn't have worked as well. We found the Disney ECV's quite easy to maneuver and we are both hovering around 60 years young. We always got to the parks at opening time so don't know how soon they ran out of them. When we returned them at park closing, there was usually a sign that read "Temporarily out of ECV's" hanging on the cash register. One of the CM's told us that the ECV's are only two months old and, thus, they were in excellent condition. We never had problems with the batteries going dead or anything of that nature and we were always at the parks from opening to closing. There is a limit of 450 lbs. for the Disney ECV's. Best wishes and have fun!

 

[SueM in MN]

On the other hand, the OP could (ostensibly) rent it for herself... and let her sister use it when she wants.

That's what one of the people whose friend got mad at her did. Unfortunately, her friend 'saw thru' the little charade and was still mad. The person who rented it actually used it in the park so she could offer it to her friend if needed during the day. The friend would not even speak to her for the first few days of the vacation and was kind of frosty after.

In our case, we were traveling with FIL and with a family friend close to us (honorary brother) who also could benefit from an ECV. We told them we rented it for them to share. FIL would not use the ECV at all and was not happy (he said he was glad friend could use it, because he would not). Friend would use it at the resort, but did not want to use it in the parks. The friend offered to drive the ECV onto the bus for my FIL if he wanted to take it to the parks, but didn't want to put it on the bus himself. So, we ended up with a rented ECV that sat in the room most of the time.

So, anyway, that's why I say personally to be careful.

 

[RNMOM]

wendylovesdisney,

You haven't mentioned where you are staying. If you are near the Boardwalk, you can rent from the new facility there on a daily basis. It is easy to get to Epcot and the Studios by water taxi or even to just use the walkway. I have done both and love going along the pathway to the studios. It is about a 10 min. walk.

If they are out of scooters at the park this may be an option.

 

[wendylovesdisney]

Thanks for the support guys.
I am sure it will be rough either way. I am hoping that by being at one of our favorite spots it will take the sting away from what will be a very hard time for both of us.
My sister appears to have bone metastasis. I don't understand everything but I am scared this signals a downhill slide. She is and has been on chemo and still got the spreading of the cancer apparently. I am not sure that there will be any more "girl" trips after this. (Not that we got a chance to do it very often anyway)
- Keep us in your thoughts and send pixie dust our way. We leave tomorrow.

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm probably posting when you won't see if before you go, but hope you have a magical trip.

 

[Lou-Ann]

Wishing you a wonderful time...