ECV question - Decision made to use one!

[zmanandshan]

Hi again,
I posted a while ago about my mom who would benefit from an ECV. I talked her into it with the help of a few people at a picnic who raved about an ECV. She is not permanently disabled but has knee trouble, so it is painful for her to walk long distances and has a hard time keeping up.

Now that we decided to get one, we decided to reserve one from an external company after reading some of the posts.

My question is do you have a specific model or type of model which you would recommend? I see most companies may vary in the brand name, but typically everyone has a standard model and a deluxe model. One company we had looked into (Walker mobility) even has a deluxe extended battery life model. Weight restriction is within limits for even the standard model. Would the standard model last all day at the park. I hear average is 7-10 miles for a park per day. I want to be sure it will last all day.

Not sure if there is any other info needed for you to help in the decision, but the user is less than 200lbs, we are staying in Oct at Bay Lake towers 2BR villa so space isnt an issue. As long as the model can keep up with walking speed, there is no need to go faster.

Any other advice or tips would be appreciated.
thanks,
John

 

[katybugsmom]

Good for you! Walker Mobility is an excellent company to deal with! I've rented an ECV from them for the past two years and never had a problem! My ECV was waiting for me when we arrived. I have had back surgery so I really needed the ECV to get around. We are going back this year, but I'm going to try to walk some (I hope!) and if I need an ECV I'll rent one from Disney or use a wheelchair.
The only thing I hated each trip was boarding the bus each time. I hated the murmurs and stares from other passengers. I think it will be easier on my family if I rent from inside this year. We are always in line when the rope drops so it shouldn't be a problem to rent one if needed.
Please tell your mom I wish her the very best and to have a wonderful trip!

 

[zmanandshan]

Good for you! Walker Mobility is an excellent company to deal with! I've rented an ECV from them for the past two years and never had a problem! My ECV was waiting for me when we arrived. I have had back surgery so I really needed the ECV to get around. We are going back this year, but I'm going to try to walk some (I hope!) and if I need an ECV I'll rent one from Disney or use a wheelchair.
The only thing I hated each trip was boarding the bus each time. I hated the murmurs and stares from other passengers. I think it will be easier on my family if I rent from inside this year. We are always in line when the rope drops so it shouldn't be a problem to rent one if needed.
Please tell your mom I wish her the very best and to have a wonderful trip!

Thanks for the nice words. This is not the first I heard about the murmurs. Maybe we will rent from Disney. I'm also a little nervous about the loading and unloading process and this will be her first time using one, so she may be a little leary. And she would be turned off and upset if she took too long or was unsure of herself on loading it. I was planning on loading for her, but I'm not experiences with them either. We will most likely be at rope drop too. And the times when we wouldnt, then it would most likely be a relaxing day at slow pace (if there is such a thing). If worse comes to worse and they run out of ECV's, and she absoletely cannot walk, I can always rent a wheelchair I figure. I'll put a little more thought into it.


Thanks again,
John

 

[Bete]

With your local stores you should be able to use a scooter for free to give it a try out.

Going in reverse and getting on and off the buses are the most difficult. For the price difference of renting a Disney scooter I'd learn how to ride a scooter and get one from an outside vendor. You don't need a driver's license and it's not that difficult, but like anything else you need to get use to it.

Your practice session for free won't give you practice on and off the buses. I really don't think the first few times you should expect your mother to do it on the bus. I really feel you need to do it first; so, you can help when she is trying to do it. Sometimes, you may get a nice bus driver who will help you get into position with the scooter.

It's probably best to get a travel scooter (portable and it breaks down) because they are smaller and hence they will be easier to manuever on and off the buses and the ride queues.

Probably, the worse aspect will be the crowds and people darting in front of you with the scooter. You do need to pay attention and you need to be able to stop quickly sometimes.

I think it's important to learn a scooter; because, it will open many doors to vacationing. Good luck.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

A standard rental ECV will last up to 25 miles with fresh batteries and a full charge. Even after the batteries start aging as long as they are charged overnight they are good for at least 15 miles.

And I will agree that you (and your mother) should try using an ECV in a large grocery store or someplace like WalMart or Target. Just be aware that the rentals are not as slow or as difficult to maneuver as the store ones.

And if you are staying at BLT, it is much easier and faster to walk/ride over to MK than to go over to the Contemporary itself to catch the monorail. Also, as far as getting either an ECV or wheelchair in a park, think about the distance from your room and across the bridge into CR and then having to go up to the monorail station or down to the bus stop. It is quite a hike!

 

[DisneyWisher]

We rented on last week. My DD17 would load and unload from the bus. How she practiced was using the hotel room's doorway. She'd back it in (backing onto the bus is the best way). Though the chair I rented was for someone up to350lbs we chose it because of the captain chair plus the chair was gray and not black like most. We used Apple Scooters. The battery life never fell below 3/4. We didn't ask for a cane holder, DD either carried it or hung it on the back of the chair. The captain chair was very comfortable. $140 for 5 days, insurance is included.

 

[DisneyWisher]

Forgot to mention the CM at Bell Services explained completely how to operate it. She was a huge help.