ECV or wheelchair ???

[wasabi girl]

Hi Everyone,

I'm planning a trip in Sept 2008 for a family gathering. I'll be traveling/staying with my parents, my dad has some mobility issues. He can walk but due to circulation problems and a blood disorder he can not walk far and tires easily. I'm thinking of stayingin a 2 BR at the Boardwalk Villas or the Villas at Wilderness Lodge. I'm wondering about whether we should reserve a wheelchair for length of stay or rent an ECV from an outside company for lenght of stay.
I wondered if Dad, being unused to being in an ECV would have trouble navigating with it, esp. on the WDW transportation, keeping the battery charged, etc. We will not have a car as we are all flying in from various locations. Would it be easier to just use a wheelchair for his visit?

I appreciate any help you can give me as this is all new and I wonder what will be best for Dad (he is already saying he will skip the family trip because he can not keep up with the walking).
Thanks!

 

[bryoconnor]

The plus side to an ECV is he won't have to rely on anyone else to move him. The downsides, you mentioned. Kepping the battery charged, knowing how to gauge the speed. also, it's a huge piece of equipment (most people "trailer" it tot he back of cars). If you're not going to be driving a regular wheelchair is your best bet.

The downside from a regular wheelchair is someone will have to be able to push him. I've been on that side, many times as a kid (prosthetic, long story). If no one is willing to do so (which someone always is) then renting an ECV from the park would be just as acceptable.

It's totally up to you guys, but renting a regular wheelchair has more control of the situation and easier...useage, for lack of a better word. By useage I mean storage, control, accessability.

 

[Chuck S]

It depends on several factors. If your father has no experience with an ECV, I suggest you go to a store (like wal-mart) or a mall that provides them for customers to use while shopping and let him practice.

If he isn't a large man, you may not mind pushing him, and he could probably wheel himself about somewhat in a regular wheelchair, but again, that depends upon his overall weight. Mom uses a manual chair, that I push, in the parks, but she is average size. Again, if a store has a manual chair that can be used by shoppers, try that and see how easy (or difficult) it would be to use, remembering that the day at the park can be long and tiring.

If your dad is comfortable using an ECV after practicing, then it shouldn't be a big problem loading on the busses.

There is no reason for him to skip the trip at all, WDW is very wheelchair/ECV friendly...even more so if he can walk short distances to load/unload from the rides.

One thing, wheelchairs/ECVs are like cars, whoever is "driving" needs to really be aware of the people around them, they are out of the normal "sight line" for many people who will be preoccupied taking in the sights and sounds or Disney, and not really paying attention to where they are going. People stop right in front of you, and step directly into your path, so be careful and look where you are going...because, typically, the other people aren't.

 

[Vijoge]

I use an ECV and I also own a manual wheelchair. I can't imagine taking the wheelchair to WDW. I can wheel myself short distances, but not 5-10 miles and while my DH is plenty strong I don't see him pushing me that far either. It's a lot of work.

 

[SueM in MN]

.......He can walk but due to circulation problems and a blood disorder he can not walk far and tires easily. I'm thinking of stayingin a 2 BR at the Boardwalk Villas or the Villas at Wilderness Lodge.

If he can't walk far and tires easily, he will need an ECV or wheelchair to get around the resorts. Both resorts are large and require quite a bit of walking to get from the room to where you would board the transportation to the parks.
There is information in the disABILITIES FAQs thread about a variety of ways to get wheelchairs and ECVs.

If you stay at BWV, you have very easy access to 2 parks. The ECV or wheelchair can be driven right onto the boats or there is a walking path to both parks that the ECV could be easily driven on.
The walking paths have some steep parts (bridges that cross over the water). Pushing a wheelchair with an adult could be hard there if you are not used to it.

If you stay at VWL, you have boat access to MK. Occasionally (not often) the boats are not accessible to wheelchairs/ECV because of the water levels. That happens infrequently and when it does, there are other arrangements (buses). You would need to take the bus to other parks.

I'm wondering about whether we should reserve a wheelchair for length of stay or rent an ECV from an outside company for lenght of stay.

If you are talking about reserving a wheelchair from the resort, that is not available. You can request one and if there is one available, they will allow you to use it. They are first come, first serve though and Disney actually says in their literature that if you need one, you should rent one from the parks or from offsite(links to companies in the disABILITIES FAQs thread).

I wondered if Dad, being unused to being in an ECV would have trouble navigating with it, esp. on the WDW transportation, keeping the battery charged, etc.

ECVs have a little battery indicator on them, so he will have some warning before he runs out of power. The ECV should be able to go for a whole day on one charge with no problem. If he's worried, he can bring the charger and plug it in while he is eating, etc.
They are not that hard to use and I second Chuck's suggestion to try one out in a store (Target, Walmart, most grocery stores). If he is comfortable driving those, any he ccould rent at WDW would be much easier - even the park ones are smaller and don't have a cart attached to the front.
Here's a link to a thread that might be helpful to you - it's a "Newbie" look at using an ECV.
Have him practice going in a straight line, turning both directions, backing up (a short distance) and turning to get into a space. If he is confident doing those things in a non-busy area, he shoulc do fine. If he still drives a car, he will probably be more comfortable driving the ECV than if he doesn't drive.

 

[wasabi girl]

Thanks guys, this info was very helpful. I had not even thought of having Dad practice with an ECV (or wheelchair) before out trip. He isn't a large guy but none of us are large women either, I also hadn't considered how tiring it might be to push all day. Thanks again, we've got a good start.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Just to add one other factor that, to me, favors an ECV - The parks have lots of slopes to the streets and walkways. It makes pushing more of a problem.

 

[Piper]

I have been both ways--In my own wheelchair and in a rented ecv.
The ecv wins hands down for independence! This year I will be taking my own ECV because I am going solo and will need it to navigate the airport, too!