ECV Rental Question

[KimBeano]

This trip (12/3-12/8) we are taking my 71 yo FIL with us who had hip surgery last month. He will be in pretty decent shape from the surgery but he has had hip problems all his life and with just getting older decided he still wants an ECV this trip which I don't blame him.

He hasn't gone with us on the last 3 trips (10 years) and since then my DH and I have become a lot more experienced on how we do the world and are always there at RD etc.

How does that work? Are there any parks (like DHS) that you can get the ECV before official RD? I know last year they were letting us up to the hat and waiting until 9 to drop the rope there. I was assuming (correct me if i'm wrong) that we would already be past the scooter rental and could go ahead and take care of that. I'm just looking for any possibilities we can get scooter out of way before RD. Also, we were inside AK before RD too, could we go ahead and get the scooter or do they not open until 9am (park open)

It won't be a big deal if we can't, just when you take the time to do RD you certainly want to get the time benefits of doing so. My DH could be a FP runner, so I'm trying to think what days I need him to do so. Probably would be the most beneficial on Day 1 - MK, but I'm not going to take away from the magic of walking together down Main Street just to get to Little Mermaid with a smaller wait. LOL!!!

 

[Piper]

Your best bet would to be to rent from an outside vendor. That way the ECV would be available all the time and it costs less, too. As an added bonus, theor ECVs are easier to handle than Disneys! Look at the FAQs thread at the top of this board for information on vendors that many of us have used and recommend.

It will also give you a lot of other helpful information!

 

[lanejudy]

If he's going to want the ECV every day, Piper's right that you'd be better off doing an off-site rental. It will be less expensive and he'd have it for use at the resort or wherever and not just in the parks. Plus, if you leave a park you aren't guaranteed another when you return later in the day as they tend to run out of rental ECVs about an hour or so after opening.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[KimBeano]

Those are great suggestions but we aren't staying on site. We are staying at a 3 bedroom condo 5 miles away and would have no way to transport it.

 

[Piper]

Those are great suggestions but we aren't staying on site. We are staying at a 3 bedroom condo 5 miles away and would have no way to transport it.

Won't you have a car to get to the parks? Most ECVs break down into 4 parts quite easily. I had a GoGo and I could handle it. Now I have a Victory 10 and my sister and I can break it down, load it into her trunk and unload it quite easily. Check out some of the rental sites. Most of them have videos to show you how to break them down. They will also give a demonstration in person.

 

[KimBeano]

Won't you have a car to get to the parks? Most ECVs break down into 4 parts quite easily. I had a GoGo and I could handle it. Now I have a Victory 10 and my sister and I can break it down, load it into her trunk and unload it quite easily. Check out some of the rental sites. Most of them have videos to show you how to break them down. They will also give a demonstration in person.

Wow, I had no idea. I will look into it.

We will have a car, two actually. One being a Kia SUV. So it would probably fit in that if it broke down huh?

 

[KimBeano]

Okay, so just looked and that is great. That will not only save money but leave us ready to go at ROPE DROP!! So neat.

I'm assuming its not a problem getting on monorail and such on a scooter? What about trams that take you to park? We only usually do the couple you have to, I know some we have parked so close that early we just walk right up. Can't remember which ones. LOL! But, I remember riding tram one day and then of course Magic Kingdom Monorail.

 

[lanejudy]

Okay, so just looked and that is great. That will not only save money but leave us ready to go at ROPE DROP!! So neat.

I'm assuming its not a problem getting on monorail and such on a scooter? What about trams that take you to park? We only usually do the couple you have to, I know some we have parked so close that early we just walk right up. Can't remember which ones. LOL! But, I remember riding tram one day and then of course Magic Kingdom Monorail.

Monorail is no problem, they'll put a little ramp in place for him to drive onto the monorail. ECV cannot go on the trams. When you enter the parking lot, you'll want to ask for "medical" parking, it's next to the handicapped - but don't park in handicapped unless you have official tags. That should be close enough for walking, and he'll drive the ECV. Boats and buses will also accept the ECV if you plan to use WDW transportation to get to ADRs at resorts or park hop.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[SueM in MN]

Monorail is no problem, they'll put a little ramp in place for him to drive onto the monorail. ECV cannot go on the trams. When you enter the parking lot, you'll want to ask for "medical" parking, it's next to the handicapped - but don't park in handicapped unless you have official tags. That should be close enough for walking, and he'll drive the ECV. Boats and buses will also accept the ECV if you plan to use WDW transportation to get to ADRs at resorts or park hop.

Enjoy your vacation!

The handicapped parking spaces have blue paint markings and parking in one of those spots without a handicapped parking permit can end up in a ticket.
Some of the "Medical" parking lots have some spots with white painted lines. Those are OK to park in without a state issued handicapped parking permit.

There is more information about transportation in post 8 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread - including pictures of the monorail ramp and the boats.

 

[KimBeano]

Thank you for all the info. I will look at that info. He does have a handicap parking tag so that would not be a problem.