Are ECV's always available in the parks?

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Also, a strategy I often use is to use the ECV to drive from land to land, and then park it and walk the nearby rides, then back to the ECV and drive it to another area [even within the same land], park it and walk some nearby rides. How much walking I do depends on how I feel at the time - I may only walk 1 ride or I may do a few. On bad days, I ride the ECV through the ride line. It is a bit of a tricky guage because if you walk the line you need be be prepared that there could be a delay and the time in line could be longer than you expect, so I err on th side of caution. But on good days for me it is nice to be able to walk a line And I only committ to one line at a time - the ECV is always nicely parked nearby to go back to if needed.

Some rides I can't or don't do - like Space Mountain - but my sister does, so with the ECV I have a nice handy seat to sit on while waiting for her to ride, no need to try to find a bench or something else to sit on (which are in short supply).

I'm with Starwind. I rent from offsite companies unless I'm just there for a weekend. Then I will rent in the park knowing I have to get there an hour before park open.
It's still strange to me that I need one and I can't get around fast like I used to when walking so I'm still learning to deal with it and slow down.

If I'm having a good day, I use the ECV from land to land and walk the nearby ride lines using my cane (some rides you can't take an ECV into). About halfway through the day I usually do need to have the ECV and will ride it through the lines that I can.

I would rent offsite for your family member. It's much better to have it in the park with you than to rely on the park having one when you need it because they do run out often.
My last few trips, you couldn't even get one from offsite unless you rented it in advance. I rent one as soon as I know my dates now when I'm renting from an offsite company.

 

[Goldelpack]

Thanks for your replies everyone!!! One thing we're up against: we wont know ahead of time if an ECV is needed. I believe my family member will start the day out on foot, but at some point may need assistance, so its hard to reserve ahead through an off site company.

In this particular scenario (if there's members of your party who could provide pushing power) I would rent a standard wheelchair for the just in case times. While it is definitely possible that an ECV becomes available later in the day - keep in mind that there's a fairly long walk back to where the rentals are. It is possible to put your name on a "waiting list" and you'll get a text saying one became available and you have such and such a time to get it - but have the manual chair available. Reserving from an offsite company gives you use of an ECV at all times.. if you're using the busses the walk from the bus stop to the front gate alone can do a person in... and the thought of having to walk back to the bus at the end of the day can be stressful to say the least. Perhaps your family member can be made aware of the variety of choices in advance and figure out what's comfortable for them.
Having been in the position myself (years ago, but seems like a minute ago) of thinking I would remain on a bench in World Showcase for the rest of my life because my joints had decided to stop functioning properly and I couldn't take more than 1 step without having to pause for a minute or two.. I realized I needed that reassurance if nothing else.

 

[Bethctraveler]

No, not really, especially during the busy seasons.

There’s no worst feeling than sitting out front near the scooter rental waiting for one to become available. Especially when you want the freedom of moving around by yourself, but because of whatever reason (armrests are too high, no one to help push you, for example), you can’t use a manual wheelchair.

That happened to me years ago, and I was trapped for 3 hours waiting for one. Then after paying $50 for 2 hours use and since you can't remove the park brand scooter from the park we had to get a wheelchair where I was dependent on someone pushing me back to the car. It was an unpleasant situation for me and for my family. I missed out on everything, and they were concerned about me the entire time rather than enjoying the vacation. Now I always spend the $200 a week, and have a scooter full time all the time day and night the whole time I'm at WDW.

 

[jo-jo]

My MIL injured her knee not long before our big July trip last year. She found she couldn’t keep up without something. The first day she had planned to rent an ECV we didn’t go early and they were out at the MK by 11:09 or so, so she rented a wheel chair for very cheap and my DH pushed her. The next day she got an ECV, and while it was fine it was slow and clunky, and she was incredibly tentative and unsure of herself driving it. So the rest of the trip on long park days she rented a wheelchair. My husband had no issues at all pushing her, she would often just park it with our stroller for rides or when we were staying in one area for a while, but she could have used it in the lines had we wanted to. She and my DH agreed it was much better than an ECV for her. She really didn’t need anything outside of the parks so we didn’t want to mess with one for buses, In our room, etc by renting one offsite. As a bonus it was much cheaper and there was no real worry of them running out.

For about 5 years, we rented a wheel chair for my DH. First year or two used Disney's, then rented off site the other years. As the years go by, he needs it more and more. This year we are getting a scooter off site. I'm getting older and he has gotten heavier and the need is even greater. But for our needs back then(just like you pointed out) a wheel chair might be all a person needs. A side note, when we got on a bus, we just folded up the wheelchair and rolled it on like a stroller.

 

[disneyseniors]

We have a family member who may need to move to an ECV at some point during the day while we're at the parks. Are the ECVs most always available at the parks, or is a reservation required?

My husband and I have had to use ECV's several times while at disney. We always rented in the parks. If you change parks, you just take your paid receipt and show it and get another one. We did this on multiple occasions and had no problem with either renting one in the morning, or park hopping and renting another one.
However, I have no idea if that is still possible? The crowds are so high and things are closed, and I just don't know.
It was always convenient because some days we didn't feel we needed to use them and we had no trouble renting one if we changed our minds. I hope this works the same for your family.

 

[Lewisc]

My husband and I have had to use ECV's several times while at disney. We always rented in the parks. If you change parks, you just take your paid receipt and show it and get another one. We did this on multiple occasions and had no problem with either renting one in the morning, or park hopping and renting another one.
However, I have no idea if that is still possible?

Posters have told us Disney sometimes runs out of scooters before Park opening. Rest of the time Disney runs out within an hour or less.

 

[Evita_W]

My husband and I have had to use ECV's several times while at disney. We always rented in the parks. If you change parks, you just take your paid receipt and show it and get another one. We did this on multiple occasions and had no problem with either renting one in the morning, or park hopping and renting another one.
However, I have no idea if that is still possible? The crowds are so high and things are closed, and I just don't know.
It was always convenient because some days we didn't feel we needed to use them and we had no trouble renting one if we changed our minds. I hope this works the same for your family.

Also, don't forget they have fewer units available because they sat unused for so long and replacement parts for those that died are hard to come by at the moment.

 

[Ikaikalani]

Posters have told us Disney sometimes runs out of scooters before Park opening. Rest of the time Disney runs out within an hour or less.

I've read the same thing but it seems a paradox....if you cant reserve them and they are only on a first come first served basis, how do they sell out before they open? Do they open and rent them before the park opens?

 

[bluecruiser]

I've read the same thing but it seems a paradox....if you cant reserve them and they are only on a first come first served basis, how do they sell out before they open? Do they open and rent them before the park opens?

My guess is that they're rented out during the 30-minute early entry period for resort guests. Also, if I am remembering correctly, they may let everyone into the parks a little before opening time.

 

[Ikaikalani]

I'm with Starwind. I rent from offsite companies unless I'm just there for a weekend. Then I will rent in the park knowing I have to get there an hour before park open.
It's still strange to me that I need one and I can't get around fast like I used to when walking so I'm still learning to deal with it and slow down.

If I'm having a good day, I use the ECV from land to land and walk the nearby ride lines using my cane (some rides you can't take an ECV into). About halfway through the day I usually do need to have the ECV and will ride it through the lines that I can.

I would rent offsite for your family member. It's much better to have it in the park with you than to rely on the park having one when you need it because they do run out often.
My last few trips, you couldn't even get one from offsite unless you rented it in advance. I rent one as soon as I know my dates now when I'm renting from an offsite company.

You mentioned getting to the park an hour early to rent a ECV. How does that work? Are you able to rent them before entering the park? Are ECV's a 'rope drop' attraction that everyone stampedes to when the gates open?

 

[lanejudy]

People are allowed into the parks -- up to a certain point -- prior to official "open" time. The ECV rentals are always near the front and in the area where people are allowed pre-opening.

 

[Ikaikalani]

People are allowed into the parks -- up to a certain point -- prior to official "open" time. The ECV rentals are always near the front and in the area where people are allowed pre-opening.

Thanks! What time do they start letting people in before the official opening time? I.e. how early before opening should we get there?

 

[lanejudy]

Thanks! What time do they start letting people in before the official opening time? I.e. how early before opening should we get there?

Sorry but I haven't been tracking that info lately. You might check on the TPAS forum. I know for a while they were allowing folks in 30-45 minutes early. Last I knew it may vary by park, with some allowing all guests in to a certain point, and others keeping out non-resort guests until opening or near-opening.

 

[Evita_W]

I've read the same thing but it seems a paradox....if you cant reserve them and they are only on a first come first served basis, how do they sell out before they open? Do they open and rent them before the park opens?

They open as soon as guests are allowed through the gates, so this may even be before the 30 minutes early thst the rope drops at, sometimes people are let into the parks up to the ropes as early as an hour or so before park opening.

 

[disneyseniors]

Posters have told us Disney sometimes runs out of scooters before Park opening. Rest of the time Disney runs out within an hour or less.

Yes, it's a different ball game now at disney! This was in 2019 and 2020 before covid. We never had a problem
How can they run out of scooters before opening? At the MK they had scooter rental outside the gates, I think? But AK has it located in the park, so people have to wait til park opening to get one. It's really sad if they run out so soon after opening!

 

[Bethctraveler]

Yes, it's a different ball game now at disney! This was in 2019 and 2020 before covid. We never had a problem
How can they run out of scooters before opening? At the MK they had scooter rental outside the gates, I think? But AK has it located in the park, so people have to wait til park opening to get one. It's really sad if they run out so soon after opening!

Yes, agreed it very different now.

 

[Evita_W]

Yes, it's a different ball game now at disney! This was in 2019 and 2020 before covid. We never had a problem
How can they run out of scooters before opening? At the MK they had scooter rental outside the gates, I think? But AK has it located in the park, so people have to wait til park opening to get one. It's really sad if they run out so soon after opening!

No, they have to wait until the gates open, usually an hour before park opening or so if they have rope drop, otherwise 30 minutes before park opening when it opens for resort guests.

Some of the reasons they are selling out so quickly and even third party vendors are having some of these issues are:
A lot of scooters were damaged by lack of use during the closure.

Others were lost (not necessarily in park units) at hotel bell services at hotels that never reopened. Out here in California several of the third party rental companies had to close up shop because of this alone.

More people need scooters due to long term health effects of having had COVID and from not being able to get proper medical care at various points due to restrictions in many states.

Supply chain issues are making hard for anyone to buy new scooters, this includes theme parks, third party rentals and even individuals. For example, Pride mobility is completely sold out of ALL models at present.

All of these factors mean supply is down and demand is up, which unfortunately means places are selling out faster and at higher prices in many places.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Just adding my experience. We were there in Oct and didn't think we would need one and if we did they would be easy to get. However, we found they were sold out shortly after park opening. We had to RD and go right there to get one.

they do run out as the PP said wheelchair do not run out that I know of

You would have thought so, but at EPCOT, we arrived later in the morning, and they had zero ECV's and zero wheelchairs. We had no choice but to either wait until one came back or try to hop around the park. They did accommodate us in the end and lent us a transfer chair.... I would not recommend trying to push someone around the park in a transfer chair.

 

[Bethctraveler]

I posted this on a different, but similar thread. My Sister and Brother in-law just came back from a two day trip Magic Kingdom and Epcot, I can confirm that both days the parks had no in park scooters or wheelchairs available at the theme parks at all for the two days they were there. This is considered slow season, so no way I would count on or depend them having any available. Definitely plan ahead to rent one from a reputable outside vendor.

 

[Evita_W]

Here now and the past two days, they were gone before park opening. Hollywood Studios they check if you are a resort guest before you reach where the rental counter would be, so if you are not a resort guest, you would have no chance of renting an ECV. Animal Kingdom, you could get to the Rental Counter before park opening.

Not sure about other parks yet, but based on that and the fact that crowds have been relatively light, I wild have to agree with the PP that relying on in park rentals is a bad idea right now and there is no chance of getting them later in the day.