ECV rental thoughts

[Ruthie5671]

Hi all -

This is my first post, but I have enjoyed reading the topics on this site. It has been an invaluable tool when planning my upcoming Disney trip that is in the first week of September.

Here is my quandry -

I will need an ECV due to stamina issues. I'm a "Pooh Sized" gal (I love that term), and there is no way that I can keep up with my Army brother and two teen aged nephews. My mom is bringing her scooter from home, as she is complete immobile. I've been reading the posts about renting an ECV at the parks and renting from a company. I'm concerned about us both having an ECV and attempting to get on the same bus on the same time. And then I'm concerned that if I try to get one from the park each day, they will all be rented and I will be miserable.

Advise? Thoughts? Comments? HELP!!! We arrive in Disney in six weeks so I need to plan this out!

Thanks in advance,

Ruthie

 

[SueM in MN]

Welcome to disABILITIES

I have 2 questions for you that might help people to give advice:

1) Where are you staying?

2) How early were you planning to get to each park?

We have been coming to WDW for almost 20 years with a child in a wheelchair (she was not quite 3 when she got her first wheelchair). There have been a few times when we could not get on a bus with a wheelchair because there were already 2 ECVs/wheelchairs on. We mostly stay at OKW, where a lot of people drive, though, so that might make an impact on our experience.
One thing you won't have to worry about is whether the WDW park rental ECVs are "Pooh-size friendly". They all are, so you only have to worry about whether they will have one, not whether they will have one in Pooh size.

 

[Ruthie5671]

Sue -

We are staying at the Movies Value resort. We have stayed off Disney property before, and it's just not easy to rely on their transportation. I would imagine that we would be arriving to the park mid-morning - by 10:00 at the latest, depending on how much we all party like rock stars the night before! Do you think that time of an arrival to the park will enable me to get an ECV?

 

[ckdsnynt]

We were there in May and I rented one and had it delivered to the resort so I could use it the whole time as I have stamina/mobility issues also. Made it easier to get around at the resort. My DH has knee problems so he needed one about mid-day. He would rent one at the parks without difficulty. By the time he needed one, many people were turning theirs in (you cannot take it to another park). So, we never tried to get on the bus at the resort with two ecvs but many times, I was the second ecv on the bus (try parking with people and another excv on there! ) and it was no problem. If there isn't room for both of you on that bus with your ecvs, the bus driver that doesn't have room for you will call for a second bus pronto and you will both get that one very quickly. I saw this happen several times and that bus driver will alwasy ask "who needed the bus called" so you get it first!

My DH is a large guy and he fit very nicely on the rented ecvs at Disney although some more so that others because of the way the main handle bar (that comes up themiddle) is made on some of them. I suggest if you rent at the park to sit on the one they give you to make sure it fits good. The rentals didn't seem to have this problem.

When I rented off site, they asked my approximate weight so they would lnow if I needed a "regular" or a shall we say, "heavy duty" as they come in several weight limits.

Good luck to you. I will never again hesitate to rent on just because I "look" normal" according to some whispers I overheard from rude people." I know I need it and it really helps out with my family being able to enjoy the vacation. And me

 

[yoopermom]

I would rent one from off site simply because it can be a long way around the resorts, and from the bus stops to the in park ECV rental. The only thing about renting a heavy-duty/pooh-ier one is that they're a little bit bigger to manuever on the bus. (DS helped me alot with this!)

Rent one so you can enjoy your time

Good luck!
Terri