Cost of wheelchair or ECV rental?

[Jenn]

We are heading down to Vero Beach followed by 2 days at WDW in three weeks. My husband sprained the ligaments in his knee playing basketball the other day.

He is on pain pills and is wearing a brace. But, he can't really bend his leg at the knee and is walking very s-l-o-w-l-y.

What is the cost of renting a wheelchair or ECV and do we have to provide any documentation of his injury (I'm thinking no given that I have read about the wheelchair abuse).

Hopefully he won't need it, but I'm thinking mid-way through the day he just might need to rest from all the walking.

Jenn

 

[teri]

You don't need any documentation.

If you rent from one of the companies such as Walker, it is about $30 a day for an ECV. Wheelchairs are less. I think DVBR has complimentary wheelchairs for guests, but you might want to call and check first. (That is a wonderful resort, by the way, beautiful!) The WDW resorts have wheelchairs at each resort for guests to use First Come First Serve. The wheelchair rentals at the parks come out to $5 or 6 a day, I forget which. No hassle at all other than getting to the rental counter.

"My brain takes a vacation just to give my heart more room..."
teri@iluvdisney.com

 

[JudithM]

Jenn, I was recently diagnosed with a knee condition. I am not supposed to do stairs, bend my knee a lot, etc. On our most recent trip to WDW - Nov/Dec 2000 - I rented an ECV from WDW. The cost is $40 a day. When you return the ECV, you get $10 back. When I left one park & later that day wentto another park, all I had to do was show my receipt & leave $10. I got the $10 back at the end. Also, I could stretch out my leg & not bend it like I would have in a wheelchair.

I found the ECV worth it for both me & my husband. I did not have to be pushed around - saved on my husband. I could "drive" the ECV. There was a basket on the front that stored lots of "stuff" - jackets, sweaters, pins to trade, fanny pack, WDW mug, etc., etc. Plus on the level with my feet my husband usually put our camera bag, so he wasn't carrying it everywhere all the time. Obviously when I got out of the ECV to go to an attraction, we took a lot of our stuff with us.

Have fun & don't let this setback ruin a fun-filled vacation

 

[lisapooh]

One word of warning about renting an ECV from Disney. There may not be one available at the second park and Disney does not guarantee it will be available. You may have to use a manual wheelcahir at the second park.

Pooh

 

[desianne]

I have extremely bad arthritis in my leg and walk with a cane. The first time we went I tried to walk and really wasn't enjoying anything until a lady came up to me and told me I was crazy - rent a wheelchair. So I gave in and did. I hated the wheelchair. First my husband wasn't the greatest pusher and a few times pushed me into someone or something. I was quite nervous! And I did feel like a burden to him. The next day I rented an ECV and it was great. We've been back 5 times now and I rent an ECV at every park. I have the freedom to go where I want (like they go on Space Mountain, I go shopping!) You should get to the parks early because they might run out but it depends when you're going to - how busy it is. Last time we park hopped and I was worried that I wouldn't get one but had no problem. This was the end of August though and the crowds were low.
Also about the wheelchairs. MGM never used to have ECV's (now they do) so I rented a wheelchair and someone stole it on me. I told someone at Disney and they got me another one (no cost) but I might have been stuck walking abit