ECV Rental Questions

[palaemon]

Cost isn't an issue since enjoying the parks is the more important.

1) I know they're limited, but we're planning on being at the parks Sun-Wed+Fri (May 5-8+10) Is it more likely availability will not be an issue since they can't be reserved?

2) We're staying off-property (renting a house.) My husband can get around from the house to the car, and from the car to the tram, from the tram to the park entrance (assuming no huge lines - I'm strictly speaking about distance) If all these things are true, does it make better sense to rent from Disney at the parks?

3) Will 3rd party vendors deliver to houses OR to the parks? I'd love to be able to rent from the park, but IF there are none then rent from a vendor that will deliver (again cost is not the issue.)

4) What if it rains? Will Disney rent them? Are the able to be out when it sprinkles? I'm sure they must be brought inside during downpours?

We'll be driving a minivan with 6 adults, so we *could* dismantle and reassemble a rental scooter, but this sounds like a hassle getting it from one park to another and back to the house, etc.

TIA

 

[kaytieeldr]

1. Arrive early, as close to rope drop as possible. As the morning goes on, supplies are depleted.

2. Common wisdom recommends renting from an offsite vendor, to be absolutely 100% guaranteed an ECV.

3. Companies will deliver to homes, etc., but will only replace at parks if needed.

4. The tiller control panel cannot get wet. Most places include some type of cover, like a shower cap. If it's raining really hard, yes, you want to be indoors. Avoid puddles.

 

[mamabunny]

Cost isn't an issue since enjoying the parks is the more important.

1) I know they're limited, but we're planning on being at the parks Sun-Wed+Fri (May 5-8+10) Is it more likely availability will not be an issue since they can't be reserved?

2) We're staying off-property (renting a house.) My husband can get around from the house to the car, and from the car to the tram, from the tram to the park entrance (assuming no huge lines - I'm strictly speaking about distance) If all these things are true, does it make better sense to rent from Disney at the parks?

3) Will 3rd party vendors deliver to houses OR to the parks? I'd love to be able to rent from the park, but IF there are none then rent from a vendor that will deliver (again cost is not the issue.)

4) What if it rains? Will Disney rent them? Are the able to be out when it sprinkles? I'm sure they must be brought inside during downpours?

We'll be driving a minivan with 6 adults, so we *could* dismantle and reassemble a rental scooter, but this sounds like a hassle getting it from one park to another and back to the house, etc.

TIA

My friend @kaytieeldr is correct on all counts - I just wanted to add this, so that it's super clear:

Most Orlando vendors (and I believe that Gold Mobility falls into this group) *will* deliver to offsite properties - call first to ask, of course!

BUT you need to know - once delivered, you are responsible for getting it into/out of any vehicle you are using; this may mean that you will have as many as *5* pieces (which can weigh as much as 50 to 55 pounds) and it will have to be disassembled/reassembled every time you go anywhere. (This is where one of the great benefits of staying on-site is evident.)

I would make sure to call and ask Gold (or whatever vendor you use) about how many parts (and how heavy the heaviest part is) to any rental scooter you get.

And if you are park hopping or resort hopping or even going to spend time at Disney Springs... I would say park your car in one spot at WDW, and then use Disney's internal transportation to help minimize the number of times you have to take that stinker apart and put it back together.

 

[Bete]

I'll chime in with you can pick up and drop off a scooter from a vendor yourself. Yes, it takes time but it's your schedule, not theirs. They can show you how to take it apart and put it back together, too.

Scooters are weight related. If you can get by with the lighter scooter it's a little easier to take apart. If you need the heavier one then it's harder. The heavy scooters mostly have two batteries and they are made to run long hours in the park.

If you are going to do a break and come back to a park it's very difficult later in the day to get a scooter even though you paid for one already. They are not held for you.

 

[SueM in MN]

And, make sure you specify that you want to be able to take the scooter apart for transport when renting it.
I have seen posts from people who thought that all âme apart and were unpleasantly surprised to find the one they rented did not.

 

[PerfessorZ]

I just got back from a trip where we rented a GoGo Sport 3 from Gold Mobility for a week. I watched a YouTube video ahead of time to know how to disassemble it. It broke down into a handful of pieces if I was loading/unloading by myself. The heaviest pieces were about 35 lbs, I'd say. Alternatively, my wife and I together could lift it to fit in the back of a Subaru Legacy. We had a healthy battery that lasted all day without complaint, although we're not generally open-to-close people. One day we even ran it again without charging it the night before, just to see if we could get the battery meter down significantly. It did fine. It also goes significantly faster than the Disney-rented ones do now.

The pros:

• Much cheaper to rent than Disney ($150 per week vs $50 per day) if you're going to need it multiple days
• Can take it off property
• Faster
• Nimbler (can turn tight corners as a 3-wheeler)
• Can come with extra storage bins to hold your family's stuff
• Guaranteed availability
• Came with free ponchos and shower cap in case of rain

The cons:

• Have to hassle getting in/out of cars (if off property)
• You're in charge of charging it, which means fitting the scooter in your accommodations and/or lugging the 30ish lb battery in from wherever you leave your scooter to wherever you charge
• Can be a little unwieldy at high speed until you get used to it
  
• Possibly lower maximum weight vs Disney scooter (can't recall Disney's max weight)

 

[kaytieeldr]

I'll chime in with you can pick up and drop off a scooter from a vendor yourself.

Are you sure? If the renter picks up the equipment from the vendor, the vendor has no proven method of contact. This would make it relatively easy tor a dishonest person to steal equipment.

Yes, it takes time but it's your schedule, not theirs.

This confuses me. Most rental companies provide truly excellent customer service by meeting with the renter at the renter's (not the company's) convenience. And few rental companies are convenient to WDW. Sure, BVS is at the Boardwalk and GMS is in Celebration. Other companies are in Kissimmee or Orlando, and not necessarily on main roads.

 

[Bete]

We have picked up our scooter from a vendor in the past. There is an invoice and you pay by credit card right at the place when you pick up. For us, this way is easier sometimes if we are not on site.

Obviously, how convenient the vendor location is depends on where you are staying and who you choose. And if it's on the way to Disney World anyway it wouldn't take much to do a stopover.

Just trying to share more options for the original poster.

 

[cmwade77]

Are you sure? If the renter picks up the equipment from the vendor, the vendor has no proven method of contact. This would make it relatively easy tor a dishonest person to steal equipment.

This confuses me. Most rental companies provide truly excellent customer service by meeting with the renter at the renter's (not the company's) convenience. And few rental companies are convenient to WDW. Sure, BVS is at the Boardwalk and GMS is in Celebration. Other companies are in Kissimmee or Orlando, and not necessarily on main roads.

Not all vendors allow you to pick up, but some do.

As for Convienent, that depends on your definition, those of us who live in So Cal would consider anything within an hours drive Convienent.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Not all vendors allow you to pick up, but some do.

As for Convienent, that depends on your definition, those of us who live in So Cal would consider anything within an hours drive Convienent.

But doesn't an hour's drive in California only get you five miles?

 

[cmwade77]

But doesn't an hour's drive in California only get you five miles?

Some days, other days it can get us 60+ miles, so we really don't measure distance in miles, we measure in time, which means at different times of the day, the same location may be closer or further away.

 

[mamabunny]

The cons:

...

• You're in charge of charging it, which means fitting the scooter in your accommodations and/or lugging the 30ish lb battery in from wherever you leave your scooter to wherever you charge
• Can be a little unwieldy at high speed until you get used to it
  
• Possibly lower maximum weight vs Disney scooter (can't recall Disney's max weight)

• You are in charge of charging it regardless of where you stay - and the reason everyone around here recommends completely recharging the battery every night is so that you don't have to worry about running out of battery during the next day. I would never set the expectation that any (random) rental scooter could go more than a day without being recharged - I would hate to be the person who ruined someone else's day at Disney World because I told them they didn't have to recharge.

• Disney actually has a speed limit for personal mobility devices that is (admittedly loosely) defined as "walking pace". If your party has to jog or speed walk to keep up with you, you are going too fast. The reason Disney has a speed limit (such as it is) is for everyone's safety. My personal device will go in excess of 10 mph, but I *never* cut it loose and go fast at WDW - it's just too dangerous. I have seen people driving rental ECVs very fast at WDW (what is it about Epcot that inspires people to speed?) and it was frightening to watch; before they disappeared, we were certain they would run over someone who would inadvertently step into their path.

From the "Prohibited Items" section of this page:

• Most vendors have at least one model for larger-sized people these days. That wasn't always the case, but it is more and more common now. Disney's ECVs have a 450 pound weight limit.

 

[cmwade77]

• You are in charge of charging it regardless of where you stay - and the reason everyone around here recommends completely recharging the battery every night is so that you don't have to worry about running out of battery during the next day. I would never set the expectation that any (random) rental scooter could go more than a day without being recharged - I would hate to be the person who ruined someone else's day at Disney World because I told them they didn't have to recharge.

• Disney actually has a speed limit for personal mobility devices that is (admittedly loosely) defined as "walking pace". If your party has to jog or speed walk to keep up with you, you are going too fast. The reason Disney has a speed limit (such as it is) is for everyone's safety. My personal device will go in excess of 10 mph, but I *never* cut it loose and go fast at WDW - it's just too dangerous. I have seen people driving rental ECVs very fast at WDW (what is it about Epcot that inspires people to speed?) and it was frightening to watch; before they disappeared, we were certain they would run over someone who would inadvertently step into their path.

From the "Prohibited Items" section of this page:

View attachment 397936

• Most vendors have at least one model for larger-sized people these days. That wasn't always the case, but it is more and more common now. Disney's ECVs have a 450 pound weight limit.

You aren't responsible for charging it if you rent from the parks and that was the point of the cons. If you do rent off-site, then yes, charge every night.

As for not opening it up, it depends on where you are, I did open it up when traveling between Kidani and Jambo House as there was no one on the path and it was freezing cold and there was litterally no one there and I had become very familiar with the route before turning up the speed as we were there for two full weeks. But in the parks, generally no, although there are some areas where no one is around that it would be safe to do so, but it wouldn't be going from point a to point b. Walking speed is fairly subjective though, my rule of thumb is as long as you are going the same speed as people that are clearly walking in your immediate vicinity and you aren't going to run anyone over, you are fine.

Disney's latest ECVs are actually a 500 lb weight limit as stated right on the tiller, although the paperwork hasn't caught up to this yet.

 

[SueM in MN]

Closing since this is an old thread.