Assistance re walking around Disney World

[pigby]

DH has just come out of hospital and is having mobility issues at the moment. It is possible things will not improve that much until we go to WDW mid September. We are new to this - have been to WDW multiple times without having to consider things like this.

I have looked to see if any disability rooms (sorry if that's not the correct term) and there are none available in our resort - we don't want to switch as it's a 'just in case'.

I have looked on the US boards and seen the stuff about hiring a mobility scooter from off site - going to leave it until end of August though to see how he goes.

How are standard rooms for getting the scooter in and out of the room? I presume the width of the door on all rooms is exactly the same? - he should be able to get around once inside the room (albeit slowly) and obviously wont be confined to the scooter all the time. Currently there would be no way he would be able to walk from the room to the bus stop though.

 

[mackay_j]

which hotel are you staying in and do you have a car

 

[pigby]

No car - we are staying at Pop Century and also a week at Cabana Bay.

 

[mackay_j]

I have never stayed at either, but have stayed in all stars, POR and studios at old key west. All stars was tight for a scooter. The others were manageable but we used to leave the scooter in our car and just take the battery in to charge. Make suree and speak to disney about a ground floor room as not all resorts have lifts (and some that do donot fit a scooter). At cabana resort you may want to see how much the upgrade to a family suite is as they look big. I have stayed at some other Universal resorts and the rooms are quite small we had to put the scooter in the bathroom. Make sure and take the recharger with you into the park as the batteries sometimes pack up in a long day. The buses can be a bit of a pian in disney when using a scooter as if one is already on or ahead of you in a queue you may have to wait for the next bus. Sometime forgoing up to 3 buses in a row a peak times. The rail routes and boats were easier to use.

 

[mackay_j]

just to add some more tips
1. take light tarpaulin to cover scooter in rain
2. bring a towel to sit on the leather get very hot and sticky
3. you can buy saddle bags that go over the seat of a scooter- they were great -3 bags to fill with whatever you need with you (buy 2nd hand of ebay and then resell on return.
4. bring a folding walking stick as you will be off the scooter occasionally and they are a great help
5. bring a net bag to hang on back of scooter to put any wet things in ponchos (including tarpaulin when used).
6. A lanyard for the key is useful as scooter keys are small and easy lost
7. check the price of a secondhand scooter as it may be less/ not much more than the hire and it can be used in the airport and at home for any preholiday shopping- And it is easy to resell on return- results in zero net cost

 

[Woodview]

Here is an idea ...... Would a Wheelchair be any good.

Step ( A ) Ask for Wheelchair assistance at your Departure Airport . ( At Check in position )

They should supply a wheelchair + person , to bring you through security & to Departure Gate.

They should wheel you to the aeroplane.

THE Same applies on Return Home.

Step 2 At Departure Check in ..... Tell them Assistance Will be Required at Orlando.

A wheel chair ... should / might be provided till Outside Terminal.


SAME applies on Return to Orlando Airport.

.........

NEXT PHONE Airline ( PHONE ) & find out IF a Folding Wheelchair can be

PLACED into Luggage ( Like Children's Buggy's ) Hold & How much would it Cost.?


If the answer is Yes .......



Then Go and LOOK for a decent Fold Up Wheelchair & buy one . ( They are not expensive )

Buy one that You can Push .

Hope this helps ........ it worked for me last year in Germany ( Germany to Ireland )

& it works for Mother in Law from Amsterdam to Ireland

This would be the best way to solve your Potential Problem

 

[pigby]

Thanks guys some good tips. Re the normal wheelchair decided against one as DH is a big guy and I am less than half his weight at 8 stone - just think it would be really hard to push him around. Definitely will go for the airport assistance though.

We have been to both hotels before and not concerned with storing the scooter in the room - was more bothered about getting the thing actually into the room lol.

I know both hotels have lifts but cant remember Pop's being that big - Cabana's are huge.

 

[HollywoodTowerHotel]

At Pop, if it is just the two of you, you may wish to request a "King" bed. My husband and I do this often and have always been granted that request (I know it's not always guaranteed, but it is the only request we make). The last three times we stayed at Pop in a King room, they were "accessible" with a lower bed and a roll-in shower with handrails. We did not ask for this, but just got it with the King bed. Either way, only having one King bed instead of two doubles really frees up space in the room. We did not use a scooter, but rather a manual wheelchair, and had no trouble getting it in and out of the room or on the elevator. One last note - the last two times, the accessible room we were in was located on the third floor. I thought it slightly odd...you know, "in case of emergency, use stairs..."

 

[pigby]

Unfortunately we need the two double beds as we also have a DD travelling with us - I am going to ring them tonight and ask for a first (ground) floor. Thanks anyway

 

[arieliwish]

We hired a scooter 3 years ago for DH, I think from Apple Scooters (there's several listed on the WDW site) and they delivered to OKW and collected on our departure day. We had a disabled room (they still use the word handicapped in the states) and I'm not sure if it was bigger than standard but it had a walk in shower rather than a bath. We had a car and found the scooter quite heavy even when it was in 3 or 4 pieces, that battery and main body especially. The buses were fine and we only had to wait for the next bus once. The monorail uses a ramp and you drive straight on. We found all the shops, restaurants and rides in Disney very scooter friendly, most of the rides allow the scooter in the main queue and take the scooter off you at the actual ride and meet you at the end with it. Universal was a whole other story though (HP made us park it with the strollers and use a manual wheelchair. Very long queue and it took me and the kids to push him up the ramps near the greenhouse).

I've hired another one for September this year but this time from Scooter Rentals Orlando, it's about $300 for the two weeks with a canopy. It's also useful for carrying a cool bag with drinks in, and your purchases!