Easiest ECV breakdown for Car transportation

[TyRy]

Hi all,

We will be heading back to WDW in OCT with my 76 y.o. dad. He's starting to have trouble walking long distances, so my DH and I were thinking about renting a scooter from offsite. On our last trip with him (six years ago) we rented one from the parks and it was a disaster as it was so slow, it was painful and he returned it after an hour...hence why we are thinking offsite.

BUT - we will be driving all around and back and forth, so I wondered if there was a better scooter to rent from somewhere that may be easier to breakdown/put back together again. We'll have a full size car.

Thanks so much!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Most of the off-site rentals are designed to break down into five or six pieces and fit in the trunk of a car. If you go to Post #5 of the disABILITIES FAQs (either at the top of the index or the link in my signature) you will see a description of taking apart a "standard" three-wheel ECV and putting it in a car. It is only the very large one (with a weight capacity of 400 pounds or more) that are difficult.

 

[peemagg]

My little Pride Go-Go Travelers Elite Plus scooter is wonderful for breaking down and placing in a car. All I have to do is remove battery by lifting it up, remove the seat, put the tiller down, and pull a release lever that allows the rear wheels to seperate from the front of the scooter. No piece weighs more than 39 lbs. It is great!

I know most others break down in a similar way, but some you have to actually disconnect the batteries each seperately.

 

[Bete]

They rent even by the week which is the best rate.

Please note, the scooters are designed to go a certain speed. Most are in the 4 to 6 mph range. They are not a car. You have to get a bigger model which is less portable to get faster speeds. I believe Disney slows down their full size scooters; so, you don't get full capacity. Also, note there is a speed control of sorts on the scooters. They are usually identified as turtle to rabbit. Rabbit is faster. This can make a difference.

If you let up on the handle you affect the speed of the scooter, too. We find them to go at a good speed if you are using them correctly. There can be problems with scooters, but then you should get a replacement and not give up on a scooter. I'll share a story. Our MIL who was 89 at the time would let up on the handle to scratch herself or play with her sun hat or rub her nose, etc. Well, the scooter would stop each time she did this. We had two scooters and she complained hers was not working right. We traded scooters and she had the same problems. It was driver related, not the scooter. We watched her after that and told her she's letting up on the handle too much. Eventually, she learned. If your dad is having trouble with whatever scooter you pick you should ride it as well for a short distance to make sure it's not driver related. Check the speed to make sure it hasn't moved down to turtle speed.

The smaller, more portable travel scooters are not as comfortable as the Disney scooters. They are more compact and don't have as much leg room. The seat cushion is poorer on the smaller models. We find it ok, but there is a difference. Without a lift for the car, etc. it will be difficult to get a full size model.

Remember, you are responsible for charging your own, rental scooter if it's not at the park with Disney. The smaller, portable scooters don't hold the same charge as the bigger ones. You need to charge it religiously each night. You should be okay for the day if you shut the scooter off when you are seeing a show, parade, fireworks, eating, etc. If you leave your scooter on all the time, you may run into issues with the battery. There are outlets in the Disney parks, if you run into a problem that way, but you have to have your battery charger with you. We carry it with us all the time.

We have a town car and the pride to go 4 wheeler fits just fine. We have used our back seat at times for some of the parts. We need to use a wheelchair at times depending on who we have with us; so, we need to get the wheelchair in the trunk and therefore we have used the back seat, too for the scooter. I feel it's better if two people help each other taking the scooter apart and putting it back together and in and out of the car.

 

[TyRy]

Thank you all very much for the replies. My dad is in pretty good shape other than note being able to walk really long distances, so I know we can get the smaller scooter offered. I'll have to look into the Pride to Go rentals as well.

I think we must have just had a bad scooter at Disney as we weren't trying to go anywhere really fast, but this scooter was really really slow. All the others we saw in the park went at a much "faster" rate...and by that I mean a nice walking/strolling pace. The one we had may have been defective, but it made my dad crazy and he refused to use one after that.

I'l also be sure to print out the post about breaking down the scooter for the car and keep it in my binder. I really think this may be the best thing for him. And outside of one long Epcot day, we are planning just a few hours in each of the parks. He won't need it when going to dinner or elsewhere, just for the walking in the parks. We'll be sure to charge it each night!

Thank you again for your help - I truly appreciate it!